Overlooking Lake Michigan, Lance "Lunis" took in the sight of the Sherman skyline peeking through the towering oaks of the forest. He had become familiar with this forest during his time on Earth. The first time he found himself in it was when his escape craft, harboring himself, Princess Ilana of Galaluna, and their robot companion Octus, landed deep in its bowels. Another time, he and his friends had come to attend a party with their fellow students from Sherman High; that time a Mutradii shapeshifter had made a mess of things. Now, he was merely testing survival skills. But not his own.

The snap of a twig, perceptible even over the lapping of the lake's tide, turned his attention towards the treeline. Lance gently kneeled down and picked up three fist-sized rocks from the sand, never once taking his eyes off the trees. Suddenly, he chucked the first rock directly in front of him, the hard thud of rock on bark not revealing much. The second rock achieved the same effect. He began to ready his aim elsewhere into the forest before the rustling of leaves instinctively made him throw up into the canopy.

The shaking in the leaves ceased, but the lack of any other development kept Lance on high alert. He reached for another rock before jumping out of the way of one thrown his way. Not taking any chances, Lance sprinted into the forest. While his combat skills were unmatched, honed during his years in the Galalunan military and as part of Titan, an unknown foe presented too many variables to rush headfirst into. As he ran, he could hear whatever his enemy was leaping from branch to branch, the shadow of the canopy preventing a solid identification of the pursuer.

Thankfully, he knew these woods like the back of his hand and knew exactly where to even the odds. Lance eventually found himself in a small clearing that housed an elaborate obstacle course. He had constructed this course as a means to keep fit and would now use it to force his assailant to go at him on his home turf.

He leaped preternaturally far onto a field of upright pillars at the center of the course. "That was a good chase, but let’s see what you’ve got."

A figure leaped from the treeline to land on a pillar opposite Lance. His attacker was covered in a cloak made of native foliage that covered most of their body and face. The only thing Lance was certain of was that the enemy was shorter than him, but that wasn’t enough to drop his guard. Lance assumed a martial arts stance, and the mysterious figure did the same.

To the untrained eye, the two fighting would have been nearly imperceptible outside the muffled blows of the two fighters blocking and counterattacking. Lance threw a punch at the attacker, who deflected it away with his arm. A mistake. Lance followed through with a palm strike to the assailant's chest that sent them flying back. Thinking they fell from the pillars, Lance leapt over the edge only to be punched in his chin from below and launched into the air.

Their dance of combat continued off the pillars and onto a platform of rotating panels. Now, they two had to dodge not only each other's blows but also the rapidly spinning panels. The two did their best to knock the other into these panels to do their work for them, but the two deftly avoided them.

The two eventually left the panel platform and found themselves on a circular platform suspended beneath a deep pit of water. Fighting staffs were located on the platform, and the two quickly incorporated these weapons into the fight. Lance began with three rapid strikes, each blocked by his attacker. The attacker tried a leg sweep, which Lance used as an opportunity to transition into a leaping air strike. That attack was deflected, and the opponent used Lance’s momentum to launch him behind him off balance. Lance quickly recovered, but the enemy wasted no time pushing Lance back with a flurry of attacks.

Lance was pushed all the way to the edge. Both he and his attacker were exhausted, and the final strike from either would likely be the deciding factor for their battle. Lance’s enemy slowly and cautiously approached, spinning his staff in a display to distract Lance’s attention. However, Lance could only smile. During the fight, he noticed a plank was loose on the platform, and his attacker was about to step on it. Just as they did, Lance stomped hard on the loose board and sent his opponent stumbling towards the edge of the platform. Wasting no time, Lance leapt towards them and landed a critical strike to their side. The assailant fell into the water below with a large splash.

Lance got off the platform and sat down at a nearby bench. He reached into his backpack and pulled out two large bottles of water. As he began drinking the first one, the mysterious figure clawed their way out of the water pit and staggered towards Lance. Yet rather than go back into defense mode, Lance smiled.

"Pretty good effort this time, Jason." Jason, a close friend of Ilana’s, peeled off the wet cloak from his body and let it fall to the ground. He grabbed the other bottle of water and took a swig. “You think so, Lance?”

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Lance nodded. “Ready for your critique?”

They nodded in approval, and Lance continued. “Gotta watch out as you creep on the forest floor; lots of dry wood from the drought this summer. You’ve also gotta move more mindfully in the canopy, at least when facing an opponent directly.”

Jason sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I got a little sloppy there.”

“However, you’ve improved a lot in terms of moving through the foliage; I couldn’t spot you during our pursuit to the course,” Lance admitted.

“And the fight?”

“It was pretty much anybody’s fight for the most part; I just saw part of the platform up there that could be exploited. Always be mindful of those opportunities even in the midst of combat.”

They continued a more in-depth conversation as Lance offered his advice while Jason scribbled notes in a well-worn notebook. Lance had to admire Jason’s drive to improve himself; it reminded him of his early days at the academy. Still, the two seemed like an unlikely duo. While Lance had effortlessly climbed the ladder of popularity, though he never took time to take advantage of it, Jason was clearly considered part of the bottom rung. For most of the time he knew him, Lance saw Jason as a lanky and clumsy, if not nice enough, kid. Yet, Ilana and him were friends and that made him alright by Lance’s estimation.

What really caught Lance off-guard was that Jason had personally asked him for training not long after he, Ilana, and Octus had returned in the wake of the Tri-Beast attack. Their cover story was that they, as a family, had temporarily lived with family out of state to get away from Sherman’s monster attacks for a while. Once they resumed something of a routine, Jason sought Lance out for guidance on learning how to fight. He knew Jason had no clue that he was part of Titan, but Lance had shown an affinity for combat many times against the rabble that were considered school bullies at Sherman High.

Lance didn’t think anything of the request and accepted. Jason only had one condition, and that was not to tell Ilana about their training. Lance didn’t press the point; as far as he was concerned, it was just something that wasn’t Ilana’s business. They started small with secret sparring sessions in the gymnasium, occasionally sharing the space with another martial arts enthusiast, Kristin. They offered to relocate, but she insisted they train together. Lance felt she was simply looking to better her form. Jason suspected she was trying to get closer to Lance. Either way, for the first few months, the three fought one another until Lance completed a rudimentary training ground deep in the forests outside Sherman.

“So,” Jason said, breaking the silence that had settled over the two, “You, Illana, and Newton have any big plans for the summer?”

Lance shook his head. “No.”

“Well, my folks are thinking of letting me and some friends go on a European vacation. I know that’s a big deal for some high school kids, but they insist I travel and get some culture before settling down for college.”

“Huh.”

“Think you guys would be interested?”

“You’ll have to ask the others about that; I kinda just follow along.”

“Oh, ok.”

The two sat in silence again before Lance opted to speak up. “Might not be my business, but why did you ask me to train you on how to fight?”

Jason began to laugh nervously. “Uh, ha, no real reason. Just kinda tired of being pushed around, you know.”

“Probably could’ve just taken a self-defense class then. I think my way is a little more hardcore than you might have been expecting.”

“Actually, I’m happy you did it. I’ve seen you fight; you’re on a whole ‘nother level.”

“But is that really the only reason?”

Jason sighed and looked at Lance with a mixture of fear and resolve. “I’ll level with you, but you gotta promise you aren’t going to get mad.”

“Why would I get mad? Thinking of using your new skills for evil? Rob a bank or something?”

“No,” Jason flatly denied, “It’s true I wanted to improve myself, but it wasn’t just for myself. There are people I love who I want to protect, and before all this, I wasn’t good to anybody in a fight.”

“You mean like protect your family?”

“I mean Ilana.”

Lance could hear Jason’s heart beating rapidly in his chest. Everything started clicking into place now. He suspected Jason may have had some feelings for Ilana, but why would Lance care? It wasn’t like the two were dating, a fact their aliases as brother and sister soundly prevented. He cared about Ilana, of course, definitely more than just as her protector.

“Why would that make me mad? More people watching over her would just make me sleep a little easier at night given all the trouble she winds up in.”

Jason sighed in relief. “Thanks, Lance. That’s good to hear. I just didn’t know how you’d react as her brother. I’ve seen plenty get defensive over their sisters.”

A whooshing sound caught the conversation short as a small dart stuck into Jason’s neck. He became drowsy and collapsed to the ground as a G3 aerial vehicle decloaked. A long agent with a rifle lowered their weapon and said, “You’re needed at HQ. Someone will be by to get your friend home.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lance shouted over the roar of the vehicle's turbines.

“You will be briefed on the way to HQ; your female companion is already aboard.”

Taking one last look at Jason, who was now being carried into another AV, Lance stared defiantly at the agent hovering over him. He knew he could easily assail the AV, knock out the agent, and escape. G3 might be allies now after they fixed Octus, but Lance still harbored suspicions about them, and knocking out Jason didn’t help. Yet if Ilana was already with them, he had no choice but to go willingly. Lance leapt high to the AV and took a seat. The agent told the pilot to go, and the AV blasted off into the sky above.