Cody returned to DEA Academy to find out that most of the freshmen classes, including his, were dismissed due to the attack by the Worm Eldritch all over Morningstar City. Due to this, he decided to go back to the dormitory, where he reunited with Milo, who was waiting for him. When the boys went back to their dorm room, Cody told his friend what happened while he was away. He only left out the part where Xander and Melissa knew about his true identity and asked him to collect Eldritch essences to find clues about the Turning. Cody didn't even talk about the Morningstar DEA Agency underground facility and the woman he saw there. He informed Milo only about the night training and his early squad missions.
As soon as Cody was done, Milo stood up from the couch and exclaimed, "Special night training and you'll be joining your squad on missions soon?!"
"Yeah," Cody replied with a nod. "Xander said it would be good for me since I'm a late bloomer. It might help me grow my ability and improve my use of it."
Milo only stared at his friend with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, completely speechless.
"What's wrong? Are you not happy with this?"
"What? No, it's not like that! It's just, going on squad missions in your first year here, it just never happened before until now."
"It never happened before?" Cody asked.
"Mm-mmm." Milo shook his head. "Slayers-in-training never get to join their squad on missions until their second year at DEA Academy, especially late bloomers. Alma told me about this before considering how she's one herself."
"Your sister's a late bloomer?" Cody raised both his eyebrows.
"Yeah, she didn't know she had an ability until she was fourteen. At the time, I was too young to understand her situation."
"Too young?" Cody repeated.
"Alma and I have a twelve-year age gap," Milo explained. "I was two when her ability first manifested."
"I see." Cody nodded. Before he could ask another question, he heard a knock on the door. Turning his head around, Cody raised an eyebrow and walked up to answer. Opening the door, he saw a woman with auburn hair wearing glasses and a suit looking at him with a stoic face. In her hand was a flat package wrapped in plastic, which looked similar to when Cody got his first uniform.
"Are you Cody Byrd?" the woman asked.
"Yes," Cody answered as the woman brought the package close to his body.
"Xander Swanson sent me to issue you a new uniform. Take better care of this one."
"Thank you, ma'am." Cody took the package before the woman nodded and walked away. Once he closed the door, he turned back to his friend and asked, "What about your parents? How did they handle Alma's situation?"
"I..." Milo trailed off for a second. Then, he looked down and finished, "I don't know."
"You don't know? Did you ever ask them about it?"
"I never even got to know them. They're both dead," Milo said in a dark, quiet tone.
That was when the room became silent. Cody couldn't believe what his friend just told him. He didn't know what to do other than just look at him with wide eyes. But then, he said, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. It was years ago." Milo made his way to the door, walking past his friend as he did.
"Where are you going?" Cody asked.
"I'm just gonna take a short walk. I'll be back soon, I promise." With that, Milo opened the door and walked out of the room, leaving Cody by himself.
After closing the door behind himself, Milo stood in silence as he looked down at his feet. Putting his hand on his right leg, he squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Then, he walked away from his dorm, proceeding to go on his walk.
~~~~~
News broke out about the Hawk Tower Incident the following day, and everybody at DEA Academy was talking about it. Due to this, Cody was gaining more attention from his peers, who were showering him with smiles, handshakes, and even gifts. The presents he received consisted of stuffed animals, bags full of candy, and a basket filled with meat, cheese, and crackers. He also received a nickname from his fellow students: Shadow Angel. Not only did it make him uncomfortable, but he was also confused.
On his way to class, Cody was greeted by almost every student he encountered in the hallways, each of them calling him "Shadow Angel". Next to him was Milo, who helped carry all of the gifts his friend received from the other students. But then, they were approached by Wei and Ling, who gave them both a simple greeting.
"Cody, Milo, good morning!" Wei said with a wave.
"Morning," Cody replied, exhausted from all the attention he received throughout the morning.
"Is something wrong?" Wei asked as he noticed the dark-haired boy's face. But then, he noticed the basket in Cody's hands as well as the other items Milo was carrying. "Oh, it's that, isn't it?"
"I see you know about it as well," Milo said.
"Well, yeah. Ever since what happened at Hawk Tower yesterday, Cody's been the talk of the school."
"I just don't understand," Cody said. "In the beginning, I was in the background until Hawk Tower happened. Now, everyone is crowding around me like some sort of celebrity! It's making me uncomfortable! I don't even like big crowds!"
Meanwhile, Ling nodded, for she understood.
"Well, you did help save a bunch of people who were in the Hawk Tower parking lot as the building was about to collapse," Wei replied. "And you did help fight the Worm Eldritch there. You're a hero, Cody."
"They were also calling me 'Shadow Angel'!" Cody added. "Why?"
"It must have been the wings," Milo replied.
"Yeah, about that, Cody," Wei began. "When word got out to the student council, your name was placed on the Hero's Board."
"The Hero's Board?" Cody repeated as he raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" he asked.
"Uh..." Wei turned to his sister and asked, "Ling, what time is it?"
Ling pulled out her phone to look at the time. Then, she answered, "It's 7:45."
"That means we have enough time to show them." Wei looked back at Cody and Milo. "Come on, you two! I'll take you guys to the front of the student council office. That's where the Hero's Board is."
Cody and Milo followed Wei and Ling to the second floor of the school, where the student council office was. After a short trip up the stairs, the boys were guided down a hallway as several sophomores walked past them. On the way, some second-year students glimpsed at Cody before they smiled and waved at him. Though this took him aback, Cody waved back every time someone noticed him. However, other second-years were whispering to one another about something he couldn't hear, and they didn't look his way.
Soon enough, the four reached the front of the student council office. There, they stood in front of a corkboard with pictures of students with their names under them. Underneath those names were nicknames. Above the photos and names was a paper sign that read, Hero's Board.
"So, this is it?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow at the board.
"Yup, this is the Hero's Board," Wei replied. "Whenever news goes out about a Slayer-in-Training doing something heroic, like saving someone from a falling piece of debris, the student council learns about it and places their name on this board. Your name and picture should be..." He trailed off as he looked around at the board until he finally found what he was looking for. "Ah! There you are!"
Cody and Milo looked up to where Wei was looking, finding the dark-haired boy's picture in the middle of the board. Below it was Cody's name as well as his new nickname: Shadow Angel. While Cody stared bug-eyed at his photo, Milo smiled as he nudged him with his elbow.
"There's still something I don't get," Cody said, looking away from his photo. "How do they come up with the nicknames?"
"The student council makes the other students vote on what to call them," Wei explained. "They make the nicknames up depending on their ability, weapons, or both. The vote on your nickname was unanimous, and there were only three options! At least, that's what I heard."
"Yup! It was definitely the wings!" Milo remarked, putting both his hands on his hips.
Cody looked back at the board to see the other pictures and names of the students. Most of them were people he never met or interacted with. But then, his eyes noticed one that was familiar to him. It was a picture of Tilly and beneath it was her full name and her nickname: Matilda Aldine-Chainsaw Girl.
"Tilly's name is up on this board, too?" Cody said, getting Milo, Wei, and Ling's attention.
"I see you know Tilly," Wei replied.
"Yeah, we're in Squad Nanami together." Cody then asked, "Do you know her?"
"Yeah. She and I were in the same class in freshman year, so I've known her since day one."
"He also has a crush on her," Ling added, causing her brother to blush a deep red and glare at her.
"LING!" Wei shouted before he sighed and looked back at Cody. "But, yeah, she's right. Also, word got out that Tilly got injured during the fight at Hawk Tower. When the other students learned about her condition, everyone at school began praying for her, hoping she would make a full recovery soon. I heard some even started visiting her."
Cody's breath hitched as he realized that was what some of the sophomores were whispering to each other about. Tilly must be admired by everyone, too, he thought. Maybe I should visit her as well to see if she's okay.
Meanwhile, Milo looked down at the floor as he was deep in thought. But then, his lilac eyes grew wide as he exclaimed, "I remember now!"
"Remember what?" Cody asked, turning to look at his friend.
"Cody, remember when I said that Tilly's name sounded familiar?" Milo asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Tilly is Gus Aldine's daughter!"
"Uh, who?" Cody tilted his head in confusion.
"Gus Aldine is one of Morningstar City's top Slayers," Milo explained. "He is seen almost everywhere in the city, fighting Eldritch wherever he goes! He's famous and is Number One on the list of Morningstar's Top Ten Slayers."
"I didn't know Slayers have ranks."
"They don't," Wei chimed in. "The Top Ten Slayers list is more of a fan thing. You can find it on the Morningstar News website. But be warned, the list changes every year."
Now curious, Cody asked, "Who else is on the list?"
"Well, last time I checked, below Gus Aldine's name is another Slayer called Scott Lewis."
Cody gasped in response, for he didn't know that his mentor was on the Top Ten Slayers list. But then, he looked up at a nearby clock to see it was almost eight. Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Cody said, "Thank you for showing us the Hero's Board, Wei. Milo and I have to go. Class is gonna start soon."
"Okay," Wei said with a nod. "See you two later."
With that, Cody and Milo walked back downstairs and made their way to class. As soon as they arrived, almost all of their classmates were there hanging around the classroom. When they all turned to see Cody and Milo enter the room, Angie smiled and said, "Eyo, Shadow Angel's here!" In response, everyone whooped and clapped at the sight of Cody, who took another deep breath before sheepishly smiling and waving at his classmates.