#excelsior

Its not something Richie looked forward too, but he knew it would be over with quickly and could get back to the real fun. Once he reached their house, he knocked on the door.

He waited a good fifteen seconds then shrugged. "Oh well. They're not home. I'll try again next week." He turned and started leaving when he heard the door creak open slowly.

"Boy, are you impatient. Can't an old woman get her bearings first?" a sharp older voice came from inside.

Richie stopped in his tracks and sighed. Looks like he wasn't getting out of this after all.

"Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins. Maybe I came over at a bad time." Richie said as he slowly started walking backwards. "I can just go-"

Jackie Jenkins raised her hand. "Nice try, but you're not getting off that easy." She widened the door and gestured for him to come in.

The boy gave up and walked in. The outside looked deceiving, as he looked around and noticed how much larger it was in comparison. The house looked older, but everything inside was maintained perfectly, as if the furniture barely aged a day. From the couches and chairs, to the piano in the back of the house, even the dining room looked was decades old, yet persevered to present day.

Only a few modern devices were inside, like a television and computer. The rest of the place was filled with odd antiques, portraits of relatives, and an unusually large fish tank with various species inside. There was a large staircase that led upstairs and a chandelier hanging above the main room. In a way, Richie felt like he was home. And he had chores to do just like his real home too.

"Its been a while since you've visited us. Your family doing all right?" Mrs. Jenkins asked as she put on her glasses. Her attire was simple, a light red jacket on top of a white shirt and brown pants. Despite it being the Summer, she never really changed her outfits that much.

Richie nodded. "Yep. Mom and Dad are still at work. Ever since we moved, they've been working longer than usual." He took a look at a goldfish inside the tank. Why did it look bored?

The woman shrugged as she poured herself some tea. "It must be lonely, then. You used to come over all the time after school. Sometimes you brought those strange friends of yours." She placed two other cups on the table and filled them.

Richie did remember that. When he was just a little younger, the Jenkins always had their door open for him when he didn't have friends to play with. Mr. Jenkins would show him a few of his collectable figures of heroes he kept from when was a kid himself. Then when he met his "strange" friends, he brought them along quite a few times. Together they learned about the classic heroes that were popular in the world before they were born.

But after the Rapids family moved, it became to difficult to visit them as often. Now Richie only showed up when he "volunteered" to help out.

Richie joined Mrs. Jenkins at the table. "They're not strange, they're just....eccentric. Besides, it's finally Summer now. You'll be seeing a lot more of us! Unless your family wants to do that." He took one of the teacups and drank a little. He wasn't a fan of tea in the slightest, but didn't want to be rude.

The woman sipped her tea and looked into the cup as she thought. "No...we don't get visits from the kids anymore. Not for years." She looked up and saw Richie have a tinge of guilt on his face.

"Maybe they're too busy playing with that skunk game." She said with a laugh.

"He's a badger, not a skunk." Richie rolled his eyes, jokingly.

Footsteps approached as an older man descended downstairs. He was taller than wife and also heavier. His clothes were just as heavy, with a dark green sweater and black pants. He wore and old tweeted flat cap on his head. Much like his wife, no matter the weather, this seemed his outfit all year long. Maybe they bought the same thing multiple times?

"Well, well, if ain't little Youngblood! I see your mom got our message. I was starting think you were trying skip out on us." Raymond Jenkins announced as he approached the table and grabbed himself one of the cups of tea.

Richie laughed nervously. "No, of course not! I mean, I did have plans with my friends tonight, but I got time to help out."

As long as it doesn't take a hundred years... He thought.

Mrs. Jenkins patted her husband on the arm. "You better show him the lawn. Before he changes his mind."

Mr. Jenkins laughed as gestured Richie to follow him to the backyard.

He didn't like the sound of that....

Mr. Jenkins opened the door and stepped to the side. "There you go, Youngblood. There's your job."

Richie's eyes bucked when he saw the lawn. It looked like full on jungle waa right in their backyard. He half expected a lion to be hiding somewhere amongst the grass.

"You want me get all of this? You need a lumberjack, not me!" The boy protested. "I could be here all day. I can't miss the Starfall Shower tonight!"

Mr. Jenkins shrugged. "Well, the quicker you start, the quicker you finish, right? I'll check on you when you finish." He patted the boy on the shoulder and closed the screen door behind him.

Richie grumbled as he approached the mammoth looking mower. It took him a minute to start it up and he finally got started. It was loud, it sputtered and it was heavy as a pile of bricks. How did Mr. Jenkins even push this thing all these years? "At this rate, I'll be here till next week!" he exclaimed as he pushed forward.

The boy lost track of how long he had been out there. The sun beamed down and he felt like time was slowing down specifically on him. Couldn't something turn that thing off for five minutes? Try as he might, the mower was too large and heavy to maneuver quickly, so he endured it.

Eventually, Richie stumbled inside, tired and sweating from the increased heat outside. Boy, was he glad that was over. He heard footsteps approaching and saw Mr. Jenkins pull out his glasses and looked at the lawn. Despite Richie's protests, not a blade of grass went uncut. The garden Mrs. Jenkins had made was finally in view again, full of various flowers. And the large Spanish Oak tree in the center remained untouched.

The old man nodded. "Nice job, Youngblood. You even got the weeds in the corners. Neither of us had been able to get those for years."

Richie managed a small smile of hope. "Does that mean you'll pay me a little extra?"

Mr. Jenkins looked at the boy. "I never said I was paying you."

That's when Richie passed out.

Ten minutes later, he woke up on their couch. He looked around for the Jenkins, but they were nowhere to be found. He got up and started searching for them, hoping he wouldn't get lost in the large house.

Richie then saw a door next to a grandfather clock. It was slightly ajar with a light peaking from it. He looked around and made sure no one was watching, then walked over to it. "I don't remember this being here..."

He opened it, but only got a glimpse of a poster before Mr. Jenkins seemingly materialized in front of him. When did he get in there? How long was he there?

"What are you snooping around here for?" The man asked as he walked out and locked the door behind him. Richie didn't even have a chance to get another look inside.

"I was looking for you guys when I woke up. By the way, what's in there that's so secret?"

Mr. Jenkins put a set of keys in his pocket. "Something valuable." And he said no more.

Richie's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh! Those old figures you used to show me all the time. I get it. They must be worth a fortune!"

A smile spread on Mr. Jenkins face. "Yeah, that's why. Need to make sure nothing gets damaged. Everything in this room is priceless. So no going in there without either of our permission. Got it?"

Richie nodded, but his eyes lingered on the brass doorknob after the man walked away. As if it was tempting him to try and open it again. He shook his head and left it alone.

Mrs. Jenkins suddenly appeared and looked outside. "You did all this? It looks wonderful, Richie! Now I can finally walk in the yard without the need for a machete to cut through it."

She opened the door and looked at Richie. "Thank you, Richie. Have fun at the Starfall Shower tonight." with that, she walked out and closer the door behind her, leaving Richie relieved. No other chores to do, he was home free! "Glad I could help you guys. Now I'll just be going-" He started walking towards the front door, but...

"Richie, before you go, have a seat. There's something I want to talk to you about." Mr. Jenkins gestured to the armchair across from him.

The boy wasn't sure what could be on his mind that involved him. "You're not going to tell me to clean the gutters now, are you?" he asked as he plopped down.

Mr. Jenkins shook his head. "No. Its about that shower tonight. Are you and your friends going to that?"

Richie nodded.

"Are you going for fun, or just for a chance to get a wish?"

Richie hesitated, then shrugged. "Both, really."

The old man sighed. "I thought so. Look, Youngblood. I know it can be exciting to get whatever power you want, but when the time comes and you do get these powers, you're going to have to ask yourself: What are you going to do with them?"

Richie knew that answer. "Well, be a hero! Its been my dream for my whole life. I didn't get either of my parents powers, so I thought I could get my own. My friends and I want to be a team."

Mr. Jenkins squinted at the response. "Son, being a hero is a lot more than just living an exciting life and punching bad guys. When you gain these great powers, you also gain great responsibility for the people you protect. Heroes are a lot different now then when I was young."

The house suddenly seemed small as his words sank in. Richie knew that being a hero was a great job. Mighty Eagle and the World's Finest made it look like the most fun job on the planet. Countless lives were saved because of their efforts. And that put some doubt in his mind for himself.

"Of course I can be responsible! I have a dog, you know. I'm always responsible with her." Richie replied. "I even have an allowance."

The grandfather clock tick-tocked loudly behind them.

Mr. Jenkins took a moment to think, rubbing his head as he pondered. "Answer me this: Do you want to be a hero to help others? Or are you in it for the fame?"

Richie's shoulders stiffened up. He did have a reason, but it always brought bad memories when he talked about it. Saving people was important, but not everyone gets saved...

"T-to help others." His voice sounded nervous when he answered.

Mr. Jenkins leaned forward in his chair. "Don't get so distracted getting these powers that you put other lives in danger for it. You only get one life, and so do your friends. You sure you're getting the wish to help others?"

Richie turned his sight away from him. "Its...complicated."

The elderly heard all he needed to and leaned back in his chair. "I see. When when you un-complicate it, you know where to find us." He grabbed the newspaper on the coffee table and opened. "You're done for the day. Thanks for your help."

Richie was relieved that oddly tense conversation was over, but couldn't help feeling weird the man was reading something as archaic a newspaper. "Dude- I mean sir, no one reads the newspaper anymore. Its all digital now. Wouldn't that be easier for you?"

"If no one was reading the paper then no one would be making it. Besides, there's more detail you can spot in the written word then on a screen." Mr. Jenkins answered without looking up. He seemed to be looking for an article in particular.

Richie shrugged and headed towards the door. The Jenkins had always been kind people, the Rapids family knowing them since before Richie was even born. Today seemed a little different. Nice as always, but the conversation with Mr. Jenkins was the most serious they'd ever talked before. Now it was weighing a lot in the boy's mind. More than the Starfall shower now.

Richie turned and gave a small smile. "Oh and Mr. Jenkins? Thanks for the advice."

The old man nodded and watched the boy leave. Then he returned to his paper.

Meanwhile at the sandy beach, Mighty Eagle was fighting the octopus monster. Time seemed to speed by as he was trying to push the monster back into the ocean, but the creature was refusing to stop.

"You're quite the slippery opponent!" Mighty Eagle observed as he wiped his face clear of the ink. "But I'm afraid I can't let you endanger the good people of this city."

The monster roared at the hero as his tentacle beard dripped with ink, splashing in different directions as it swung hits at him several times. It got a couple lucky shots in, but Mighty Eagle grabbed four of its tentacles in hands and swung the monster into the cliff.

The battle was slightly intervened by a voice coming from his com link. "Eagle? Can you hear me? We need you back at the tower." The deep voice came from Night Owl.

"I hear you, but I'm very busy at the moment with a monster menace." Eagle responded hurriedly as he watched the monster slowly rise again started stomping towards him.

"You don't understand." Night Owl insisted. "We have an emergency here. One so big that the leader of the Pangeans is contacting us, and he doesn't like waiting long. So get your feathered butt here, now!" With that, the hero hung up on him.

He sighed. "Very well. Time to end this!" Mighty Eagle flew back to the city, leaving the monster confused. Had he given up that easily?

Suddenly a burst of air loudly echoed across the beach. Quicker than what its eyes could see, Mighty Eagle soared straight across the area and kicked it in the stomach, proudly announcing:

"ROCKETS RED GLARE!!!"

With all his strength, the monster was kicked clear across the ocean, falling into the water far away until he couldn't see it anymore. the after effect of the hit left red fireworks in its wake.

The hero landed on the ground, out of breath. That attack took a lot out of him, but he would recover. "I must be getting out of shape. That took a truly mighty blow to defeat a simple monster."

His thoughts were interrupted by a crowd cheering from the distance. They were taking pictures chanting his name. Then he saw the helicopter above them that was filming his battle. He couldn't let them see him exhausted easily, so slapped on a smile on his beak and gave his fans a salute.

"All in a day's work, citizens! You can always count on me to save the day!"

With that, he leaped into the air and soared off back into the city. The hero looked below at the citizens as he flew, enjoying their lives freely as always dreamed of. Knowing no matter what evil would come about, he and other World's Finest members could handle it with ease. Excelsior had finally become a city of peace.

Within minutes, Mighty Eagle landed in front of a monolith of a building. A skyscraper that reached so high, it towered over every other building in Excelsior. The team called it "Heroes Peak". The outside was a sleek silver trimmed tower with a matching silver globe at its top. The bottom featured a large rectangular base, used as a pseudo-museum for visitors who wished to learn about their protectors.

Once Eagle entered the building, he was met tall, powerful looking statues made entirely of gold, each of them modeled after a member of the team. Mighty Eagle didn't care for large statues made in his image, as he had no desire to be worshipped. He only accepted these as gifts from different countries as a token of gratitude.

He ignored the figures and proceeded forward, passing other trophies, pictures and souvenirs from the team's various adventures. The place was exceptionally larger than his own home base, The Nest, but considered it his home away from home at times.

Mighty Eagle stepped into the elevator proceeded to ride it to the top floor. As he waited, he removed his eagle mask, taking in a sigh of relief as he breathed I'm the cool air. Revealing a man in his late sixties and a touch of gray hair on either side of his head. Though his face had touches of wrinkles, his blue eyes remained young. The public never knew Mighty Eagle's true age, dodging the question interviews. If they saw an older man was protecting them, there may be speculation he was getting to old to protect and serve, putting their safety at risk for a senior to hurt himself in battle.

As he looked at the Eagle's mask, he felt a fondness for it. Protecting this city had been a dream come true. But lately he wondered if a time was approaching for newer younger heroes to be trained. To one day become the new World's Finest in the future and take the mantle.

The elevator dinged and opened its doors to the top floor. The man put his mask back on and straightened up. He never wanted to look unprofessional in public, even around his colleagues. "Greetings, my friends!" He announced his arrival with his booming voice. "I understand that you've called me under urgent matters. What seems to be the emergency?"

His friends turned and gave him various reactions. Cheetahman, The Terrestrial and Sister Twister greeted him warmly while Angel Warrior, and Night Owl were not so cheerful.

"About time you got here, Eagle. Showing off for the cameras again?" The dark hero asked as he pulled up the earlier news footage of Mighty Eagle fighting off the monster invading the beach.

Eagle shook off his surprise and brushed it off. "Of course not! That slippery sucker just took a bit longer to defeat than usual. I didn't even know I was being watched until it was all over."

Night Owl pointed a gloved finger at Eagle. "Don't go getting overconfident here. Just because its easy doesn't mean you keep your guard down. No matter how peaceful it is, there's always somebody in the shadows plotting something."

"Please, you're just got your feathers ruffled because he ranked higher than you." Cheetahman snickered as he leaned on Night Owl playfully. "You'd probably get more votes if you didn't scare people so much."

Night Owl growled.

"I admire your commitment to protecting Excelsior and the country." Angel Warrior started as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "But please remember your responsibility to protect expands beyond here now. Other people need your help too and possibly can't wait for you to finish." Her tone wasn't harsh, but there was hint of authority in it.

Mighty smiled. "That's why I have you all. I don't think any of us could imagine the difference we would make when we were younger heroes." He looked up took in the view if the shining city before them.

"Enough with the superfriends crap. We've got an emergency, remember?" Night Owl snarled as he started typing in the phone number on the computer.

The Terrestrial flew over to Mighty Eagle with a lowered voice. "Don't take it personally. Owl's been on edge since Sideshow got away with his Night Wing." The head shapeshifted into bizarre looking clown, resembling the villain.

Eagle chuckled. "He stole his jet again? That's the third time this month!"

Soon the rest of the team joined Night Owl around the computer for the transmission.

A simulated phone ring commenced, and a moment later a Tyrannosaurus with dark green robes appeared on the screen. Though his face had shown that he had been many small battles from an almost never ending war, the pangean never let it cloud his mind.

Night Owl straightened up. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Emperor. There were... distractions on the way."

Tyran smiled. "Its no trouble, friend. I just wish I could've called under better circumstances. As I said in my previous message, I am in need of your help."

"Is something wrong on Pangea, your Highness?" Sister Twister asked.

Tyran shook his head. "Nothing serious today. However, we've gotten a distress signal from Neptune. It is difficult to understand on the first listen, but we managed to decipher it as a call for help. Hear for yourself."

Another screen popped up and showed soundwaves going erratic. Constant cracking and static we're covering up someone shouting for help. Night Owl turned up the volume and cleaned up the audio the best he could. When it played back, the message became much clearer.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! THE RAGNOKS HAVE INVADED AND BEGUN TAKING PRISONERS! IF ANY PANGEANS RECEIVE THIS, PLEASE HELP-"

Static then silence fell.

"I know that fear all too well. My home planet was invaded by a terrible species of monsters. Our kind barely survived.... " The Terrestrial commented as the abrupt silence troubled their mind.

"I understand that this is a large favor, my friends. But given we are too far from the planet to reach in a reasonable amount of time, we cannot join you." Tyran explained. He then pulled up another screen showing a council of aliens arguing amongst each other, calling for better protection of their planets.

"As you can see, my claws are tied. I must represent both my planet and the United Solar System to keep the peace between everyone. My days of jumping into battle at first sight are over."

Angel Warrior shook her head. "So much unnecessary fighting, even without raising a weapon..."

Mighty Eagle took a moment, then his signature grin appeared. "Of course, your Highness! Wherever there's danger, no matter how far, we shall be there to lend a hand."

The pangean sighed in relief. "Thank you. You truly are the World's Finest. If you need any help, I'm always here for a call." He them rose to his feet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have...several disputes to resolve." He said with a sigh.

With that, the screen disappeared and the computer returned to its home screen.

Cheetahman scratched his head. "Sooooo.....we're going into space? Just like that?"

Sister Twister nodded. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Cheetahman. We don't know if that was really a distress call. It sounded legitimate, but what if its a trap?"

"Finally, someone's making sense here." Night Owl huffed. "Dropping everything to go off to another world is absurd. We'll just send someone else to answer. We've got our own problems and don't need distractions."

Mighty Eagle stepped in front him and scowled. A rarity for him. "And what if it isn't? What if an entire planet is in jeopardy and we chose to ignore it?"

"Oh boy, Eagle's about to go on one of his speeches, isn't he?" Cheetahman shook his head. "Wake me when he's done."

"Countless lives are at stake and you want to ponder if its real? If our home was under attack by an alien menace, wouldn't you call on someone to help, even they weren't from your own nation?" Eagle raised his head and addressed the rest of the team. "Wouldn't any of you?"

The team could not answer, but he saw Angel give him an approving nod.

Night Owl turned off the computer and faced at Mighty Eagle. Even though the latter towered over him, Night Owl didn't back down. "This isn't about us. Its about not falling for a wild goose chase. Can't you put your code to the side just once and stop being so stubborn?"

"Nonsense, Night Owl! If there's someone out there who needs my help, I can't look the other way. No matter how great the distance." Mighty Eagle proudly stated as he folded his arms.

The Terrestrial flew above them and pressed a few buttons on a handheld communicator. "I can contact 9 Lives and have her keep watch over the city while we're gone. The minute there's a great danger, she'll alert us and we can come right back."

Night Owl sighed. "You always were the soft-hearted one, Eagle. Fine. Let's end this and return as soon as possible. I don't want Excelsior vulnerable for too long."

He walked off with a swish of his black cape and followed the rest of the team to the hangar beneath the building. Night Owl had an array of vehicles back at his liar, having one for land, sea, or air. When the time came to add space to that list, he and his team put together the ultimate form of space travel: The Spacewing.

This sleek ship was black as outer space itself, large enough to seat the World's Finest and then some. Its wing span and strength was large enough to rival the best airlines in the country. However, this marvel was only reserved for emergency flights to save other planets, just like now.

Within thirty minutes the ship launched into the sky and flew past the clouds and eventually reached the stars themselves. The Spacewing soared past the Earth and began it's journey to the not so distant planet.

Author's Notes:

That concludes another chapter! Sorry it took me a while to complete this one, It's not something I want to rush through. Plus, I want everyone to enjoy reading or rereading each chapter as they wait. That way you can catch all the other references within it! As you can see, the main plot is slowly developing right underneath their noses. The heroes maybe off-world for a while, but the true battle will be on Earth.

And I got to introduce our two (mostly) wise mentors! While their role is small here, in the main series they'll become incredibly important to the SuperZeroes. For now, they help to flesh out more of how this world works and how powers have affected society for decades, along with their history with Richie's family.

Lastly, the next chapter will finally get to the Starfall event that will change the gang's lives forever. Just not in the way they expect it. I hope you enjoyed this one and are excited for the next! Of course, more designs are being created for the cast as well!

Thanks for reading!

@zer09ine @kenihewa @thesafireartist @jojo-ker06 @your-ne1ghbor @fayflutter @brightverse @else-creates @cielos-pintados @thatartsyraccoonlady

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