— The Next Day, General POV —
Around the campus, the biggest gossip was Adem Aslan, or as the God U. students started to call him, Homelander Jr.
Adem didn't like the nickname. Being compared to the greatest hero in the world puts a lot of pressure on a person, and despite having the powers, Adem didn't believe he had the right mentality to be the next Number 1 Hero. Heck, he wasn't sure he wanted such a responsibility.
"Yo, Adem, you there buddy?" Tyler asked as he entered the room by phasing through the door.
"Yeah," Adem said and opened his eyes. "What is it mate?"
"There is this girl from Performance Arts, she has this friend who wants to meet you… You interested?"
*sigh* "I am not really into blind da-" he started only for him to take out his phone and show him a picture of her.
[Image]
"Damn… but still, thanks man, I am really not into blind dates." Adem said as he thought of the last time he had gone on a blind date, and swore he would never do so again.
"Oh well," Tyler said with a shrug "I'm still saying you are coming and then will make an excuse for why you did not show up. Hopefully something really fun could happen,"
Adem shook his head, "If only I had half your confidence," he said, and once again his friend chuckled.
"If only." He said.
Then Adem's phone vibrated. He checked it and saw an email from the Dean of God U.
[Hello Mr. Aslan,
I hope you are adjusting well to your life in Godolkin University.
A new development has occurred and I would like to discuss it with you in private, please come to my office today at 9 AM.
With regards,
Dr. Indira Shetty
Dean of Godolkin University]
"Huh, you can tell the girls Dean called me for an impromptu meeting, just don't mention the time of our meeting" Adem said as he showed the mail,
"That works," Tyler said with a large grin.
— Dean's Office —
*knock* *knock* *knock*
"Please come in," Dean Shetty said.
I opened the door and walked in, I was greeted to the sight of an Indian woman in her early 40s.
"Hello, Dean Shetty, you wanted to see me," I said to her, she nodded her head as she gestured towards the chair in front of her desk, "Why don't you take a seat?"
I did as I was told.
"So, Adem, can I call you Adem?" She asked and seeing me nod she continued. "You are aware you are special right." She waited for a moment and I nodded my head, "Now every student in Godolkin is special in their own way. Your case is even more so. A future hero with the powers of Homelander is going to draw attention, and not all the right kind. There will be those who would wish to bring you down before you can sour."
I raised an eyebrow at that, "Like terrorists?"
Dean Shetty chuckled "Oh you sweet summer child, no. These creatures can be far more vicious than terrorists. They are journalists."
"Journalists?" I asked, his eyes closed a little, "Will they write fake news about me or something?" 'J Jonah Jameson' I thought of.
"Fake news… no, nothing that blatant. If they do so we would sue them to oblivion. What they will do is take a word or a sentence you said, and stretch its meaning to the absolute limits in order to get a clickbait article. Destroying your reputation in the process."
I stayed silent. Contemplating what I just heard.
"Let me elaborate. Have you ever heard of Iron Cast?" She asked
"Can't say I have,"
"Of course not. How would you? He was an active Supe 15 years ago. He could change his body to Steel, immune to almost anything. Bullets, fire, poison you name it. There were discussions to include him in the Seven rather than Translucent." She said, causing my eyes to widen, "He then said to a journalist that weed is not as bad as she believes it is, and the media ran with it. They painted him as a pothead, a junkie and throughout months his reputation was sullied. After this ordeal, he was forced into retirement. Few years later he made a comeback as Sergeant Steel, but never reached the same heights as a hero as he once was." She explained and I couldn't believe it.
"That's- That's terrible. Just because of a few clicks or to sell a few papers they are willing to destroy a man's life?" I asked but as I said those words I realized they were likely to do so.
She had a sad smile on her face as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "The world is not a nice place, people are willing to sell out their own families just to get a better life for themselves. What is a stranger to them?"
"I see," I mumbled as I thought about a hero from a different Universe, Spider-Man. No other hero quite suffered the same as Spidey in media. I had thought that wouldn't be a major issue considering the fact that heroes of this world tend to have legal representation, but it seems I was too optimistic.
"What can I do to not give them the opportunity?" I asked and she smiled.
"Professor Binks and I believe you should take media training before interacting with any journalist." She said before stopping herself "Godolkin offers Media Training course as an elective in third year, it does not interact with your class schedule, and if you were to attend you can use the extra credit in the future." She explained and I slowly nodded my head at that. It made sense to me.
"Alright, thank you very much, Dean Shetty."
"Please Adem, feel free to call me Shetty."
— The Same Day, Classes, General POV —
I entered the class, I was a little late because my meeting took longer than expected but since this was the first Math 106 class, the professor simply told me to take a seat.
I took the seat next to Cate as she was the only one in the class who I knew besides Rufus. And for some obvious reason I preferred to sit next to the pretty blonde.
"Hey Cate," I said with a small smile on my face
"Hey," she simply said as she looked at the board.
"Do you mind if I cheat off of you, you look pretty smart."
"You gonna ride my coattails?"
"All the way to the top…"
(AN: I know Dean Shetty's first name is Indira, but that's too close to Indra for me to not think of Uchiha's every time I write it.)