2

Part 2

Math class was... math class. For some reason people thought that if you were good at something that you had to like it.

I was good at math. Too good honestly, I could do everything up to basic exponents in my head but in a class that graded by 'showing your work', that didn't mean much. All responses were meant to be punch card perfect. The properly listed process for the properly listed result, even if I could get the actual answer out onto the paper with half the actual work.

It sucked, and sapped dry whatever little amounts of enjoyment I could find working on this educational assembly line. I didn't even have any friends in this class.

Well there was Tony, but we'd grown pretty distant since he shaved his head. He had his reasons. I knew them, even kinda got them, but I didn't agree with them.

Hate couldn't be fixed with more hate. Not unless you were willing to carry it all the way through, and the price of that... wasn't something I felt was worth paying.

His mother agreed with me.

His father... was less vocal.

I wondered if I went hero, would I end up fighting him one day? Like... not an argument, but literal bullets and energy blasts fight?

The idea made the little pit in my stomach sink a little further.

Then again it wasn't like the alternative was on the plate either. If I didn't bend my knee to Kaiser before I got my powers, why the hell would I now that I might be able to fight back?

My work was done, I was expected to 'free study' now. In short keep quiet and let the other little cogs turn in the grand machine that was the school system while playing around with my cellphone.

Except that I wasn't.

Ideas...

Where the hell was I going to get a costume? I wanted something... useful. Practical. Something that could help me survive some.

Armor? Well maybe I could manage with some sports equipment. The good motocross stuff was pretty protective right? Not bulletproof vest grade but...

How much were those vests anyway? I mean sports kit was pretty expensive. A full set could cost a couple hundred if it was new. I could reach that but it wasn't exactly small change to me either. It also wasn't really optimal for the job.

But those vests got kind of bulky... and weren't knives supposed to slide through them pretty easily as well? Super fights used blades more often then bullets right?

So... maybe I should go medieval on their asses? Chainmail or something like that? That'd be even harder to find, but you could find it. Online order from one of those Renaissance fair, old style blacksmiths...

How do you block metal blades and fire blasts with stuff like that? You don't. So... was armor worth it?

...Duh, of course it was. For every forest of blades and raging fire dragon there were also pocket knives, nine millimeters and basic bits of shrapnel.

So... I probably wanted to start with the motocross stuff. Less complicated then trying to make something piecemeal and it covered everywhere. I could get the thing cash, over the counter as well, making things a lot less easily connected to me.

A memory from the other life hit me.

I could also modify it with plates of heavier stuff over top. Probably wouldn't do as well as full out plate-mail with Kevlar inserts, but I could leave little spots for inserts for Kevlar later.

...Or maybe I could take up sewing and find out how much Kevlar cost piecemeal?

The motocross stuff would be a good base layer though. It was padded, meant to help people survive big cashes, and it was low profile for armor. It'd be a good starting ground.

What about the helmet though? Head protection was nice, but I was trying to go hero. Some heroes got away with that sort of stuff but most showed at least part of their face. Either way just walking around in a bikers outfit didn't seem very... super... person... like. I mean who did that? Maybe if I had biker themed powers...

Alright, I needed to work on the helmet idea some. Maybe approach that more from the hard armor angle? Some of the medieval style helmets were-

The bell rung.

Automatically I started putting stuff away. Computer sciences next. AKA how to use the office program of a OS three generations out of date.

Joy.

Maybe I should just skip it and swing by the drama room?

...ooor I could just speed-blitz the class again and use the opportunity to look up everything I was just thinking about.

Huh, suddenly school didn't seem so bad!

I twitched, right... let's just hope Murphy wasn't listening to that.