The Youth Hero Alliance. Or would you rather prefer to say The Hero Alliance, The Alliance, the YHA, or even the Teen Heroes of America.

However you want to call them, the seven-member organization was known to work with every law enforcement across America as well as the US Military and even the governments across the globe. Their headquarters were hidden in plain sight- an office building located in Reunion Plaza.

And after a grueling tryout for the swimming and diving team (which I was now a part of), Jorge and Drake had the honor and privilege (note my sarcasm) to not only take me by police escort but also introduce me to their teammates as well as some of the allies who don't have superpowers but act as PR consultants, keepers of the base, and even help out with other essentials. The heroes themselves, for the most part, were as ethereal in their adult forms but were equally spellbinding as their teenage personas.

You have the water-manipulating Neptune (the Goth-themed mayor's kid known as Dominic Sellers), speedster Velocity (the dark-skinned beauty known as Kendall Evans), the Superman-lookalike known as Gold Titan (whose teenage alter-ego Brian Grayson was as much as a farm boy as Clark Kent), the overly-hyperactive Thorn (a lanky yet super-strong Hispanic teenager known as Rogelio Fernandez- who also happened to be Jorge's year-younger brother), and Memphis (a dead ringer for John Stewart's Green Lantern who was the bulky football player Jamal Burnette). And they were very much pleased to learn that I was going to be part of the clan as my godbrother's sidekick, though it was clear that I needed to gain superpowers first.

Hence the reason why I was now dressed in a nude-colored bodysuit (that resembled like a women's one-piece competitive swimsuit) and lying down in some casket-shaped pod. "Are you sure that this won't hurt a bit?" I asked uneasily as Velocity and Memphis had the honors of strapping me down and injecting me with an IV drip. "I mean, this is all a bit too sudden, don't you think?"

"You're going to be okay, newbie," Memphis assured me, though his gruff tone said otherwise. He gave me a wan smile. "All of us went through the same thing when we first got initiated. Some of us took to it like ducks to water. Brian and Thorn needed a moment to regroup, however with them being more powerful than expected than they came out."

And that last part was what I was afraid of.

Velocity noticed my look of fear. "No need to be worrisome, kid," she remarked as she freed up my restraints a bit. "You might have to rest for a while, maybe even for tomorrow. But the Lewis duo will give you a pass to recover when you need to. All you need to know is that when you wake up, you'll look like an adult and have your powers. After we get you fitted for your super-suit, we'll show you how to switch from adult to teen with little ease."

She snapped her fingers twice, her pink-and-black spandex outfit and pink hair being replaced by a simple dancer's uniform and her athletic form now more-slender like a ballerina's. She snapped her finger's twice again as she changed back into adult form.

"Impressive," I hummed, nodding a bit.

"All right, kid," Memphis said as he and Velocity stepped back from the pod's entryway while their friends joined them. "Once this door closes, you're going to start feeling the serum and sedative kick in. Try to breathe and relax, okay?"

I inhaled deeply, though I was far from relaxed. "I just hope I'm not going to regret this," I commented.

"You won't," Gold Titan commented, giving me a curt nod and a faint smirk as the door began to close. "This is the first day of being part of the bigger picture, kid. By the time you come out, you'll be ready to rule the rest."

"See you when you wake up, Chico," Jorge said. "Welcome to the fold."

Once the pod door was closed shut and sealed tight, I heard a computerized male voice come from nowhere. "Welcome, Skylar O'Hara," it said. "I'm Ivin, the AI for the Youth Hero Alliance. We will begin your transformation immediately. Breathe deeply and smell the roses while you can."

The last thing I remembered was inhaling the faint smell of a pink-colored fog before I felt the sedative kick in, the  darkness covering me like a warm blanket.

Oh, how I wish for Rhea and Shandra to be here right now.

****************

"Wakey-wakey, Skylar," I heard Thorn's say in a soothing tone. "Time to take in the new you."

My eyes fluttered open, soon finding the strong twink's fox-like face leering at me with a small grin on his face. "How long was I out?" I grunted, surprised how my voice was lower and deeper in pitch while Thorn himself came to unstrap me.

"Three days," he hummed. "Took a moment to get your DNA coded and your powers to kick in, but you're now part of the gang, amigo. And damn it to hell if you don't look like you're now part of the gang."

Minutes later, I was led out of the pod by Neptune and Drake with Mom and Dad by my side to help me in case I fell (I was severely groggy and felt like I could sleep for a year) before I was taken to a nearby empty room where a floor-length mirror waited for me with a gleeful Jorge and Gold Titan. "Ready for your new look?" the latter asked me. "You look so amazing."

"Ready as I'll ever be," I remarked, stifling a yawn. "Sorry, the sedative's strong enough to knock out an elephant."

Gold Titan nodded. "We'll give you something to wake you up," he promised. "For now, take a look at the new you."

I soon faced the mirror, now fully awake as I stared at the dark-skinned and athletic version of myself. Gone was the lanky teen version of myself. In his place was a handsome and athletic fellow with a build like Memphis's but with a milk-chocolate complexion and a slender lower body. My hair was now in a cropped crewcut style while my eyes were now glowing icy-blue. The most shocking part was that my body was now turning to ice.

"Is...is this me?" I now asked. "And why is my body turning to ice?"

"That is you, bro," Drake said as he and Jorge came to my side. "And it looks like you're a cryo-kinetic. Perfect to freeze any bad guy- literally."

"How do you feel?" Jorge asked.

I gulped. "Rhea and Shandi are not going to believe this. They are going to have themselves a fit once they see me and-"

"OMG! Skylar, is that really you?"

I whirled around to see my two stunned female friends, Rhea looking more amused than Shandra as the latter immediately passed out with Velocity catching her. "Yep, this is me all right," I replied ruefully.

"Damn, mate. This is...oh, wow," Rhea remarked, shaking her head.

**************

"I feel like I'm a stripper in this," I lamented, frowning at my costume. "I mean, don't you guys feel exposed in wearing this?"

"It's part of the superhero lifestyle," Neptune commented, giving me a small grin that contrasted his teenaged Goth personality. "You kind of look like a classic version of Robin back in the day."

He and I were referring to my superhero suit- an ice-blue-and-black outfit consisting of a form-fitting shirt and matching tights, a pair of black speedo-esque trunks that contoured my groin and ass-cheeks as well as matched with the gloves and knee-length boots. Jorge insisted that I don't have a mask, citing that it was important for the world to know who I was. "You'll gain more favors from everyone," he had explained. "That, and even your family will want to see you in action."

"Well, I feel like it," I couldn't help but say, frowning at the bulge that was straining behind the speedo and tights. "I can only imagine how everyone in school will react once they see me."

"That's for sure," came Shandra's voice as she and Rhea alongside their parents came to join me with my parents and the Lewis duo following suit. "You're a brave man for doing this, Sky. That, or you're nuts."

"Don't I know it."

Don't go too far, folks, because Greenlee's out for blood after one pep rally to celebrate Skylar being a superhero gets too ugly with a declaration of war being made. This is about to get nasty with roasts and reads for filth that could make Elektra Abundance from "Pose" turn pink. Stay tuned!

Dedicating this chapter out to MiniMoxx and Glory_feeling2!

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