“You gotta be kidding me,” Samson growled as they jogged through the halls. “He said we have 2 months.”

“He said 2 months before the training is done. He didn’t say anything about not making us take calls,” Katy said.

“Thanks there teacher’s pet,” Samson growled.

“You’re welcome, baldy,” she shot back.

“I’m not bald,” Samson tried to yell, but Santos cut him off.

“Enough, let’s just do this,” he said. They got to the armory together. Mav called it the Armory, but it was really a repurposed classroom. A few chests of clothes lined the walls, they moved to them. Mav had shown them the trainee clothes they would wear for now. They were normal dark navy police uniforms, but they had Trainee etched on the back in big white letters.

Katy stepped out with her uniform, opting for the privacy of a bathroom as the men disrobed. Quiet, William tried to push away his worry. A significant part of him had hoped to discover what Mav had to offer, but he wanted to quit before the start of the police work. Despite being exhausted and bruised all over, he didn't consider quitting as he buttoned up his shirt.

“I’m keeping the shirt open,” Samson said, revealing the black muscle shirt under him.

“Fine, you look like a stripper,” William said, his mind racing. It was good to focus on something else.

“Shut it, Nightlight,” Samson said. The name became Will’s nickname with the man since his power made him glow. William was getting better at it. He could sense that if he focused, people couldn't look directly at the light he emitted. There were a few ideas on how to use the skill in a fight, but he hadn’t had the opportunity yet.

“You do look like a stripper,” Santos said.

Samson looked down at himself. Growling, he began to button the shirt as they walked out the door. “Who knows, maybe it’s nothing,” Ryu said. “Maybe you’ll get a chance to dance for some single ladies.”

“Ryu, I’m not against beating up someone shorter than me,” Samson said.

William smiled as they met up with Katy and continued on their way out. They had quickly gotten to know one another as they trained. Mav played the ever-present drill instructor. They were able to form a strong bond due to their intense dislike for him.

Will felt a certain comradery with Samson and Santos. Though they hadn't talked much during the war, he admired them. Samson, the older kid, always protected his smaller half-brother; he didn’t mind adding Will to the mix as they struggled to survive.

He was also starting to like Katy and Ryu, too. They were childhood friends, but they had an easy-going nature about them. Will could honestly say that he liked them more than most of the people he went to high school with. Their own shared suffering under the old Arc a great catalyst for their situation.

They ran through the halls expertly. Having already run in and outside the place for miles, they were experts on the school layout. They arrived at the high school parking lot in no time. Maven was already in a large black block-shaped SWAT vehicle.

“In back,” the old man ordered from the window. The group shared a look but didn’t argue. Samson opened the back door, and they stepped in one by one. The back was barren. There were no guns, armor, or any other notable features; instead, the sides of the truck featured small box seats built into them. Some lockers were near the driver's seat. The group sat across from one another, and Mav sped off.

“What are we doing?” Katy yelled to the front.

“Fighting an Arc,” Mav said as if that were supposed to explain everything.

“I know that,” she said. “What kind?”

“No idea. Human variety, I assume,” he said.

“Big help,” Katy mumbled.

“Where is it?” Santos tried.

“That way,” Mav pointed. “Just shut up. When I know something actually important, I’ll probably let you know.”

“Ass,” Katy whispered.

“He can probably hear that,” Ryu said. “The guy is like a bat.”

“Oh yeah, bat, did you drink their blood?” Samson asked. He was always thinking of animals, wondering if Ryu could turn into one. Ryu had a varied palette. There had only been a few that he couldn’t turn into.

“Yep,” Ryu said with a smirk.

“I knew it, you’re a vampire,” Samson said with a laugh.

“More like a druid,” Santos said. He was struck by a thought. “Hey, Mav? You said the government blocked all entertainment with super-whatever-powers, right? Why are there Dungeons and Dragons where you can use magic?”

“No idea,” Mav said. “Pretty sure the government didn’t like people born with super powers. But in games like that, you have to learn how to use magic and powers.”

“Cool,” Samson said. "So, you're the druid." I’m the tank. You're the flatulent mage,” he said, pointing to Katy. She flipped him off. “You,” he said, looking to Will. “The lantern we use to delve into dungeons and stuff.” Will smiled big. A part of him was annoyed; he was reduced to the lamp, but glad to be included.

“And me?” Santos asked.

Samson hesitated. Ryu answered. “We are missing a healer in the group.”

“What?” Santos asked.

“A healer. You always need one…I mean, you can feel pain…maybe you can…” There was a long silence as they looked at Santos. William hadn’t really had a chance to think about it. Mav had said their abilities were greater than they assumed. They believed their abilities would develop and transform alongside them. What purpose did the ability to sense others' pain serve? It sounded like a skill a healer could use, though. Was that the answer? Did Mav know, and he just wasn’t saying anything?

He observed Santos, who seemed engrossed in his own reverie. The man appeared to be going through the same thought process. Pushing it out of his mind, Will contemplated his own power. How was glowing helpful?

That’s not right, though, is it? He asked himself. Am I glowing? Mav had talked about abilities often enough. You possess a power that you can use in remarkable ways. Like how your arm can interact with the world around you, your ability could affect the world in the same way, just differently.

Will played with it a bit. Bringing some light to his fingertips, they began to glow. He increased the power, which made him feel a little heat. Can I make lasers? He wondered. Focus this light to create intense heat? But no, that didn’t feel right. There was something about his power that he just wasn’t understanding.

It almost felt like his power had the answer. There was so much power deep inside of him. Yes, he used his ability daily until he couldn’t anymore, but a few hours later, the reservoir of that power was full again, bigger than before, able to go stronger and faster. There was a reason he had this power; he simply had to figure out how to use it.

“We’re here,” Mav said as the truck slowed to a stop. His fingertips stopped glowing, jolting Will out of his thoughts. Ryu was the first out of the truck. Will followed him back to the real world, where they looked down on his kind. Adjusting his collar, Will followed Ryu as he went around the truck to the front.

By the time they reached the front, Maven had already left, yet the scene unfolded before them. There were eight police cars scattered in the middle of the street. Traffic was blocked off as people stood at the edges of the white-tape barricade. They were already in the barricade, between two police cars. A few officers looked their way, but none seemed to care who they were.

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The old man was over by Will’s uncle Carl. The chief of police was at the scene, like he tried to be at every one. The older men were talking to one another. Mav was nodding slowly as Carl talked.

“What’s going on, you think?” Santos asked.

“Up,” Katy said in awe. Her face was fixed upwards, gazing at the apartment building in front of them. About 20 floors up, there were massive icicles sticking out of the windows like spikes on a bulldog's collar.

“Holy hell,” Samson said. The large ice shards were poking out a nearly 10 feet. "You know, Mav said the Goons suppress bad stories about Arcs, but I've never seen anything like that."

“Me either,” Will agreed.

“Watch out!” Someone yelled. One of the spikes broke off from the grouping and fell downward. Pointing straight down, it fell harmlessly on the sidewalk but then exploded, showering people 20 feet away with chunks of ice.

“Fun, fun,” Mav said as he walked over to them. “You ready?”

“No!” Katy spoke, her eyes wide, as she looked up and then down to where the ice fell. “What are we walking into?”

“There,” Mav said, pointing to the front door of the apartment building. “They don’t have much information. The ice outbreak happened on the 16th floor and hasn’t gone up or down. The police were able to evacuate everyone below that floor. Some people have already evacuated from that floor, but the entire area remains encased in ice. They heard yelling, so you’ll need to prioritize saving people. Deal with the Arc after.”

“You serious? Why aren’t you going up there?” Katy asked, unafraid to ask the question they were all thinking.

“Because it’s not in my job description,” Mav said, his face serious and placid. “Listen guys. After this training is over, you are free to do as you please, but for now, if you want to learn, you must pay. This is a downpayment. Go up there. Do what you can. If you can’t handle it, I might help. But the police have been dealing with issues like this for a while now. If they can, so can you.”

“How do you know?” Katy mumbled, her eyes looking away from the ice back down to him.

“Because you’re all special. Go up there and find out what it means to be an Arc,” Mav said. With a nod, he moved to leave but then stopped. "Oh, right. The longer you wait, the more likely those up there will freeze. And the elevator is out, so you’ll have to run all the way up. Good luck.” He patted Katy on the shoulder and got back in the SWAT car.

Katy cursed under her breath. Her eyes went to Samson. The man, the oldest of them, rubbed his shaved head and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said. Without another word, he moved past and headed toward the building. William followed after him, along with the others. Two officers opened the doors for them, and they walked inside. He doubted the other officers knew they were Arcs, but for now that didn't matter.

He understood that he needed to shift his perspective from the negative perception of being an Arc. Though they had been training for only a week, he already felt stronger. Getting into a fight didn’t scare him as much as it used to; he had changed. He needed to determine the extent of his transformation.

Once they located the stairs, Samson began to jump up them three at a time. They had run miles that day, but at that moment, Will didn’t feel it. His aches and pains were all forgotten as he focused on staying in line behind the others. Trying not to show his fear, his mind was on the run. Though he didn’t know everything he could do, Will felt his ability pulse inside of him. A white hot energy ready to be let out. If there was a dark corner in the place, he was ready to brighten it up.

By the 10th floor, they were slowing down, yet maintaining a steady pace. They made their way past a few officers who were descending the stairs. None said anything to them; they continued on. On the 14th floor, William started to feel the cold. The long-sleeve uniform was stifling in the summer heat, dark outside or not. With every step up, he was starting to feel colder.

They got to the 15th floor. After delving to the floor above, officers were using blankets to warm themselves. Will didn’t see any ice spikes sticking out of the stairs. That was a positive sign, at least.

“Have any news?” Samson asked one of the older officers in a blanket.

“Oh, y-you’re t-the special team, r-right?” The man said it through chattering teeth.

“That’s us,” Samson said. "You, uh, got any idea where it started?”

“That side,” the officer said, forcing himself to stop his teeth from clicking together. “We got most everyone from the other side, but it’s t-too cold over there. Ice is too strong.”

“Okay, we are…” Samson glanced at Will and the others. “Going to go up. Give us the blankets. We will probably need them.”

“You sure?” The man said, slowly taking the blanket off. It was a thick wool blanket.

“Yeah. We will send people down if we find them,” Samson said. The other man nodded, and the officers passed over whatever protection they could against the cold. Will took one of the blankets. It didn’t much help, though. With his hands already numb, he looked to Samson, who whispered under his breath, and began to climb the stairs.

With each step, William could almost feel the air getting colder. With his breath misting in front of him, he clung harder to the blanket. The wood stairs creaking loudly with each step, Samson suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing everyone else to pause.

“I got it,” he said, turning back. “Ryu, have you eaten a polar bear?”

There was a long silence. “Actually, no,” Ryu said. “I have had bear though.”

"Well, then, what the hell are you doing as a normal person? Get some fur going, man, it’s freezing,” Samson said, walking the rest of the way up. When they got to the 16th floor, it was about what William expected.

One side was clear. Doors still open from where people were evacuated. Large shards of ice covered the other side of the floor. There wasn’t a wall of ice, but the spikes intertwined liked teeth, preventing them from going further.

“Let’s do this,” Samson said. “Go-go-bear form.” He looked at Ryu as he spoke. Ryu rolled his eyes but nodded. Dropping the blanket, Katy grabbed it, throwing it over her head, making her appear like some Eskimo as she tried to cover up as much skin as possible. Ryu quickly disrobed fully and his skin turned black.

The process only took about 5 seconds. One second, Ryu was standing there, then his skin began to ripple as hair shot out. As his body bulked out and his face deformed into an ugly mix of man and animal, the color was black, and then there was a bear standing next to him. The bear, standing at a height of 7 feet, was staring up at him with a slight growl. Will couldn’t help but be jealous of how easily he used his ability.

“You know I was joking with all the animal jokes, right?” Samson inquired, his gaze fixed on the bear. The big beast exhaled a breath through its nose and dropped down to all fours. The tank of a beast growled, and it began to run toward the ice spikes.

“Go time,” Samson said as they followed, and the Ryu-bear was through the spikes with ease. The Ryu-bear continued to crash through the spikes, breaking everything that stood in their way. Swiping at this or that one, Samson joined in. His body increasing in size slightly, and the leader began to push and hit the ice shards.

Will and Santos joined as a warm breeze wafted in. Katy, still bundled up in the blankets, appeared to be using her wind to bring warmer air from somewhere. As he struggled against the cold, Will heard his first scream. Hearing someone’s voice behind a door, he hesitated a moment, then pushed his shoulder into the door. It didn’t budge.

“Move it, Nightlight,” Samson said. He did the same move to knock it down, only to not affect the door either. When Ryu had cleared the rest of the ice in the hall away, he made his way back, and with a swipe of his arm, the door burst inward. There were screams and yells from inside.

“Good job, Smokey,” Samson said. As Ryu started breaking into other rooms, Samson reached into the door, unlocked it, and pried it open. William and Santos hurried into the apartment, only to discover ice protruding from the walls. The ice appeared as though it had burst from the pipes, pointing in all directions. As the yelling got louder, Santos and Will began breaking them.

They discovered another door and broke it down, revealing a family of four. 2 kids and 2 adults were under blankets, and the remains of an attempt at a fire were at their feet. The small family got up slowly as Santos guided them out. Katy escorted them, maintaining her warm demeanor, and the process began.

They discovered five other people inside. The alive ones anyway. There was an older couple who succumbed to the cold. A fact that the group moved past quickly. They had all seen death during the Anarchist War; this wasn’t something new for any of them.

With only a few doors left to check, William began opening one door as Samson and Ryu worked on the other. Ryu had turned back into his normal persona. Forcing Katy to reluctantly give up his clothes.

Struggling with the doorknob, Will pulled his hand back through the hall. Growing angry, he stepped back and slammed his foot into the door. It didn’t budge. More rage welling up in him, he was ready to be finished with this. Exhausted from the training, he wanted to be in bed. He kicked again. The door moved slightly. As he grew more confident, he pulled back and slammed forward with all of his weight.

The door opened with a loud crash. Letting out a breath of relief, Will straightened his uniform and looked into the room. At its center, a woman stood there. A white, cold mist circled around her, with white icicles sticking out from her feet. Immediately, he remembered why they were there in the first place: an Arc. The woman slowly turned toward him, and an icicle shot from the ground toward him.

Time seemed to freeze for Will for a split second. His eyes focused on the spike heading toward him, and his power swelled. Like a great flood, it pushed out of him all at once, making his skin blow with an intense yellow light. The light's power became so powerful that he couldn't see; there was white everywhere, and then it all went black for him.