[ WP ] Every aspiring superhero must become a sidekick for a few years before being granted full time hero status . You are the strongest superhero in your age group , but believe you have been assigned to the weakest hero . You learn a lot more than you originally thought you would .

He was a fairly attractive man, at least he looked that way though the haze of the café. Libra was at least six feet tall, sported a more-salt-than-pepper haircut, and he had slim, muscular build, despite what the ill-fitting suit looked like. Even from across the room, I could see his nicked ear, proof that he was a hero once. But according to his files, he hadn ’ t been one for a long time. His last confirmed save was before I was even born. I don ’ t know why the Hero ’ s Guild even lets him retain membership, let alone take on sidekicks. 
 
 I flip through the stack of papers from his file, searching for, I don ’ t know, something. I don ’ t even care if he notices me. We ’ re supposed to meet in two hours, when I ’ ll be officially on duty with him, but I ’ ve been watching him all day, hoping that the files were somehow wrong. His strength, speed, durability, all of his stats, average. Mediocre. No rescues in 22 years, no villains or anti-heroes taken down, nothing. When I saw his power was listed as “ Special typing ”, I had some hope. That was, until he got mugged this morning. Gave the guy his wallet and everything! If I didn ’ t want to be in the Hall so bad, I would have dropped this training program and become a vigilante. Those guys are pretty popular right now. “ You ’ ve got ta be kidding, this is stupid. ” I mumbled, my thoughts spilling into words. 
 
 “ Ulthor, is it? May I take this seat? ” Even with my acute senses, I didn ’ t even realize that Libra stood by my table. Probably because he was so unremarkable that I just completely tuned him out. 
 
 “ Sure, it ’ s all yours. ” I tried putting all the papers away before he could see, but even someone like him had time to figure out that they were all of his files from the Guild. “ I was just getting ready for tonight. I guess you know I ’ m assigned to you. ” Libra had this knowing smile on his face that was already pissing me off. He ’ d caught me red-handed, studying him, disappointed I was stuck with him, and yet he was wearing a stupid grin. 
 
 “ Well, Ulthor, let ’ s not lie to each other. Let ’ s be frank. You would prefer that, wouldn ’ t you? ” He leaned forward onto the table, hands clasped together in front of him, still smiling just enough to annoy me. “ You ’ ve been looking into me, and I ’ ve been looking into you. You ’ re quite talented. I won ’ t deny that. ” Of course I am. I ’ m the best hero the Academy has seen in years. “ You ’ re no doubt the strongest hero the Academy has seen in a decade. ” I hate this guy. He is so slow. I ’ m so used to thinking quickly and being two steps ahead that I don ’ t even remember how to move at Libra ’ s speed. Which is, I guess, normal person speed. Human speed. “ You performed excellently in all scenarios given to you at the Academy, which is no surprise since you were five years old for your first save! Color me impressed. ” Color me regretful. 
 
 Libra finally stopped smiling, settling on a quizzical look. “ I can see on your face that you dislike me. You feel like you ’ ve made a mistake choosing me for your mentor after learning about me. Is this true? ” 
 
 “ I don ’ t know if I ’ d call it a mistake, I just… ” Thank heavens I can think as quickly as I do, or else this would have been an awkward pause. Oops, too late, it got awkward. “ I just don ’ t know how you ’ re going to teach me to be a hero, is all. ” And there it was, his smile was back. 
 
 “ Is your goal to make it into the Hall, Ulthor? Is that why you want to be a hero? ” A waitress came by and dropped off some steaming coffee for Libra, who thanked her quickly, and they exchanged smiles. I ’ d have to get used to this. 
 
 “ Well, I want to save people. I want to make the world a better place. ” My mentor raised an eyebrow, blowing into the cup. Right, be frank. “ And yes, I want to get into the Hall. ” 
 
 Libra sipped the coffee and got out his checkbook. “ You chose me because I have the most heroes immortalized. Peggy, Royce, Lee, Sue... ” 
 “ …Ellipse, Dangeroyce, Ever-Steel, Faye. And Veir, Dan the Incredible, Hercules… ” I cut in, naming them by their Hero names, plus a few more I remembered. 
 
 “ Yeah, the instructors at the Academy told me to come to you for my sidekick phase. Why? ” 
 
 He signed the check for the coffee and waved bye to the staff in back, who all smiled and waved back. “ I have a different perspective than most other heroes, I think. So I propose this. Come with me for the rest of the day, see what I have to offer, and you can decide if you want me to train you. Tonight, if you feel you have nothing to learn from me, I ’ ll write your recommendation for Hero status. You no doubt have the ability to save people from a burning building, and enough wit to keep you alive a few years. ” He held out a hand. “ Do you agree? ” 
 
 “ Sounds like a deal. ” I shook his hand, smiling for the first time since I met him, amazed at my luck. Sidekick for less than a day? I was halfway to the Hall already. 
 
 **A.N. ** I'm not one of those established writers in the sub, so I probably should n't be doing a story that takes more than one post, but who reads this far down anyways? 

