Page 1 of I Dated a Retired Hero

Chapter One

Nova Class Origin

Litha was working on her homework when she felt her hands tingle. She put her pen down and flexed her hands. She shook her hands out, picked her pen up again, and started the next sentence. The tingle returned, and a soft glow started.

“Mom! Dad! Something is happening!”

She walked to the living room, and her parents were already on their feet. Her dad darted away and came back with a scanner. “How do you feel, honey?”

“Warm. Prickly.”

“Right. We are going to fix that, hopefully. Get in the back of the truck. We are going to the reactor.”

Litha was shaking. “What are we going to do there?”

“We are going to get you through your activation, huggy bear. Now, come on. Road trip!” Her mom smiled.

Litha followed directions, got into the back of the truck, and hung on.

The drive to the reactor took forty-five minutes, and Litha didn’t mind the wind. It helped cool her down.

When they got to the reactor, her dad flashed his credentials, and when the security official came around to see her, he suddenly crumpled to the ground as her mom held her stunner. They drove up to the reactor entrance, and her parents began a crime spree of taking out all of the security staff, leaving those managing the tank and water levels.

Her mother said, “Litha, jump into the tank. If you need to breathe, swim up and do it, but for now, just get in the tank. You know how the generator works.”

“The water boils, and it makes steam. Steam turns the turbines.”

“Honey, you are hot enough to boil the water, and this place will keep topping it up at a fast rate.”

Litha could see the heat waves, and her shoes had already melted. “Okay. I will go into the tank.”

She waited until her dad opened the door and stepped clear, and when she was in, they closed it behind her. She looked at the churning water and her glowing body. With a deep breath, she jumped into the water, and it bubbled and churned around her, but she felt better.

Four days later, Litha climbed out of the tank and looked up at two guardians who were standing there with a towel. “Here you are, little miss.”

She took it and wrapped it around herself before fluffing out her hair and drying it. “What happened to my parents?”

“They have been arrested and questioned. After sending an analytical talent to view your progress, it has been decided that your parents’ quick actions have helped to create the first nova class active.”

“What? Me?”

“Yes. There is a lot of training ahead of you, but you have a career on a team.”

“That doesn’t sound optional.”

The large male guardian looked at her and sighed. “It isn’t. It is either this or solitary confinement.”

“Oh.”

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen?” She blinked up at them.

“We will get you into the program, and you can begin learning to control your output.”

“Aren’t I young to go into the program?”

He smiled. “You can’t afford not to.”

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