ic Lessons to Learn

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The Nicholson School, Freedom City

September 9th, 2020

9:00 AM

 

Most of the students at Claremont Academy started their super heroic student life just there. Few were even aware that a school existed for younger children, where they could learn to control and use their powers, just be children or maybe learn a little something more. Students from the Nicholson School would at times visit Claremont, but students from Claremont coming to Nicholson was rare.

 

But as it happened, two students from Claremont had been requested to visit Nicholson. A work study, of sorts. Helping out in a few classes, show the kids that you could end up anywhere and be just fine.

 

A blonde haired man around 40 was waiting for them as they approached the school gates. He had a full beard, his long hair tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a white dress shirt and dress pants. He wore a red tie with Mickey Mouse heads printed all over it. He was fiddling with his tie while he waited for the Claremont students to arrive.

[Nerdzul]

‘Show the kids that you can end up anywhere and be just fine’ Whatever. Luke was sure that it was gonna be fun, besides, it was a day off from the books and that was definitely always a plus. And it was fun discovering new things about the whole superhero world anyway right? The whole child heroes school thing was pretty neat wasn’t it?

 

Would be awesome of Gabbo could fit there too. Yeah right? It was a shame that his little ‘bro didn’t have powers though. A shame if you asked him, he would have loved it here.

 

The young man was wearing Claremont’s uniform that day (with no sleeves though, obviously) a rare occurrence indeed, but then again, he was sorta on school business, right? So yeah it made sense to him. 

 

“Hello sir.” Luke grinned. “Luke here.” He offered the guy a firm handshake. “Love the tie by the way.” He teased, a playful smirk on his lips.

[Heritage]

Pol decided that it might be nice for the children to see a wider variety of faces represented, so they chose their favorite female form today. Even with the heels on the Claremont uniform boots, she barely came up to Luke's shoulders. The synthetic had very few encounters with small children up until this point, and she was very excited for the opportunity to meet them and answer their questions.

 

"Good morning, sir," Pol said, trying to control her excitement. "It's an honor to be here today!"

Edited September 9, 2020 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

"Ah, thank you, it is good to meet you." The teacher gripped Luke's hand, but with far less pressure than the draconic teen would muster. He smiled, extending his hands to Pol as well. "And you must be Pol. I've looked forward to meeting both of you." He fidgeted with his tie that had loosened a bit. "I'm Parker Powers. Just Parker is fine, no need for any misters or sirs here, alright?" His tone was friendly. The teacher that you just loved as a kid.

 

He motioned lightly with his head and a smile, then started walking, hands in his pockets. "Come, the kids are just gonna love you." He was silent for a second, before continuing. "The headmistress' notes on you were, well, there was a lot of them, but why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves? What can you do? Why'd you go to Claremont? What makes Luke and Pol tick?"

[Nerdzul]

“Oh hey Pol.” Luke grinned as he waved at the shapeshifting robot. “You look great today.” Although there was something slightly unsettling in knowing a pal who could change their appearance like that, but then again, superpowers, he had to grow accustomed to them.

 

“Great Mr- I mean Parker.” He smiled. “And you must be a super too am I right? Got any… ‘Battle name’ or something?” It was cool getting to know all of these heroes, like he did at Claremont, talking with them like they were just ‘people’.

 

“Sure, by the way Parker, what are we supposed to do? I mean, not sure I’m exactly a role model you know?” He chuckled, but then again, yeah he definitely didn’t see himself as such.

 

“As for me, well, why does anyone goes to school right?” Well... Kinda... “I wanna learn how to be a real superhero, that’s all. Keep people safe, I mean my powers, I don’t want to waste them.”

[Heritage]

Pol beamed at Luke's compliment. "Thanks, so do you!"

 

"Oh, okay, Parker." Pol made a weird face and shook her head. "I'm sorry, can I stick with 'Mr. Powers'? It just feels better." The robot was programmed to respect her elders, and even though she could alter her own programming, it just didn't sit with her right.

 

"As far as what makes me 'tick', well, there's a joke in there actually, since I'm a robot!" She chuckled slightly at her awkward jest. "But to be serious, I am a robot, created by two very smart programmers. I'm at Claremont to learn how to be a teenager, from cool kids like Luke!" She gave her fellow student a warm smile. "As to what I can do, there's actually lots of things. For one, I can eat garbage! Metals and plastics mostly, though I can also eat glass and ceramics. I use them to replenish my nanoform and for power. Oh, but my main power is that I can turn into things! I think the kids might enjoy that."

Edited September 10, 2020 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

Parker shook his head at Luke's question, while he led the way. "Ah, no, I'm afraid not. I'm nothing that exciting. Unless you count being these kids' favorite teacher as a super power, heh." 

 

"You can call me whatever you're most comfortable with, Pol. If you want to stick to Mr. Powers, that's just fine." He wasn't walking fast, just taking his time. He didn't seem to be in a particular hurry, even if the kids were waiting for them. "See, that right there? That's exactly why the two of you sounded perfect for this." He sounded happy with both his choice. "You see, you," he pointed at Luke, "want to be a hero. Keep people safe and everything. Why? Because you can. That's all the reason you need. That is pretty cool. And you?" he pointed at Pol this time, "you're still learning, well, basically everything. Its all new to you, right? That's perfect for the kids. They're kids, they don't know anything about the world yet, just like you." 

 

He paused, turning to look at them both. "Besides, you turn into a draogn, and you're a robot. Do you have any idea how cool a bunch of 9 years olds are going to think you are?"

[Heritage]

"Oh, I certainly hope so," the synthetic said with a nod. "I will also definitely be careful not to scare the children either, although I think children might be more forgiving of a robot than their parents." It was certainly interesting to see a school for human children! Shift wondered how similar classes would be for them compared to her own. They had to learn a lot of the same things, after all.

 

It took all of her self-control not to just squeal with excitement as they drew closer to the children.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Heritage

[Nerdzul]

“Then you have picked up the best teacher.” Luke gave Pol a cocky smirk and a playful nudge on a shoulder. “But I do accept the responsibility.” He chuckled.

 

“I’d say it’s a pretty neat power.” The young man laughed. “Unless… That’s just a secret identity.” He continued playfully. Could be right? Himself, he didn’t use one at school, but he was (sort of) careful in preventing people from discovering his real name. Just in case. 

 

“I… yeah… I guess it’s cool.” The young man ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, there was perhaps a hint of guilt in the tone of his voice. Whatever. 

 

“Yeah definitely, I loved dragons as a kid.” He laughed again, besides yeah, dragons are cool. “Not sure I’ll be able to demonstrate though, I mean, I don’t wanna demolish the school or anything. I’m a pretty big lizard.”  He smirked. 

 

“Anyway what are we gonna do exactly?”

Edited September 16, 2020 by Nerdzul

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

"Dragon, half-way to dragon... don't worry, the kids'll love you."

 

He stopped in front of the door and took a short breath. 

 

"Alright, we're here. We'll start off with a simply Q and A. The kids are gonna want to ask you some questions, and well, there'll probably be a lot of questions. We'll start off with your answers, then we'll see how it goes from there, alright?"

 

He put this hand on the door and pushed it open.

 

"Welcome to the Nicholson School, you two. Hope you survive the experience."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The door opened into a small classroom. 3 rows of 3 tables each stood in the room, with a kid behind each. The teacher's desk was in front of a large digital black board. The walls were lined with drawings, multiplication tables, the letters of the alphabet. 

 

The moment the door opened, the nine children in the classroom, and the twenty-something young man with brown hair dressed in a dress shirts and slacks looked up, quickly pushing his glasses up in front of his eyes. 

 

For a moment, they were all silent. Then they ran from the seats, practically swarming around Pol and Luke while they started shouting and yelling about the heroes being here and how awesome it all was.

[Nerdzul]

Luke nodded. A simple Q&A sure, he can do that. Besides, yeah. Besides, how could he say no to a small crowd of admiring eyes? No way.

 

“Luke here, your friendly neighborhood Dragon.” He bowed his head slightly.

 

“What’s up future heroes?” He shouted as he enthusiastically saluted the small class.

 

Awkward silence. Great.

 

“Come on I don’t bit-” He teased, a grin on his lips, but the children had already begun to swarm him and Pol, with a ton

 

“You are f-” Language Luke.  “ehem - awesome too.” He chuckled
 

“Yeah I can breath fire. No I don’t think Mr. Powers will like it if I demonstrate…” He threw a side glance at the teacher.

 

“Although… Maybe I can show you somethin’” There was a cocky grin on his lips. Then he inhaled deeply, as a golden light started to burn through his chest underneath his uniform, raising swiftly toward his neck and shining brightly in his eyes. The gleaming breath of flames that he exhaled next toward the ceiling (no reason to scare the whole class) was just an illusion though, an harmless pyrotechnic display, but a sweet one nonetheless.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Nerdzul

[Heritage]

"Hello, children!" Shift was beaming, clearly delighted to see their eager little faces. "My name is Shift, and I'm a robot! I chose the name Shift because I can change my shape into other things. I can look like a different person-" The millions of tiny nanobots rippled across her form, turning her into Queen Elsa from Frozen. "Or an animal-" She changed again, this time into a small white unicorn with a shimmering mane. "Or even machines!" She changed once more, into a shiny black racing motorcycle!

 

Shift resumed her original form as a pretty Claremont student, hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "Now, what do you want me to turn into?"

[EternalPhoenix]

There was one young man, less excited than the rest, of both East Asian and Western European ancestry. He did not yell questions, but instead observed very carefully, as Pol shifted back and forth. He looked very thoughtful for several seconds, then grinned. "Nanomachines!" This, as anyone could tell them, was Lucas Gresham. He was probably the smartest human in the room. That had much to do with his mother. The one and only supergenius costumed adventurer known as Terrifica. "Mom says we have to be careful with them, or they'll eat us." He shrugged, unconcerned. "Mom worries too much. Because nanomachines are cool. And a robot made of nanomachines is really cool."

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

Parker smiled, crossed his arms and standing aside to let the children swarm while the kids demonstrated what they could do, putting on a show.

 

"Good observation, Lucas." He wasn't really surprised. Of course Lucas would do something like that. "Your mom got a point, y'know. Nanomachines can be dangerous, but so can anything else. That doesn't mean that we have to be scared of our friend Shift, here. They're a person just like us, and, well, anything can be dangerous in the wrong hands, right?"

 

"That's the point of learning how to be better, after all."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

A little girl gasped when Shift turned into Elsa. She was slightly pale, with long blonde hair tied into a braid that reached her hips. She wore a little emerald green dress. She almost jumped while she held her hand up, waving for attention. When her teacher nodded at her, she lowered her hand.

 

"Um, um... Are you a real fairy tale dragon? Like the kind that sleeps on gold?" She was almost bouncing when she turned to Shift. "And, and! Can you turn into anything?"

[Nerdzul]

Luke was grinning ear to ear during Pol presentation, his inner twelve years old, gleefully enjoying the show. He did throw a bit of a fiery gaze at the kid that looked like he was fearmongering about his friend, but, well, his words afterwards proved otherwise so yeah whatever.

 

“Right. Plus, I mean who we are don't matter. Wanna know the real deal? It’s who we choose to be.” He threw a nod at Mr. Parker. God if he knew that it was true. 

 

“I’m. I don't eat people though."  The young man chuckled. "Usually.” He added playfully

 

Sleep of on gold? I wish….

 

“Trust me, a bed is way better than gold for sleepin’ in.” He smiled. "Easier on the back." He smirked.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Nerdzul

[Heritage]

"It sounds like you and your mom are very smart," Shift said with a smile. "But I understand her concern. I use my nanobots to provide the raw materials my body needs, just like your body uses food to help you grow. Here, I'll show you."

 

A door opened in the middle of her stomach, revealing a storage area that held a glass Coke bottle, which she placed standing upright in the middle of her outstretched palm.

 

"This bottle is made of glass, which is made of silicon dioxide. If I hold it right here, I can 'eat' it and incorporate it into my robotic body."

 

The same ripple effect that was visible whenever she changed her form flowed up over the bottle, with then appeared to melt into her body, and out of sight.

 

"See? That's how I recycle!"

 

In response to the second question, she smiled. "Well, I can turn into lots of things, but not anything. I can only turn into things roughly my same size, so I can't turn into a tiny ant or a firetruck." She dropped down on one knee before the little girl. "Is there something you'd like me to try?"

Edited October 3, 2020 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The girl looked up at Shift, her eyes very wide. She looked over to Mr. Powers, like she was trying to decide if it was alright or not to ask what she was about to ask. He shrugged and smiled, letting her make the choice.

 

"Um, can you turn into... Forever Boy? He's my favorite."

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

"That's an excellent point, Nightscale!" Parker pointed at him. "See, you can be who you choose to be, kids. You might not like your powers, you might think they're dangerous, but you decide what you do with your powers, you decide who you want to be."

 

He circled around the kids to the digital blackboard, turning it on and quickly drawing a big dragon and a killer robot. When Valeria looked at him for support, he just smiled and shrugged. She needed to come out of her shell a bit, after all.

 

"You see this, kids? Big, scary, right?" Then he draw some more, and now the dragon was helping lift a bus, helping a person crawl out from under it, and the robot was holding up a bridge, with a smile on his ways. "Its all a question of what you choose to do. If you want to help out, if you want to do good, then you can. You just gotta figure out how."

[EternalPhoenix]

Lucas stared as the glass bottle disintegrated. One could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. He muttered under his breath things about science chemistry no normal eight year old would know. Clearly thinking to himself. But this was cut off by his teacher speaking. Lucas always paid attention to his teacher. Even if Mom had him in college equivalent courses, there were things to learn in school that weren't found in books. Dad said so, and Dad was smarter in some ways than Mom. He stepped next to Valeria and put his hand on her shoulder in friendly fashion. "See, Val? I told you." Calling them friends would be an exaggeration, but that was, well, Lucas. More intellect and empathy than any eight year old would normally have. Just, uh, with the normal amount of maturity and impulse control. Real good kid, but still a kid.

[Heritage]

Shift stood back up and grinned. "Forever Boy is an excellent choice! I haven't met him, but he goes to my school, and I have seen fly." Then she sighed and looked a little sad. "Unfortunately, I can't fly, but let's see what I can do."

 

Her robotic body rippled and was transformed into an excellent likeness of the ageless Forever Boy, hands on his hips, complete with his current costume, though his voice remained the same soft contralto. "How is this? Also, watch!" The elfin boy leaned forward, and a sort of third leg grew out of his chest, and spread out on on the floor into a base, a bit like you might find on an airplane model. The facsimile hero then spread out his arms and lifted up his legs as the support faded to match the color of the surrounding classroom. 'Forever Boy' then tilted this way and that as though he was banking in the clouds, grinning at the students all the while.

 

"I hope this is good enough for you," Shift said to the little girl with a wink.

[Nerdzul]

The young man smiled, not because Mr. Parker’s approval made him feel pride of course. Not. At. All… “Yeah that works also on the other way around though, I mean, powers, they don’t make you good either. So yeah, it’s pretty awesome you all are studying to become superheroes, you know?"

 

“Yeah he is not too bad.” Luke shrugged at the mention of Forever Boy. He chuckled though at Shift’s demonstration. “Awesome…” As his friend changed he closed his eyes for a few moments, weaving a bit of his own magic, soon the walls, roof and even the floor, were no more, replaced by blue skies, white clouds and a distant flying island on the horizon.

 

“Anyway, what is it that you can do here guys? Wanna show us a bit?” Maybe it was a mistake to invite a full class of kids to all use their powers, but well, thinking things through hasn’t exactly always been Luke’s forte.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"That's so cool! You look just like him!" Valeria was almost bouncing, clapping her hands. "Look, Lucas! They look just like Pan! Isn't it great?"

 

Valeria pulled back a it at Luke's question, but a dark haired boy with a bright blue Centurion t-shirt quickly pushed in front of the crowds.

 

"Oh yeah? Then look what I can do!" He lifted off from the ground and started to fly. "I'm real strong too!"

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

"Hey, how about you bring back the roof, alright? Don't want to get anyone too excited all of a sudden." He looked a bit worried, as he looked up at the sky. Or maybe he was looking at some of the students.

 

"Alright, that's fine Richard, but you know the rules, right? No powers without a teacher's permission. So, down on the floor again, please."

 

He clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

 

"So, if Nightscale and Shift could get back to what they looked like, it'd be great. How about the two of you explain a bit about Claremont to the kids here? Some of them have visited, but let's hear it from you. What's your day like? What are you learning?"