[ 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 .

Thorn frowned at the slim, short man standing before him. 
 
 The man was old, skin brown and wrinkled, eyes tired and weary. His hair, what little he had, was graying. A short unkempt beard clung to his face, nearly covering a wide smile. 
 
 `` You're my new student?'' He asked. 
 
 *Obviously, * Thorn thought to himself. *But why assign* me *to* you*? Why not The Fist, Blackblade, or even Smoke? Who are you? * 
 
 `` Yes, sir.'' He said aloud. The man's smile somehow grew. 
 
 `` Good!' The man turned and moved quickly to the door, opening it and taking one step out before turning. `` Are n't you coming?'' 
 
 Before he could reply, Thorn saw the door close and he hurried to catch up. 
 
 He opened the door and saw the man a surprising distance to the left. He began jogging over to him. `` Sir?'' 
 
 `` Yes?'' the man replied, still walking. 
 
 `` What are you?'' 
 
 `` A human.'' The man replied and Thorn thought he could hear some humor in his voice. 
 
 `` Yes,'' Thorn started, `` but I mean, what powers do you posses?'' 
 
 The man stopped suddenly, causing Thorn to pull up short, nearly tripping. 
 
 `` How old are you?'' The man asked. 
 
 `` 16, sir.'' Thorn replied. `` Same age as any sidekick.'' 
 
 `` And your power?'' 
 
 Thorn held back a smirk. `` I'm a master, sir.'' 
 
 He waited for the man's gasp. His look of astonishment. His... anything instead of a nod. 
 
 `` I see,'' the man replied. `` A Master. All twelve powers. Greater sum then the parts, and so on.'' 
 
 Thorn found himself staring at the man with his mouth open. No one had ever responded to him being a Master with such *boredom*. That could only mean... 
 
 Thorn laughed out loud. `` You're a Master as well? I thought they would n't find one willing to take on-'' 
 
 `` I'm powerless.'' The man interrupted him. 
 
 Thorn blinked. 
 
 `` Nothing to say?'' The man asked, turning to face a nearby building. 
 
 `` Are you joking, sir?'' Thorn asked, stepping up to the man to face him once again. 
 
 `` No.'' 
 
 `` But I'm your sidekick?'' Thorn barely kept the disdain from his voice. 
 
 `` That's what you *heroes* so often forget.'' The man stepped forward to a barley clothed homeless man with no shoes and got onto one knee. He pulled a washcloth from his jacket pocket and a bottle of water from a different one. He poured the water on the towel and began washing the man's feet. The homeless man did n't react, probably in a drug-induced haze, Thorn realized. `` You are n't sidekicks in this phase. You're students.'' 
 
 As Thorn watched uncomfortably, ducking his head when people passed, he watched the old man wash the homeless one's feet fully. Then, slowly and with difficulty, the old man took off his shoes and placed them on the homeless man's feet. They seemed a perfect fit. He stood up and smiled at Thorn. 
 
 `` Welcome to the first day of class.'' His eyes seemed to stare deeply into Thorn. `` The first lesson is that even the powerless have power.''
