Training Hall One

With Instructor MacDonald’s announcement, the remaining students hurried through the dark entrance into the training room. Once El stepped in he immediately felt and heard a heavy rain falling around him. As his eyes adjusted he could see that he and the others had walked out the front door of a house onto a cement walkway and front lawn. A flash of lightning illuminated the rain-drenched street as the other teams began spreading out through the suburban houses.

“Holy crap. Ok, this is pretty epic,” Laura had to yell over the rumble of thunder.

Next to her Drew set down the large suitcase he had carried in and laid it open on the grass then stepped into the middle of the side closest to him. A blast of steam shot out of the case and machinery began elevating out. Brass and iron braces began clamping onto his legs, gears spinning as a larger piece was fitted onto his. Two pieces of the exoskeleton slid around his chest, locking themselves in place as cogs screwed together. Drew leaned forward, placed his hands on the other side of the case and more pieces clambered into place along his arms. As he stood up El could see there was a multi-barreled weapon slung under Drew’s left arm. Drew turned several small dials on the chest plate and a blast of steam shot out of a vent on the top of the pack, lights coming on and a sizzle of electricity running along the surface.

“Ok, Drew is tech we can see that. What else can people do?” Sharon pulled El and Laura close as she stepped near Drew, reducing the need to speak loudly over the rain and thunder.

“I heal, fast, like really really fast. Unfortunately no superhuman strength or toughness though. Just a country girl who can’t be put down.” El was amazed that Laura was smiling with a sort of mad joy. He was trying to hold down the three jelly donuts he grabbed at Tim Hortons on the cab ride over here. Honestly, he had to admit that might have more to do with pounding three jelly donuts than nerves.

Sharon herself spoke next as she pulled off the sweatshirt she had been wearing and kicked off her shoes. “I am a multiform. My alternate form, well it’s a gargoyle. Very strong, tough and can I can fly, but not too fast.”

“As you can see the exoskeleton is armed with a variable intensity laser and has a force field. Interestingly the field is not a conventional manipulation of magnetic fields but is..” Drew did not have a chance to finish as a bolt of light struck down the street, making them all jump. As they recovered the others turned to El, who had not spoken yet.

“Shapeshifter. I can turn into animals, like a wolf. I think I should be a wolf for this, I have much better vision and hearing that way, with this rain smell is gone.” El took a hint from Sharon and began shedding clothes, trying not to be too self-conscious.

“First thing I want is one of those uniforms that changes with you,” as Sharon spoke the others turned away now that she was down to her underwear. A few seconds later a large shape moved past them, water cascading down it in the rain. In her gargoyle form, Sharon appeared to be living stone, just under seven feet tall, broadly built with batlike wings held behind her.

With the group’s attention on the living statue, El took the chance to drop his shorts down and let the wolf out. The young man appeared to ripple and melt, his body flowing from human to wolf. His vision blurred then brightened, the dark night pulling back to reveal a deserted street lined with one and two-story houses on either side.

Laura kneeled down next to the large timber wolf, smiling. “Awesome, but if you hump my leg we are having words.” El shook his head, dismissing her flippant comment then turned and slowly trotted down the street.

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“Follow him, I will take the back if something tries to sneak up on us.” Sharon’s voice was how granite speaking should sound: cold, grinding, and slow.

Laura pulled her sweatshirt up around her neck, trying to keep some of the rain from running down her back which was just a worthless gesture with the amount of water pounding into her and around her. Water ran in thick rivulets down the driveways into the street. A bolt of lightning strobed the area, briefly illuminating the town. She could see what appeared to be a park outlined by a row of trees at the end of the street. After the rumble of thunder passed a scream from her left brought everyone up short, heads turned in that direction.

“Well think we just missed out?” Laura was a bit surprised the contest had ended so soon. Perhaps they should not have waited. In the darkness, El whined and shook his head. “What’s that Lassie, Timmy is down a well?”

“Well Miss, you can be glad wolves do not have a stare-of-death power, or you might be dead right now,” Drew said as he clicked a small lever on his goggles, causing a small pair of brass arms to lower a different set of lenses down. “I believe that the scenario would stop if...merde!” The last word was yelled as a form shattered the front of the house next to them and tumbled to a stop in the street.

Laura dashed to check on the prone figure as Drew and Sharon turned to defend themselves if something should follow through the hole in the house, El was nowhere to be seen. The human missile turned out to be one of their classmates a cute boy she had noticed earlier wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt. His breathing was steady and blood ran freely from myriad small cuts and scrapes, nothing life-threatening though.

“He’s alive, but he is going to be sore in the morning. He is a Maple Laughs fan though so he should be used to pain and disappointment.” Laura trotted up to her companions.

“We should go see what is in the house,” Sharon said as she slowly advanced up the lawn. She stopped when El emerged from the drive running parallel and behind the house, stopped and gave a soft bark before turning back. To the side and behind the house was a detached garage, and an open gate leading to a large backyard.

Laura saw that the sliding glass door leading into the back of the house was shattered inward. “Oh damn, Leaf went through the whole house. I have so gotta meet the guy who did that.” She did not see the disbelieving glance Drew cast in her direction. The backyard had several trees and was dominated by a large garden. In the middle of the garden was another fallen classmate. This one was a girl with blond hair whose legs were both bent in the middle of her thighs. Thankfully she had apparently passed out from the pain.

Sharon rolled her heavy stone shoulders, flexing her large hands. “They have healers on staff, she will be fine. The game is still being played.” El growled, gave a single bark and turned back to the front of the house.

“I wonder if I can create translation software for Elvis while he is a dog. I am sure we can work out of the system for corresponding tone and length of sound to code words,” Drew said.

“Later Einstein, we got us a fight out there still.” Laura had often had her parents caution her enthusiasm. When almost nothing could kill you it is hard to develop a “look before you leap” attitude. She could hear a series of crashes coming from the distance, perhaps two streets over. “Looks like someone else has found our mystery guest.” The group followed the wolf as he trotted back down the driveway and up the sidewalk. They were careful to keep close to the cover of hedges and parked cars until they reached the corner.

An explosion shook the ground under them and a fireball rose over buildings to two hundred meters to their right. A second orange fireball followed the first into the sky a few seconds later.

Drew manipulated a miniature gear on his goggles as he peered down the street. “Someone just blew up a gas station. I see a figure moving around there still. Should we investigate?”

“Yes.” Sharon strode down the sidewalk towards the fires, trying to keep to some shadows. Laura followed looking around for El then spotting him keeping low as he walked ahead of them. When they reached the intersection they crouched low behind a parked Honda Civic. The immediate vicinity was illuminated by the intensely burning gas station, the building a ruin and the pavement a large crater filled with flame.

El let out a loud bark, turning their attention to him and then up to where he was looking just in time to see a dark figure land between them.