The school day passed by very quickly but also very slowly. The trio was bombarded by other students and even staff who had relatives that were Metas and were hoping to get a recommendation.
But no matter who asked, they were given the same response based on who they asked.
Emma: "I'm sorry but I have no influence nor can I give recommendations."
Tyler: "If they are really as good as you say they are, they would have no problem being a member."
John: "Fuck off."
Even after such a busy day, the trio was still surrounded by reporters and other Metas. Luckily, no one was stupid enough to annoy them. So after a few minutes of repeating the above phrases to whoever came close to them, the trio took to the air and began flying back to The Village.
As the air flowed around them, the trio celebrated the fact that they didn't need to attend college anymore and could just be heroes.
"Ugh. I can't believe that we survived high school," Emma's eyes glazed over as she thought about all the effort it took for them to graduate
"The fire," Tyler said
"The fight with Bobby and his lackeys," John added
"The second fire," Tyler mentioned
"The third fire," John reminded them
"Ms. Belchum's math class," Tyler supplied
The boys were about to continue their list of complaints when a pair of purple energy beams flew in between them. The duo looked up and saw the very annoyed redhead with glowing purple eyes.
"I had to suffer more than both of you since I was your best friend and had to take responsibility for your antics. If I remember correctly, Tyler started 2 of those fires while John started the fight with Bobby and the last fire. Also, you both slept constantly in her class which is why she didn't like either of you and me by association!
Not to mention me never being able to have a boyfriend. Your reputation scared most of the guys away to the point where they wouldn't even talk to me. And the few who did, would 'mysteriously' get a few black eyes and be too scared to go through with a date!" Emma yelled at the duo
John raised his hands in surrender while Tyler made the zipping motion over his mouth before throwing away the key. Both of them knew just how much their antics had annoyed their friend over the past 4 years of high school.
Although they had mellowed out during their junior and senior years, it would be a lie to say that their freshmen and sophomore year antics didn't earn them a place in her bad book.
The rest of the trip was silent but none of them paid it any mind. This wasn't the first time Emma had reprimanded them on the way back home and it would not be the last.
As they passed over the city, they could see it change before their eyes. From the older city that looked dull and grey with the occasional splash of color to the more modern parts of the city that were shiny and silver. And then was the place they called home. The Village.
Unlike most hero teams that rented or even bought buildings in the middle of the city or private property in the countryside, The Alliance had bought several city blocks to the point where it owned a small village as their HQ as well as a few other buildings in other cities for when their members were out of state.
The Village was where the trio had grown up and stayed their entire lives. Kept up to date with the latest tech heroes' inventions or best designers remodeling the place yearly, The Village was the best place to live whether one was a hero or not.
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John and the others flew towards the main dorm without any trouble. Even though they weren't stopped, there were dozens of scanners and probes that silently went over their bodies and confirmed their identities.
They landed atop of the dorm and went down the stairs together before splitting off.
John got back to his apartment before pressing his finger on the scanner. With a beep, the door opened before him.
He walked into the small apartment before heading to his bathroom to take a shower. Once the water began to pour over his bare skin, John began to think about what the future would hold for him.
'The Old Man is probably pissed that I signed up under Fae but there's not much he can do. I'm allowed to join whoever I want. Still, I should probably keep a low profile so nothing too crazy happens.'
Even when he got out of the shower, John kept thinking about what it would be like in a week and a half when the applications closed and he could finally be a hero.
He began walking back to his room when he paused in the middle of the hallway. His body began to tremble when he looked at the same portrait that was always there. On the wall was a family portrait. Their grandfather had them all pose for it when he was 10.
Standing up were the adults. There was his grandfather, father, mother, both of his aunts, and his uncle. They had lost his grandmother the year before on a mission. They actually had the portrait taken on the anniversary of her death to remember the family that they still had left.
Beneath them were the kids. Fae who was 13 at the time, him and his twin, Jamie, were flanking her sides.
John reached out and touched the faces of his mother and brother. He could still remember them dying as if it had just happened.
Jamie died 4 years prior in the battle with Asphalt. His mother, the year after that happened.
'If only I was stronger. If only I triggered.'
No matter what anyone told him or how logical he was, John still blamed their deaths on himself. On his lack of power.
Unable to continue facing them, unable to face his failure, John walked past the portrait and into his room to change.
He had just put on his pants when he heard his phone vibrate. Thinking it was his friends or Fae messaging him, John picked it up.
Instead of being a text from them, it was an email from The Alliance. But when he read over the contents of it, his eyes squinted. The veins on his neck began to throb. His lips tightened.
John threw his phone down before rushing toward the door. He slammed it shut as soon as he was outside of it, nearly breaking the door as he flew down the halls.
Tyler and Emma saw John approaching, smiles on their faces.
"John. Did you get the..." Tyler was about to ask but John ignored them and flew past his two friends.
Even though he was flying fast, the pair could see that something was bothering him. Both took flight to try and catch up with him.
While they were flying after John, Emma pulled out her phone and sent out a text.
"Telling Fae?" Tyler asked
Emma nodded in response, afraid that she already knew why John was upset.
John wasn't worried about his friends though. He flew out of the dorm and into the main building. He then flew up the stairway until he reached the 30th floor. Emma and Tyler followed him the entire way.
There was only one thing on the 30th floor. The meeting room of the Alliance. At least the main one where all the core members met up on important matters.
Emma and Tyler had just reached outside the doors to the meeting room when they heard John's roar.
"I was denied?!?! Who the fuck do you think you are you deny me a sidekick position?!?!"
The pair could hear a loud thump and crack sound. Not wanting to let the situation get any worse, they flew in without knocking. Apparently, the sound they just heard was John slamming his palms on the table and cracking it.
Sitting at the head of the table was Chief, the current face of The Alliance. On both sides were various heroes that were core members of The Alliance, including John's father, Vulcan.
Most of the members were looking at John with confusion on their faces. They had not expected that John had been rejected so they were completely unprepared for this reaction from him.
A few members were keen on what was going on since they had been part of the group that decided on admission into the program.
"John. Calm down. Why don't we talk about this..." Blaze tried to persuade but was interrupted
"Fuck off! I don't need one of my father's dogs to bark when I'm trying to talk to him!" John replied without taking his eyes off of his father
Blaze's smile instantly faded and was replaced by scorn.
'I was trying to give you a way out since you were his son. But if you want to continue making a fool out of yourself, be my guest.'
Vulcan, the man in question, did not even turn to look at John. Instead, he sighed to himself.
"I have passed every test given to me. I have trained just as hard as every legacy. If I did not come in first place during one of our courses, you can bet your ass I came in second! No matter what I did, I proved myself!
So tell me, Father! Why have I been rejected? Because I haven't triggered?!?! Is that the only reason you can come up with?"
John continued to question his father, demanding an answer.
Seeing that his son was not giving up anytime soon, Vulcan glanced over at his son.
John thought it was the same look of shame and condemnation that he always gave him but when he felt his father's eyes on him, he felt his knees were ready to buckle. It was as if a tremendous weight had just fallen on his shoulders.
'So this is what it feels like to be enemies of one of the top heroes in the world. Supervillains need to have balls of steel to stand up against this as often as they do.'
John looked at his father in a different light for the first time.
"If you must know, you should curse your existence. It is because you not only have failed to trigger but also because you are my son. As a Legacy, we are meant to pass on our titles to the next generation. I'm supposed to pass on the title of 'Vulcan' to you? A failure of a Meta?
Be grateful that you have been under my care these last 3 years. It is bad enough that you bring shame to me in private. There is no need for you to bring shame to me in front of the public. I will not let you use our family name to gain popularity when all it will bring is shame down the line.
You will not be Fae's sidekick. That position will be filled by someone worthy and with potential. You will not be anyone's sidekick. Each of these positions is important as they show the future of The Alliance. You are not part of that future.
I don't care what you do in the future. Go to college and get a job. Become a playboy and live off the money your aunt and grandfather give you. Kill yourself for all I care. Just don't try to become a hero anymore. No need to disappoint everyone once again."
Vulcan delivered his speech so... stoically. It was without emotion and care. If judged just by his tone, most would think he was reading off the instructions on how to put together furniture and not telling his son how big of a disgrace he was.
The rest of the room was stunned by Vulcan's delivery but there was nothing they could say. This was a family matter. John's Legacy status was dependent on Vulcan. And he was deemed unnecessary.