The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism
Chapter 253 | Percy Mendoza Steps Up to the Plate [PS BONUS]
The question hung in the California air and Radiant opened his mouth to respond, but before the number one hero in America could form syllables, Percy Mendoza stepped forward.
Percy’s grey and blue costume fit him with an understated competence that matched his personality, and his notebook was nowhere to be seen for the first time since I’d met him, though I suspected he’d found some internal pocket to store it in because Percy without his notebook was like Rina without her mug.
His navy blue hair caught the sun and his dark brown eyes carried the particular brightness of someone who had just spent fifteen minutes in the physical presence of his personal deity and had channeled the resulting adrenaline into the only coping mechanism he possessed, which was information.
"Actually, um, statistically speaking, most villain engagements happen indoors rather than in open environments." Percy’s voice started at its usual hesitant register but gathered momentum as the data found its groove.
"The IHL incident database from the last five years shows sixty-three percent of registered Hero-versus-Villain confrontations occurred inside structures. Warehouses, office buildings, residential complexes, underground facilities. The remaining thirty-seven percent were split between urban street-level encounters and, I mean, the occasional outdoor scenario, but the majority of actual combat happens in enclosed spaces because villains prefer controlled environments where they can limit Hero response options and reduce the effectiveness of ranged Aspects and aerial mobility."
The entire group turned to look at Percy. He noticed the attention approximately two seconds after the attention noticed him, and his ears went pink, but he held his ground.
Radiant’s smile became a different thing. Still enormous, still capable of ending wars through sheer charisma, but now carrying a genuine warmth beneath the performance that made his blue eyes crinkle at the corners.
He pointed directly at Percy with one finger that was larger than most people’s forearms.
"CORRECT, YOUNG MAN!"
Percy’s entire body went rigid with the particular paralysis of someone who had just been acknowledged by God and did not have a protocol for processing the experience.
"What is your name?"
"P-Percy. Percy Mendoza. Um. Sir. Mr. Radiant. Sir."
"Percy Mendoza." Radiant repeated the name as if committing it to memory, which given his documented recall ability he probably was. "You’re EXACTLY right! The cleverest villains don’t stand in open fields waiting for Heroes to arrive! They’re SMARTER than that!"
Radiant began pacing along the gate’s entrance with strides that covered six feet per step, his cape billowing with physics-defying enthusiasm while the afternoon sun turned his golden hair into something that belonged in a Renaissance painting if the subject of the painting could bench-press a skyscraper.
"Hostage takers barricade themselves in apartment buildings because the walls limit how many Heroes can approach at once! Bank robbers dig into vault rooms because the reinforced structure becomes their armor! Supervillains with territory-dependent Aspects choose basements, parking garages, and subway tunnels because underground environments neutralize aerial response teams and reduce collateral damage options!" Each example arrived with the force of someone who had personally resolved every scenario he described. "The REAL fight, the fight that separates a Hero who lasts from a Hero who doesn’t, happens in rooms! In hallways! Around corners where you can’t see what’s coming until it’s already on top of you!"
The group absorbed this with varying degrees of visible concern. Rina’s tail had wrapped itself around her own thigh. Theo’s massive hands opened and closed at his sides. Caden had stopped grinning for the first time since receiving his costume.
"So." Radiant clapped his hands together and the resulting sound made three people flinch. "We’re going to PRACTICE! Today’s exercise will be a two-on-two engagement! HERO TEAMS versus VILLAIN TEAMS! Indoor combat!"
The words were barely out of his mouth before the questions started.
"Two on two? How are the teams selected?"
"Are we fighting to elimination or points?"
"What about Aspects that cause structural damage? Eden literally sets things on fire."
"Is there a weight class consideration because I’m like five-three and Theo is built like a refrigerator."
"Can we choose our own partners?"
"What’s the victory condition?"
"Are medical staff on standby?"
"I have a question about the liability wai—"
"ONE AT A TIME!" Radiant’s voice hit a volume that I felt in my molars. His smile remained intact but his eyes carried the particular overwhelm of a man who had spent decades fighting S-class threats and still found twenty teenagers asking simultaneous questions to be a logistical challenge. "I do NOT have a processing Aspect!"
The noise subsided. Percy made a small sound that might have been a suppressed laugh.
Radiant coughed once, adjusted his posture, and tapped something on the inside of his wrist. A holographic projection materialized above his forearm, casting a blue-white three-dimensional model of one of Ground Beta’s interior buildings into the air between him and the gathered students. The building was three stories tall with multiple rooms, hallways, stairwells, and windows. The layout rotated slowly, revealing floor plans from each level.
"Here’s how this works." Radiant’s tone dropped from theatrical to instructional, still warm but carrying the focused weight of someone who had taught this lesson before and understood exactly how important it was. "Each engagement takes place inside one of Ground Beta’s residential structures. Three floors, multiple rooms, several entry points." He pointed to a highlighted area on the second floor of the hologram. "In this room, there will be a HOSTAGE."
The holographic building zoomed into the indicated room, revealing a human-shaped figure sitting in a chair. The figure glowed with internal markers, small lights distributed across its torso, limbs, and head.
"The hostage is a simulation dummy equipped with trauma response sensors." Radiant tapped the figure and the internal markers pulsed. "These indicators register physical impact, environmental exposure, and proximity damage. If the hostage takes significant damage during the exercise, the sensors light up red. Think of it as a person with injuries that get worse if you’re not careful."
He pulled the hologram back to full building view and looked at the group with an expression that had abandoned showmanship entirely.
"The HERO TEAM’s objective is to enter the building and rescue the hostage. You do this either by physically extracting the hostage from the building to a designated safe zone OR by capturing both members of the opposing team. Either method counts as a Hero victory."
Radiant swiped the hologram and the villain team’s perspective appeared, showing two figures positioned inside the building near the hostage.
"The VILLAIN TEAM’s objective is to prevent the rescue. You achieve this by capturing both members of the Hero team OR by holding the hostage location until the timer runs out. Fifteen minutes per engagement."
He paused. The hologram rotated.
"BUT." The word came out heavy enough to dent the air. "If the hostage takes heavy damage during the engagement, from either team, BOTH TEAMS LOSE."