“Ok maggots, let’s get this over with,” An older woman said as she walked into the studio for our first day of official training. “I’m Dahlia Higgins. I’m in charge here. I’ll be assigning you your missions. Disappoint me, and there’s a punishment.”

Punishment didn’t sound too good. I had no idea that if we failed, there would be a penalty. Testing to get into this stupid place wasn’t enough? What right did she have to punish us anyway? She was just our manager. What authority could she possibly hold?

“Does the punishment involve having to look at her face any longer?” Carter snickered quietly.

“Don’t test me, boy. People who don’t take this seriously are the first to go. So if you want to live to see your first mission, you'd best pay attention.” “Old hag.” He muttered under his breath. I snickered. Maybe we would get along after all.

“Now, listen closely because I’m not repeating myself. All of you are expected to come to training every day, Monday through Friday-”

“-What? Why not every day?” Carter jumped to his feet. I took back everything I said; maybe we weren’t going to get along.

Dahlia tried to look like she wasn’t annoyed, “You will meet with your trainer four days a week, on the fifth day, we’ll evaluate your captain and second in command to see if they’re still competent. At the end of the month, I’ll assign you a mission. You’ll get paid once you’ve successfully completed the mission. Until then, you have an allowance that will get paid back. Understand me?”

“Makes sense to me, ma’am.” Clarisse chimed in.

“Good, then I’ll be on my way. Your trainer will be there any minute, so stay sharp.” Dahlia said and walked out of the room.

The highlight of my day was watching her walk out of the room. If I didn’t have to see her again soon, it would be a miracle. The rules here were much stricter than I thought they would be. I guess it made sense for how high-class this place was. There was a reason their track record was so good. Carter pouted, “I wanna train every day.”

“Proper rest is just as important as training.” Lucas chimed in.

“I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

“Keep on the trajectory you’re going, and that might just happen.”

Instead of blissfully keeping her mouth shut, Keira walked up to Carter, “How about we train together on the weekends?”

He smiled, “Sounds good to me.”

“You’re encouraging bad behavior,” Lucas warned.

Clarisse laughed, “If they want to run themselves ragged, then let them.”

Lucas blushed, “I suppose it will teach them a lesson.”

I rolled my eyes. Everyone was starting to get way too friendly around here. I wasn’t a fan. I just want to work and get back to my family. I didn’t sign up for this. I knew going into this that camaraderie was a thing, but friends? This was starting to get ridiculous. 

It wasn’t even a couple of minutes later when our trainer walked into the room. She looked pretty young, but older than the rest of us. Her brown hair was tied back into a tight ponytail. Calling her fit would be an understatement. She had more muscles than any bodybuilder I had ever seen. “What’s up, kids? I’m Annabelle. I know Dahlia explained everything to ya, so let’s get started right away!” 

She started by separating us into pairs. Keira and I, Lucas and Clarisse, and then Lucas Carter. We were to go head-to-head against each other, without using our powers. 

“Why are we doing this powerless?”

“Let’s say you're in a situation where you can’t use your abilities, all you have left is your physical strength. It’s better that you hone both, or you're going to get your ass kicked. Understood?"

“Understood, but stupid.”

To my chagrin, Keira and I were up first. I didn’t want to be paired up with her as it was, let alone having us go first. As soon as Annabelle said to begin, Keira already had me by the hair. She pulled my head down and slammed her knee into my stomach, then pushed me to the ground.

The wind knocked me out for a brief second, and I got to my feet. She was about to make a punch for the side of my head, but I curved my body around, narrowly escaping her. Behind her, I grabbed her arm and swung her around. 

She grabbed my arm while I was still holding on and did a backflip, slamming back to the ground. The wind knocked me out of me once again. I lay there for a quick second and grabbed her ankles, pulling her to the ground next to me.

I heard her head make a loud bang as it hit the ground. I jumped to my feet and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed. Afraid that I majorly messed up, I lean down next to her. While I examined her head, she grabbed the front collar of my shirt and jumped to her feet, dragging me with her.

“I hope you know I’m not going easy on you,” Keira grinned, out of breath.

“Same goes here,” I responded before she threw me against the wall. 

I get ready to go in for another attack, but she has her forearm pinned against my neck. She pushed harder, making it hard to breathe. I tried pushing her away to no avail. I decided that I would do what I do best. I couldn’t get the momentum I needed, but I managed to get a headbutt that sent her reeling back.

She looked dazed. Before she could get her bearings, I went in for a sweep kick. At the last second, she avoided it, and I was unbalanced. She got behind me and pushed me to the ground. I tried to get up, but she sat on my back. My arms were pinned; I couldn’t shake her off.

“Alrighty, you two, that’s all.” 

“What? I was just getting started.” Keira pouted.

“You can get off my back now.” 

“Nah, I’m good, it’s pretty comfy here.” She released my arms.

I pushed her off, “Do I look like a chair to you?”

She snickered and got to her feet, putting a hand out to reach me. I grabbed it, and she helped me to my feet.

“ Now that you two are done,” Annabelle laughed, “First off, Lydia, you were stiff as a board, move your feet, get more momentum in there. Also, don’t hesitate just because it’s training, she’s your enemy, take her seriously,” Annabelle put her hand on my shoulder. “Keira, your movements were way out of control. Limbs flailing everywhere doesn’t make for a calculated fight and actually can put you in more danger.”

Keira chugged her water, “Fine.”

Up next were Clarisse and Lucas. They were both graceful fighters, but Lucas was on a totally different level. Most likely from the extra year he has on us. 

I was too tired to pay close attention to what was going on. The only thing I noticed was how competent a fighter Clarisse was. She had the upper hand multiple times against Lucas. I could tell that he was holding back, though. 

It was the same when Lucas went against Carter. Carter definitely wasn’t as good as Clarisse. He was always one step behind Lucas. His attacks were also clunky at best. Any move he performed was sloppy; he couldn’t seem to get his form right. His stamina was impressive, though. When everyone would be tired, he was never tired.

“You all have some work to do,” Annabelle said once everyone was done. “That’s the exact reason why I’m here. Now that you know what to fix, we’re going to work on it tomorrow. That doesn’t mean you’re done, though. Get hitting the weight machines, you all could use it.” Annabelle laughed.

Begrudgingly, we got up from our seats on the floor. Carter and Lucas were permitted a ten-minute break; the rest of us, on the other hand, had some work to do. I wasn’t opposed to lifting weights, but I thought I would get to have some fun unleashing fireballs without restriction.

I was about to grab some weights off the rack when Keira came up to me,” You were actually somewhat of a match against me.”

I turned around to face her, “It’s not my first time in a fight.”

“I know,” she laughed, “Still, it was quite a sight to behold.” Why did she have to be so condescending?

I felt my blood boil, “Why do you act like you're better than us?”

She grinned, “I don’t act like I’m better than you guys, I know I’m better than you guys.”