Chiron Academy

Chapter 6: Show and Tell

No one seemed excited to volunteer, so Achilles pulled out a roll and began to read through the names.

"Todd Anderson?"

Todd stood up

"I'm Todd. I go by Diverman. I feel pretty comfortable with fighting and stuff. I've been a superhero for about 4 years-"

"Seriously?" Achilles interrupted. "Four years? How old are you?"

"17." Todd responded.

"Wow, you've got to be good if you're still operating." Achilles said nodding. "How often do you go out? Like... how active are you? As a vigilante."

"Pretty often; most nights a week, usually," Tod replied.

"Wow, that's impressive," Achilles said nodding.

"Another question I just thought of," he added suddenly. "What do you want to work on most during your time here?"

Achilles turned to the crowd.

"I know you're all at different levels. I know that some of you aren't too experienced and some of you are a bit more confident in your skills. And some of you might be like Todd here, a real veteran. But I think you'll get the most out of this if you look for something you can do better."

"So, Todd," he said turning his attention back," what do you think you could improve in?"

Todd folded his arms in front of him as he thought about it for a moment.

"Ummm," he said after a moment. "I guess I would like to learn how to work better with a large team. I've some small team-ups and I've worked by myself before, but I've never really got to work with a larger group before. So the opportunity to work with more people will be really good."

"Awesome, man!" Achilles said. "And before I forget, Todd, do you have any special powers you'd like to share with us?"

"Oh, right," Todd said. Todd looked around for a moment as if looking for a target. There was a bench press and weight rack not too far from where the class sat. There were a few plates already on the bench's bar: nothing too overwhelming but substantial. Wyatt thought it looked like maybe 20 pounds on each side.

Todd grabbed the bar with one hand and began to pull it up. Wyatt noticed a bit of strain on Todd's face. He knew it probably towards the top of his friend's limit, but he had to admit it was impressive. Apparently, the class agreed; tittering voices sprang up throughout the seated class.

"Very impressive." Achilles said walking to Todd. "Anything else?"

"Ummm, yeah, do you have a drain in here? I don't want to flood the room or get water all over any of the equipment."

"Yeah, there's one over by the punching bags."

Todd nodded and started walking across the gym to where the bags stood.

Achilles motioned for everyone to stand up and follow.

Todd poked at the floor where Wyatt guessed the aforementioned drain sat. He seemed to be doing some calculations in his head. Wyatt saw his friend's mouth move as if he was speaking, though no sound escaped, Todd's tell-tale sign of deep thought.

Suddenly, Todd lowered his stance, putting one foot behind him and held his torso forward. He raised his right fist, angling it towards the grate. A burst of water surged out from the fist, which Wyatt knew found its source in the ring on Todd's middle finger.

The Diver Ring. That's what Todd'd called it when they'd first found it years ago. They weren't really sure where it came from, but it was the source of Todd's powers, just as the Flyer Sword was for his. Todd had worn a pair of swimmer's goggles with it for the first year or so, to drive home the 'diver' element of his name, but they'd gotten lost and he'd never really tried to replace them.