Chapter 1: From Prisoner to Student

Captain Valor, the worlds greatest superhero outfitted with strength, speed, nigh invulnerability (supposedly), solid light manipulation and the awe inspiring Aura of Valor. A man who has performed innumerable arrests and zero losses. A being who helps whenever, wherever, and however he can, be it cat's in trees or handling hostage situations. That's who is sitting across the table from me. Why?

Because I'm a hitman... was a hitman. I made the top five world's most wanted. My record was superb one hundred and fifty successful missions and no useful evidence for the authorities to follow. That is until I happened to be contracted to take out someone who was under the protection of Captain Valor and his team. Not to brag but it took all six present members of the ten man team to haul me in. In the end the Captain's Aura of Valor made the group just a little too much for me to handle.

Which brings me to now. Sitting at a table in an interrogation room cuffed with power inhibiting handcuffs chained to both the floor and table. He sat across from me for a long time appearing to read a file on me. Hearing the name you would think he's got an imposing however he looked almost scholarly with his tall lean frame, short but slightly scruffy hair, angular face shape and pale skin. However he projected confidence, kindness and valor. Because of this I was very careful to maintain as neutral an expression as possible. After what seemed like hours he finally set the file folder down, placed his arms on the table and knit his fingers together.

"It appears you've had a very difficult life Mr. Sharpe and it put you on quite the dark path. What little we were able to find paints an interesting picture" he said in a baritone that eased the soul and bolstered the spirit. "You had been picked up a few times for purse-snatching and shoplifting when you were what seven, eight." My face twitched at the mention of my old pickpocket days just before I was introduced to this life as my discomfort rose. I began watching his behavior very closely in order to discover some possible way to escape.

"At which point you disappear entirely from the system until your admitted to middle school at eleven. We traced phone and banking records and they lead to a fake name for your guardian. We also matched all of the bank deposits we managed to track to the death dates of high profile members of society all across the globe" he continued

"...." There was no way I was going to say anything for fear that I might give away my current thought process.

"We'll see if you have nothing to say in a little bit. While your lifestyle is sporadic and dangerous you always seem to make sure that your still available for major school events never missed a test or projects but have multiple absences across five years of school." He stopped for a moment and stared at me for a little bit. When I showed no reaction he made a motion with his arms and went on. "Despite the potential risk for discovery you continued your education which shows that you value learning. All of the crime scenes of your targets were clean. No one except the target died and all of your targets were adults rumored or confirmed corrupt, military, law enforcement, terrorist cells, or organized crime. This tells us that you have at least some conscience for not killing children or innocents."

"Is this going somewhere. If you had evidence I'd already be in the Oubliette what evidence you could have at the worst I'd be going to juvie. I'm not scared of either of those so just what is it your getting at" I spat at him starting to show my annoyance at being held. It was obvious he had some plan as well as some evidence at the very least of my attempted assassination of that senator.

"My point is that you don't really seem to enjoy taking life but that for you it's a means to an end. You kill but don't massacre you only target those that are already prepared to die or those assumed to be criminal and only those who are considered responsible." He paused and rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. Before he continued the door opened and an officer walked in with two glasses of water and a box of donuts. After placing them on the table the officer left the room.

"Look, kid your only sixteen and your right we don't have enough evidence linking any of the other crime we believe you to be responsible for. If it were up to the guys out there I wouldn't be in here talking to you but I see something else in you. The potential for more good deeds than the bad ones you've already done. What I'm offering is, in exchange for compensation, you would go to one of the international school for heroes and alphas in Pantheon City."

"Why me why would you want a suspected criminal going there" I asked suspicion etched on my face and dripping in my words.

"Why..." he paused with a look of genuine concern "as far as I can tell Mordecai you're an assassin out of necessity or survival not because you like to kill. Your considered an excellent student by your teachers if maybe a bit stretched thin. Finally you're an Alpha in terms of both your power and the skills that you've developed as an assassin. However..."

"I knew there was a catch what is it. If you need someone dead I can do it but that doesn't come cheap." I said smirking in my head that the most renowned hero would have someone he'd want dead.

"That's not it. At the school you will be a member of the student council as the head and currently sole member of the disciplinary committee. All members of the student council are paid, however the majority of your pay will be going directly to covering your tuition and materials. Is this acceptable to you." He slid two pieces of paper over to me and i looked at them. It was an enrollment form for Orion International Hero Academy and a legal agreement detailing everything he had just said.

"Is this for real," I said with my brow arched and suspicion creeping back into my voice. As I glanced at him he nodded and despite all my wariness he seemed absolutely genuine.

He produced a pen and handed it over to me and for a long time I stared at it. Eventually I grasped for and he pulled it back just a bit as he said, "The main condition is that you do not kill anyone is that understood. Heroes do not kill." I nodded and he let me take the pen.