The Legion of Nothing Being Watched: Part 6

After we finished talking, Lee said, “The advanced class is coming in soon. I’d have you stay except you’re already going to stick out.”

“I am?”

“You’ve been training with for years. You’ll stick out. Oh… And by the way, bring the full suit next ti. You’ll need the protection.”

“Yeah?”

“Count on it.”

Not long after that, I walked out of the door, finding a group of ten people waiting outside.

I recognized a few. Rod, a bearded, but otherwise typical college guy, and Sam, a sorceress of Pakistani or Indian descent. I couldn’t rember which. She said, “Hi, Nick.” Rod gave a wave.

Cassie knew them sohow. They were a year ahead of us.

It felt a little weird that they recognized , but I’d pulled them out of an invasion of fishn during the sumr. You don’t forget sothing like that.

Plus, Grandpa had left the identity of the Rocket with a massive reputation to live up to, so everyone next to them probably recognized too.

The group of them filed into the gym, and I was alone in the hall. Alone amid gray concrete walls, I walked my way back toward the bunker’s inhabited section.

If I’d wanted to avoid thinking about Grandpa, I couldn’t have. The Defenders had decorated with pictures of important monts in history for superheroes. Ranging from the World War 2 era, pre-Heroes League group called the “Victory Squad” to the last gasp of the Abominators in the 1970’s, Grandpa seed to appear everywhere.

Nearing my room, I turned the corner to see Dayton—Dayton, as in one of Sean’s friends. Dayton, who stood a head taller than , and had beco even more muscular last spring after Vaughn’s uncle ran every mber of Justice Fist through his own version of the power impregnator.

“Hey Nick,” Dayton grinned at , showing no trace of the animosity I usually saw in Sean. “How long have you been training with that guy?”

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If it had been Sean, I might have ignored him and kept on walking, but aside from one fight, Dayton had always been decent to .

I stopped, and thought about the question. “Well, officially since I was twelve. My grandfather gave free martial arts lessons as a Christmas gift and Gunther was my teacher. The thing is, I’d already known him for years before then. He’d been teaching things even before he’d officially started training .”

Thinking back, whatever form Lee wore, he’d always been training . Even the gas he’d played with as a little kid were all obviously about strategy and tactics. So of them had taught basic fighting moves, and I couldn't have been older than six.

Dayton nodded, “Thought so. Rember when Jody, Sean, and I fought you, and you kicked our butts? I asked you afterward where you took martial arts, and you told a studio. It was good, but nothing like this guy. Did you know you move like him?”

“No.” Did I move like him? I didn’t try to except when he told to—which happened a lot in class. If anyone would notice, it would be Dayton. His real power was the ability to pick up skills by watching people use them.

“It’s pretty cool. He’s always walking as if he expects to be attacked, and he’s always watching for it. You’re not exactly the sa, but you do a lot of the sa things.”

I probably wasn’t watching for nearly as many different possible attacks as he was.

Dayton put his hand to his chin and thought for a second. “You know, the way you walk doesn’t make you look nearly as cocky as he does either.”

That managed to get to laugh a little. “I’m sure.”

Dayton laughed too. “Yeah, I bet he thinks he can take on anybody. Don’t take that wrong. I’m getting the feeling he can.”

“Could be,” I said.

Dayton checked quickly to either side, “Um… I don’t want to bug you about this. I know Sean’s been a jerk to you, but if you could—”

Sean’s voice interrupted him. Dayton and I turned toward the noise, and saw Sean walking down the hall, about fifty feet behind Dayton.

“Oh,” he said as he saw , and didn’t say anything else.

On the whole, I saw that as an improvent.

“Talk to you later,” Dayton said, gave a wave and walked toward Sean.

I stood in the hall, wondering what that had been about. Had Dayton just talked to so he could bring Sean up, or had that been a spur of the mont thing?

What had he been planning to ask, anyway?

All I could say for sure was that Sean wasn’t in on it. Otherwise he would have finished, right?

Haley had said Dayton seed like the only decent guy among Sean’s friends back when she’d been dating Sean. I could see that, even if I felt like his loyalty was misplaced.

Crazy to think Vaughn’s uncle had sent Sean and his friends through the power impregnator (without much opposition I'd bet, even though so of them were seriously screwed up) while I had to slowly get permission from everyone on the team to do the sa with Courtney.

Well, I only had Rachel and Travis to go.