The Hero & The Retiree

Summary: Sometime ago your mentor and idol retired from the hero scene, citing that they were too old to continue on with their duties. Behind the scenes though, you and a select few were notified that your mentor had lost their reason to continue fighting. You, being closer than others, knew why; You refused to tell anyone about it, after all, maybe, just maybe you could convince your mentor to return to the thing that you knew made them happy.

– Roles:

Major:

• The Hero |H|: The former apprentice of the retired hero and is in their own right a renowned superhero and the legacy of their mentor. 

Scene: Apartment, home of retired mentor

[There’s a series of knocks on the door, some seconds later, the door opens]

|H|: (Cheery) Hey there! Shocked that it’s me again? (Pause for 3 beats) No? Well, I can’t blame ya. I’ve been in ya hair so often as of late, it would be odd for me to not show up today too; Well is there any chance that uhm I can come in? (Slightly desperate) Please?

[Multiple steps out of sync are heard, before the door creaks closed, then with a click, it is locked shut.]

|H|: (Relieved) Thanks for having me…okay, I may have lied; I mean, not really, maybe just a bit. However I really did come here for a social call, the extent of the whole truth is that I need a place to relax, my place is kinda packed with fans trying to see if they can get my autograph, or picture, or whatever. You know how it is with fans. I mean, I remember when I would visit your old place and you couldn’t even walk on the sidewalk, all those people trying to get a glimpse of you, it still boggles my mind. But, I know how you feel when I start talking about those days, so I won’t. (Pause for 3 beats, pensively) While we’re on the topic of the old days, there is something else I want to bring up with you…

[The hero’s sentence was cut short as a teacup and its accompanying saucer is gently placed on the wooden table]

|H|: Oh! Is the tea already ready? (Pause for 2 beats) What am I saying, if you were waiting for me, of course the tea is going to be ready to serve. So, thank you, for the tea, and everything else; (Pause for 2 beats, pensively) Also, if my visits get to be too much, please do let me know. Last thing I want to do is take too many of your spoons away. (Pause for 3 beats) I know, I know that you were my mentor; That doesn’t take away from the fact that you’re still human and sometimes that means that you need your own space to recover and have some, you time; I get it, I have those days too. (Pause for 3 beats) Anyways, before I continue to ramble on, I just appreciate everything you’ve done for me; As both a mentor and a friend, I can never repay you. (Pause for 3 beats) Right, sorry, didn’t mean to begin to ramble on.

[The teacup is lifted from the saucer as a sip is taken]

|H|: About that other thing that I wanted to talk to you about. And before you give me that face, it’s not me trying to convince you to put on your suit again; I know the boundaries you’ve set and I have no intentions of betraying your trust; Besides, I’ve already voiced my opinions on your retirement; (Pause for 3 beats) Let me stop beating around the bush, I’ve actually come to get some knowledge out of you.

[Once again the hero takes another sip of their tea]

|H|: Okay, if you’ve seen the news recently, I’m sure that you’re noticing that a lot of, as we call them at headquarters, Golden Age Villains are suddenly finding themselves out of retirement and back on the scene. And it just so happens that they’re doing so when half of our own Golden Age Heroes are retired, or in the process of retiring; And with them, their in-depth knowledge of those Golden Age Villains going with them as they do so. But you don’t need me to tell you this to you, I mean you’re a First International after all, the baddest of all badass hero ages. (Pause for 2 beats) Well yeah, we’ve been reviewing old combat footage and after action reports between you all and them, but, something’s changed in them, they don’t fight like they used to. (Pause for 3 beats) No, I don’t mean that they’re older and their attacks are slower, I mean that their styles have changed entirely, even how they use their abilities has as well.

[The hero takes another sip of their tea, before putting down the saucer and cup]

|H|: I’m talking about, uhm, (finger snap) remember Devastator!? (Pause for 2 beats) Yeah, the one with earthquake causing powers; Used them more like a sledgehammer, battles would usually end with tons in collateral damage every single time. (Pause for 2 beats) Yeah him, well, recently we had to investigate a series of jewelry store break-ins. The odd thing about them was that they all happened during an earthquake. And after an investigation, as it turns out, Devastator used the earthquake as cover to break storefront windows. But because the break ins happened during an earthquake, the police chalked it up to earthquake damage. Which made the response time a lot longer than what it should’ve been. This of course allowed our old friend to empty out the stores with plenty of time to even steal from the registers, and well it goes without saying that if the store had a safe, those were emptied out as well. Very uncharacteristic of Devastator. (Pause for 3 beats then with a bit of a laugh) Yes, he did get an outfit change. I’m not going to lie, I do like their new outfit, it’s sleek and modern, not like that dreadful Golden Age outfit; (Nervously) I mean, yeah, there’s something to be said about classic outfits, sure, but this new outfit of theirs. Ugh it’s just so much more tasteful and easy on the eyes, Devastator absolutely called a designer to make their comeback outfit, cause yes. Ramblings aside, think you can help out?

[A series of sounds from distant cars honking can be heard before they’re eventually drowned out by an airplane passing overhead]

|H|: The way you can help is rather easy actually. I was hoping you could tell me the names of your rogues gallery, and anything personal about them that you can recall; I’m talking about hobbies, if they had a family, who they hung out with, anything and everything. If it wouldn’t be that much of an issue, could we go over your rogues gallery before I became your sidekick first; After that, maybe we could cross reference the villains that you and I faced, that way we could also make a rough timeline of when each villain showed up to the scene, and when was the last time that they appeared in public. (Pause for 2 beats) Why? Well, there’s a debate, some say that it’s simply old dogs learning new tricks. However, there are others, like myself, who believe that perhaps they haven’t learned new tricks, but rather that they have someone else pulling their strings. Maybe mind control, or cloning, it’s difficult to give any definitive answer yet; (Pause for 2 beats) Come on now, how could you think that we wouldn’t start at the beginning, we’re combing through the Golden Age Heroes in order to see if there are any villains with the ability to mind control others, barring that, maybe there was a villain with hyper intelligence and the resources to be able to create clones on a whim. And, just like you and the old timers taught us, the best place to look for said villains would be within the groups that our lovely Golden Age Villains associated themselves with.

[The teacup makes a noise as it slightly clanks against the saucer, as it is picked up, and the last bit of the tea is sipped up]

|H|: (Pensively) Profiling? Mmm, I don’t think you could consider it profiling, suspicion by association absolutely. However we have to begin somewhere, and well you all pretty much hammered it into our skulls. (Pause for 3 beats, happily and excited) You’ll help?! That’s wonderful! Thanks so much! I really appreciate it! And I know the other heroes at headquarters will also appreciate it. Mind if I step outside real quick? I need to make a quick phone call.

[There’s the sound of a chair scraping against the ground, along with the steps that lead to a door; Said door opens and closes. As soon as the door closes, a phone is taken out and a phone number seems to be dialed]

|H|: Yeah hey! It’s me! Good news! They’ve agreed to help! Yeah! I’m going to go get as much of their rogues gallery written down as possible. Maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll also be the catalyst for getting them back into the action. I mean they’re still in good shape, and I can definitely see the spark still being there in their eyes. We just need to jump start it. And this just might be the spark to get them going. Though, we may have to help them get over the incident. (Pause for 2 beats) yes ma’am, I know ma’am, I’m aware it’s a delicate subject; I was there ma’am, so I know how hurtful it would be if I brought it up before they’re ready.

[The sound of a few people passing by can be heard, they stop for a quick second, whispering among themselves]

|H|: (Away from the phone) Hi, yeah, uhm sorry I’m not doing autographs or pictures right now. I’m kinda visiting an old friend of mine, and I’m also on the phone with Sunspot. (Pause for 3 beats slightly bored expression) Yes, The Sunspot. (Pause for 3 beats) Thank you for being so understanding. (Pause for 2 beats) Okay, yeah, maybe next time. (Back towards phone) Eh, don’t worry about it, just some fans, or maybe just people who have seen me in that one famous magazine I did recently. (Pause for 4 beats) Yeah that one! Well I guess the sister publication…no, not the teen version, the hero version. Yeah Hero Mania Magazine; Regardless, they were very understanding of what I was currently doing. Oh! The people I just spoke to also say hi. (Pause for 3 beats) Yeah, don’t worry, my mentor knows that I stepped out to do this call. Though I’m not going to be able to stay on the line for much longer, I’m seeing more and more eyes on me from the people passing the hallways. Yes ma’am, don’t worry, my mission priority is to get the information out of them first, then I’ll be heading to headquarters before doing anything else. Alright, I’ve got to go, bye.

[The hero hangs up their phone, then proceeds to open the door and walk back over to the chair; After closing the door.]

|H|: Alright, thank you so much for letting me make the call, I really appreciate it; (Pause for 3 beats) Oh, it was Sunspot, just giving her a status update on my mission, and how it’s coming along. (Pause for 4 beats) Sunspot is doing well—at least as well as someone can be after having their new position imposed onto them—(Pause for 3 beats) Yeah don’t worry, she doesn’t fault you for that, she knows the circumstances of your retirement. Sides according to her (mocking in a friendly manner) Ain’t no bemoaning what’s already happened; Only thing yah can do now is ride the horse or get off the saddle. (With a little laughter) Besides, don’t tell her I said this, but I think she likes the attention. I mean it would make sense, what with her being from a family of rodeo stars and whatnot. But uhm where were we? (Pause for 2 beats) Oh right! Your rogues gallery, give me a second to take out a pen and a notebook…and, now I’m ready to write down the info, so let me hear them all. (Pause for 3 beats, thoughtfully) Okay so there’s Plague, Gamma Vortex, and Wraith to begin with, and who would you say was the first one to show up?

[The teacup clanks against the saucer as it is once again lifted and drunk, the scene slowly fades to nothing as the last bit of the final line is spoken and softly disappears, ultimately ending the scene]

Scene: Headquarters

[The sound of a pair of mechanical doors opening is heard, followed by the sound of some steps making their way in]

|H|: And according to the information that we’ve gathered, we can surmise that…(Pause for 3 beats) huh? (Pleasantly surprised) Hey! Look who’s out of the apartment!? (Pause for 3 beats then with a slight laugh) I kid, you know it’s fantastic to see you here, especially after all of these years. (Pause for 3 beats) Oh, you noticed the remodel and, well, everything. Yeah, we brought it into the modern age! Or at least according to the New Internationals we have. You know how young heroes are; You let them breakout of their sidekick roles and suddenly they think that they’re all that. Calling into question your design choices, your outfits; (Pause for 3 beats, in denial) What? Nope, what are you talking about, we were never like them. (Pause for 3 beats, still in denial) That’s an utter lie, I did not question your own outfit when I broke out. (Pause for 2 beats) Yeah, well, you don’t have any sort of evidence to back up this claim of yours, soooo, take that.

[The Hero addresses the console, after hearing that there was snickering being heard through the screen] 

|H|: (Shocked and embarrassed) Oh gosh, I can’t believe I just did that in front of everyone. I won’t be able to live this down. Now I have to retire, change my name, and never be a superhero again. (Pause for 3 beats, then continue with some laughter) I’m kidding, let me mute myself though, I don’t want to have a hot mic incident again, and also it lets all of you on call right now to discuss among yourselves the information we’ve gathered up.

[The Hero turns back to their mentor, after the snickering from the computers turns into murmurs of discussion]

|H|: (Nervous laughter) New hero candidates, am I right? You know the headache that they give you when you’re trying to get them used to working within an organization like ours. But I don’t have to remind you of that fact. (Pause for 3 beats) Okay, and? So what if my generation is three-fourths former sidekicks, the point still stands, the other fourth was still difficult to integrate once they passed the grace period, weren’t they? (Pause for 2 beats) Exactly, thank you for agreeing with me.

[The Hero walks a bit around the room, their steps being heard before the sound of a sliding door overtakes the noise]

|H|: Walk with me, yeah? (Pause for 3 beats) Sorry if you were looking forward to meeting some old friends, and former sidekicks. Unfortunately, most are in different outposts, it’s recruitment season and the marketing department wants our most recognizable heroes out there at the outposts to increase the numbers of potential candidates that we can reach; So you can imagine how stretched thin we are right now, but hey, if we couldn’t multitask, then what kind of heroes would we be?

[Another door opens up as the steps continue going towards their direction]

|H|: (With a slight surprise) Still, this is your first time stepping into the HQ in a while, right? (Pause for 3 beats) Oh yeah, internal security thought it was a good idea to beef up our systems, to prevent you know, shapeshifters from waltzing in, or telepaths who are mind controlling heroes from infiltrating and causing some chaos; So sorry if the security people were being a bit difficult, I see they gave you a visitor’s pass though; (Whistle) Level Five clearance, there’s only one other person in this building authorized to give that out, which means that you were able to catch Honor Guard just before they had to leave for their own outpost assignment, right? (Pause for 3 beats) Figures, I went out to get drinks with them one night, and they would not stop telling old battle stories that they had with you. Though to be fair we didn’t know each other that well at the time, so it was an easy commonality between the two of us. We went back and forth in sharing stories, so it wasn’t completely one sided. They’re a really great person, and honestly, I’m glad that we got to talking with each other. (Pause for 3 beats, pensively) While we’re on the topic of internal security, let me know if you want to put your information into the system, just to avoid any discomfort with the security in case Honor Guard isn’t able to help you. 

[The sound of two sets of steps walking are heard, though they come to a stop as soon as they hear the sound and sight of construction going on. Mostly hammers, saws, welding torches, and drills.]

|H|: So catching up aside, what’s going on? What brings you here? (Pause for 2 beats, surprised) Oh? You want to help a bit more? Uhm yeah we won’t turn away help, especially from a seasoned veteran like you. Minus any field work, we could always use more people to help comb through the archives; If you wouldn’t mind working there that is. (Pause for 3 beats) Wonderful! Great, uhm we’re actually not too far from it. (Pause for 3 beats) Yeah you’re entirely right, this was The Memorial Atrium, though we’re renaming it to…well we’re not sure yet, we have a pool going on across the entirety of the organization. So far it looks like The Resting Garden is winning. (Pause for 3 beats) No, we didn’t get rid of The Memorial Atrium, we just moved it. Actually that’s me lying, now it’s called Memorial Hall, it will have an atrium by the same name, and a plate that gives information to visitors. (Pause for 3 beats) Yeah, with all the heroes that announced their retirements, we figured that the atrium was going to quickly fill up; So we allocated some funds to build a new building, nothing fancy, but enough to host memorials to our heroes for a long while before needing an expansion.

[The sound of two sets of feet moving again are heard, as the sound of the construction slowly dims into silence] 

|H|: I can’t even begin to tell you how much your help will do for us; (Pause for 3 beats) Oh no don’t worry, you’re not going to be the only person in the archives, we have some of the more eagle eyed and brainy sidekicks in there. We put them on intern duty and have them looking over the films and records. I’m sure they’ll benefit from having someone in there to guide them on what entries to pay attention to and which not to. (A bit excited) Although, I would feel pretty bad if I didn’t try to warn you about the fact that there might be some fans of yours in that group. (Whispering) If I had to give my own opinion, it wouldn’t surprise me if the others gained an interest in you from all the archive entries they’ve been going through.

[The walking stops, as the two stand in front of the room, there’s the muffled sound of old battle reels playing, and some clattering of heavy boxes coming from the other side of the door.]

|H|: Welp this is your room, again, sorry if you get swarmed in there; You know how sidekicks are…well, you know how I was when I was your sidekick. (Pause for 3 beats, then laugh a bit) Hey! What did you expect!? First of all, I was a huge fan of yours, and when you selected me as your sidekick I was over the moon. Second of all, I was just a kid back then (pause for 3 beats) Okay so maybe sixteen isn’t technically being a kid but you know what I mean.

[The Hero pounds in a code on the pad, the beep of the lock opening signifies that it was the right code; Which leads to the doors sliding open.]

|H|: (Leaning into the room, and slightly away from the mic) Hey everyone! Uhm I’ve got a special guest for all of you. They’ll help you the best they can, and I really respect them, so take very good care of them; Most importantly of all, listen to them because you’ll come to find out that this particular guest of mine has an incredible amount of experience. So, say hi to my mentor!

[The sound of people getting excited and even murmuring spilled out into the hallway, while the battle reels still very much were playing.]

|H|: (Normally) Well, I hate to introduce and run, however I do have a meeting to finish up, and then after that, I gotta go and check out some tips we got, I think a few of them could be the big break we’ve been looking for. (Pause for 3 beats) Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll be safe… I mean, you did teach me to keep myself safe first and foremost. Anyways, thanks again for coming down and helping out. If memory serves, some of the other heroes are due to return today, so I think a lot of them would love to see you walking the halls again, even if it’s just for your visit; It’ll be a huge morale boost, especially with some of the old timers you used to pal around with. (Pause for 3 beats, then once more with laughter) So what if I know most of those old timers (playfully cocky) Just because y’all were the first heroes to establish this group, doesn’t mean y’all are on top anymore. We could totally run circles around all of you; Some of us literally (Pause for 3 beats, playfully laugh) oh, experience beats raw power any day does it? That’s what you forget my dear friend, we’re not inexperienced sidekicks anymore, we’re full blown heroes in our own right. (Laugh again) Anyways, banter aside, it really will boost the mood around here to see one of the founding members walking around. I’ll catch you later okay? Can’t keep the others waiting.

[The sound of the Hero walking away, their steps getting quieter and quieter as they do is one of the last things heard before the door to the archives closes]