After taking some time to think about it, Arcadia decided it would be better to stick with Silverhawk for now. 'This is all only for a week anyway. No harm in playing along.' As the two waited, Silverhawk walked over to the shopkeeper. "Hello, sir. Are you alright?" Silverhawk asked. The shopkeeper sullenly nodded. "OK. Good. Now could you tell me what these guys wanted so badly?" The shopkkeeper looked at the men and said, "They wanted statue. Bought it from some old man last week." Silverhawk nodded. "Can I see it?" The shopkeeper nodded, "I don't know why. Appraised it myself. The thing is worthless"
The shopkeeper placed a small statue on the counter. It was made of marble, and was the likeness of a rather nasty beastie. Silverhawk looked the statue over, then turned to one of the thugs, "What'd you want with this?" The muggers looked at each other before speaking, then one said, "Our boss wanted it. Said it was something called the 'Statue of Bughul.' I don't know why?" Silverhawk walked over to the mugger. "And who's your boss?" "Back off, meta. I ain't tellin' you." Silverhawk grinned, "Loyalty, but not much brains." Then Silverhawk turned to the shopkeeper, "Sir, I'll need to confiscate that statue for investigation. If there really is nothing strange about it, it'll be returned to you. If we decide we need to keep it, you'll be compensated. OK?" The shopkeeper turned away, "Keep it. It's brought me nothing but trouble."
Arcadia watched as Silverhawk handled the shopkeeper. Then she heard sirens outside. A pair of cops walked into the store, but stopped the moment they saw her. She fought back the urge to grin, both of these guys looked like they saw a ghost... which, in their minds, was probably true. Silverhawk walked over to the officers. "Officers, I've apprehended these men in a mugging, and I'll be confiscating the object they intended to steal as evidence." One of the officers, whose badge read "Moorston" nodded. Silverhawk looked at Arcadia and grinned, "Unfortunately, the first Arcadia is irreplaceable. But she was nice enough to get herself a successor. I decided to show her what she was getting into before she got her junior Society card." The cops looked at Arcadia, still trying to process what they were seeing. Then Moorston stepped forward, "So, you're taking ol' Arcadia's spot." Then Arcadia looked at Silverhawk. "Nobody can replace her." "Right. You got big boots to fill, kid. Good luck. Silverhawk, as you were. I'll go write up a report." Moorston turned to leave, "Oh, by the way," Moorston said as he turned around, "You were close to the first Arcadia right? She was good people. Saved my life two years ago. If you're half the woman she was, you'll do good." Moorston turned and left, and Arcadia, for the first time, realized the weight of he role she had taken.
Arcadia and Silverhawk flew through the sky, Arcadia just behind him. Silverhawk occasionally turned back to make sure Arcadia was still following. Eventually, a large building came into sight and Silverhawk began to lower, while Arcadia followed suit. When they landed, Arcadia looked up at the building. It read "International Metahuman Society. Silverhawk looked at Arcadia, "I know it's not much, but it's home base. Lotta good memories here." Silverhawk and Arcadia walked inside.
The entire building was bustling. Caped people of all shapes and sizes walked through the building. While everyone seemed to be focussing on different things, everybody turned to see Arcadia. Arcadia and Silverhawk walked toward the main desk. "Jean," Silverhawk said, as a receptionist looked up from her computer, then looked at Arcadia, slack-jawed. "I'd like to register a new meta today for the training program. Arcadia II." With that, Jean nodded and typed away. Arcadia looked around and said, "Do I have to give you guys my real name?" Silverhawk shook his head, "We'd prefer it, but we'll understand if you don't. We respect our members' privacy. Now, in order to get a proper metahuman license, you'll need to take classes on some basic stuff. Combat, protocol, law, nothing too tough. Oh, and it's every day." Then Arcadia panicked, "Silverhawk, I'm a high school student." Silverhawk looked at Arcadia for a moment, and then nodded, "Jean, high school program." Then turned to Arcadia, "Every day after school. I gotta go put this thing through R&D;," he said, gesturing to the statue, "See you around, kid."
--
After a long and boring day of filling out paperwork that none of you wanted to read, Arcadia returned home at around midnight. She flew into her window, and the took the mask off once inside. Jon, himself again, placed the mask in his box. 'Well. I'm a junior superhero now.' Jon decided to text Karyn that he was alright. With the day over, Jon decided that he would continue playing along until the wish was up. He got ready for bed, got a bite of leftover food to eat, and fell asleep.
