It’s a busy late August morning in Queens. The street is once again packed with cars, and people are going around doing their daily schedule. Kaden is waiting for a bus at the bus stop, along with other people.

Some minutes pass, and the bus arrives. Kaden is among the first to board it.

Inside the bus, the driver asks for tickets from the passengers. “Where to, kid?” The driver refers to Kaden.

“The Academy of Heroes in Manhattan.” Kaden answers promptly.

The bus goes into the traffic. It takes a bit, but the bus arrives on time in Manhattan, where the New York branch of The Academy of Heroes is located. Kaden is in awe of the futuristic-looking building. He walks towards the doors in front of him and stops right before stepping in.

“Well... here goes.” Kaden opens the doors and steps inside.

Stepping into the main hall of the academy, Kaden sees loads of teenagers with powers, from all kinds of ethnicities. The hall is big, stairs can be seen going to different directions, and there’s a huge window in the back, where the morning sun is shining from.

“Whoa…” Kaden looks around himself. The teenagers are trying to use their powers; they’re flying around and showing off their powers to everyone else.

“This is... even more amazing than I imagined!” Kaden is in awe once again. He is so concentrated on his surrounding that he isn’t looking where he’s going.

At the same time, a clumsy-looking girl is running through the crowd from the opposite direction from where Kaden’s coming from, huffing and puffing…

Kaden, not seeing in front of him, crashes into the running girl. “Whoaaaaaaaaaagh!” Both of them yell as they fall on the floor, flat on their butts.

The two are now groaning and scratching the back of their heads. Kaden then notices his “assailant” is a girl with long, dark blond hair, wearing a light blue shirt, a black skirt, stockings and a brown backpack.

“Oh...! I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t notice you!” Kaden apologizes, his cheeks slightly flush.

The girl, Dulcea, lifts her gaze towards him. Kaden’s blush becomes a bit more red. She then makes a distressed face.

“Aaaaaagh! I did it again, didn’t I? I’m soooooo sorryyyy!” Dulcea begs for forgiveness as if she’s about to cry.

“H-Hey, it’s okay. I wasn’t looking where I was going, so–” Kaden tries to calm her, but then Dulcea looks at the time from her smartphone.

“Oh no! It’s already that much? I don’t want to be late! Again, I’m so sorry.” Dulcea quickly apologizes again and leaves.

“Hey, wait up!” Kaden tries to call out to the girl, but she’s already far away.

“What was that all about? Is she a student here? She was... kinda cute, actually…” Kaden thinks to himself, his cheeks flush once again.

Then, a man in a red, white and blue superhero uniform comes behind Kaden as he watches after the girl. “Kaden Sunders?”

Kaden turns around. “H-Huh? Yeah, that’s me, but–” He gasps at what he sees behind him. “You’re...!” Kaden recognizes the rugged, uniformed man as Captain Patriotic, a famous superhero.

“Yeah. Would you please follow me? The gathering of the new students is about to start.” The good Captain politely asks Kaden.

“Uh... yes, of course!” Kaden follows Cap to the hall where the gathering is being held.

A LITTLE LATER…

The new students have gathered into the ceremony hall to be welcomed into the academy. Kaden is among them, as is Dulcea, the girl he bumped into earlier. “Come on, start already.” One of students-to-be in the crowd says impatiently.

This black-haired guy, Richard, is wearing a brown jacket, white shirt and jeans. “I’ve been waiting for like, twenty minutes.” Richard sighs in frustration.

“This better be worth it... though the lady department is looking quite nice.” Richard says changing his tune suddenly when he spots a girl with long, brown hair wearing a white t-shirt and denim shorts, checking out her ‘features’. The girl is with another guy with blond hair wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.

“Heyyyy, this place is looking lively. Helloooo, New York!” The girl shouts loudly.

“Please don’t shout. You’re embarrassing everyone here.” The guy next to her remarks.

The girl, Sarah, makes pouts at her twin brother, Johnny, has her fists upon her shoulders and slams the floor with her feet repeatedly. “Oh, come on, Johnny! Aren’t you eager to know what this city is all about?”

“No, if you keep announcing it to the whole world.” Johnny answers bluntly.

“Oh, you don’t have to be such a killjoy all the time, Johnny-Boy.” Sarah says, teasing her brother with an embarrassing nickname.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that!” Johnny rages at his sister.

Sarah makes a smug smile at her brother. Somewhat nearby from them, a silver-haired guy, Cyrus, wearing a dark green pullover, black pants and glasses, iss staring at the stage of the hall with a worried expression on his face.

“The atmosphere is pressuring... I wonder if this was such a good idea in the end…” Cyrus gulps nervously.

Several teachers are watching the students from backstage. One of the teachers, Karen Malina, is peeking through a curtain. “I have to say, this is a lot more than I was expecting this year.”

“That’s how the world is changing, Karen. Seems now that there are going to be more and more superhumans every year.” The uniformed man from earlier tells her.

“It sure seems like it. So, is this everyone?” Karen asks.

“Should be. Some of them were a bit lost, but I helped them to get here.” Cap assures her.

“Ah, it’s good to know that the mighty Stephen Reeves is still a guider of the weak, even outside superhero work.” Karen compliments the man snarkily.

“I always appreciate compliments, ma’am.” Reeves smiles and takes the compliment.

Karen sighs lightly and looks at her watch. “Right... now if only our Mr. Presenter would show up…”

Then, as if on cue, the door to the backstage slams open. In comes Toby Strong, a brown-haired bearded man in a suit, munching the last bites of a bun/bagel/pretzel.

“Sorry, I’m late. Had to go by the cafeteria, the pastries there are absolutely delicious.” Toby says while munching. “But now that I’m here, let’s get this presentation started.”

Toby gulps down the pastry and turns to Karen. “And may I just say that you look absolutely wonderful today.”

“Oh? I thought you were married. Do you flatter women like that when Ms. Cupps is around too?” Karen questions, bringing up Toby’s wife.

“And that’s my cue to get on the stage.” Toby excuses himself and steps onto the stairs leading up to the stage. He walks up to see a sea of youngsters, talking excitedly and making quite a bit of noise.

Kaden notices who is coming to the stage and gasps lightly. “Th-That’s...!”

Toby clears his throat into the microphone to get the students’ attention. The ruckus in the hall soon halts completely.

“...Oh. For a second there, I thought that didn’t work.” Toby says, mildly surprised. “But anyway... good morning... noon... actually, what time is it?” He then quickly glances at his watch.

“Five past twelve…” Toby mumbles, after which he claps his hands and rubs them together. “So, without further ado, let’s finally start.”

“My name is... actually, do I... really need to do the introduction?” Toby remarks. “You guys know who I am, right? Toby Strong? That name ring any bells? Probably does, doesn’t it? Oh, I saw you giggling there. Is something funny? Something funny on my face? Maybe?”

The students let out a light laughter. Toby is walking back and forth on the stage.

“Well, might as well do it the proper way, gotta be all formal here, after all. So yes, as I mentioned, I am, in fact, Toby Strong. A billionaire, playboy, philanthropist... Steel Ranger... but most importantly, I’m here today as your teacher.” Toby ‘humbly’ introduces himself. “So some of you might be wondering exactly what the hell is even going on, since, y’know, first day of school, always a bit tough to get used to.”

Toby walks back to the center of the stage, whipping out a remote from his pocket. “Now, this doesn’t necessarily apply to all of you guys, but I can only imagine the surprise you must have felt when one morning, you woke up with superpowers.”

“I mean, I have never gone through something like that; my “powers” are much different from the majority of you here. Now, you are nearly all carrying the not-so-magical supergene; aka, you pretty much won the genetic lottery. Or maybe didn’t want these powers. In that case, I guess it sucks to be you!” Toby explains. The teens laugh for a bit again.

“...But for real, though... you guys... are something special.” Toby compliments the crowd. “Right now, only less than 10%, give or take, of the entire world’s population carry the gene. Some... may never even wake to these powers. But you have. You’ve gained something beautiful, spectacular... and extremely dangerous.”

The entire hall pauses for a moment. Toby puts on his serious face. “The truth is that none of you can truly control those powers. As you are now, one wrong move, intentional or not... is a question of life and death, for you yourselves and/or someone else. Every one of these powers have the potential to hurt people. To kill people. And you need to control it.”

“But, oh so lucky for you, that’s what we’re here for.” Toby loosens up as he presses a button on the remote, revealing several hologram screens, depicting the superheroes trained at the academy.

“The Academy of Heroes is a training place, a safe house and – as the name implies – an academy for all young, superpowered individuals.” Toby explains. “It’s your powers that have given you this opportunity. So all we ask in return... is that if you want to use this great power for something, use it for something that matters. Because with great power, there must also come great responsibility. And if you choose so... you can fill that responsibility by serving the people you care for. When you know how to control these powers, you can protect them. You can stand up to anything that threatens your loved ones. These powers are that awesome.”

Once again, the hall is quiet. Kaden’s eyes are shining, and his mouth opens slightly as he admires the holograms.

“Of course, we’re not forcing anyone to choose the path of a hero. It’s a tough path, one that comes with hardships and pain. Which is why, after this presentation, I ask all those wanting to participate in the hero course stay in this hall. You all will be interviewed by us teachers. The rest of you will be directed to other premises for the time being.” Toby speaks with teacher-like mannerisms. “Any questions so far?”

The hall stays silent for a moment. “Seems we’re good. Now I’ll be explaining the structure of your studies here at the academy.” Toby continues, and holograms change from heroic deeds to two course descriptions.

“We technically operate like a high school, but the minimum age we take to the academy is 16. So if you’re any younger than that, sorry, you’ll have to wait a couple of years before applying to the superhero course. We don’t call ourselves a high school though, we also have elements from colleges and universities. Don’t ask why, I don’t know the specifics. I didn’t come up with this.” Toby tells the crowd, who chuckle a little bit.

“Now, to explain the structure itself. We have two main courses: mandatory and superhero.” Toby brings one of the screens closer to him and enlarges it.

“Mandatory course is for everyone here, and it mainly focuses on how to control your power and also on the specifics of the superhuman identity that is very good to know. Basically, it’s school. Completing the course in its entirety should take around 3 years.” Toby says about the mandatory course, and then brings up the other screen while casting aside the other.

“Superhero course on the other hand, takes about 3-5 years to complete. Obviously it’s a lot chunkier, containing the mandatory course’s studies as well as the superhero studies. But by the time you graduate, all of you are no longer minors and can work as heroes independently. As for the course itself, it includes the necessities to know on field work as a superhero.” Toby then puts aside the other hologram as well.

“And... that’s it for the courses. Obviously there’s a lot more than that, but we’ll get into the specifics later. All you need to know is that you’re in good hands here.” Toby proudly exclaims.

The presentation continues. Toby explains more about the academy and its rules. Meanwhile, the students are whispering and thinking among themselves.

“Do you really think these guys have it under control here?” Johnny whisper to Sarah.

“I mean, they wouldn’t be the teachers at the school if they wouldn’t.” Sarah assumes, and whispers back to her brother.

Meanwhile near the twins, Cyrus has an unsure expression on his face. “There sure are a lot of people here... can I really stand out?”

Richard, who is also near the twins, is checking out Sarah. He isn’t all that worried, unlike Cyrus.

“Mm-mm, those are some nice curves she’s got.” Richard thinks to himself.

Kaden and Dulcea are somewhere else within the crowd of students. Toby is still talking.

“Can I really do this? Is this... really what I’m meant to do?” Dulcea worries in her mind.

Elsewhere, Kaden is only more and more convinced about his career path. “Alright! My journey as a hero starts here!”

The presentation goes on for some while, and as it ends, the mandatory course students start leaving the hall. Despite this, there are still plenty of students applying for the superhero course.