That morning, Hannah and Captain Force had brought Kenny out to the mountain woods for training. Once they made it away from prying eyes, besides the saber drone that shadowed them, of course, Captain Force removed her handcuffs. It’s not like they would have done any good anyway; even as an early warning system, you’d be dead before could hear the beep. Not that anyone was seriously worried about Hannah killing them; at least, Kenny wasn’t until this new training began.
The impact of the water balloon sent a crack along the tree trunk. The next dug out a hole in the ground that was filled with rubber and water. The next one blew apart in her hand as she whipped it.
“Whoops,” she said as she looked at her wet hand.
“What do you mean whoops? What’s the point of using balloons if you’re going to throw them like bullets anyway?!” exclaimed Kenney.
“They still need to go fast,” she said, bouncing the next one in her hand, “It’s all for your training.”
She took a pitching position: leg raised, arm cocked and loaded. Her leg stomped in front of her with her wound-up arm coming forward for the throw. The balloon was embalmed with static to ensure it would not shatter from the force she was putting on it.
It was only just as the rubber left her palm that Kenny switched on the flood of speed. The balloon grazed over the edge of his shoulder. Standing beside it now, the balloon looked more like a bright comet that seared through the distorted world. The purpose of waiting until the last moment like this was to minimize the stress he put on his body but if Hannah had not aimed to miss he would surely be dead.
He switched off and the comet shattered the stone formation behind him.
“You enjoying yourself?” asked Captain Force.
“A little,” she admitted, “but I was told to train him the same way I was trained, so I’m not holding back.”
“Did your old teacher go this hard on you?”
“Sometimes,” she picked up a rock and crushed it into gravel, “he would throw dirt in my eyes and mouth to train my reflexes. Whether we were sparring, or talking, or even when we just met up.” She said with fondness. The more she talked about him, the more Kenny thought that Tyler sounded like a bad friend, but he was important to her so Kenny didn’t say anything. More than that, if his training is what made the GalvanGal, then it must be worth considering. Yeah, if Kenny is going to face villains one day, then this kind of training is going too easy if anything.
“Well, we’re not going to do it that way. Maybe it made sense to do it that way for you, but other people can’t shrug off damage so easily. Now go clean up your mess,” ordered Captain Force. She gave a salute and zipped around to pick up every shred of rubber scattered across the foliage. Kenny approached him.
“Why are we stopping? I know I was surprised at first but I got used to it. And she wasn’t really aiming at me, just close.”
“No, like I said, it’s too dangerous. In fact— Hannah, how about you tell us what else you had in store for him?” Hannah had the trash bag in hand at the moment.
“Well, part of training for both me and Aaliyah was to follow him on his hunt. He taught us by tracking, beating, and disembowling animals. He said something about how understanding life and death is equally important. Oh, this one time, he did trip up and got tackled into a ground and pound with a coyote. Even with his skin shredded up, he continued with the lesson,” she said with sparks in her eyes. She then saw the blank expressions on their faces. “I wasn’t going to go that far, just the tracking part should be enough.”
“Okay she may be a little off,” admitted Kenny, “but if I’m going to fight supervillains, then this kind of intensity is necessary. You’re a ranger, right? You guys go on dangerous, close combat missions. I heard people die during ranger training because that’s how tough they need to be.”
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“Those soldiers died because their leader failed them. What's this about supervillains?”
“I mean, that’s what superheroes are for right? They’re supposed to save people from disasters and fight villains. So far, staying at Olympus has just felt like a college dorm with some volunteer hours. Come on, Hannah, you know what I’m talking about?”
Hannah had taken out a veggie burger to snack on. When he called her name, she choked on her food a bit. “What?” she asked as she wiped her chin of juices.
“You’re the GalvanGal who sprang into action to save people from a terrorist. You had your debut. Everyone knows you’re hero.” She stood up with her hands at her side.
“It’s not like I planned for that to happen. I just wanted to have dinner with one of my best friends that day. Instead, not only could I hear the bomb start to go off, but I also had to listen to the pain of everyone there. It would have been better if there was never a bomb at all.”
“I’m not saying I want something bad to happen, but… bad guys are going to come up regardless, right? You’re a soldier, Max. You must have been sent to put down plenty of monsters in your time?” said Kenny. Max collected his thoughts for a moment.
“You’re right: sometimes bad things happen and sometimes bad people need to be stopped. Still, ‘monster’ isn’t a term I would use loosely even after meeting a few people who fit the bill. I don’t want anyone who looks forward to killing on my team.”
“That’s not what I meant. I just…” Kenny trailed off as he suddenly found it hard to look either of them in the eyes. Hannah put away her burger and floated over to wrap her arm around Kenny.
“I think he just wants a prove himself by showing everything he’s got. I know I look like a weirdo when I think back on my training, but that was the only time I could really give my all.”
Kenny looked up at her as she talked with the same sparks in the eye and smile she always got when reminiscing about her old teacher.
“You really do look up to him, huh?” he said without thinking.
“Is it that weird?” asked Hannah.
“I get that he’s helped you but…isn’t that what makes him a villain now?” Hannah’s hands slid down away from her hips and her smile faded along with them. “If Tyler really is some kind of leader then my brother would definitely follow him. That would make him a villain, too.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t throw around labels. Someone’s entire being can’t be summed up so simply. You know better than anyone else that you’re brother is more than a villain. Right?.”
“Yeah, I get what you mean. Knowing that other people just see Todd as some villain… actually, it’s always been like that. He didn’t want to go to the Pantheon because he assumed that his powerset and track record would get him locked up. Both of you reminded me of that the other day.”
“I can see how he came to that. It must have been a tough situation to begin with, but now it’s gotten out of hand,” Max said as he pushed his palm against his forehead. “You know him better than me, but from what I know, I think he’ll be fine. Brothers have a way of worming back into your life, whether you like it or not.”
“That sounds about right,” chuckled Kenny. While the boys talked, Hannah collected her thoughts on her own with her hand on her chin.
“I think you’re right to be worried about danger and labels,” she finally said. “But I think Kenny is right to want to push the limits of what he’s capable of even if he’s not sure what that looks like. A label can’t sum up a person, but it does sum up your relationship with that person. Tyler Deimos is a hero to me, even if it’s in a different way than what most people mean.”
“Hm? What’s the difference?” asked Kenny.
“The difference is…” Hannah folded her arms, “When I save people from a collapsing building, or when Aaliyah heals someone’s sickness, they are grateful that we were there to save their life. Garrick goes a step further: people feel protected by his presence and are assured he’ll take care of everything. That’s great and all but… it’s not that different from what people can already do. We have firefighters, nurses, and police that can do everything we do.
But he’s different. He can save and protect people but it’s more than that. He shows me that there is always another way to do the impossible and that I can do the same.” She unfolded her arms and clenched a fist at her chest. “A hero that inspires others to fly without wings, that’s the kind of hero I want to be. That’s the one I want Kenny to be. In fact, that gives me a great idea!” she came to Kenny and cusped his cheeks, “When I heard it, I could only watch and pick up the pieces after. But with your power, you could do more. If you were there, you could have saved everyone before the bomb could go off. That’s how fast I want you to be—do you think you could do that for me?”
“I don’t think that’s,” possible, Kenny was about to say. To fly without wings, huh? Kenny grabbed Hannah’s wrists, “Alright, I’ll train to be faster than an explosion… if Max lets us.”
In sync, they both turned toward the Captain and gave their best puppy dog eyes. Max applied force to his temples. Under Max’s supervision, the training was allowed to continue.