WELCOME HEROES! Proclaimed the banner above them. People milled about the reception area, some in casual wear, some dressed in suits like a job interview, some in suits made of spandex, latex, or…Max shifted from a man covered from head to toe in black leather, wearing sunglasses and carrying a katana. Despite the early spring chill, the man was rather portly and already starting to profusely sweat.

“Oh yeah. Total bastion of justice right here.” Jason deadpanned.

“Now now, everyone has to start somewhere. Some origins are uh, a little more humble than others.” Max said charitably, worriedly reading a sign that said all weapons were to remain sheathed, unloaded, and with safeties on.

“Yeah, lot of humility right here.” Jason glanced at a guy with admittedly a muscular frame, trying to hit on a girl in a cloak who was playing with her cell phone. “Wait, what’s the word? Oh yeah, humiliation.”

“Not words very becoming of a prospective hero, are they?” Max admonished.

“Sorry.” Jason said, not sounding it. Max sighed, taking what he could get. Adjusting to this new goal and lifestyle could take some time.

“Anyway, there must be over a hundred people here. I thought superpowers were uncommon among the general populace.” Max said, scanning the crowd. At just over seven feet tall, he could easily see over everyone else.

“They are. Most of the guys here are scrubs who don’t have any powers. They’re just trying to be Batman, or the Punisher.” Jason snorted. Max did have to agree that black, skulls, growling voices, stubble, and guns did seem to be quite prevalent. “The heroes that don’t have powers’re usually just like costumed SWAT guys.”

“And they don’t last long, either.” They both turned to see a skinny, shirtless bald man grinning at them. “The record for a normal voluntarily retiring after duty’s ten years. I’ve seen him, he’s a wreck by now. No, you need powers to make it in the hero game. I’m guessing you guys do too, huh?” he whispered conspiratorially. Max raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Heh. Thought so. You seemed different from the rest of these losers.”

“Losers?” Max said, his eyebrow raising even higher.

“Yeah, y’see it all the time. Yahoos who think they can do it with a week of karate classes at the Y and some hockey pads. Or one of those guys who have powers, but it’s something like a stretchy neck or the abilities of a koala or something. It’s pathetic, really.”

“I see.” Max said guardedly.

“Attention please! We’ll be beginning the testing procedure in a moment! Please form lines in front of the registration tables, please!” a woman shouted at the back of the room, several people behind tables taking names already.

“Don’t worry, we’re shoo-ins for sure. Most of these guys can’t fight worth a damn, we’re automatically in.” the man continued, standing behind Max. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you got super strength, huh?”

“I’m rather strong, yes.”

“And the kid?”

“It’s a surprise.” Max smiled.

“Heh. Alright, play it like that, we’ll all find out soon enough. But strength ain’t everything, y’know.” the man said smugly.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Max asked. He sounded perfectly at ease and curious.

“‘Cause those power-types usually rely too much on their strength!” the man said, holding his arms out, one palm down, one up. “They get so caught up in their own might, they don’t know how to use it effectively! No offence, of course.” he said, swinging his arms like a kung-fu movie, narrowly missing the people around him. “I’ve dedicated the last seven years of my life to karate and yoga-and reached heights unimaginable to regular, unenlighted fools! I have unlocked the mystic qi that governs all creation, revealing my third eye and channeling my life powers through my body, enhancing my strength and reflexes!” True to his word, an eye opened on his forehead and winked at Max. Jason blanched and turned around, that was too weird for him. “My combat technique allows me to conquer those even with superior strength!”

“Well, that does sound very impressive, yes. So, you can’t be a hero without powers?” Max said.

“If you want a chance at living, yeah! Check this out. Can a normal do this?” He flexed, and suddenly his muscles bulged, his physique rivalling Max’s. Warm, sparkling, golden light began to waft off him like steam. “Boom! Enough power to wrestle with Champion himself! None of these other losers could even dream of touching those with real power like this!” he proclaimed, ignoring the dirty looks being sent his way. “We’re in an exclusive club, those of us with real power. We’ll be able to do our jobs far better than these other scrubs, and I am ready to do it! My nom de gurre is the Golden Dragonfly, what’s your name?”

“I’m next.” Max said simply. “Come, Jason! A strong stride to a better tomorrow.” Max straightened up, threw his chest out, and marched him and Jason up proudly to the table. His elbows swung as he strutted, catching Golden Dragonfly in the side. The three-eyed man grunted, then folded quietly to the ground.

‘I-Impressive! He struck me, targeted so precisely as to hit both my solar plexus, knocking the air out of my lungs, and my liver internally!’ He could already feel his organs starting to swell up. Even once he could stand and catch his breath, he’d be useless for anything physical for the next hour or two. The other applicants happily moved up, standing over his prone form, ignoring his gasped grunts to get up.

‘Curses! I am felled for now, nameless giant, but you have earned the wrath of the Golden Dragonfly this day!’ he thought to himself. He couldn’t even draw enough breath to enhance his healing with his qi! Such a diabolical maneuver!

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“Name?” the registrar asked, not even looking up.

“Jason Shepard and Percy Blakeney, at your service!” Max said smoothly. Jason shot a look at Max, who just smiled.

“Ah, a duo. Ages?”

“Twenty-four!”

“Twelve.” The registrar dutifully wrote them down, then realized what he heard. He finally looked up at the kid, and up, and up, and up at the smiling man next to him.

“Um, are you sure? This, this’s quite a dangerous profession.” he said. Max raised an eyebrow.

“We’re aware. Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Uh, child labor laws…?” the man mumbled. “I, I’m sorry, I have to talk to my supervisor. Excuse me.” He quickly left, going up to the woman who was shouting earlier. The man started whispering frantically, both glancing back at Jason, who shrugged. The woman did too, patting the man on the shoulder and sending him back.

“Uh. Y-Yes, well. P-Provided you can pass the test, you’ll be able to join Intrepid Inc. There will be strict provisions, but there is precedent. Uh, powers?” he asked, getting back on track.

“Super strength!”

“Shapeshifting.” The registrar blinked. The greatest power he’d ever seen had been really big gun.

“Alright. Level of experience?”

“Zero!” both said. He shrugged; those powers were too valuable to pass up.

“Ah. Should you pass the test, there will be a mandatory training and probationary period to ensure you meet standards.”

“Of which I shall exceed, I promise!” Max said, giving a big thumbs-up. The man stared at him, then quickly filled out the rest of the forms.

“Here you are, your visitor badges and participant numbers, do not lose these. You’ll be in testing room D, down the hall, fourth door on your left. Next!” They took the lanyards from the harried man, and went as instructed.

Testing room D turned out to be a classroom, rows and rows of raised desks going back up. Max shook off memories of high school and took a seat in the middle of the room, Jason next to him.

“So, this doesn’t look like a place to test superpowers. What’re they gonna do?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know, but I have my suspicions.” Max said darkly. The room quickly filled up, and the chatter ceased as a haggard-looking man in a wrinkled black suit and shaggy hair stepped up to the podium at the front.

“Welcome applicants. This will be the written portion of the exam. Keep in mind we will be looking at the entirety of your application, and may weigh separate parts differently, depending on performance.”

“If you got strong powers.” Max heard someone muttering to his side. The examiner frowned.

“Yes. Strong powers will get you selected much easier than not.” Max raised his eyebrow, and quite a few people perked up at the naked display of prejudice. The examiner sighed angrily. “Don’t like it? Tough. Deal. If you’re discouraged, good. We are a superheroes administration office, not a preschool. You may think it’s harsh, but be discouraged now or catch a bullet in your brain later, which is a very real possibility. No matter how good you are, no matter how dedicated, power is power. We can train someone to be a hero, we can’t train people to shoot lasers from their eyes. Anyone got a problem with that, you can leave right now.” he spat, glaring at the applicants as if daring them to disagree.

A few people did get up and leave, looking shaken. Jason stared at the desk, thoughtful. It only made sense, he supposed.

“He makes a good point, though I don’t care for his attitude about it.” Max murmured. Jason nodded absently.

“Right, let’s get this over with. The test will include both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. You have two hours.” the examiner said, his assistants passing out tests and pencils. “Begin.” Both Jason and Max scanned the test apprehensively.

“Huh?” Jason said.

Q.1: You come across a cat stuck in a tree. To get it down, it would be best to: a) knock down the tree b) climb the tree c) get a ladder d) call for help.

Jason glanced around nervously, the other test-takers circling answers. He cautiously put down B.

Q.2: A criminal has a hostage at gunpoint. Is the correct course of action: a) negotiate and de-escalate b) attempt to rescue the hostage before he can fire c) take out the criminal before he can fire d) shoot the hostage.

Jason stared at the last answer blankly. He’d never really considered being a professional superhero before, sure. But, but. He was also sure that they shouldn’t be shooting hostages! Rather concerned, he circled A. Morbidly curious, he flipped ahead to the open-ended questions.

Q.104: A criminal has some manner of mind-control abilities, with no obvious method of doing so. You have confronted him on a city street, and he has corralled about sixty people under his control, and they are ordered to attack you. What do you do to stop the criminal, and how? How do you apply your own powers, if at all? Explain step by step.

Jason raised an eyebrow. That seemed...way more thought out and realistic than the other ones. Upon closer examination, the copy seemed to be slightly off and in a different font, like it had been changed or added quickly. He glanced over to Max, humming to himself and effortlessly going down the page, circling answers almost as soon as he read them. Shrugging, Jason went through the test, answering to the best of his ability.