Walter Jacobs awoke to the morning siren. Today was another training day. He dragged himself out of bed, got ready and in uniform, a bright ED3-09 emblazoned shone on the breast of his uniform.

Walter was “the greatest aegis of the new generation” or something like that. The top brass liked to be positive. Walter knew that this looked good on reports, but the fact of the matter is he only had talent for defense. And sure, he was among the best at it, but others at the top of the ladder could manifest weapons, heal wounds, enhance physicality. Hell, some could even do multiple at once. They were no Lily Angstrom, but they were a damn sight stronger than he was.

So, he had to train. Rarely did anyone want a human shield on a mission, no matter how sturdy.

“Morning, Walt. Ready to spar again?” Before stood the Empath trainer for district, Anthony Josephs. Anthony was a former soldier before the Aether Spark and it showed. He looked like if anyone threw a punch at him, they’d find themselves on the ground. Walter had found himself on the ground many times.

“If we have to,” Walter said. He dreaded combat. His skills were lacking not just in manifesting but also in any kind of martial prowess. He was sturdy. He could take a punch. He could block nearly anything. But he couldn’t throw a punch to save his life.

“Manifest force,” Anthony ordered. Walter manifested a red gauntlet. Well, gauntlet was a strong word. It was more like the four fingers on his right hand were covered in faint red mist. Anthony nodded, accepting this was what he had.

Walter made a fist and took a stance to strike.

“Good. I want you to hit me right here.” Anthony pointed to his solar plexus. “Land a clean hit once and training is over. No grazing. No tapping. Hit me.” Anthony manifested a blue robe around himself. Unlike most defensive constructs, the robes were solid, but moved fluidly with his motions. Anthony took a stance, prepared to receive a strike.

Walter put all of his force into a jab. The robes shifted with his punch, flowing his fist to the side. Walter straightened up and tried to sweep his foot to throw Anthony off balance. Anthony hopped over as though it were just a step.

“I’ve never hit you before! How am I going to do this?” Walter shouted, already feeling how fruitless this was.

“The Aether responds to belief. Genuinely believe that you can hit me. Mean it. Strike with intent.” The trainer looked upon Walter like a parent watching his child stumble when learning to walk. No impatience. No anger. Just happy to be there to teach.

Walter focused. He made a mental image of what it looked like to land a hit on such a defense. His hand glowed fully, as though it had become light itself. His hand felt warm, like gripping a soft flame.

“Good! Good! Now show me what you can do with it!”

Walter nodded in response. He threw an elbow into Anthony’s side. Feeling no give in the robe, Walter pivoted to land his fist on his solar plexus. A sidelong blow with little force, yet the robe gave way to the uniform underneath. He hadn’t landed a hit, but he had pierced the defenses.

Anthony grinned, genuinely pleased at Walter’s improvement. He then grabbed Walter’s hand, pulled his arm behind his back and pinned him to the ground in an arm bar.

“Excellent work. Now, what did you learn?”

“To not get grabbed?” Walter coughed.

“Sure, sure. That’s a good one. What else?” Anthony chuckled at the cheeky response.

“The strike in the mind precedes the strike in the hand?” Walter said, uncertain.

“Yes, yes. And that lesson clearly went to heart. I haven’t seen you manifest anything but that shield of yours so well. But what else?” Anthony prodded Walter for a bit more wisdom gained. He was always like this. He saw every fight as many lessons, as if the mat itself was his scroll.

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“If my weapon is small, it’s easy to stop?” Walter asked, rather than offered, not really understanding.

“Close. Here. A further demonstration. Strike me in the solar plexus. I won’t step from this spot.” Anthony lowered his guard, softened his stance and went mostly limp.

Walter put all of his focus on his fist, imagining a piercing strike that would not be stopped by any armor. His hand glowed intensely, like a sun in his hand. His took his stance and punched straight at Anthony’s solar plexus.

Anthony smiled and batted the hand away as if it were just a bothersome fly.

“If you make known only one weakness to your opponent and they only have one tool to strike you, they become limited in options while you gain many. A small window on the defense is extremely useful. And someone with your defensive skills would do well to remember it. Let’s call it for today. You did well.” Anthony dissipated his armor, took a bow and waved Walter on.

“Thank you, sir.” Walter bowed in return.

As the lesson closed, a familiar voice came over the loudspeaker of the facility. “EA3-05, EC3-15, ED3-09, and ES3-10 come to the debriefing room. You will be deployed in one hour.”

Commander Thurson’s powerful voice boomed over the loudspeaker like a lightning storm. Four people singled out from the crowd in the training areas and filed down to the debriefing room.

Sitting with him were some of the top ranks of district three.

EA3-05, Empath Corps, fifth rank assault, Devon Light. Skilled in manifesting weaponry. Uses a large club, almost a pillar in size. Can manifest strengthening simultaneously, making him a powerhouse on offense.

EC3-15, Empath Corps, fifteenth rank capture, Alexandra Jackson. Skilled in using alteration manifestations offensively, slowing and weakening those she comes in contact with. Manifests a hooked pole as a weapon, which she uses to pull her opponents into favorable positions to use her abilities or set up her teammates.

ES3-10, Empath Corps, tenth rank support, Song Li. Skilled in healing and strengthening manifestations. Said to be able to grant some of the greatest strength outputs of any Empath known. Would be ranked higher but is not particularly skilled in other forms and is less skilled at using his enhancement on himself. Manifests a knife for a weapon.

And of course, Commander Olaf Thurson himself. Proud elite of UAPS. In command of district three. An Aetherial who can create explosions anywhere within his vision. Said that those who can survive are impaired when hit. A terrifying powerhouse.

“You four are to be deployed on an Avenger mission. An elite amongst the Empaths has been severely injured and our storage of aether has been mostly destroyed. This encounter was with a group we call ‘The Three Corners’. They have been mobilizing around the nation to cause harm to us and take our supply. Our intel states that there are two Aetherials and one Empath with great martial prowess. We confirmed two Aetherials, but the description does not match. We cannot be sure if this is a new element or if our intel was mistaken. You are here to find these two Aetherials who engaged us at a vault and take them in. If you cannot take them in, terminate them. The nature of their abilities is too dangerous to leave alone. Questions?”

“What are their abilities?” Devon asked.

“This one,” Thurson pointed to a picture of a young, short woman. “we have given the codename Recall. She seems to be able to return things to a previous state. Does not seem to work on biologic entities or aetheric constructs. A range has not been figured out as of yet, but it is close. Engage at a range, with aether, or with your own physical skills. Do not deploy any material weapons. Do not rely on material shields.” Thurson seemed troubled by the nature of this opponent.

“And this one,” Thurson pointed to a toned, taller man. “we have just now given the codename Ignition. Abilities unclear. Not a lot of data. Seems to be able to convert manifested aether to heat or perhaps fire. Any other functions of this skill are unknown. Do not engage alone. Do not engage with aether. Light, you should take point on the engagement if possible. Jacobs, you should avoid this encounter at all costs. Any further questions?”

Walter wasn’t please with that comment, but let it go. He chimed in “Where are we being deployed? What is the situation?”

“The recon team just gave us a report that they are someone near downtown district 3. Last known location was a small camp near the woods south of 11th street. You will be given as precise of a location as possible before you as deployed. Jacobs, you are to be Vanguard until engagement in case of any unknown elements attacking. Light, you will follow behind, prepared to assault when contact happens. Jackson, you are to attempt to flank to try to disable and preferably capture Ignition. Li, you are to keep Light and Jacobs in peak condition, focus on strengthening Light when possible. We are unsure if Ignition can dispel manifesting aether used for enhancement, but we can’t rule it out. If we confirm this, you are to fall back focus on healing only. We don’t want your strengthening to become fuel for the fire. Any more questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. The mission seemed clear enough. Walter did feel concerned about sending four Empaths against Aetherials with unknown elements to their abilities, but one’s duty was one’s duty.

“Good. Meet back at the top of the hour. Dismissed.”