Binding Oaths | Arc-6 Sisyphus | [Super Powereds] (Finished)

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Binding Oaths | Arc-1 Aeneas [Super Powereds]

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"Never fear, little Shane. There is strength in you that you'll never know until you call on it. I think, one day, you'll be the most fearless of us all."
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A/N: Spoilers for Super Powereds/Corpies, and both belongs to Drew Hayes. I own nothing except my own tales.

Synopsis: This is a Fanfic based on the web-serial, now book series, Super Powereds. It follows the story of Shane DeSoto when he graduated from the HCP(Hero Certification Program) and is going through his internship in the city of Brooklyn.

Chapter 1

The metro train rumbled as it made its way toward Western Brooklyn, the graffiti ridden stone walls flashing by as it shot past at blurring speeds. Most of the people seated in the moderately comfortable plastic benches of the locomotive were either looking at their phones, talking, or trying to catch some sleep despite the constant buzz.

The only real oddity in the compartment was a middle aged man seated near one of the centermost doors. The man's appearance wasn't particularly notable, but the two binders and three notebooks floating around him in a slow orbit certainly were. Occasionally, one would stop in front of him and open, seemingly all on its own.

Apart from a few furtive glances when he initially boarded, the man was largely ignored. Despite the fact that he was obviously a Super, and one that didn't care to try and hide it either. The people on the train were apparently content to mind their own business if he minded his, which was a pleasant surprise to the young-man sitting across from him.

But Shane kept his eye on the weathered-looking man regardless. He'd been reading up on the Hero teams and Super activity in the area—something he viewed as common sense—but had promptly stopped when the man had stepped onto the train with his lose orbit of office supplies.

The guy had short dark hair, graying at the tips, and was wearing a tan business suit, the skin of his head and hands a dark beige. Shane usually wouldn't have paid such a man this much attention, but this was a rather inconvenient time for a Super like him to be nearby. After all, he couldn't have an Advanced Mind overhear that he was going to a Hero team's base.

Thankfully he'd received training for the mind along with the exercises to hone his body and powers. Learning to marshal one's' thoughts against telepathy was one of the first skills a student had to learn before graduating. So while the man's presence wasn't ideal, it didn't merit any real worry on his part. But just to be on the safe side of things he decided to take his attention off of the man and put away his phone to get his mind off hero-related topics.
Shane decided it would be best to clear his mind and perform a simple exercise for the rest of the trip—a little more training never hurt after all.
He let his posture slump and tilted his head down with his eyes half closed, ensuring that people wouldn't notice when his sclera turned pitch-black. The young man could feel his senses warp as he filled every shadow in the compartment with life and his awareness. Shane could never explain exactly how this felt to others, but it was closets in comparison to touch.

With a part of himself in the shadows, and his sense of perspective warped, Shane relaxed. He could now feel the people, possessions, furniture, and even the very walls of the compartment of the train around him. This sense wasn't exactly accurate, but it did give a sort of three-sixty field of awareness and had saved him from a sneak attack on more than one occasion.

After a few minutes of flexing his awareness and control, Shane heard the call for his station and felt the train slow to a stop. The shadows on the outside of the locomotive suddenly becoming more stable giving him a heads-up.
He turned off his power, checked his pockets to make sure he still had his possessions, before picking up his mini-duffel bag and heading out of the sliding doors. Shane trekked his way through the crowd, back up above ground, and started off at a brisk walk. He had twenty minutes left before he needed to meet his contact in the Red Hook neighborhood. The brisk Fall wind howling against his windbreaker as his boots crunched over the fallen leaves were his only company as he half-jogged toward the ominous looking structure only a few blocks away.

Like most Hero bases, the Pristine Strikers' had originally been a large abandoned factory near the edge of the town they protected. The base was a steel affair, most likely the reinforced kind, sitting at four stories tall and with windows situated evenly but sparsely on each floor.
To be honest, Shane thought it looked a little odd; like something built purely for utility. He could respect that kind of mindset.
The entrance was a steel double door with a rounded marble staircase leading up to it, but Shane wouldn't be going there.

He couldn't very well just walk into the base, even with the security they probably had, someone walking into a base and never coming back out would be a rather obvious sign to the more astute criminals. The text from his Mentor he'd gotten in the morning had very specific details about where to go and how much he could bring with him. So, after one last look towards what might be his new home, he took a left turn down towards the laundry mat that should be exactly a block away and close to closing time. The place had a surprisingly modern look to it, the neon signs up against the front already lit, and the front window had an almost sparkling sheen to it.

A small middle-aged woman beckoned him in from behind a chrome green counter, obviously having expected him. The door opens with the light jingle of a bell and she quickly hops forward and leads him by the hand into the back room.

"You're awfully early, young man. But no matter, I quite like my employees to be punctual.", she says with a surprisingly cheerful and accented voice, her short stature and chubby frame pulling him along with surprising strength. The woman opened the door and lead him into a rather bare bones looking office with grey concrete walls, and a dirty tiled floor, the other exit being an emergency-exit door towards the back.

There was a woman with skin the color of cocoa that was sitting at a cluttered desk in the center, drinking what looked like tea. "My husband can interview you hear while I handle the register, dearie.", and with that the old-woman gave Shane pat on the shoulder before heading back to the front.

Turning back towards the lady in the suit, Shane found that she had already gotten to her feet, long legs bring her to eye-level with him. With the empty mug left on top of the desk, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her suit before addressing him, "Why do you serious types always have to get here so early?" She pushed her braided hair back a little before stepping forward with an outstretched hand. "The name's Maria Zaria, I gotta say it's nice to meet the grandson of the first official Super-Hero."

He didn't bother giving his name in return, she obviously already knew about him and his family, he'd gotten used to *DVA agents knowing him by name despite never having met him personally before.
"I can't help it ma'am, four years in the HCP will do that to you.", Shane replied with a polite smile as he shook her hand before stepping back and looking around the small room. "So, is this where every intern goes to get inside the base?", he asked absentmindedly.

The tall woman gave a short snort before patting him on the shoulder , "Of course not, kid. We've got more than a few stores for several blocks around that we picked at random for each of you.", before he could have responded or backed away she took a firmer grip on his shoulder and closed her eyes in obvious concentration as the world warped around them.

"Now get ready, I'm fast, but my power doesn't exactly make for the smoothest ride."

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*DVA(Department of Variant Human Affairs)




Criticism and Discussion is encouraged.

 

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Terminology

Spoiler: Terms

Powereds

A person who possesses abilities beyond the physical capabilities of humans, but has no conscious control over activation and/or management of their abilities. Power activation can be completely random, connected to physical ticks(Ex: sneezing), or spontaneously in response to intense emotions.

Note: Abilities that cannot be de-activated make the difference between a Powered and Super blurry. A Powered who has a naturally enhanced physique power would be indistinguishable from a Super with the same power.

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Supers

A person who possesses and can control an ability beyond the physical capabilities of humans. Though seemingly straightforward, the exact definition for what constitutes beyond human abilities is always changing. An example of this are Tech-Supers, whose powers were not originally viewed as fitting the requirements to make them a class of Super.

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Hero(es)

A Super who has been trained and certified to fight Supers engaged in criminal activities. These are the only people that are deemed as insurable and as such are protected from culpability over damage caused in the course of their duties. The process to become a Hero requires acceptance into and completion of the Hero Certification Program, followed by two years working under the supervision of a current Hero.

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DVA(Department of Variant Human Affairs)

Government agency all American Heroes are evaluated by and report to.

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HCP(Hero Certification Program)

System designed to educate Supers on the duties and strategies of being a Hero while simultaneously weeding out those who cannot handle such responsibility. Currently there are six colleges in the United States that offer Hero Certification Programs.

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Sims

Simulated Super Automated Battle Droids(Sims), a tool used for training by HCP upperclassmen and Heroes.

These highly sophisticated androids come in a variety of builds, meant to emulate the powers of several basic Super categories. They can almost perfectly resemble ordinary human beings, variant humans, and have incredibly robust programming.

They are also prohibitively expensive.

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Hero Certification Programs

Spoiler

Spoiler: HCP Colleges(Official)

1. Lander University.
Location: Lander, California.
Noteworthy Alumni: The Class of Legends.

2. Korman University.
Location: New York, New York.
Noteworthy Alumni: Shutterbug, Diamond Glance, and Maestro

3. Sizemore Tech.
Location: Chicago, Illinois.
Noteworthy Alumni: Titan, Deadweight, and Upturn.

4. West Private University.
Location: Orlando, Florida.
Noteworthy Alumni: Mary Gold, Pindrop, and Sanctify.

5. Overton University
Location: Overton, Texas.
Noteworthy Alumni: Stall Pass, Valhalla, and Skull Strike.

6. Vista University
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Noteworthy Alumni: Simikiel, Gadreel, and Samshiel.

Damage Rating System

Spoiler: Damage Rating System

The Damage rating is a classification system for Supers and Powereds that ranks them based on the amount of damage one can cause within the span of an hour. The Damage Rating is often mistaken as a power rating, even by heroes, and there have been attempts by the DVA to create one which ultimately failed due to the constantly changing understanding of variant humans and their abilities.

Non-Threatening Combatant Class

The Non-Threatening Combatant Class, also abbreviated as NTC Class, covers variant humans who have the same propensity of damage as a regular human. They are often just as frail, requiring only a "tap to the head" to incapacitate one. Many healer type Variant Humans and those with low-caliber display abilities. One example of this Class is Zero (A super with an exceptional nullifier power).

Standard Class

The Standard Class covers those who are capable of inflicting significant damage and can be a danger to life but are not a threat to a large-scale area. Like the name would suggest, most Supers fall into this category. Examples of Standard Class variant humans include: Nick Campbell (A luck/probability manipulator.)

Demolition Class

The Demolition Class covers those who, if left unchecked, could level entire city blocks.
Examples of Demolition Class variant humans include: Titan, probably the most physical strong super in the setting. (Although he has no other way of dealing damage. Which is why he will likely never reach the following rankings.)

Manhattan Class

The Manhattan Class, likely referring to the Manhattan Project that oversaw the research and development of nuclear weapons, covers those who are capable of inflicting damage of similar impact and scale to a nuclear bomb.
There are currently no confirmed examples of the Manhattan Class. (Though it has been stated that several have been fought throughout history.)

Armageddon Class

The Armageddon Class is the final and highest-ranking position of the damage rating. Those under this category are capable of destruction on a global scale.
There are currently no confirmed examples of the Armageddon Class. (Though it has been stated that several have been fought throughout history.)

Purpose of The System

It informs Heroes on how to prioritize protecting civilians, minimizing property damage, and escalating force. There's no need to try to cripple or kill a Standard Class threat if subduing is an option, for example.

It's not about weak or strong either, just about immediate destructive potential. For example, a good telekinetic can knock most strongmen out of a battle by lifting them off the ground, even if the strongman would be rated higher in terms of raw power.

 

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Chapter 2

Shane tensed as he mentally steeled himself for whatever it was Maria's power was about to put him through. His mind cycled through the possibilities before the world around him warped suddenly, as if he was staring into a giant fun-house mirror. But he was pleasantly surprised to feel nothing at all as his field-of-view narrowed, along with the morphing environment. Shane had all of half a second to take this in before the world blurred by in sudden motion.

It ended as suddenly as it had started. He hadn't been able to make out anything except for a few flickering lights. Shane imagined anyone that wasn't a speedster would have had a similar experience. Aside from that though; he didn't feel any worse for ware. But could easily see how it might be a less-than-pleasant experience for someone susceptible to motion sickness.

He was about to ask the DVA agent where exactly they were, before he got a good look at his surroundings. The interior looked like the love-child between a circuit board and aluminum foil. Square indents ran along the ceiling harboring only what he could guess to be incredibly large light bulbs—the glare being too intense to make out any real detail. Shane gaped slightly before remembering himself and taking a calming breath, the air had a sterile hospital feel to it. And there didn't appear to be any windows in whatever section of the building they were in.

'Well then, this definitely confirmed my suspicions that they had a Tech Super.', Shane thought as he tried to examine traces of what looked like electricity pulsing through the walls.

"Impressive isn't it?", Maria called back; she was already heading down the hallway and toward an intersection. It was circular with four different paths, one of them leading off to what looked like an elevator. "But the team can explain the obvious Super technology later. The rest of the Interns aren't here yet; but your Mentor and two other team members are already back from patrol."

He'd caught up at that point and was following her down the second to right hallway. A smaller version of the front door awaited them at the end of it.

Without so much as a knock, Maria swung both doors wide open to reveal what looked like... a meeting room. Albeit one with weird futuristic walls and lights. The center of the room was occupied by an oval table surrounded by sturdy looking wooden chairs. What really drew the eye however was the massive screen placed front and center on the far wall.

Shane could hear the low hum of machinery coming from a doorway to the left of the room, but his focus was firmly on the three costumed individuals looking up at the screen. Which was displaying what appeared to be live footage of DVA operatives containing and setting up transport for a boy who was emitting a green gas from his skin. He couldn't have been more than twelve years old.

From the panicked look on the gaunt teen's face and there only being DVA operatives around; he was likely a Powered.

Shane had mixed feelings about Powereds; those that had inhuman abilities, but lacked the conscious control of a Super. They were dangerous, vastly more numerous than Supers, but Shane still felt pity for them all the same. As a Hero, Intern really, he would inevitably be called in to deal with Powereds that have completely lost control. So he thought his attitude of pity and sympathy would serve him well, certainly better than the blatant attitude of superiority he'd seen expressed by others; Supers and humans alike...
Shane banished his errant musings as he focused on the figures across the large hall in front of him.

The one on the left had on the classic skin-tight black fabric for Heroes that could shift. But even without the suit, his milky white eyes framed by almost bleach-white hair would have been an immediate give away to his Super status. Shane guessed that he was "Terram", one of the two known Shifters on the team.

The tall figure in the middle had on purple segmented body armor with black highlights and a lavender cape that flowed down to her calves. Shane would normally consider such a long cape to be a death wish for any Hero that wasn't a strongman. But he'd seen news clips of "The Crusader" fight and knew that cape was anything but a liability.

Last, but definitely not least, was the man to the right; "Spectrum". He was leaning against the table and bouncing an orange ball of energy between his hands. The tall Hero's costume was a minimalist white ensemble with cuffed gloves and calf-high boots, but no cape. The only exceptional part of it being the rainbow highlights which contrasted with his almost steel-grey hair.

All three of them turned toward the duo as soon as they stepped into the meeting area.

"Hey, great guardians of the city, your new Intern decided to be all dutiful and arrive a few minutes early.", she quickly ushered him halfway into the room before quickly turning back. "Try not to scare him off before the other three get here.", with a wave and slam of the double doors she was gone, presumably back outside to some other fake business front.

"So, is this the DeSoto kid?", the Hero in violet armor asked in an airy feminine voice. She floated through the air and landed near him without so much as a thud.

"Nice to meet you ma'am, you can call me Shane.", he reached his hand out and was surprised to see her glove unclasp itself and float off, revealing a calloused hand that gave a firm shake.

"And you can just call me Rikki for now, 'ma'am' makes me feel older than I already am.", she says as she pulled back and waved the others over.

"I'm Hugh, you probably know me as the guy that turns into an eight-foot tall alien.", his expression was surprisingly amiable despite his honestly disturbing looking eyes and sharp features.

"And you've already meet me, Shane.", Spectrum ended his shake with a hearty pat on the back, his considerable(although non-Super) strength almost making Shane stumble. "Now that you're on the team, you can call me "Jack" like everyone else.", he said before another sound came from the TV behind them.

They'd all finished up their introductions just in time to see the DVA operatives, currently decked out in Hazmat suits, finish clearing the rest of the gas from the area and guiding the scared kid into their signature black-and-white van. They looked plain, but those vehicles could hold almost any Super and they always had a Nullifier on-hand encase extra protection was needed.

After the action was over, the screen then switched to a detailed map of the city with police and accident reports scrolling down the side.

Shane was a little overwhelmed by the obvious wealth and resources of this team. He'd looked into them enough to know that they were one of the more well known teams in Brooklyn, but that definitely didn't account for all this. Unless he had seriously underestimated the average wealth of a modern Hero team. But he resolved to ask about that later, he was sure the other Interns would ask the same questions and he didn't want the mentors to waste time explaining the same things twice.

No, instead he would try and get some practical knowledge about what would be his new home for the next few months.

"Well, since my soon-to-be teammates won't be here for a while, any of you guys feel like taking me on a tour of the training room? It's where I'll be spending most of my time, so I might as well get familiar with it.", Shane was mostly kidding when making that proclamation. His time in the HCP had thoroughly broken him out of his habit of just burying himself in training everyday.

"Sure thing kid, but I think you should go with Rikki for now, she knows it best and should make for a good warm-up partner if time permits.", Jack gestured to the armor clad woman just as her gauntlet finished reattaching itself.

With no apparent effort, the lavender Hero suddenly floated a few feet into the air again and pointed to the door on her left. The door then swung open, supposedly, via the same force that moved her her gauntlet. "What do say, Shane? You feel like having a little sparring session before the rest get here?"

The eager smile that split the young man's usually reserved face surprised everyone but Shane himself.

 

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Chapter 3

There was always a certain rhythm or flow to a fight, and anyone could see it. As a spectator it was easier but with enough training and experience you could see it even while you were the one fighting. If trained properly, a person could remove any discernible pattern from their own fighting style, make it variable and adaptable to an opponents.

This was something Shane's grandfather had mercilessly drilled into both him and his sister--training them almost since childhood. Other children may have resented him for it; but no one could argue with the results.

None of that helped however. While Shane was fighting Rikki in the training room--he could already tell he was going to get his ass kicked.

To an untrained observer it might have looked like they were evenly matched. With Rikki gradually wearing him down with superior tactics and experience. Shane even believed it a little himself during the start of the fight.

The way she able to dive down towards him and then pivot smoothly kept him on his toes and from grabbing her with her own shadow. Landing the occasional glancing blow when Shane wasn't quick enough. And small weights around the room would rise up and soar toward whenever he backed up too far. But Shane either dodged or used his own shadow as a shield for those.

When Rikki lifted an arm towards Shane, he felt his own shirt contract around his chest before being violently flung back. Her power and how much she'd been holding back had become clear after that.

She was an Animator.

If it was just standard TK then Shane would've just felt an invisible force push him back or wrap around him. Not his clothes suddenly contracting and dragging him around.

Animators were a little uncommon among Supers, they could control inanimate objects by infusing them with their energy and then giving them commands. It allowed for more fined tuned control than what most telekinetics could ever have. The really powerful ones could even use their objects as an extension of their own body.

Shane rolled with the motion and quickly got back to his feet. He didn't know her range but it was probably larger than the room.

So instead of trying to make some distance, he decided to set her up.

Four shadows leapt from under the training equipment near the edge of the room. Rikki easily weaved around them with her usual grace. But the few seconds she spent dodging was more than enough time for Shane to spring his trap.

He wasn't out to actually hurt Rikki, just pin or trap her. So when every shadow in the room came to life and rushed her, they were slowed ever so slightly after being thickened into tendrils.

Unfortunately for Shane, even one second was enough for a Hero like Rikki.

He felt his shirt constrict again right before being yanked up and forward--on a collision course straight for Rikki herself. The sudden movement almost breaking his concentration on the shadows in the room.

Just as his shadows were about to catch her, Shane was stopped not even two feet from Rikki as her cape flashed forward.

Shane was floating a couple of meters off the ground, only a few inches from in front of the armored hero. Her cape had him around the bottom of his head and neck, not choking him but squeezing enough to get the point across.

He might have kept going with his shadows; but Shane considered using such a deadly power blind far too dangerous for a training session.

"Death blow.", she said after letting her cape unfurl, her tone surprisingly light and breathing even. Granted, neither was he--one of the many advantages of having purely mental based powers. "Now come on, I think the others will probably be back in a few."

"Agreed.", with that Shane let his shadows shrink back into their origins. The relief visible on his face as the inky blackness in his eyes receded. It wasn't much, but pulling together and maintaining so many shadows at once still took a toll.

After being lowered back towards the ground, and letting him straighten out and tuck back in his clothes, they exited the sparring square. Heading out of the gymnasium and down the hall.

"So.. an Animator huh?", Shane questioned as they made their way back towards the meeting, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the chance to see what you can do, but why not just choke me out with my own shirt?"

"Hmmm.", Rikki placed her hand on the chin of her helmet in mock-thought.

"Probably the same reason you stuck with trying to grab me instead of just sending a torrent of blades my way.", her accent had a weird mix of Brooklyn and something else Shane couldn't quite place. "It was just a little sparring anyway, and we both still needed to be at least semi-presentable for the meeting."

"Meeting seems like a strong word, aren't we just going to do standard introductions before showing off what we can do?", Shane asked.

"Close, but no cigar, Shadow Man.", Rikki admonished as they turned another corner.

"Okay, first of all; my hero name is not, nor will it ever be, 'Shadow Man'.", Shane tried to argue before what he saw in the meeting room made him stop short.

Rikki's retort of something about, "The Silver-Age appeal of classic names.", fell on deaf ears as Shane focused on the three strangers now entering from the south door with Maria in tow.

The most eye catching of the trio was the unusually tall girl in quasi-army fatigues who was floating across the ground. Her arms folded and straw-brown hair tied into a ponytail.

In the middle was a rather stout guy with what looked like golden, not just blonde, actually golden hair that reached his shoulders. His bulky frame still visible despite his leather jacket.

The one trailing behind with Maria was the most average looking of the three by far. She had jet-black hair that was barely long enough to neatly frame her face.

The lean figure she had trained in the HCP not as striking as the young man in front of her, but still noticeable through her rather plain long-sleeve shirt and jeans.

"Alright, now that we're all here, things can finally get started!", Jack exclaimed with a clap and a little spark of yellow energy.

 

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Chapter 4

Spectrum, or Jack apparently, introduced Shane to the other Interns as soon as he saw him and Rikki get back from their tour of the gym.

"Shane, Rikki, I'd like you to meet the rest of the new recruits.", Jack swung an arm toward the tall flying woman, who Shane could now see was surrounded by warped air, not unlike a heatwave.

"This here is Gadreel, her Mentor is already on the way, so we won't have to wait much longer", she floated to the ground as the aura of distorted air around her faded away, her combat boots squeaking slightly against the floor.

"Hey, the name's Vanessa.", she greeted in an accent most of the people in the room couldn't quite place, and stepped aside to let the stocky young-man walk past before leaning against the wall.

The leather jacket wearing fellow walked forward with a confident stride before speaking. "You guys can call me Samshiel, and my civiy name is Greg", he said in a light southern accent, before four balls of what looked like mini-eclipses appeared around him in an orbit. "I'll be your resident ranged-combat Hero.", he finished with a practiced smile.

The last of the trio stepped forward in an almost regal manner, her posture straight and immediately made eye contact with Jack, Hugh, Rikki, and Shane in quick succession. "And you can call me Simikiel, my real name being Amy.", she reached out and gave the team's leader a firm handshake. "By now I'm sure you've noticed the theme between all of us--We're named after angels from certain mythologies. They obviously don't perfectly reflect what our abilities are, but we picked what we thought would fit us best.", she finished with a genuine smile.

Shane was impressed by the obvious leader of the trio, but he also noticed that she was the only one who had not given any indication of what her power was, "My name is Shane DeSoto and you can call me Styx while we're in the field. Sorry if the mythology I picked doesn't mesh well with yours". He decided not to try and press the issue, he could respect playing things close to the chest. "And I suppose I'll be the newest scorched-earth Super on the team.", there was, however, some merit to selling yourself a little.

All three pairs of eyes widen a touch at that, but before any of them could question him the main door slid open again. What came through was a cloud of gleaming black shards; It flowed through the air before stopping in the center of the room. Now that it was closer Shane could see that it was less a cloud and more like a swirling mass of connected shards that "pulsed" rhythmically. After a few seconds the cloud slowed and settled into the shape of a featureless humanoid form. But the numerous interconnected shards that made up its body still writhed and shifted, making it seem less solid than it actually was.

This was the fourth and final member of the Pristine Strikers, "Obsidian Wraith", their most senior member and resident Strong-woman.

The shards stilled suddenly, compressed, and lost their texture. A rather tall woman was left standing in its place, with dusky skin and short braided-black hair. She had a grey featureless mask in her right hand and wore the black bodysuit of a shifting Super. She immediately started toward the gathering of Heroes and Interns with a wave and apologetic smile. "Sorry for being late everyone, needed to take care of some thugs on my control.", she said with an obviously Brooklyn accent.

"It's fine Elizabeth, they all just got here a minute ago, and we've already taken care of introductions.", Jack turned on his heel towards the door that lead to the gym, "Now that we're all here we can get to the demonstration part of the Intern admission process. Enjoy it while you can kids; It's going to be the most exciting part of your day."

They all turned and followed the senior Hero through the door, down the oddly technical hallway, into the expansive space of the Pristine Stricker's gym. It's smooth concrete floor, dozens of sets of weights of varying sizes, and myriad of other work out equipment making it an impressive sight indeed. Although a more observant person would notice the almost hairline-cuts along the edges of the floor from Shane's sparring with Rikki.

After they had all entered, Jack pulled out a small remote from one of the pockets in his costume. It had a sleek black case topped with a series of buttons in different shapes. He pointed it toward the far wall and pressed a square button. To the Intern's surprise, a section of the wall extended outward and formed a stand of metal bleachers, big enough to house at least a dozen people.

"I'm going to be starting things off the same way it was done for me when I interned here. Vanessa will go first since her power is the hardest to explain out of the three of you.", he put the small remote back into his pocket before settling down onto the middle of the bleachers. All of the other Heroes following suit, apparently already aware of what he had planned for them. "Next will be Amy, then Greg, and finally Shane.", after that he motions towards Vanessa. "Go ahead and get changed into your costume, the changing rooms are on the far wall.", he finished with a wave towards a small door across from the bleachers.

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but Vanessa beat her to it. "I would, Jack, but the costume company the DVA employs had an 'accident' with mine. They say I won't be getting a proper one for the next few days.", she explained, her lips turned down in a tight frown.

Jack let out a short sigh before replying, with Elizabeth looking similarly put-out from the news, "Well, you wouldn't be the first Hero who's had to go out and fight crime in regular clothes." He points at the nondescript grey mask currently on Elizabeth's lap, "Luckily for you, we have several standard issue masks that can at least keep your identity a secret."

He might've said more, but it was then that Shane decided to step in, he wanted to get to know these people, and it was always good to start things off with an act of good-will in his, admittedly limited, experience. "Actually, I have a spare costume she can use.", he lifted up his duffel bag and shook it for emphasis, "It obviously doesn't have any specific designs, but it's definitely better than running around in jeans and a shirt."

Everyone looked a little surprised at the sudden declaration, the two exceptions being Jack and Amy, but Vanessa ended up being the one who broke the small silence, "Well that's nice and all, but I doubt your clothes exactly fit me.".

Shane shook his head in the negative, "The main pieces have either straps or zippers for adjustment and has the stretchy material of a shifter's suit; it was made to be form-fitting and adjust to most above average and fit body types." The suit was a gift given to Shane upon graduation--one of the many perks of having the DVA Head as your Grandfather.

Vanessa turned her head towards Elizabeth with a questioning look, but her Mentor simply gave an approving nod and gestured toward the changing room, "Don't look a gifted horse in the mouth. Go on and get dressed, can't keep talking all day now."

Five minutes later; Vanessa strode out of the changing room and into the sparring circle in her new hand-me-down Hero costume.

The suit had a rather dull white and grey color scheme, with sections of thin and flexible body armor covering vital areas. The mask was a standard full-face model, sufficiently hiding her identity. The cuffed forearm length gloves and boots that reached halfway up to her shins were the only thing indicating it was meant to be a Hero suit.

"Alrighty then, show and tell us what you've got Venessa." Jack said, as his, and everyone else's, full attention was now on her.

Nodding her understanding, Vanessa braced herself as the air around her became hazy. Not wasting anymore time, she leapt clear across the room, landing directly in front of the bleachers.

"My ability is Energy Empowerment.", she did a small jump and hovered several feet off of the ground with seemingly no effort. "The energy I use is generated from within and I can use it to give myself the speed and reflexes of your average speedster." Suddenly she shot forward, moving at impressive speed, before suddenly changing course straight up and doing lap of the entire room in one second flat. "But I'm most known for the strength and durability I get.", she let herself drop all the way to the floor with a thud, not even bothering to bend her legs on impact. She picked up two of the two-ton super dense weights and twirled them around in both hands before placing them back on their racks. "And then obviously there is the flight, I don't know exactly how my energy lets me fly, but I do know it's my most draining ability. Any questions you need answered?"

"How long can you maintain this state before needing to recharge? And how long does the recharge take?", Jack fired off immediately in his crisp, almost raspy, tone of voice.

"For eleven hours-straight If I dial it up all the way and effectively unlimited if I keep the intensity low. But that's while standing still. If I'm fighting at full strength and using all of my abilities in rapid succession then I can last for a little over 6 hours before I need to rest.", she didn't even hesitate before replying, as if she'd known this question was coming. Or she'd had experience answering similar questions in the past. Shane was impressed by the answer itself; several hours with that level of power was more than enough for most any Super fight.

"As for the full recharge time; one hour if I keep the intensity of the enhancement low. Twenty five minutes if I shut off my power completely and 10 if I'm asleep.", This was obviously the part of her ability she didn't like to share or let others know considering the noticeable lack of confidence in her voice.

"That's fine; two more questions. How much and what kind of damage can you take?", he asked, almost imperceptibly leaning forward out of interest. This was the most important aspect of a strong-man's power that a leader needed to know. Her role would be to go in and tank the hits others couldn't and it would be imperative to know exactly how much she could take and for how long.

"I'm… resistant to most conventional forms of damage. Physical force, fire, cold, electricity, etcetera. You know, 'the works'.", she hesitated a little at first, Shane didn't know if was because she hadn't been prepared or was about to say the word "Invincible". An infamous taboo in the Hero world. "When I'm at my strongest most tank rounds send me flying, but cause very little damage, and it drains my reserves in tens of minutes. I haven't had the opportunity to test against anything of higher power. But my biggest weakness is that I have no defense against mental attacks. Gases and poisons can still be dangerous to me in high enough quantities, my defense isn't as effective against things that don't cause immediate physical damage."

"Okay then, last one. You mentioned that you can change the intensity of your enhancement; go ahead and tell us the range of power you've got.", Jack had visibly relaxed during her answer on defense, satisfied that she measured up to his expectations of a strong-man on his team. Not that he had been too worried, he trusted Elizabeth's judgment after all.

"I'd be happy to!", Vanessa blurted out in a gleeful tone, before visibly composing herself and marshalled her words. "At my lowest level, I can shrug off bullets, lift half a ton, and move at 60 mph.", she still had more than a little hint of pride in her voice however, "If I go full boar; I can withstand tank rounds, strength limit is five tons, and my speed shoots up to around 400 mph."

Jack's face split into a happy grin before he responded, "Okay, if what you've just told me is all on the up-and-up, then you'll make a great new member of the team. And I don't exaggerate when I say you could rival your mentor in a few years if your power continues to improve."

Vanessa felt her spirits lift a little at the praise; It wasn't everyday that the leader of a professional and renowned Hero team commended you.

"Alright, now it's your turn Amy. I heard from Rikki that you're no slouch yourself, why don't you get down there and show us how you measure up."

 

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Chapter 5

Shane briefly considered hiding his feelings, but quickly found that he had no logical reason to; it was a surprisingly pleasant realization. The years he had spent keeping himself reserved and hiding the exact mechanics of his powers while growing up, except with his Grandfather of course, and the competitive nature of the HCP program had taken its toll. So, to finally be able to put complete trust in others without having to worry about competition too much was a welcome change.

With that brief rationalization; Shane let a wide smile stretch across his face and started clapping at the genuinely impressive display. After a moment of hesitation, Amy, Greg, and the Hero's joined in on the congratulatory gesture. Vanessa visibly stiffened in the face of the sudden enthusiasm but recovered quickly. With a quick bow she floated towards the changing room and entered, with Amy following close behind.

The two young interns returned not even a minute later, Vanessa back in her regular clothes and Amy in her costume. Her suit was a maroon-red with silver outlines and stylized blood-red sword on her chest, the small black cape that barely covered her back completing the image. The large grey baton fixed to her waist did seem a bit out of place though; It was situated in such a way that it wouldn't impede movement.

"I'll try to make this quick, my power can be easy to over complicate If I don't take things one at a time. First off; I'm a shifter.", she said as soon as she stopped in the middle of the ring. "But unlike most, my proportions don't change at all. So, my costume doesn't need to be made out of the same special materials that Hugh's and Elizabeth's are.", and with that said, she shifted.

Amy suddenly became a blank slate, her facial features blurring into one smooth texture, all of her visible skin turning into an unnaturally white porcelain.

And then she started to glow.

Even from up on the bleachers everyone could see the soft light and little arcs of electricity that seemed to come directly from her body, going through her costume without any apparent effect. *None asked her why she bothered with a mask if her shifted form had no face—all knew that being knocked unconscious or having one's power nullified were very real threats in the field.

All told, it was quite the impressive display and only took around six seconds. "Let's start from the top then. My main power is super-speed", Jack nodded in acknowledgement just as Amy promptly disappeared in a blur of motion. It was immediately evident that she had more raw speed than Vanessa. Most notably, she moved in an actual blur due to how fast she was running along the ground, walls, and even dashing across the ceiling for a few brief moments.

Jack knew from experience that, contrary to popular belief and depictions in movies, it was nigh impossible for any speedster to move faster than the naked-eye could see. Though the same could not be said for moving faster than any human's normal reaction time.

'Although', Jack thought, 'If she can get faster from training, or it just happens overtime, then she'll get pretty damn close.'

Amy finally stopped after bouncing from each corner of the room. Halting once again in the middle of the room… while floating a good five feet in the air.

"You can fly too? Is this going to be a theme with your group?", Jack asked with more than a bit of curiosity. "I won't bother asking exactly how much speed you have since you're clearly faster than anyone else on the team. Which means you'll be filling the role of a Speedster while out in the field."

"No no,", Amy chuckled, "We only have the speed and flight in common, that's where the similarities end between us." She turned her now featureless face toward Shane, "Can't speak for Shane though."

"Fair enough. Two fliers with additional abilities is still a good haul. But do you have anything else aside from just mobility?", Jack asked.

"Yep.", she said simply before her smooth face lit up with two orange spots where eyes should have been. Amy startles slightly at first, looking around distractedly before collecting herself. "Sorry about that. So basically; I can 'see' energy.", she explained. "This place was just a little distracting for me because of all the electricity running through it.". She flies a couple more feet in the air before stopping and looking over all the others sitting in the bleachers, "I can only see heat sources, strong enough electrical currents, and unnatural or Super-made energies; such as constructs, summons, energy blasts. The best way I can describe it is that it works similar to infrared vision."

"Alright, that one is pretty self-explanatory at least.", Jack says before leaning back. "Okay, last question; Anything particularly special about that baton of yours?".

With a flick of her wrist Amy unclasped the long and thick looking baton from her waist, twirling it through the air with little effort. "Nothing much to say here actually. It's made of denser material than regular stun batons, has a higher voltage, annnd...", she stretched the last word before pressing a barely noticeable button on the non-pronged end and a two-foot long blade slid out from the tip in a flash of gleaming metal. "And yes, before you ask, the blade can be electrified as well. Although it's more dangerous for obvious reasons."

Jack simply nodded in response, not having any questions about the slightly modified weapon. It looked like Hero-grade gear and complimented her skills nicely; Though it would still require some testing before she was let out into the field with it. "I can see why your interning under Crusader, you'll be excellent at suppressing groups of Supers just like she is. Especially after we train you to fight injunction with her.", He gestured for her to go back toward the changing room and turned his head to Greg. "I think it's about time Hugh's Intern put on a showing for us; and it better be good with how often he's been bragging about you these past few months."

Hugh only chuckles in response and gives Greg a pat on the back as he heads down to the center of the training facility.

Greg made his way down the bleachers and across the room with the same swagger to his step, eager grin plastered across his face all the way. He couldn't physically change shape and wouldn't be doing any superhuman feats of strength or speed, so he wouldn't need to squeeze into his costume for this. No, Gregory Austin was planning to dazzle these old-farts in nothing but his old hand-me-downs.

 

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Chapter 6

Greg didn't waste anytime. As soon as he'd turned to face his audience he flipped the mental switch that would activate his power. Five of what look like mini solar-eclipses faded into existence around him. Unlike in the meeting room, however, these were significantly larger, about the size of baseballs.

"This is my power, the Feds called it 'Energy Construct Manipulation'. Which basically means that the energy I'm using is unnatural and comes in solid form.", Greg said nonchalantly as he waved his hand, making the orbs around him expand outwards a few meters.

This intrigued every one of the team who hadn't seen his power before, not least of all Shane. Supers that can create energy constructs that emit light brought up.... interesting childhood memories for him.

Shane took especial interest in the motion more than the power however; It could mean that Greg's power worked similar to his. Although he could manipulate shadows through mental effort alone, hand gestures helped greatly for bigger displays of power. Displays like the killing technique he'd demonstrated during Intramurals. But if Greg needed one just to move his orbs then it could be a weakness in the field.

"Alright, it's certainly eye-catching, but what can you do with them?", Jack promoted.

Greg lifted one finger in response, "I can whip them around about as fast as an average sniper bullet. I say 'average' because It can be faster or slower based on my concentration." And just like that he has them whirling around him in a rotating blur. "And my control over them is nothing to sneeze at either.", the orbs stopped their irregular orbit and went through a series of complex patterns and shapes. From a simple pentagram to an infinity sign, "They can be all physical force, so hot it gives plasma a run for its money, or a mix of both. If you want to get a sense of how much damage I can do I'll need some targets." He finished and then made a show of scanning the room for anything he could destroy without consequence.

"No, that won't be necessary, we can get a feel for what kind of damage you can do tomorrow. But thank you for asking at least. It's more than I did when I first got here.", Jack replied quickly upon recognizing the look in the young man's eyes. "Now; is damage all you can do or do you have any other abilities we should know about?"

"As a matter of fact, there is.", Greg's eyes narrowed in concentration and four orbs split off from the rest and positioned themselves in the shape of a square. Not even a second later all four flared briefly before a translucent golden barrier popped into existence in that shape. "I found out I could do this while I was taking Focus in my second year.", the shield orbited and spun around him at impressive speed, but not as fast as the orbs could move on their own. "It can block just about as much force and heat as I can dish out, which is a damn lot.".

Hugh breathed a mental sigh of relief that the kid hadn't called it, "Damn near invincible", like when they had first met.

"Alrighty then, just a few utility questions before we move on to Shane. If you've got as much crowd-control potential as I've been told then you'll be invaluable when dealing with riots.", Jack said.

"What would ya like to know?", Greg prompted.

"How many orbs and shields can you summon and adequately control at once, how long can you maintain your constructs, and are you immune to or have any auxiliary abilities because of your powers?", Jack rattled off the list of questions quickly and with a practiced tone.

"I can keep good control of twenty orbs If I push it, and can do six good shields with them all. They stay around indefinitely until I dismiss them or they're destroyed. And, sorry to say, but I've got no other special abilities like the two shifters over there.", he waved his hand with mock disdain toward the two young ladies. "The orbs can't hurt me though; they become basically inert if they come into skin contact with me."

"Not half bad. We'll have the shooting range up and ready for you by tomorrow morning. Trust me, the bots will make the wait well worth it.", Jack turned his attention toward Shane. "Get on down their kid, we need to wrap this up soon."

Shane and Greg passed each other as they switched places, the former eyeing the black-haired young man with interest.

"You were right in saying that my power would be the least complicated of the bunch.", Shane stood, back straight and posture relaxed, as he talked to them. "And unlike Greg's power it's only really good for pure offense.", the sclera of his eyes turned pitch black and every shadow in the room rose from their surfaces and surged toward him with terrifying speed, even those of the people sitting down on the bleachers. Everyone, save for Spectrum, jumped slightly from the sudden movement coming from every direction.

The shadows stopped a mere few feet away from him, spinning around in a blurry whirlwind before settling into a veritable veritable sea of blades, twisting shadows, and dark tendrils.

"It's shadow manipulation by the way.", Shane smiled as he saw their slightly stunned expressions. He knew the display made him look like his sister, but sometimes it really did pay to show-off a little.

 

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Chapter 7

Greg, Amy, and Vanessa reflected silently on Shane's display as they settled down to watch all four of their Mentors. After his initial show of power they hadn't expected such a versatile, yet brief, showing from him.

~~~

Shane de-solidified and let all the shadows flow back to their origins, but his eyes still retained their inky hue. "I'll just run you through all the relevant aspects of my power first.", suddenly his own shadow lifted from the ground and made a few quick slicing motions through the air.

"All of my shadow constructs start off bladed; I haven't been able to change that no matter how much I concentrate or train. But once they become solid I can manipulate them into more versatile forms.", the blade suddenly stretched and thickened into a tendril. The tip then broadened into a hammer and slammed into the concrete floor, causing cracks to spider-web in every direction. Another shift, and the shadow was a large clawed hand, albeit a flat one, and scooped out two chunks of concrete—tossing them up and juggling them. "My influence isn't dependent on sight and the range has been increasing ever since I first developed my power. From my little demo at the start, you already know I don't have any trouble with multi-tasking."

"Can you take on aspects of shadows or turn into one? And I have to assume that you have some auxiliary abilities considering those eyes of yours.", it was obvious from his tone that Jack was asking for the benefit of everyone else rather than himself.

"Sorry but no, I'm more of a mid-tier energy or material manipulator; if you can even call solid-shadows a type of material or energy. I can remotely control and shape them, but that's about it.", Shane admits with a shrug, his shadow stretching into the exaggerated shape of a man and mimicking him. "Honestly, the most impressive aspects of my power is its precision, range, and damage output." He pointed his finger toward the east wall and a hairline thick length of shadow shot towards the wall but stopped just a few inches short before curling back to him in a corkscrewing motion. "I'm precise enough that I can paralyze someone by severing their lower spinal cord and my shadows can cut through most any natural material, even mid-level strongmen. And when appropriate...", A shadow from a nearby weight bench flashed forward and suspended itself in front of Shane, he hopped on and let it carry him around the room. "I can use them to give myself a little extra mobility."

"And your creepy abyss eyes?", Jack was genuinely impressed by his Intern's showing, but still couldn't resist just a little ribbing.

"I can use them to see through darkness but it's not traditional night vision, everything just looks grayed-out.",Shane ignored Jack's comment about his eyes and decided it was time to wrap up his presentation. "And I can 'sense' shadows before and after I make them solid—using them to feel around my environment. It's admittedly not very precise, but invaluable when sneaking around without knowing where an enemy is."

~~~

And that had been the end of it. He'd shown off a few attacks and a made a small vortex that could act as a shield, but nothing too lengthy. Jack had told all of them to stay on the bleachers soon afterwards. Instructing them to tell each other about their respective Mentor's abilities.

They squared off in four different corners, making an uneven square, and readied their powers. Hugh's shift was just as eye-catching as Elizabeth blurring into a flowing violet statue, mainly because he grew to the size of a small giant. His features blurred, skin turning an ashen grey and stretching over his increasingly bony and large form. It took all of three seconds before it was done and he was a little under one story tall with two giant reflective and ovoid eyes with no mouth. The skin was taut and unerringly smooth, hands disproportionately large.

The other two's preparations were decidedly more discrete. Rikki simply floated a foot off the ground and had a few chunks of concrete levitate around her. Jack clenched his fists, a translucent rainbow aura emanating from his entire body briefly before twin spheres of orange energy appeared around his hands.

Elizabeth moved first—bounding across the area and aiming a tackle at Rikki, but the animator deftly darted to the side before grabbing her teammate by the ankle and tossing her toward the charging Hugh. "Obsidian-Wrath primarily serves the role of a Flying-Strongman, all of her physical abilities are at least on par with mine.", Vanessa commented as Elizabeth reoriented herself mid-flight and slammed into the towering figure of Hugh head-on, pushing him back despite their vast difference in size. "And she can shoot out some of the shards that make up her body, using them as a ranged attack. But can't really manipulate them beyond that."

Twin thin beams of sparkling white energy blasted from Hugh's alien eyes and slammed into Elizabeth. She'd brought both arms up to block the energy and braced herself but was still gradually pushed back from the apparent force. "Aside from the basic strength and toughness from his shifted form, Terram basically has 'eye powers'", Greg said just as Hugh cut his attack off and leapt into the air, avoiding a blast of orange energy from Jack. The other ball of orange energy careening towards, but avoided by, Rikki. "He can do that eye-beam thing, his trademark Baleful Gaze, and heal most injuries with a glance.", Instead of falling, Hugh's costume tightened around him and he remained suspended in the air before slamming back down into the ground with surprising force. Rikki was stopped, however, as she avoided two more blasts from Jack while Elizabeth simply knocked away the one aimed at her.

"The Crusader is an animator, not a telekinetic like most people think. She has really exceptional control and range, and can animate any object within said range. This obviously includes other people's clothes and her own armor", Amy didn't get to finished before Jack blasted himself into the air with twin burst of orange energy from his feet, firing off another shot at Rikki before spinning in mid-air to shoot two at Elizabeth and landing in a crouch. Both volleys were dodged and blocked respectively.

"It makes her astonishingly effective at crowd control and let's her do some obviously otherwise impossible physical feats, not to mention the completely 360 degrees flight." Hugh's eyes took on an inky-black hue as he gazed at Jack and Elizabeth, there was no other flashy affect, but both Heroes were suddenly brought to their knees, gasping for breath. The only one spared being the airborne Rikki who slammed directly into the back of Hugh's head from above. His gaze turned back to its normal reflective sheen as he recovered from the hit, but not fast enough.

Jack blasted two more volleys at both Hugh and Elizabeth, but these appeared over the palms of his hands and looked more volatile, pulsing before their explosive impact. The concussive force knocked them both clear across the room. Barely taking the time to confirm his shots had hit, he blasted himself in the air again, angling himself towards Rikki. The armored Hero quickly moved out of his path, but Jack wasn't aiming for a clear shot. Instead the rainbow aura around him became a crackling yellow before exploding outward in every direction. Rikki convulsed in the air as she was caught in the blast, rapidly losing altitude before Jack changed his trajectory with a small orange blast and intercepted her. Both landing safely after a relatively subdued burst of orange from Jack's feet.

"And that's Spectrum's specialty; finding an opponent's weakness is only a matter of time with how much of a versatile Blaster he is. He can make them detonate early to give himself a boost, emit from his whole body for an area blast, and use his hands to line up precision shots.", Shane said as Jack and the rest of the Heroes dusted themselves off and started to un-shift or deactivate their powers."Unfortunately, due to the nature of his powers, what he can do is fairly public knowledge: Fire, Kinetic, Electricity, Ice, Rot, Erosion, and the last is just plain old Light."

"Alright kiddies, the fun part is over. It's time for you to meet Steve.", Jack called to them. He had scarcely finished his sentence before the gym entrance swung open to reveal a fairly unremarkable man.

He pointlessly tried to flatten the wrinkles of his flannel shirt and khakis as he made his way toward the Interns, dress shoes occasionally squeaking against the mostly smooth floor.

"Hello there. You can call me Steve, and I'll be acting as your tour guide for this fine establishment."

 

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Chapter 8

The Interns shared a feeling of awe as they were led through the sleek hallways of their soon-to-be new home and base. Steve leading them through the various rooms and facilities they currently had access to.

They were already familiar with the meeting area; the kitchen, bathrooms, and bed quarters looked pretty standard, if a bit posh. What actually caught their attention, however, were the rooms more directly related to their duties as Heroes.

The armory, server room, garage,extra training and personal-meeting rooms were fit out with futuristic looking computers, hidden compartments, and could all be adjusted in some way. Steve used a small remote with him to activate certain adjustments, similar to the one Jack used in the gym.

Eventually Shane and Amy decided to speak up.

"Hey, Steve. I've seen a few Hero bases when I was younger, but this one seems weirdly high tech. Any reason why?", Shane asked as soon as Steve finished showing them the emergency exits. Shane's grandfather had never taken him to many active bases, too many security risks and danger. But recently vacated ones had been fair game, although some cajoling with the Heroes who had owned it was always needed.

"Same here. This all kind of looks like something a tech Super would make, but I've never seen their technology on such a large scale outside of the HCP.", Amy followed up as they made their way towards their own personal lounge.

"Ah, yes, about that.", Steve suddenly turned to face all of them and visibly drew himself up. "You can all probably tell by now that I'm not a Hero, but I am a Super, a Tech-Super that that has always been fascinated by infrastructure to be specific. Of course, I wasn't the only one who helped upgrade this place.", Steve walked over and sat down in one of the armchairs. "A little over a decade ago this team saved me and a group of other Tech-Supers from a domestic-terrorist group headed by a villain named Polaris.", he explained with a far-away look in his eyes. "We were a group of five working with a small and private construction company. To make a long story short: Polaris took exception to our rather ambitious business aspirations and the Pristine Strikers saved us, me and my colleagues feel like we owed them. So, we decided to make the team our first customers.", he finished with a wistful smile.

"Wait, if you're not a Hero or with the DVA, then isn't it a problem that you can see our faces?", Greg asked.

Steve let out a nasally chuckle, "Don't worry, I'm under so many contracts on privacy and disclosure that I'm in danger by just thinking about blowing the whistle on any of you." He stands up, wincing a bit from the pain in his right knee, "Anyway, that about wraps up your tour of the base; It's about time you met up with your DVA agent again."

At that moment a shard of shimmering and misty light appeared on the floor right outside the lounge and Maria blurred into existence not a second later.

"Hey kids, who wants to have their first official DVA meeting?", she announced in a sickly-sweet voice.

It didn't take long after that for Steve to take his leave, citing that he didn't have the clearance to hear any of what Maria would be discussing with them. Maria herded them toward one of the three official meeting rooms in the base, the door sliding shut behind them.

They all sat around the oval shaped table with visible excitement; the opportunity to learn more about their new lives as Heroes appealing to all of them.

"Now then; you'll be learning about after-action reports, exemplary resource requisition forms, transportation requests, various readiness statuses, and, of course, scheduling."

Greg and Vanessa visibly shrunk back a little into their plush chairs.

~~~

The first half of their meeting went by smoothly, if slowly, as Maria explained the more mundane intricacies of Hero work. Handing out instructions for filling out forms and switching slides on the projector in the room for each topic.

Amy and Shane had kept themselves mostly at attention throughout the meeting, glancing occasionally at their respective handouts. While Greg and Vanessa did their best not to show any signs of dozing while they sat.

For her part, Maria kept up a steady pace with an almost clipped tone to her voice, quickly going over the material; at least until the end.

"Now that we've gotten past the boring paperwork, it's time for the really exciting stuff you'll be experiencing with your Mentors.", she said suddenly, and accentuated it with a clap of her hands, instantly bringing Greg and Vanessa to attention. "As Heroes of the DVA you can be under three active-statuses: On Call is the first and most common status you'll be under, this is for any Hero or team that is available to be called upon by the DVA to handle any Super or Powered related crimes or threats across the nation. Although the number of Powereds in the nation has been predicted to decrease rapidly when the formula from the Charles Adair ordeal becomes readily available to the public.", her eyes got a faraway look of plain frustrating at the last part. "Jesus, that was a cluster-fuck."

"Across the nation?", Vanessa questioned evenly.

"Yes. On occasion you may be called outside of your local area to deal with variant-human threats deemed appropriate for your team. There are only so many active Heroes in America after all, certainly not enough to cover every city or town.", Maria replied with practiced ease. "Now then, the second status is: On Duty. This status is for when you are currently involved in any Hero related activity that would be troublesome to call you away from. This can range from actively fighting a gang, chasing down suspects, or infiltrating a criminal organization's base.", she continued, switching to a slide of three different Heroes doing exactly what she listed.

"And what would be the penalty for a Hero not immediately falling in line?", Greg questioned with more than a little trepidation. "I'd hate to get suspended just because I took an extra minute to make sure some scumbag got put behind bars."

The agent nodded in apparent understanding. "We usually don't pull Heroes while they're engaged with immediate threats such as criminal Supers or chasing a fleeing suspect. In such a situation you are given the liberty of time to take care of any immediate tasks before being transported.", She said, smoothly placating the stocky young man. "But the status you should be most concerned about is the Inactive status. This one's for when you're either on your entitled one-day-per-week break, sleeping, undergoing surgery, therapy, or in an official DVA meeting. Just to be clear: You can still be called in even when listed as Inactive. When lives are in the balance anyone's relaxation time is expendable.", she took a breath and reached down to grab her suitcase before remembering something. "Also, you need to take at least thirty days off per year; we used to have a real problem with rookies burning themselves out early.", Amy and Shane nodded at this, they'd both seen and heard stories of Heroes being consumed by "The Life" early on. "Now onto exactly how you'll all be establishing your statuses and what is likely to be the most important person in your career…"

Maria reached down and laid her sleek silver suitcase onto the stainless-steel table, popping it open to reveal four small black boxes, "Say hello to Dispatch."