Assembling themselves on the bleachers, the S.P.A cadets patiently awaited their Shifter combat instructor Mr. Bené to begin his daily affirmations. As he awkwardly approached the center of the field, it seemed almost as if every step was an internal battle to maintain his composure. With a grin that was so wide it nearly wrapped around his ears, it was clear he was trying to hide news of some groundbreaking development.

He was a middle aged man who wasn't particularly fit looking but in no way seemed unhealthy. In addition to this avuncular attitude, he had an old fashioned view of respect, and would sentence students to laps around the field for not addressing him correctly, or for interrupting him during his consistently long, exaggerated speeches.

"Alright class you know what day it is right!?" Mr. Bené exclaimed.

"It's the first of the month Sir", answered the class militantly.

"That's right my little soldiers and you know what that means!" said Mr. Bené eagerly.

"Examination day Sir"

"Right again!"

"It's another mark on the calendar, another line on the spreadsheet, today it's time for monthly examinations! But today we have a special guest from S.P.A HQ!" He said twirling his fingers.

With the mention of SPA HQ the students began to swivel in excitement, stomping their feet on the bleachers.

"SPA HQ? Here?"(Student)

"What no one told me about this!"(Student)

"Hehe Interesting" (Lance)

"That's Right!" Mr. Bené said with a twinkle in his eye "The director of science and engineering, as well as lead researcher at the G.A.T.E.S institute of psychiatric development and rehabilitation, ladies and gents would you please give a welcoming hand to one of the highest ranked members of the SPA "Henriette O'Brian!" he enthusiastically announced.

In a burst of great alacrity he spun around pointing to a spot on the field where no one was standing.

Spinning around looking back at the students and then back to the spot which he was pointing at he continued to look back and forth seemingly confused by the situation.

After a few moments of stillness, an awkward silence washed over the students.

"Huh?" Mr. Bené said, stupefied. "He was just here on this field I assure you" Mr. Bené said anxiously looking around.

As students started to gossip amongst themselves Reggie stood up on the bleachers and examined the spot Mr. Bené had pointed to closely.

"Hmm" He hummed, rubbing his chin as he analyzed the empty space.

"AHA!" Reggie proclaimed pointing a finger at Mr. Bené. "This is a test isn't it?"

"What?" said Mr. Bené, flailing his arms in the air.

"Nice try Mr. J you can't fool me! I can see him standing right there!"

Mr. Bené stood shrugging his shoulders at Reggie, unsure if he was making a joke or trying to pull some kind of stunt.

"What are you talking about? There's nobody there!" grumbled Mr. Bené

"Nice try!" said Reggie pompously "This invisibility trick isn't goanna work on me!"

Gasps of awe and angulation were cast through the crowd of students. They had forgotten the powers of an S.P.A agent, especially one as high ranked as O'Brian. It was very well possible the man was standing in front of them and they hadn't even noticed!

"Wow Reggie you're pretty cool to see that! I had no idea!" one student said.

"Really?" said Mr. Bené, "I mean uhhh of coarse hahahah" he laughed nervously "I could see him all along of course I was just testing you kids that's all!"

Even Lance who was sitting alone on the other side of the bleachers seemed to give his approval. He pressed his lips together while nodding his head making a face that said, "Hmm maybe I underestimated this guy."

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"What are you kidding me?" said PB getting agitated by the attention Reggie was gathering, "Anyone who was paying attention could see that!" he bickered. Crossing his arms and facing away from Reggie, he tried to seem disinterested while Reggie continued his showboating below.

"Anyone could see what exactly?" said a voice from above the crowd.

A man holding a digital notebook stood up from the back of the bleachers. He looked like a scientist who had left his lab in the middle of an experiment, still wearing his lab coat, gloves and safety glasses. He was devilishly slim and had violet hair that matched his dark indigo eyes that paced left and right scanning everyone on the field, processing and evaluating their potential. On the lab coat he was wearing, the name "O'Brian" appeared in bright yellow print.

Nearly half of the students on the bleachers rolled over and fell out of their seats out of sheer embarrassment. Reggie recovering from cognitive dissonance, face palmed himself with his large metal hand causing a large "smack" sound to echo throughout the field. Meanwhile in the middle of the field, Mr. Bené was scratching his head laughing softly to himself.

Lance who was usually well composed, face planted himself into the book he was holding. Even he had believed that nitwit for a moment. At this point, everyone was either burning with embellishment or dying of laughter. Everyone that is, except for LArs.

While everyone was grumbling over the scene below, a white haired boy on the other side of the bleachers was beaming at Lars with a brazen stair. As the stare intensified, his eyes began to shine with a ghastly blue flame that burned feverously as he thoroughly examined Lars without batting an eye. As the stare progressed Lars began to feel the sting of radiation hitting his head and neck again.

As alarming as the situation was, Lars was neither cowering in fear nor hit with confusion. Instead he felt a different feeling, a déjà vu feeling, as if he had met this boy somewhere before.

"So" said another voice from directly above Lance. "This group of aspiring Shifters couldn't even notice I was in their presence?" he said arrogantly.

"Impossible" thought Lance as he anxiously tried to keep his composure. "Not only has my attention been evaded twice, but somehow someone was able to get directly behind me without me even noticing?"

He sprang out of his chair and looked up catching the edge of a white lab coat.

It was O'Brian?

"Impossible!" remarked the crowd as they all turned to the left where the man had previously stood. Once again O'Brian appeared at the top of the bleachers.

"What was going on" thought Lance?

O'Brian then pointed a finger toward the far end of the field, and by the time everyone's eyes had reached the field he was already there.

Murmurs of shock and amazement proliferated among the students. Lance, trying to figure out the puzzle, quickly looked behind him and then at the spot where O'Brian had first emerged at the top of the bleachers seeing no one in either spot.

"Was he that fast?" "There's no way!" thought Lance.

Lance had never seen O'Brian in two places at one time but he was sure he had never seen him move when he heard the voice behind him.

"So this is what awaits me at the top ranks of S.P.A," Thought Lance. "And this guy, he's nowhere near his level is he!" he said slamming his hand into the bleachers.

"If I can't even follow this guy's moves, I won't be able to track him either!"

"Consider this a free lesson from the S.P.A Academy" O'Brian said grinning.

Extending out his hands he began to draw tiny blue bolts of electricity down his arms. As he paced back and forth he turned the electricity into a small blue ball of electrical current that he juggled in his hands.

The students looked on in amazement, taken aback by O'Brian's display of power.

"The Shifter Protection Agency is the law of the state, filled with only the most elite of Shifters that are able to survive its exams."

"In the world of the S.P.A there are people who can kill someone" he began, throwing the ball into the air.

In an instant he appeared high in the sky catching the ball.

"Head home", O'Brian cast the ball into the top of the bleachers, reappearing and catching it again, with lightning speed.

"And finish dinner before you even realize they were there!" By the time he had finished his sentence he was back in the same spot. He had traveled the full length of the field and back amidst a 3 sentence conversation.

"There are times where your eyes may be too slow to track an opponent and you may need to use other means of tracking them down."

In that instant the white haired boy disappeared from sight.

A burst of applause came out from the students in their reverie for O'Brian's performance.

"Thank you" He said nodding his head.

"Now I understand every month you have combat training to determine how far you have grown correct?" Obrian said motioning to Mr. Bene

"Yes thats right!" Mr Bene said.

"Alright then based on the data I have collected I will like two very specific students to come to the center for a duel."

"Who would you like? Lance? He's number two in the class, then there's Pb, and also B, I'd say they are some of the strongest in this freshman class."

"PB? B?" O'Brian questioned, confused by the names. "Do they have real names?"

"Pb is Peter Brown and... well as for B…. Well I think I'll just point it out to you on your holpad…. best not to say that name out loud."

"Excellent, I think I've selected my two for the day!" Obrain said

"Who will it be then?" Mr Bene asked

"Will Axel, and Pb please report to the center field?"

With O'Brian's announcement the students in the bleachers began gossiping amung themselves

"What?" "Pb vs that loser? This will be a slaughter!" "Why didnt he pick me!"

The group of students all stared viscously at Lars with jealousy and contempt. Lars's stomach began to turn again as he felt the pressure of all his peers eyeing him down with hostility. Further up on the bleachers he could see Pb's vibrant expression complemented with blotches of dark lead appearing on his face.

"This... is not going to end well" Lars thought