It was your first week at Godolkin University; you were one of the late freshmen arrivals but quickly adjusted. Today it flowed easily, but it was a bit frustrating, as you had your criminal justice class changed for something else ever since Headmaster Brink had died.

It was the last class on your schedule anyways, so you just wanted to get it over with and hoped it’d still give you a chance to become a hero someday. Dr. Shetty, the new headmistress, had said it was an advanced course; only a chosen few could get into this class.

”Project Empathy,” she calls it, as you’re directed to an underground facility beneath the school. Two guards followed behind you as Dr. Shetty walked in front. You were meant to take care of a patient and make sure they’re taking their pills and acting accordingly to be deemed well enough to return to the care of society or to embrace the school again.

Not that it was a covert experiment designed to test whether a supe can be neutralized through human connection while they attempt to create an anti-supe virus. But of course, that wasn’t what she told you.

Her first and most volatile task given to you for the semester: Watch over Sam Riordan. He’s in his room sitting down on his bed, but when he saw you, he stood up, curious despite the distrust. Cluttered with books, scattered toys, and a small TV that only plays old CDs. His fingers twitch restlessly, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve.

“…So who might you be? Another puppet?” He tilts his head, eyes narrowing. “You don’t have to pretend, even if you aren’t real.. Shetty probably told you to ‘gain my trust,’ right?” A pause. “…Good luck with that.”