The Piedmont Atlantic Hero Association

The Piedmont Atlantic Hero Association. or P.A.H.A, is a nationally sponsored crime-fighting non governmental organization. A professional association for Heroes that provides training, administrative support and funding.

Headquartered in Atlanta with education facilities in Charlotte. Research Development and Logistics are in Raleigh-Durham. And there are field offices in most cities.

The Atlanta and Charlotte field offices are very active. It is well known to the Hero and villain communities that Charlotte is a training city. Many Heroes in Charlotte are students.

The current president of the P.A.H.A is Doug Avalanche.

Felicity walked into the kitchen. The surgical dressing over her appendix clung to her skin under the tee shirt. She ran her tongue over her gums where the wisdom teeth had been. That healed, but she couldn't eat solid food for the first few days.

The dentist had placed Felicity on a soft food diet after surgery. A soft diet for Advanced Humans included cake mix, whey protein, and eggs; blended in one bowl. It also allowed lard and butter as needed. They still had a few boxes of mix to get through. Karol smiled as she stirred batter for pancakes.

"How are you feeling?" Karol said.

"Hungry," Felicity said.

"Try these," Karol said, and placed a tall pancake stack before Felicity.

The first bite missed the lightness of the pancakes her Mother made. The whey protein and whole-grain flour ruined the texture. Felicity sighed. She poured syrup over the stack and dropped a stick of butter on top. It seemed like all she did was eat. In that first month, pizza was the quickest way to get calories. Now the smell of it would turn her stomach.

Superpowers seem to ruin everything, Felicity thought.

"Could you get more eggs out of the ice box?" Karol said.

"Sure," Felicity said. John Fisher walked by carrying a box out to the garage.

"Dear. That goes in the back of the attic," Karol said.

"I know," John said, stepping out into the garage. He had already pulled the car out to get the folding step ladder up. Felicity opened the refrigerator. She reached in without thinking, and the egg carton crumpled under her fingers.

"Great," Felicity said, setting the ruined carton on the counter.

"You're going to get stronger," Karol said.

"I know," Felicity said.

And poured the broken eggs into a mug of coffee and picked out the shells. She whisked in heavy cream. With a sprinkle of nutmeg, she drank it down.

"That's disgusting…." Karol said.

A CRACK came from the garage. Felicity ran for the door with a lightness she could never remember having before. Her father dangled from the ceiling, holding on to the attic frame; his legs failed. The step ladder had kicked out from under his feet. She didn’t think only acted. Felicity got under him lift his feet. Her hands clamped down on his ankles, like a vice. She held him.

"Whoa! Hold on!" John said.

"I got you," Felicity said. Her breathing became heavy, but her strength was there.

"Grab my belt. I'll let go," John said.

As Felicity grabbed his belt, John let go of the frame.

She held his weight for a moment. The two hundred pounds felt manageable.

"Wow," Felicity said. Karol watched from the door.

"Put me down," John said. Felicity lowered him to the floor. She had started to shake and broke out in a sweat.

"Are you Ok?" Karol said.

"I'll be fine," John said. Felicity bent over, her heart racing.

John sat on the floor for a minute. He looked at Felicity. She tried to laugh.

"You should become a Hero," John said.

"I want to be in a band, not a Hero," Felicity said.

"I didn't want to take stuff up to the attic. But here we are," John said as he stood, “Go finish your lunch.”

July 2020.

Rudy Powers shook John Fisher's hand as he left.

"I'll see you at school, Felicity," Rudy said. The large man walked down the driveway to a waiting sheriff's car. The car rocked as he got inside. The home visit had gone well.

"He seems nice," Karol said.

"I looked him up. He’s being polite. They send that boy after trouble," John said.

"I have to start in August? That sucks," Felicity said, looking at the school schedule.

"We’ve been working all summer," Karol said, pointing to herself and John.

Felicity checked her phone, there was an hour until her second lunch, and no one had tried to call today.

"I'll be in my room."

Felicity lay on her bed; she looked down at the appendix dressing. Nothing got in the way of the view. She pulled the bandage off. The appendix scar had healed, the same with her wisdom teeth.

I gained eighty-five pounds in two months and have nothing to show. And it's not stopping, Felicity thought.

Rudy couldn't even bring a girl from the school for the home visit. "They scatter in summer, to go back home. And you're the only local girl," Rudy had said.

Felicity wanted to talk to someone about the school. She had done internet searches all summer to learn something about Mecklenburg Academy. The school's existence wasn't secret, but its location and students were. Pictures of young Heroes were rare or old, and the media seldom mentioned them in a story. And it wasn't here but all the Hero schools in the United States. A few websites that followed the local Heroes had fuzzy pictures of yellow and black blobs. There were pictures from the mid-nineties, but after that, it became a black hole.

She found information about the National Squad, the official U.S. Hero team. They had news articles come out every day. And Rudy Powers was a regional Hero. The most powerful Baseline in the Piedmont Atlantic Hero Association. He was 28 years old, a Sheriff's Deputy, with an Unlimited Hero License. And Rudy was the school's field Supervisor.

What stories she did find were about advanced child abductions, trafficking, and organ harvesting. Baseline organs were resilient and seldom rejected after transplanting. And the time to get them was now before she became too dense. There were stories of children with energy-based powers that manifested. Elemental forces that ran out of control.

She needed to talk with someone. This isolation was the longest time she had gone without talking with Colby. It had been almost two months. The boredom was too much. Felicity couldn't speak to her friends and hadn't been to church.

"Screw it," Felicity said and dialed Colby's number.

"Colby?" Felicity said.

"Flick. Where have you been?" Colby said.

"Are you at home?" Felicity said.

"What happened to you?" Colby said. She turned off the television.

"The doctors. I had procedures done over the last month," Felicity said.

"Did you get hurt? Everyone at church misses you. They keep asking questions. What's wrong?" Colby said.

"You have to keep this quiet," Felicity said.

"Your pregnant?" Colby said. She walked back to her room.

"No. A kid would be better. I'm an advanced human," Felicity said.

"Advanced? What can you do?" Colby said.

"Strength, speed, and invulnerability, they said I'm a Baseline," Felicity said.

"Baselines are rare in girls," Colby said.

"That's what everyone keeps saying. Children's Services gave me a huge packet of forms to fill out. And I'll have to change schools," Felicity said.

Colby gasped for breath on the other side of the phone. The silence lasted a moment.

"Isn't it a foster care system for advanced children?" Colby said.

"More like a boarding school. There are 30 advanced girls at the school. The rest are children of the regional Heroes without powers and a few girls without the D.N.A. You'd need high grades to get in. They keep it quiet for security," Felicity said.

"Are the stories of the disappearances true? Colby said.

"About half go missing. I need to get into this school system," Felicity said.

"Half?" Colby said.

"Children's Services said going into the Advanced Clinic is enough," Felicity said.

"That's terrible," Colby said.

"Next to this, what I'm worried about sounds petty. I have to eat so much food I'm sick of it. My speed and strength are increasing. It's got my timing off, and I've broken two mallets on my Glockenspiel. I'm afraid to play the congas. I'll never unwind like this," Felicity said.

"You have to relearn some instruments?" Colby said.

"It's not like I'm in a wheelchair. I've lost things I never knew I wanted," Felicity said.

"Lost?" Colby said.

"I’m not going to finish school with you or the band. I don’t even know if college is an option any more or any of the freedom I looked forward to having. The Doctor has me on the pill," Felicity said.

"What? Wait! Do you have a boyfriend?" Colby said.

"You sound like mom. No. The surgeon had a hard time getting my appendix out. We skipped getting my tubes tied," Felicity said.

"Why get that done?" Colby said.

"I'd have a miscarriage. Blood pressure goes up with invulnerability," Felicity said.

"I'm sorry. I never thought," Colby said.

"I know. Now it's gone. I could be a lot worse off. I have these powers but my options keep getting taken away. It's becoming to much," Felicity said.

"Flick, God has a plan, and I'll be here for you," Colby said.