The light of midday could only blind so much before allowing all the splendor it hid through. The arena was massive, bigger than you’d think an already stuffed complex situated on an artificial mountain would be, but…

  ‘Damn is it big.’

  The stands were the obvious cut back, only five rows of simple stone seats, but the central area was expansive. At least a full football field if not more. Lines denoting various sections ran all over, so multiple different groups could train or operate without encroaching inadvertently. There was even a track marked out around the outside. But all of that stopped before the center of the whole thing, as if something refused to be marked there.

  There were several doors along the periphery. Massive garages and storage rooms, or various other locker rooms both personal and tiered off. Even a main entrance on the east side for ceremonies. Though that seemed like just a larger shutter door than anything grandiose.

  There was a booth that loomed over that side, reflective and probably plated glass windows obscuring its contents. But it was sure to be the main control for the arena’s plethora of systems. Like the roof that was opened up to the bare sky, the skyscrapers of downtown just barely peeking over the rim of the retractable shutters. And if Seth had heard the rumor right, the floor too.

  It looked like it was just sand. But it was heavy, compacted, and almost didn’t even give a centimeter of depth despite Seth’s crunching weight. He was sure it was ferrite, or something similar, just waiting for the signal to change. Because there was no way they would have someone redo all these lines every day. Because this place was meant for action inordinate.

  The walls on all sides were marked and beaten. Cracks filled in but still so very visible. Craters left barren so all would know. Even the occasional full rebuild. All of it surface layers of sandstone, but reading like a tapestry of conflict. This was a real fighting arena, a gladiatorial pit. And Seth really regretted missing out on seeing the fights held here. But well…

  ‘Where was the fun in seeing them hold back all the time.’

  The section he and the rest of the trainees headed for was off to the side, close to the south wall. At its center was a tall man with his back to the approaching trainees, Mediknight having pulled off behind them to observing. The man wore what looked to be a modified military BDU, camo exchanged for simple light grey. It had no tactical vest, but instead looked to have plating under it similar to the standard surplus uniforms. But what drew Seth’s attention was a shoulder patch with a sonic wave form on it. It was Parasonic, another of the Elite. Seth hadn’t seen him much in the fights he’d watched, but he had a reputation you couldn’t ignore.

  Namely that he was a hard ass.

  The trainees slowly walked toward what was clearly their new trainer. Some with similar hesitation to Seth as he cooled his smile and kept straight. Others with more general hesitation at the imposing figure that seemed to ignore their approach. The air surrounding him oozed contempt, a little bit of pride, and, as far as Seth could tell, someone a little too in to military cosplay. But before the trainees could near hi-

  “LINE UP MAGGOTS!!”

  ‘Ok, he may be playing it up a little.’

  The trainees winced back and looked at each other, a few spotted a half buried line in the sand, pointing it out and aligned themselves to it. Seth hurrying up all the way to the right end as sand shuffled and crunched till it all stopped in enforced-

  “I SAID LINE UP!!!”

  The trainees recoiled and looked at each other in confusion, Seth looked down at his feet in line with the others despite the obvious extra metal over them. It wasn’t him. He looked down the line and saw that the razor knife user was too far forward, basically not even on the line anymore. He leaned over to get his attention, as did several others who spotted him. He looked back and forth, confused by them all pointing him down to look at his positioning, before reeling up even more confused.

  “How could he-”

  “I DON’T NEED MY EYES TO SEE YOU’RE OUT OF LINE!! NOW CORRECT IT!!!”

  He quickly shuffled back in line, thoroughly intimidated into submission by the display of omniscience. As was everyone else. The fact he was turned around didn’t seem to matter in the slightest for how loud he was. But despite, that the arena went back to the calm empty whistle of the wind above. Till he broke it himself to bear down upon them more true.

  “Now then!”

  As if all the bluster and boom was unneeded, he turned, revealing glaring greyed eyes under his short dark grey hair. That glare scanning down the line over each trainee, not showing a single hint of emotion, even when he got to Seth’s metallic carapace. Satisfied, he began walking over to the left most trainee, obviously intent on inspecting each of them more closely.

  First up was a boy with lighter greyed hair, wearing another of those surplus super suits with even softer grey and yet deep blue coloring.

  “Alright son, tell me your name and your power.”

  The boy tensed in response, the faux drill sergeant’s gruff yell thoroughly replaced with a smoother more relaxed disposition. That did little to ease the boy’s nerves.

  “I… My name is… My name is Aquanaught sir! And-”

  Para audibly slapped his face with his hand, dragging it down slowly, almost wiping away the improvement in his demeanor before snapping back to it.

  “No, I mean your real name, though your hero name sounds like you’ve got it down.”

  The boy hesitated, but reaffirmed.

  “M-my name is David and my p-power is I can control and create water.”

  “There, not so bad. Now, since you control water and are still WOEFULLY unprepared for the hell you just stepped in, I’m going to call you Waterboy from now on. Ok?”

  “I-”

  “Ok!”

  Well this was going to get ugly. But if childish nicknames were the worst he had then good. But this was really starting to be confusing. Seth expected Parasonic, the Elite’s hardassed guard dog and defacto head of security, to be the bane of ambition. Not confidence.

  Done with his first trainee, Para continued down the line. Next up was the girl with what could only be described as a green fetish.

  “Same thing miss, name and power.”

  “M-my name is Marketa but you can call me Zeleny if…”

  Para stopped her with a hand up and disapproving look.

  “Zeleny? ...I’m just going to go out on a limb and say you shoot green lasers somehow. Am I wrong?”

  The girl looked down in mixed embarrassment, tapping her index fingers together.

  “I shoot them from my hands.”

  Para sighed and muttered something dripping with disappointment.

  “Well then I’m going to call you Green Thumb and be done with it there.”

  Zeleny looked up in slight resentment, but deflated before she could say anything.

  He continued without a second thought. Next was another girl who wore a brick red tank-top and the bottoms from a surplus super suit colored the same with beige accents. Seth was surprised he didn’t see her in the locker room, mostly because she was absolutely built. But despite her obvious strength she was actually shorter than Zeleny, her medium brunette hair stopping a good foot below her.

  “Name and power.”

  He was already over formalities.

  “Maya sir. I can manipulate various building materials.”

  “…Building materials? Little lady there is a brick shit house joke here, but for the life of me I can’t get over this. Why are you here? You can get a job in an instant with a power like that. Why-”

  Maya was almost snarling.

  “I don’t want to be a damn builder! My entire family is nothing but builders! I want to be something more than just my family’s next in line!”

  Para reeled back.

  “Well…! Combo Breaker it is then.”

  Maya didn’t look thrilled, but she seemed to expect this. And her push back didn’t seem to be all that detrimental.

  “Name and power!”

  Para was picking up the pace though, already at the guy with the homemade flame suit next.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Name’s Kabar, and I can generate extreme heat.”

  Para seemed unsurprised.

  “So what, are you going to bake your enemies into submission by hugging them with your toaster coil looking arms there?”

  Kabar smirked, chuffed slightly before letting those same coils loose to fall at his sides.

  “No, I’m going to burn and beat the shit out of them with these flaming whips of mine.”

  In that instant the gaudy red threads lit up, igniting into full flames across his suit and down to the loose lines at his sides. Maya and the guy on the other side of him pulled away as the heat got intense enough to feel all the way down the line. Para seemed a little more impressed, maybe.

  “Well now. You have some ingenuity then… I’m still calling you Toaster though.”

  And just as quickly the flames were snuffed out with Kabar’s ego. An evil eye following him away to-

  “Name, Power, come on we are still not even halfway through.”

  The guy he was rushing looked still overwhelmed by Kabar’s flames, but quickly steadied himself. Besides, Seth knew he’d faced worse than that given what he was wearing.

  “My… My name is Jacob and I can make and control ice.”

  His suit didn’t give off much of a hint of that, but it made sense. It was a modified firefighting suit, in that it was recolored to have blueish grey fabric on the hazard stripes.

  “Hmm… Jacob Whalen by chance?”

  The guy froze as Kabar broke his glare and turned up an eyebrow.

  “Y-yeah…”

  Para smiled, sinisterly.

  “Your mom’s one hell of a firefighter you know that. You’ve got some shoes to fill Snowcone.”

  Kabar just turned back forward and chuckled to himself. As Jacob drooped in disappointment, looking like he had heard that nickname before. Seth had seen his mom work too. She can turn a whole apartment complex from a towering inferno to an ice castle. After everyone was out of it anyway.

  Para continued, though didn’t stop as he passed Kaze.

  “I already know what you can do.”

  “And I expect no special treatment from you Para-sensei.”

  “Oh believe me you’ll get none, I assure you… Your dad would kill me if I did.”

  He kept on going, not even bothering to ask the next trainee her name and power. Just stopped and stared down at her. Blond waves reeling back and revealing green nervous glances. Her surplus suit was baggy, almost a size too big, but was darkly camouflage, tiger striped, and cut off short at the extremities.

  “Uh… My name is Tabatha. But my friends call me Tabby.”

  Para glared down at Tabby without changing expressions.

  “Ugh I-I’m able to mimic various cat species both in ability and form.”

  Para turned his head for a second in contemplation before immediately shaking the thought away.

  “You’re lucky Tabby, you already have a fitting nickname. But don’t wear that luck out, understand?”

  “Crystal, sir!”

  Para continued on again, still silent, but looking grumpier by the second. His next victim was the razor knife wielder, who was very much trying not to look intimidated.

  “My name is *ghf* is…”

  He was deflating rapidly.

  “Razor sir.”

  Para looked down at him in unsurprised disappointment.

  “And?”

  “And… I can make these awesome knives from my hands.”

  Para remained unimpressed.

  “So are you collecting them or do you just not want to part with what is basically your weaponized bodily secretions.”

  “GAH! They’re not…! Ugggh. Making them is a process so I prepare beforehand-”

  “Whatever Butterknife.”

  Razor’s pride was visibly shot down in the prime of its desperately delinquent life. And Para just kept walking like this was well and truly his job.

  Next up was a girl… No… A woman. Wearing an absolutely glistening red dress, her long and light red hair flowing almost unnaturally in the… not wind. Para immediately popped the illusion, literally with a flick to the woman’s head revealing a mostly normal girl with at least similar features, though no fancy dress or flowing long hair. Her suit was skin tight though, a drab beige with barely noticeable padding in the needed areas. Her hair was very short, but still a light red.

  “Heh… My name's Alex and I’m a doppelganger.”

  Para glared down, but more softly than before.

  “Trying to win favor with looks is going to cost you, and I don’t think you can handle it if all you can do is play pretend.”

  Alex smiled a bit at this.

  “Well it’s a good thing I can copy powers if I try hard enough.”

  Para hardened up a bit.

  “Oh is that so… well then I expect you to make my ass look good as I run you into the ground, Ditto.”

  Alex’s expression contorted at this, more out of disgust than resentment. Seth looked a little longer at her in his peripheral. He could slightly feel the Garkah muse about the issues her powers represented, but he was focused more on the fact that she sounded just like the person who checked on him in the foyer. She wasn’t good at voices yet it seemed.

  Para continued on regardless, a guy with dark hair, blue eyes, and wearing a simple white gi with barely noticeable yellow accents was next. The guy never moved from a tight but ready stance.

  “My name is Marco sir, I can punch with air.”

  Para looked unimpressed again. But Marco noticed this and took a different stance. It was wide and stable but wouldn’t transfer much force into a punch. Para stepped out of the way slightly. Marco pulled his fist in, the air around it visibly distorting. A sudden light jab bahped forward, but the distortion shot away, sending a pocket of air rocketing out. Impacting the far wall, blasting a crack into it and kicking up sand from the floor. Para looked slightly more impressed, but only slightly.

  “Good form, but don’t let it slow you down in combat, hmm… *snap* Polo.”

  Marco grimaces silently, but regained his respectful attention as Para kept going.

  Next was a girl with an odd fashion sense. Her surplus suit was cut in two, midriff bare for all to see. But the concerning part was the color, or rather the texture. It was black leather, complete with small spikes on the shoulder joints, and… a lot of added belts. Like too many belts. Her dyed black hair was in twin pigtails as well, just all around adding to the concern presented by the smile she was wearing as Para reached her. He was also visibly concerned, which seemed to only feed into the girl’s beaming smile.

  “Hehe, my name is Cleo, and Iiii control bindings!”

  As she said this she struck a light upward pose and several of the belts across her suit came to life. At the same time black leather straps appeared out of thin glowing air around her. All of them wiggling and flailing around looking for purchase on anything they could wrap around. Causing everyone around her to take an immediate step back in unison, even Para.

  “Oh boy… Well, Punk Princess, if you even think of doing what I can only horrifyingly think of you doing with those to me or your fellow trainees, I’m going to take away all your personal clothing and force you to wear a puritan dress. Understood?”

  Cleo didn’t change expression, instead she dispelled and calmed her bindings and took on an overtly innocent sway.

  “?I’ll hold you to that?”

  “?I’ll fucking kill you?”

  Para quickly moved on to the next trainee, shaking away the thoughts in his head as he neared the second to last applicant before Seth. A guy in another surplus super suit colored plainly, simple grey with darker grey accents. Wait…

  ‘He didn’t really change the suit when he got it did he?’

  He at least put a custom patch on it, but it was just an Omega symbol. His hair was somewhat spiked but short and dark. His eyes were almost gold though. And Para was regarding him with some amount of disdain, but still asked in the end.

  “Name and power?”

  The guy looked up at him with a smug look.

  “Hmm… May as well stick to the format, my name is Oh-mega and I’m a little bit of everything.”

  Para was tired of him before he even opened his mouth.

  “If you’re going to be obstinate I’m going to-”

  “I know, tell my dad. But really, did we need to get to know each other. It’s stupid to think…”

  Ohmega’s mouth kept moving but no one words came from him. He noticed it and sneered at Para, who had a hand slightly raised. An inaudible tone was drowning out his voice, emanating from that held out palm.

  “He’s lying about being a bit of everything. He’s just fast, strong, and a bit prickly. The main thing is he gets his power from electricity he takes in. Something about absorbing resistance or whatever.”

  Para let up on the dampening, Ohm sneering harder but relented back into smug nonchalance.

  “It’s not like any of these losers can really challenge me! So whatever, why not just tell them my middle name and social security number! It won’t help them!”

  The lineup collectively glared over at him, but Para held a hand up to calm them.

  “We’re doing this because they all need to understand what they're getting into, a world that knows everything about them. Where advantage is earned, not had. Where you need to be prepared for every eventuality, even your fellow heroes turning against you.”

  Para moved off and finally regarded Seth, standing nearly eye to eye thanks to the suit.

  “Which brings me to you.”

  Disdain harbored becoming all too palpable.

  “Step out of the suit.”

  Seth hesitated, but knew it was necessary for the lesson. He opened up, taking a step back and stepping out of the suit so he remained in line, the suit standing slightly over him but still stood mostly eye to eye.

  “My name’s-”

  “I don’t care what your name is. I don’t care what power you made up as an excuse. I don’t even care if you handmade this hunk of junk in a cave out of a box of scrapes. I’ve seen too many of you silver spooned Tinmen to deal with your bullshit in my arena.”

  “I-”

  “I’m only going to give you this one chance. Turn around, take your powersuit, and leave.”

  “It’s not a-”

  “I. Don’t. Care.”

  The air pulled taut in an instant as the world closed around the both of them.

  “You walked in here thinking you were ready to be a hero, because you thought you had everything you could ever need. You had money to burn and make all your limitations go away. You had connections to pull to even get in the door. Or you just wasted all your time and energy to get this far with nothing to show you deserve it Well trust me you aren’t ready, you aren‘t worth anywhere near enough, and your only chance at getting out with what little pride you have intact is to leave. Now!”

  Seth met Para’s glare beat for hammering beat in his ear. He wasn’t expecting this kind of hostility so quickly, to be called a pretender to his face off the fucking cuff. But this bullshit was only sinking his feet deeper into that sand. He wasn’t going to be intimidated out of his chance to do something right.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Gritted teeth bore every syllable. This unflinching moment lingering for longer than anyone could stand, as Seth bristling near to snarl. As every muscle and tightened in the face of someone who knew nothing and cared even less. And yet…

  Para relinquished first. Straightening back and moving on without batting an eye.

  “Fine then.”

  He turned and headed back to his original spot away from the lineup, leaving Seth to deal with the wound up state he was in.

  “Now! As Clarence so rudely spoiled, this was a little lesson for the lot of you. Because none of you are expected to pass this course. Some may flunk out today.”

  Para turned to Seth to amplify his disdain, meeting a justified glare in return.

  “Some may choke at the last possible minute. Whatever stands in your way, you need to understand that you hold no advantages here, not even over each other. Everyone is going to get to know who their next to, their strengths, their weaknesses, what makes them wet the bed.”

  Para turned to David at the front of the line just to rub in the joke.

  “You’re going to learn both how to fight each other and how to work with each other. That’s the nature of this world, constant struggle with forces no one hero can surmount, and constant honing to ensure no one dies fruitlessly on the field of battle.”

  His sneer down the line up shifted to encompass all at once. As it turned smug and sinister.

  “So to that end, your first assignment is a FREE FOR ALL!!”

  The lineup reeled and roiled at this, some fretting having to fight each other already, others basically itching to beat the shit out of someone. Seth just felt his glare widen as his hopes were dashed aside. No hiding his strength till it meant something. Para held up a hand one last time to quiet the caused discord.

  “A few standard rules. No excessive offensive powers, can’t have you lighting anyone ON FIRE or something. Enhanced attacks are okay, but nothing lethal. Mediknight can fix a brick coated punch to the gut, but not if it goes all the way through. Crowd control and movement are okay. Yes, I’m allowing you to bind people.”

  Cleo clapped giddily at this.

  “WITHIN REASON!! NO MUMMIFICATION!!”

  She dejectedly deflated from her elation.

  “Lastly, something special.”

  Before anyone could look puzzled, Para’s sinister side bore out its max, as he boisterously pointed a finger at Seth.

  “The first one to knock Tinman over here out gets special training courtesy of the Elite!”

  Seth flinched, senses screaming into prominence. Reflexively turning to see the damn near the whole line glaring back with death in their eyes. A beat of adrenaline and an instinctual reach back for his suit was all he got before-

  “NOW BEGIN!!!”