Flash Sentry woke up that morning, feeling particularly pumped. Today was the day. Today was the day he had been training for all his life. Getting out of bed, he quickly threw on his white shirt and jeans before heading out into the living room. He flipped on the television to see that it was already halfway through the morning news.

“Z-Truck is ashamed of what has happened and she’s willing to give up any amount of compensation for her actions. This is what she had to say…” The newscast said, then the camera swapped over to Z-Truck, a renowned heroine. “I am deeply sorry for what I’ve done. I was just running after these criminals in their armored truck, then from nowhere, this guy jumped off onto the road and I couldn’t stop in time. Even as a hero, I still blame myself. I hope the family will forgive me for what happened.”

“Oh dear…” Flash looked on as the camera shifted around the scene of the accident. There was still blood and bone all over the road and it must’ve been gruesome to witness, if there were people who were actually there. Z-Truck was the fastest superhero in the world and to run into someone at that speed definitely wouldn't be pretty.

Flash wanted to throw up just thinking about it, but he held it in. He couldn’t fall at the sight of blood. He was going to be a hero today. A proper one, that is.

He had the mail yesterday. He had been accepted by Vogel International! And not only that, they wanted him on The Septet! The most powerful superhero team in the world!

When he had first read the letter, he had dropped it and he grabbed his face in shock. After that, he jumped around his room for a while and he had accidentally shattered a stool, but that was easily replaced.

He was finally going to be a superhero today and he was finally going to get to officially do what he enjoyed most: saving lives and ensuring a future for everyone.

His dad came out to congratulate him on a work well done for the auditions he had to take part in. Flash still remembered them. He had to show Vogel his strength, speed, durability and anything else he could do. It was nothing fancy, but Flash could absorb light from various electrical sources, then reproduce it in the form of fiery light like that of a solar eclipse. He guessed Vogel had found it good enough to give him Poolfreezer’s old spot on The Septet, since she retired.

As he went back to his room to change into his Dark Sun outfit, he looked at the various posters on his wall of The Septet. He had a really epic one where each of them stood in a line with a ruined background. Their leader, Protectorate Sod, stood front and center, her cape billowing magnificently behind her like a pennant. Then her right hand man stood to her left. That was King Max, who was dressed in a silver and brown attire which made him look like a character out of Roaman mythology. He even had a little circlet on his brow. He was strong and quite bulletproof.

Then following him, to Protectorate Sod’s left, was White Blanche, a fully covered figure with all kinds of knives belted to her white armor. She was a silent heroine, and Flash was sure he’d never heard her speak a single word before, but she was a ferocious hero nonetheless. To her left was Z-Truck, the rainbow haired heroine who had just been on the news. She had on a blue and white outfit with the letter Z on both shoulders, who could outrun just about anything or anyone.

On King Max’s right was Flash’s favourite hero, The Shallow. She was a beautiful girl and she wore a dark green and black outfit that hugged her figure tightly, and her soft pink hair was tied back in a loose braid. She could breathe underwater and communicate with sea creatures, which Flash thought was pretty cool, because she was really the only hero who could do it. By her side was the retired member of the Septet, Poolfreezer, who was able to freeze anything, as long as she had a source of water around, which was usually a long waterspout that she could also use as a staff. She had on a pink and white suit which had an eye mask and a hood.

And finally to the leftmost side of the group stood Refraction, the least seen hero of The Septet, and for good reason. She was able to turn her skin into diamond-like material, which could reflect light and grant her invisibility, and at the same time, near invulnerability. She stood there on the poster, with her dark blue suit the only visible part about her.

And now Flash was gonna be among them. That was just crazy!

When he was done fitting his cape on, the blue haired boy stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. His suit was a black and orange one and in the center was the insignia of an eclipse. He had made it himself, which was something he was proud of, because he wasn’t really one for sewing and designing.

When he was all set, Flash left his home, where a black Vogel car was already waiting to take him to Vogel Tower, their main headquarters, which was also the home of The Septet, all the way at the top of the building, where they could overlook all of Canterlot.

The ride from the suburbs into the city was relatively quick, with all the homes soon disappearing behind them, giving way to the taller corporate buildings of Canterlot City.

And then there it was, standing tall near the center of the city itself, Vogel Tower. The tower had a wider base, which narrowed as it went up all the way to the middle of the structure. And then smack near the top was the name of the building, displayed for all the world to see. It was a magnificent building indeed.

The car stopped in front of the building beside a statue of Protectorate Sod flexing her left arm. Flash Sentry made his way into the lobby, where hundreds of busy people were walking about, turning the building into quite the chatterbox.

He spotted a few other superheroes wandering about, one of them being Sonicboom, another speedster, though she wasn’t as fast as Z-Truck. Supposedly.

“Dark Sun, hi!” A small woman appeared in front of him and waved quite vigorously. “I’m Autumn Breeze, Mr. Still Well’s assistant. I’m to escort you in for your introduction.”

“Oh, hello, yes, alright.” Flash shook her hand, then followed her to a lift. He wasn’t one to be afraid of introductions. In fact, he was actually quite excited about it. He was going to get to meet his heroes! He was going to get to meet The Shallow!

From a young age, since discovering his powers over light, he’d always been sent to hero events by his father, and he would stand on stage in a little pajama-like costume and give out little flashes of light, and he was always able to wow the audience. When he had gone to high school, he had started his own band, and he could play a mean electric guitar, so yes, he was very used to crowds around him.

The lifts were spacious and very well accommodated, with bright lights above, air blowing through vents near the ceiling and even a little spray by the side that would keep the air smelling nice; this spray smelt of peppermint.

Flash also had to wonder how much weight these lifts could take. If a hero like That Object, who was basically a rock monster, could get into the elevator, then they must surely be able to take at least a couple of tons.

The ride up the tower was fast. Really fast. Flash felt his ears pop somewhere along the fiftieth storey and then by the seventieth, his hearing had become a bit hollow and echoey. Autumn didn’t seem affected by it. Perhaps it was something he would eventually get used to.

There was a light ding and the elevator doors opened into a rounded corridor with light panels in the walls. The ground was a smooth white marble and following the left path, Autumn led him along past display cases of awards of heroic deeds and historical pieces of other heroes that had led Vogel International to where they were today.

The corridor soon led to an opening that led into a circular room in the center of the corridor, which boasted a huge window pane which gave them all an amazing view of the city below. In the corner of the room was a wall of statues of each member of The Septet, standing together heroically, almost like the poster he had back at home. On both sides of the room were two rows of television screens, displaying what looked like statistics and some news channels. In the center of the room was a table, shaped like a V, where seven chairs had been arranged around. Flash had known the room was grand, but actually being here in person, it was amazing.

“Welcome, Dark Sun!” A man stepped out from behind one of four pillars in the room, a smile plastered across his big face, showing a row of sparkling white teeth. “I trust you had a pleasant journey here?”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Flash pointed up to the ceiling, which had a mural of The Septet, with Protectorate Sod floating in the middle of the other six, who were positioned in a circle around her. “That’s amazing. This whole place is amazing. I still can’t actually believe I’m standing here!”

“Yes, not many can have your opportunity.” The man chuckled and walked around the table towards them. “I’m Still Well, Senior Vice President of Vogel International’s Hero Management. It’s a great pleasure to meet you and to be able to welcome you to The Septet.”

Still Well explained to him a little bit of Vogel International’s history and how they had been founded to make the world a better place, especially after the emergence of superpowered beings, like himself. Since then, they had made it their job to protect the world from harm, expanding out from Canterlot to neighbouring cities to work with the various governments and ruling bodies.

“Unfortunately, the other members of The Septet are all away on missions right now, except for The Shallow. I’ll be getting her to bring you around the tower to have a little teammate bonding, seeing as you’ll be working together from today. But first, we’ll be announcing you to our sponsors and benefactors.”

“The-the-the Shallow?” Flash couldn’t believe it. His favourite heroine was going to be showing him around? “This really is the best day of my life.”

“That’s right, now if you’ll follow Autumn, she’ll bring you to the changing rooms so we can freshen you up for the introduction.”

“Good day to everyone!” Still Well announced, situated at the podium in the small theater hall. There was a backdrop behind him with the words, ‘The Septet’s newest member: Dark Sun’, printed on it. “I’m sure you’re all excited and truth be told, so are we. But I won’t be doing the introduction myself. I’ll be leaving that to another member of The Septet, so please give a round of applause to… The Shallow!”

There was a thunderous cheer from the crowd of business people and newscasters as The Shallow lightly hopped out onto stage from the side. She hid behind her long pink fringe and meekly waved to them as she slid over to the podium, clearly embarrassed at having to be in front of so many people. The cameras were immediately on her, snapping photo after photo of the Septet member.

“P-Please, you don’t need to do that for me…” She smiled sheepishly. “Our newest member, Dark Sun is a Canterlot native, just like the rest of us in The Septet. He had won many awards from his time in the Childrens’ Show and he even has a band of his own. N-Neat, am I right? Now, to welcome him, he-here’s Dark Sun!”

She raised a hand to the side as Flash walked up onto the stage, waving at the crowds and feeling a little daring, he ignited a small burst of light in the palm of his right hand, then let it float up into the air, before it put itself out. The cheering only got louder.

He still couldn’t believe what was happening today. Right now, he was actually standing beside his hero. He was standing next to The Shallow!

“Give us a speech!” One of the news reporters in front yelled.

The Shallow looked at Flash, then giggled and motioned for him to stand by the mic. He had to first tone down his excitement, or he might actually not even be able to speak.

Flash stepped closer to the microphone and cleared his throat. The audience grew quiet, and cameras were aimed at him even more than before.

“I just wanted to say,” Flash began as the crowd listened with bated breath. “That this is huge for me. All my life, I’ve looked up to heroes, to inspire me to do what’s right, and what I can do to help others. And now, to be here, to have The Septet welcome me like this, it’s just nearly too much for me. I look forward to working with the fine people of this city, and making it a better place for everyone, however I can. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

The crowd cheered again and The Shallow gave him a pat on the shoulder. She pulled on his sleeve and motioned for him to follow her off the stage as Still Well went back to the podium from the other end.

“I have much confidence that Dark Sun would make a fine replacement for Poolfreezer, and soon he will make a name for himself as a great hero! And that brings me to my next point.” He cleared his throat and paused a second. “With our roster continually increasing, my team and I have decided that we are ready to ship them out to all of you! How does it sound to have a hero in every city?”

Flash watched many a businessman nod his head, probably considering how it would work out. He thought about it himself and it did make sense. Right now, every supe was situated here in Canterlot and it would take some time to fly them over to other cities and nations and the crime rate might actually drop if there was already a hero ready to go in each city.

“Everyday, these superheroes risk their lives to safeguard our cities, our communities, our lives!” Still Well gestured towards Flash and Shallow. “And with their hard work in every city of the world, we would be able to feel safe every moment of our lives. All I ask is for your support for our brave heroes and we will all be able to make this dream a reality!”

The crowds cheered again, their voices and applause ringing around the theater hall.

To make this dream a reality…

Flash’s dreams had already become his reality. He’d seen all the good The Septet had done and all the lives they’d saved. He knew that now he had the chance to be sent out to fight crime, he would be able to do just that for the citizens of Canterlot and the world. He vowed he wouldn’t let this opportunity go to waste and he would make his dad proud.

Author's Note

Heroes in every city, eh? I wonder how that'll work out, if heroes were like the rest of The Septet. Would we have more casualties than saving, you think?

Nothing much happening this chapter too, as it's still setting up our second main character, so stay tuned for the next. Do continue to let me know what you think!

Cheers! And stay safe!