The stares and whispers on the bus were more obvious than ever.

Riarshi had been the lone rider for half the ride, seeing that no one ever took the bus from the commoner town of Westray to the sparkling metropolis of Spiritfield.  

Stops along the way to his destination allowed city workers, residents, and other people in need of transportation on this early morning to fill each seat available. 

Riarshi sat in the back, silently looking out the window and watching the glass-panelled office buildings, shops, and skyscrapers pass by as the bus rolled. The faint reflection in the window allowed him to see the turned heads, wide eyes, and open mouths of many of the other riders.  

"Dude, that's him," said one voice with plain awe. 

"What? How can you tell?"

"The scar on his face!" the voice hissed.

"Wait, the Tryout Hero? The guy who beat that demon?"

"Yeah, man!"

"No, no way. Why the hell's he on a bus?"

"Beats me, Joe. These kids are getting more eco-friendly every year."

 The men spoke soft in an attempt to be sneaky, but it wasn't enough. Magic-improved senses helped Riarshi hear it all. 

The newfound fame of his heroics at the Tryout had brought him attention and looks he was totally unaccustomed to. He heard praise and an assortment of other positive statements from those who secretly gawked, but the occasional threat or criticism from those envious or jealous of him left Riarshi on guard.

So accustomed to the abuse he'd received for his commoner origin, he couldn't truly appreciate the good things he overheard. 

This bus ride was no different. He was glad there were only two stops left until his. 

A cold, late fall air nipped at the back of Riarshi's neck as the bus behind him sped off down the distance of Hero Street.

The trees at the far end of the practice fields were bare of leaves, with only their skeleton-like branches reaching up into the bright blue skyline. No one had used the practice fields since the end of the first semester just two weeks prior. After the extensive damage the thousand of Newbies had done to the poor, lush green fields, it would surely take until the next summer for the barren battlefield to be usable again.

Excitement bubbled within Riarshi's gut. 

Today was Orientation for his new six-month internship. Nervousness crept in the back of his mind as he ruffled his sweatshirt and dug his chilly hands into its pockets.

Riarshi turned around and crossed the street until he stood at the front door of the Hero HQ. Two tinted doors started back at him as his eyes gazed upon his new home. He noticed his shimmering reflection, where his spiky brown hair fluttered in the passing breeze and his newly gained scar travelled from his right eyebrow down to the fingertips on the same side.

Before the doors magically spread apart to allow entry, his hazel eyes glanced upon the scar that shined a bright white in the overhead sun. Despite his nerves, Riarshi managed a smile.

He didn't care that he would bear this mark for the rest of his life - he already came to accept the burden. It was the price he had to pay to save his friend and the other Newbies in the Tryout from certain death.

His self consciousness was no more. In fact, he took pride in the hard, bumpy texture that graced his skin. The sensation told him he had survived his darkness, despite the ongoing battle raging inside. 

His demonic side failed to pull him in, and he became a hero. 

Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, Riarshi walked through the double doors and into the Hero HQ - towards his new beginning.

The breath didn't work.

Although Riarshi had now been to the HQ several times in the past week, today's reasoning was all the difference needed to provoke anxiety. During his other trips, he simply arrived as a visitor, just like hundreds of other people from throughout the city. Today, he reported for work.

"Hi, Carol," said Riarshi with a small, friendly grin as he approached the front desk secretary.

The older lady looked up from her computer and did something Riarshi never would have expected...

She smiled back. "Hello, Riarshi," she greeted with an unfamiliar and pleasant tone that Riarshi had never heard her use before. "Checking in for orientation?"

Shock stole Riarshi's ability to form a reply, but only for just a moment. "Yeah... yeah, I am. Uhm, I know I'm a bit early, though. Didn't want to be late on my first day."

"That's alright," Carol assured with another bright smile. "You're not the first. A lot of people have shown up and checked in already, so you don't need to worry about that. Smart for you to think ahead."

Riarshi was again lost for words. The unfamiliar hospitality from the usually grumpy secretary didn't help his unease.

Carol failed to notice his conflict. She instead focused her attention to typing in Riarshi's information to complete the check in. After a final click of her mouse, she snapped her long, arthritic fingers and a blue lanyard fell over Riarshi's neck.

"Welcome to the HQ, Tryout Hero," she smiled, gesturing to the black doors at the end of the hallway.

"Oh... thank you," Riarshi answered with some hesitation.

***

Riarshi tumbled into the HQ atrium, the blue card lanyard swinging wildly around his neck. 

The atrium was the same as it always was. The six story tall water fountain housed at the center of the massive lobby sent wave after wave fragrant mist into the air. The random flicker of sun from the roof light bounced off of the gold railings and statues that lined each floor's overlooking balcony. The white tiles underneath Riarshi's feet were reflective and squeaked with each step he took.

Riarshi soaked in his beautiful surroundings for a brief moment. This beautiful building was his workplace now. It still hadn't fully sunken in, and the thought sill seemed absurd to him. A demon becoming a Hero - just the idea seemed implausible. Yet it was the truth.

Walking through the center of the atrium and past the information desk, Riarshi returned a friendly wave from Mina before he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. It was an introduction letter from the POH he received in the mail just a few days prior. He began reading it after taking a seat on the edge of the water fountain.

Hello Mr. Thomas,

First off, on behalf of the POH, we would like to congratulate you on progressing to your second semester of the Aginem Magic Hero Program. The dedication, strength, and perseverance you have displayed throughout the previous three months has proven yourself worthy of continuation in our esteemed program. You have reached the next step to becoming an official Magic Hero for the country of Aginem.

During this six month long semester, you will be working as a Hero Intern. You and two other classmates will be placed into what we like to call a Squad. You will have a Squad Leader - a bronze rank Hero who will take you and your squad mates under his or her wing and lead you to greater heights. During this internship here with the POH, we will assign you missions to complete. Your performance in these missions will determine if you can continue to the third and final semester of the Hero Program.

After extensive deliberation, considering the opinions of your professors, analyzing your results of the Tryout, and establishing an overall observation of your magical strengths, your three person squad is as follows:

Riarshi Thomas

Hara Harper

Tabito Clarke

Squad leader: Johnny Kinson - AKA: Kinson

IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE

Move in date for the HQ dormitories: December 7th, 2018

Dates for the internship: December 9th, 2018 to May 8th, 2019

Please take this form to your orientation so you can properly connect with your squad mates and squad leader. Once you receive your blue card from the front desk, the incantation for travel will be "Auditorium".

Once again, congratulations on making it this far in your journey to become an official Magic Hero. We hope you take the time to learn as much as you can from your squad leader and other Heroes alike during your time with us. Just remember... Never give up and break your limits.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Aryl

P.S. Sorry for the robotic sounding cut-and-paste letter, Riarshi. I assume you will be pleased with your squad. My influence had nothing to do with the assignment. You, Hara, and Tabito showed great teamwork during the Tryout, and I can tell you three already share the powerful bond that we require of young Hero squads. I will see you at Orientation. - Old man Aryl.

Riarshi smiled upon reaching the final, handwritten message from Aryl himself. The man may not have been blood related, but his father's stepfather was now the closest thing he had to an actual family. Despite their long and rather separated history together, Riarshi knew Aryl wouldn't play favorites or provide him with special treatment during his time here at the POH. Hell, he almost had him arrested when he was ten years old. 

Riarshi would have to work for everything, just like everyone else.

He stuffed the paper back into his pocket and grasped the blue card off his chest. He held it up to his mouth and pressed the white button in the corner of the card before speaking.

"Auditorium." he whispered. A fierce white light suddenly blinded him.

His head spun, and he felt as though his feet lifted off the ground. His arms and legs slapped together, as though he had pencil dove through water. But instead of a shining blue, he was face-deep in a pool of white light. In less than a second, the white light vanished, leaving Riarshi staring at a wide, wooden stage in the middle of a brand new room.

There were two large sections of chairs, lined in dozens of rows up a small incline. A single aisle split the groups of chairs in half, leading to the bottom of a wooden auditorium stage.

His vision finally returning to normal, Riarshi started down the aisle and looked around at the crowd already spread amongst the seating.

There weren't too many people here yet, but the two rows of chairs at the front of the auditorium were almost full. In the back row, he spotted an unmistakable head of long, midnight black hair, and a taller head of spiky orange seated directly next.

The one with orange hair spun around in his seat, as though he sensed Riarshi's creeping footsteps. It was Tabito. He wore his usual cheeky smile and gave Riarshi a beckoning wave, then pointed to the empty seat to his left.

The one with midnight black hair turned around, too. Her sapphire blue eyes glimmered in the stage light, and a small smile spread on her face. It was Hara.

Riarshi smiled back at the girl, who nodded her head in silent acknowledgement. She then spun back around in her seat to look at the stage.

After sliding over the knees of others in the row, Riarshi plopped his rear in the seat Tabito pointed out and released a heavy sigh. Being with these two always helped return him to Earth.

"Bout time you made it," said Tabito, poking an elbow into Riarshi's ribs.

"We were worried the buses were gonna run late," Hara added, leaning over in her chair so that she could see Riarshi.

Riarshi smiled. "I'm early, even with my long bus ride, yet you two are still gonna give me grief?"

"Hey, I joked that some demon altered the bus schedule to make sure you didn't show up," Tabito smirked, clearly amused at his own joke. "Revenge for what happened at the Tryout, y'know?"

The last part sent a wave of unease through Riarshi's gut. He quickly blew it off, though, and chuckled in spite of the mediocre joke. "Nah, I wouldn't miss this for the world."

***

Ten minutes of random chatter flew by as more interns filed into the auditorium and claimed a seat.

Riarshi and Tabito were talking about organizing a trip to The Grimoire when they were interrupted by their third.

"Shhhh-" Hara shushed the boys with a finger pressed against her lips. "-it's starting," she mouthed, pointing up at the stage.

The lights that had shone brightly from above the stage suddenly dimmed, leaving the crowd of about thirty interns in a muted darkness. Silence filled the room as each intern waited with anticipation. The tension of the moment was then broken by the sound of slow footsteps from atop the stage.

The feet tapped along the wooden surface, sending a rhythmic echo throughout the large auditorium. The sound stopped once someone reached the microphone set at the stage's center.

Two yellow eyes bobbed in the darkness that loomed over the stage, and the gurgle of a cleared throat sounded through the microphone for everyone to hear.

All the lights in the auditorium then flashed on, nearly blinding everyone in their seats. 

Commissioner Aryl stood at the microphone, with his blue and red cloak draped over his shoulders and his gray beard sparkling in the light. His thin lips arched into a smirk that spread across his ancient face.

"Welcome, everyone, to the POH internship orientation!" The old man's voice boomed throughout the massive room. "There is one matter of business we need to attend to before we can officially start." He looked over toward the far end of the stage where a head poked out of the curtain. "Sara!" he called.

"Yes, sir!" yelled a high-pitched voice. A pair of fingers snapped. 

A pink, sparkling light enveloped the crowd of interns from head to toe. 

Riarshi looked down. To his surprise, his sweatshirt moved and shifted along his body, as though it had just come to life. He froze in place - he wasn't sure what was happening. He glanced over to Tabito and Hara, and it seemed they were in the same confused boat, too - evident by the shocked looks on their faces as their own sweatshirts morphed and twisted.

His sweatshirt then changed in color from a dark grey to a pure white. Navy blue gloves formed over his hands and connected into the sleeves of his shirt. He felt his shoes morph into knee-high boots that hugged his feet and shins.

Before he knew it, all of his clothes had completely changed in form and material. He spun his head around, and his eyes went wide when he glanced over to Tabito and Hara.

He and Tabito were in white and blue spandex uniforms, while Hara was in a skintight purple and white of similar design.

Realization kicked in, and Riarshi felt a ball catch in his throat. He pressed his lips together to keep the rising emotions inside. The odd unease he had been feeling completely disppeared.

He never expected this day to happen. After everything he'd been through... and with the cruel fate that was his heritage... the odds were always against him. For three months, he had fought against his limitations, and pushed every day to make himself a better person who could use his demonic powers to save, rather than destroy.

He wouldn't be standing where he was today, wearing what he was today, if it wasn't for the two teens standing next to him with bewildered looks on their faces... for the grayed old man standing on stage who looked at him with misty eyes... and for the goofy four-eyed man who was the first to make him feel like he belonged.

Right here... right now... Riarshi was wearing a POH uniform. Its snug, natural fit along with its symbolism warmed his insides like a roaring bonfire.

"With the presentation of this uniform, I now pronounce you all official POH Intens." 

Aryl's yellow eyes met Riarshi's hazel while the interns in the room erupted into a cheer. The commissioner beamed. "Welcome, everyone... to the POH."