Paladin's Academy, Ms. Winter's Office. Afternoon.

The office of Ms. Winter is one not often visited for good reason. Being both a teacher and the dean, her room has become a cesspool for all things reprimands and punishments. One could even mistake her office for Human Resources. It has become notorious to all that if you are called by Ms. Winter, it means trouble, and this time is no different.

After a particular incident involving about five students, the rooftop, and the solo dance with no pants, White Mask has been called, nay, ordered to come to her office. This is thanks to a certain 'picture' that made its rounds around the teacher's faculty room. Only a few students have heard of this leak, and even fewer have seen it for themselves.

One important detail about the room is the temperature. To maintain her innately cold body, the room features extra heating, keeping her warm but burning any regular human inside. Luckily, she circumvents this by releasing a cooling wind, restoring balance once again. However, if one would make her angry, she can play with the temperature as much as she wants to.

"How do you plead?"

A bead of sweat drops from White Mask's face.

"Can I talk to my lawyer first?"

Her eye twitches. She crosses her legs and straightens her back.

"You would be entitled to one if you think you're in trouble. Are you?"

White Mask gulps deeply. He fixes his posture and wipes more sweat away. Ms. Winter opens her desk drawer and places a small brown envelope on the table. She slowly slides it towards White Mask.

"Want to take a guess on what's inside?" She taps on the document.

"I invoke the fifth?"

"At least you learned something from Hero Law," Ms. Winter quietly laughs, "but that isn't quite enough."

"I just need to know why. Why did you do it? Your punishment will be more lenient if you cooperate."

White Mask puts his hand on his chin and contemplates the deal. There is a way out of this without being kicked out, so he must try to negotiate as much as he can. But he doesn't have much leeway, and any cards he has yet to play aren't going to turn any tides. His best case? Suspension.

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"Look, Ms. Winter, it was all really just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don't even remember much of it. To be honest, I haven't felt like myself since that trip, and I lowkey think I'm traumatized."

"So, is this an insanity plea?"

"Something like that?"

"Considering these past few days and the fact you saved that facility along with your classmates, I think I can afford to be less harsh, wouldn't you agree? Besides, it would be terrible PR for us to kick you out after all you did."

"With that said, you will be serving your time through community service for the entire duration of the break. It will start at sunrise and end at sunset. If you miss even one session, consider yourself expelled, understood?"

"Of course, thank you, Ms. Winter."

White Mask leaves the office with his dignity intact. After all that's said and done, mandatory community service doesn't seem too bad. It could have gone much worse. As he walks through the Academy, he reflects on why he's here in the first place.

Hell's Kitchen, New York. Eight Years ago.

In the twilight years of Overlord's reign, the world has slowly but surely become a much safer place. Thanks to the rise of superheroes who have the power to oppose him. However, the Villains won't go down without a fight, making the Bronze Age of heroes a brutal battle for justice.

Every Superhero of the era only had one goal in mind: to end Overlord's tyranny once and for all. Sadly, this means that most, if not all of them, have shifted their attention to the big man himself and have come to ignore the friendly neighborhood where they reside.

On the corner of Ninth and Twenty-fifth Avenue, a small gaggle of children rummaged through garbage in a barren alley. Rats scurry around the broken floor, gathering anything they can find. A fractured street lamp dimly lights the area just enough for them to see.

"Hey Trev, check this shit out, man!"

A small boy wearing a white t-shirt steps forward, grabbing the item of interest. It turns out to be an action figure of the long-forgotten golden age hero, Noir-Knight.

"Holy crap! It's pretty okay," he laughs, wooshing the toy around.

Little Trevor laughs, playing with his new toy. The group continues looking for anything they find helpful or entertaining. After a long day, he returns home to his cramped apartment. He places his bounty inside his room as he prepares dinner for himself and his mom.

While cooking, he looks at the photo frame out of the corner of his eye. It includes him as a baby, his mom, and his dad. His mom had long blonde hair and radiant blue eyes. She had a big smile on her face as if it was the happiest day of her life. On her left stood his dad, his face battered and bruised, making him look like a battle-hardened warrior, yet his strong jaw and brown eyes made him look like a wise sage. His slight smile can be seen as he lifts up what appears to be an even smaller Trevor.

"Kiddo, I'm home!" His mom joyfully shouts. She hugs Trevor as she places her bag down.

"Hi, Mom," he smiles.

Trevor prepares dinner, placing down plates and glasses for the both of them. He then serves his dish, some porkchop with steamed potatoes. The two continue to eat in silence.

As the night ends, Trevor lies down on his single mattress, staring outside the balcony window. He swears that sometimes, he can see flying superheroes fighting supervillains, but it seems that tonight, it is awfully quiet. He closes his eyes and gets some rest; for the next day, he is going to do this again and again and again.