Seven Steps to Becoming a Superhero

T

The empty gymnasium transformed once every student had been cleared out of the space. Only Zack, Rachel and Dirk Saber remained. The teacher gave Zack a pitiful gaze.

“It’s still not too late to back out,” he said.

“I’m doing this,” Zack said. He glanced at the Knightbrand armor, hovering high above the proceedings, recording Dirk’s every move. He needed to see Dirk fight. Only a handful of people could best his father in hand-to-hand combat, much less pierce the Knightbrand armor with a Omegium blade.

He would get the evidence he needed to prove Dirk’s murder of his father. And then he would take him down.

He just needed to last a few minutes in close-quarters combat. That should give him enough footage to analyze.

Rachel, for her part, barely spoke to him. Zack couldn’t blame her. Their last encounter hadn’t ended well and now this.

But damn…she looks good.

She wore a form-fitting white shirt along with yoga pants, highlighting an athletic build graced with generous curves. Zack didn’t think Rachel could get any more beautiful since junior prom.

He was wrong.

“First strike wins,” she said, without looking in his direction.

Dirk Saber bowed, extending the top of his chest downward. Zack repeated the gesture before raising his fists.

“Begin,” Rachel said in a neutral tone.

Saber surged towards Zack with two blows he barely managed to dodge. Retaliating, Zack moved forward and laid out two light jabs at Saber, who merely twirled around him with the grace of a ballroom dancer. Seconds later, Saer rushed back on the attack.

Three minutes? I’ll be lucky if I last three seconds in this fight.

Zack knew he had to go on the offense. Saber was too fast, too strong and too smart. Sooner or later he’d outmaneuver Zack, ending the fight altogether.

Rachel is watching. Use it.

Channeling every bit of his pride, he threw a long punch towards Saber’s midsection. Saber ducked the incoming blow, grabbing his arm in the process. Saber turned his profile towards Zack as he used his momentum against him, heaving him over his shoulder as Zack fell forward through the air.

Briefly airborne, Zack went limp. It’s the first thing a sidekick learns. He knew to keep his calm in midair, and more importantly, he learned how to land without taking damage. Zack let himself fall to the mat, before twisting about, throwing a low kick at Saber, forcing his opponent to leap back.

Regaining his footing, Zack pressed his offensive. Saber clearly expected the hip toss to disorient him, leaving him vulnerable for the final blow. That wasn’t happening. With Saber on his back foot, Zack used his advantage to spin up enough momentum to launch a roundhouse kick, using every bit of martial arts training his father had bestowed to him.

His right foot spun through the air, careening towards Saber’s sternum. His opponent quickly raised both hands and crossed them together, blocking the blow. By the time Zack landed, he lost any semblance of an advantage as Saber launched blow after blow. Zach dodged them both, falling onto his back-foot once more.

Glancing over his shoulder, Zack saw the edge of the mat coming way too soon. That had been Saber’s intention all along, trying to spend more distance until Zack had none left to maneuver. He estimated he had only a handful of yards left before he fell off of the mat, and out of bounds altogether.

Saber launched a long kick towards Zack’s midsection. The blow alone would be enough to knock him on his ass. Dodging was no longer an option either. At best, he would gain only a temporary retreat, setting up Saber for another, more devastating attack. At worst, he’d lose his footing, toppling off the mat in a humiliating defeat.

Had it been three minutes yet?

Not likely. The entire fight had barely transpired in a minute. He needed more footage to run through the AI analytics.

He needed to stay in the fight.

Backed into a corner, Zack raised his hands and clasped them together, imitating the block Saber had used against him moments ago. Saber’s foot bounced off of his hands. He felt the shock waves pummel through his hands. It hurt like hell, but it stopped him from losing any ground.

Zack launched two medium blows towards Saber, trying to regain his lost momentum. He made two quick jabs at Saber, as he charged forward, intent to retake the mat. Both fell flat as Saber ducked over one and responded with another, more powerful stroke of his fist. Desperate not to retreat or lose any further ground, Zack responded with the same block he had managed to replicate earlier, draining Saber of all momentum.

Saber’s nostrils blared, and in his eyes Zack saw something new. Surprise? Frustration? Anger? He couldn’t be sure, but something was definitely there.

Taking advantage of his opponent’s mental processing, Zack tried to knee Saber in the thigh. The attack, while out of left field, did little to move Saber back nor landing a winning blow. Instead, Saber responded by adding all his might to another dancer twirl, transitioning into a brutal haymaker Zack feared would have clocked him in the side of the head.

Panicked, Zack raised his hands, clasped together and blocked the incoming attack with the just-learned blocking motion. As he repeated the motion for a third time, he saw something else in Saber’s eyes.

Recognition.

Of what? Zack couldn’t be sure. He was just glad he was still in the fight.

Taking advantage of his opponent’s position, Zack laid two medium blows at Saber’s side, but the older fighter swatted them both aside as if they were little more than insects - all without breaking a sweat. In fact, the entire time, Saber didn’t look to be exerting himself at all physically. He was barely tired, despite being at least twenty years Zack’s senior.

He’s been toying with me, this whole damn time.

Drawing about that anger, Zack barreled forward towards his opponent. He would end this fight. He would prove himself worthy of Rachel. And most of all, he would wipe that smug look of Saber’s face. Then, once he had confirmed his suspicions, he would summon the Knightbrand armor and this fight would go very differently.

For now, he just needed to stay in the fight a little longer. Who knew? Maybe he’d even come out on top.

Saber back-stepped backwards, his body already twisted as he began to pivot. Zack recognized the signs of an incoming roundhouse kick, very similar to the one he had performed earlier. Steadying his feet, he braced himself as he prepared for the incoming attack. Extending his arms, he prepared to replicate yet another block despite the small nagging thought itching the back of his mind.

Why could Saber, an accomplished fighter, resort to such a familiar attack on Zack, even after he himself had blocked it with relative ease?

His eyes caught out on to his mind several seconds too late, as Saber’s feet never left the ground despite all signs otherwise. Instead, he pressed forward, grabbing Zack’s forearms. His hands, still locked in their blocking position, were useless to resist.

This wasn’t an attack. This was a feign - and one Zack had fallen for perfectly.

Using all the force of his body, Saber bent his body with a grunt and then launched Zack over his shoulder a second time. This was no simple hip toss, however. The angle was far more sharp, the gravity far less forgiving.

When Zack slammed against the mat, he felt his wind exiting his stomach as if his body was a juice box crushed in the hands of a merciless toddler. Before Zack could even reclaim his breath, Saber’s left foot slapped his stomach with one final indignity.

“Point,” he distantly heard Rachel call. “Game set and match.”

Everything else was a blur. Zack writhed on the mat for an extra couple seconds before returning to his feet.

“Class dismissed,” Saber said. Zack found Saber staring for a few more seconds before the teacher abruptly stormed out of the classroom.

He offered no comments about Zack’s performance. He simply just…left.

Must have pinched a nerve, Zack thought. Maybe his investigation really was bearing fruit.

Then Zack became aware Saber hadn’t been the only other person with eyes on him. He looked over to see Rachel staring at him with a mixture of too many emotions to place.

Disappointment. Anger. Pity. Sadness. And something else. And probably another emotion beyond that.

Ultimately, she simply shook her head and walked away, leaving Zack alone in the class.

On the wall, Zack spotted two blades. In the light, Zack could spot the faintest sign of a glow on the shiny metal.

Omegium.

Zack remembered the blades well. He examined their erratic and jagged shape, like streaks of lightning cast into metal. Zack found one lodged into his father’s stomach seconds before he died.

Everything pointed to Dirk Saber as the killer. And yet…he still needed more evidence.

Zack looked up beyond the ceiling window to see the Knightbrand suit, still hovering above in standby. Only now a cackle of fliers were taking tones posing with the silent hero, all while they took turns snapping selfies of the damn armor.

This was a good first day. He had engaged with Dirk Saber, even if the form of interrogation proved unorthodox, it yielded some fruit given Saber’s reaction. By his accounts, his investigation was going swimmingly.

Zack’s personal life, on the other hand, was in ruins. He kept thinking of how little Rachel cared as she walked away from him.

Can you blame her? You turning up here without so much as a word?

Everything she said last night was true. He did deserve all that was coming to him.

But Zack couldn’t think about that now. Not when he was so close to finding the truth.