The Vespidian
Arc 9 Twilight
Chapter 2
The interior of the dimly lit fire truck rumbled as we sat side by side. Ichigo was on my left and Neon Nurse was on my right, to her side was Enforcer. Sitting on the other side was Medavac, he looked rather bored though he grinned at me from time to time. Sunshine was directly across from me and had a rather blank stare. Dreamer sat beside her with her hand resting on Sunshine’s head. My arms were crossed as my foot tapped restlessly, I didn’t like that. There is no telling what she is doing to her. What is pissing me off the most is that she isn’t even trying to hide it at this point. Disk was over there as well, but he had his head down playing games. Glide and Squeeze were sitting opposite each other and seemed more bored than anything else.
I had my eye on Sunshine now. She wasn’t really different though, well, besides Mellow. That thing really liked me for some reason. It was always watching me. Twilight-chan… well, that is like the opposite of sunshine, no… that would be darkness, wouldn’t it? Sunshine was different before, so maybe Twilight-chan is what she was like before Dreamer got a hold of her and she went all sparkly? Come to think about it, I don’t know what she was like before. She always shut down when I asked. There was just something that felt wrong about this. I was missing a large piece of this puzzle. Once more the realization that I don’t actually know Sunshine that well came up. How am I supposed to help her if I don’t even know about where she came from and how she got to be who she is? I should ask someone that would know… but who? Chief? Xava was here too, I think she would know.
The fire truck came to a halt and I stood up. It is a little awkward to ask either of them with others around. It would have to wait. We filed out looking around. This place had changed a bit from when I went here. At the least, the parking lot had mostly stayed the same. It was bigger than I recall. There were a couple more buildings than I remembered and they were taller. The walls were smooth slabs and the dark green grass was well manicured. Hedges lined the cement walkway.
I smiled seeing the little handprints that the students had made way back in the day. I followed them a bit looking for a very specific one, ah, there they were, my own handprints from years and years ago, back when they first opened the school. My hands were so small back then. I bet they couldn’t even wrap around one of my fingers now. That must have been first grade or maybe kindergarten. This place disturbed long buried and fragmented memories.
Hmm, why hadn't I thought of coming to my old school to try to remember things? I guess, I had been pretty busy and it didn’t really come up. Who knows what I will remember? I don’t think I was a complete terror growing up, but I am pretty positive that I was not a model student either. For now, nothing more than a sense of nostalgia was tingling through the back of my brain. Or maybe that is just my neurons regenerating.
Chaplain Escalator School was an all-encompassing private school that had classes from kindergarten clear through high school. I guess you could think of it as a sort of academy. When I went here, there were about a thousand students through all of the grades. Now, though, there was likely a lot more. I peered around, just as before there were different entrances for the different grades. They each had their own building. If it was like before then they each had a separate playground area in the middle of the school grounds. As I recall they rotated who had recess when so that way all the kids could share the equipment, otherwise they would have had to build a lot more and since land is at a premium in this part of town that would be hard and expensive.
We were greeted by the staff. There were several security guards who stood near the entrance and watched us pass. One of them seemed pleased by our presence while the other was less enthusiastic about us. A short, rounded man with a shiny bald head and a gray suit waited for us on the steps. Beside him were several men and women wearing semi-casual clothes like jeans and buttoned up shirts.
“You have arrived,” said the jolly fat man, “We were beginning to worry.”
“We were delayed a little,” replied Dreamer, giving me a glance, “But it was nothing serious.”
“Hmm, that is good. The children have been looking forward to this since last month.”
“I am sure that they have.”
“Shall we divide up the groups?”
“Sure, distribute the schedules and show them where to go,” said Dreamer with a slight smile as she waved to some of the children who were pressed against the glass to get a better view of us.
It is creepy how she puts up such a front. The children were excitable, to say the least. They were pointing and moving about making noise. That is until the teacher rung a bell and they quieted down, sitting in their seats. Weird, I don’t think I have ever seen children that well behaved. No simple bell would have calmed me down back when I was a little squirt. Oh… maybe I was a problem child. Then again, I am a bit like an animal these days and a squeaky toy can distract me.
I stared at the principle… he looked familiar. Ah, wait is he still working here? “Mr. Moore?”
The squishy fat man looked over with his puffy cheeks, “Yes? Oh, Mecha Fairy you are one of the newest Juniors right?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
I knew this man. He was the principal back when I went here. I glowered at him, I remember this tubby bastard. He gave me detention when I was in elementary school! So, so, so what if I used a swing like a rocket propulsion system to super hyper punch some kid in the stomach when they kept chasing after me and counting me off of the swing. It was every damned time too. They kept following me every day and it was only me! There were like ten swings, but no, they kept going after me. And then one day I had had enough and bam! Rocket Punch. Fufu, ah well after that I wasn’t allowed on the swings for a month and I more or less stopped liking them. I would just sit alone, piling wood chips since I had nothing better to do and all my friends didn’t want to not play on the swings.
It wasn’t fair! Alright, maybe I shouldn’t have hit the kid and maybe it was really immature to blow it out of proportions like that. But I was the best on the swings, damn it. I remember that I jumped like ten feet off of it one time. Yeah, that was pretty cool. And then it all got ruined, by that stupid kid. Wait a minute was this the start of my bullying? I stood there thinking it over, scratching my chin. Hmmm, hmmm? I don’t know, I can’t remember.
At any rate, this crap didn’t matter. The past was the past, there was nothing to be done about it. I followed along as we were being assigned to different grades. Fire Chief had the Senior high schoolers. Neon Nurse had the Juniors. Enforcer got the Sophomores. Medavac got the Freshmen. Glide, Disk, and Squeeze got the middle schoolers. I, well, I got the fifth graders. Sunshine got a whole mess of the younger grades, fourth to kindergarten. I could see why, so I wasn’t particularly complaining. I certainly didn’t want to deal with that many kids.
“You understand what you are doing?” Asked Chief with his droopy, fatigued eyes.
“Yeah, I gotta talk about stuff and show off a little.”
“Don’t break anything and don’t hurt anyone.”
“I get it already! Geez nobody trusts me. I even looked up a story last night.”
“No, I do. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be here,” replied Chief patting me on the back.
“Alright, I will do my best… what should I tell them anyway?”
He sighed as though to be expected and rubbed his face, “I didn’t make a speech?”
“No. I thought I was supposed to be playing with kids.”
“Just tell them to be good kids.”
“Ok, I will.”
Ehh it is just a bunch of 10 year olds… what is the worst that could happen?
________
I stood outside the gym building, having just talked to the young lady who was the teacher of this class, though there were also several other teachers reigning in the mass of squawking children. Listening in on the small talk and the happy squeals of little brats.
“Alright, now everyone we have a very special guest today,” said Miss Schaffer.
Most of the children were well behaved and quieted down, despite how excited they were. Ever since last month, rumors had been spreading that Supers were going to come and visit the school and spend some time with the students. The consensus was, everyone wanted Fire Chief or Sunshine, especially Sunshine. Fire Chief was cool because he let all the kids ride in his fire truck around the parking lot. All the boys had been talking about how awesome it would be to be a firefighter. The girls and even a few of the boys, they had been eagerly awaiting Sunshine and all the fantastical things that would come with her. Last time she made a castle and let all the kids play in it. Unfortunately, for the entirety of the fifth grade, they were not getting either. They had drawn the short straw so to speak and missed Sunshine by one grade. Instead, they had gotten me.
“Miss Schaffer, who did we get? Is it Sunshine?” Asked one of the girls.
“No, we got Fire Chief right?” asked a boy waving his hand around.
“Sunshine!” pouted the girls.
“Chief!” cried the boys.
Miss Schaffer just smiled, “Actually, we got a different hero.”
“Who else is there?!” complained the troublemakers. That is rude you little squirts… well, I had been expecting it, but kids are brutally honest. If they saw what I really was they would likely be all Eeww! It is a Bug.
“There are many other heroes, like Panther or Neon Nurse or Enforcer, for instance, just to name the big shots around town. However, we got a different hero. She is rather new so try to be accepting.”
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“Who is it?” asked several of them.
“We got Mecha Fairy.”
“Mega Fairy?” complained the room.
“No, Mecha Fairy.
“Could you please come in now?” said Miss Schaffer
“So big” exclaimed the children when I had to duck to get inside.
I looked them over there were a lot of them in here. Must be between a hundred and two hundred all restlessly sitting on the floor with wide, gawking eyes. Luckily, I wasn’t exactly alone in all this, dandada! I had Ichigo with me. She just stared at me like I was an idiot though. I moseyed on over to where the teacher was and stood on the upraised stage with Ichigo by my side. Hmm, children… children. What would they like? What would Sunshine do? Oh, I got it!
I waved my hand in an exaggerated manner, “Hello kids! Mecha Fairy is here teach you a little about being a hero! Who is ready to be an ally of justice?”
I flexed, doing the normal superhero pose that every child should know. The kids were quiet at first staring at me… crap I trying to go for the Kaimin Rangers play type of deal. Oh no, don’t tell me these kids don’t watch cartoons?! I did another pose bringing my left arm to go in front of my chest and the right going straight up. It was the standard transformation pose. Finally, the silence broke when one of the boys started laughing at me. Soon there were giggles spreading throughout the little people crowd. Even though I was being serious. Was I funny or something? I looked over at Ichigo and she was trying not to laugh at me as well.
Well, it is better than being booed, I gave them four thumbs up and continued, “That is right kids, you don’t have to be a Super to be super! So how old are all of you? Have you been good and listened to your parents and teachers?” I asked, leaning forward a little cupping where my ear should be, if I had them.
The kids were smiling and happily replied with their little voices there were a lot of tens and elevens, though I am pretty sure I heard a twelve in there too. Some poor kid must have gotten held back. Well, let’s make their day.
“Oh? That is good to hear. Remember family is important, so make sure you do your chores and don’t fight with your siblings and listen to your parents.”
They nodded enthusiastically and I waited for the murmurs to calm down.
“Ten years old!? You are so big,” I looked around at their glowing faces, “Did I hear a twelve? Who is the oldest? I want an assistant.”
The munchkins bristled at that, looking around until one of the boys raised his hands, “I am twelve.”
I nodded motioning for him to come up. He certainly looked a little older than the rest. He was still shorter than Ichigo though… not sure if that means that Ichigo is just small or if everybody is just small to me. Whereas Ichigo is right about at groin height, this kid was up to my thigh. So there wasn’t too much of a difference. He came on up staring at me with… hmm not sure what was in his eyes. Could it be wonder, excitement, expectation, or maybe it was surprise?
At any rate, good kids need pats and so I pet his head, ruffling it a little, I squat down so that I was eye to eye or rather I was still having to look down at him, “What is your name?” I smiled.
“Ray.”
“And you are twelve years old?”
He nodded, “Yeah.”
He was kinda cute being all fidgety, pets, pets. Good kids need pets. “Alright, so, you are the big kid on the block when it comes to your grade. So do you know what that means?” I asked him.
He shook his head, “No. What does that mean?”
“It means you gotta be a big brother to the other kids. That means you can’t bully others alright? You gotta look out for those little squirts.”
He looked away a little bit, “I am not a good kid.”
I frowned, “Do you bully kids?”
He nodded silently. I just pat his head and smiled. Gotta pass on my wisdom and save this child from being all alone and good for nothing with no friends when he is older.
“Well, that is fine. To be honest, I used to bully people too. What is important now is that you apologize to those that you beat up and never hurt innocent people again. Now I know you are likely lashing out cause of trouble at home and it feels good to take it out on others. Trust me, I have been there. But how about we funnel that into something productive rather than destructive?”
He looked like he was about to cry. “Will they really forgive me?”
I nodded, smiling, “Well, if you are sincere and help them out, then yeah they should.”
He nodded, wiping his eyes. It hadn't gotten to full blown crying, but they were a little moist, “So, so what is productive mean?”
I tapped my chin, “It means that it is useful. So let’s focus all that energy on something that will benefit you rather than hurt you. Cause when you are being a bully, you are only hurting yourself.”
“Hurting myself?” he asked with wide eyes.
I nodded, “Well, you see when you hurt others for no real reason then it affects your standing. People start spreading rumors and the like. It makes it so that people don’t want to be involved with you. Now you might not think much about it now, but later on, you won’t have as many friends and those that you do have will be like you, in other words, other bullies. Now you see later on in life when you need to get a job and start making a living you are going to realize that those people are not the sort you wanna be or hang out with since it will make it a lot harder to get a good job. Best bet, get in good with the nerds and geeks. They are smart and fun you see and if you are friends with them, then they will help you study. Now everyone is different and as such good at different things. Now I am sure that you might have difficulties studying or in general just find it hard to sit in class and do the work right?”
“How, how did you know!?” He asked, looking up at me with a gaped mouth.
“Well, you got held back, right? Now we can learn even from our defeats you see. Ok, so in order to get rid of all that extra energy, I want you to ask your parents to let you learn some sort of martial art, like karate or the like. If that don’t work find a rock that you can lift somewhat easily or see if your parents will get a weight for you. Now what you are going to do if that happens is lift it up and down until your arm feels tired and then do one more lift. Now since you are still growing only do this twice a week or else it will inhibit your growth. Once you get older though, you can do it almost every day, like me, although I do it twice a day, but I am a bit special.”
“Why would I lift a rock? That doesn’t sound fun.”
I nodded, “Most things we have to do in life are not fun. That is why we have to make them fun. Think of it like a game and try to do one more every time. Your personal record, you see. Do you know why I want you to do this?”
He shook his head, “No, why?”
I smiled, petting him some more, “So you can get stronger. Only the strong can protect their friends and family, you know.”
“What is the point in being strong If I can’t hurt people?”
I nodded, “Well sometimes you have to hurt people in order to help people.”
He looked at me strangely, “What do you mean?”
“Well, you see there are bad people out there who like to hurt good people. Since I am a hero I have to hurt these bad people or else they would hurt a lot of other people. It is the same for you, since you will be looking out for the other kids if any of them get bullied, I want you to protect them. If you do that, they will like you and be your friends. That is what being a big brother is all about. Now I am not saying to start fights, but if someone is picking on somebody be sure to break it up, if you can. If you can’t well go get a teacher or another adult. You see bullies only pick on the weak and if you fight back and put them in their place then they will no longer bully you. Of course, this mostly only applies to boys, since girls are evil, vindictive witches who use psychological attacks.”
“Evil Witches?!”
“Yes,” I nodded, “They will do things like cutting shoelaces or putting rancid buckets of spoiled eggs into your locker or cut out the crotch on your gym shorts and steal your underwear and pants so you have to sit in the office and explain things after everyone got to see your junk.”
Hmmm, that last one was rather specific… oh wait, I remember that happening to me. I tilted my head back and forth dragging up all the memories from that. It was in high school. Ah, that was the retribution that the Baseball Team did to me after I messed up and lost the Championship game. Then was I a bully before that or only after? I can’t remember. Something tells me I was likely a bitch even before that though.
“At any rate, you are a boy so you will mostly have to deal with boys. They will come at you head on, most of the time.”
He nodded, taking it in. “Good boy,” I smiled, ruffling his hair.
I stood up and looked over the room. The teachers were giving me some rather threatening looks… ah, crap. I think they heard all of that. I coughed a little and cleared my throat, “Alright, moving on. I am going to read a story. Has anyone ever heard of the Giving Tree before?”
They nodded and I started reading, “There once was a tree, but I was a very special tree that could talk and this tree loved a little boy who would come and play. They played and played for quite some years, until one day the boy returned a little older and told the tree ‘I am too old to play on your branches or with your leaves. I want to buy things and have fun. Can I have some money?’ the tree didn’t have any money, but she did have fruits and so she gave the boy all of them until her branches were bare and barren, but she was happy. He left with all those fruits to sell. Surely that would make him happy, thought the tree.
“He was gone for a long time but after many years returned again to the lonely tree that loved him so much. This time he was not happy either and he said, ‘I want a wife and children. For those, I need a house.’ But the tree could not give him a wife or child, she was a tree after all. She could give him a house and so, she offered her branches. He cut off her branches and carried them away to build a house. The tree was so happy, but lonely.
“The boy was gone for a very long time, but when he returned the tree was so happy and wanted to play like they had before. But the boy said, ‘I am too tired and sad to play. Won’t you give me a boat to take me away?’ The tree loved that boy so much that she offered her trunk and he cut her down leaving on only the stump. He made a boat and sailed away and the tree was happy… not really.
“Many years passed and the tree was lonely and sad. One day the boy returned, but he was not a boy anymore. He was an old man and the tree said, ‘I have nothing more to give. You took my fruits until they no longer grew, you took my branches until I was bare, and you took my trunk until I was only a stump. I have nothing more but roots and worms do you want those too?’ ‘No.’ Said the old man, “I want only a place to sit and rest my aching bones.’ Despite all that the boy had done to her, the tree still loved the boy and so she said, ‘A stump is a good place to sit.’ He nodded and so he did. The tree was happy.”
The children had listened well, and I said, “So what is the moral of that story?”
“Don’t be greedy,” said a couple of them.
I nodded, “Yes, that is right, don’t take advantage of your friends. However, there are two morals to this story. That is what the boy learned, but did the tree learn?”
The children were puzzled and didn’t know how to reply, one of them said, “If you keep giving you will be happy?”
I shook my head and replied, “No matter how much you love someone never give so much that it hurts you and you can’t recover. Know your limits and make definitive boundaries. People will take advantage of your kindness and as such we must all judge when we are being used as a tool rather than helping as a friend. Now I am not saying not to help people, I am saying you need to be aware of bad influences in your lives and when to cut them out.”
Miss Schaffer complained, “Don’t tell them that! You are telling them to judge people.”
I nodded, “And they should. Not everyone is nice for the sake of being nice. Even bad people do good things sometimes. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to deceive you and use you to their own ends. Judge people on their actions and if they are sincere then forgive them, depending on what they did. It is not like I said to judge based on appearances.”
Ichigo leaned over, “You shouldn’t say that.”
“Why not? This is realism here. This what I have learned from experience and it is good to give children a realistic outlook on life. Not everyone out there is a good person so teaching them otherwise is stupid and dangerous.”
“You are a Hero though, you are supposed to talk about being selfless and generous.”
I scowled at her, “What is stupid is stupid. I am not going to lie to these kids. Selfless people die first and generous people don’t have anything after they give everything away. There is a difference between charity and financial suicide.”
Miss Schaffer had stormed the stage and pointed at me rather heatedly, “Leave! I never thought that the Hero League would send someone like you to-”
The door opened and there stood Panther. In his sleek form-fitting blue and black suit. His muscles were standing out as always, the one between his legs especially. I hadn’t seen him earlier so I wasn’t sure if he was here. Then again, he can run around the city so he gets places fast.
“Mecha Fairy is there a problem?” he asked walking in.
“I guess they don’t like me. You wanna take over?” I asked.
He gave a light nod and I stepped down. He pat me on the back and took the podium giving them a showman smile that I could tell had been practiced on commercials since I knew that he had a sponsorship and made a lot of money off of that. I led Ray back into the group. I pat him on the head, there, there.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Why?” he asked.
“Well, I was going to let you be my assistant, but it fell through. It is a real shame I was going to let the kids ride me as I flew around the room.”
“You can fly?” he asked with sparkling eyes.
I nodded, grinning, “Yeah. My wings aren’t just for show, you know.”
I could feel the burning eyes of the teacher on me so I waved goodbye and left with Ichigo.
“So you still going to your parent’s?” asked Ichigo while we sat and waited for the other Heroes to finish their classes.
I poked my fingers together, “Yeah, me and Xava are breaking the news to Dad that we are dating.”
She smirked, “I will leave you lovebirds alone then.”
“You are not coming? But we are making roast beast… er beef.”
“Well, alright, if you insist.”