WWSHA HQ, huh? Never thought I'd ever actually end up going in—no idea why Paragon wanted Mr. Eun-ji to bring me here.
Mr. Eun-ji, seeing the bewildered expression on my face, turns and tells me, "Paragon has heard way too much about 'Parker.' I explained the little story we came up with about you on why you aren't in the same situation as the other apprentices. He seems to have understood, but trust me. He doesn't give a damn about it. He wants to meet you himself. Think you can manage that?"
Paragon really wants to meet me?! Not just some formal business with the top four, but he himself actually took an interest in meeting me?! I feel myself clench up, my breath hitching as my heartbeat gets faster.
Damn it, Ray! We told ourselves that we'd stop doing this! I can't get scared. Not now.
I slap myself in the face with both hands, one on each side, snapping myself out of it. "I'm good, Mr. Eun-ji. Let's go inside." I reply.
We walk inside the large industrial tower. The interior is quite mundane. Two elevators and some stairs in between them. In front of the means to go up is a front desk with a woman behind it. Mr. Eun-ji takes my hand, briskly taking me to the elevator. He offers a wave to the woman before pressing the elevator button marked "50".
It's a long, silent elevator ride, no music like I'm used to with the lair elevator. A part of me misses that, even though I always told myself that it annoyed me.
When I hear the ding noise signifying that floor fifty has been reached, the thick metal elevator doors open. We walk out, and he leads me into a room. The room is very gaudy, with grey carpet and a large mahogany desk. There sits Paragon, Elementalist, Elizabeth, Elaine, and soon Mr. Eun-ji, who takes a seat across from Paragon.
"So, this is the Parker I've heard so much about. Eh?" Paragon says, being the first one to speak.
"Yeah. I am." I say quietly, looking away as if I were subconsciously using the logic of: "If I can't see him, he can't see me."
Paragon then turns to Mr. Eun-ji and says, "Is he really like you say? Seems kind of meek and unremarkable to me. You sure you know how to pick 'em?"
Hearing him imply my lack of worth set something off in me. Not too sure what it was, the fact that I was being demeaned like old times, or the fact that it was this shit stain doing it, my fear somehow dissipated, and I retorted, glaring at him, "You don't seem too special to me either, number one."
Paragon looks at me with a small smile and a tiny glint in his eye, "Oh? Can you back that up?" He says as he stands up, towering over me.
I look up at him, and I feel a small part of myself get anxious, but I shove it down. "I'm not stupid. I know I can't beat you now." When I say that, his face dulls a bit, looking disinterested. "But no matter how long from now it may be, weeks, months, or even years. I will be the one to replace you as the world's number one. So just keeping waiting at the top for your comuppance." I follow up, a fire burning in me that I haven't felt before, even as Chameleon.
That look from earlier returns to Paragon's face, looking down at me. "Good, looking forward to it." Sensing the tension, Mr. Eun-ji steps in between us. "Paragon, quit antagonizing my apprentice. Get to the purpose of what he's here for." He says.
Paragon looks like he's about to ignore Mr. Eun-ji, but Elementalist glares at him, and he sits down. Elementalist speaks, "Elaine, you're in charge of the GTF. You explain things to Parker."
Elaine, giving me a nasty and suspicious look, begins explaining, "Any hero can pick up an apprentice if they want. But rankers rarely do it. Two other children are under the care of Rankers. They're talented, and they live here in HQ, like most apprentices, as well as higher-ranked heroes and their families do. I am in charge of their general training, which takes place in what we call the General Training Facility, or the GTF. Today, you'll be tested to see if you have that talent too."
Before I can respond, Paragon stands up and begins walking out. "C'mon, I'm getting bored, let's get on with it.
Everyone, including me, follows him. We all walk down the drab, grey concrete stairs and enter the door that says "25". It opens up to a large arena. And standing there…
Shit. It's Bayani and Kara.
Kara immediately points at me and shouts, "Peter?!"
Mr. Eun-ji's jaw drops, and he shouts at me, "Ra- Parker! You told her your damn name was Peter?!"
Paragon laughs at that, and Kara looks pissed that I lied about my name. I bet she'd be pissed if she learned that Parker wasn't my real name either.
"Well, she was annoying, and I wasn't exactly planning on seeing her again." I retort with a huff.
"Out of all the childish and idiotic-" Mr. Eun-ji starts before getting interrupted by Elaine, "Your test is a spar against those two. You aren't expected to win, just show what you can do."
Kara raises her hand, and Elaine motions to her, and Kara begins to speak, "I have a request. Parker and I had an… Altercation in the street. Neither of us used powers. So I want a solo rematch."
"Hah, you're salty that I laid you out flat on the concrete in one hit!" I comment.
"Oh, it was a cheap shot and you know it!" Kara shouts back at me.
Elaine interrupts us before we can bicker further, "Cut it out, you two! Kara, sure, we can make it a one-on-one battle. When I blow the whistle, you both-" Not even waiting for the whistle, we both get into a fighting stance, rushing at one another immediately. I can only use Mr. Eun-ji's power here since I'm "Parker," but hopefully it will do.
She swings first with her right fist, but I duck under and counter with a sweeping kick. She jumps over it, and I see a large, metal, and sharp needle-like object appearing and extending toward me, fast. I barely dodge it, and it grazes my arm.
Is this her power? I mean, it has to be. I probably should've anticipated something metal-related, she is Ironhide's biological niece after all.
Not giving me reprieve, she slams her leg down in an axe kick. I roll to the side and attempt to hit a spinning back kick when she lands. But the moment the tip of her toes touches the ground, she puts her arms up in a guard and minimizes the damage from my hit.
I jump back and put up a guard of my own, but she lunges forward, going for a roundhouse kick. But instead of trying to hit me lower, below my guard, she moves her leg between my arms. That's dumb, doing that mid-kick lets me grab her leg because that should make her lose momentum and make the kick too light to hurt-
WHAM!
The kick still hits full force and causes me to stagger to the side a bit. That freak! What kind of body does she have for that move to make logical sense?!
"Not bad, not bad at all. How about we up the tempo, huh? Try and keep up." Kara says with a smirk. Suddenly moving two times as fast as she was. About the speed that Ironhide was going when I first learned his power on the fly in that parking garage. Something that the current me can keep up with.
"Good, glad we can keep up with one another while going all out!" She shouts, her smirk still remaining, she's smiling like this is so fun to her. Even though she was so pissed off in our initial encounter earlier today. What changed?
Moving at a higher speed, an exchange of blows ensues. She starts by throwing a left hook, and I let myself fall to the ground to avoid it, landing on my left hand. Three of those metal needle-like things appear and extend towards me at breakneck speeds. I use my left hand to propel myself up to narrowly avoid them hitting me dead on; they graze me instead. I use my momentum to wrap my legs around her neck, then land back on my hands on the ground. I swung myself backwards and landed on my feet, leaving her on the ground and me above her. I stomp her face, as one of those needle-like things pierces me from behind before disappearing.
We've both taken an equal amount of damage in this fight so far. She kicks her legs up to slide out from under me and hooks her left leg around mine in the process. Moving herself up with her right, while taking me down with her left.
Another seemingly impossible maneuver. What is up with her?!
I slowly stand back up, and we both rush back at one another. The battle intensifies, both of us landing an equal number of blows on one another. Kara looks like she's having the time of her life. And now I kind of am sharing a similar feeling. Damn, her attitude towards this is infectious. Fighting her is fun, I guess.
It gets to the point where we're both equally battered up. I feel blood dripping out of my nose. "Hah! Bleeding are we?" She says, mockingly, before blood starts dripping out of her nose too, causing her to blush and cover her face with her hands. "Yeah, WE are." I retort.
We both soon rush back at each other, my fist close to her throat as five of her needle-like things appear from all sides of me. Before either attack could land, Elaine blew her whistle, a signal to stop. But Kara launched her needles anyway, as my fist made contact with her throat, she staggered back a bit, and I started bleeding from being stabbed by her needle-like things a few times. Before we can start engaging each other once again, Elaine jumps in and holds Kara back, as Mr. Eun-ji holds me back, the two of them pulling Kara and me away from one another.
"I blew the whistle. That meant stop!" Elaine shouts at us. Kara looked away with a sheepish look on her face, as I instinctively felt a similar expression plastered on mine.
"Sorry, Elaine, but c'mon! How many times am I gonna fight someone my age that's as strong as I am?" Kara retorts. Elaine doesn't even say anything; she gives a mild disapproving look before shaking her head at her.
Elaine then turns her attention to me. "Looking that way and acting as you do. It disturbs me." She says.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I ask her.
Elaine just gives a "Tch" noise and walks away, Elizabeth following her, patting her on the back, and they both exit the room.
Paragon walks over to me. "So, how about moving in here on the floor that Kara and Bayani are on?"
Mr. Eun-ji interjects, "Not too sure if his mother would appreciate that. She's the overprotective type, you see."
Paragon ignores his statement and says, "I'll talk to her then, she won't say no to me. Nobody does."
"No need. I will," I reply. Getting out my phone and calling Miss Claire, she's my hypothetical mom in this situation. When she picks up, I say: "Hey, Mom. It's Parker. I just got offered by Paragon, the number one hero, to move into the WWSHA HQ for tons of benefits, including a great training program there alongside other people my age. It's because I'm Mr. Eun-ji's apprentice." I say, hoping she'll say no. She knows most of my current predicament, so I assume she will, no way she'd-
"Sure, sounds good to me, go ahead and get some suitcases and move in." She says, interrupting my train of thought.
…
WHAT?!
"Have fun, kiddo. Hope you make some friends. Please keep calling me daily, okay?" She says, following up.
"Uhh, yeah, will do," I say with utter bewilderment on her face as she hangs up. She seriously said yes?
I turn to Paragon and stammer a bit before saying. "S-She said yes. I'll move in tonight and-"
Mr. Eun-ji starts walking out, probably trying not to laugh, now knowing that Miss Claire was perfectly fine with it, he's now okay finding this situation hilarious. "I'll handle packing and getting your stuff. You have fun here." He says, most definitely trying not to laugh. Jerk.
Kara beams at this and turns to me, saying: "You get situated and meet me and Bayani at 6:00 PM right outside HQ, don't be late!"
She runs off, saying to Bayani something like: "Finally, someone our age who is my equal!" While Bayani chuckles a bit and goes, "Yeah, yeah. Chill out. You sure forgive and forget easily."
The pair exits the arena and walks down the stairs.
Paragon turns to Elementalist, who has been watching this entire thing with the same stoic look on her face. "Hey, can you show the kid to his room?" Paragon asks her. Elementalist just nods and motions for me to follow her. We enter the elevator and she presses the button marked "68". The elevator ride is really silent and awkward for the first minute, before she turns to me and says, "How did it start, this apprenticeship?" She says plainly. No kind of inflection to it. It's sort of monotonous and dead.
"Mr. Eun-ji saved my life. He recognized my talent and then took me under his wing. Teaching me a lot about what he knows about his own power to apply it to mine, which is very similar to his." I explain, being relatively vague, but clear enough to avoid suspicion anyway.
"Ah, I see." She responds. I can't exactly tell what she thought of my response. But it will have to do. As the elevator dings and the door opens. We step out, and she guides me through a long hallway, taking me down to the very end. "This door on the left will be your room. I will take my leave, you get comfortable," she says, handing me a keycard before she walks away.
I swipe myself into the room and enter it. It has white walls and brown hardwood flooring. The room is quite nicely sized, having a bathroom, a closet with a dresser inside, a twin-sized bed, a hamper, and a desk on the left side of the wall.
I could get used to living here until Miss Claire returns. I walk over and lie down on the bed. The mattress is very soft and cushy, and I feel myself sink a bit.
Kara wanted me to meet her and Bayani outside of HQ at 6:00. I have a feeling that no isn't really an answer here. I have three hours until then, so I suppose I can relax here. I feel myself drifting to sleep. I really want to nap, so I will.
Later, I wake up to a knock at my door. I look at my phone and it reads "5:00." I slowly roll out of bed, rubbing my eyes. When I'm on my feet, I walk over to the door and open it. It's Mr. Eun-ji, carrying three suitcases. "Claire gave me a whole list of things to pack for you. I got them all. You can unpack yourself, right?" He asks.
"Yeah, I can do that. Thanks." I say, taking the suitcases from him and closing the door. I throw the suitcases on my bed and open them. I see an assortment of my clothes, my normal outfits of black sweatpants and different solid colored t-shirts, the cyan scarf I got for my birthday, alongside my favorite shirt, a white t-shirt that reads "BEST IN THE WORLD" on it. I see various other necessities, like my brown hair dye, my Chameleon outfit, and some general toiletries.
I begin to file them away, putting my clothes in my new closet, hiding my cloak in there. I put my mask under the mattress to hide it. I put my brown hair dye next to the bathroom sink, and sort my toiletries into different spots in the bathroom. Pulling out my phone and looking at the clock on it, it reads "5:45". I probably should get ready.
I walk over to my closet. I remove my current clothing and toss them haphazardly into the hamper. I grab a random pair of black sweatpants from my dresser, put them on, and put on a solid color blue t-shirt as well. Exiting the room and walking into the hallway toward the elevator, I bump into Paragon. "Ah, Parker! Just who I was looking for!" he greets me.
"Can I help you?" I reply.
"Here, take this," he says as he hands me a blue card. I put it in my pocket as he further began to explain. "Bayani and Kara have one too. You three kids get paid for various things like: completing missions, gaining progress in training, and catching villains. This card is where the money goes. For your performance in the spar with Kara, I gave you $200."
I don't reply verbally, I simply nod in acknowledgement.
Paragon walks past me, patting me on the back. "Don't spend it all at once!" he shouts back at me as he waves. Entering the room to the right, about five doors down from my room.
I ignore that and continue to the elevator, putting the card in my pocket.
I enter the elevator and tap the button that says "LOBBY". As I ride the elevator down, my thoughts drift to Kara. She annoys the hell out of me. She's so petty…
I let out a sigh as I mutter, "I'm the same damn way."
Is it nice to have someone my age at a similar level to me? Maybe. I wonder how the fight would go if I used my full kit. I mean, even though I won the fight against Ironhide, there were outside factors contributing to that.
I am not on that level.
Interrupting that train of thought, the elevator stops, and the doors open. I exit the elevator doors, walking past the receptionist's desk and exiting the doors. I see Kara and Bayani waiting for me. Kara is leaning on the wall outside, while Bayani is sitting on the concrete in front of her.
As I look at them, Miss Claire's words from a while back ring in my ears. "Make some friends, kiddo, it'll do you some good."
Ugh, why am I thinking about this now? Can I really get along with them?