fandomhigh | Heroing [period 2, class #8]

"Hello, class!" Hammer boomed, striding out before the class once everyone was all assembled. "I hope you all had a nice time on vacation. I, meanwhile, stayed behind to protect the island from any evildoers who might attack in its vulnerable state."

He paused, beaming. "You're welcome."

"Today, class," he continued, "we're going to talk about the media. The paparazzi. Your future best friends, as a hero."

"As heroes," he went on, "we must embrace the media, for they will trail around after us, hanging on our every word, once we've saved them all from mortal peril even just once. They will hound us. They will take our pictures. They will want autographs. There will be merchandise with your face on it if you're lucky." Hammer plucked up and waved a shirt with his face, and a coffee mug with his hammer symbol emblazoned on the side. "But the biggest obstacle, my tiny, young, less bright friends, is the interview."

He began to pace. "Newspapers and TV news crews are always trying to corner you for an interview, and while, yes, they are adoring, they always want to know things like which is your favoritie pair of socks, and how old you were when you lost your virginity. If you have." He eyed the class, because he doubted most of these sad kids had gotten lucky yet. "The important thing is knowing how to give answers quickly on your feet. One wrong answer means you'll have to save them all at least three more times to regain favor."

"So!" He clapped his hands together. "Today, class, we're doing an exercise to prepare you. I want you to pair up and one of you gets to be a reporter, and the other gets to be the hero. The reporter asks questions -- and make sure you're adoring, kids, because reporters always are -- and they need to be as personal as you can stand! Hero, answer them as well as you can without humiliating yourself. After five questions, switch! Hop to!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Dark red," because it was easier than trying to choose between black and red, "and... Kind of? Nothing really official, I guess."

He tapped his eraser against his book one more time for good measure, and then set his pencil down.

"Mostly. Or something."

He sort of sucked at this kind of stuff.

Ben grinned. "You sort of suck at this," he said. "It's a good strategy. Maybe they'll leave you alone this way."

Warren was smiling a bit at that.

"The best way to keep from humiliating yourself is to just drive them all off in the first place. The other guy's probably more interesting anyhow."

"Is there always another guy?" Ben asked, using up the last of his questions.

"Only when you don't want one," Warren replied with a shake of his head.

Of course.

"My turn to pick your brains now, huh?"

"Give it your best shot," Ben said with a smile.

Warren mulled on it for a moment, and then, figuring he might as well start with something more or less simple, he spoke.

"What do you think makes a hero?"

"Someone who does the job no one else wants," Ben said, "who does the right thing even when it's hard, and who isn't it for the publicity."

He was pretty much describing his father as he saw him.

"And how do you know the right thing when you see it?"

Okay, maybe Warren didn't ask such easy questions, after all.

"You trust your gut and the Force," Ben replied.

"The Force?"

Somehow, Warren was possibly the only kid in the school who hadn't actually managed to meet a Jedi, yet.

"The unseen energy that binds the universe together," Ben said, nodding. "It's what gives a Jedi his power."

"Oh." He didn't entirely understand, but when you grew up around superheroes who got their powers from cosmic rays and radioactive vats of goo and mutated porpoises, you started to kind of take confusing answers in stride. "Sounds like a handy thing to be able to rely on."

~~Mutated porpoises ftw!~~

"It is," Ben said. "It never runs out, which is extremely useful."

Warren smirked faintly at that.

"Whoever came up with the law of conservation of energy must be rolling over in their gave," he mused. "You've always had the Force on your side, then?"

"Since I was a baby," Ben said, nodding. "It's strong in my family."

"Great thing about family. They do something right, you might end up doing half decent at it, too."

He frowned thoughtfully at his pencil for a moment, and then shrugged and looked up at Ben again.

"What am I on? Question three? Four? Maybe I should just ask what your favourite food is and then call it a day or something. I don't think I'm doing as much swooning as Captain Mallet over there wanted to see."

"I like hot chocolate," Ben offered, "and I'll give you an autograph or something."

"I'll treasure it for always," Warren snorted.

He'd lose it in ten minutes or use it as a bookmark.

"My name's Warren, by the way. We were probably supposed to do the introductions thing before the personal questions part."

"Ben," he replied. "And we were assuming that if we had scored this totally fawning interview, we knew who the other guy was. Yep."

So smooth, that Ben.

"Either that, or we were trying to figure out what was up with the weird guy with powers and a cape," Warren agreed. "Either way, that's just the sort of person who commands respect."

Either because of the powers, or because of the crazy.

"Totally," Ben agreed.

Heroing [period 2, class #8]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]

Re: Pair up and question one another! [03/04/09]