Super Supportive

ONE HUNDRED: Gym Class, II

  They barely had time to say thanks and bye to Instructor Fragment. As soon as their feet hit the ground, students from the next group were jogging up, and their group was supposed to be jogging off to their own second session. Everly was staggering ahead of Alden and Kon. She was clutching her shoes in her hand, and her hair buns had mostly unraveled. > she said in Korean when she spotted Konstantin. > You were magnificent! Like an ice spider! She frowned. A spider? A beautiful spider, he said. But why was your bag a girl? I was imagining it was my mom. So that I wouldnt drop it. When Alden had heard they would have class time dedicated to practicing maneuvering and positioning, he had imagined a lot of talking would happen, and then maybe a quick exercise. But he was starting to suspect that the philosophy of their gym instructors was going to be a learn-while-doing one. Instead of giving a long lecture, Instructor Marion was periodically talking in their ears through System comms and telling them what to think about and what mistakes theyd just made. Half the gym had been given over to this class, and obstructions had been created out of the magic shields that could be used to segment the gym into dueling blocks. Theyd been made opaque, and they stood in tall columns and walls, creating a maze filled with tons of blind spots. Alden stood with Astrid, trying not to gasp for air. He was afraid that breathing too hard would give away their position. Both of them were wearing green vests over their gym suits, and they had their backs pressed to a column. The other green vests were their teammates for this exercisethe hunted. The red vests were their enemiesthe hunters. The hunted gained a point for every twenty seconds they went without being spotted. The hunters stole one of those point every time they spotted someone. Its simple, Instructor Marion had said in that pleasant voice of his. Its so simple that most of you will have little use for your magic. A spell effect will usually give away your position. You cannot scale the obstacles. There is no combat. Apologies, Alden, but this time theres no ground element. Well play with that later. Here most of you have nothing but your witsand of course your stats. Youre supposed to be using your talents heavily in the other sections. Think of this game as a fun breather! Fun breather my ass. It had been twenty minutes of flat-out sprints to reposition himself behind a safe obstruction, where he would stand for just a few seconds before Max would [Alden and Astrid, go down the corridor to your right at the signal.] A high-pitched yelp came from the Light Shapers direction a moment later. Presumably he was both signaling and providing a distraction to pull away the hunter whod been running toward Alden and Astrid. They left the column behind and fled down the corridor. Everly, wearing a red vest, was standing right there as they emerged. She pointed at them excitedly, then spun around to press her face to the column behind her, like the person who was it in a game of hide-and-seek. Hunters whod just gotten a point had to close their eyes and count down to let the hunted get away again. Shit, Astrid whispered as two points disappeared from their teams score. They were barely keeping it above zero thanks to Konstantins efforts on behalf of the other team. His legs were definitely not tired enough from climbing up and down the scaffolding. When they first got started, hed been excited and hed said he was going to try to use his object reading skill to detect where people had recently been standing on the gym floor. But either that had been too slow, his skill was too low level to do a wide enough area, or the magic floor wasnt particularly readable. Because hed shifted tactics and was instead pelting through the gym like an S-rank lunatic, whipping his neck back and forth rapidly to catch glimpses of green. Alden wasnt sure he was even blinking. [Everly saw us,] Alden reported to Max. [Shes at the end of the corridor you sent us down.] [Sorry,] Max texted back. [Nobody has sighted her in a while, so I didnt know what area she was in.] He was doing really well at remembering the layout of all the visibility obstructors and, usually, the positioning of most members on both teams. Kons squirrel-like habit of spontaneously changing directions had made Max curse in three different languages at one point, though. [Astrid and I are splitting up. Im heading] Before he could finish texting, Astrid darted off back the way theyd come. [Im heading toward the bathrooms,] he finished. [East,] said Max. [Bathrooms is simpler, dude.] Astrid suddenly texted, [Scar folder! Master red! I do run!] The others were using finger texting, but the shapeshifter had claimed she wouldnt be outdone by Max and Alden and would be sticking with mental. Thus, some interpretation was required. Alden stared at the words. [I think she means she just spotted the red teams Meister in the direction of the scaffolding.] The Meister must not have spotted her, though, since they hadnt lost another point. Alden crept along a wall, then sprinted through an intersection where he could potentially be spotted from too many directions. He stopped beside another obstacle. A moment later, he heard rapid footsteps approaching. [Is that you behind the obelisk, Alden?] Max asked. [Its me.] The other B-rank stepped around to join him. He was breathing hard, too. Max held up both hands with his fingers spread to indicate a ten second rest, then he went back to directing their teammates and collecting enemy locations through the chat. [Raccoons!] Astrid said, just as they were about to sprint again. Raccoons? Max mouthed. [Do you mean bathrooms? Is Kon toward the bathrooms from where you are?] [Type oh. Sad face. I do run!] I think she was just thinking about raccoons and she accidentally typed that, Alden whispered. Max sighed and dashed away.

  ******

  They had a three-minute water and bathroom break at the end of Instructor Marions session. Alden felt like someone had sucked the oxygen from the room and the energy from his muscles. The bodily awareness wordchain was still in effect. It would fade at the beginning of his last sessionself defense. For now, though, he was feeling every spot on his body that had gotten a workout today. And its all of them. All of the move-Alden-around spots are tired. At this rate, only his face was going to have strength left in it. Hed have to try talking people into not hitting him for self-defense. His skill was great for defense of course, but by his rough estimation, Level 3 Bearer of All Burdens should be approaching depletion by now. The long, extended cord preservation had been unexpectedly taxing. He was guesstimating that he could have done most of what hed done in the rescue session in some fashion, and probably hed make it through the majority of offense. But that should be about it. If he followed his own plan and handicapped himself right now, the high cost of double-running Bearer would exhaust his authority in the expected timeframe. Its not like its a real waste to do it. Learning to take care of myself when my skills gone, or when Im using it to preserve something tiny or precious thats useless as a shield is good. And learning to double run it is important, too. He collapsed onto a bleacher. Everyone was taking their break now. He saw Haoyu jogging across the gym toward him, looking fresh as a daisy. I want your stamina stats, Alden said as soon as he drew close. Give them to me. They only make it take longer for my body to get tired right now. My brain is still fuzzy from not getting any sleep last night. And I already blew out my boxing gloves skill. He sat down beside Alden and beamed when Everly passed him one of the iced towels shed made. Alden was watching Maricel. Instructor Fragment had pulled her aside and was talking animatedly while manipulating the potting soil Maricel had chosen to use for class today. It looks kind of like theyre talking about how she can make floating stairs? Maricel looked focused and intrigued. Everyones so cool, arent they? Haoyu said. I saw your thing! With the sandbag rescue. Like a balloon! Big Snake stared at it, too. For about three seconds. Then he went back to hitting everyone. Did you see Everlys ice rope? Alden asked. No! Haoyu whipped around to look at her. What did you do with an ice rope? Kon leaped at the opportunity to praise her. During the break, they all got a surprise. It was one most of the class felt was negative, judging by the sounds of distress Alden heard echoing around him. Gym class has written homework? the boy Alden had seen running around the party wearing a caution tape belt asked. Of course theres homework, Vandy replied. She was using her powers to fan herself, and the tail of her braid was blowing around. Why wouldnt there be? This is a lot of homework, though. Helosa was upside down, practicing handstands. Its a ton. Are you looking at it, Windy Woman? Reinhard asked. He was casting some kind of spell over his practice arrows. But theres supposed to be a lot of homework, Vandy said. Shes right, Haoyu agreed, looking around at everyone. All of the gym courses will have homework. It would be a waste of the facility for the instructors to focus too much on lecturing and theory while were in here. This is the practical half of the course, where were supposed to be pushing our powers and our physical abilities as much as we can. So the other half of the course happens outside the gym. He and Vandy both had parents whod attended either the high school or university hero programs, so they would know. Alden was studying the assignments. For the rescue section, they were supposed to listen to a recorded lecture and review the drone footage of their own rescues. Then they had to come to class on Wednesday with new things to try. For maneuvering, there was a self-evaluation of todays performance due on Wednesday, and there was a book that had to be read by the end of next week. For self-defense and offense, theyd be given individual assignments based on their strengths and weaknesses. It was a lot, but what Haoyu had said made sense. The gym wasnt really a place where it was reasonable for them all to sit around pondering and talking, so that had to be done separately. And this was a three-day-a-week class. Six hours a week of pure practical work, he thought. This looks like about the same amount of homework to go with it, assuming defense and offense arent ridiculous. Torsten Kleins voice suddenly rang across the gym. Two minutes! Finish up whatever youre doing, and head to your next instructor! Youre my next instructor. Alden was nervous about it for multiple reasons. Hey, Haoyu? You did offense already with the all-Brute group. Any advice on weapon selection? He grinned. Massive fireballs. A nuclear detonation! cried Helosa, righting herself. Thats what itll take to knock out Instructor Klein. Trust me. Your umbrella is not fast enough. Nothing I can do is fast enough to catch up to a professional AgiBrute. I was just wondering about strategy in general. There was a thud behind him as Mehdi leaped down from a higher bleacher. A professional AgiBrute? Do you think a B-rank Rabbit could even beat me? I havent bothered to consider it, Alden said absently, still staring across the gym at Klein. I just have to pick a weapon for the rest of term by Friday, and I dont want to waste today trying out something completely wrong. Oh, theyre making you choose just one thing? Haoyu looked disappointed. Thats not as much fun. Pick the umbrella! Were doing duels starting week after next. I want to fight the umbrella again. Stop going on about that stupid umbrella, Helosa, Mehdi snapped. If I were you, Id be embarrassed I couldnt crumple a B-ranks comedy shield like paper. He stalked away. Ops. I pissed him off somehow, Helosa said. Then she shrugged. Hes probably still mad that I would definitely have beaten him at the drinking contest if Astrid had made enough Bonding Potion for us to fight to the death. She adjusted her ponytail then trotted after him. Haoyu leaned toward Alden. [Im pretty sure it was you who made him mad.] [What did I do?] [He was trying to say, Rawrr, Im better than you! And you said, I dont even know who you are.] Alden laughed. I did not! Haoyu nodded. You did. Alden looked at Mehdis retreating back. He still shouldnt have insulted my umbrella. It wasnt for comedy. I thought about it. It was lightweight, not so oversized that I would trip over it, extendable, I could rapidly make two different easily useable shapes out of it, and it had a wrist strap. So that I wouldnt drop it. You could shield a real shield, couldnt you? If you wanted? Sure. But it would be so much harder to move around with. And if my skill gives out, then theres no point in me hauling a big hunk of metal or wood around the gym. Itll offer protection against a few things, but the more likely outcome is that it slows me down, someone snatches it, thanks me for the gift, and then beats me to death with it. He stood up. If I lose my shield, its not the worst thing for it to turn back into something useless for everyone else around me. Would you come over to my duffel with me? I want to change my paracord weapon. And pick up my handicap. It was going to be a small breath mint. Hed bought a pack of them to try to un-torture his garlicky, oversensitive tongue. It hadnt worked, but if he preserved one and ate it Well, there was no way of dropping that kind of preserved object. Hed lay it beside the cord when he asked Haoyu to entrust it. Range, Haoyu said. What? I was answering your question more seriously. You need some way to attack from range. Instructor Klein is only running away, not fighting back. So dont worry about protecting yourself at all and go for range. Thanks for the tip. Are you really going to make a zip line? What? I heard someone say you were going to make one next time. Can I ride it? Sureif you can get the faculty to let you and if gym death doesnt upset you.

  ******

  Superheroes have to go on the attack frequently, Instructor Klein said. Instructor Waker will be teaching you what its like to face someone who is willing to engage you in combat. I will be teaching you what its like to deal with someone who isnt. Everly raised her hand with a nervous look. Are you going to ask why we would fight someone who wasnt fighting back? She blushed and nodded. He smiled at her. A question that shows good character. However, Im not talking about attacking someone who has yielded. Im talking about dealing with dangerous people who have harmed others, who will likely do so again, and who have no desire to stick around and fight back when another powerful Avowed arrives to bring them to justice. Runners, said Astrid. Klein nodded. Runners, hiders, hostage takers. Sometimes allowing a criminal Avowed to flee is the correct choice. Perhaps your powers are a terrible match. Or you deem it likely that a pursuit will endanger more lives than the criminal themselves will if theyre allowed to leave. But in most cases, its better to swiftly and efficiently deal with the enemy while they are in front of you. Allowing an escape is just making future victims and future problems for yourself or another hero to handle. He speared them with his eyes. Remember, an active duty superhero is almost always the most powerful solution that will be thrown at a problem Avowed. Above you, there is only well-orchestrated military action, a hyperbole, or one of our battlegroups. And a lot of innocent people have to die before the cogs turn and the authorities bring those options to bear for the sake of a single villain. The enemy is the question. You must strive to be the answer. He likes giving speeches I think. Admittedly, it was a good speech. Alden was trying to stand still and attentive without looking like he was standing at actual military attention. He kept worrying that Klein was about to call him outas a time waster, a weak link, someone who did not really belong. If it happened hed already decided he was just going to grin and bear it, but he was still dreading it. Konstantin! the instructor barked. Ah! What? Kon said, looking around frantically. Everyone else had jumped at the sudden increase in volume, too. How do you attack? Instructor Klein asked in a more normal tone. UmI hope that in the future Let the faculty worry about your future. In this space, its your job to work with what you already possess, so that you can learn and grow quickly. We develop the talents you have fully, and because of that youll naturally gain new ones. So if an enemy appears before you at this very moment, how do you attack? Kon grimaced. With my fists. Good. Instructor Wu, take Konstantin aside and show him how to throw a decent punch. They all turned in surprise to see that Wu and Foxbolt were behind them. Sren! The Light Shaper flinched. How do you attack? Ican make places hot. If I have long enough. Instructor Klein coughed. You sound distressed about that. I know its not Your powers and Konstantins are not presently useful for attacking. However, the benefit of that is that you can both practice them to their fullest and at your leisure without worrying about seriously harming yourselves or destroying anything. Many of your classmates would relish the opportunity. We expect you to take advantage of it. Extensively. You have other strengths as a superhuman. For now, go join Instructor Wu and learn to throw a punch. Instructor Klein continued down the line, asking everyone how they attacked. It soon became apparent that the scary voice he used to shout their names was his version of a joke, since it was almost always followed up with advice delivered more affably. He only fumbled momentarily when Astrid asked if she could try to deal with a villain by looking like their mom to catch them off-guard then punching them. Well, Ill be playing the villain today. Can you shift into an approximation of my mother? he asked finally. Does she look a lot like me? Not remotely. Aww. Then not yet. He saved Alden for last. The others were all off having quick practice sessions by themselves or with Instructors Foxbolt and Wu. Alden I didnt get the angry joke voice. He felt a tiny bit disappointed. Klein seemed strict but also like he was a dedicated teacher. The ideal thing would have been if both of them could have pretended like the you-dont-belong-at-this-school speech hadnt been spoken or heard. What are you trying out for your attacks today? Paracord with a five kilo bag on the end, Alden said. He only had a few feet looped around his wrist. The bulk of the cord was around the bag so that he could try a different unraveling method. He also had a preserved mint in his stomach Funny how none of my heroic visions for myself as a kid ever included eating my own magic. Do you know how to use it? the instructor asked, examining bag and cord. I dont. But Im here to figure that out. After a pause, Instructor Klein said, Given the nature of your skill, rope is an important tool to master. Its something you will benefit from practicing with, so I have no objection to you choosing it as your weapon for the offensive portion of this course. Then he turned to call the others back together. Couldve been worse, Alden decided. He glanced over at Kon, whod just come to stand beside him. The Adjuster was frowning at his own clenched fists. I think my thumbs are too long. I have long thumbs. They look standard to me, said Alden. Do they? I just spent several minutes thinking about how to make a perfect fist, and now Im sure theres something wrong with them. Everyone! Instructor Klein barked. He smiled when half of them jumped again. Your only job today is to hit me with something that can put me out of commission. A killshot, a capture, knocking me unconsciousyoure going to have enough trouble as it is, so dont feel limited. The rules are: I can go anywhere in the gym I want, you can use your powers however you want, no teamwork, and no stopping. Its the second half of class. If youve been pushing yourself as you should have, then a lot of you should be approaching fatigue with your main talents. When they give out, you dont get to quit for the day. Running is good for you. No teamwork? Surprisingly, it was Max who asked. The instructor looked at him. Not today. No planning with your classmates. No interfering with them for the sake of interfering with them either. Treat what everyone else is doing like mayhem happening in the midst of your own solo attempt to stop a dangerous criminal as quickly as possible. Use their actions or their magic if they can be a resource to you; avoid them if theyre an obstacle. Your friends arent civilians, villains, or fellow heroes for this exercise, theyre just complicating features of the environment youre fighting in. Thats unexpected. It sounded like it was okay for them to make use of what everyone else was doing with zero regard for if it would ruin the other persons plans. So if I see Max building a speed zone, I can steal it for myself as long as Im doing it to help me kill the instructor and not just to be a dick to Max. Klein had also said they would be using the whole gym. And the whole gym was full of other students and faculty doing their own work Is this something special hes doing for our group for some reason? Alden hadnt had much attention to spare for other groups this afternoon, but he would have noticed if they were chasing after Instructor Klein through the rescue section or hide-and-seek maze. Isnt it going to be extremely chaotic? Two minutes later, he had the answer to his questions. It was chaotic. And Instructor Klein wasnt giving their group special treatment. He simply didnt need to utilize the whole gym to run circles around ten brand new hero students. Running circles around people was his specialty as an Agility Brute. He was fast and strong, and hed obviously played the class straight, choosing talents that made him a peak superhuman maneuverer. One second, he was running directly at Alden, but the moment Alden tried to throw up a length of frozen paracord to stop him, Klein slid sideways across the white floor at the same rate hed been running. It defied human anatomy and his own momentum, and Aldens rope whipped harmlessly past him. Konstantin tried a flying tackle that the instructor ducked under without even looking, and then almost too fast for Alden to make out, the teacher changed directions again and was running at completely different angle. Its the Instant Corners skill! a Meister yelled in an oddly panicked voice. We know its the Instant Corners skill! Kon yelled back. That was the last time anyone had enough air in their lungs to yell anything. Alden chased, he swung his rope, he threw his sandbag. He tried to trip Klein. He tried to hit him. From above, below, behind. Shit, where is he now? I cant keep up. Gasping, he whirled around in a circle twice before he finally caught up to the instructor visually. Never mind physically. It was insane. It got even more insane when he started to realize that Instructor Klein wasnt trying his best. His feet stayed on the ground. He hadnt cast a spell yet. Agility Brutes were phenomenal gymnasts, so in addition to just running around them all like they were standing still, he could have been flying through the air over their heads or using any number of impressions. A blocked attack here, an invisible step therehe didnt bother with it. He seemed to have limited himself for their sakes and imposed additional personal rules on what he could do. They couldnt even threaten him enough to get him out of their corner of the gym. A couple of people were hunched over, trying to breathe. The Meister whod shouted about the skill was moving so sluggishly that Alden was pretty sure he wasnt really trying. Maxs spell impressions had run out a few minutes ago after hed laid down a series of traps that had ended up catching classmates instead of the instructor, and hed been running doggedly after Klein ever since, despite the fact that he was always, always miles from catching him. As for Kon, he was fast. He wasnt as fit as his older brother, and it was only S-rank Adjuster fast. But he was still quicker and more agile than Alden was without ground. He was trying like hell, too, but it wasnt enough. His face was tomato red, and sweat literally flew off him as he nearly sideswiped Alden during the course of his pursuit. Alden was trying to think, to come up with some rope shape or technique that would miraculously be enough to stop a middle aged man whod spent the past thirty or forty years training his superpowers. Theres nothing. Theres literally nothing. He jogged past Everly Kim, who was squatting on the floor with her head down. Shed been that way for a while. Alden wouldnt be surprised if she had awful muscle cramps or something after her feat during the rescue session. Maybe if I swing the weight on the end of my rope around to build up momentum, freeze it, and then surprise him with Shit! Klein suddenly pulled his direction changing trick again, and now they were face to face too quickly. Alden brought the preserved paracord between them like a spear with a bulbous weighted nose instead of a point, and he crouched, trying to anticipate the instructors next move. He wished hed unfurled just two more feet. It was about eight feet long at the moment, which made it more manageable. But twelve would have given him just a little more reach. That was always the thing. Klein was never the right distance away from him. No matter what length line he choose, no matter how sure he was that the teacher hadnt spotted him stealthily unfurling more or drawing it back, the man always seemed to know exactly what Aldens range was. Just like he always knew where Max had laid down a trap or where the Meister Wham! A body smashed into Aldens from the right, and both of them flew sideways. Fuck! He landed on his left shoulder. His head hit the floor hard and fastor it felt like it did. In reality, the gym suit stiffened around him, cushioned him, and magically shielded him from what would definitely have been a concussion. A fraction of a second later, the bottom of a pair of sneakers landed on him. One on his chest, one on his face, and his assailant springboarded off of himtoward nothing. Astrid soared through the air, roaring, then splatted onto the floor and rolled. Alden sat up and stared at her through the helpful scrolling list of damage hed just taken from the surprise attack. Was she trying something? What in the world? The low pain setting meant he could focus more on his confusion than his injuries. Klein sprinted away with Max and Kon hustling after him, both of them wearing startled expressions. So at least Alden wasnt the only one who didnt understand why hed just been brutally tackled. Astrid was getting onto her hands and knees. She looked annoyed. Sobellyflopping on the floor hadnt been her intention? Alden pushed himself up, too. His paracord and sandbag had come along for the ride with him since he had them tied to him, though hed lost preservation when hed fallen. He lifted and re-preserved in the same motion, but before he could attempt to catch and attack the instructor again, he lost his footing. A slick coat of ice was spreading across the gym floor from behind him. It lifted his shoes from the ground in an instant and toppled him again. He rolled over to see Everlybarefoot and running across the patch of ice shed made toward Instructor Klein. Shed managed to catch their entire group in the spell. Max was down. Kon was windmilling comically like he was on skates for the first time in his life. Astrid was still on all fours. And the instructor had stopped. For the first time. He wasnt falling, but he was standing still. Get him, thought Alden, lifting his rope and preserving yet again as he tried to clamber to his feet. He wasnt sure if he was rooting for himself or Everly. Just before she reached him, Instructor Klein smiled and nodded once, and then he slipped around her like an ice dancer, his mouth reciting a spell. A second later he grabbed something unseen in the air and heaved against it, sending himself sliding hard and fast on his feet across the frozen floor away from Everly. Backwards. Toward me! Finally. Sliding, Klein had less control. He was in a crouch, knees bent and elbows in, flying across the ice, keeping his eyes on the threat running toward him. Alden was behind him on one knee, halfway toward standing, but Klein was about to slide past him, just a few feet away, and the line was long enough if he stretched to He held it out. The slender orange cord with the sandbag on the end wasnt much, but it was what he had, and if all he could do was slow Klein down for a second so Everly could freeze his ass somehow That would be great. Alden snapped his wrist up and down rapidly, trying to make it harder for Klein to dodge over or under, since Alden was convinced he definitely had eyes in the back of his head. The Agility Brutes back hit the cord. Alden felt the impact on his authority as Klein bounced off. He didnt look over at Alden or uncurl. His body stayed in its crouched position. He slid fast toward Everly again across the thin layer of water that coated the ice. It made him look like a pool ball ricocheting off the edge of the table. Everlys eyes widened. She pointed at him and shouted the name of a spell. Her fingers started to move. She hadnt done it fast enough. Klein slid right past her, cast his own invisible floating block spell again, and then he flung himself hard in a new direction. Everlys patch of superslick ice was a circle with a radius of twentyish yards by Aldens estimate. Klein skidded to the edge of it, rolled and sprang to his feet. Then he stood there and watched all of his battered and exhausted students try to escape without falling on their asses. He looked like he was having a blast.

  ******

  They were so tired they didnt even speak when the session ended. They all just stumbled off to let Big Snake take his turn beating them up. Aldens skill was toast. Hed tried an extra-long line again in an attempt to poke Klein just one more time, and in combo with the breath mint handicap, the effort had done the skill in. His officially useable magical powers were now a candle lighter and screaming invisible balls that would cost him six hundred dollars a pop. Everlys floor-freezing spell had required a reagent, too. She was eyeing a bottle half full of some dark blue powder with a depressed look on her face. Alden patted her on the shoulder. She nodded. This was how they were all communicating now. Words required lungs. Lungs required air. Too much trouble. He didnt even have the energy to say, Why, Astrid? Why did you randomly attack me and then throw yourself at nothing? But she had given him the shoulder pat of companionship when they finally escaped from the ice. So he figured it was all good. Shed only tackled him and then used his nose as a launchpad. Everyone had their idiosyncrasies. You all look like youre raring to go! Big Snake said in a jovial voice when they appeared. He clapped his hands together hard enough that it would probably have hurt their ears if not for the suits. Were gonna start with a few laps to get you warmed up! Sren whimpered. Hahaha!said the instructor. Just kiddin. Just kiddin. Looks like Torsten put you through the wringer. Wednesday, youll all start with me, and then its my turn to wear you out! So! The way this session works is the reverse of Instructor Kleins. You all run, and I attack. That should go well. Well, thats the gist of it. This is where yall find out what your powers can do for self-defense. Ill be teaching you general principles of self-defense, but thats mostly in your homework. Today, since you look about dead, we have the magic management talk and you get a short breather before I start to attack you. He stepped over to Alden and grinned. In Big Snake mode, Instructor Waker was so tall and wide it made Alden feel like a child standing in front of an adult. And the superhero vibes were strong, even though the instructor was in the same gray unitard as everyone else. Alden felt a tiny thrill through his tiredness. BignLittleSnake was about as famous as an Avowed could be without being a hyperbole, and on top of that, he had been considered extremely kid friendly prior to the tank-punching incident. An insanely strong morpher known for a larger-than-life personality, entertaining charity work, and nonlethal captures was hard not to like. Somewhere in the back of a cabinet in Connies kitchen, there was a cup with pictures of Big Snake on it that would turn into Little Snake when you added cold drinks. Youve got a magic shield, the instructor said to Alden. Thats about as classic as a self-defense skill can be. But what do you have without the magic shield? Not much, Alden said. Thats right! You can use your wits and your muscle, but even then, youve got a lot more options for using those things when the magic shield is up and running. So whats the most important thing for you, as an Avowed, in a fight or a disaster? Alden didnt know why this felt like a trick question. Not losing my shielding skill? Right! Only it might be better to say the most important thing is getting the job done without dyin. Youve all got to know how to treat your power like a finite resource. Youll get stronger here at school, but youll never get so strong you can win every fight by just flinging your power around however you like. He looked up at the ceiling. Even if you get strong enough to beat every last problem weve got here on Earththeres bigger problems. Oh, thought Alden. Good. He was relieved a faculty member had finally addressed it. They were in superhero school, but it was starting to feel weird that the older Avowed hardly ever referenced off-planet work. I know Im overly concerned with whats going on out there. And Im in a different situation from most people because Im probably going to be unusually useful in that capacity one day. But I was starting to feel like I was crazy What if a criminal runs from you? Instructor Klein had asked earlier. What if a demon runs toward me? Alden had thought. Smiling, Instructor Marion had said, You need to learn maneuvering and positioning so you can Escape from demons. In later courses, youll have the opportunity to learn about structural integrity, Instructor Fragment had told them. Because Because chaos eats and mutates fucking everything. It was like everyone else was talking about the weather while Alden had a disturbed man wearing a sandwich board in his head that said, Beware of moon-sized demons devouring Earth and the End of Days! Like Haoyus mom, Big Snake got summoned a lot. And considering his skillset, it probably wasnt for waiting tables at college parties. Maybe it made sense for him to be the one to bring it up. You ought to be trying to exhaust your levelable talents often, Big Snake was saying. And your spell impressionsoh, uhthe ones that wont bankrupt you. The last was said in response to Everly going white as a sheet and clutching her bottle of blue powder like the instructor might steal it from her. Whether you have gym or not, find ways to burn em out. Learn em. Know how much you can do with them before you hit fatigue. This quarter were still getting to know your talents and youre still getting to know them yourselves. In gym courses after this one, youll be expected to manage your skill usage better so that youre finished about the same time the class is. Understanding how far you can push your magic before you lose it is a lifesaver. He looked around at them all. Now let me show you why you dont want to come to my session without your powers. He bent down toward a large cardboard box at his feet and pulled out a tennis ball. It looked small in his hand. Ive been workin on my pitching accuracy this month! He started stretching out his right shoulder. Were going to die, Kon whispered. Nobody disagreed with him.