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cape. He had to admit he was glad the old thing was still in the garbage. After the day he’d had, he needed something to calm him down and help him think clearly. He folded it into a pillow and stuck it under his head.
    It was a joke that Mr. Burns had gotten mad at him for fighting today, but not the ha-ha kind of joke. It had been the only time in his entire life that he’d hit someone. Once again, he saw his hand smacking Thorn’s nose and bright red blood snaking from Thorn’s nostrils. Ugg. Fin was sure Thorn would find a way to get even.
    In comic books, superheroes always did a lot of fighting. There were tons of kapows! and kapops! But if he was ever to be a real superhero, Fin thought he’d have to be a different kind.
    â€œYeah, right,” he told himself.
    But an idea had already begun stirring his brain—no, his entire body—into action. He sprang up off the floor and headed for his desk, stopping to grab the cape off the floor. It might help to think like a superhero, he told himself as he tied it on. Then he dropped into his desk chair and began writing.
    The Oath
I PROMISE to do my best to help others at
all times.
    Ugg. That sounded like the Boy Scout oath. Finch had been a Cub Scout for a few months. At the first den meeting, he’d made a compass out of a penny and a paper clip. At another, he’d made a mini-tepee out of brown paper and Popsicle sticks. And at his third and last, he’d carved a canoe out of a bar of soap. But he’d wanted real compasses, real tents, and real boats! He’d refused to go to another meeting, even after his mother pointed out how much she’d spent on the uniform.
    I PROMISE to do my best to help others at
all times, to fight only for truth and justice,
never for selfish or evil ends.
    There—that was better. Sure, he’d borrowed a bit from Superman’s oath, but he didn’t think the big guy would mind. Something else was missing, though. He chewed on one of the cape strings while he considered what it was.
    I PROMISE to do my best to help others at all
times, to fight only for truth and justice, never
for selfish or evil ends, but to solve problems
by thinking, not fighting, whenever I can.
    Hmmm . . . the last part sounded like something Mr. Burns would say. But Fin liked the idea anyway—especially when he thought of Thorn’s sickeningly bloody nose.
    Â 
    As a member of the Super Secret Heroes’ Club,
    Â 
    No, that sounded like kindergarten. Fin chewed the end of his pen.
    As a member of the Super Secret Heroes’
Association,
    Â 
    No, that sounded like a group of businessmen.
Perchance you should try “Society.”
    Finch pressed his palm against his forehead. He wished the mind voice would go away already. Still, he liked the sound of it—the Society of Super Secret Heroes.
    As a member of the Society of Super
Secret Heroes, I will carry out all missions
without ever letting anyone know that it
was me. I will protect the Thinking Cape
from falling into the hands of ordinary
people. And most of all, I will keep my
true identity hidden and the SSSh a
secret until I die.
    Fin put down his pen.
    He read the Oath aloud in a low, quick mumble. “The Thinking Cape? Come on!” he chided himself as he crossed that part out. He gazed over the paper once more and covered his eyes with a hand. “What am I doing?” he moaned. “I can’t show this to the guys. They’ll think the whole thing is stupid.”

    On the contrary, it is the finest oath I have ever heard.
    This was sick! Now the mind voice was answering him. “Shut up!” he snapped.
    Yes, Master Fin.
    Finch froze. “Wh—who are you?”
    I am the Thinking Cape.
    Quickly, Fin untied the cape from his neck and threw it into the wastebasket. He needed to go to a doctor right away.
    Have I displeased you, Master?
    â€œYou’re just some old cloth. You can’t