JETSTREAM: TAKING FLIGHT - Chapter 2 - NicNerdy (original) (raw)

Chapter Text

Winstead Cafe

Maxville, California

2010

Waiting. That was the worst part of being at a coffee shop.

Having only been in business for 4 years, it amazed plenty of Maxville’s citizens that the coffee shop became as popular as it did. It functioned like any Starbucks, just without being owned by a corporation. It was just put together and held with the hopes and dreams of those who started the business. The coffee and pastries on the menu certainly helped to keep the shop operating for as long as it had.

Sitting on the corner of Panabaker Avenue, in the middle of the city, the coffee shop had a line to occupy the sidewalk on Tuesday morning. Plenty of people wore jackets as they waited outside the brown-bricked walls and large twin windows. It would be foolish to not wear warm clothing in November.

Inside of the building, guests entered the warm and loving rustic atmosphere of the cafe. Black pipes could be seen along the brown wooden tiles on the walls. Three integral ceiling lights provided the light for customers to see the options on the chalkboard menu behind the front counter. In front of the counter, customers could sit at the black metal tables with accompanying chairs, leather armchairs close to the windows, and a bright red couch facing a coffee table in front and the flat-screen television mounted on the wall.

If she had time, Josie would be sitting down on those couches. But time was already getting tight for her as it is, so she had to order her coffee and donuts quickly. If things went faster, Josie would not be sweating in the heated room with her brown winter coat wrapped around her. The black fleece tights on her legs provided warmth as well, it would be foolish to have nothing underneath her black skirt which reached above her knees. The same would not be true for her buttoned white shirt that had no sleeves to protect her arms from the chills outside.

While waiting in line, Josie could not help but look at the television. It was turned into the morning “Maxville News”, which had broadcasted about what was occurring in the city at any time.

“And now, we tune into the biggest story released last night by our friends from Metropolis.” The male anchor on the news set directed the transition. “Your turn, Daily Planet.”

The television cut into footage showcasing another news set. A long brown desk in front of a blue background with the iconic globe with the words “Daily Planet” was set behind the desk. Like from what was known of Metropolis, the structuring of the news set was something akin to Art-Deco that the City of Tomorrow was recognized for.

The subjects that the camera was aimed at were two individuals. From what was displayed, the black-haired Caucasian woman on the right wore a purple-sleeved buttoned shirt on her torso, and a pair of white round earrings. Her irises were as purple as the shirt she wore. Her straight black hair was put behind her shoulders, an attempt at trying to look professional.

The man on the right had the opposite idea of how to dress oneself. The Caucasian man wore a bright blue costume complimented by a red cape hanging from his shoulders. On the center of the blue shirt, a insignia was made from an upside-down red triangle surrounding a yellow shield inscribed with a stylized “S”. His black hair was a long, thick comb over with a curl hanging above his blue eyes.

While Josie did not recognize the woman, the man was already the biggest story of the century. Over several months ago, Superman first appeared saving two people in their car that was about to hit a little boy at a skating park, but the “Man of Steel” as the papers called him arrived to catch the car. From what was described by eyewitnesses in the articles that Josie read, Superman took time to make sure that the people in the car, the little boy, and everyone else in the area were unharmed. Without thinking of it, Superman even gave the boy his skateboard that he dropped on the ground in the chaos.

Since then and over the course of seven months, Superman had been operating in Metropolis. Even if it was something that could be done by anyone else like getting a cat down from a tree, Superman refused to stand by. From the photos that were taken at these activities, Superman did it all with a smile on his face.

“I’m glad to be here, Miss Lane.” Superman spoke up with that smile and gave a polite wave.

“I’m sure the world is glad to have you here as well.” Lois stated in a matter-of-fact tone, keeping her expressions composed. “Since you have started your activities in Metropolis, people have been asking so many questions. One of the big questions regarding you is where you come from and why you are here.”

Superman, who softly had his hands on the desk, had his answer. “I come from a far-away planet called Krypton. But I’ve been on Earth my whole life thanks to the pod that saved me from Krypton’s destruction.”

“Given the accent, sounds like you arrived in the United States.” Lois pointed out, holding a pen and writing in her notebook on the desk desk.

“Sounds like somebody is trying to get me to them where I live. But I’m not ready to tell the world just yet.” Superman said with a chuckle, his eyes never taken off of Lois. “As for why I am here in Metropolis, it is because it is one of the biggest cities in the U.S. There are a lot of people who need help, and I am happy to provide it.”

“No money or recognition whatsoever?” Lois said with skepticism, her eyes squinting in comprehension.

“Not at all.” Superman gave a simple answer. “I am just someone raised on Earth who believes that all of us are capable of great things. I grew up on stories with people with abilities like mine who took it upon themselves to use their powers to fight injustice and those who use their powers for the wrong things.”

Hearing that made Josie smile. That was what she wanted for her town and herself. Just a pure simple and good person who does the right thing with their gifts like her own. It worked well enough only seven years ago. With the time she had spent honing her skills alongside what she was blessed with, people seeming to already like the man in the red cape, and something that should be arriving soon, Josie wondered if it was time just yet.

“Next!” The employee at the register yelled out.

The time would have to wait, Josie needed her coffee and donuts. She walked up to the front register and having been at the cafe plenty of times beforehand, she knew what to order.

“Hello,” Josie was polite enough to say to the minimum-wage employee. “I would like a caramel frappe with extra caramel and uh, three glazed donuts.” Growling came from her stomach, she knew without even looking down. “Make that four, please.” She said before pulling out her credit card.

“Sure thing.” The employee said before typing the price into the register.

Once Josie swiped her card, she moved to the left and waited for her order. While waiting, Josie tried to keep calm from her hunger by manifesting thoughts of flying up to the clouds, touching them and passing her hands right through, and flying alongside the birds. Having done it so many times, she can remember the sounds of the bird calls, the ones that did the duck equivalent of gasping in shock.

“Here you go.” The employee announced to the woman who was daydreaming.

Knocked out of her trance, Josie took the bag of donuts and the cup of coffee. If she hurried on her way, she would make it to her job in time. It took a few years of college, but she told herself that the job was worth it. It would all be for nothing if she was late, she could not let that happen.

Still, it did not hurt to take a bite from one of her freshly made glazed donuts. With that single bite, one half of the donut was ripped off and a whirlwind of flavor was spread throughout Josie’s body. It was like eating joy incarnate, the glazed spreading on the dough was a combo that would tingle taste buds.

“Worth it.” Josie smiled after eating half of the donut. Then she had the other half, and the same feeling occurred once more. “Now, on the way to work.”

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Mitchell County High School

One would think that if they came back to school as an adult, everything would be much smaller. For Josie Stronghold, her height was only slightly higher than it was in 2004. Now she was just as tall as the blue lockers she used to walk by everyday as a teenager. No longer occupied by the textbooks, papers, stickers, and the photograph of her dad that she would greet every day.

Once upon a time, she could recognize the students as her classmates. But now, they were complete strangers to her. Where once there were more students chatting with each other, now there are plenty of them looking down at their phones or staring up at the TV sets mounted on the walls, a more recent addition. The fashions of 2004 were more revealing compared to the trends in 2010. The dress codes of the school excluded showing too much skin as everyone needed to cover the majority of their bodies. For many of the teenage girls, what was once a sparkling edge had been replaced with tamed safety, almost restrictive and uncomfortable.

It was what went through Josie’s mind as she made her way through the hallways. Walking at a reasonable pace and making sure to politely pass the students, taking care to not hurt anyone. A few minutes was all that was left, Josie had to make it to where she was going. Right before the bell could ever ring, Josie walked through the doorway and found herself in the room that she wanted to be in.

Sighing in relief, Josie had a smile on her face. “Wow!” She chuckled in amusement. “I’m not actually late.”

The young woman walked past the wooden board with stabled paper on the wall, displaying images of historical figures and the first ten amendments of the United States. She walked over to the desk at the back of the room, one that had everything a teacher would need on a desk.

“You’re right on time,” Mrs. Bryne pointed out as she was looking over the papers on her desk. “Your coffee came out good?”

“Yes,” Josie said as she sat her own backpack down on an empty chair. “I got lucky today.”

Mrs. Bryne stayed focused on her work. The middle-aged woman with brown hair that started turning gray did not dare to mess up her daily routine. She lifted up a nearby textbook and handed it to Josie, who placed it on the thin blue locker used as a bookshelf.

Then the two women jumped when they heard the bell rang throughout the building, followed by the steps of students walking into the classroom. Some students were either dropping their bags without a care, others were gently putting them down. For those who cared, phones were placed into the pocket chart used to store the cellular devices during class.

Two months of working here had made Josie realize what her and her classmates put their teachers through. She mentally wept and apologized for everything that she may have done and those who actively caused trouble. Then got herself out of her mind and began counting all twenty of the students in the room, making sure they matched on the list held on the clipboard she had in her hands.

“Morning, class,” Mrs. Bryne welcomed her students as she got up and passed Josie on the way. She grabbed a remote and walked to the other side of the room and faced her students with a half-smile. “Following up on yesterday, can anyone tell me what we had learned?”

Josie had to resist every urge from raising her hand. Almost like having a dam to hold back the massive water of answers. She may have been the star student in her World History class. But that was then and this was now. She had to let the students answer instead.

“Sparta?” One teenage girl gave her answer after raising her hand.

That did not mean it was painless to watch a student give the wrong answer. Josie winced at the massive error in logic before pulling herself together.

“Incorrect, it was of the Titan known as Atlas,” Mrs. Bryne looked like she could facepalm, but instead pressed the remote to the projector.

On the dry-erase board, an image of the Titan holding the entire Earth on his back was displayed. He cradled the globe with his own hands, his face displaying the great strain he felt. Josie looked around and saw that some students were in awe of the sight before them.

“While we are starting to see so many extraordinary individuals in the past year, I want all of you to look back on the legends and myths throughout our own history.” Mrs. Bryne directed her proteges and saw that some were paying attention. “Myths or reality, there are so many figures who have taught us the greatest ability that we are all capable of, endurance.” She looked over and saw those who were not paying mind to her. “Who can tell me what endurance is?”

A teenage boy with brown hair raised his hand. “The power to handle something difficult without giving up.” He said before yawning.

“Nice answer, Rodney,” Mrs. Bryne looked pleased that someone was listening. Even if the boy sounded tired. “Every day, we do acts of endurance every day of our lives. Think of the first steps you took when you were little. You would fail, but it was not the end for you, you kept moving forward and tried again before you succeeded.”

While Mrs. Bryne was talking, Josie could not resist and looked over to Rodney. Just by looking from his back, it was clear that the 17-year-old boy was exhausted. His curly hair was a little frazzled and sticking up, his hands were wet from sweat, and his clothes were wrinkled from not being well kept. It was enough to make the young woman feel pity for the boy.

Walking over to Rodney, Josie saw the teenage boy in blue clothes had bags underneath his eyes. In her mind, she wondered what he was doing the previous night or maybe even the day before to not get enough sleep. Was he playing video games, hanging out at the roller rink, or going to the movie theater, what kept him up at night?

Josie felt that she had to ask and bent down, putting her hands on her knees. “Rodney, are you alright?”

Sleep-deprivation can do a lot to a person. As is the case when Rodney looks up at Josie, he takes a couple of seconds to look at the teaching assistant, then turned his attention back to the lecture.

“Hey, looks like Rodney and Ms. DeMarco are pen pals!” Another boy in glasses was heard whispering to another student. “Straight-A student still needing a teacher’s help.”

The girl with incorrect answers was next to the whispering boy. “Might as well be pen pals. Maybe she should be sitting with us.” She added with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Her partner replied in agreement. “She looks like she could be a student. Like a little kid trying to be an adult.”

Josie could not take what the students were saying about her. But before she could have an emotional outburst, Josie had to restrain herself from throwing anything at the two troublemakers. If she tried fighting back in the middle of class, the two students would have won. At the very least, she sighed and returned to the back of the classroom.

Luckily, Mrs. Bryne seemed to pay no mind to the near altercation. She was still focused on the lesson. “I want all of you to think about another figure in our history, one who has endured through impossible odds and despite the failures, they managed to succeed. You can find plenty of examples in your textbooks.”

With that task in hand, students began to open the textbooks on their tables. Flipping pages to find that historical figure who has incredible endurance. Josie could not help but look over and see who the students were searching for. There were the obvious ones like the Founding Fathers, the Justice Society in World War 2, and others whose stories were told in the past twenty years.

But as Josie looked over to Rodney, she saw that he was really into it. Flipping through pages like crazy and writing down notes in his journal. The person he settled on was in full display, Vincent Van Gogh. A great artist and a tragic figure to many, a fine subject to cover. Though Josie could not help but notice the tired motions he occasionally made. It was enough to make her feel sorry for the teenage boy.

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THREE CLASSES LATER

“Finally.” Josie declared to herself.

For any teachers and staff members, the teacher’s lounge was a sanctuary in plain view. While the students of the respective periods were having their lunch breaks, the adults could lessen the insanity and give their minds a break and recharge with food, a sit on the couches and chairs, or by watching the flat-screen television which was showing the news.

Finding her spot, Josie took a seat on the left end on the rectangular brown table in the center of the room. Other than her, there were five other teachers in the room, taking advantage of their lunch breaks. Three women and two men, all of them having a moment of relief from the chaos that the students bring.

Josie was lucky enough to find a spot at the table, an empty chair on the middle-left side of the table. Green cushions covered the back and top of the chair, providing comfort to whoever sat on it. But as soon as she sat down, Josie had to feel a vibration. Pulling out her iPhone, she checked what was sent to her.

The text message was highlighted in a gray rectangle. “Your package has arrived.”

Josie failed to hide her smile at the news. Even if the message was plain enough, she knew that the person on the other end was being discreet. She wasted no time and began typing a quick reply.

“I’ll check it when I get home.” The reply was written before being sent.

With that news in her mind now, Josie was more anxious to get home after work. If it was what she had hoped for, then her life was about to change forever. But for now, the young woman in her twenties had to collect papers from students, tidying up the classroom, helping the students understand the teaching material, and the other tasks of a teaching assistant.

“Hey, Josie.” A man’s voice called out.

Sighing in displeasure, Josie swallowed her pride and took a look at the man calling her out. When she graduated college, people thought it was crazy that she wanted to work at the high school she went to, and she laughed off those questions. What she could not believe was the star football player in her years came back to work at the school. Having earned his degree, Tommy Boomer became the teaching assistant in gym class and became the bane of the students’ existence, at least that was what the students said in the hallways.

“Hi, Tommy,” Josie had a slight smile on her face as she watched the gym teacher sit down. She knew what was going to be asked of her. “How are the students in your class?”

The assistant coach placed his baseball cap on the table. “The usual.” He said while pulling out a Tupperware from his bag. “The hard-working ones are hard-working, and the uninterested ones are uninterested, you got some kids who hit the balls into the ceiling and got stuck into the rafters, and you got those who need to stop for their inhalers.”

“To be fair, those kids have asthma.” Josie added in as she was concerned. “You can’t give them a hard time.”

“I know that,” Tommy replied with a hint of annoyance in his tone. “You make it sound like I’m still a bully from when we were their age.” He placed his right hand on the baseball cap. “Look, I get that some people have it rougher than I ever did, you and others told me that I needed help.”

“In any case, I’m glad you did get some help.” Josie stated while thinking about her high school years. It did not feel long ago when she had to save another student from the former bully’s advances. Then a question came to mind. “Is Rodney McClean in your class?”

“Flat brown hair, scrawny, and looks like he hadn’t slept in a while?” Tommy questioned, the look on his face clearly demonstrating that he was searching through his memories. “Yeah, he is in third period.” The fellow teaching assistant answered. “Why, he one of the kids in ya class?”

Josie was glad to hear it. “Yeah, he looked really tired in the first period. Like he barely got any sleep last night.” She shared what she observed. “I thought it might be because he was playing video games too late.”

“See, there you go.” Tommy gave her a nod of approval. He even picked up a nearby cup to toast her.

“But if my job has done anything, it’s giving me the ability to recognize when a student is having issues.” Josie pointed out as she placed her hands on the table. “I know it might not be my business, but I want to help out the students however I can.”

Tommy continued to hold the cup as he listened. “In my opinion, it’s ya choice.” He took a sip, then spat out into the cup. “I grabbed the wrong cup.”

It took a lot of willpower for Josie to hold back her giggling. Even if they had resolved things, it did not hurt for the young woman to laugh at the jock’s mistakes. She took pity and slid down a different cup.

“Thanks,” Tommy was grateful and began to pour a drink from his lunchbox he brought in. “I really should have paid attention.

Josie let out a slight chuckle. “Anyway, you’re right, it is my choice.” She agreed with the man. “I’ll think it over after school. In the meantime, better make the most of our break.”

“How’s Priscilla, by the way?” Tommy brought up right before he ate a tiny muffin from his Tupperware.

Josie was knocked out of her thoughts, turning her attention to the question. “She is fine, handling college pretty well. Working on getting a really good job.”

“Good. Good.” Tommy replied before taking another bite from a muffin.

That was when it occurred to Josie that she forgot to buy herself lunch.

“Better get something from the vending machine.” Josie said under her breath, hoping that nobody heard her.

“This just in,” A reporter on the tv in the lounge began to say. “We had just received satellite footage of an incident in the orbit of our planet.”

On the television screen, the black and star-filled vacuum of space was displayed. But the captured images of one of many orbiting satellites was of greater significance. To the disbelief of everyone in the room, the object in question was not a UFO, but an Earth made space shuttle.

The shuttle’s black-tipped nose and the twin wingspan greatly resembled the Apollo 11 space shuttle. But there were no markings of the United States inscribed. Instead, “Baxter Foundation” was written on the side visible in the footage. Power seemed to only be on reserve.

Then hope came through as a certain Man of Steel emerged to get close to the shuttle. The camera showed Superman carefully grabbing hold of the shuttle, making sure to not rip it in the process. Then he began to move the spacecraft downward, careful to not let go of the shuttle and to not go too fast. The risk of burn on reentry was clearly on his mind.

“The Superman from Metropolis has since left the shuttle to the proper authorities, who promise to release any information as this situation develops.” The news anchor in front of a windowed background spoke out to viewers. “In other news, we have reports on the rumors pertaining around the unprecedented thunderstorms in New Mexico.”

While everyone else was pondering the big news, Josie stood at the back end of the lounge. What was shown on the television had her interest, curious about what would be aboard the shuttle. Moreso, she was amazed that Superman can withstand the lack of oxygen in space.

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LATER THAT DAY

The DeMarco Residence

Even if she had moved out, Josie still found herself coming over to the house she was raised in. The exterior of the house had recently been repainted white again. The tiles on the roof were about as blue as the daytime sky, some leaves blown on by the Autumn wind. The grass was as well-kept as it could be, lawn decorations were placed where they should be, and the cement on the driveway had a few cracks, but nothing too serious.

Getting out of her Toyota Matrix, Josie walked away from the driveway and along the pathway, she entered her childhood home. Entering the front door led the young woman to the living room that was familiar and yet so different. It did not feel so long ago that Josie was just a teenager doing her homework in this very room.

Where once stood a gray boxed television, a flat screen had taken its place in the entertainment center facing the right wall. Alongside the medals and the photograph belonging to her father, there was a photo of teenage Josie in her graduation cap and gown, smiling as she held her diploma. With her were her mom in a white skirted outfit and Priscilla, who wore the same cap and gown as Josie. Josie had her arms around Priscilla as they hugged each other, grateful for where they were at that point in time.

It could be remembered like it was yesterday. After diplomas were given to the students and photos were taken, Josie and Priscilla were celebrating with the rest of their classmates, passing along “good luck” and “you did a great job” to everyone they personally knew. The last one for Josie was Steve Stronghold, who had not spoken to her since the incident with Barron Battle. For the teenage girl, she wanted to say something to him but was afraid to admit what she had done.

“I wonder where you are now?” Josie asked, if anyone could not read her mind, to the picture.

Josie’s reminiscing was interrupted by the footsteps of her mother entering the room. Others might not think so, but the years had been kind to one Mrs. Jennifer DeMarco. She might have some backaches here and there, slight wrinkles on her body, her red hair getting grayer, and needing to wear glasses. None of that stopped this 48-year-old woman from being the best accountant and mom that anyone could ask for.

“Hi, Mom,” Josie walked over to her mom and gave her a hug around the waist. “Today has been good for you?”

“That depends,” Jennifer began to say as she smiled at her daughter. “How was work today?”

The younger woman had to think of something to say. “Hmm. Good.” Josie put a smile on her face.

Jennifer’s face changed to a concerned expression, her eyebrows flattening. “Did something happen, sweetie?” She asked the young woman. She held Josie’s hands and escorted her to the big green couch.

Once she was sat down, Josie knew she had to confess. There was no hiding from her mother. “Well, it’s about this boy in the First Period, Rodney. Great kid, hardworking student, nice to his classmates, and gets really good grades.” She put her hands on her lap. “But today, he looked exhausted. Like he hadn’t slept in two days.”

“I remember when you stayed up all night getting your homework done,” Jennifer recalled, clearly thinking of many incidents.

Josie recalled waking up at the desk in her bedroom, covered by a blanket to comfort her. “But I think he has it worse. After class was over, he struggled to get up from his desk.”

Jennifer looked like she was thinking about what to say. “Maybe he is having a tough time at home. Do you overhear him talking to the others in your class?”

“Like I’ve said, hardworking student.” Josie replied with a dour expression as she tried thinking of any examples. “He hardly ever talks while in class, he wouldn’t even talk to me after I asked him if anything was wrong.” She readjusted her position on the couch and laid her legs flatly on the couch cushion. “I’ll look into things at home when I can.”

Then Jennifier lit up at what Josie had just said. “That reminds me!” She put her hands underneath the coffee table. “Your package arrived!”

From underneath the table, a silver briefcase was pulled out and placed on top. Aside from the edged striped running horizontally, an “X” was circled in the center of the case.

“Your blonde friend in the trench coat dropped it off.” Jennifer mentioned as she straightened the case’s position on the table. “He left as soon as he left this.”

“Probably had to get back to work, his dad doesn’t like him running off.” Josie said with a giggle and the confidence of knowing who her mother was talking about. She always had fun flying with him.

Picking at the locks, Josie was able to excitedly loosen and open the briefcase. Flipping the lid revealed what the briefcase contained, a white spandex suit with yellow accents on the waist and shoulders, a teal cape, and a large silver insignia on the torso area.

But before she could explore the rest of the suit, Josie noticed a small sheet of white paper taped to the symbol. She took the paper off and unfolded it to read what was written.

Josie,

I hope that this final result fits your specifications. I made this suit out of the same materials used for the suits during your training sessions. It is designed to endure extreme g-force, be incredibly tear-resistant, and impenetrable to bullets. Just make sure that your opponents do not aim for your head.

Best of Luck To You, Hank

P.S. Scott, Jean, and the Professor want to give their approval to you as well.

Once she was finished reading the letter out loud, Josie put the sheet of paper to the side. Then when she touched the suit, she immediately felt the protective spandex and rubber texture. One by one, she pulled out the torso piece, a pair of white pants with a yellow waist area, a pair of silver gloves reaching up to the elbows, a matching pair of boots, and the teal cape.

Even Jennifer was unable to resist touching it. She gasped at the texture she felt. “It feels both so heavy, yet light at the same time.”

“Just as I want it to.” Josie confirmed as she admired the outfit. “The symbol looks really good too.”

“What even is it?” Jennifer asked with a questioning but smiling look on her face.

“A wingspan that birds and planes have.” Josie replied as she continued examining the complete outfit. It felt like her life was leading up to this moment. “Priscilla told me that it would look weird without a symbol.” Then she grabbed the entire outfit. “Better check if it fits.”

Jennifer placed her right hand on her daughter’s left arm. “Josie, wait.” She saw that she had her daughter’s attention. “I have been supportive of your decision to train for this, to go to the institute, and even agreed to have this suit brought here.” Jennifer looked like she was tearing up in her eyes. “But you are getting into some dangerous situations. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’m going to be okay, Mom.” Josie gave a reassuring smile, her lips closed together. “I know, I accept whatever comes my way. I’ll be careful.”

With that, Jennifer let out a single tear while letting go of her daughter. “Maybe don’t put the costume on here, people are going to see you when you leave the house.”

“I got that covered.” Josie added in, both jokingly and seriously.

Already having a plan, she walked down the hallway where her childhood room used to be and closed the bathroom door upon entering. From the living room, a hairdryer was heard blowing loudly. The door opened several minutes later, and a completely different person emerged. Josie wore the outfit that was made specifically for her.

Up against her body, the suit felt comfortable as it snuggly fit her. The young woman felt powerful, like she could take on whatever got in her way. The gloves on her hands were tight enough, yet flexible to move her fingers. The boots were easy to move around in and protect her feet. Unexpectedly, the cape did not drag on the floor, not even touching it and only stretching to halfway of her boots. The silver belt settled gorgeously atop the waist piece.

Aside from the removal of her glasses, Josie even took care to let her hair fully curl and rest on her shoulders. On her face, she blushed with excitement anxiety.

Standing across from her daughter, Jennifer stood in awe of what was before her. “How does it feel?”

“Super.” Josie happily said with a slight sigh. She looked down at her gloved hands and made them fists. She followed by pressing against her chest, feeling the spandex making contact with something between it and her body. “This unitard helps make the outfit easier to move in.”

“Good.” Jennifer sounded glad to hear that. “Put on a trench coat before you leave and don’t stay out too late, you have work tomorrow.”

Giggling at her mom’s comment and continuing to blush, Josie felt grateful that her mom still cared for her. “Sure thing, Mom.”

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Downtown Maxville

By 5:30 pm, the sky would be setting as per the changes of Fall. The setting orange would shine on the skyscrapers that the city had standing. Those of which were mainly glass windows, the light shined through and reflected off of the glass, illuminating the ever-approaching darkness of the night. If one was not looking directly at the sun, they would find the sunset mixed with the modern and classic buildings beautiful.

Standing on a rooftop to a financial center, Josie took care to not look at the bright light in the sky. But she was unable to stop herself from staring over the city she was born and raised in. From her vantage point, she surveyed the headlights of cars automatically turning on for the incoming black sky. The young woman hoped that she was high enough to go unseen yet wanted to be seen by those on the ground and in the buildings. This was her moment to reveal herself to the city she loves and to the entire world. Once she took this step, there was no going back.

With all that she was and the resolve in her heart and mind, Josie took the leap of faith.

Jumping off a building would result in an unfortunate outcome for normal people, but not for this woman. Years of training and honing the power she was blessed with gave this freefalling spirit in white all of the confidence she needed. Right before a boom was emitted, she laughed at the face of danger with a smile on her face.

Josie took control of the situation in an instant, soaring past the buildings in the area like a human airplane. The increasing wind against her face was chilling, beating against her hair, and letting the brown curls flap on her head. Her right arm was held back while her left hand was pressed forward, as if she were aiming where to go. Even her cape flapped against the back of her legs, a result of the building strength.

Putting herself into a t-pose, she did a barrel roll before resuming her previous position. After so many years with this power, Josie felt so liberated getting to use it in public. She knew that the power of flight did not define her. It did not mean that it is something to be ashamed of either, embrace it instead.

Josie had to keep her eyes forward, however. Like when she is driving a car, taking her eyes off of the road could result in disaster. Almost flying into a tree when she was a teenager taught her that lesson. That did not mean her ears were closed.

“Come down from there!” The voice of a young girl was heard.

That stopped Josie dead in her surface less tracks. Moving so that her feet were aimed toward the ground, she watched down below. She was close enough to the ground that she could hear and see what was happening on it.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the activity in the city, she tracked where the voice came from. She found her target, a little girl with pigtails in her blonde hair and wearing a purple shirt with blue jeans and her matching mother stood facing one of many trees on the sidewalk.

Wondering what was wrong, Josie lowered herself further to the ground. “Hello.”

Needless to say, the two with their feet on the ground were shocked. Disbelief of the floating woman in the bright outfit left them speechless, staring right at Josie. The mother even took charge and placed her daughter behind her.

Seeing that the two were already afraid of her, Josie knew she had to do something. “It’s alright, I am here to help.” She said while raising her arms in a calming gesture. “What’s wrong?” She gave a reassuring smile.

The little girl pointed at the tree. “My cat, Clay, he won’t come down.”

Turning her head toward the tall tree, Josie did spot one such feline. The cat had black fur on the top of its body and white fur on the lower half, almost like it was wearing white pants. The small cat let out a “meow” as it stood on a branch.

“Oh,” Josie perked up at the sight of the cat before looking back at the little girl. “I can get him!”

Getting closer to the tree, Josie gently put her hands past the leaves. Touching the branches felt different with gloves on. She felt the thickness, but not the bark, rub against her hands. Once she had her hands close enough, she gently grabbed the cat and began to lift him. The cat clutched on tightly to the branch, but eventually let go when Josie made precise motions against his body. Once the cat was secured, Josie moved it out of the tree, hovered down so that her boot-covered feet touched the ground, and gently passed the cat over.

“Wow,” The girl gasped as she took hold of Clay. “Thank you so much!”

“My pleasure.” Josie was relieved to see the girl was happy. She was unable to resist having a smile herself.

The little girl stared at her pet. “Don’t you ever do that again, you silly kitty!” She sternly said before rubbing Clay against her.

The mother, meanwhile, stood as she watched her daughter stand before the young woman. “Who are you?”

The woman in the brightly colored outfit had thought long and hard on the answer in anticipation of this moment. “I’m Jetstream.”

“Thank you, Miss Jetstream!” The little girl said with excitement, holding onto her cat. “Cool costume!”

“Thanks, my friend made it for me.” Jetstream said with a smile and gave Clay some rubbing on his head. Mentally, she cursed the gloves for not letting her feel the fur of a cat.

The mother had more to ask, grateful and concerned all at once. “Are you like Superman?”

“I only wish to help however I can, Ma’am.” Jetstream gave a salute with her right hand against her head. “I wish all of you a good night.”

Just then, Jetstream took a couple of steps and blasted off, leaving a grown woman, her daughter, and a small cat on the ground in absolute wonder. As well as cats can be impressed, anyway.

The incident did not go unnoticed, however. A woman in a brightly colored costume would attract the attention of many bystanders in the area. All of them had watched the actions of Jetstream getting the cat out of the tree, plenty taking pictures with their flip phones.

Once she was high enough in the sky, Jetstream’s mind raced with thoughts on what she had just done. She had exposed herself to regular people, probably had herself caught on camera. In what might be a day later, probably the whole world will know about her. If the cameras did catch her saying her codename, people would know of “Jetstream”.

Jetstream was both nervous and excited to read the paper tomorrow. If there is no crime tonight, it would be relaxing to fly in her new suit, just to be sure. Jetstream leaned forward and began to slowly maneuver past the buildings in the area. It felt great to just truly be herself, unburdened by the worries of being found out, especially as people were now being exposed to the extraordinary.

In her mind, Sheryl Crow’s “Real Gone” played out as she soared. She was the new cat in town thinking she was making history. It was the same song that played her mind when she snuck out of the Xavier Institute at night, making sure that she flew high enough and kept herself concealed to avoid detection. She wanted to make it to the city, but would always get caught by the Professor as soon as she made her way to the nearest town. Charles Xavier told the then-teenager that the world was not ready for people like her just yet.

On this night, it did not matter if people saw her. Onlookers would not see Josie DeMarco flying between skyscrapers and making sure to avoid crashing into them, they would be seeing Jetstream. If she wanted to have a secret identity, she would have to make her two halves as distinct as possible.

Her white outfit clashing against the night sky, Jetstream triumphantly soared above the streets.

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First Bank of Maxville

The Next Day

When Josie was younger, getting out of school after the day was over felt like a reward. As a woman in her twenties, it felt like the work was never over. As a teaching assistant, the young woman was forced to do a lot of paperwork. Whether it was helping to grade papers, implementing lesson plans, noting the progress of classes, or preparing lesson materials, it felt like drowning in an ocean of work. Much like before, getting out of work felt like a reward.

Josie’s reward for her hard work as a teaching assistant was sitting on a rooftop in a white supersuit and a cape on a Tuesday afternoon. On the very edge of the building, Jetstream sat comfortable in her suit, the Fall air at that height brushing her curly hair like a colder version of a hair dryer. Her suit did as it should and kept her warm in the cold, thanks to the fabric of the suit made to handle the elements of supersonic flight.

“Hmm.” Jetstream mumbled as she felt the cold wind hit her face. A small grin formed as she took a small breath.

Ever since graduation, the young woman knew what she wanted for the rest of her life. Being a teacher had been a dream for years. She found it so exciting, the idea of guiding the next generation of students into becoming grad students like herself. It felt so relaxing aside from the occasional troublemaking student. It was one way to make sure that she had a roof over head.

Though getting to be a superhero like the ones she read about while growing up. Jetstream never expected that to happen until she got her powers, the training she needed, and the suit she wore at that moment. If she did nothing with the power she had, it would be a disservice to the people she lived among, her family, those who helped her get to this point, and all that she believed.

If the dynamic aerialist wanted to protect her home, she had to be ready for anything. From what she knew about the Man of Steel, he could see and hear miles away. But for someone whose only power was flight, that made it difficult for Jetstream to know where and when she was going to be needed. While there were the usual drug deals and purse snatching, Jetstream believed Maxville had no large abundance of major crimes.

The cries of panic changed all of that. Tracing where they came from, Jetstream scanned the area on the streets below and found people running away from the bank. The sand-colored building with blue columns was the center of attention as what looked like flickering lights were inside the building.

But to Jetstream, it was plain to see that those were not lights going off and on. Not wasting time, she leaned forward and fell off the edge of the building she was on and was quickly falling to the ground, her power to defy gravity being a great tool to not hit the ground. Like so many times before, she shot forward before taking a turn at the corner. In the span of seconds, she arrived at the bank at an incredible pace and stopped only a few steps away from the bank’s front entrance.

Beneath her, Jetstream spotted a fleeing citizen running from the bank.

Looking up, the man stared at the floating woman. “You’re a super, right?” He yelled in terror. “Get in there!”

Knowing what was right, Jetstream aimed and blasted herself forward once more. Right at the twin glass doors which were already riddled with holes, the blurring woman crashed through the doors, feet-first to prevent any glass landing on her head. As if time had slowed down, she could see the individual shards fly away from her.

Halfway between the white ceiling and the cream-colored floor, Jetstream hovered over what was clearly a bank robbery. She had crashed into an already stressful situation as there were bank employees pulled from the desks and dropped to the floor, last-minute customers lined up against the walls, and most, if not all of them, were crying in terror from what was happening.

The causes of the fear were three men who had covered their faces in ski masks. All of them wore cheap business suits, two of them carrying large duffle bags, and all of them were armed with what was necessary. One of them, clearly the leader, was at the front desk and holding his shotgun at the bank teller.

Looking down, Jetstream knew it was clear that everyone witnessed her arrival as they all stared at her. Just about everyone who was not holding a gun was staring up at the floating woman.

One of the two thugs standing near the hostages, armed with a handgun, had been startled by what he was seeing. “Boss,” He did not take his eyes off of the intruder. “We got a super person here!” He yelled in a panic.

The lead robber turned around to find out his goon was screaming about, getting his answer and gasping. Then he looked like he was gritting his teeth underneath his mask. “Waste her!”

Jetstream shrieked as she flew over to the left.

She used her incredible speed in the air to avoid getting shot by the speeding bullets from the robber’s glocks. The bullets streaked behind her, almost about to hit their target. Without much thinking, she flew down and took cover behind a couch in the bank’s lobby, huddling down to protect herself as much as she could.

“Yeah, Bitch,” One of the goons yelled out in arrogance as he aimed his pistol at the couch. “You should think about not getting involved next time!”

“I thought your types were bulletproof!” His partner laughed for the moment. He took one look at the hostages before he turned and aimed his pistol. “Youse pretty fast though.”

Still holding his shotgun at the bank teller, the lead robber kept his focus. “Keep her and the others from doing anything they’ll regret!” He ordered his goons before he jumped over the front desk. Keeping his finger off of the trigger, he pushed the tell with his gun.

“Got it, Boss,” The arrogant robber responded as he held his gun in the air. He was unable to help himself and pulled the trigger. “Don’t do anything stupid!”

That single gunshot got the hostages to either scream or whimper in fear. Some either held onto each other or forced themselves against the walls.

“That goes for you too, Bitch!” The partner shouted as he aimed his pistol at the couch.

Taking cover behind the couch, Jetstream was panting in her panic. Up until today, she had never fought anyone armed with guns. Ever since training as a teenager, she had thrown punches and kicks against her opponents. Though she knew to not mess with anyone who had guns until she was ready.

The panicking made the young woman think back to when she was a teenager and went up against Barron Battle’s fists that burned with a touch. The heat of the moment matched the heat that came off of Barron’s hands when she fought him. Jetstream could still feel the burns inflicted on her body when Barron touched her. She could still feel the sharp pain that coursed through her, like sitting too close to an active stove.

That was when she recalled needing to save Priscilla and Daniel on that day. How she had to save her best friend and a classmate from somebody who had betrayed everyone. Her drive to push forward was within then, it was within her in the present. With that spark, she ignited a spark that quickly caught fire and burned throughout her body, resuming control.

Jetstream had to think of a plan in an instant if she wanted to save lives. Taking a look to her left, she found a pen, having fallen out of a purse right next to it. She grabbed the writing utensil and threw it to the left side of her cover. At first, She heard a gasp from one of the thugs. Then she heard the bullets shooting at the floor.

Having created her opportunity, Jetstream took advantage and took off on her right. She had her sights set on the ceiling, getting an idea on how to save the hostages and to not get shot.

Just as quickly, the arrogant robber turned around after hearing a whoosh. “What the hell?” He turned around and aimed his pistol at the woman close to the ceiling. “Eat lead!” He pulled the trigger once more.

His partner joined him, missing their target as Jetstream flew around the room with steep turns at every corner of the ceiling. She had to think carefully of her turns and the speed she was going. Too slow and the bullets would strike and possibly pierce her suit before entering her body. Worse case, the bullets would bounce off and hit a hostage. Too fast and she would land into a wall, possibly turning into paste from the broken bones. It was almost tiring, but she kept going until she heard no shots being fired.

“The plan’s working!” Jetstream mentally said to herself, hiding a smile behind a determined expression.

Still not wanting to waste her chance, Jetstream flew down and took note that the dual robbers were reloading their guns. She sped forward in-between the two men before holding her arms into T-position and knocking both to the floor.

But the robbers were not finished yet. The arrogant one pulled out a switchblade from his pocket, swiping it at Jetstream’s right ankle before he got a kick in his face. Grabbing the other robber, Jetstream pulled him from the ground and spun around before throwing him to the side that she hid at only minutes ago.

Hitting a rope pole, the partner fell face-first to the ground, causing a sound that would make anyone groan from feeling the same pain. Then he began to push himself up with both of his hands. “Screw this!” He grunted while getting on his knees. “No money is worth this!”

“Wuss!” The arrogant one yelled to his colleague before yelling as he was pulled from the ground. He looked frightened right as Jetstream looked into his eyes. “What are you going to do to me?”

Jetstream smirked at the robber’s cowardice. “Nothing, I’ll let the police deal with you.”

That was the police sirens were within earshot of everyone inside the building. Sighs of relief were released from the hostages as cars were parked outside. Somebody outside of the bank must have heard or seen the commotion and called the cops to deal with the situation. In seconds, armored cops walked through the damaged doorways and began to assist.

Jetstream knew that there was only one thing left to care off.

“Officer,” Jetstream called out to any of the cops in the room.

“Ma…” One cop stuttered as he walked over to the woman in the bright outfit. “Ma’am, what is it?”

“There is one more robber at the back of the bank with a hostage,” Jetstream summarized to the man in uniform, holding her hands down to not look threatening. “I will go in alone.”

As a surprise, they did not have to worry about a hostage. Running behind the counter, the bank teller was running with tears from her eyes. She hurriedly ran forward to the officer and the new superhero.

“Are you okay?” Jetstream asked as the scared woman stood in front of her.

Through the tears, the bank teller was able to speak. “He let me go, but he’s gone through the back doorway!”

Crashing and tire swerves were loudly made, alerting the superhero and cop that something terrible was happening at the left side of the bank. When Jetstream looked out the window, she spotted a white utility van speeding out of the alleyway and onto the road. Screams of cops jumping off the van’s path were heard outside.

Jetstream turned to the officer with a nod, then stared forward and took off before she could even think. She came out the way she came in and flew through the doorway. A sharp turn was taken to the left, making sure to avoid cars and pedestrians in the flying superhero’s way.

“Come on,” Jetstream said to herself as she pushed herself.

With every dodge she made, the strain was increased. She was not about to let her first time crimefighting go to waste. She was not about to let the robbers get away with the money that was stolen. She would not fail the people who did not know they were counting on her.

In only a minute, Jetstream caught up with the van. Though she was not sure how to get in. It would be dangerous to fly through any of the doors, dangerous to herself, the robbers, and whoever else got in the way. If she had super strength, she could get in front and stop the car. Alas, her only power is flight.

But as she turned alongside the car, something alarming was in Jetstream’s point of view. Getting closer, the young woman spotted an old man and a little boy crossing the road before they turned in terror.

“No!” The up-and-coming hero made up her mind in an instant, her worried expression shifting and gritting her teeth.

She quickly rushed past the speeding van, not seeing that the remaining crooks were amazed by her speed. Before it was too late, she held her hands out in a spread before wrapping them around the two people she collided with. Her push was so powerful that it sent the three flying to the other side of the road.

As the three landed on the sidewalk, Jetstream took the risk and flipped herself with the added weight of two more people to hit the ground first. When making impact, she instantly felt great pain as her right elbow went against the concrete and sent a burning sensation throughout her arm.

The floored hero screamed as she let go of the endangered citizens and laid down in utter agony. In Jetstream’s mind, this suffering was just as bad as the burns she felt years ago. She felt like curling her right hand but found it impossible as it refused to move.

While the young woman was writhing on the floor, onlookers in the area began to surround her.

“Are you okay?” The little boy she saved had asked, sitting on his knees as he looked over his savior.

With tears in her eyes, Jetstream turned her head and tried to hide her pain. “Are you okay?” She asked out of concern for the child’s safety.

“I am.” The blonde-haired boy replied.

Despite what her body felt, Jetstream was smiling out of relief. That was when she felt fingers on her back before she was pushed upward, taking a look behind and seeing that it was a man and woman with their hands underneath her armpits. With their help, she got back on her boot-clad feet.

“Thank you.” Jetstream said with a groan as she supported her right arm with her left.

“Thank you.” The old man stated as he got up with his grandson. “Do you need someone to call an ambulance?”

Hearing sirens in the distance. Jetstream looked at the citizens with a thankful smile. “No, thank you, I can get myself there.” She groaned once more as she turned away.

With every bit of muscle she had, the injured woman in the bright costume levitated off of the ground. She had to support her arm until she was where she needed to be. It hurt worse than getting punched or kicked, but she had to soldier on.

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TWO HOURS LATER

Preston Memorial Hospital

In the center of the city where commerce is all too common, one of Maxville’s oldest hospitals stood. Eight floors high, the white and blue building had cared for patients over a hundred years, getting renovated every decade or so. Committed to putting their abilities to their best, the doctors employed there were loyal to the people they treated. It was necessary as there could be emergencies found throughout, sometimes the most oddball of cases and the most horrific.

In one such hospital room, Josie DeMarco had been too familiar with this facility. Not only had she been born here in 1988, but she had also been treated here for accidents that had befallen her in sports. The blue walls of the room were an all too familiar sight, the cold air against her skin being a familiar feeling, and the white gown on her body might as well have been an outfit among her inventory given how often she wore it as a child.

This time, however, she wore a blue cast on her right arm. It wrapped around every part of the lower half of the appendage, save her fingers. The protective shell held her arm into its proper place, helping to stabilize her injury.

Hours ago, it had been painful to change clothes after the injury. The only clothes she changed into were a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Followed by flying over to the hospital, it was only a matter of letting the doctors x-ray her body and help her into a gown. Once the checkup was over, they escorted the young woman to this very room.

As she laid on the bed, Josie had waited to hear the news, whether good or bad. Luckily, she did not have to wait alone. Not only was her mom on the right side of the bed, but Priscilla also gently held Josie’s hand.

As a college student in her twenties, Priscilla preferred to dress herself in buttoned blazers and jeans, making sure to comb her hair behind her shoulders. If she wanted her dream job, she would have to dress the part. Though Josie wondered if the sneakers would look good for what her best friend had in mind.

Standing in front of the bed, a red-haired doctor in a lab coat held a clipboard. The middle-aged man looked at his patient with a slight smile. “You’re lucky that the damage wasn’t too severe.” He eyed the papers on the clipboard. “You should be healed in about six to twelve weeks.”

All three of the women sighed in relief.

Josie was especially relieved from the diagnosis. “Thank you, Doctor.”

“I recommend you stay for the night though.” The Doctor advised with care in his tone. “You have been through a lot today.” He said before leaving the room.

Once they were alone, Josie focused through the lenses in front of her eyes. “Thanks for bringing me the glasses.” Josie said as she raised her right hand before groaning at the sting she felt. With no other options, she readjusted the glasses with her left hand.

Priscilla gave a reassuring smile while taking care to not squeeze on the cast. “You know I got your back.”

On the other side, Jennifier looked at her daughter with concern. “How many times do I need to take you here?” She joked and was not joking at the same time.

“Until my bones are powder, I guess.” Josie nonchalantly replied with a false smile. Looking ahead, she tried to distract herself with what was on television.

“It is an unfortunate turn of events. While we understand and appreciate the willingness to help, we must insist that this line of work is kept to the trained men and women of the Maxville Police Department.” A police officer calmly said on camera, standing in front of the bank. “Fortunately, nobody was killed but we cannot condone actions because of the risks involved.”

Security footage of the new superhero followed, displaying the actions of Jetstream handling the bank robbers. In the hospital room, the three women could see the brightly dressed woman flying around the room and throwing the enemy off their feet. If everyone was watching the news at the moment, the public would know that a new hero had arrived.

As the footage played, narration started to come in. “That was the case as while the mysterious woman handled two of the henchmen and saved the hostages, two remaining members had gotten away with nearly a thousand dollars in cash.” The male reporter clearly read off a teleprompter. “Just an hour ago, we had received amateur footage from a witness.”

The footage of the bank transitioned from the bank to the streets in vertical mode, black bars compressing the left and right sides of the screen. In the video, the camera was focused on Jetstream as she laid on the concrete sidewalk. Onlookers were surrounding the fallen savior and the people she had saved just then.

“I don’t know, man,” A young man appeared on the screen with a microphone in his arms. “If she is a… a superhero,” He stuttered as he tried to think of the words he wanted to say. “I figured that she could handle something like hitting her arm against the ground.”

All of a sudden, the television was turned off and there was silence in the room.

“Enough of that.” Priscilla proclaimed as she held the remote. On her face, she gave a reassuring smile. “We don’t need to hear what they say.”

“Priscilla is right,” Jennifer joined in, carefully placing a hand against Josie’s face. “You aren’t doing this for recognition, Sweetheart.”

Josie had hoped that nobody was listening in on their conversation. “I know,” Josie softly said as she looked at her arm. “But I want people to know that I am here to help. How can I do that when I can’t catch up to the bad guys?”

“You saved the innocent people, that is all that matters.” Jennifer assured her daughter, a knowing look on her face. “The bad guys will come later.”

“You’ll get them next time.” Priscilla chimed in with reassurance. “Remember when we went to the Xavier Institute, we’d tell each other the same thing when we failed the Danger Room.”

With what her past friend had just said, Josie’s mind took her back to an earlier stage in her life. She remembered it like it was yesterday.

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Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters

Westchester, New York

2005

Back then, Josie DeMarco was not like other students in her class. Other than the fact that she had a superpower, she had decided to spend her Summer at a boarding school in New York. Not to shop for the final clothes in the city, not to go see a Broadway show, and not to pick up boys far from home. Her reason for being in New York was to learn more about who she was and who she will be.

The young girl was not alone. Priscilla Powers was staying by her best friend’s side. It took a lot to get her parents’ permission but it came to fruition as the two girls packed their suitcases and were flown to the county that was nearly an hour away from the city. For two months, it had been training, learning what a normal school would teach, taking time off and getting free time, and hanging out with a limited number of students like them.

On one such day, the two were in a massive room, hidden many feet underground. The room was blue, the walls shining the metal surface they were made from, and blinking lights were visible to the naked eye. At the moment, there was nothing in front of the five people in the room.

Josie and Priscilla were not alone as they stood with three other teenagers. One was with a boy combed brown hair wearing a silver-lined and red-lensed visor over his eyes. The girl next to him was inches shorter than him, letting loose her flat red hair, and wearing black leggings underneath her yellow skirt. The only other boy in the room might as well have been an angel who had fallen from Heaven, giving the white birdlike wings protruding from his back.

Together, the five wore black and yellow uniforms. Specifically designed to withstand what they were about to face. The only thing that made Josie stand out from her classmates was the yellow cape she wrapped the top of it around her neck.

“You ready?” Priscilla whispered to her friend as they were next to each other.

Josie had a determined look on her face. “Always ready.”

“Just keep your eyes on the goal.” Scott Summers called out as he walked in front of the others.

“Got it, Scott,” The red-haired girl, Jean Grey, faithfully responded.

“Remember: the objective is to make it through the obstacle course without your powers.” A British voice ordered the teenagers, sounding relaxed in how he advised the students.

One would think the voice came from an intercom. That was not the case as the five heard the voice in their heads. Josie even looked over to see that Priscilla shivered from the call. Acting out of love and instinct, Josie put a calming right hand on Priscilla’s left shoulder.

Josie thought to herself on the matter. “Guess Professor Logan is out today. Probably wants to be out on his own again.” She meditated before seeing Priscilla smile from the kind gesture. “I’ll talk to him about it later.” Josie suggested before looking forward.

Then all at once, the room started shifting as weapons came out of the floor and the ground. Platforms were elevated or descended, rings of fire appeared, rocky terrain materialized, and the room seemed to expand.

“Move!” Scott yelled out as he ran forward.

The others followed, all of tem who could fly making sure they were not flying over anything in their way. Through snipping scissors that could split anyone in two, everyone made sure that they got through before ending up like paper.

“How does he expect us to do this without our powers!” Warren shouted as he jumped over a half-wall. Once over it, he struggled to slide over a table.

“Just do it!” Priscilla was getting ahead of the heir to a fortune. “It is like gym class!”

In the meantime, Josie was having an easier time as she made her way through the course. Having done this sort of craft for most of her life, Josie felt that this semester was making her even better. She leapt over and onto platforms, dodging swinging hammers, jumped over pits of water, and other obstacles in her path.

While running, the teenage girl looked to her right to see Scott right next to her.

“We’re almost there!” The young leader shouted as he resisted every urge to blast down whatever was in his way. “Keep pushing forward!”

Unrelenting in the idea of passing this challenge, Josie kept pressuring herself to push on through. If she was serious about wanting to one day become a superhero, she was not going to let anything stop from achieving. Even moving past Scott, she had the lead, it was all going in her favor.

That was when she heard a scream. “Josie!”

Taking her concentration off the task at hand, Josie stopped on top on an elevated platform and turned to see that on five traps behind her, Priscilla had found herself wrapped by the mechanical arms protruding from the floor. Without using her powers, she was struggling to get free.

Her instincts getting the better of her, Josie ran forward and jumped off the platform. Her flight kicked in and she was able to soar over and above the rest of her class. At one point, she almost knocked down Jean before slightly turning her body sideways.

Then the alarm went off and was blaring through the gym. Red lights blinked to almost blind everyone who was in there. When Josie reached Priscilla, she was able to grab her best friend after she was dropped and the two landed on the floor, rolling until they were on their backs.

Having been squeezed by the arm, Priscilla was coughing as she laid on the floor. “Thanks!” She was able to say while gasping for breath. Soon enough, her breathing was normal, and she realized what had happened. “Oh no! I made us lose this test!”

Rolling and placing her hands on the floor, Josie lifted herself up with her hands and knees. Once she was up, the young girl gave a helping hand and the two girls on their feet. In a moment, they were joined by the other students.

“You heard what the Professor said, ‘no powers'!” Scott bitterly said and pointed at Josie. “You know Pris was going to be fine, Josie! You should have waited for her when you got to the finish line!” He vented his frustration toward his teammate.

Warren was right behind the bitter leader. “Lay off her, Scott.”

“Scott,” Jean walked over and stood in front of the boy. “She did what she thought was right.”

Josie stood her ground. “No, Jean,” She solemnly said and walked in front of Jean, staring Scott in the eyes behind his visor. “I get that you think of yourself as our leader, you’ve been here longer than any of us. You have a lot of expectations placed on yourself and us. But you don’t get to be a jerk about it.”

“I’m making sure that you succeed.” Scott retorted and threw his fist away. “If you want to be an X-Men, you gotta understand what is most important.”

“Enough!” The echoing voice of Charles Xavier entered the minds of everyone in the danger room. “Scott, I want you to assist Mr. McCoy in cleaning the Danger Room! Josie and Priscilla, you may change and come to my office!”

Jean put her right hand to her head, and nothing was heard from her. Once she was done, the redhead looked at her fellow girls. “Give Scott a chance to cool down.” She began walking away and waved her left arm. “Let’s help Scott out, Warren.”

Turning toward the only door in and out of the Danger Room, Josie and Priscilla walked to it and found it open to reveal a blue and hairy face they had become accustomed to. Where Warren had the angelic wings to let everyone know that he was not human, Hank McCoy had the features of blue fur covering his entire body. Almost werewolf-like in how his hair was shaped, his feet might as well have been an extra pair of hands like an ape’s. His blue eyes looked warmly at the girls who were seven years younger than him.

“‘Just because something isn’t happening for you right now,” The mutant also called ‘Beast’ quoted to the students. “Doesn’t mean that it will never happen.’”

“You always know what to say, Mr. McCoy,” Priscilla had a hint of a chuckle as she walked past the blue man.

Most of the time, even Josie was unsure who the blue man in a speedo was quoting. Some she knew from English class; others were completely foreign to the teenage girl.

But that could wait as Josie and Priscilla exited into the blue metal hallways of an underground base. Complete with a medical center, a war room, a hanger bay for a uniquely made Blackbird jet, a wardrobe room, and other essentials for any secret base. It was best suited for what the teens were training for.

After a quick elevator ride upward, the two girls were on the surface once more and found themselves in an increasingly familiar environment. Lined with wooden walls, their current location was a stately mansion that was filled with old paintings, vases, and whatever else an older person would want in their ancestral home. Walking through the halls, it was almost empty without more students making noise as they passed through.

“Wait,” Priscilla stopped halfway through the hall to their destination. “Should we have changed into our normal clothes first? It feels kinda silly to be wearing these outfits when we aren’t downstairs.”

Josie stopped to listen and engage. “A little bit, though I am comfortable in it. Plus, for now at least, it is the closest thing to a superhero suit that I’m going to wear for a long time.” Josie said before noticing a sad look on her best friend’s face. “Pris, what’s wrong?”

Priscilla knew what she wanted to say, though unsure if she had the strength to do it. “I’m not sure I want to be a superhero, Josie.” She said before the immediate notice of her friend’s confused expression. “Not that being a superhero is a bad thing, you know. I just don’t think I’m cut out for it.”

“Why is that?” An old voice had asked.

Wheeling himself into the hallway, Professor Charles Xavier emerged from his office. As the headmaster of the school, he wore a green business suit, a red tie, and black shoes. Aside from his bald head, his most defining feature was the wheelchair with “X” rims on the wheels.

Charles faced the girls he had been a mentor toward. “You wish to not serve with your gifts?”

“Professor, I don’t mean any disrespect,” Priscilla could feel both safe and afraid around the kind man. “But I only came here so that Josie wasn’t alone and because you…” She had to be thankful for someone else. “Mr. McCoy could help me get great at my powers.” She held her arms horizontally to her chest. “I don’t want to get myself hurt and dodge bullets all of the time, it is too scary.”

“I am not asking of you to put yourselves in harm’s way.” Charles took to his reply, holding his hands on the arms of his chair. “I just want you to protect yourselves should you ever be attacked.”

That had Josie confused. “Yeah, you keep saying that while we should fight to one day live in a world where people accept us.” She had heard the same thing several times since arriving at the school. “But you keep saying that we should be worried by those who hate us.”

“They don’t understand you, Josie,” Charles already had a reply, having grown accustomed to these debates. “While we are willing to fight for humanity, we are also to teach them about ourselves.”

“Maybe I just wanna live like a human.” Priscilla added her own two cents in. “I wanna have a normal job, get a normal life. I wanna be Priscilla Powers, an ordinary person with no secret identity or anything.”

“I don’t want to…” Josie was adding herself back into the conversation.

“...Join the X-Men because you cannot handle Scott.” Charles finished her sentence. Something that he would do too often. “You must understand that the boy hasn’t had an easy life.”

Josie was told by Jean. “I know, that doesn’t give him an excuse to take his anger out on us.”

“It doesn’t, you are right.” Charles seemed to understand as he gave a “sorry” expression. “I will talk to Scott about it.”

Josie and Priscilla sighed in relief. They stepped aside to allow the Professor passage through the hallway. Both girls knew that the older man liked to be alone in the lower levels, preferably in one of the most important rooms of the whole building. But they were unsure why.

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Maxville Suburbs

2010

“What happened afterwards?” Rodney asked while he held his bottle of Sodor Cola.

“I passed my classes in Summer School.” Josie responded, her casted arm gently lying on her lap.

Two weeks had passed since the diagnosis, it felt like an eternity. Josie knew she needed to let her arm heal. But it drove her mad to go to work, take care of errands, and go home to do whatever else for the day. She felt useless, she was not living up to her potential. She only had four weeks left, she knew that she had to endure the agony of waiting.

She was not completely lost. Thanks to the benefits of her job, she knew where to find a student if she needed to. Records keeping proved to be a major benefit as Josie had the knowledge on where she had to deal with a personal matter. Finding herself at a white house in the suburbs outside of the city, she knocked on the door and an exhausted Rodney answered.

Sitting on the concrete steps of the front entrance, Josie continued with her story. “I keep in touch with the others. Last time I called Jean, she said that Scott had worked over his issues.” She proceeded to chuckle. “Though he can still be a bit hardheaded,”

Even Rodney chuckled, despite how he looked drained. “Yeah, I guess being in a group trip can be stressful.”

“Totally,” Josie laughed, thankful that she came up with a save when saying that she was on a team. “But to be completely honest, I wasn’t a good team player at the time.” She laughed even more. “Literally, I had trouble with that sort of thing. It is why I left the team and Priscilla followed me. She is my best friend.”

“But you said that she was really good.” Rodney pondered after taking a sip from his drink. “Did she think that she wasn’t good enough?”

“I think it was more that she felt like she didn’t fit in,” Josie answered as she thought that she could use a drink on the Fall afternoon. “Neither did I, really. They took it way too far.” She said before remembering what she took time out of her day for. “The point of that story is that all of us can put plenty of expectations on ourselves. It can drive us crazy.” She tried thinking more of her past. “I would literally stay up all night to do my homework and come to school feeling like you do.”

Rodney scooted away, facing his parents’ driveway. “I just want to make my parents proud of me. They keep saying that they are proud of me but I don’t know if I have anything to be proud of.” He brought his head closer to his knees. “It hurts like Hell when I fail them.”

“I’ve failed plenty of times but I’m still getting back up.” Josie remarked as she gave a knowing smile. “Just two weeks ago, I put myself into a situation that landed me in the hospital. It won’t stop me because I won’t allow it.” She held up her healing arm. “I still go to work, I still like to enjoy myself, and I still think I’m doing my best at what I do best.”

“Guess I know what you are saying. If this happens to you and you’re fine, I am fine too.” Rodney was forming his thoughts, a slow smile of recognition forming on his face. “Maybe I have been pushing myself too hard.”

“I’m sure your parents wouldn’t want you to worry, they are proud of you.” Josie reassured the teenage boy. In her mind, she was glad to see the boy smiling. “He just needed a talk.” She thought to herself.

Rodney looked back to the teaching assistant. “You are a really good teacher, Ms. DeMarco.” He looked a lot more relaxed, as if a weight on his shoulders was lifted.

“Thank you, Rodney.” Josie perked up at the compliment. “You are a great student.” She added in before looking at the sunset.

Both the teaching assistant and the student stared off into the sky. Members of two generations reflecting on their choices in life, all of the little things they had worried about. One would have thought that the adult would have her future figured out while the younger one was unsure. In the case of Josie, she was unsure about her whole future.

She was going to make the most of it, however. Might not have been the heroic start she wanted. This, despite the setbacks, was good enough.