Freshman Sidekick
Ron Tucker
(High School Sidekick, #1)
Publication date: May 13th 2019
Genres: Superhero, Young Adult
Robbie isn’t your normal high school student. He can teleport. And in King City, if you’ve got a superpower, that means you can sign up to be a sidekick, so he does just that.
Wanting to become a sidekick, and hopefully, a fully-fledged superhero one day has been all Robbie’s dreamed about. But like they always say, be careful what you wish for.
No sooner than his first day of high school, does the balancing act commence. Making time for his best friend? Finally getting to go out with his crush? Training with his superhero mentor? Not to mention, there’s a psychotic villain on the loose and his minion seems to want to kill him.
Yeah, high school can suck. Add superpowers to the mix and it can be downright deadly.
—
EXCERPT:
… After years of reading about superheroes, following the ones who had profiles on social media sites, and always keeping up-to-date with the latest sidekick being promoted, you could say I’m a superhero junkie. Not that the rest of the world doesn’t love superheroes. They’re just as famous as movie stars and pro-athletes. Fan clubs, groupies, protestors; superheroes have them all.“Can you believe it?” Pete asks. “Our first day of high school.”
Before I can answer, a huge guy walks into Pete’s shoulder, almost knocking him down. He has to be at least a foot taller than me, long sideburns, and facial hair. Not just stubble. I’m talking a full-fledged goatee on his chin. If he didn’t have a letterman’s jacket on, I’d swear he was a teacher.
“Watch it, freshman,” he grunts, pushing through and continuing on his way.
“Yeah, awesome.” I roll my eyes.
“Sheesh. I guess we’re at the bottom of the food chain, huh?”
“I guess so.”
I enter my first class and find an empty desk in the back. Pulling my books out of my backpack, I look up as the bell rings, and see Jasmin walk into class. I could call her beautiful, but it’s so much more than that.
It’s like seeing a sunset over the horizon. The rays of the sun shining over the clouds. You could describe the colors, but the words don’t do them justice. Colors you never knew existed, but when we see them, you know it’s something to admire. Something that tells you the universe is a vast and glorious place. That’s what she is.
I haven’t seen her since the last day of eighth grade, but she looks amazing as always. She’s added silver highlights to her wavy, brown hair, which complements her gorgeous hazel eyes. I nearly sigh out loud. She’s maybe an inch or two shorter than me. Liking her as long as I have, I was super embarrassed in sixth grade when she was taller than me. I’m glad that’s over. I came close to asking her out once last year, but I couldn’t spit out the right words. I ended up asking her if she wanted two dumplings. Yeah, brilliant.
Her best friend, Maria, strolls into the classroom with her, and they take two chairs on the other side of the classroom. As she sits down, Jasmin looks over at me, and smiles. I smile back, melting inside, then raise my hand to wave to her.
“Yes?” the teacher says aloud, standing in front of the class.
Eyes turn and stare at me. Jasmin’s eyes widen, jumping back and forth between myself and the teacher. I look up front to find my teacher staring at me with a questioning expression.
“Yes?” he repeats, this time with a stern undertone.
“Oh, uh.” I drop my hand. “No, nothing. Sorry.” Looking back over at Jasmin, I watch as Maria whispers something to her, and they both giggle. Perfect.
The rest of my first day of high school is uneventful. I have algebra, biology, and my last class of the day is history, with Pete. We’re able to find two chairs next to one another; we take our seats as the bell rings. My phone vibrates, and I pull it out, shocked to see an alert from Mr. Mimic.
“What’s up?” Pete asks, seeing the expression on my face.
“Oh, nothing.”
Mimic: Worm – Priority Level Red.
Me: What are you doing texting my phone?
Mimic: Didn’t you install the Justice Alliance code protector yet?
Me: No!
Mimic: Worm, you need to do that ASAP. But right now, we’ve got bigger problems. Priority Level Red.
Me: Right now???
An abrupt cough almost makes me drop my phone. My head snaps up, and I see my history teacher. His stern scowl is only amplified by the thick, horned-rim glasses sitting across the bridge of his nose.
“Mr. Garcia, is it?” he asks, glancing down at a piece of paper. “No cell phones during my class.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
My eyes find my screen again, and I see Mr. Mimic’s last message.
Mimic: Now Worm! Fifth and Main!
Pete lifts a brow, no doubt confused as to why I’m looking around the room, my brain speeding a mile a minute as I try to find an excuse to leave. Deciding to use ol’ faithful as an excuse, I raise my hand.
The teacher lets out a loud sigh. “Yes, Mr. Garcia?”
“Yes, sir, I’m sorry, but I really need to use the restroom?”
“Class just started.”
“Um, yeah. Sorry.” I give an embarrassed cringe, and bob a little back and forth, hopefully selling the seriousness of my bathroom needs.
Grumbling something under his breath, he returns his attention to his piece of paper, impatiently waving his hand in the air.
“Sorry,” I whisper to Pete.
His expression is puzzled, watching me grab my backpack, and I quickly exit the room.
Stepping outside of the class, I look around, double checking for anyone in the hallways. I should probably use the restroom for privacy, but Mr. Mimic said Priority Level Red. With no one in sight, I focus on my destination and in a blip, I’m on the east side of King City.
As soon as I teleport, I dive to the ground, a car flying by my head and smashing into the building behind me. I crouch low, behind a barrier, taking in the situation and my surroundings.
Fifth and Main is a major intersection in King City, so I know the area well, but right now it looks like a war zone. High overhead, floating above a building, Supron flies, dodging a bomb being thrown at him, which ends up exploding about a hundred feet in the air. As nervous as I should be, I’m even more amped up. This is my first mission, so I need to make sure I make it a good one.
“Wor—” Mimic’s word cuts off, hyper speeding over to me. “Robbie, why aren’t you in uniform?”
“I didn’t know I was jumping into a war zone!” I yell back, trying to talk over another exploding car and falling debris.
His cape waves in the air. Mimic wears a tradition superhero uniform, with a light shade of blue accenting his sides, while his top and pants match his dark blue cape. A huge capital M is emblazoned on his chest, and his short, black hair is combed back. His brown eyes hit me, looking through a mask that covers his nose and the top half of his cheeks. It hides his identity but does nothing to hide his annoyance at me.
“You do remember what a Priority Level Red is, right? What did you think was happening?”
Of course I remember what a Priority Level Red is. He’s made me recite the three levels before our training sessions every time. Every. Single. Time.
Priority Level Green is for common legal issues and important meetings with the Justice Alliance.
Priority Level Blue is an emergency code for instances that are serious but don’t involve supervillains. Bank robberies, high-speed chases, assaults, things of that nature.
And Priority Level Red involve supervillains. Basically, the same as blue, but with superpowers.
“Yes, I remember what Priority Level Red is, but it’s my first day of high school, and I just sat down in history class.”
A huge tire flies over our heads.
“Go change!”
There are a ton of factors to take in when you teleport. Making a connection with the astral plane, proper use of manipulating said plane to create a wormhole, while still taking into account gravitational pulls. For the most part, my body seems to just adapt to those things. Like breathing. You don’t think about breathing most of the time, you just do it. That’s what happens when I teleport.
What I’m trying to say is, even though there are a lot of factors to consider, if you want the super easy way of describing my power, it’s this: point and click. If I can see the spot I want to jump to, or if I’ve been there in the past, then I can teleport there. I have jumped to places I can’t see during my training, but not only is it much more difficult, it’s extremely dangerous.
Seeing an empty lobby across the street, I teleport over to it.
With the commotion outside, the lobby is completely empty, so I strip down to my boxers, pulling out my uniform from my backpack. I’m in pretty good shape if I do say so myself, but it’s kind of embarrassing stripping down to your underwear when you’re basically in a fishbowl.
Even if Mr. Mimic did name me Worm, at least I have a pretty cool uniform. Blue boots with shiny gold pants. I thought it was a little too flashy the first time I saw it, but it’s grown on me. My top is the same color navy blue as my boots, with gold accents down my sides. It looks like spandex, but it’s not. It’s a patented mevlar material that’s form-fitting, and thanks to some superhero-tailor upgrades, highly resistant to rips and tears.
Mimic was even cool enough to get me my own logo designed up, which is an eight-pointed gold star in the middle of my chest. The design is based on the shape that appears on the astral plane if you watch me teleport through an astral-scope.
Laced into my sleeves are wrist guards with some awesome gadgets I’ve been itching to use in a real combat situation, and a hidden belt that fits snuggly under my top. I think I love my mask the most though.
It’s not your typical superhero mask, like the one Mr. Mimic wears. Nope, I’ve got an amazing helmet that covers my entire head, except for my mouth and chin, and a black visor to shield my eyes and conceal my identity. As cool as it looks, the way it works is even better. I wear ear communication pieces when I’m in my uniform, which is similar to tiny hearing aids. All I have to do is tap a button on my comm piece, and the helmet comes alive using nanotech. In a matter of seconds, it covers my entire head. It’s amazing.
A quick glance in the window of the lobby to check out my reflection, and I’m ready to go. Time for my first mission. The rampage is coming down the street, so I run through the doors, and I’m about to teleport to the top of a building to get a better vantage point and take direction from Mr. Mimic when—
BOOM!
Everything goes black.
Author Bio:Raised on a healthy dose of Saturday morning cartoons, video games, and Captain Crunch cereal (with crunch berries, of course), I write books that capture my imagination.
When I'm not writing, you can probably find me plotting my next story, playing video games, or at the movies with a large Diet Coke and a large popcorn--no butter.
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