Plot (of the novel)

Summary
Thom Creed is a 17-year-old high school basketball star, who has a tendency to get into trouble. His mother abandoned the family several years ago, and his father Hal, a publicly disgraced ex-superhero, is now a lowly factory worker. Thom is filled with teen-aged angst because he is gay and knows that his father greatly disapproves of homosexuality. He becomes a tutor for children with reading and language disorders at the community center, and often reads to his students. After an incident during a reading session, he is moved to another class where he meets a young man named Goran. Thom mistakes Goran for a student because of his strong accent, accidentally offending him. It turns out that actually Goran is the person who started the reading program a few years before.

During a basketball game, Thom recognizes one of the players from the opposing team as Goran. Thom is thrown off his game and Goran ends up breaking one of his legs. Strangely, Thom heals Goran's injury by touching his leg over the compound fracture. He has healed others before, but does not fully understand his ability. Apparently no one notices what he has done for Goran, and when the game resumes, another player calls Thom, "Faggot," in front of everyone. Afterwards, Thom has a seizure, which is most likely related to stress created by absorbing Goran's injuries, and his fears about his father discovering his sexual orientation. While recuperating at the hospital, he is forced to give up his driver's license and must resort to using the bus to get around.

During the summer, Thom's coach kicks him off the team due to his medical issues, though Thom gets the coach to confess that it is actually because of the comment made during the game. When he gets home, he takes his father's laptop and decides to look at porn. Thom explains that he is afraid to come out not only because of his father, but due to living in a homophobic town. While masturbating to a picture of local superhero Uberman, Hal comes home to get ready for his real estate class. Thom quickly straightens things up, but doesn't have enough time to erase his history on the computer.

When his father does leave, Thom decides to run away from home. When he falls asleep on the bus, he becomes mixed up in a battle between some villains and The League. He also encounters a mysterious man known as Dark Hero, who works alone. Thom ends up using his powers yet again on a young mother, and gets an invitation to try out for one the minor leagues. When he gets home, he discovers that Hal's former mentor Captain Victory has died. He decides not to tell his father about the tryouts, because Hal harbors intense resentment for The League. Thom is accepted as a trainee, and assigned to work with a group of other probationary heroes. The group consists of Ruth, an aging psychic, Scarlett, who can control heat, and Larry, who has the ability to give others any disease. The stress of keeping so many secrets from his father exacts a painful toll.

Soon, however, the world's superheroes begin dying under mysterious circumstances. In order to solve the mystery, Thom must reunite with his fellow outcast trainees and deal as well with society's prejudices when his secrets are revealed.

-from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(novel)#Plot_summary

Chapter 1
The game, the break-in, and the Student Life Center

Chapter 2
At the hospital, life without a license, and no more basketball

Chapter 3
Time to run

Chapter 4
A trip down memory lane on the bus

Chapter 5
Backup arrives

Chapter 6
Thom returns home & talks with his dad

Chapter 7
The funeral

Chapter 8
The League try-outs

Chapter 9
After the try-outs at the bar & talking to his dad

Chapter 10
First game

Chapter 11
First team meeting

Chapter 12
First mission

Chapter 13
Personal revelations and the games

Chapter 14
Caught

Chapter 15
A ride to the convenience store

Chapter 16
Everyone's got a tremendous amount of pain - that's how life works.

Chapter 17
A surprise guest

Chapter 18
Finding someone else there instead

Chapter 19
Murder most foul

Chapter 20
Scarlett's secret

Chapter 21
Driving Scarlett to the office

Chapter 22
Catching the gang

Chapter 23
The killer is...

Chapter 24
It couldn't have been him...

Chapter 25
Home post-announcement

Chapter 26
Reunited

Chapter 27
The Wilson Memorial

Chapter 28
Time to make some changes & Looking for the real killer

Chapter 29
Another funeral

Chapter 30
The factory

Chapter 31
An honest conversation and then it begins...

Chapter 32
Shake and Bake

Chapter 33
Boss fight

Chapter 34
Epilogue with Uberman, Scarlett, and Goran