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powmanok · 6 years

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One

The sweat burned in his eyes as he lay in the mud. The antagonizing sun was merciless. His clothes were stained with the sweat of his hard earned lead. But as he looked up at the grand statue of Sayvior, Austin realized that he couldn’t stop here. The only reason he had the privilege to be alive today was due to the sacrifice that Sayvior, the greatest hero of the superhero age, made for the good of PowManok.The statue almost seemed to look down upon him, instilling Austin with a guilty feeling. Heroes don’t quit. Time to gut it out.

It took all his might but he was not about to quit here. Austin knew he must finish this race. As he rose to his feet, he had a new drive. The adrenaline was pumping. And with that new motivation, Austin started running. Ahead he saw the high wall. A straight forward sprint up the wall could get him up top. But then he noticed the sides.

With some quick hops Austin was up the wall and going. A quick look back and no one in sight.

“Good,” thought Austin. He was in the lead and if he could just hold on to this lead, he would be a shoo in for the top cadet in his class.

The rope bridge was easy. After years of free running all across PowManok, Austin was pretty good at the hard stuff, and this was a breeze. Next was the ladder and monkey bars, and again Austin found his way with some ease. The upcoming net looked tough though, reminding him of his old game system and all the cords. Tangled in a knot that was not worth the organizing. But as he passed the statue of Kunoichi, the famed deadly female ninja, it gave him a thought. She was nimble, like he. Surely he could take his scrawny frame and with some skilled navigating, finesse his way through the web of wire.

Upon getting close he dive headfirst into the mess, making even better time than he thought getting past it.

Another glance back, no one in sight.

“I got this,” he thought.

Final stretch. A quick sprint and a long high jump and he would be champion. And with a full sprint he grabbed the pole and put his all into one final thrust. The moments in the air felt completely natural to Austin. As he flew thru the air, he noticed the stern yet protective face of Captain Pilgrim looking toward him. For some reason, on this day, it seemed to Austin like even he was proud of such a valiant effort.

As he fell down to the finish, he felt like a true hero, like his Dad. Finally, after taking a quick rest, Austin slowly pulled himself to his feet, awaiting the celebration. But he looked up to see... disappointment.

There stood Saul. With the platinum trophy held over his head. Austin came in second. How? He trained, practiced this course. Followed all the instructions. Watched the videos. Studied the superheroes advice. How could he not have done the best?

Austin sulked over to take his second place trophy. Even though he felt salty, at least he had the written portion of the exam ready. He was sure a perfect score was on the way in that, at least. Nobody in the Kingdom of PowManok could touch his encyclopedic knowledge of the Hero’s Bible. He knew it practically word for word. And yet he beat himself up a little inside. Even though they were just statues, Austin felt like he let them down.

Akira came up third with a light jog. He never seemed to take any of this seriously. If he only applied himself then maybe he could be better than third place.

The announcements didn’t even help him to feel better. As they broadcast the results by loudspeaker it seemed like the whole arena echoed the words “second place” in Austin’s ears. Like it just bounced off the wall. As he looked up at the titanic statues all around of the superhero legends, he felt all of a sudden less than.

“Don’t take it so hard, it’s only the beginning of your hero’s journey.”

Austin turned his head to see Akira’s optimistic face looking up at him. Maybe Akira was just trying to cheer him up. But what could he have to say of importance? Akira never took anything seriously, of course he’d be okay with a subpar performance.

Still, a true hero is still courteous. So Austin responded with the tact and encouragement that a hero in training should.

“No matter what the obstacle, a cadet is not here to make excuses, but to remove them. I will be fine, I just need to try harder, that’s all.”

Akira just looked at him. He seemed clueless to Austin. Always lost in a dream world. Then he turned to Saul.

Saul always seemed like he didn’t want to be there in the first place. How could he lose to someone like that? It’s such a waste of good genetics, Austin thought.

Just then, an loud cheer rang through the arena. Austin turned to see what the fuss was about, curious.

In walked Captain Pilgrim, the last remaining original Siege member. As he grabbed a microphone, Austin grabbed a front row seat, ready to feed off every word.

“Attention, young cadets.” Captain Pilgrim’s veteran voice reeked of confidence and pride. His uniform shined in the light from the sunroof, showing each battle scar and every tear from war.

“This is the first step to being one of the official peacekeepers of The Isle of PowManok. Every step you take, and with every ounce of energy you have in you, and every brain cell rattling around in your heads needs to be dedicated to the safety and order of this nation. Crime doesn’t want to follow order. Crime doesn’t want things to be safe. The evildoers of society aren’t worried about unity, or a system. What they want it to succeed the easy way. They are a cowardly lot. They don’t want to put in the work. They don’t want to sacrifice for the greater good. They don’t want the hard working citizens to feel safe, they want them in fear and servitude. They come filled with hatred and anger. And that’s why at the end of the day, WE ALWAYS WIN!!”

A rousing cheer filled the air from the crowd.

“Let me tell you guys a story,” Pilgrim continued. “Evolution favors the order that allows us all to live free. In the past, there were many countries on many lands called continents. And over time the old society let their guard down and let the the few greedy ones take over. They brought war, and enforced their will on the general public. While the common man slept, they corrupted the world and turned the law into their own private armies. Then evolution fixed the balance, granting intelligence and gifts to those with the power to change the world. But it was too late. Nuclear war swept the land. Those heroes, found that instead of taking on one city at a time, that unity was the key to their strength. And so the Siege was born. Sayvior, granted with more powers than you could even comprehend. Kunoichi, a nimble tactician with deadly accuracy and precision. The Doc, with the intelligence of a thousand men. And the Strongman, Mule; able to hold a building on his mighty shoulders. And finally myself, Captain Pilgrim with a virtue as great as my physical prowess. Together we helped found a safe land. This Isle of PowManok, where a hard working citizen can feel protected and earn a good living the old fashioned Ameri-, I mean, the old fashioned traditional way.”

As the crowd roared with approval, a steady rumbling silenced them. What was that? Suddenly, a crash broke the silence as a tank broke thru the wall, knocking the Captain to the floor.

A lone person climbed upon the top with a megaphone.

“What’s up sheep!” He said loudly. “My name is Samson. We are the Vermillionaires. Everything that man told you is nothing more than a shallow lie! This facade will end soon, and the mask will be ripped off! You are the best soldiers in all the land. Make your choice now, we will take over from this sham of a monarchy and reveal all its dirty little secrets to the public! You have one week, and then if you aren’t for us you are against us. Join the rebellion, or watch progress pass you by! The clock is ticking. And here is a sample of what we can do.”

And with that, the tank shot a ear shattering blast directly at Captain Pilgrim who was just rising to his feet. Being the hero he is, he flipped out of the way.

“That the best you got, terrorist?” He shouted.

Samson replied, calmly.

“No.”

Captain Pilgrim looked up to see his statue tipping in his direction. Within seconds, he was buried under the rubble of his giant image as it crashed down upon him.

“See? Look how feeble the old guard has become! You have one week to make your choice. We’re done here. For now.”

As the tank rolled out, the cadets ran over to clear the rubble off the fallen hero.

This could be the first real battle he faces. Samson and the Vermillionaires are a very real threat. What would a hero do? This is what he trained for his whole life. It’s time for action. But first, he needed a plan. This is messed up, but maybe it could be the thing that makes him the best hero cadet. It was time to make moves. Samson was going down.

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