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After a narrow escape from the hidden headquarters of the Ice Cream Men, Farley Flynn seeks the answer to a burning question... what is E.S.P.? Farley makes careful observations at his school, and noticed that his 'advanced curriculum' is not just a class for smart kids. Some of the students have 'special study time' with certain teachers, and they seem to routinely disappear from the class for hour-long sessions. Farley also has some difficultly in locating the homes of some of his classmates, it's as though they are wisked away from Meekton after school to someplace else. When he uses a tracer on one of his classmates, he discovers that they don't even live on the same continent! He also starts stalking the Janitor, whom Farley knows to be a very dangerous person. Some research on the internet reveals that he is none other than the notorious villain 'Doktor Destruktion' - Farley doesn't know who to turn to with this information, but just as he discovers it, he is confronted up by The Ice Cream Men. Farley is about to fight them, when he sees that they are accompanied by... Mrs. Krankenbaum, the school principal. She takes Farley on a special tour of the school. They enter the broom closet and find the Janitor, who scowls at Farley. Mrs K calls him 'Number 13' and orders him to open the Crypt. The Janitor is reluctant, but obeys the order, sneering and addressing Mrs K as 'Number 2'. A hidden elevator opens, and Mrs K shows Farley the secret mission of the school, and of the organization known as E.S.P. - which stands for 'Education and Socialization Project', a branch of the Superhuman Affairs department of the United Nations. Basically, the ESP was created to address one very special problem. How do you raise children with superpowers? Superhero parents are as concerned with the problem as the government; no one wants their kids to grow up without learning the basic lesson of life - knowing right from wrong. Parents all want the same thing: they want their kids to grow into normal and well-adjusted responsible adults. But for kids who can fly, or lift cars, or teleport it's more tempting to break the rules. For kids who can travel to the fifth dimension, what is normal? Mrs. K takes farley on a tour of the underground facilities of the ESP. There are special training rooms, where superpowered kids can learn how to control their powers and use them responsibly. There are also security features and a small army of agents, there to keep the students safe from the many super-villains out there who would love to strike their their enemies through their families. Secrecy is of the utmost importance, not only for safety, but for the main mission of the ESP - that is to teach their students the value of being normal. |
