In this fantasy adventure of good versus evil, Burlington Academy exists for the sole purpose of training and grooming humans who have superpowers. Regular guy Josh Blevins doesn't care about that. All he's ever wanted to do is attend the academy. With help from a retired action hero, he manages to manipulate his way in, changing his name to Chance Fortune and listing his superpower as "Unnaturally good luck."
Actually, what he really has is good old-fashioned common sense, something his teammates, the Outlaws, seem to lack. As they practice and compete against one another in mock battles, it becomes apparent that something is amiss at school. Evil has come to the sacred grounds and Chance and the Outlaws are left to fend for themselves. Intimidating villains rev up the conflict while the underrated good guys bond together to defeat what comes.
Provides Examples Of:
- Badass Normal: Chance
- Captain Ersatz: The Brotherhood of Heroes, with Alpha-Man, the Boogeyman, Xenoman, and others.
- Catchphrase: "Where angels fear to tread."
- Chekhov's Gun: Joshua receives "lucky" marbles from his little brother when he leaves for school. Later, he uses them to defeat Superion.
- Eldritch Abomination
- I Just Want to Be Special: Josh's lifelong dream is to become a superhero, lack of powers nonwithstanding.
- Jumped at the Call: Chance changed his name and made up a superpower after being refused entry on his own merits, just so he could get into the Burlington Academy for the Superhuman.
- Kryptonite Factor: Superion is weak against some weird substance called Achillesheelendite. Subverted in that he never ends up being defeated because of it, either calling his friends to deal with it instead or simply throwing its container away before it can be opened.
- Shrine to the Fallen: In the second book, there is a field of grave markers for those who supposedly opposed the Shadow Prince. Four are examined: The first has a tattered grey cloak and a tall blue hat hanging from it and the legend "He Wanders No More", the second a moth-eaten spacesuit with a green dragon crest and the epitaph "The Ender Ended. They Now Speak For Him.", the third a soiled dress, fluttering playing cards, a shattered mirror, and an empty bottle that says ''drink me'' with the phrase "The Manxome Foe She Found", and the last bears a pair of shattered spectacles, a broken broom, a snapped wand, and the words "The Boy Who Survived, Almost".
