Raphael cracked the back door open just a fraction of an inch, his heart hammering against his ribs far harder than it ever did against cosmic assassins or syndicate thugs.
Peering through the gap, he saw the classroom bathed in the soft glow of digital holoscreens. Dozens of students were frantically tapping away, their stylus pens blurring across their desks as they raced against the clock. At the front of the room, Professor Reed had his back turned to the class, his distinctive lightning-streaked hair catching the ambient light as he wrote out a complex line of equations on the main digital board.
Clear, Raphael thought, taking a quiet, controlled breath.
He ducked low, dropping into a crouch, and slid through the door frame like a shadow. Keeping his center of gravity close to the floor, he began sneaking down the far aisle toward his assigned seat.
Topanga, sitting in the back row, glanced up from her holoscreen, her sharp orange eyes widening as she caught sight of Raphael disheveled, covered in a fine layer of gray dust, and crawling along the floor like a stealth operative. She bit her lip, trying to maintain her usual sharp composure, but a sudden snort escaped her nose, quickly dissolving into a fit of giggles. The boy sitting next to her looked down, saw Raphael flat on his stomach, and immediately covered his face, muffling a burst of laughter.
Hearing the commotion, Professor Reed's hand stopped mid-stroke on the board.
Instantly, Raphael dove sideways, ducking completely behind a row of empty desks and pressing his back flat against the floorboards.
Professor Reed didn't even turn around right away. His voice cut through the room, dry and sharp as a razor. "What, pray tell, is so hilariously funny about advanced energy mechanics?"
The giggles spread across the back rows as a few more students spotted Raphael's sneakers sticking out from behind the desk. Soon, half the room was chuckling, trying and failing to hide their amusement.
Professor Reed tapped his digital marker against the board, the sharp clack-clack bringing a sudden hush over the room.
"Silence," he commanded coldly, writing down one final variable before placing the stylus down. "No more laughing. You have twenty minutes remaining."
He turned around slowly, his keen, analytical eyes sweeping over the rows of students. His gaze traveled down the aisle, past the grinning faces, and stopped dead at the empty chair in the third row and the very obvious shadow curled behind it.
"Raphael," Professor Reed said smoothly, crossing his arms.
"I'm here!" Raphael blurted, scrambling up from the floor and sliding into his seat so fast his chair screeched against the floor tiles. He adjusted his collar, brushing a streak of concrete dust off his shoulder with a nervous grin. "Sorry, Professor. Just... dropping my pencil."
"So you're late again, Raphael," Reed said, his eyes narrowing into two thin slits.
"I wasn't late!" Raphael said quickly, holding his hands up in self-defense. "I've... I've actually been here the whole time! You just noticed me because my head was down. I was sleeping! I mean studying! My head was resting on the desk."
Professor Reed stared at him for three long, agonizing seconds. "Now you're lying to me."
The professor stepped down from the podium, his crisp shoes clicking against the floor as he walked over to the collection stack on his desk. He flipped through the digital test submissions and physical sign-in sheets with a flick of his wrist.
"I don't see your name," Reed said coldly, raising an eyebrow as he looked up. "Nor do I see a completed exam."
Raphael dropped the act, his shoulders slumping as he winced. "I'm sorry, Professor... I was late. I had to use the bathroom! I had really bad tacos last night... It really won't happen again. But... please, can I still take the test?"
Professor Reed let out a sharp exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You have been late every single day since the school year started, Raphael. Every. Single. Day."
He tapped his console, pulling up Raphael's student profile to file an official reprimand. His eyes scanned down to the species and classification tab. He paused.
Classification: Human. Non-powered.
The harsh edge in Reed's demeanor softened just a fraction. A brief flash of memory resurfaced in his mind a vivid reminder of his own past, of the exhausting, uphill battles he had fought as a non-powered human trying to carve out a name for himself in a world overrun by superhumans. Seeing an ordinary human student visibly struggling under that same heavy weight hit a quiet, personal chord. He closed the file, letting out a measured sigh.
"After school," Professor Reed said, his tone still firm, but far less severe. "You can retake the exam in my office. You will have thirty minutes. That's all I am going to give you."
Relief washed over Raphael like a cool wave. "Thank you, sir. Truly. Thank you."
Professor Reed nodded once, turning back toward the digital board. "Quiet down, everyone. Back to your papers."
As the classroom settled back into the quiet hum of tapping styluses, Jax, sitting in the desk right next to Raphael, leaned over and shielded his mouth with his hand.
"Bro, you need to stop being late," Jax whispered frantically, his eyes wide. "Last time it worked because he didn't notice, and I managed to submit part of the test under your ID! But he's on to us now. Why were you even late today anyway?! Did you get that job you were looking for?"
"Yeah, I got the job," Raphael said softly. "It's not in the best neighborhood, but he's paying me twenty credits an hour to flip alien delicacies over at Squid King Alien Burgers."
Raphael glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then reached deep into his jacket pocket. He carefully pulled out two small, sealed glass containers. One glowed with a volatile, pulsating purple hue the concentrated Superdrug. The other held a clear, pale chemical compound the prototype cure he had secured from Captain Vaelen.
"I had to save someone important to me," Raphael whispered back, keeping his hands low under the desk. "And it's a good thing I went... because I got these."
Jax's jaw dropped. He leaned in so close his nose almost touched the desk, his eyes practically bulging out of his head as he stared at the glowing purple vial.
"What... is that?" Jax gasped under his breath, fascination overtaking his shock. "Is that... is that the new Superdrug?! How did you even get that? Is it true what they say on the news? That it gives literally anyone powers?"
"Yeah, it's true," Raphael muttered, his fingers tightening around the glass. "But there's a fifty-percent chance it completely mutates or kills you on the first dose. And this other one right here is the prototype cure for it, but it's unstable. It doesn't work all the time. I think... I think if I can find a way to analyze them together, I can formulate a real cure."
Jax blinked, staring at the purple liquid like a man hypnotized. "Why would anyone want a cure for having powers?"
Raphael looked at his friend, his expression turning grave. "Because it drives people insane, Jax. It turns regular citizens into mindless, violent zombies."
"Sounds worth it if you ask me," Jax muttered, his gaze still glued to the vial. "Better than being weak. Better than being a nobody."
He reached his hand out, his fingers twitching toward the glass. "Let me see it."
"No!" Raphael snapped in a harsh whisper, pulling the vials back to his chest. "It's way too dangerous. Especially for a regular human."
Jax pulled his hand back, swallowing hard, but his eyes never left the glowing purple light reflecting off Raphael's desk. "So what are you even gonna do with it here?"
Raphael didn't answer with words. Instead, he reached beneath the lip of his desk and activated the desktop DNA Splicer unit the small holographic machine Professor Reed had turned on for their class assignment.
Keeping one eye on Professor Reed at the front of the room, Raphael discreetly hovered the two glass containers over the scanner tray. The machine's light swept over the vials, scanning the liquid structures and converting the biological compounds into digital, holographic samples on his personal screen.
With a few quick taps on his desk interface, Raphael initiated a hidden particle and DNA sequence scan. Holographic strands of code began to silently scroll across his monitor, slicing through the digital data to cross-reference the volatile Superdrug against the cure's chemical base.
Beside him, Jax couldn't stop staring. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the purple glow floating above the splicer interface, his voice dropping to an awestruck, dangerous whisper.
"That's all it takes..." Jax breathed, his voice barely audible beneath the classroom chatter. He stared at the swirling purple glow on the screen, his reflection shimmering in the digital glass. "Just one shot... and all my problems could be solved."
He slowly looked around the lecture hall, watching couples laughing together superpowered students with shimmering skin, floating above their chairs, or showing off glowing auras. Then his gaze drifted back to Raphael, and over toward Topanga sitting a few rows ahead.
Jax bit his lip, a dark bitterness creeping into his chest. Topanga only likes Raphael because of Hero One, Jax thought, envy twisting in his gut. She likes the guy with powers, not the 'human' version sitting right here next to me. It's always the supers. If I could just get the opportunity... if I just had powers of my own, everything would change.
RINGGGGGGGG!
The sudden, loud chime of the school bell shattered the quiet, and the lecture hall immediately erupted into a flurry of shuffling papers and energetic chatter.
Seeing Topanga gather her things and walk toward the door, Raphael panicked. He hurriedly shoved his notebooks into his bag, completely missing his jacket pocket as he tried to stow the vials.
Clack!
The glowing purple vial of the Superdrug slipped from his grip, bouncing softly off his shoe and rolling onto the floor.
"Wait up for me, Topanga!" Raphael called out, leaping out of his seat and rushing down the aisle toward her.
Jax blinked, looking down just in time to see the glowing glass container sitting completely exposed beside Raphael's desk.
"Dude!" Jax gasped, lunging forward to scoop it up. "Raphael, you dropped."
The words froze in Jax's throat. His fingers wrapped around the sleek, cool cylinder, feeling the faint hum of energy radiating from the unstable drug. He stared down at the swirling purple fluid. If I take this... everything changes.
Jax swallowed hard. The breath hitched in his chest, and without saying another word, he slowly slipped the Superdrug into his coat pocket.
"Wait for me, Raphael!" Jax called out, jogging down the aisle to catch up.
At the front of the room, Professor Reed watched all three of them exit into the crowded hallway. His sharp eyes narrowed, tracking Topanga's distinct silhouette.
So that's the girl, Reed thought, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Topanga. The student journalist... the exact girl Hero One went to visit last night. He gave her something I couldn't hear what it was from my vantage point, but they clearly have a personal connection. She would be the perfect leverage to uncover who Hero One really is.
Reed took a step toward his desk, but as he watched Topanga walk away, his eyes naturally shifted to the boy walking right beside her. Raphael. The light from the hallway caught the edge of Raphael's white hair.
Reed froze. Wait a second...
A sudden, sharp realization hit him. That white hair... it was so familiar when standing right next to her.
Reed stared intently, analyzing Raphael's profile. But after a long second, he shook his head with a scowl. No. It couldn't be. His face looks completely different from Hero One's. His hair color is similar, but the style is totally wrong. Everything about his facial structure is off... and Raphael is a non-powered human.
Turning back to his desk, Reed opened his terminal and brought up the school's central database. He pulled up Raphael Elyon's official medical and registration files. Everything in the system from his entrance physicals to his medical background traced down to Raphael being a completely ordinary human.
"He can't be him," Reed muttered to himself, closing the file. "Raphael is one of my favorite students... one of the very few pure humans capable of reaching this level and holding his own against superpowered beings."
Reed paused, his eyes softening slightly as a quiet warmth crossed his face. "He's always smiling, no matter how hard it gets... he reminds me so much of my daughter."
Reaching across his desk, Reed gently touched a framed photo sitting beside his terminal a picture of his daughter smiling brightly.
He shook his head with a small, self-deprecating sigh. "Besides, there are multiple students on campus with white hair and silver eyes. It's just a coincidence."
A couple of hours passed. The sun began to dip beneath the horizon as the academic day finally drew to a close.
Professor Reed sat alone in his darkened classroom, the front door held wide open. Footsteps echoed down the empty corridor, and Raphael walked in, looking nervously at the clock on the wall.
"Are you ready to take the test, Raphael?" Professor Reed asked, stepping forward with a calm smile.
"Yes, sir," Raphael replied, adjusting his backpack strap. "I'm really sorry I'm always late, Professor. I'm just glad you gave me another chance. I'm going to try to finish this way quicker than thirty minutes. I just got a new job, and I definitely don't want to be late to that."
Reed's eyes softened with a touch of nostalgia. "I'm glad to hear that, Raphael. You know, having a job builds character. I still remember when I landed my very first position at Doom Laboratories..."
As the professor spoke, Raphael's eyes drifted toward the wooden desk nearby. He noticed a small, framed photograph resting right beside the computer terminal. Looking closely, he saw a younger Professor Reed standing beside a woman and a young girl with a bright, beaming smile.
"You have a beautiful family, Professor," Raphael said softly, gesturing toward the frame. "Does your daughter go to school here? She looks around my age."
The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted, turning heavy and quiet. Reed's smile faded completely, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"She and my wife... passed away," Reed said, his voice flat and stripped of emotion.
Raphael felt a sudden lump in his throat. "I... I'm so sorry to hear that, Professor. But at least Hero One is here now, you know? He's been saving a lot of people. And I heard even more heroes are heading to our city soon."
BANG!
Reed's hand slammed down onto the heavy wooden desk with a violent crack, making the photo frame jump.
"You act like that's a good thing!" Reed snapped, his eyes flashing with a sudden, bitter rage as he glared at Raphael. "You think heroes are all good?! You think all these freaks that surround us are good people?"
Reed stepped closer, his chest heaving as he pointed a trembling finger between himself and Raphael. "Look at us, Raphael. Me and you... we are human. We have to stick together! These heroes don't care about us. This used to be ourplanet, until they turned it into this mess! They mess things up and get away with doing whatever they want, no matter who they hurt."
Slowly, Reed's gaze drifted back toward the framed photograph resting on his desk. The harsh edge in his voice cracked, bleeding into a hollow, agonizing grief. "If heroes were actually good... my daughter and my wife would still be alive today."
Raphael froze, taken completely aback by the outburst. "What... what do you mean by that?"
Reed stood breathing heavily for a brief moment, the vein in his temple throbbing. Slowly, he pulled his hand back, closing his eyes as he caught himself. He let out a long, ragged exhale, smoothing down his jacket.
"Nothing," Reed muttered quietly, his tone dropping back into a cold, professional calm. "I... I apologize, Raphael."
He extended his right hand toward the young student. "Let us just begin your test."
As their hands met, a sudden, sharp prick bit into Raphael's skin.
"Ow!" Raphael flinched, pulling his hand back as a tiny bead of crimson blood bubbled on his fingertip.
"Ah, I apologize," Reed said smoothly, looking down at his palm. "I must have a loose pin or needle stuck to my sleeve. I didn't realize."
"It's okay, no problem," Raphael said, wiping the drop of blood onto a napkin before taking his seat at the front desk. He pulled out his pencil and opened the test booklet.
Behind his podium, out of Raphael's line of sight, Professor Reed opened his hand. A micro-needle mechanism attached to his ring had gathered a pure sample of Raphael's blood. Reed quietly pressed the tip onto a small, handheld DNA sequencer linked directly to his private terminal.
I already have the biological signature of Hero One stored in my database from his recent battle sites, Reed thought, watching the progress bar fill on his screen. Even if my system can't fully comprehend or break down the divine energy in Hero One's cellular structure, it can still run a basic genetic match.
The scanner chimed softly.
[GENETIC MATCH: 0% - SUBJECT IS 100% HUMAN]
Reed stared at the result. "No match," he whispered under his breath, letting out a subtle sigh of relief. "He's 100% human. It really isn't him. Good... I knew I was mistaken."
He closed the scanner, but as he stared at the back of Raphael's head, a dark shadow slowly crossed his face.
But wait... Reed thought, his eyes narrowing as the realization hit him. Hero One didn't show up until he showed up. Not until the first day of school. That can't be a coincidence.
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes flashing with a cold intensity. My gut feeling is never wrong. He looked too similar to him standing beside Topanga. And Hero One never shows up when Raphael is around. I promised myself I would never resort to this on school grounds... but I have to be absolutely certain.
Turning to his personal terminal, Reed opened an encrypted frequency and clicked a red button, transmitting a direct command to his secret laboratory across town.
"Execute Plan 66," Reed spoke quietly into his comms.
Across the room, Raphael was completely unaware of the digital signal being sent. He was staring at the test paper in absolute horror, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
I didn't study for any of this! Raphael thought frantically, his eyes darting across equations that looked like ancient hieroglyphics. What kind of questions are these?! Calculate the kinetic energy dissipation of a multi-phase quantum particle beam?! Determine the stabilization threshold of a synthetic DNA helix under dark energy exposure?! When did we learn this?!
He swallowed hard, tapping his pencil against his desk as panic seized his chest. These questions must be from all those mornings I missed... I've basically been late every single day and missed all of class except for the last few minutes! I don't know ANY of this! If I fail this test, I'm going to fail this class for the whole semester. There's no way I'll be able to recover my GPA... and my mom is going to murder me!
Raphael slowly raised his head, hoping to subtly glance around, only to catch Professor Reed staring him down like an absolute hawk from behind his desk.
Oh no... Raphael gulped, dropping his eyes back to the paper. It's impossible to cheat! He's watching my every breath!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A catastrophic shockwave rattled the entire academic hall, causing the overhead lights to flicker wildly.
Professor Reed and Raphael both snapped their heads toward the window. Out past the outer campus perimeter, a colossal shadow loomed over the treeline a terrifying bio-engineered monster, a massive, mutated squid with a glowing, pulsing eye at its center. It let out a guttural, earth-shaking roar as its colossal tentacles crushed a nearby display structure, its massive body thrashing as it surged directly toward the university grounds!
Instantly, automated sirens began to blare across the campus. Loud, metallic warning speakers echoed through the classroom halls:
"ALERT! CODE RED KAIJU ATTACK! A CLASS-4 BIO-MUTATION IS APPROACHING CAMPUS GROUNDS! ALL DEFENSE PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED! REMAIN INDOORS IMMEDIATELY!"
With a heavy hum, giant government-grade defense shields surged upward from the perimeter ground, locking together into a glowing, impenetrable energy dome around the entire university.
Through the window, Raphael watched in horror as the giant squid monster surged forward, slamming its colossal, writhing tentacles directly onto the glowing barrier! The beast clamped its suction cups onto one of the main defense shield generators along the perimeter wall, wrenching the heavy machinery with terrifying strength.
ZZZZZT!
Sparks erupted across the sky as the campus shield flickered violently, oscillating between a bright cyan glow and pitch black, threatening to shatter at any second!
"Professor! I have to go to the bathroom!" Raphael pleaded, hunching over in fake agony. "Remember I was late earlier because my stomach was twisted? Yeah... I really gotta go! It's definitely from those bad tacos I ate at my new job at Squid King Alien Burgers!"
"You can't!" Reed snapped, standing up as the emergency lights flashed red. "You have to finish the test! This is a Code Red emergency protocol dictates all students must remain in their classrooms during a monster attack!"
"Professor, I can't hold it!" Raphael yelled, putting on his most desperate face as he burst straight through the classroom doors. "I really, really have to go!"
He bolted down the hallway before Reed could even protest.
Outside, a streak of crimson light cut through the sky. Raphael ignited his Battle Spirit Energy, transforming in a silent red blur into Hero One as he flew headfirst toward the giant monster.
"I'm gonna be late for my test!" Raphael roared.
Reaching the beast in an instant, he channeled his full kinetic force into a single, devastating strike. BOOM! The force of Hero One's punch smashed into the monster, causing the giant beast to bounce heavily off the university's energy shield before collapsing to the ground. The impact temporarily broke the barrier, sending violent acoustic shockwaves cascading across the school grounds before the campus shield flickered and surged back to full strength.
Through the classroom window, the initial blast of energy blew Professor Reed's stacks of physical paperwork right off his desk, scattering them into the wind outside!
As Hero One landed, he caught a glimpse of a physical test paper floating through the air it belonged to the top student in class, complete with a perfect 100% score key. In a fraction of a second, Raphael used his hyper-speed vision to copy every single answer directly onto the rubber sole of his left shoe.
Before rushing back, Raphael executed the World-Splitting Dragon Fist, stepping through the space between spaces to instantly slip past the shattered corridor wall unnoticed. Reappearing right inside the restroom stall, he changed back into his normal clothes in the blink of an eye.
Inside the ruined classroom, Professor Reed stared out the shattered glass in utter disbelief.
"How... how did he defeat my monster with just one punch?" Reed breathed, his eyes narrowing into slits as he watched the crimson aura fade into the distance. "And he appeared mere seconds after the boy left... What's the chance of that happening? With timing like that, it HAS to be him!"
Abandoning his desk, Reed sprinted out of the classroom and stormed down the hall, kicking open the door to the men's restroom.
"Raphael! Where are you?!"
A stall door creaked open, and Raphael stepped out, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"I had to go number two, Professor... I'm really sorry, I just couldn't hold it," Raphael groaned, wincing. "I think that's officially the last time I ever eat those alien tacos with the twitching green and purple meat!"
Reed stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Impossible... he's right here?!
"Come on," Reed said, his voice laced with deep frustration. "Back to the classroom. Now."
They walked back to the disheveled room together, Reed watching Raphael's every step like a hawk, his mind racing. How is this possible? It had to be him...
Meanwhile, Raphael sat back down at his desk, suppressing a massive smile as he subtly crossed his leg to glance at the sole of his sneaker. Cross-referencing the answers written on his shoe with the test booklet under his desk, Raphael effortlessly filled in every single prompt, finishing the entire exam in less than two minutes.
He stood up, walked over to the podium, and handed the completed paper to a stunned Professor Reed with a confident grin.
"All done, Professor!" Raphael said cheerfully. "Thanks for giving me the extra time!"
Just as Reed took the paper, the all-clear sirens finally chimed across campus, signaling that the threat had been neutralized. Raphael glanced out the shattered window and spotted Topanga walking out into the courtyard below.
"Looks like the coast is clear! I really gotta run now can't be late for my first shift at work," Raphael added, grabbing his bag and rushing out the door.
Professor Reed stepped up to the broken window, watching silently as Raphael caught up to Topanga outside, the two of them walking and talking together across the campus grounds.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. Reed turned on his heel and rushed back to his desk terminal, his fingers blurring across the keyboard as he bypassed security protocols and hijacked the university's main surveillance mainframe.
"If Raphael really is Hero One," Reed muttered aloud, his analytical mind racing, "there's no way the standard high-definition feeds would capture him. At operational speeds like that, he would appear as nothing more than a blind spot."
With a few decisive keystrokes, Reed rerouted the raw, uncompressed optical logs from the hallway cameras straight to his private console. He enabled his custom temporal-rendering algorithm a high-frequency diagnostic tool capable of decelerating sub-atomic particle movement and capturing footage beyond lightspeed.
"Let's see the truth," Reed whispered, dragging the timeline marker back to the exact second Raphael ran out of the room. He slammed the playback button, dialing the temporal rendering down to a trillionth of a second per frame.
He stared at the monitor, meticulously analyzing every single pixel.
There was no spatial distortion. No atmospheric displacement. Not even the slightest micro-burst of wind. The frame-by-frame log showed Raphael sprinting in a completely linear path down the hall, opening the restroom door, and stepping inside remaining there continuously until Reed himself kicked the stall door open.
Reed leaned back, staring at the motionless digital logs in disbelief. "He never left... There's no physical way he could be moving that fast without leaving a kinetic signature on these sensors. Not a single trace of wind, energy, or spatial warping."
Through the broken glass, Reed's eyes narrowed as he kept his gaze fixed on Raphael and Topanga in the distance.
"I'll be watching," Reed murmured coldly into the quiet room. "I have to keep my eye on both of you."