She wiped the steam off the mirror, and looked at herself. She was 33 years old, in good shape-  her C-cup breasts were still firm, her belly- well, a little pudgy, but her butt and legs were good. She was slightly abashed at having been named "Sexiest Teacher" last year- although she bet that title would go to the new French teacher , Miss Mervelleiux, this year. And her son was certainly not happy about it.

Thinking of Billy made her move faster- she had yelled at him to get up, but God knows if he had. He was, after all, a typical 15-year-old- which pleased her no end. It couldn't have been easy on him, growing up as the son of a single mother. She had him when she was 18, his father her long-time High School boyfriend- but that rat had run away to college, and a pro football career, cut short by allegations of steroid use and gambling. She had dedicated herself to providing for him, taking night classes, getting her certification, and landing this job in Newington, the suburb of Alpha City. It had meant moving across country, but she loved it here- the air was fresh, and the streets were free of the super-criminals that plagued most big cities. Alpha City and Newington had been built on the ruins of an area destroyed by the so-called "Final Battle" which had killed many of the heroes and villains in the country, and no "powers" were allowed in the city limits. Of course, then the SHADO Act had been passed, so all "super-hero" activity in the country was carefully controlled- but it was still nice to live in a place where there was no chance of being mind-controlled by PsyClops, or caught in the middle of a fight between Amazon and Sumo Girl.

Not that Kate would mind meeting a few of those super-heros- Graviton (once known as Superior Man) was a hunk! She remembered seeing him in person about 15 years ago, before moving here- those blue eyes, those massive muscles- Kate's fingers caressed her nipple as she remembered him, swooping down to-

"MOM! Are you ready? We're gonna be late!"

"I'll be right there, Billy! Get my coffee ready, will you?" 

Kate looked at herself, face flushed. It had been a long time since she had a man in her life- she had left that behind when her son was born. maybe- just maybe- it was time to start thinking about it- well, more than think. But no time now!

-----------------------

"Welcome, students- and teachers- to THE MUSEUM OF HEROES!" The speaker was an attractive older woman, strangely familiar. She had startling red hair, and a zoftig figure underneath the blue suit with the MH logo on the breast pocket.

"Look at those tits!" whispered Dick Gannon to Billy. Dick was his best friend, but had, to Billy, a little bit of an obsession with older woman- including, to Billy's chagrin, Billy's mom.

"I bet they're saggy- probably hang down to her knees when she takes her bra off," said a familiar voice behind them. Billy turned, and looked straight into the baby blue eyes of Jessica "Bunny" Rabbittowski. "Not like mine."

His eyes involuntarily drifted down to those breasts- encased in a white button-down shirt (the buttons straining0 they were mighty impressive. Jess had been a pal when they were younger- then she went away for a summer vacation when she was 13 and came back with- well, THOSE. They had stayed friends, but Billy wanted more- Jess didn't seem interested- she had seniors asking her out, after all. Billy wanted to remain respectful- she was a friend, and a good one- but then she would make a comment like that, and- well, Billy was happy he had the museum brochure to hold in front of his pants.

"My name is Scarlett O'Brien. Some of you may recognize me- most of you won't, though. With my sisters, Blanche and Hyacinth, I was a super-hero. We were called Red, White and Blue." A murmer of recognition went through the crowd- well, at least those who had actually studied their textbooks. "My sisters died in the "Final battle", and I retired. I'm now docent of the Museum.  I'd also like to introduce Officers Peter Johnson and Lyla Jacobs, of the Alpha City SCU."

The officers were dressed in the familiar dark blue and white of the ACPD, with the addition of a light blue armor plating- Kate had read it was a special material that could actually expand around the officers, creating a bullet-proof armor. The officers also carried, in lies of guns, large batons that emitted a slight glow. These weapons, the "multi-rods" had been developed by the SHADO Initiative, and were supposedly able to take down most "supers" on their own, and could work in concert with others to become exponentially more powerful.

"He is quite 'andsome, don't you zink?" It was Miss Mervelleiux. She was the other teacher on the trip, as her class was going to be cancelled due to the trip, anyway. Her breathy voice, generous mouth, and curvy figure was almost a parody of the "sexy schoolteacher"- and Kate found her- disturbingly sexy. She had never thought about being with a woman (well, almost never)- but- Damn! She really needed to control these thoughts! She looked at Officer Johnson. He was, indeed, quite good looking- sandy blonde hair, high cheekbones, square jaw- and obviously in good shape, from the bulge of his biceps And the bulge of his-

"Dick Gannon, keep your hands to yourself!" It was Jessica. Dick had a "who, me" look- a look both teachers had seen many times before.

"Dick Gannon, come here, " commanded Kate. Dick walked over, sheepishly. "What did you do?"

Dick's face turned red- he hated being called out by Ms. Spencer (probably because of the terrible crush he had on her)- "I didn't do nothing- anything! I swear!"

"Zhessica, come 'ere" said Miss Mervelliaux. The teen walked over, arms crossed in front of her chest. "What did he do?"

"He- he grabbed my tit!" I was standing there, talking to Billy, when I felt someone squeeze me. he was the only other person nearby!"

"But I didn't!"

"Alright, we'll deal with this later," said Kate. 'I'm sorry, Ms. O'Brien- please continue."

"Well- the officers are just here as a precaution- a silly one, I think. Some of the exhibits here are considered potentially active, although we have no reason to think they're dangerous. But SHADO policy is to have all tours accompanied by officers in case of incident."

"And in case a super-villain attacks, right?' The speaker was Steve Harris, class clown. Not a funny clown, as far as Kate was concerned- and, apparently, as far as the SCU was comcerned, either.

"Sir, "said the female officer- Lyla Jacobs, Kate remembered- a tall black woman, nearly as tall as her partner, 'there hasn't been a super-villain attack in Alpha city since it was founded 10 years ago. We have constant surveillance of all areas of the city for any signs odf powers being used, or extreme tech. But trust me- that doesn't mean we haven't stopped attacks from happening. All you children probably have never experienced a "super" attack. i have. I lost my family in the final battle- we were just normals, caught up in the line of fire. It was terrifying. You never want to be part of that."

"Well, with that- let's get on with the tour, shall we?"

------------------------

the tour was well-done, thought Kate- Scarlett was able to add personal anecdotes to the stories behind the exhibits, about heroes she had met, villains she had fought- even some friendships with "evil" villains, who turned out to be more misguided than evil. It was obvious Officer Jacobs didn't care for that. And kate had gotten a chance to talk to Officer Johnson , as well- although Miss Mervelliaux - or "Je m'appele Marie", as she introduced herself to Off. Johnson- had tried to monopolize that conversation.

"And here, students." announced Scarlett, "is the "mystery" section of our tour. The objects here have not been identified, but all bear the hallmarks of what we call "items of power"- in many cases, these were discovered in archaeological digs, accompanied by artwork depicting ancient heroes using or wearing them. but none of these items seem to have any power-giving, or "genesis" effects.  Please, though- no touching, okay?"

Suddenly, Scarlett fell forward, as if pushed.  A display case behind her broke open. Off. Jacobs leapt to the stage, shouting "Johnson- detection field, now!" Johnson raised his baton, and a wide beam of red light was projected onto the stage- the outline of a man could vaguely be seen, flickering inside the field.

"It's some sort of unknown disrupt-shield- the rod can't get a better lock on it!"

"It's good enough, " yelled Jacobs- set it on auto and get these kids out of-" There was a sudden THWACK!, and Jacobs was thrown backward, and then dragged bak into the field. her chest armor was ripped off, and then her shirt, revealing her bra. 

"Get everyone out of here" said Johnson to Kate and Marie, as he pushed a button on the multi-rod- a section detached, floating in the air, shining the red light on the display, and he ran forward. marie and Kate hurried the children out.

"See, I told you I didn't touch Bunny's boob- it must have been that guy!" said Dick. "Hey, where is Bunny?"

"Billy, make sure everyone gets out and away fro the building- and call the police- they're probably on there  way, but-"

"Mom- where are you going?"

"Ms. O'Brien's still in there- I'm going to get her out, and make sure there are no stragglers. Don't worry, Billy- I'm no hero." And Kate ran back in.

Inside, the battle continued in a red haze- Off. Johnson had used the multi-rod's stun function and freed Lyla, and now they worked in concert- but it was still nearly impossible to get a bearing on where the intruder was. 

"Johnson- we need to use the static field- it should disrupt whatever tech he's using."

"Lyla- it's so close in here- the feedback could cause an-"

"Follow orders, Johnson!" The two officers ran to opposite sides of the room., and pointed the multirods at each other. As Kate entered, she saw Scarlett on the floor- Jessica was trying to get her up, but the woman was too heavy for the cheerleader. As she ran to them, a bright, electric-blue light filled the room. She felt her hair start to stand on end, an she looked instinctively at the source.

She could just see the two officers standing at either end of the room- betwen them , arcs of electricity danced- and, at one side, near one of the exhibits, was a man- dressed in an armor-like exo-skeleton. There was an explosion. Kate was thrown to the side, crashing into a display case.

Then, nothing.

----------------------------------------------

Kate heard a voice- or rather, voices, speaking in concert.

"Kate Spencer- you are brave and virtuous. it is a time of great need. Will you become our champion?"

"I- I- what? Where- why can't I see anything?"

"Your mind in the realm of the Golden Energy of Might, Kate Spencer- your body lies unconscious near our talisman. You have been fund worthy of becoming our champion- the Champion of Might! You will gain power- strength such as you have never imagined. Strength to do good in the world, Kate Spencer- will you accept?"

"I- I- my son- I have to-"

The voices suddenly divided, talking amongst themselves. "She must be told about- '"How can we convince her when she-" "It must be her choice"

"Kate Spencer- this is our talisman- the golden mask" A glowing mask, made of a golden metal, appeared in the blackness. 'When you awaken, it will be your choice- to use the mask as a harbinger of hope. Or you may continue your life as it is. If you wish to take up this cause, put on the mask, and say "By the Power of Might" and you wil be transformed. But know this- there will be perils ahead if you-"

-----------------

Suddenly, Kate woke up- she was being held by a man- the man she had dimly seen before, His face was half-covered by grey metal, but his mouth was exposed, and there was a lascivious smirk on his lips. He spoke.

"Ooooh, I'm gonna have some fun with you, Miss Milf. And what do we have here- that big ol'redhead- and Miss Teen Titties. Jackpot! Once I get my transporter set up, we're all going back to my house for some fun!" he tossed Kate away, back into the exhibit case. She saw jessica and Scarlett- debris had fallen on them, and the man was trying to lift it off- his armor obviously increased his strength, but maybe not enough. She could see the officers, as well- both were trapped, too-Peter seemed unconscious, but Lyla was awake, struggling with the beam pinning her body.

Kate felt metal- warm metal- beneath her hand. it was a mask- the mask she had seen when- but- that was just a dream! But- what if it wasn't?

She picked up the mask- it was a circle of metal, with two eye-holes and a nose-piece, and slipped it over her head. it was warm, and felt- good. She felt slightly silly as she said, quietly-

"By the power Of Might."