Lakeview City, Guild Branch, WildCard Territory: I followed the heroes into the guild, and I was surprised as they kept me with them, waving me past the desk. I heard a mumbling from BrightGold's helmet, so I assumed he was communicating with someone. They brought me into an elevator with a fancy bronze directory, hitting one of the buttons before I had time to look at it, and a short time later, the elevator dinged open. Each and every hallway was marked with brass signs with engraved emblems on them, the emblems filled in with a black substance. I noted that we followed the signs that had a hand of cards on them, the ace of hearts showing. The heroes led me into a conference room and took their seats.

"Have a seat, won't you?" Hyper invited as he threw himself into a chair that was surrounded by gadgets and gizmos, picking up a couple of fidget toys and idly playing with them as he reclined. BrightGold apparently had his own chair too, as the chair had gold accents and held a golden notebook and gold pen in front of the chair. Shank collapsed in a spot that appeared to be normal....except for the cuts and gouges in the table. Eco's spot at the table was normal except for the fact the chair was half again larger than all the others, built to accommodate his larger build.

"So," Shank began. "Jon, is it? Welcome to the WildCards, at least on a provisional basis."

"Uh, thanks," I said as I sat down carefully in one of the unclaimed chairs.

"Here's the deal," BrightGold said. "Guild HQ has been trying to ramp up Hero numbers for years now, but no matter how many new Supers we find each year, there's never enough. Recent developments have made certain guild Heroes wonder if we've been too strict in our standards, and have decided that some Super abilities that may have been overlooked due to their lack of suitability for combat may have value in later stages. To that end, they conceived a pilot program, "Second Chance" to evaluate suitability for some non-combat oriented powers for inclusion into current teams. You were one of those chosen to participate."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"In other circumstances," Shank joined in. "You'd be going through simulated testing to show your abilities and aptitudes to prospective teams. Your little stunt in front of the bank served as a unique application of your abilities and convinced my teammates to try you out. To that end, you'll need a moniker."

"Alright, Hyper," Eco spoke up. "We already know you made a list. What have you come up with?"

"Since you asked nicely," Hyper said quickly. "I've come up with the following: Switcheroo, Flipper, Replacer, Trader, Napper, Captain Teleport..."

"Woah, woah, woah," Shank held up her hands. "Napper? Captain Teleport? Hyper, think about it. Do you really want a teammate called Captain Teleport?"

"How about Mercury," Eco offered. "He looks as though he's just super fast. And it's not Flipper."

"How about just Switcher?" I said. "Quick, easy to say, describes what I do."

"Switcher.....I like it," BrightGold said. "Simple and slips off the tongue."

"I...suppose I could say that without throwing up in my mouth," Shank said.

"Sounds good, sounds good," Hyper said. "Kinda like a cooler version of my first idea. I claim credit!"

"I can work with Switcher," Eco rumbled.

"Good," Shank replied. "Next, we'll need to figure out scheduling for the next few weeks. We gained some time by getting Switcher pretty early, so we'll have a bit of a head start on the other teams in the program. We'll have to schedule his job, get him a suit, schedule training times, and a few dungeons. Who wants what?"

"I'll check out suitable jobs," BrightGold said.

"I'll get the suit going," Eco said. "Switcher, I'm going to need a half hour of your time to get things rolling."

"Oh, I'll check out the dungeons," Hyper said, continuing to fiddle with his gadgets. "I bet there's a few that'll work well with him."

"Oh good," Shank snarled. "I get to train him."

I sat there, looking from Hero to Hero, wondering what I'd gotten myself into. I didn't have to wonder for long. The four Heroes scattered, heading off with purpose. I took that as my cue to leave. I got up and started to leave when the doorway was suddenly blocked by a lady with long black hair pulled back into a bun, who was wearing a tight business suit and carrying a clipboard.

"Ah, Mr. Maxwell!" she said, her voice bubbly and so sweet that I was getting cavities just listening to it. "How wonderful! Just the person I wanted to see! Come! Orientation is starting!"