“Up!” Maven gave the order as he rushed into the room. The overhead lights came on, and as he threw blankets off them, the students groaned in response. William included.
“Come on!” Samson yelled from his bed.
“Don’t want to hear it,” Mav yelled. “Another peep out of any of you, and I spar with you first.” That silenced him, as it did everyone else. The others grumbled, but they all rose to their feet. William was too excited to use his ability to say much. He had stayed up playing with the power until he fell asleep a couple of hours ago.
“Come on, you’re all healed up. Let’s go,” Mav said, and he was out the door.
William got off the bed. Dressed in their black shorts and white muscle shirts, they all wore the same thing. Simple and to the point: Will wasn't sure who made sure they had clothes in the chest at the foot of their beds, but he hadn't run out of them since he started over a week ago.
The men ran to the bathroom near the class/bedroom they used. Katy had her own bathroom, but there were enough facilities for all the men to use at once. There was a constant sound of piss hitting porcelain in the room, followed by them fighting over mirrors to brush their teeth. They were all given 10 minutes to get ready. Samson shaved his head and yawned loudly, causing the others to let out sympathy yawns.
It was their routine, and they got into it rather easily. When they headed out, Katy was already ahead of them.
“You boys take longer to get ready than a girl. Isn’t that sad?” She teased them as they increased their speed to catch up to her.
“Nope,” Samson said without shame. “We actually prefer to look presentable. It’s so brave of you to not care what you look like.” She flipped him off, and Ryu guffawed at the remark.
“That’s it,” Katy said. “I’m going to ask to stay in a different room.”
“Why now?” William asked. He hadn't previously registered that a girl was in their room because they were too exhausted to care much. Most of the guys changed in other rooms, so it hadn’t been much of an issue.
“I feel it’s time. I’m sick of getting woken up by you lot farting all night,” she said as they stepped into the gym.
“That’s fine,” Mav said from just inside the room. He made a few jump based on how close he was to the door. "I originally put you in there because Santos was healing all of you over night. But now that he has figured out his ability a little, you should be fine to change rooms.”
“So you knew I could heal?” Santos asked.
“Of course,” Mav said. He examined them and then went to the gym's center, where they spar. Rather than leading them directly to the mock fights, he started a conversation as they approached the area. “I am doing my best to reveal information to you very slowly, so I don’t overwhelm you. But you can probably understand this.” He quieted for a moment as they stood in a circle around their unmarked sparring area.
I have explained that an energy in your body known as ardor powers your abilities. This energy is separate from what you use to move your body. Normal people don’t have ardor. Which is probably why they can’t do all the cool stuff we can,” Mav said. Will found himself nodding, which was new for him. Not long ago, he wouldn’t have thought his ability was cool.
“Your ardor is still weak,” Mav admitted. “If you started at level 1 last week, I’d say you’re all level 2 or 3 now.” Will didn't have a way to compare his strength to others, so he opted to agree with the old man. Because he could mostly sense his own ardor, he did feel that there was more of it inside of him. “That number will hopefully grow exponentially. Like muscles, abilities grow stronger with use.”
“How’s that?” Katy asked.
“Think of it like the bench press,” Mav said, pointing toward the gym. “Katy, did you ever use one of those before last week?”
“I doubt it,” she admitted with a frown.
“When you did use it, your arms weren’t the best at lifting the bar with both arms simultaneously. Not only were you exhausted, but you also struggled to maintain the balance of the weight. Since you've practiced, you can lift the bar safely. Abilities are the same. Your body isn't accustomed to utilizing these abilities. As you practice manipulating and drawing on your ardor, it will become easier to use. You will naturally become more efficient. Your ardor's reservoir will grow, too. But back to my main point.”
“You have ardor, which is what sets you apart from normal people. As your ardor grows stronger and you continue to train with one another more, you will start to be able to sense the ardor of one another and eventually see it.”
“See it?” Ryu mumbled.
“Yes. William, you were outed as an Arc prior to your graduation by Goons. Any experienced Arc can look at you and see that you are Arcs. There is a very dim aura around each of you.”
“Really?” "Really?" Santos inquired as everyone examined each other.
“Yes,” Mav said. “That aura is your ardor. Also, when we first met, I tested you all with my Killing Intent.” William remembered the power of the man’s presence. The sense of imminent death that he got while approaching the old man was clear in his mind. A fear more intense than Will felt during the Anarchist War.
“That Killing Intent is my ardor. I’ve been around long enough that I can mask it. But average people can’t see or sense ardor. Only we Arcs can.”
“What’s your point?” Samson asked.
“My point is, I am experienced enough with ardor that I can tell what your abilities are,” Maven said. “I’ve run into Aeros like you, Katy. Your ardor is similar to that of other Aeros. Healers like you, Santos, are fairly common, too. Again, most of the Arcs out there have their own special twist to their abilities. While I may not be fully aware of their specific abilities, I can understand the overall concept of what they are capable of."
With that, it suddenly clicked in Will’s mind. “You’re saying that experienced Arcs could know what your power is before you use it.”
“Exactly,” Mav said.
“What’s that matter?” Samson asked.
"This implies that if you encounter a random Arc on the street with sufficient experience, they will be aware of your abilities," Mav explained. "Where you would have to see what their power is before you knew how to counteract it,” Mav added.
“Ohh,” a few said. “Look at Light, acting all smart,” Samson noted. William had forgotten the nickname Samson had given him the night before. It was better than Nightlight, that was for sure.
Santos raised his hand. “How did we get to this track of conversation?”
“We got there because Katy wants to change rooms,” Mav said. “Which is fine now. You, Santos, were involuntarily feeling everyone’s pain with your empathy. Unbeknownst to you, you were healing all of your friends there. Your ardor moving from you to them. I could see it and waited for you to put it together. To ensure Katy's healing at night, I kept you all in the same room. Or did you all think it was normal that you could train 7 days a week for nearly 16 hours a day?”
That quieted all of them. William had thought it was his own willpower that had pushed him through. But Santos had really been the MVP, keeping them from true exhaustion.
“Santos, your power heals people. Your ardor leaks from you into them. I'm not sure if your ardor accelerates their body's healing process or if it actually heals them. Right now, it doesn't matter. I’m sure you know that your power is still weak. To heal everyone at all times, you will need to build up endurance. However, if you overdo it, you risk healing them before their bodies reach their limits. You will need to hold off on healing them until night each day. It will give you practice at controlling when you heal. Additionally, it ensures that everyone persists in enhancing their strength. Understand?”
Santos nodded slowly. William wasn’t sure exactly how that worked. If Santos was involuntarily healing them, did he emit his ardor without noticing? Was Will doing the same thing? Mav said that there was an aura around Arcs, so did that mean they were all leaking a little bit of ardor? He was about to ask the question, but Mav continued. “Good. Let’s start the real fighting. Santos now has the ability to manage your recovery. I will start taking our spars more seriously.”
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There was a long pause. “What?!” Katy was the first to yell.
“You weren’t serious before?” Samson growled.
“No,” Mav said bluntly, cutting off the others from speaking. “I gave you all very minimal bruising before. Now, it will be excellent practice for Santos,” he said cheerily. “I’ll go easy for now. More serious bruises. Then, as he gets more practice, I can start breaking bones and dislocating joints; we can practice everything.”
“Wh-why?” Katy asked, backing up. Will, too, took a step back involuntarily.
Samson said, "Because he enjoys it."
Mav struggled to wipe a smile from his face. “I don’t enjoy it that much,” he said, still unable to wipe the smile. “You have to remember that this is all training. Trust me, you want the training to be significantly more intense than real life. Together, in this environment, we can reduce the likelihood of accidents. I can break you a little bit. Then Santos can heal you. Thus, you'll get used to pain. But don’t worry about that for now. We are still weeks away from me breaking your leg and forcing you to learn how to fight without it.”
That sealed the deal for a lot of them. “I quit!” Katy yelled as she bolted. Samson and William immediately followed her.
“You run; it will only be worse!” Mav yelled, forcing Santos and Ryu to get scared as well. All five of them were running away, and Will felt Mav’s Killing Intent release. The intent was intense. Will thought for sure he would die.
—
“He’s a sadist,” Samson said, holding his chin.
“You’re not bruised anymore,” Santos said.
“How can you tell? My skin is way darker than yours,” he said.
“Because I can feel that you’re fine!” Santos said angrily.
“It still hurts,” Samson said, grumbling under his breath.
“He didn’t have to spank all of us,” Katy said. A few of them winced.
“We never speak of that again, Katy,” Samson said with all seriousness. Will didn’t think it was as awful as it sounded. At the start, if they didn’t run fast enough, Mav smacked all of their asses way harder than Will ever remembered getting smacked. Katy slowly nodded.
The group was recovering from their most recent spar. Mav had been true to his word. He did go harder on them. They engaged in a sparring session, followed by a run, which naturally evolved into another spar. Maven said that he wanted to work on their ability to fight while running. The old man smiled again as he pursued them through the corridors. Attacking them one by one. William had never run so far or fast in his life. The fear he felt from a more serious Mav was always present in his mind.
Never before did he look forward to their stretching and weight training. Fortunately, he didn't make those sessions about fighting. Will was confident that the old man would take action if he could. They engaged in a brief sparring session, concentrating on teaching moves, followed by their lunch break. That's when they received the second piece of bad news. Because Santos could now heal them, they didn’t need as long of a break.
That was their first practice time, and William was exhausted. He was itching to try out the new aspect of his power. He had tried to use it once when Mav was chasing them, but the old man restricted its use until the ability-specific training session.
Meanwhile, the others continued to grumble. He thought about his ability. Turning into light itself was an idea that he was struggling to wrap his head around. He was aware of fiber optics back in the day. Converting information into light and then shooting that light into fiber cables so it would travel near instantaneously on the other end. Was that what he was doing? Phasing his body into light?
As he slowly drew in a breath, he looked for a spot to try to phase to. Taking in deep breaths, he tried to recall how he had moved so quickly the night before. Will's ardor was calling to him, and he was about to unleash it all at once when Mav yelled, "Hold up!"
William took a step forward, as if someone had stopped him before he jumped to the new location. Breathing heavily as his heart began to settle, the old man drew all of their eyes. "We will conduct today's ability training a bit differently. Follow me.” Without another word, the old man headed to the opposite side of the gym. The doors opened outside, and Will noticed that it was raining for the first time that day.
The group slowly got up from their spots where they normally practiced their abilities. Following after the old man, they found him standing in the light rain, staring at them.
“Your biggest failure last night was your inability to use your powers where people could see,” Maven said sternly. The words weren’t accusatory; he was simply stating a fact. “You got lucky that no one was actively watching you at all times. We need to practice using your powers around normal people.”
William and the others appeared a little hesitant about this step of the training. Now that they were outside the school, Will was reminded that there were other people outside. For some reason, he felt like the school was its own little world. Hidden away from the rest of the world and its problems.
Maven, as usual, was well-aware of their issues and concerns. “Katy, you’ve been working on your flight. I think you’re close to lifting off the ground. What happens when you can actually push yourself with wind? Are you going to only use it indoors?” She frowned. “What happens if you get a call from somewhere that needs our help as soon as possible? Are you going to stick with being driven around? Or will you fly straight there?”
That was a point William hadn’t thought about, but Mav went further. “Three people were dead when you all arrived yesterday. The deceased individuals included an elderly couple and the boyfriend of the woman who went through an Arc Flash. As an Arc police unit, your primary responsibility should be to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible. Maybe if you had been faster. Maybe if you hadn’t hesitated so much to go inside, you could have saved a couple of them.”
That struck a chord with them all. Yes, they had all seen some awful things during the Anarchist War. That didn't excuse their lack of remorse for failing to save someone. William had seen enough deaths in his life. If he could really travel at the speed of light, why couldn’t he get somewhere a mere few seconds after an Arc showed up?
“Santos, your training will consist of going to the hospital,” Mav said. “You will be in touch with one of the nurses there. You'll be shadowing her. I will try to secure you a trainer for setting bones and providing other simple first aid. You are the medic for this group. Your job is to be in the thick of it, healing people as you go. You can’t let the others fight while they’re hurt. Got it?”
“Got it,” Santos said softly. His lips pressed together, and it was plain to see that he took the words to heart.
"Katy, you're going to try to fly out here. It's fine to practice indoors, but the real training takes place here in the real world. Wind, temperature fluctuations, your surroundings—all of it plays into how you control your wind. You will train here in the rain, sleet, or shine, where people can see you.”
“Ryu, I want you to change into animals,” Mav said. “William, you’ll be trying to chase after him.”
"Uhhh, what’s that now?” Ryu asked.
“William can supposedly turn himself into light,” Mav said. “He needs someone to chase after. Since you can turn into so much, I think it is best that you both train together. Ryu, you can gain valuable experience by running around the city in various animal forms. Will, you get to try to catch him. Make a game of it. See how far from the school you can get.”
William was getting a little excited. Though it was scary to think he would be using his power where people could see, he thought it would be beneficial to have Ryu there. If the one-man-petting zoo could turn into anything, it would be great practice.
“What about me?” Samson asked.
“You and I will be training together. More sparring, I’m afraid,” Mav said. Samson didn’t hide his fearful look. The others fought laughter at his misfortune. "Samson, you seem to be the leader." I’m afraid you’ve barely tapped into how much stronger you can make yourself. Don’t worry; with some one-on-one time, we can make it work. To alleviate your stage fright, we will engage in some sparring. I think there's a park near the hospital Santos is going to. So if I beat you up too bad, he can heal you.”
“Hooray,” Samson whispered sarcastically.
“Glad you agree,” Mav said. “Get to work. You have 2 hours of training. If I catch or hear of any of you slacking off, everyone will be sparring until midnight tonight.”
That got them rolling. Ryu began to disrobe in an instant. He was already changing into the form of the orange Bengal tiger. Katy moved over to the side of the building and began moving the wind around. She waved her hands, controlling the invisible force, flinging the rain in the air this way and that. Mav, Samson, and Santos made their way to the old SWAT car, leaving William to confront the tiger.
Ryu made a low bow of his head and appeared to be smiling. Then he bounded off, running away as fast as he could. William sputtered, trying to focus on his power. Watching ahead, he felt the ardor flow out to the rest of his body in an instant. As he phased ahead 50 feet, his vision shifted from a bright white to the new scenery.
He wasn’t anywhere near where he wanted to be. Ryu was already down the block by the time Will understood where he was. His scenery was changing faster than he could process it, so he shot his ardor out again. He aimed for the tiger's rear this time. William overshot by a good 100 feet and smacked his forehead against a brick wall.
Cursing to himself, he noticed the orange turn gray as Ryu changed from a tiger to a normal, everyday pigeon. His size shrinking, Will phased forward again, bringing him about 10 feet away from Ryu as he took flight.
“Damn you!” Will cursed as he ran after the small bird. It flew away from him easily, and Will looked up. Large homes all around him. Ryu landed on the peak of a home. “Crap!” Will mumbled. He hadn’t really thought of going up in the air with his skill. Hesitating for just a moment, he pulled his ever-decreasing amount of ardor and shot up to the roof of the building.