Seven Steps to Becoming a Superhero

In the middle of the rainstorm, Zack knew he had let his emotions get the better of him. He could have just played Kaine’s game. After all, he had nothing to prove.

No, Zack knew why he had been so quickly to employ such a foolhardy action. He wanted to show off to Max, the mysterious family friend he barely knew. He wanted his approval, so he responded like a petulant child.

And been punished like one, so it seemed.

He didn’t even know even bothered to play this stupid game. Scott wanted in this stupid frat, but Zack couldn't care less. Max was just a friend of his father’s, but they had little connection outside of that. Still, Zack knew he hungered for that connection - or any connection - that brought him back to his father. It served to ease the emptiness within himself, if only by a little. And if he wanted that connection, Zack would need to be part of the frat. It was the only way he could have access to Max. Which meant that he had to play Kaine's stupid game.

Which also meant he was stuck in the middle of a rainstorm trying to clean a roof. Thunder boomed in the distance. Zack saw a flash of lightning in the sky, even as his eyes struggled to adjust to the rain pouring into his eyes.

While it had been a rainy season, Zack knew there wasn’t a freaking thunderstorm in the forecast. Hell, it had been sunny just a few moments ago. That left him two possibilities. Either this was all in his head, or someone was summoning one. Given how Zack could smell the acrid smell of the rain drops as they pounded onto his skin, Zack was leaning towards the latter over the former, but ultimately, it didn’t matter.

Either way, Kaine was screwing with him. Zack should have known better than to call his bluff. Fortunately, Zack knew exactly what he needed to do. He was no longer on a clean-up mission.

This little excursion had just become search-and-destroy.

Zack should have seen it sooner. Why would Kaine have given him such an easy task? At first Zack thought Kaine only wanted to isolate him from the rest of the pledges, but now it was clear he wanted to make an example of him by giving him a Gordian knot.

Or Gordian rainstorm as it were.

Still had the same solution as the Gordian knot, as it were. Even now, Zack would have much rather written a term paper on the Gordian knot than live through it in the middle of a rainstorm, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Though thoroughly drenched, Zack wandered to the perimeter of the roof, even as the rain continued to pour on him. He reached his hands out to the edge of the roof, taking care not to fall. He reached his hand through the edge and felt the dryness and warmth of the summer sun.

And most importantly, no rain.

Okay, so, whoever is summoning this rainstorm has to be nearby.

Granted, Zack wasn’t overly familiar with weather-summoning supes. He guessed it was possible they were on the other side of campus, but he was betting that either the supe wasn’t strong enough to carry out the summoning, or was sticking around to check out their handiwork.

Zack scanned the Promenade below for signs of life. Since it was still relatively early, there weren’t any students. He didn’t even see fliers streaking through the sky this early. There was one person in the distance however.

A rail-thin man stood in the middle of the promenade, wearing a trenchcoat, and trying awfully hard to look inconspicuous. He was failing on just about all accounts. He held his temple, massaging them as if he had the world’s worst headache.

That was probably his guy.

Whoever he was, he stood out like a sore thumb. The guy was looking up at him, but didn’t seem to react when Zack approached the edge of the rooftop. Probably because he couldn’t see much from the ground. All the man watching could see was the rainstorm pummeling the Alpha House’s rooftop.

I still have the element of surprise. Good.

Zack wondered if he could just wait the guy out. He wandered around the rooftop, hands in pockets, even as the rain continued to pour on him like thousands of tiny needles. Zack soon realized the folly of his strategy. The guy was good. He could keep the rain coming for far longer than Zack could stay on the rooftop.

Onto Plan B.

He needed to reach out and touch somebody. Namely, a certain somebody who was rating around on the ground and summoning a rooftop on him.

Zack looked around the rooftop for something that could accomplish the task. Unfortunately, the rain was falling so hard he couldn’t see much in his immediate surroundings. He returned to the mop and bucket of water.

I guess this will have to do.

The raging rainstorm and booming thunderstorm made it hard for Zack to work, but eventually he was able to unscrew the mop’s squishy and wet tendrils from the handle altogether. Setting the mop top in the water, Zack brandished the handle like a stick and walked back to the edge of the rooftop.

Mr. Temples was still there, still massaging the side of his forehead as if deep in concentration. Zack honestly couldn’t believe campus security hadn’t approached him and asked what the hell he was doing.

Zack considered waiting to see if campus security would find the guy first. He thought about calling them directly and ratting the guy out, but thought twice against it. First off, Zack wasn’t sure he wanted to risk operating a smartphone in the middle of a rainstorm, lightning and all. And secondly, even if his smartphone still worked in the pouring ring, he doubted anyone on the other end would be able to hear him.

It looked like he was back to the Gordian option.

Gripping the handle in his hand like a spear, Zack did his best to remember the lessons from Dirk Saber the day earlier. Zack closed his eyes and assumed a meditation pose as he blocked out the raging sound of the raindrops all around him. Then he pushed his right out and dropped the other back like an Olympic runner, only this time he raised the stick above his hand like a spear, keeping it parallel with his shoulder.

He locked eyes with the man below, still clutching his temples with his fingers as he continued to summon the rainstorm. The man didn’t see him. His attention was still too consumed making sure the raindrops kept coming at a pounding rate.

His mistake.

Zack raised the stick back across his shoulder while still keeping it roughly parallel. Then he pushed it through the air until it left his hands. He watched the stick soared downward through the air. It struck the man in the center of his stomach. It might have broken a rib, though the man's coat probably offered him some protection. The man’s eyes widened with surprise as he lunched over. His trenchcoat spread in every direction as the man toppled onto the lawn, writhing in paint.

As if on cue, the rain stopped. The sun emerged from the clouds and beat down on Zack. It felt good, as Zack no doubt needed to dry off after enduring the rainstorm for the past five minutes. Zack put his hands on his hips as he scanned the puddles left on the rooftop. Fortunately, the rain has "cleaned" the roof for him. The sun would do the rest, but he didn't want to risk Kaine's pal on the ground recovering and starting this whole business over again. So he started to mop up the puddles on the roof, just to be safe.

The downside of his strategy was it left him without the mop handle. Thus, he had to get down on his hands and knees, using the mop top as a makeshift wash rag to clean the rooftop. It was hard work - but not as hard as in the middle of a rainstorm.

Zack dug in and started to get to work. This might be just the most relaxing part of his time at Innshadow U.

Once the September sun returned, Zack had no issue cleaning, even if it meant getting on his hands and knees. Still, Zack did have to accept there were a few advantages to the situation. He didn’t have his cell phone, so no one could bother him. He didn’t have to worry about Icer creeping up on him at the apartment.

He didn’t even have to worry about Dirk Saber telling him about superpowers he never knew he had. All he had to do was clean the roof. Zack was already wondering if he should throw in the towel on this superhero thing and became a full-time janitor full time. The pay was better, and it likely didn’t involve supervillains trying to kill him.

With that in mind, Zack continued to scrub his broken mop head across the roof as he finally had more than a few moments to himself.