Dust and sand swirled in aerials. Seethed between teeth hoarding every breath. Everyone culpable for this ragged state was on the ground, either unconscious or in pain or blown through a wall. The only real sound the pained groans and rustled sand. And maybe Razor’s heart trying to beat out of his chest.

  Seth knew better than to hold this, to stay where everything was at his mercy. It wasn’t him, who he was. Heavier breaths fighting that seethe, smothering the fire burning behind his eyes. He flexed his practically steaming right, the pain from nearly shattering it on Para's face helping center him. A real pain, not a forced incitement from bleeding raw emotions. The pop of his knuckle back into place telling him plain he was in control.

  He straightened up, letting the abyss go from his figurative grip, let it drop back in on itself in whatever dark pit it had been thrown. He could feel the Garkah’s worry as the power receded, like that whisper was all he could hear before now. But in turn he felt their relief. That he was able to let go when all was said and done. Soon only the softened clank of Mediknight helping those with real injuries was left to hear. Broken wrists, cracked ribs, rampant whiplash. Everything was beginning to settle, and the atmosphere easing to a better tempo.

  Then the hole in the arena crumbled, and that atmosphere rang taut. Para stepping back out, sweeping dust from his uniform like nothing had happened. Seth and those still standing the only ones in the turnabout lurch. A lot of power went into that punch, but he barely had a scuff on his jaw. Just a sure fire look of pure death across his face.

  “I can understand wanting revenge on those who chose reward at your expense.”

  Para was back right on top of him before Seth could even think of reacting, staring down with near equal hate.

  “But you’d better realize that starting fights you can’t hope to win is going to get you nowhere.”

  Seth could only stare up, meeting death glare with death glare, all his progress washed away in the grinding of the grit in his teeth. But still he moved first, squaring himself for what was bound to be round two, but Para didn’t even flinch. Instead he turned his nose up and laid on the smug.

  “Heh, if that sucker punch was the best you got then you’re not even worth the effort. But if your little toy there is what I know it to be, you’d might just give me a good fight. So go get it! And quit wasting my time!”

  A confusion melting into sneering indignation, practically snarling at the insinuation. But quickly Seth turned away and rushing to his suit. If he wanted everything, then it was his funeral. It opened like it was expecting him, the release of power he perpetuated started up hardcoded systems. It was made to contain him. Connectors snapped into place, panels slammed closed, shutting out the world with resounding clangs until the helmet closed in around him. Till he was staring through the view screen with all he had, soulless glowing eyes given undeniable emotion through it.

  Para moved to opposite him, right into the circle at their sector’s center, Mediknight having cleared it before he’d stepped out of the wall. The two bore holes into each other until Medi stepped back up to the edge of the ring, looking to each fighter for confirmation before raising a hand as impromptu referee. So at least they would have the end to this officiated. Tension turned the air thick, sore trainees watched anxiously from the wall. Smug looks burrowing into Seth’s armor amid fearful preparation for the worst.

  Para leveled a hand. Seth ground a foot deep. Mediknight took a step back… and dropped the signal to go all out.

  Seth tried to move first, tried to barrel right in and crush this bastard flat, but found himself unable to even breathe. A numbness, a deadening suffocation, and then a grinding resonance cutting to its rise. Stopping him before he could even make tracks. His ears were drowning, his suit was quaking, his bones were rattling in place. Every fiber of his being was shaking apart. And then the pain started.

  “AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

  He cried out, but even his thoughts felt like they were muted. He could still see, but it was turning to red on all sides. Distortions in the air, sound waves so intense they were visible, emanating from Para’s outstretched hand. The trainees watching him fall to his knees in seconds with little surprise and barely a sympathy. Just desserts for what they bought into. Seth had to do something, he was losing consciousness, but there wasn’t anything he could do. But there was plenty the Garkah could.

  ‘THERE!!!’

  He couldn’t hope to hear them, but he could feel their response in nearly maniacal application. The metals in the suit heated, power stores pouring and flexing, shifting composition in a flash of forced through control. Matterist showing his deference and changing resonance frequencies with sheer spite. The sound waves deadened, enough for him to move. Enough for Seth to retaliate in force!

  To drop down out of the concentrated sound waves and find his opening. Armored hands hitting ground, legs coming up, and a fishtail of sand bursting up into his still sonically assaulted place.

  He launched forward with little restraint, the weight of the suit meant to keep his movements dampened to reasonable levels. But he was already exceeding that drag. Closing the distance in less than a second, skimming the ground below the continuous blast off nothing but kick off. But Para would have none of it. He cut his attack and pivoted with equal speed, foot like a sack of bricks catching up with even this velocity and slamming Seth across the helmet.

  The weight of his suit denied and sent tumbling to the side. He could still claw to a stop but had to push off immediate as another blast smashed the sand that caught him. He rose, sprinting upright as that column of sound followed behind, just barely out of reach as it tore into the arena wall. And signaled Seth’s lack of space as the trainee triage came on quickly.

  So he slammed all that weight to a skidding stop, juked down low that reverberating column, and doubled back to force a sudden change in direction. The wrong direction. Instead of storming opposite, he stomped his heavy metal foot down and leapt, vaulted back over the beam as it changed direction to follow expectations.

  Sand crunched under loaded metal sole, and blasted away as he rocketed toward Para. Again he was quick to react, cutting the blasts in time to meet Seth’s charge, this time planting his feet and punching down. But he was growing predictable.

  That sole kicking forward and spraying grit just short, letting Para swing and whiff his already along punch. And letting Seth’s weighed down hands swing free around it. Clamp down around his outstretched arm so there was only one way to go. And it wasn’t Para’s decision.

  Seth’s foot drew back, pulling his arms hard and swinging Para off his feet. But he wasn’t so helpless, hand grabbing an arm as his weight was invalidated this time. Shortening the air gap between the two and sending those sonic waves straight through the suit uninhibited.

  “rrrRRRAAAAHHH!!!

  Seth lurched back but held on as, carpal tunnel caving in but only adding more momentum to the swing. The gel layer eating the worst and denaturing under the barrage, but it would survive. He had to use everything he could muster so he could slam this bastard down. Kicking another cloud of sand high as he bashed the ground with him. Wrenching free of the sonic grip and kicking back from the aerosolized grit with his numbed away arm held tight.

  He had to rethink his strategy on this. Sonic blasts at range and resonating palms at point blank meant he had to keep moving. Hit and run. Which meant he-

  ‘Just have to land an actual hiiigggGGHHAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

  But the cloud parted, blasted away around far greater distortion. Para using both hands at once, doubling the blasts in size and volume. Forcing instinct to grip his head through the suit, but it was like it was going to rip apart. Cracks in the eyes started forming, he could feel blood running from his ears. And eyes. Yet the attack was unrelenting, kicking up in volume with every step. To the horror of everyone watching.

  Seth collapsed forward, still desperate to cover his ears, practically burying his head into the sand. His bones were fracturing, his blood was nearly boiling, his mind was rattling too much to even think of pain. Everything was going black, emptying to nothing again against its own will. Then Para took another step forward…

  And that abyss shook.

  Those hands let go, were allowed to fall before clawing the sand instead. Legs pulled in and slowly lifted the whole up. Joints creaked as their servos rattled at their housings. Plates clanking and scraping as they were beaten about. Para kept blasting, turning the volume up louder and louder, but Seth appeared unfazed as he rose back up to full. Slowly lifting his head to blare what had been wrought. Those cracked apart eyes burning blue electrical damnation. No longer caring about the pain.

  Almost with no motion, a burst of sand short up where he’d been bored down. The whole armor tearing out of Para’s doubled barrage like it was never there in the first place. Appearing to his side with velocity upon it stride. And yet taking one menacing, echoing step toward him. Resounded its fury through the arena despite the deadening sand. Through the metal pan below and through every wall surrounding.

  Para drew back on it, swiveling hard with sonic fire rippling around his hands. But his ensuing blast only holed another shoot of kicked sand. Armor already off to his other side, eating inertia over wrought and taking another step. Another deep metal clang resounding through everything. Para reacquired, caught the glimpse allowed of him. The armor almost feral in its glare and in the whip of its stance. Para drew his hands apart, intent to split fire to meet him as he tore away again. But he was now truly a step behind.

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  Plumes of sand were the only thing he saw as Seth drew closer and closer to his horrified dismay. Only seeing him in flashes, arm raising from its feral sway higher and higher with every echoing step. He couldn’t land a hit to put an end to this farce, and his ire told more than he could hold back from anymore. He was afraid.

  So as that metal carapace finally flashed in out front of him, yet was finally beaten to the punch. Para forcing his arms around himself, passing a resenance over his entire body like it was liable to tear itself apart. But instead a blast of all over distortion kicked the arena in full bore shockwave. An explosion of sound and sand that shook the open shutters above and rippled the air into deadly waveform.

  And yet pushed nothing but that sand.

  Because that metal menace was nowhere near, the show a feint to wear him out. That arm reared back in full at the line of the ring, the legs spring loaded and feasting upon that pressure wave for all it imparted. So all this weight could blast off with eyes burning this unmistakable intent. Para’s whiffed last ditch blast leaving him winded and open, and only now realizing in the glare overbright. He quickly pulled everything he had into another blast, hands forcing themselves back to battery. But it was not his sonic boom that reverberated the arena.

  The world found itself in a perceptive hold, slowed to a crawl by overcharged senses. Para building a reverb into sheering peaks, distortion curling the air around him. Seth’s body kicking off with all the force it knew how to muster, titanic weight turned to an unstoppable missile. The two set to clash with power enough to end this fight, to shatter the air, to shatter the arena if all came about. But something appeared in between them before either could actualize. Before either could reach such a crescendo.

  The eyes noticed it first, a transparent orange shimmer flashing across like a warning. Perception caught, overcharged senses overridden by burned in memory, dark edges he didn’t even know were there seeping away from his vision. Seth’s attack breaking, desperate feet trying to pull up and skid to a halt. Mountainous brake force digging ruts into the floor. He couldn’t touch it, he couldn’t make that kind of truth know so carelessly. Para noticed it last and dissipated his attack, turning to meet a scolding backhand to the forehead. But Seth wasn’t going to stop in time, metal feet cutting gorges in the sand too shallow for meaningful friction.

  ‘Not like this!! I can’t ruin everything like-‘

  *CLLLAAAANNNNGGGGggggggggg*

  But that reluctant missile found himself clotheslined.

  Stopped dead by rounded metal ringing his number, rebounding him backward from an almighty whiplash. Landing him in a heavy metal heap back to the ground. All the power that had seeped in, had blotted out his self, reeled away. Even the abyss had been whiplashed into total submission. Dazed, sore, still healing from the resonant torture, Seth could barely pull himself back up. But could hear Para growling frustration at-

  “What the hell Aegis!?!”

  The pain snapped, disregarded to the back ground as Seth forced himself up. But was struck and stuck at the scene looming over. How much it reminded him of that long ago day, when she’d pulled him out of that bombarded hell. Brown and blond hair blended into a tied up pony tail, daze brightening the light and shattered optic glass haloing her on his view screen. Like the angel he’d seen her as returned in force.

  Maybe… with a bit too much force.

  ‘Ow…’

  The pain tried to resurface, but was lost in serendipity. She still wore her hair back, but there was obviously a lot more of it, and her eyes were still hinted with an orange radiance as she looked down on him. Her suit really was basically the same, just recolored and refitted to her full stature. In fact it looked like it was exactly the same, wearing and fraying at the seams like it had lasted all this time. And most assuredly she had bulked up since then. Not to ludicrous levels, but her strength was obvious to the casual observer.

  And… Seth may have stared a little too long.

  More stunned by the sudden appearance of the girl who saved his life than her new physical appearance finally seen up close. But Aegis still gave a concerned smile down at him.

  “Sorry, guess I should have stopped you sooner?”

  Her voice wasn’t as gentle as before, but still held a little childishness. She furled her shield up in sparking dismissal and stretched out her hand for Seth to take.

  “Though seeing as the both of you were- hhrrrggg Damn you’re heavy. About to turn all the trainees to fucking jelly. I had to intervene at some point, you know?”

  Para’s scoff broke the moment and drew Seth to Mediknight ushering the trainees almost completely back from the ring for their own safety. Losing some of his edge as those slates glared back like a menacing mother at the both of them. Turning him back with a bitter scowl.

  “I thought you were delayed by a ‘pretty serious save’?”

  “Yeah, I lied, I was watching from the booth. I knew full well you’d ignore orders and pull the same shit. Again! So I called it in.”

  “You WHAT!!”

  “Say hello to your new co-teacher Para, better get used to not being a douche to these trainees 24/7!”

  The reassembling trainees, and the gradually slouching and beaten Seth, all stood even more shocked than they already were. Getting trained by one member of the Elite was a privilege, two just seemed egregious. But three?! Yet still, Ohm raised his hand.

  “This better not count as my promised special train- GOooh!”

  Maya punched him in the ribs for it as Para's sneer cut him off.

  “Shut up Clarence that was a test! Aegis, you can’t be serious. You’re going to spread the team thin like this.”

  Aegis crossed her arms.

  “Oh NOW you care about the team’s wellbeing. Where was this worry every time I’ve asked for some help, huh? Half the team does all the fucking work around here because you keep stopping anyone with talent but ‘not enough drive’ from getting through! But thankfully command actually cares and is rotating the As and Bs into fire patrol. So I can do what I see fit. And since you basically picked a fight with one of your trainees! ON DAY ONE!! I’m going to be staying here, keeping you from fucking things up more than you already have. Okay?”

  She turned away, instead directing her attention at Seth again, who was now thoroughly frozen in awkwardness. If not maybe a bit of over excursion.

  “You know, you’re pretty good for a noobie, but in all honesty you really need some work on your self-preservation. Let’s keep to fighting someone who, at the very least, is in your power class.”

  Seth was still stunned and pulled in several directions, but shook as much as he could away so he could take his helmet off to answer her proper. Twisting the rotary neck joint and popped it off with a short hiss of heated air, revealing his shocked white hair. Helmet head inside an active faraday cage being a mess to be reckoned with, he franticly ran his hand over it as he lowered his helmet to his side.

  “I’ll… try to pick my opponents better.”

  He smiled slightly, drying blood trails from his nose and eyes making things seem a little more dire then they really were. Aegis smiled slightly in response, but couldn’t hide the serious concern on her face. But what Seth couldn’t see was recollection. He wiped away the blood he could feel, but stopped smiling when she turned to Mediknight, silently thumbing for him to check on him.

  She didn’t… remember him.

  It had been a while sure, and he wasn’t exactly as talkative back then. She must have just forgot, or blocked out that part of her life.

  'It was a long time ago, and only really a day. And… and people don’t really like to talk about their service on The Wall. Let alone being on the other side of it. But...'

  Seth was zoned out in thoughtful disappointment, only adding to the concern eking out of Mediknight’s slats as he looked him over. He snapped out of it as that visor dominated his vision. He couldn’t see any sign of real emotion, nothing but shadow between the slats, but he could still feel that he was scanning him. A slight warmth radiating and tingling at his nerves just adding evidence, his healing field was versatile. And worrying. A small tension at the possibility that he could sense what he had, his real power beneath all this armor. But then he turned away before Seth could fail the bluff, giving a thumbs up to Aegis as she gathered up the trainees.

  “He’s okay.”

  Seth let his breath out and moved to group up with everyone else. Only to be stopped by a plate mail hand across his own armored chest far stronger than it had any right to be.

  “Don’t do something like that again. I can understand hiding your power away, but you need to learn proper self-control before ever engaging like that again. Take it slow, and calm down.”

  Mediknight dropped his hand and moved off. Seth was stuck in place by a fearful beat. That already he’d been discovered. And yet… his hopes remained. A respect fighting, saying that this wasn’t condemnation just correction. There was no hiding anything from a good enough doctor after all. So having his blessing to keep going was turbo charging to his determination. And told him he had two of the three trainers on his side at least.

  Speaking of which, the smile squeaking up his face was leered away at Para. Matched and met with disdain as he rejoined the now coalesced and healed up trainees awaiting everyone’s proper introduction. Aegis keeping command as she squared up between her teammates.

  “Okay, now that that is all settled. Welcome to the League of Super’s official recruitment course! At least for now. Apparently ‘some people’ are saying we’re overstaffed, but I can assure you we still have plenty of openings for the lot of you. If you can manage to reach them that is. To that end, this course will work to get each and every one of you up to snuff and ready to start your climbs to the height of greatness. To protect this world from anything and everything that may threaten it. From a common convenience store thief, to rampaging genetic monstrosities, to the occasional city busting meteor, or even the mundane seasonal disaster. You’re going to learn how to be ready and able to fight each and every one of these things, and worse. And, thanks to my inclusion, you’re actually more likely to pass this course compared to the previous ones. Seeing as Parasonic over here has been making this course into a meat grinder instead of a training camp.”

  His sneer only lasted a second as he retook charge.

  “Don’t blame me if they can’t keep up, and I still fully expect each and every one of you to fail! Anything otherwise would endanger the League as a whole. The things we face as heroes are many, varied, constant, and unforgiving. Even the heroes we have today can’t truly be said to be ready for what may come tomorrow. So I expect you all to fail because that’s a preferable outcome to sending off another group of half-assed recruits to die.”

  The collective looks of indignation melted at this. But looks of defiant determination broke the gloom, Seth’s included. Para scoffed in response while Aegis smiled. Mediknight stepped up to break the tension.

  “You will each be given a room on the upper periphery, the rules and regulations for living here are printed on placards in each of them. Read and memorize them. Meals are served in the canteen on the south side based on the time of day. Its first come first serve, so don’t be late. Training starts when your trainers say so. Expect the unexpected. If they say you’re training at 3:00 AM, you are training at 3:00 AM. Personal training times are blocked out for any free time you may receive and wish to use productively. The time table is logged on the personal terminal in your room and on the public one’s throughout the hall. Don’t just show up to train whenever you want, you will be leered at and judged an impatient or unobservant moron. Fighting… is expected, but rules are in place for this. Set a time slot and fight it out in the arena. No fighting anywhere else. And NO LETHAL DAMAGE. Fight under the allowed rule sets or don’t fight at all.”

  Mediknight stepped back, leaving the floor to Aegis.

  “Well, that sounds like everything. So, you two can go now. I’m calling the first actual ‘lesson’.”

  Para sneered again, but walked off with Mediknight.

  “Don’t spoil them, you’ll only make their failure worse.”

  He slammed a locker room door behind them as Aegis smirked at her new trainees. A smirk that gradually turned a little too hard for how much fighting they just went through.

  ‘Ugggh, why do I feel like she's about to make us do laps?’