The Necromancer sat in his black throne, surrounded by candles, shrouded in shadow, holding an ancient artifact in his hand, emitting an ominous glow. He was about to activate an ancient spell of destruction…
But then his right hand, Greg, coughed hesitantly and handed him an envelope.
"What is this?" the Necromancer asked, not taking his eyes off the magic circle.
"A summons, my Lord. You are being called to a parent-teacher meeting."
The Necromancer froze.
"What nonsense?"
Greg cleared his throat.
"You see... the League of Superhero Parents accuses you of negatively influencing young people. They demand an explanation."
"Influence? They already have adult costumed idiots, why do they even need children?"
"Um... it turns out that at the Academy of Young Heroes they are trained from an early age. And your... uh... charges... turned out to be the best in the class.
The Necromancer's head snapped up.
"What charges?"
Greg carefully pushed the list of students towards him.
"Storm Blade, Sun Warrior, Shadow of Dusk, Lightning Lily, Captain Light."
The Necromancer stared at the list.
"Aren't these the same kids I... taught for fun?!
Greg nodded.
"Yes, and now their parents want to talk to you."
The Necromancer rubbed his temples. He is the lord of darkness, the conqueror of worlds, the creator of an army of the dead. And he was called to a... parent-teacher meeting?
"Fine. When?"
"Tomorrow."
"Screw it. I'm not going."
Greg sighed heavily and put down another document.
"If you don't show up, they'll file an official complaint. Do you know what this threatens?
The Necromancer tensed up.
"What?"
"Tax audit."
The Necromancer covered his face with his hands.
"Well, isn't that just a diamond situation? I'm leaving here."
"imperator?"
***
In the large hall of the Academy of Young Heroes stood the parents of superheroes. Serious, strict, they looked at each other, whispered and waited for the very villain who, in their opinion, had spoiled their children.
The doors swung open with a bang.
The Necromancer entered in a black cloak, with shining scarlet eyes, instilling fear even in those who considered themselves unshakable.
He sat down at the negotiating table and looked tiredly at the parents.
"Well? What do you want?"
The main speaker was Mrs. Harper, the mother of Captain Light.
"Our children admire you! This is unacceptable!"
The Necromancer raised an eyebrow.
"And?.."
"Their behavior has changed! They talk about tactics, strategy, analytics! They have become... more effective!"
"That is... I just taught them to think?"
"Yes! And it's terrible!"
The Necromancer was speechless.
Mr. Ford, Stormblade's father, cut in excitedly:
"My son used to save cats from trees. Now he analyzes how to create the best attack strategy!"
"And he got better?"
"Yes, but that's not the hero's style!"
The Necromancer shook his head.
"Do you seriously want them to stay stupid?"
"We want them to be kind!"
The Necromancer rolled his eyes.
"Half of your heroes destroy cities every time they fight! What kindness?"
The parents froze.
The Necromancer sighed and looked at Greg.
"What's the verdict?"
Greg flipped through the papers.
"You are advised to... distance yourself from the children."
The Necromancer thought about it.
"Distance yourself, then? And if I don't agree?"
The Necromancer laughed at his own words.
"No problem. I'll gladly not have to teach your children."
The Necromancer sighed dramatically.
"Okay. I promise... to be a less villainous mentor."
The parents applauded.
The Necromancer slowly stood up and muttered before leaving:
"What a stupid meeting that was."
***
Yoonso was sitting in his lab. Or rather, in the school chemistry room that he had modified without permission.
On the table in front of him was an intelligence-boosting machine.
"Okay, if the calculations are correct, this should increase your IQ by 50 points…"
He activated the device.
It flashed, and then… disappeared.
Yoonso blinked.
"Um… what?"
The door swung open and his mother walked into the room.
"Yoonso! Did you do something weird again?"
"No… well… yeah, but…"
Mom looked at the empty space where the machine had been.
"Where is it?"
Yoonso looked around.
"That's a good question."
Then the principal's voice came over the school speaker:
"Yoonso, please come to my office. Now."
Yoonso sighed.
Well, here we go again.
End of the chapter