The Name He Never Knew
1354 Words
The hybrid training grounds stretched wide beneath the afternoon sky — a massive battlefield carved into the center of the academy. Tall metallic towers rose at the edges, each glowing with the gold H symbol. Platforms floated in the air, obstacles shifted automatically, and in the very center, high above everything, hovered a giant golden H emblem — the victory mark.
That was the target.
Whoever fought through the chaos and touched it first won.
All the hybrid students stood in teams of two, nervous excitement filling the air.
James stood beside Lena, trying very hard not to look awkward.
Lena noticed his silence and tilted her head.
“You’ve been quiet ever since we got here.”
James quickly straightened.
“I’m not quiet.”
Lena raised an eyebrow.
“You’re literally staring at the ground.”
James looked down.
He was indeed staring at the ground.
Lena laughed softly.
“Relax, James. It’s just training, not war.”
James swallowed.
Easy for you to say, he thought. You’re not standing next to the prettiest girl in the academy.
Before he could reply, a loudspeaker echoed across the field.
One of the hybrid directors, Mr King J, stepped forward.
“Listen carefully! This exercise is a tactical survival match. Your goal is simple — eliminate opposing teams, reach the top platform, and touch the golden H. Last team standing wins.”
The students erupted in cheers.
Another director, Mrs Relah, added firmly:
“No serious injuries. Use control. Strategy wins — not recklessness.”
Kennedy leaned toward James from his own team and whispered loudly:
“Or charm. Charm works too.”
James glared.
Kennedy grinned.
Beside Kennedy stood his partner, Tehila, crossing her arms.
“Can you focus for one minute?”
Jersey laughed with his own partner, Musa.
Meanwhile, Troy stood confidently at the front with his partner, Gwen — a beautiful but arrogant girl with silver-blonde hair who looked like she’d rather be anywhere else.
Troy cracked his neck dramatically.
“This is over already.”
Gwen smirked.
“With me here, obviously.”
Lena rolled her eyes.
James whispered, “Do they always talk like that?”
Lena smiled.
“Apparently.”
A sharp whistle blew.
“BEGIN!”
The ground beneath them shifted instantly.
Students scattered in all directions.
James barely had time to react before Lena grabbed his wrist.
“Move!”
She teleported them both onto a higher platform just as a blast of water crashed into where they had been standing.
James stumbled.
“Whoa—”
Lena let go of his hand.
“Focus. You have speed and electricity, right?”
James nodded.
“Yes.”
“Good. I throw, you strike.”
James blinked.
“That’s the plan?”
Lena smiled.
“That’s the plan.”
Across the arena, Troy and Gwen were already battling another pair.
Troy blasted streams of blue fire while Gwen used telekinesis to hurl chunks of stone.
He glanced over and spotted James beside Lena.
His expression darkened.
He muttered under his breath.
“Of all people... him?”
Back on another platform, James and Lena faced two students rushing toward them.
Lena raised her hand.
The two attackers were suddenly lifted into the air by her telekinesis.
“Now!”
James dashed forward in a blur of speed, electricity crackling around him.
ZAAAP!
A pulse of electricity burst from his hand and shocked both opponents at once.
They screamed and dropped to the floor unconscious.
Lena’s eyes widened.
“Okay... that was impressive.”
James froze.
She said he was impressive.
His brain stopped working for a second.
Lena waved a hand in front of him.
“James?”
He snapped back.
“Right! Yes! More enemies!”
Lena laughed.
“You’re weird.”
As the match continued, teams fell one by one.
Kennedy and Tehila were eliminated after Tehila accidentally soaked both of them while trying to blast another pair.
Kennedy coughed water and shouted:
“I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU CONTROL WATER!”
Tehila yelled back:
“I SAID SOMETIMES!”
Even the directors laughed.
Jersey and Musa lasted longer but were knocked out by Troy and Gwen.
Soon, only two teams remained.
James and Lena.
Troy and Gwen.
The crowd of students watching from the sidelines grew louder.
Troy smirked at James.
“You shouldn’t have come this far.”
James looked nervous, but Lena stepped forward.
“We’ll see.”
The final round began.
Gwen immediately tried to use telekinesis on Lena, but Lena countered it perfectly, both girls locking powers mid-air as metal debris shook violently around them.
Troy took the chance and charged James.
James dodged with super speed, but Troy was stronger than expected.
He slammed James into a wall.
James groaned.
Troy sneered.
“You don’t belong here.”
Before Troy could strike again, James remembered Lena’s words.
Strategy wins.
As Troy lunged, James used his speed to disappear from sight.
Troy turned.
“Where did—”
James reappeared behind him and released a full electric surge.
BOOM!
Troy convulsed and crashed hard to the ground.
At the same time, Lena teleported above Gwen and tapped her shoulder.
Gwen turned in shock.
Lena smiled.
“Wrong move.”
She pushed Gwen off the platform.
The whistle blew.
“WINNERS — JAMES AND LENA!”
The arena exploded with cheers.
James looked around, stunned.
They actually won.
Lena laughed and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the floating emblem.
“Come on!”
Together, they climbed the final platform and touched the giant glowing golden H.
The symbol burst with light.
The directors nodded in approval.
Mrs Relah smiled.
“Well done, Lena and James. You two make a remarkable team.”
Lena smiled proudly.
James smiled too, though mostly because Lena was still holding his hand.
After the match ended, everyone gathered in the hall.
The students were still talking excitedly about the battle.
Kennedy came up to James and slapped his shoulder.
“My guy! You actually did it!”
Jersey laughed.
“And with the prettiest girl here. Respect.”
James blushed.
Lena looked between them.
“What are they talking about?”
James quickly said:
“Nothing.”
Kennedy grinned.
“Oh, absolutely everything.”
Before anyone could continue teasing, one of the directors stepped forward.
The room quieted.
Mrs Relah’s expression became serious.
“There is something important you all need to know.”
Everyone fell silent.
She continued.
“Some of you may have believed you were orphans... abandoned... with no family.”
James’ expression changed.
Ava’s words from the orphanage flashed in his mind.
She had always joked that maybe their parents were secret heroes.
He never believed it.
Mrs Relah looked around the room.
“But that is not always true. In some cases, your parents were alive all along... working within HEROES. To protect you, they placed you in gifted orphanages until the right time.”
Gasps spread across the hall.
James froze.
His heart started pounding.
What?
Lena nudged him gently.
She smiled.
“Your parents, James.”
He looked at her blankly.
“My... parents?”
Lena nodded.
“Yes. Mine have always been with me. Yours were hidden from you. Maybe now you get to meet them.”
James swallowed hard.
He didn’t know whether to be happy or terrified.
The director pulled out a list.
“As I call your names, step forward and follow me.”
She began calling students.
One by one, they left with stunned expressions.
Then—
“James Dickson.”
James’ eyes widened.
“Dickson?”
He whispered to himself.
“That’s... my surname?”
Lena burst into laughter.
“You didn’t know your own surname?”
James stared at her.
“No!”
She pushed him gently toward the front.
“Go. Your parents are waiting.”
James hesitated, his mind racing.
Then he looked back once.
Lena smiled and gave him a small encouraging nod.
And somehow...
that made it easier.
James took a deep breath.
Then stepped forward.
Toward the people he had waited sixteen years to meet.
- Writer
