They all looked around, stunned and confused, until Catastrophe stepped forward and got right up to Nathaniel's face. "You and me," he hissed threateningly, and Nathaniel arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you kidding me?" Catastrophe snarled in anger and raised his fist, red electricity crackling around it. Without thinking, Exodus stepped between them, his fists raised at Catastrophe. The latter smirked. "Very well then. A demonstration of my power." Nathaniel hissed in surprise, but Exodus nodded, turning with Catastrophe, opening the door to the glass room and stepping inside, the Dark following behind. He took one side, and Catastrophe took the other, both their fists raised. "Exodus this is crazy!" Nathaniel shouted warningly, but for once, Exodus ignored his brother. He could not stand by and watch this…this evil threaten his family.
Then, like a black blur, Catastrophe was upon him. "Dodge!" screamed Nathaniel, and Exodus dodged to the right, barely escaping the fist that punched forward. Exodus ducked behind Catastrophe and raised his fist, not knowing what to do. He had never used Hope before. If he were not supposed to use it, the results could be chaotic. "HAVE HOPE!" Nathaniel roared as Catastrophe spun, raising his fist and then shooting it forward. Exodus did the same, both their fists flying towards one another, and then, when he barely believed it, his entire arm glowed yellow. The fists soared to one another. Exodus missed, his fist brushing over Catastrophe's arm as Catastrophe's fist sunk into his chest. The Power behind the attack, Exodus noted, was barely even a quarter of Catastrophe's full power. Yet, it sent Exodus flying through the air and then crashing onto the ground.
He rolled several times before coming to a skidding stop, the side of his face grazed and his suit, to his surprise, looking like it had not even been touched. It must have been some kind of rare fabric, Exodus realized as he rose into a sitting position, blood dripping from his nose. Nathaniel burst through the glass door, letting it swing shut behind him as he raced to Exodus and knelt by his brother's side. "You alright?" Nathaniel whispered, gripping onto Exodus' shoulders, and Exodus nodded, dazed. "The House of Hope isn't what it used to be," snarled Catastrophe, and then he marched out, leaving the Training Room completely. The glass door swung open again, and in stepped the girl from Speed, disappearing and then instantly reappearing on Exodus' other side. Nathaniel hesitated, staring at the girl Exodus' own age.
"I'm sorry about him," she murmured, "My brother wants to side with that bastard due to his power. I want to side with you guys because you're not power-hungry and evil." Nathaniel and Exodus exchanged glances of surprise and then looked back to the girl, who outstretched her hand and whispered, "I'm Rachel." Exodus did not hesitate when he reached forward and grasped her hand, quickly shaking. She smiled, and then someone else appeared, wearing a skin-tight black suit. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed at Rachel, who stared up at her brother with loath in her eyes. "This would be my brother," she muttered darkly, getting to her feet and glaring at her older sibling. He reached forward, grabbed Rachel's arm, and hurled away from the two, muttering furiously under his breath as Nathaniel and Exodus watched, their eyebrows raised.
Then, Exodus shakily stood, his legs like jelly as he stumbled forward, using the aid of his brother's shoulder to walk. They left the glass room and sat beside the wooden door, where Exodus winced and held his aching ribs. "Are you ok?" Nathaniel asked worriedly, and Exodus nodded. "What were you thinking!" Nathaniel growled, and Exodus winced again, but at the anger in his brother's voice instead of the pain in his side. "I thought I could…do what you do," Exodus murmured, "I thought I could beat him because I now have the Hope!" Nathaniel sighed and shook his head, "No…that's not what it means to have Hope." Exodus cocked his head to the side, confused, and Nathaniel quickly continued. "To use the Hope, you need to have Hope and belief in yourself. If you do not, well, it does not work. The others who used it, the ones who died from the power, died because they did not have faith. I need you to try, ok?"
Exodus wished he understood, but he did not. To make his brother happy, however, he nodded, "Ok," he lied, "I'll try." Nathaniel nodded, soothed by Exodus' answer. They both watched as the red suit of armor from Tech began battling one of the brother's from Flame. As they watched, the flames that came from the outstretched hands slowly scorched the red suit of armor, and they heard a low chuckling sound. Someone, Exodus realized, was inside the suit. Then, the red color returned to the blackened parts, and the fire now deflected instead of scorched. "It looks like he's wearing adaptive armor," Nathaniel whispered, "It can be damaged from an unknown attack, but then it adapts to deal with the damage. It's a formidable weapon, that thing." Exodus nodded, pulling out a small black notebook, a pen and then furiously scribbling into it.
"What an earth are you doing?" Nathaniel asked, taking his eyes away from the fight to scare at the notebook. "I'm starting to, uhm, take notes on the other's abilities. The more we know about their strengths, the more we can discover about their weaknesses." Nathaniel looked shocked, and Exodus half-expected his brother to take the notebook and call it cheating. But then a smile split across Nathaniel's space. "Very clever," he murmured, impressed. "You will go far, little brother. You will go far."
***
That night, they were all led to the rooms where the two from each House would stay. Exodus immediately stripped out of his suit and dove into his bed, waiting for Nathaniel to return to the room. However, that had been well over five hours ago, and yet Nathaniel still made no show. Exodus, now growing worried, climbed out of his bed, setting the notebook he had been scribbling in aside. He quickly slipped back into his suit, took another glance around the room, and then quietly opened the door and left. He was careful not to be caught wandering the halls alone, for he knew it would be frowned upon. He guessed to head up, but as he neared a staircase that led up, a nearby staircase that led down alerted him to the sound of heavy grunting and panting. Exodus paused, thinking, and then he descended the staircase.
The steps were slick with water that gently trickled down the walls, the coldness biting into his skin like the edge of a knife. The further down he travelled, the colder and damper it seemed to become, and then he reached the door from which the loud sounds emerged. Exodus paused once more, realizing it was the Training Room, and he pressed his ear against the door. Yes, that was the sound of fist on leather. Yes, that was the sound of exhaustion and tiring. Exodus pulled away from the door, took a deep breath, and then opened it. His eyes had to get used to the low lighting inside, but when he adjusted, he stepped forward. There was his brother, Nathaniel, his suit clinging to the muscles that stretched its arms as he furiously beat down upon one of the almost invincible punching bags, his arms and fists glowing a furious yellow.
He appeared not to notice as Exodus shut the door loudly behind himself and then approaching. It was not until Exodus cleared his throat that Nathaniel started and turned, his face a mixture of tiredness and surprise. "Exodus?" he whispered, and Exodus nodded, staring at his brother. "How long have you been down here?" Exodus asked, and Nathaniel shrugged, his eyes quickly moving over to the large clock that hung over the door. "About…six or five hours," Exodus raised his eyebrows, amazed, and Nathaniel chuckled. "I have a lot to train for…as do you." Exodus looked down, feeling a sudden weight of shame press upon him like a concrete slab, ready to flatten him down until he was nothing. "But I can't use it well…today was the first time I used it. Other than that, never. I even practiced in our room earlier, but nothing."
Nathaniel made a noise and put his hand to his chin, staring at Exodus with interest in his eyes. Then, he made his decision. "Hit me." Exodus gazed at his brother, his mouth falling open. "What?" he exclaimed, and Nathaniel stepped forwards. "Hit me," he repeated. Exodus uncertainly raised his fists, and Nathaniel sighed. "Remember. Have Hope in yourself. In your actions and beliefs." Exodus nodded and tried. He furrowed his brow in concentration, his face scrunching up slightly as he forced his right arm to flex, trying desperately for something, anything to happen. For a single, golden second, yellow lighting flared around his arm. Then it disappeared, and Exodus growled in frustration. Nathaniel was still staring at his brother before walking forwards and grasping him firmly by the shoulders. Exodus stared at brother, both afraid and proud of his brother, the two in a perfect balance.
"Think of it like…a spark. This little spark inside of you is still dormant, barely used. To use the Hope, you need Hope inside you. Hope will light the spark that will burn into a great flame. That flame is the Power. Only you can do this, no one else." Exodus nodded, some of what Nathaniel was saying clicking into his mind. Nathaniel grinned and took a step away, raising his fists. "Now. Hit me." Exodus did not tense. He remained relaxed, breathing deeply, and he watched as Nathaniel took a step forwards, his fists glowing as he swung his right fist across, directing it to Exodus' chest. Then, Exodus clenched his right fist. Yellow and gold flared around it, and this time it stayed, his right arm suddenly growing to twice its size with muscle. Nathaniel shared the same look of surprise as Exodus.
Exodus turned his eyes back to Nathaniel and realized the fist was dangerously close to striking him. Then, he was behind Nathaniel. Exodus skidded to a halt, slipped and crashed onto the rough floor as Nathaniel turned with incredible speed, seeing Exodus on the ground. Instead of looking angry like Exodus expected, Nathaniel smiled brightly. "Well done…Well done!" he exclaimed as Exodus, panting, got to his feet. "W-What happened?" Exodus asked, doubling over and trying to return his breathing to normal. "I think that, when you saw me coming to attack, you automatically transferred the Power of Hope into your legs. You moved so fast I didn't know you had left until a few seconds later." Exodus felt amazed, and Nathaniel flashed another grin, sending a wave of warmth through Exodus like a candle being handed to him. Nathaniel cracked his knuckles, still grinning, and Exodus smiled at the next words. "Hit me again."