Seven Steps to Becoming a Superhero

Scott couldn’t believe Zack’s nerves. He just got here and already he demanded special treatment. But what Zack wanted, Zack got. It was a pattern Scott was getting very used to.

Scott remembered his favorite hero: Knightbrand. He just looked cool. Dozens of toy companies trotted out unlicensed versions of the hero, and Scott collected them all. After Zach moved to the suburbs, Scott even got a chance to meet his idol in person whenever he came over.

In person, Knightbrand - Zane - was quiet and aloof. That didn’t bother Scott, despite all his dopey starstruck demeanor. Zane was a busy guy, after all. And he was concerned with saving the world after all.

Zack, on the other hand, was only concerned about one thing since the day they met.

Himself.

He remembered back in high school, he had such a crush on Rachel Ducane, but he was afraid to talk to her. It didn’t help that her dad was a cop and an ex-hero to boot - talk about intimidating. Scott was so nervous he got Zack to invite her to the first meeting of Sideclique. The whole thing - from the team to the name - was his idea in the first place. He remembered their first meeting, when Rachel Ducane walked into the local library wearing a fitted purple sweater and tight black pants. His heart skipped a beat then, only to watch as she couldn’t take her eyes off Zack.

The rest was history. Zack Kestler always got what he wanted.

He watched as Zack left with Kaine and the others to parts unknown, to expedite his pledging process. Would Zack succeed? Probably not. Kaine was a jackass, having long since excelled in the art of sadism, a trait he picked up long before the Marines, as he was very fond of reminding the pledges.

So it came as no surprise to Scott when Kaine popped back into the room a few seconds later. His teleportation made it hard to ever truly relax in Alpha House. Scott never knew where Kaine was, or where he would soon be. It made the mood of Alpha House incredibly unnerving. Even the members, with actual seniority, constantly looked over their shoulder for any signs of Kaine.

After all, you never knew when he would pop in for a truly uncomfortable chat. It didn’t help that Kaine liked to pop in right behind you, unseen and unannounced, and breathe down his neck, the hot air drawing contradictory shivers down Scott’s neck.

Scott wondered if he should just quit this pledge business. It had taken him one year to even become a Senior Pledge. It’s clear the Alphas were in no rush to have him, even if he jumped through all their hoops. Did he really need this?

Yes, Scott reminded himself, he did.

All of the strongest heroes, ranging from Brickslayer to Planetside, got their start at Sigma Alpha. The halls were adorned with statues of the various heroes, their muscular poses forever captured in stone as they lined Sigma Alpha in the world’s most manly gauntlet. Scott Stephens would stand among them.

One day.

Problem was, he didn’t have much to offer Sigma Alpha. Sure, his test scores were great and his Sideclique record helped, but in terms of sheer stats, Scott was lacking. There were speedsters in Sigma Alpha who could do laps around Scott in their sleep. His top speed of three hundred miles an hour just wasn’t that special around here.

Scott worked to establish himself as a credible fighter around school. He’d excelled at every one of Dirk Saber’s fighting classes, was rising through the ranks in multiple disciplines and could wield almost every kind of blade with super-fast precision.

But the only thing that mattered to Sigma Alpha was pure power, and Scott had long since realized he had very little to offer.

Still, he did possess one attribute Sigma Alpha desired.

Loyalty.

Zack might not have cared too much for loyalty when he left them all two years ago without a word to “go find himself” or whatever such crap he told himself.

But friendship mattered to Scott. And loyalty mattered to Sigma Alpha. Along with strength and a forthright attitude.

It’s now or never.

Thus, Scott strode over to Kaine. his hands clenched into fists he recited what he was going to say.

“Something on your mind, Stephens?” Kaine said, his massive arms crossing his wide chest.

“I gave you what you wanted,” Scott said, standing up tall. “You want Zack Kestler for your pledges. I tailed him. I figured out where he’d be so you could bring him here.”

“Yes, you did. I was there,” Kaine said with a bored expression. “Is there any point to this?”

“I want what you promised me,” Scott said. “I want a promotion.”

With all the literal crap he had cleaned up, he could be too far from membership. Did most pledges go through this? Scott didn’t care. He only wanted membership, no matter what it cost.

Kaine scratched his chin in mock thoughtfulness. He then turned to him.

He smirked. “Okay. You’re promoted.”

Scott had a pretty good idea Kaine was screwing with him, but he couldn’t be sure. Kaine was Max Mann’s middle management. All of the decisions filtered through him in some way. He could promote Scott if he saw fit.

Scott tried not to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t help it.

“Really?” he said.

“Yeah, you’re now Elite Senior Crap Cleaner,” Kaine said. “Let’s have a round of applause for Elite Senior Crap Cleaner Stevens, folks!”

Kaine then began a long, condescending clap, and started to look around, gesturing to the other members in the room to follow suit. Even George and Kevin, his two burly associates, looked utterly baffled as they clapped out of unison.

Scott looked around to see all the pledges, still on their hands and knees as they tried to scrape every bit of beer and puke stains from the hardwood floors with toothbrushes. They gave a half-hearted clap before returning to their job.

Kaine then turned to him and came inches away from Scott’s phase. Once again, he felt his hot breath pouring down his skin, and once again, he shivered.

“Let this be a lesson, Stephens,” Kaine said. “Sigma Alpha is a meritocracy. You get what you work for, not from back alley deals. Now don’t you have a job to do?”

Kaine turned away. Realizing that it was futile to argue, Scott turned away too, muttering under his breath..

“What was that, Stevens?” Kaine’s voice boomed.

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir,” Scott said with a salute before going to the bathrooms.

Please sir, can I have another?

He wanted to add that last bit, but he knew better to start a fight with Kaine. After all, look how this confrontation had gone. Kaine responded to any potential challenge to his position with unbridled cruelty and mockery. He stood as Sigma Alpha’s ultimate gate-keeper.

It took him another hour and half to clean the bathroom. When he emerged from the bathrooms, he saw something else transpiring in the room. The pledges were eagerly shaking hands with someone. Though bleary and tired, Scott made his way past the ranks of pledges and members a lot.

He saw a smiling Kaine, or at least a fake-smiling Kaine. The president of Sigma Alpha had a car salesman smile. Whatever this development was, he wasn’t happy about it. He stood next to Zack.

“Please welcome our newest member, Zack Kestler!” his voice boomed. There were several cheers.

Zack shook Kaine’s hand. The big man slapped him on the shoulder cheerfully. Scott could see Kaine’s face change the moment he turned away from Zack and moved up the stairs.

Scott looked to Zack. He looked sun-burnt, his face tan and weather-beaten. He also looked strangely wet.

“Guess I got in,” Zack said with a smile.

Scott didn’t know what Zack had done to get in. He only knew it probably wasn’t scrubbing shit for two hours straight.

One of the members - a guy in a trenchcoat with a bandage on his forehead - approached Zack and whispered something in his ear. Scott knew what it was.

“Max wants to see you,” the man had said. Zack smiled, patted Scott on the shoulder, and then headed up the stairs.

Just like that.

Zack always got what he wanted.