"Students and teachers of Centennial Grove High, you've known Mr. O'Hara for quite some time, especially when it comes to his newly-acquired status as a hero," Principal Lewis's voice intones as he addresses the crowd of students, parents, and teachers as we all crowded in the gym. "And now that he has his powers, he'll be ready to join his peers in fighting crime. Of course, we'll all pitch in to make sure that he not only keeps out of trouble himself but also ensure of his pending graduation. He's a student first, after all."

The crowd hummed and agreed in approval, all eyes on me as I stood with my band of heroes with Drake and Jorge themselves standing at either side of me. "Fellow Grizzlies, great and small," the latter spoke up, "Skylar initially never gave me or my co-hort Drake a chance when we were mere students as he didn't know of our true identities yet. But now that he does, the two of us will nurture and ensure him that he will come into his own identity as a hero while learning the ropes as a sidekick. And by the end of graduation, Skylar O'Hara- or rather, Ebony Artic- will soar across the skies and freeze all evildoers with his icy powers."

"Join us as we commemorate his future and celebrate his present moments," Drake, in his Blue Crush person, intoned. "Last week as an appetizer. Three days ago was when he accepted his powers. Today is when he'll begin his road to stardom in the eyes of the world. Welcome, Centennial Grove, Skylar "Ebony Artic" O'Hara!"

Everyone cheered, the marching band immediately playing some superhero march as the cheerleaders performed splits and kicks.

As you can tell, readers, three days of me learning the ropes of my newly-acquired powers (flight, super-strength, my ice-themed powers, and ice-healing), learning how to change from teen to adult (which was a little tougher than it looked), and catching up on my sleep from the sedative while getting ahead in my classwork led to this moment where a pep rally was held in my honor. And all my teammates insisted in making this a worldwide affair with all the news and media outlets covering the event. But of course, none of the teachers made it any easier since they decided to not only double my homework assignments but also remind me to let my godbrothers and mentors train me properly. Add in more interviews from all the presses (60 Minutes, The Insider, Elle, People Magazine, etc.) and more party invites, and things were getting more and more obscene for me. Still,I had to take it all in (under subtle threats from the Lewis duo and Superintendent Westin, a hardy woman who was obsessed with heroes) and start living it up.

"You are a hit, Skylar!" Velocity cheered as she, the other heroes, and I quickly switched back to our teen personas (all of us dressing in designer clothes) while greeting the allies and DFW law enforcement members. "You can't say that Dallas and the whole world is loving you today!"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "That's obvious," I replied, keeping my voice even while stifling a yawn. "I hardly got any sleep last night no thanks to another interview with Vanity Fair and WFAA. I want a nap so bad."

"Here's some coffee," a pale-faced dancer (one of the Homestead allies who helped in keeping the base in perfect condition) said as she handed me the cup of the beverage in question. "And don't make any plans to go home because we got a meeting later today."

Before I could open my mouth, I head Memphis groan in exasperation. "Oh, no. Greenlee's here to cause drama," he said.

Sure enough, the dark-haired diva (who was dressed to kill in her pastel-colored ensemble) was storming towards us with a glare that could skin a cat. "O'Hara, I thought I made it clear that you needed to stay away from my boyfriends," she spat menacingly as two officers came to restrain her. "When I said 'Hands off,' I mean it!"

I shot her a dirty look of my own. "Sammons, I don't know why you're trippin'," I began.

"Save it! You little fag, you! Drake and Jorge are MY boyfriends, not yours!"

Now it was the duo's turn to glare at Greenlee. "We were never lovers, Greenlee," Jorge reminded her, talking to her as if she was a petulant toddler. "Drake and I have never slept with you, nor do we ever find you attractive. If anything, your obsession with us proves that you are unworthy to join the team as a hero or an ally. Skylar, on the other hand, was someone we've known for most of our lives."

"Yeah," Drake agreed, nodding slightly. "He has class, poise, and grace- something that a woman like you can never have."

Greenlee sniggered ruefully. "So he has you seduced by some witchcraft," she remarked.

Before anyone knew it, she broke away from the officers and raced towards me with a vengeful look in her eyes. "You little shit," she hissed, her face inches from mine. "I don't know what game you're playing, but this will end right now! Leave my boyfriends alone!"

"Sister, I don't even want your men," I replied tersely, placing my hands on my hips. "And if you're really believing that Drake and Jorge want you, then you must need a lobotomy and some prune juice. No wonder why you're future looks like one consisting of cats, soap operas, and too much junk food to turn you into a bombshell into the fifth Teletubby. But on the bright side, you do make a good fit for the role of the Big Bad Wolf, by the hairs of your chinny-chin-chin."

SLAP!

I reeled from the backhanded slap that landed on my face, Greenlee huffing and puffing before letting out a deep cackle. "You've just unleashed the dogs of war, O'Hara. I'm sorry, I mean, Ebony Artic. You are on my list!"

With that, she landed one more slap to my face before spitting on me as she was soon led away by the police.

"Fuck," I hissed as Brian handed me a paper towel to clean my face. "Why do I have to deal with a jealous diva?"

"You're guess is as good as ours," Jorge replied as the Lewis duo joined us. "Principal Lewis, we need to warn you about Greenlee and-"

"We'll deal with her," the older man said before turning to me. "Skylar, you just earned yourself an enemy out of Miss Sammons. You may not mean to, but you did."

"Clearly," I replied. "Can this day get any more worse?"

Three guesses, readers, and two don't count.

I'm betting that you want to know if things can get any more worse for Skylar now that war's being declared between him and Greenlee. Well, you'll see in the next chapter, so don't go anywhere!

Cumulative word count after chapters 1-4: 6,069 words.

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