"Trey! What the hell was all that noise?" Finn shot up from the bench he'd claimed and rushed to his friend.
"You could hear that?" Atreus asked as he slipped his tracksuit jacket back on.
"How could we not?! The damn room was shaking like there was an earthquake or something. How long did it take you to beat all the Hardlight villains? Only took me seven minutes," Finn said proudly as he motioned to the monitor on the wall behind him. Displayed on the screen were all the completion times of the students from shortest to longest.
_____________________
[Practival Evaluation Completion Times]
Huxley, Finn - 7:03
Thomas, Rose - 11:46
Murphy, Oliver - 13:50
Adamson, Nigel - 14:13
_____________________
'Yikes,' Atreus thought. 'So slow.'
"Uhh… just over a minute or two, maybe? I'm not sure. I wasn't counting."
"Awww, are you embarrassed by your time? Fine, be that way. We'll know soon enough. For real though, what was all that commotion?"
"Hellfire wanted to fight, so we did. It must've been when I slammed him into the wall," Atreus said calmly. "He's pretty strong."
Finn looked at his friend in confusion before Oliver barged into their conversation.
"Psh. He's obviously lying to you, halfwit," he scoffed from across the room. "He was probably getting his face pounded in by those Hardlight dummies." His Britannian friend snickered in the corner.
"Yeah? Well, that halfwit has a faster time than you, prick." Rose chimed in, stepping next to the boys and giving them an assuring nod.
"Hey! I'm not a halfwit!"
*DING*
The bickering students turned toward the screen to look at the updated rankings.
_____________________
[Practival Evaluation Completion Times]
Wolfe, Atreus - 1:37
Huxley, Finn - 7:03
Thomas, Rose - 10:45
Murphy, Oliver - 13:50
Adamson, Nigel - 14:13
_____________________
Finn's jaw dropped, and for the first time Atreus could ever recall in their years of friendship, he was at a loss for words.
"So, what was that about me being a liar?" Atreus said as he slipped his hands into his pockets and sat on a bench.
"I-impossible…this has to be wrong, right? There's no fucking way…He had to have cheated or something…" Oliver paced back and forth as he fiddled with his watch.
"Trey…" Finn's face was the embodiment of exasperation. "You really fought Hellfire, didn't you?"
"Yeah. He's so loud…"
Finn looked Atreus up and down. His eyes fell on the bottom of his friend's shirt. A small portion had been blackened. Singed by fire. He looked down with his fists clenched.
"I knew you were strong, but not THAT strong…" After a moment, he looked back up, smiling. "Then, I'll just have to work that much harder to beat you."
Atreus smirked and reached his hand out. Finn obliged, their hands clasping in brotherhood like the knights of old.
"In your dreams."
.
.
.
After a few more minutes of waiting, Aurora entered through the arena door with Ice Hawk and Miss Polly in tow.
"Studeeents! Gather around! We have your results!" Miss Polly announced in a singsongy voice.
They circled around the two pro Heroes, anxiously waiting to find out the purpose of the evaluations.
"As you can probably tell, you were each timed on how long it took you to defeat the groups of enemies presented to you. I'm happy to say that everyone here has passed their evaluation, as you all completed the task under the time limit," Ice Hawk said as he glanced at his holoboard. "We're just waiting for Aurora's official time before we proceed."
A few seconds later, the screen updated.
_____________________
[Practival Evaluation Completion Times]
Wolfe, Atreus - 1:37
Sallow, Aurora - 6:21
Huxley, Finn - 7:03
Thomas, Rose - 10:45
Murphy, Oliver - 13:50
Adamson, Nigel - 14:13
_____________________
Miss Polly clapped enthusiastically.
"Wonderful, students, wonderful! The top three of you will receive something special from the Costume Design department later today! That would be…Atreus, Aurora, and Finn! What impressive sco-" Miss Polly did a double take at the list. "One minute and thirty-seven seconds?!…the other two are well shorter than the average as well…" she trailed off. "Ahem, be sure to meet me in the Design building no later than seven o'clock! I'm going to go prepare now, toodles!" The multicolored woman scurried out of the room.
"Alright, now for your results," Ice Hawk said as he tapped his holoboard screen, casting its contents to the monitor on the wall.
"The purpose of these evaluations was to get a more comprehensive look at how each of you utilizes your powers in combat so that you're placed in programs that will capitalize on your strengths, as well as teach you how to minimize your weaknesses. Think of it as having a major and a minor at a traditional university. We'll start from the bottom and go upwards." He swiped his holoboard, revealing a picture of the black-haired Brittanian boy along with information.
_____________________
[Student Profile]
Name: Nigel Adamson
Ability: Ejects pressurized saliva from his mouth at powerful speeds
Completion Time: 14:13
Program Assignments: Bodily Projectile, Martial Arts (Projectile Pmphasis)
Course Instructors: Quickshot, Lu Lian
_____________________
"Evidently, Nigel has been placed in the bodily projectile program due to his power, in addition to the martial arts program to make up for his over-reliance on his, erm, spit." Ice Hawk scratched the back of his blue head. "Quickshot has an ability similar to yours; shooting pressurized tears from his eyes, so there's a lot to learn from him. Lu Lian is a martial arts expert with a focus on projectile weapons. Taking his courses will give you practical hand-to-hand combat skills that will make the most out of your ability. Do we all see how this works?"
The students nodded, anxious to hear their placements.
"Oliver next."
_____________________
[Student Profile]
Name: Oliver Murphy
Ability: Water control, can turn moisture in the air into water
Completion Time: 13:50
Program Assignments: Aquatic Studies, Martial Arts (Projectile Pmphasis)
Course Instructors: Tidal Wave, Lu Lian
_____________________
"Ha! It seems we share an instructor. Excellent!" The two Britannian boys high-fived daintily.
Ice Hawk swiped his holopad once more, revealing Rose's student profile.
_____________________
[Student Profile]
Name: Rose Thomas
Ability: ???
Completion Time: 10:45
Program Assignments: To Be Determined
Course Instructors: To Be Determined
_____________________
Rose quickly looked down, her face red. She fidgeted with her hands and shifted her weight from side to side.
"Alright, for Rose we have…oh. Erm, it's probably just an error. I'll get that figured out for you once we're finished," Ice Hawk assured her.
She sheepishly nodded, avoiding any eye contact.
"Onto the next!"