I make it through the rest of the week grinding my teeth every ten minutes, having to listen to one stupid rumor after another about the new sidekick, Wormy. Yeah, Wormy.

Overhearing asinine comments about where my powers derive from or reasons why I’m even a sidekick in the Justice Alliance, as if I’m some charity case they took pity on, is driving me crazy. But finally—finally—my first week of high school is in the books, and now all I have to do is make it through my Saturday training session.

“Well look who it is?” are the first words I hear, and cringe. The smugness in the voice is from one Daniel O’Neil.

Daniel is the sidekick Hydro, who can control and manipulate water. He can actually do some pretty amazing things, using it to glide through the air, pulling water out of the atmosphere to attack, or create barriers to defend himself and others.

A short buzzcut barely shows any of his black hair. His light brown eyes glare at me. Already in his uniform, his mahogany arms are bare, but they’re usually covered in a coating of blue water when he’s powered up. I heard a lot about him from Mimic when I was going through training protocols. He’s been Supron’s sidekick for two years, and everyone thinks highly of him. However, he’s been nothing but a nagging, apathetic co-worker with me, treating me like I’m a child when he’s only one year older than me.

“Leave him alone,” Melissa comes to my defense. 

I should be happy, but it makes me feel worse having her stick up for me. 

Melissa is Ms. Majestic’s sidekick, and also her niece. Both of them are from the planet Kratoa, which is filled with incredible, Amazonian-type women who are imbued with remarkable powers. She’s been Majestic’s sidekicks for two years and is also a year older than me.

Her uniform is similar to her aunt’s. It has silver shin and forearm guards, black leather pants, with a dark brown leather skirt over her pants, and a chest plate made of the same silver as her wrist guards. Like her aunt, she wears a sort of tiara crown over her forehead, but there’s a mask attached to it, so it comes down over her eyes and nose, concealing her identity. She looks like she could be a warrior in a King Arthur movie. Oh, and she’s incredibly pretty.

Blue eyes that sparkle in the sun—that’s not a cliché, they actually sparkle. Something about her DNA from Kratoa. Light brown hair that comes down to her shoulders, and cute, full lips. Yeah, in school, she’d definitely be one of the hot girls. Not that I know any of them, especially after hiding from everyone this past week. Her superpowers are flight and super strength, and her code name is Mighty Miss.

“Is he your boyfriend or something?” Daniel spits out.

I turn toward Melissa, rolling my eyes, about to tell her to not even bother, but catch her looking away. Is she blushing? It’s gone in an instant, and she crosses her arms.

“No, but you remember what it was like when we first joined as sidekicks. I seem to recall you getting bombarded by the Spyders, and getting so scared you exploded every fire hydrant in a two-mile radius.”

My eyes pop open, and I point at Daniel, laughing.

“Shut up, Mighty, I wasn’t scared. I was just caught off guard.”

“My point is,” she continues after she stops giggling, “we all make mistakes. As sidekicks, we’re still learning, and even when we become superheroes, we’re still going to make mistakes. We aren’t perfect.”

Daniel gives her an ignoring wave. “Whatever.” He points at me. “Even if you didn’t mean to leave the fight, you left yourself open and susceptible to an attack. It nearly cost you your life. What if it was one of us out there, Worm? We wouldn’t have been able to teleport and run away like you.”

“I already apologized to everyone in the Alliance, Daniel. What more do you want from me?”

“Don’t use my name! What’s wrong with you?”

As part of our training, we’re always supposed to refer to everyone by our code names. It’s supposed to form a habit, so we never slip up and reveal someone’s identity later on. 

“Sorry,” I say, completely unapologetic.

“Right. You are sorry, Worm. Even a sorry code name.”

He’s taken shots since my training started. I’m not sure why, but something about me seems to rub him the wrong way, which in turn, irks me. But I’ve had it. After the week I’ve had to put up with at school, I explode.

“Screw you, Hydro! You know exactly why my code name is Worm. Or are you too stupid to remember that people can’t actually teleport without traveling through wormholes?”

Melissa seems a little taken aback, but Daniel stares at me, his expression one of disbelief. Like he can’t believe a rookie sidekick dares to talk back to him.

Melissa quickly jumps between us. “Okay, let’s just calm down, guys.”

“No, this kid thinks he can come in here and—”

“Kid? You’re one year older than me!”

“Whatever! You think you have what it to take to make it as a superhero? Do you actually understand the opportunity you got, being Mimic’s sidekick? He’s legendary, and not only in King City but throughout the world. I’d be ashamed if you were assigned as my sidekick.”

My blood’s boiling, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear there’s steam coming out of my ears.

Quickly teleporting behind him, I grab him by the shoulders. Teleporting us about ten feet high, I drop him out of the air, while I land on the ground safely. He hits the ground with a hard thud.

“Worm!” Melissa reprimands me.

“You’re gonna pay for that one,” Daniel says, getting to his feet.

“Oh yeah? Let’s take this to the crisis room and settle it then.”

“Done.” He turns around and walks to the door. “Hydro. Fifty-Seven Eighteen,” he says, looking into a small camera. A red laser comes out from a hidden panel and scans his eye.

“No! You guys, no. You can’t do this,” Melissa argues, but it’s no use.

“He needs to learn a lesson,” Daniel says, the red laser disappearing, and the door slides open.

The crisis room is a training and logistics area. It’s completely integrated with an artificial intelligence system, neurological and biological weaponry, and augmented reality mapping screens for planning missions. It’s used for everything from training sidekicks to planning defense formations against rogue alien attacks. We haven’t had one of those in decades though.

“You’re the one that’s gonna be taught a lesson,” I yell back.

“Worm, you don’t want to do this.” Melissa pulls my arm. “Who cares, okay? If Supron or Mimic find out you two are doing this, you guys are going to be in serious trouble.”

“He should’ve thought about that before he dropped me on my face,” Daniel spits out.

The A.I. in the room begins to come alive. Large blocks start forming out from the floor and walls. The room can read our brain waves, so it’s already programming for a practice duel, which is standard for training. This isn’t a training session though.

“Aw, Daniel—excuse me—Hydro,” I say sarcastically. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you out and keep everyone safe. Everyone knows that honker of a nose will probably kill someone some day.”

“Shut up, Worm!” he yells.

I’m definitely getting under his skin, which benefits me. Seeing him get more and more upset is releasing some of my own anger. Now all I have to do is take advantage.

Melissa steps in front of me, putting her hand on the star of my chest. “Robbie, please. Don’t do this. If you guys get caught, who knows when your next mission will be.”

She has a point. I know she’s serious because she’s using my real name. I won’t get released from being a sidekick if they catch us battling, at least, I’m ninety-nine percent sure I won’t. I’d most likely deal with certain reprimands like clean-up duty or assisting Doc in the lab for the next few months. But I have to do this.

Daniel’s already powered up; his dark skin hidden under a layer of blue water. He might be older than me, and he might have more experience than me, but I know I can take him. And I want to prove that. I want to finally prove I’m not some worthless sidekick, but that I can hold my own.

“Thanks, Mel,” I say, putting my hands on her waist. Teleporting us away, I land on the side of the room, pushing her off to the side. “But I can do this.” Teleporting back in front of Daniel, I crack my knuckles. “You ready?”

He doesn’t reply. Instead, he splashes me right in the face, dousing me with what feels like gallons of water, knocking me down to the ground. Grimacing, I teleport behind him, but he’s expecting it. He spins around, nailing me with a swift kick to my stomach. Hunched over, I gasp for air.

“Oh man, you’re so lame!” He laughs, running off to the side.

Jumping onto a ledge formed by the room, he throws his hands in the air, summoning more water, then hurls a massive stream of it directly at me.

“Watch out!” Melissa yells, and I teleport away just in time. 

He jumps onto another ledge, and my bearings are starting to come back. Trying to sneak up on him is out of the question. I need a new tactic. 

I teleport to a ledge in front of him, and he throws more water at me, but I teleport across the room. If I can get him to chase me, I might eventually get the upper hand. Teleporting again, he throws another attack, but it misses. Trying to anticipate where I’m going to jump next, he starts moving, and now he’s on the chase. Perfect.

Daniel starts unloading more and more water, each attack missing, as I jump to another spot in the room. I hear him let out a grunt of frustration. Each blast of water sends drops and mist into the air, and it’s starting to feel like a rain forest. Jumping to another ledge, I leap to the ground. He misses with another attack, and this time I teleport directly behind him. Instead of hitting or slapping him, I playfully tap his shoulder and teleport away. He spins around, trying to backhand me, but gets nothing but air.

“Stop running and stand still!” he screams in frustration.

Teleporting behind a huge block so he can’t see me, I yell back, “And why would I do that? You got me good on that first shot, even if you did cheat!”

“This is a fight, Worm. Now get out and face me!”

I glance around the corner to check if he sees me but nearly get blasted with more water. Sticking to the same game plan, I continue to jump from one spot to another.

He jumps high, trying to take the high ground and hurls water from above, unloading what seems like a torrential stream. I jump out of the way just in time, as it crashes to the ground. He yells out in anger again, and I jump to a block that’s directly in below him. Kneeling down, I touch the water that floats on the ground and know this is going to do the trick.

Whatever I teleport, I have to be touching it. And since I’m touching just some of the water, that means I’m touching all of it that’s on the ground. 

Focusing, I teleport every single drop I can and splash it directly on top of him. A massive boom sounds as the water drops out of the air, crashing onto him, raining all around me. 

A loud thud echoes in the room, and Daniel drops to the ground, coughing. The block he was on is at least ten feet in the air, and he cringes in pain. Running over to him, I slide on my knees and grab his uniform. Touching my fingers to the water on the ground again, I stare at him, daring him to move so I can douse him once more.

He stares back up at me, and I can tell he’s seriously pissed off. I wait for a split-second, not sure if he’s going to yield or try and break free. 

The A.I. in the room comes alive. Daniel’s enraged sneer and my fed-up gaze both shoot over to the door, as the A.I.’s voice states, “Crisis room training override. Ordered by Alliance member, Supron.”

Supron, Ms. Majestic, and Mr. Mimic all stand in front of the door, arms crossed, with aggravated expressions.

“Is there something you want to tell us?” Mimic asks.

Majestic takes Melissa away, Supron does the same to Daniel, and I’m left to follow Mimic as he gives me a stern talking to about working as a team. It’s one I’ve heard numerous times over the summer. 

“Believe me, Worm,” he continues, “you don’t think there have been times in the past where we’ve all got mad at one another? But we don’t fight it out. We don’t all get along, but we do trust each other. That trust can’t happen if we start fighting every time one of us says something stupid or offensive.”

Arriving in the control room, he leans against a desk with a computer screen monitoring over a section of the city. I take a deep breath, and shake my head, staring down at the ground. 

“I understand what you’re saying, but still. He treats me like a child. Constantly ridiculing my code name, and now with this mission? He makes it seem like I’m incompetent.”

He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, part of that is my fault.” 

“Ugh,” I groan, embarrassingly. “Please, don’t say that. Please don’t say you don’t think I was ready to be out there.”

“No, you are ready, Robbie. Your training over the summer has gone great. You’ve progressed better and faster than almost any sidekick we’ve had in the last few years. You’re just as good as Mighty or Hydro. But still, that mission was intense. You were ready for it, but I should’ve kept my eye on you a bit more. Just because you’re ready doesn’t mean you can’t get blindsided. That goes for any of us, whether we’re sidekick or superhero.”

I let out a chuckle. “Mighty was saying the same thing before the fight. That we aren’t perfect.”

“She’s right, we’re not. Bad things can happen. Sometimes, with all of our powers, we forget that. I did out there on that mission, and I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Mason,” I call him by his real name.

Sometimes I get annoyed by his strict watch of the rules. And sure, every once in a while, I make fun of him for being the ultimate boy scout in the Alliance. But he’s a good man, and he’s been a good mentor. I’m reminded of Hydro’s last infuriating comment.

“You’re not …” I pause, trying to get the words out. “You’re not … embarrassed of me, are you? I mean, because of what happened, and how it’s all over the news and everything?”

He lets out a light laugh. “Robbie, did you not hear anything I just said? We all make mistakes.”

“I know, but … still. I looked like a complete moron in that video.”

“Yeah, you did.” My gaze locks on his, completely surprised at his agreement. “But we all look like morons from time to time. For the record, no, I’m not embarrassed by you. You’re a fantastic sidekick. And I’m looking forward to the next mission we have, where I can publicly announce you to the world as my sidekick.”

A grateful smile hits my lips. 

“I think your fight with Hydro was enough training for today. Go change into your civvies and get out of here.” He ruffles my hair.

Usually, I’d be embarrassed by that, even with it just being the two of us, but not today. I’m smiling ear to ear, knowing he trusts me and is ready for when I get announced as his sidekick.

*

The entire High School Sidekick saga will eventually be published here. But if you can’t wait, the entire series it available on ebook retailers now at books2read.com/freshmansidekick