The Games Heroes Play (7 page)

“Is it true that the Hermes
did not
get any touches on you?”
the teacher asked.

“NO!”  The Hermes chimed in, before Jay could respond.  “I definitely landed a few before being stopped.”

Jay was about to correct the boy, but thought better of it.  He had embarrassed him enough with stopping him so
fast;
he decided not to make the situation any tenser.

“Still, that was impressive how quickly the stop was accomplished.  The one critique I have for you Jay is that you
did not
finish the move.  The Hermes had an arm free, and with their accelerated speed, a single free arm could spell damage for you, especially since both your arms were tied.  Other than this, it was quite impressive.  Ok, everyone, same partners one more time.”

Jay could see how fired up the Hermes was now.  He knew the Hermes would not go easy on him again.  Jay crouched down into the same position, and got ready for the attack.  The Hermes immediately moved around back, and began tapping at him, hard.  After a few touches on the back, the Hermes began moving around the side.  The Hermes took an unexpected jab to Jay’s side, causing him to twist slightly.  The twist caused Jay’s face to rise from the protection of his arms, and both Jay and the Hermes noticed it immediately.  The Hermes swung at Jay’s face, but Jay lifted his arm and blocked the attack. 
That was lucky.
  Jay thought to himself.  The lift exposed Jay’s stomach, and the Hermes went for that, but Jay blocked it once again. 
Why isn’t he moving faster?
  Jay saw another attack coming, this time not just a tap but a full-fledged swing, which Jay dodged with a quick move of his head.  Jay realized he was no longer crouching, but standing fully upright.  In this position, the Hermes should be able to finish him easily. 
Another swing, another block.
 
Am I moving faster than him? 
Jay thought with amazement.  He noticed that the other fights had all stopped, and everyone was watching them now. 
I have to end this. 
Jay decided.  The next swing the Hermes took at Jay’s face, Jay caught the boy’s hand and swung him around, so that the arm was being twisted behind his back.  The boy tried to kick out at him with his leg, but Jay caught this in the other arm.  It was finished, the Hermes was completely immobilized. 

“Class dismissed
,”
w
as all the teacher could think to say.  Nobody moved.  Jay let go of the Hermes’s leg so he could put it down, then let go of the arm.  The Hermes clearly wanted to attack Jay, but with the whole class and the teacher watching, he refrained. 

“I said class dismissed!”
the teacher roared.  When a Titan yells, everybody listens.  The class all grabbed their belongings and began filing out of the room.  “Jay, you stay here,” the teacher called out.

Once the other students had left, with Michael being the last to leave the room and giving a final look back at Jay before stepping out, the teacher walked menacingly over to where Jay stood.  For a moment Jay thought the teacher was going to attack him, but he knew the teacher would know better than that.  “Do you know how much trouble you are in?”  He growled down at Jay.

“No sir, I don’t
,”
Jay responded honestly.

“Lying to a professor is serious.  This school can be dangerous if left
unchecked,
and you brought danger into this classroom.  This was supposed to be a defensive exercise, not an exhibition fight between Hermes.”

“But I am not a Hermes, I am a
Prome
…”

“You are a Hermes, I saw you move!  Don’t lie to me as if I am some sort of idiot!”

“No, sir, I do not believe you are an idiot.  But if you check the records, I am here as a Prometheus.  I am in the Prometheus dorm, and I am taking all Prometheus classes.”

“That doesn’t make you a Prometheus.  That just means you were misfiled.  You have to be able to read minds to be a Prometheus!  You are a Hermes!”

Jay realized there was only one way to convince his teacher.  “Think of a number,” Jay said.

“I’m not going to play this game with you…”

“You’re thinking of the number 3.”  Despite the objection, Jay could see a three come up on the teacher’s mental pictures.  “Think of another number.”

The teacher was angry, but decided this was a game worth playing.  “Ok, I’ve got one.”

“You’re thinking of the number 45,071,440.”

The teacher paused for a moment, his anger quickly diminishing.  “Ok, I have another number in my mind.”

“No you don’t,” Jay responded, “you are thinking about a barn that you played in as a kid.  I don’t see any numbers in your thoughts.”

“Now wait a minute,” the teacher began, but being unable to think of something to say next, he closed his mouth.  After a few moments, he began again, “I am going to warn you just once.  If you are not a mind reader and pretend to be, your time at this school will be extremely difficult.  Whatever tricks you’re playing now won’t work when your classes reach more advanced topics.  The smart thing to do would be to stop playing games and move into the Hermes classes.”

“There are no games being played here, sir.  I am a Prometheus, and have been reading minds very successfully.  If I moved unusually fast today, it was the first time I’ve done so.  I am not a Hermes, I just got lucky.”

The Titan of a teacher stepped back to think, and the motion gave Jay the feeling as if he had just been released from bondage.  With no more to discuss, the teacher decided it was time to move on with the day. 
“Very well.
  Good work in class today then.  Tomorrow will be defense against Prometheus, so your mind reading will be put to the test then.  You are dismissed.”

As Jay walked through the door exiting class, he immediately noticed Michael leaning against the wall outside the door with a big smile spread across his face.  “Have you been eavesdropping?”  Jay asked him.

“Yup,” he admitted without remorse.  “You were talking too quietly to hear, so I read your mind.  The teacher was talking loud enough for the whole hall to hear, which is good, because I wouldn’t want to read a teacher’s thoughts.  Besides, he didn’t give me permission to read his thoughts whenever I wanted, like you did.”

Jay smiled.  He
did not
mind Michael listening in at all.  It was comforting to know he was not really in there alone.

“So you’re a Hermes now too, eh?”  Michael asked cheerfully.

“No, I’m just a Prometheus, I just got lucky, and he wasn’t really moving that fast.”

“Are you ki
dding me?  He was moving faster
than any of the other Hermes in the class!  That guy was out to get you, and from what I can see, he was moving as fast as he could.  The only person there moving at a speed comparable to him was you.”

Jay heard what Michael said, but he
did not
fully believe it.  From where Jay stood, it
did not
seem to him like either of them
were
moving unusually fast.  He had felt more agile and alert than normal, but that was just his adrenaline over the activity, wasn’t it? 

Jay could see that the rumors of that class’s activities were spreading quickly by the looks he was getting by many of the other kids in the hall as they walked.  He
did not
like all this attention.  “Hey Michael, how about we go get a private practice room and I’ll teach you that move.”

Michael laughed.  “Ok Decathlon, you can try, just remember that you can’t teach a turtle to fly.”

“Or a Snake for that matter.”

CHAPTER 7

“SIR, WE HAVE something new to report on the student named Jay.”

“This better be more noteworthy news than last time.  I don’t want you telling me again that a mind reader has been reading minds.”

“No sir, this time it is certainly worth reporting.”

“Proceed.”

“The boy is a Hermes, sir.”

“I’m afraid you are mistaken, it is well confirmed that he is a Prometheus.”

“Yes sir, but he is also a Hermes.  He has both abilities.”

“I thought you said he was just emulating their speed.”

“That is what we thought at first, but his so called emulating has passed the level that a normal human could do.  His movements could only have been achieved by a Hermes.”

“If that is true, this boy is breaking records all over the place.  Oldest recorded development of Prometheus abilities, oldest recorded development of Hermes abilities, first person to develop
more than one ability
…”

“And longest time maintaining a blanket reading without rest.”

“How long did he maintain a blanket reading?”

“It started shortly after he first arrived at the school, and it has not stopped since.”

“That is incorrect
soldier,
I know he has gotten sleep since arriving.  Less than most, but he has still slept.”

“He has slept, but the blanket readings continue while he sleeps.”

“You
did not
think this was worth reporting?”

“Sir, if we reported every unusual thing about this boy’s thought pattern, you would never stop seeing us.”

“Very well.
  Any theories as to how the boy is able to obtain multiple powers?  The part of the brain that triggers the development and maintenance of abilities was previously thought to only be capable of supporting one.”

“We are unsure.  The best theory we have thus far is that his mind has adapted somehow to hold
an ability
in another area of the brain.  This is only speculation though sir.  We could not know this for sure without literally opening the kid’s head up and looking inside.”

“Suggestion noted.”

“Sir, that was not a suggestion, I was merely stating…”

“Dismissed soldier.”

MICHAEL HAD BEEN right, Jay was unable to teach him how to move faster.  Even though the exercise was unsuccessful, however, they did have fun trying.

“I can’t believe you’re a Hermes and a Prometheus,” Michael reflected in admiration as they began to walk back to the dorm.

“I don’t believe it,” Jay responded.

“How can you not believe it?  It’s a fact that you were moving at Hermes speed in class today.  These abilities don’t come and go as they please, you either can do these things or you can’t.  And you showed today that you can.”

“But what about just now, when I was trying to teach it to you?  I wasn’t moving that fast then, was I?”

“No, I guess not.  Maybe it’s just starting to develop, and you need to be threatened before it will come out?  I’m certainly not a threat, so maybe your body just doesn’t feel like it needs to go fast.”

Jay realized this could be the explanation, but he was still hesitant to believe it.  When he became a Prometheus, it was so clear; he was suddenly able to read people’s thoughts, leaving no doubt of what he was capable of.  With this, he
was not
sure.  It is true he had moved fast, but who’s to say he
did not
just get lucky, or that his body was just moving quickly for a normal person? 

As Jay and Michael entered the dorm room, they could tell immediately that the tale of the events that took place in their defensive tactics class had spread fully around the school.  Every eye was on Jay, as if afraid that they would miss something amazing if they looked away.  Jay thought how funny it would be if he could transform into a dragon or something, and justify their stares.  Out of the corner of his eye, Jay saw some movement.  He turned to see what was happening, and felt something hit him square in the chest, hard.  He stumbled back a few steps, holding his chest.  Jay looked up to see a surprised boy standing across the room, arm still outstretched from the throw.

“I’m sorry, Decathlon.  We had heard you were a Hermes too… I guess I wanted to see you move fast…I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s alright,” Jay said, not wanting to keep the attention on him.  He picked up the ball and tossed it back to the boy. 
At least now maybe they’ll stop staring.

Jay’s hope was realized, but not to his satisfaction.  The looks began turning away, but now they were throwing casual or not so casual glances in his direction constantly.  Some had moved their work or activities so that they could keep an eye on him while they went about their business. 

The only
one
who kept watching, refusing to go back to his work, was Duke.  He
did not
look out of amazement, like the rest of them, but more as if he were sizing Jay up.  This made Jay more uncomfortable than all the rest combined.  With his fellow first years, he at least knew why they were watching him.  With Duke, it was hard to tell.  Jay
did not
think Duke was reading his mind, just watching him.  Jay tried to go about his activities as normal, and when Duke
would not
shift his gaze, Jay decided he would take his shower that night instead of waiting for the morning.

When Jay got out of the shower, Duke was in his office, and the other boys were each engrossed in their own tasks.  Jay stepped over to his bed, and noticed a note sitting on his pillow.  It read ‘my office,
0
500 tomorrow’.  Jay knew it was from Duke.  He had not planned to get up so early, but he also knew he was not on the best footing with Duke as it was
.  Jay set his clock for 4:30 am
, slid it under his pillow where it could wake him up without waking the other boys, and climbed into bed.

WHEN JAY WOKE up at 4:30, the room was still dark.  The only two lights on were the one from the bathroom and the one from Duke’s office.  As soon as Jay sat up, he saw Duke’s office door open, and Duke waved his arm for Jay to come in. 
I g
uess we won’t be waiting until five
for this meeting.
  Jay climbed out of bed, and walked into Duke’s office, trying to look as awake as possible, while trying not to be blinded by the sudden light all around him.  Duke sat down in his chair, and motioned for Jay to sit in another chair in the room.

“Are you a Hermes?”

Duke’s question came before Jay had fully sat in the chair.  “I don’t know
,”
w
as all Jay could say.

“You don’t know?”

“Yes, sir, I don’t know.”

“Don’t call me sir, my name’s Duke.  How can you not know?  Can you move really
really
fast, or can’t you?”

“In defensive tactics I was able to keep up with a Hermes, and the other students and the teacher said I was a Hermes, but that is the only time I had ever moved that fast.  I tried to do it again later, but was moving at a regular speed again.”

Duke was clearly deep in thought about something important, because he leaned back in his chair and looked off to the side.  After a few moments, he seemed to get an idea, and began to ask Jay a new set of questions.

“Have you been hungrier lately than ever before in your life?”

“Yes.  I’ve never been a big eater before, but now I’m having multiple plates each meal.”  This was true.  Jay has constantly been finding
himself
hungry a few hours after meals end, and has been eating multiple plates of food at each sitting.  Even right now, Jay was struggling with the desire to run out of the room and go get some breakfast.

“Have you been finding it hard to walk slowly, to eat slowly,
to
move slowly at all?”

“Yeah, I guess so.  I feel fine in the dorm, but when I’m out in the corridors or the dining hall, or in defensive tactics class, I feel anxious going at a normal speed.”

“Only defensive tactics?
  Not in your other classes?”

“No, only in defensive tactics.
  I can focus in the other classes.”  Jay hadn’t given this much thought before, but it was true. 

“Why didn’t you catch the ball yesterday?”

“For one thing I didn’t see it coming.  Even a Hermes can’t block something they don’t know is coming.  Also, like I said, I feel comfortable going at a normal speed in the dorm.”

Duke paused in thought once again,
then
decided to come out with his purpose.  “I was told to recruit you for my simulation games team.  I don’t want to do that if you won’t live up to your rumored speed though, and are just going to end up a typical first year Prometheus.”

“You are leading a simulation games team?”  Jay was surprised; he
did not
think Duke was taking the leaders training classes.

“No, I’m on a team.”

“But I thought try-outs were on Friday?”

“They are, but that’s just for teams to fill their last few spots.  Most positions will alread
y be filled on teams by pre-try
out invitation.  A friend of mine is running a team, and she invited me to join.  And now she wants to invite you.”

Jay
could not
decide if he could live up to their expectations, or even if he wanted to try.  “I don’t know if I can move fast enough, and even if I can, I don’t know if I could control it.”

“We would teach you to control
it,
we just need to know if it’s possible.  Come on, we have a training room reserved, we’ll give you a try out right now.”

WHEN JAY AND Duke arrived at
the training room, there were ten
other students there practicing – five Titans, four Hermes, and one other Prometheus.  A female Titan noticed them arrive, and quickly came over to greet them.

“Is
this the infamous Decathlon?” s
he asked Duke with a smile.

“Yeah, this is Decathlon.  Whether or not he can live up to the rumors I don’t know, I guess we’ll have to figure that out now
,”
Duke answered.  Duke looked a lot less imposing standing next to such a muscular girl. 

The Titan extended her hand in greeting to Jay.  “My name is Jessica, but everyone calls me Hammer.  So tell me Decathlon, are you a Prometheus or a Hermes?”

“Well I know I’m a Prometheus.  I guess we’ll soon find out if I’m a Hermes.”  Jay tried to say this as a joke, but the reality of it made him uneasy.

“I guess we will
,”
Hammer responded.  “Come on over here, we are going to start with something easy.  You see that far wall?  I want you to run to that wall and back to me as fast as you can.  Ready?  Ok, go!”

Jay took off for the far wall.  He started off going slowly, and then started to speed up.  Once he had gotten to a full sprint, he kept it up until he reached the far wall.  He turned and started his run back.  By the time he had gotten back, Hammer was already frowning and talking quietly to Duke.  They stopped talking once Jay arrived out of breath back to them. 

“Ok kid, we’re going to try something else.  This machine over here is used for training the reflexes.  It is designed to be used for Hermes, but at the slowest speed it works for others as well.  We are going to try you out on the slowest speed first, and if you beat that without a problem we will go up from there.”

The machine Hammer was referring to consisted of a number of bars sticking out from the face of a wall.  The idea of the exercise is to hit the bars when they light up.  Jay stepped forward to begin the exercise.  Hammer turned the machine on, and Jay watched for the lights.  One appeared on his right and he swung his hand out to hit it, but it disappeared before he got there.  Another appeared at eye level, and he moved to touch it, but again, he was too late.  The lights started appearing faster, but he kept missing every one. 
Come on Jay, you are making a fool of yourself!  Even if you’re not a Hermes, you should be able to get at least one of these! 
Jay kept trying, and the lights kept flashing.  Suddenly Jay saw his opportunity, as a light turned on next to his right arm.  He swung his arm down hard, desperately trying to get the light before it disappeared.

Crash!

Jay’s arm hit the bar with the light, breaking it off of the machine completely.  Hammer quickly turned off the machine, and picked up the piece that Jay knocked off. 

“Figures he’d get the light on a weak bar
,”
Duke commented.

“The machine didn’t have a weak bar.  This thing snapped along the metal
,”
Hammer said, inspected the piece in her hand.