Miraculous World: Georgia Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Training Day

It was Friday, and school had let out for the weekend. After the frantic scramble of the week before, THIS week was almost too quiet. Or, at least, it would have been if the girls were only doing school. Every day they got on the bus and huddled together to get as much of their homework done on the way as possible. At home they did the same, much to their parents’ apparent pride, then went for a walk in the woods.

There, they transformed.

Tux, Deep Blue, and Bright Feather would practice just as hard as they could for as long as they could get away with. How to move, how to fight, how to use their abilities together. More than that, though, was the extra studying they had to do.

“Deep Blue! What is the Good Samaritan rule?” The fact that Tux asked this while her sister was balancing on one hand at the top of a tree was perfectly intentional.

“Superheroes aren’t allowed to be bystanders. If a person is in trouble and says ‘somebody help me,’ your name is ‘somebody.’”

“Good! Featherhead, what’s the rule about fighting in a city?”

“I thought you said you’d stop calling me that?” Bright feather was practicing running between the trees to get her agility and reflexes up to par. The dents in the trees told a tale of very slow progress.

“I said I’d stop half of them, now answer the question.”

“Safety priority is bystanders, other heroes or police, our lives, property, then the life of the villain.”

Tux practiced her own dash in order to get over to her sister. “And?”

“And… I forget.” Bright Feather came to a sudden halt, but did manage to stay on her feet.

“And don’t use abilities or attack patterns which cause mass damage if we can avoid it.” Tux sighed. “Come on, you two! We HAVE to get this down so that we can pass that exam to get licensed!”

Deep Blue dropped down from her treetop perch to land next to them. “I’d ask what makes you the expert in superheroes, but I’ve seen your ‘If I Was A Hero’ notebook a few too many times.”

“Hey! We’re using the knowledge, aren’t we?”

Bright Feather chuckled. “Just like you’ve been asking me about those heroes in Paris, Ladybug and Cat Noir. You know, because I speak French and can look up that blog.”

“You only learned French because of that model. What was his name again?”

“Adrien Agreste, thanks, but that’s not important. You told us that we might need to know stuff about other superheroes around the world, and those two are kind of famous after what happened in New York.” Bright Feather was blushing almost as brightly pink as her armor, but got her point across.

A gruff voice came from above. “I don’t care who you like or how much, you have thirty seconds to explain why we shouldn’t tell Slipstream and Tidal you’ve been ignoring instructions to stay away from superhero work?”

The girls looked up, and saw that they were being watched. The otter Kwamiis were completely adorable, but their crossed arms and looks of irritation more than made up for it. Maya and Mishpah would absolutely do what they’d just said if the girls weren’t quick.

Tux, thankfully, was ready for it. “Our Kwamiis told us the instruction was to not go stop crime or hunt monsters. Do you see any of those around here? We’re practicing so that we CAN go get licensed, it’s hard to pass the test if we don’t!”

The tan one, Maya, turned to her partner. “She does have a point, Mishpah. We can hardly demand they get licenses then keep them from doing it.”

The brown otter looked irritated as he floated there. “You’re right, but I don’t have to like it.” He glanced over at where the sun was beginning to set. “Looks like it’s starting to get late. We should get back to our own heroes. You three should probably go home, too, unless you’re trying to be out here all night. Goodbye.” The two otters Kwamiis flew off.

Deep Blue’s stomach growled. “You know, he has a point. It feels like it’s about dinner time.”

Tux shook her head. “We can go back after one last thing. Look, the sooner we get to go take the test, the better. I think we can all do it, too. The problem is, how do we get Mom and Dad to take us over there without them figuring out who we are?”

Bright Feather giggled. “Oh, that? Come on, that’s the easy part. The testing station is downtown, right? It’s two blocks away from the library. We ask to go to the library for something that isn’t in the easy sections, then slip off. We take the test, get back to the library, and tell Mom and Dad it took us a while to find what we were looking for.”

Deep Blue’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! Tux, if you call and schedule a test for Sunday, I’ll be the one to ask our parents for the trip. I even know which book to go after.”

“Alright, it’s a plan. Kerah, chill.” In an instant, she was Sarah again. More specifically, she had her purse again and could reach in to grab her cell phone and make a call. It was a good thing she didn’t wait, too, hers was the last one before the office closed. It took some fast talking, but she convinced the tired worker on the other end of the line that not only was she Tux, but that Deep Blue and Bright Feather would be with her. With all of that? The person on the phone was more than happy to make an appointment for Sunday. “Alright, girls. We have to be at the office at one o’clock on Sunday. She said the process should take about an hour, including paperwork. Let’s go get some dinner and then it’ll be Lizzy’s turn.”

They weren’t far, so it didn’t take long. As they entered the back door the first thing they heard was their dad’s voice. Sam Fischer was on the phone with someone. “No problem. We’ll be there.” He looked over, eyes brightening as he saw his children. “You girls got back just in time, I was about to call you. Pizza’s done. All that’s left is for you to give me some hugs then we can eat it before it gets cold.”

The hugs were good, the pizza was great, and their parents were surprisingly on board with a last-minute trip to the library on Sunday. The girls got to bed eventually, but when Anna went to get some water a little while later she could have sworn she could hear her parents laughing about something through their closed door. She smiled. It was always good to hear them laugh. It really meant that everything was right. No matter what happened, it was only when Mom and Dad stopped laughing that Lizzy got worried.

Sunday dawned hot and humid, the low-hanging clouds threatening to dump rain on the area but not delivering on the promise. Instead, they served as a giant blanket over their town. The car’s air conditioning tried its best to keep up as the Fischers drove downtown, but by the time they got there the sisters were very glad to get out and into the library’s cool interior. They were running late, their parents had insisted on getting groceries done in the morning and then having lunch before they left. What could the girls do? The library wasn’t going anywhere, and trying to tell them the three had an appointment at one would give everything away. Lizzy glanced at the clock. “Okay, it’s 12:55. You two change and head over, I’ll run and grab the book then get there as soon as I can. I know exactly where it is.”

“Liz, only you would know the exact location of a book about separating fact from fiction about lemmings.” Anna was trying to get mentally prepared for what was coming.

“No time, let’s go!” Sarah grabbed Anna by the wrist and took off running for the side door, one which led to a playground which was empty in the oppressive heat. As soon as nobody else was looking, they invoked the Kwamiis who were hiding in their bags. “Kerah, skate!”

“Varod, stand tall!”

The two of them leaped over the road between the buildings, moving so fast they seemed to blur. At exactly 12:59, they entered the front door of the Hero Licensing Office. Behind the counter, a bored-looking man in a black shirt was looking at his watch with a faintly amused expression on his face. “Cutting it a bit close, you two. Where’s your other partner? Deep Blue, wasn’t it?”

Tux stepped forward. “She had to take a couple of steps to preserve our identities and will be with us in a moment or two. We can get started on the paperwork I was told about and she’ll catch up. Don’t worry, she writes fast.”

The man shrugged a bit. “Suit yourself. Your examiners will open up the door in fifteen minutes, and anyone who isn’t done with their packets cannot go back with them.” He laid out three clipboards, each of which had several sheets of paper on them. “Go ahead and get started, I did mean you two as well.”

The two girls grabbed the three clipboards, found chairs against the wall, and got writing. Tux started by filling in the basic information about their still-absent sister along with her own, but then noticed something. “Sir? Do we have to put our identities on here if we want to keep them secret?”

“Yes, you do. They will not be seen unless needed, but if something happens to you or if you become villains then we need to know. That part’s on a tear-off piece on the sheet, put it into the envelope at the back of the packet, it will only be opened in such an occasion. The phone number for contact does need to be usable, though, that will be used by us.”

Thankfully, Deep Blue arrived about three minutes later, so between them they got the paperwork done. Information, waivers, insurance, acknowledgements, descriptions… it all seemed to go on and on. There was also a checklist of the intended purpose they would be using their powers. Hunting monsters and apprehending criminals were both on the list (alongside things like acting, technology development, vending, and nothing at all). Tux suspected that she wouldn't have managed it if not for her magically-enhanced speed. Still, it didn’t matter. They handed in the clipboards almost a dozen seconds before the doors on the back wall swung open and their two examiners walked in. One in brown, one in tan. Their body suits were lined with fur, they had whips at their sides and thick tails at their backs. Around their necks were necklaces of stone. Slipstream and Tidal. The woman, Tidal, smiled broadly. “Looks like you three decided to listen, but this is your last warning. Are you sure you are ready for this test? If you fail, you will not be allowed to take it again for six months.”

The sisters looked at each other, getting over the shock of who was in front of them, then nodded. Tux turned back to the heroes. “We’re sure.”

Slipstream had an unreadable look on his face. “Fine then. Come with us.” The two heroes turned and walked through the door… but as soon as they did they took off running down the hallway behind it.

Give the sisters some credit, they reacted fast. All three realized what happened inside of a second, Tux reached the door before it closed, then held it open for the others to get through as the man at the desk laughed. Bright Feather, now in the lead, kept her eyes on the rapidly-retreating heroes and called directions back at the others as they made turn after turn in the improbable maze of hallways. Finally, they stopped at a door as it slammed shut just before they reached it. Bright Feather tried to open it like Tux had before, but this one was locked. Tux didn’t hesitate, “Blue! Breach it!”

Even without using Titanic, Deep Blue was by far the strongest of the three. When she set her shoulder to the door and pushed, she tore it off its hinges almost as easily as the others would open a normal door. The process delayed them by perhaps a second and a half, fast enough that when Tux jumped back into the lead she could still see the brown tail of Slipstream as he turned down one more hall. The three kept on the chase, turning down the next hallway and charging up the stairs they found, only to pass through a double door at the top. They found a large open room on the other side, looking a lot like their school gymnasium. Across the room from them were the two Otter Heroes, wearing smirks. Between them and the rookie heroines were three desks. Each had boards up blocking the occupant from seeing the others. Each had a tablet on it.

Tidal called out “take your seats! You have ten minutes to answer as many questions as you can. Time starts now!”

The three scrambled to start, and found that each of them had a hundred-question quiz waiting. In ten… no, nine and a half… minutes, that would be a challenge. Multiple choice questions about the laws they had been studying, the names of other heroes in the area and abroad, addresses of landmarks, and more. Perhaps most frustrating, though, was that some of them were asking details about the halls they had just passed through. What did the signs say? How many steps was the staircase? How many doors got destroyed? At least that last one was easy, the answer was “one.”

An alarm went off, the tablets shut themselves off, and the girls heard a sentence that they really would rather not have. Slipstream’s voice came, low and gruff, “since you three want to hunt criminals and monsters, it’s time for the combat evaluation.” He leapt into the air, whip in his right hand, and wound up to attack. The whip lashed forward, but Deep Blue was barely fast enough to interpose her oar and keep it from striking its target.

Thing is? The target wasn’t one of the rookie heroines. The whip came within a foot of hitting one of the tablets.

Tux spotted Tidal preparing one of her water powers, and realized that the tablets were not likely to be able to withstand it. Letting her do that without interference was not an option. In a flash, she was in the heroine’s face and striking the charged hand aside just in time for the watery blast to fire into the side wall. “Feather! Protect the tablets!”

“Way ahead of you, Tux!” The pink-armored rookie already had all three of the tablets held at her left side, her own ribbon in her right, and she was lashing out at Slipstream as he tried to untangle his whip from Deep Blue’s oar. He blocked with his own left wrist, the ribbon wrapping around it, and pulled sharply once it was secure. Bright feather went flying at Deep Blue, but Blue lifted her own left arm for her to land both feet on, jumping off and past Slipstream. The exit was behind him, and if she could get into the hallways she’d be able to use her own armor to resist what they could do way more effectively than in the open room.

As soon as she touched the handle, a loud buzzer sounded over a hidden intercom. “The combat examination is over. Proceed to the lobby and wait for your grades.”

Slipstream grinned. “You three work well together. Almost like you’ve been a team for a long time.”

Tux crossed her arms. “Maya and Mishpah already told us you know who we are. We’ve been a team since we were in diapers, Slipstream. Sisters together. You won’t find another team that has worked together as long as we have.”

Tidal surveyed the three rookies. “You’ve been a team for a dozen years or so. Slipstream and I have been together for almost twenty, and we are hardly the longest runners out there. Go through the door that Bright Feather was about to escape through and down the stairs. Hand in your tablets to the front desk, they already have your scores but the licensing department will need them for the next applicants.” She and Slipstream walked the other direction, leaving by the door the girls had entered the room from.

Two minutes later, the three rookie heroines flopped into chairs in the lobby. Bright Feather looked over at her oldest sister. “Tux, did you know they were going to test us like that?”

Tux shook her head. “No way. Everything I ever read about it said it was almost entirely academic. They’re just making sure you know the rules, and they let you figure yourself out from there as long as you follow them.”

Deep Blue stretched a bit, muscles sore from the incredible efforts she had to put out in the fight. “Then what the heck is going on? Either the test changed or Slipstream and Tidal have it out for us.”

“Wish I knew.” The rest of Tux’s thought was interrupted by a soft chime. The door behind the desk swung open, and Tidal stepped through. “Slipstream had to take care of something that popped up, but I am here to give you all your grades.” The three scrambled to their feet as she stepped forward, and she handed over an envelope to each of them. Within each of them was a sheet of paper and a blue card sized for a wallet.

Tux looked up sharply. “Blue cards? I know that the licenses are normally white and red ones are given to supervillains when they get out of jail. What do these mean?”

“They mean that you three have been granted Provisional Hero status. Your scores were remarkably good for your age, congratulations. You will gain your white cards once Slipstream and I think you’re ready to not need teachers. A way to contact us is in those cards, touch them to your Miraculous tool and it will call us.”

The girls cheered. They had done it! They were real heroines now! Tux suddenly stopped, though. “Thank you, ma’am, but even if you know who we are we need to get back to the library. Mom and Dad still don’t know we’re here, and we need to keep it that way. Come on, girls, we have to move!”

Tidal smiled broadly as the three ran out of the building and jumped across the street. When they transformed back into themselves and checked their phones, their worst fears were confirmed. Dad had been calling all of them for the last five minutes, and he was worried sick about not being able to find them. That was enough heroine work for one day. It was time to be normal girls with normal lives for bit.