Silhouette

Sarah ducked beneath the metal fist flying towards her face.

The Hero trainee responded to Elaimant's attack with a light-coated knee to the torso, the elementally charged attack pushing back the towering avatar of magnetically gathered scraps in the form of a humanoid body the crystalline alien used. From the crunching and screeching that echoed in the training room during the impact, the hit likely damaged some of those metal bits.

The large four-armed snake in gladiatorial armor watching over them nodded its massive head.

"Good. When facing larger and tougher opponents, always aim to evade rather than block attacks, and have your own keep them at bay while focusing on internal damage. You saw how effective it was now, just remember to apply it in real fights."

The reptilian veteran Hero then turned to her alien comrade.

"Thank you for your assistance, Elaimant. Are you fine?"

The mineral pyramid that rotated in the iridescent bubble that served as their head bobbed up and down.

"Affirmation: The damage inflicted on this body is no different than damage on your trident."

The teacher hummed as one of their eyes briefly flicked to look at the weapon strapped on their scarred back.

"Good. However, do try to pay attention to such matters. A damaged weapon is one likely to break, and a weapon breaking in the middle of the fight is a liability."

"Rebuttal: This body is made to be disposable and easily altered, repaired, or replaced."

"Yes, but even then you have to be careful. It may only take seconds, but those are seconds that could decide the course of a situation."

Serpent picked up a buckler from their back and showed it to the two trainees.

"This shield is meant to receive hits. It is its function. I do often exchange it for a fresh one after a mission where it is used to give it some time in maintenance. However, should I fail to keep track of its state or let it be more damaged than necessary while in the field, it may shatter unexpectedly when I attempt to block another blow. I do not necessarily mean attacks either. It can be used to shelter civilians from falling rubble for instance, and while I could survive mistakenly using faulty gear in this situation, the same couldn't be said of them."

The extraterrestrial buzzed for a few seconds.

"Affirmation: Proper care will be given."

The scaled lips of the Hero formed the closest approximation to a smile such a bestial face could make.

"Good. Now, let's swap places. Firefly, go other there and fire light at your comrade on my signal. Elaimant, your goal is to reach and touch her without being hit a single time."

"I'm on it."

"Observation: This seems unfeasible."

"I make it a point to only give exercises I believe you can manage. Giving you too hard an objective is more likely to dishearten than encourage you, after all. Trust me, Elaimant. You can do this."

The bulky figure seemed to hesitate.

"How can you tell if it's impossible if you don't try?"

It was hard to tell if the trainee had been convinced by these words given the lack of subconscious body language, but after a few moments, they began to play into the exercise. It took only a few seconds for a bolt of light to touch them, prompting them to return to their starting point with their shoulders hung low. Serpent stayed for the next few attempts that ended at a similar speed before slithering off, heading to another corner of the large white gymnasium in the Union Headquarters the small group stood in.

When the Hero reached the next pair of trainees, they had to raise one of their clawed hands to catch the fist of Kopper Kid, the blindfolded young man reacting before he could think. When he realized he couldn't move his hand after the meaty thud he used his free hand to remove the cloth blocking his view. Framed by his domino mask, his eyes immediately grew wide and sweat began to trickle down his dark brow when he realized who he was facing.

"At ease, Kopper. While good reflexes are important and highly valued, how you use them is important. We wouldn't want you to break a few ribs just because a civilian spooked you."

"I-I'm sorry! I won't-"

"At ease, at ease. That's why you're here, to fail and learn."

The reptilian humanoid stretched their neck, showing off the countless marks of past wounds and burns on their form.

"We all make mistakes. The important part is learning from them."

A third figure joined them, the beating of wings signaling the landing of one feathered young man.

"Scareowl. From afar I noticed you still had trouble with ranged attacks."

The bird clicked his beak in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, sir. It just..."

"I understand, trust me. It would be hypocritical of me to say that it's easy to do. The difference between us however is that I have the bulk to support a mostly melee fighting style, whereas your mobility and fragility clash with it."

"I know, sir."

"What have you tried so far?"

"I dabbled somewhat with throwing daggers, but those didn't fit me. Not just because of the high degree of lethality, but also because they are much harder to aim when in the air."

"Uhm, yes, I see how impractical that would be."

"I then tried some magic, but once again, the focus required doesn't mesh well with flying. When I do manage to cast without falling, I'm just a sitting duck for Kopper to shoot down."

The young man scratched the back of his neck as he was mentioned, though he didn't interfere in the conversation between the two animalistic people.

"Yes, sacrificing your agility and speed isn't worth it. Anything else?"

"As of now, I'm trying a form of martial art."

"Oh?"

"When Madam Saline first commented on our issues, I asked a Legion to compile a small list of possible ways to overcome mine based on her suggestions. This technique allows the user to manipulate wind with their body."

"Which would be both a way to attack at a distance and to improve your flight. Not to mention other applications like pushing back gas, destabilizing foes, or blowing flames. A lucky find. Given the look on your face, however, I can guess there are some issues."

The avian nodded.

"While channeling it through my wings does let me greater powerful gusts, it also ruins my balance. I need my wings to stay airborne in the first place, to suddenly stop beating them and instead do a more powerful movement for this technique just sends me flying."

Kopper held back a chuckle, though neither of the two paid it any mind.

"If that is your concern, then why use your wings?"

Scareowl's large eyes blinked a few times.

"Pardon?"

"Your technique. Use your legs instead."

"My... Legs?"

"Yes. If the martial art you're referring to is similar to those I know, you could kick the air instead for the same effect. In fact, you could even use your talons to modify it and add a cutting edge to it all."

The trainee tilted his head.

"Are you sure this could work, sir?"

The strange reptilian smile returned to the snake's lips.

"Of course. I know how difficult it can be to learn methods not quite meant for us. Most forms of combat heavily rely on footwork, for example."

They slapped the end of their long muscle tail on the ground.

"I had to adapt everything to suit my body. You just need to do the same."

One of their four hands pointed at the suit the trainee wore. He looked rather ridiculous with how it compressed the feathers of his body up until the collar, contrasting his puffy head and making it look like he had been plucked.

"Just like this suit clearly constricts and doesn't fully suit you, the same goes for what you learn."

Serpent, who had to be at least twice as tall and wide as Scareowl, then lowered their head to his conspiringly before whispering.

"Don't worry about the suit, you won't have to put up with it for much longer. Try to start thinking about what you want."

The Hero then rose back to their full height as they turned to address the other trainee.

"What about you, Kopper?"

The tall young man whose lanky frame didn't match his remarkable strength tried his best to appear more confident than he truly was as he answered. It wasn't convincing, but the veteran played along.

"Eh, well, can't really do much when I'm still waiting for Scareowl to figure out his stuff... Not that I mind! Wait, no, I mean- I understand why it's taking you a while to figure out, but I can't exactly train to handle fast enemies when my only opponent isn't fully ready yet. He attacked a few times, but all his ranged stuff is, well... Bad. I only gotta act when he's just diving down."

"So, how did you handle those situations?"

"Eh... Not great? He's fast and can be super quiet. I can't do much with my eyes closed, like you asked me to."

The reptile spared a glance at the blindfold he was still holding, the piece of cloth hanging down next to the small pouch full of pebbles the trainee had been given to target his partner.

"Yes, I can see the issue. You're hoping that him attacking more reliably will improve your learning rate. Not exactly wrong, but it'd condition you to expect attacks to only come your way. You won't always be the target of discreet assaults. Not to mention, like what happened when I arrived, not everything that may approach you aims to harm."

The young black man blushed.

"Yeah, sorry about that again..."

"No worries. But yes, this is a flaw many unwittingly integrate because they want to learn faster. Scareowl's uncertain attacks are an opportunity to learn to ascertain whether you need to react to something or not."

Something swooshed and immediately the powerful trainee went for it, only to realize he had overextended his arm only to catch the tip of Serpent's tail far away from him, risking his balance and almost falling over. As he stared at the scaled piece of body part in his hand he felt a poke on his back. One of the Hero's four index fingers was pointing at him to place a claw over his spine.

"And just like that, you'd be paralyzed, if not dead."

The snake let their hand down and forcefully removed their tail from Kopper's hand, the trainee almost falling over from the powerful pull.

"Estimating threats and problems is a capital part of Hero work. You need to be able to determine whether a troublemaker is only a boasting thug or a Villain in hiding. You need to know which situation needs handling first. You need to know if something is out of your league."

They hummed.

"If I remember correctly, that is one lesson Saline taught you before, no?"

"Eh, yeah... That Legion combination thing was... It sure was something."

Scareowl nodded along, prompting the gladiatorial reptile to smirk.

"Ah, that large one. Not the biggest they can do, but anything more than that would have been overkill even in a situation you were supposed to lose. It makes for a good training partner once you can handle it."

The two young men took a second to process that sentence. They exchanged glances that quickly evolved from curious to shocked to horrified.

"Uh..."

"Sir, did you just imply that you could fight one of those head-on?"

"They are large and clumsy targets. Even without destructive powers like my colleagues, a good strategy is enough to bring them down. You just need some experience and more training to do the same."

The two trainees weren't convinced and it showed, even with their masks.

"I watched the videos of your test. While you couldn't have won, you still did an impressive job. If you had been better prepared you could have destroyed a few joints, crippling it. The Legions would have to reorganize or disband, allowing you to deal more damage. With enough individual robots broken, they would no longer be able to reliably combine without exposing glaring weak points."

"Is that how you do it, sir?"

"Oh, no. I either rip a leg off and beat it to death with it or I slither up to the main body and rampage until only the limbs are left."

"Oh."

"But worry not, you two. This is not what I expect of you. Not even you, Kopper."

He let out a sigh of relief.

"You may have super strength, but you have yet to fully master to use it. Not to mention, there are varying levels of powers even for the same ability."

"Yeah, you're right..."

"Worry not. You have shown the potential to reach such heights one day."

"Oh. Oh..."

The Hero gave them a few friendly taps on the shoulders before slithering away, leaving them to their training as they approached the final duo of the lot.

Where the two previous pairs' training had been relatively simple and even tranquil, it wasn't the same for the gleefully giggling pyromaniac girl and the punkish drow's bout. Glittering pink flames flew about as the smaller of the two hopped everywhere, much to the annoyance of the curse mistress. Tendrils of blood occasionally popped out of the ground to slap Glicer Glitter, but every time they only found air or sparkly powder that quickly ignited. More common curses also failed to hit their target at any point. Comparatively, Maledicta's projected confidence was much harder to take seriously as she had to scramble to avoid colorful items thrown her way, her purple skin and ebony already having fallen victim to the shiny particles. Her long ears twitched along her eyelids, a snarl marring her normally somewhat dignified appearance. Why, if one were to get closer, they could even hear a growl.

The Hero approached the two casually, only raising a hand to crush a stray tentacle that appeared a little too close and tried to grab them by accident. The elf paused when she noticed the situation, only for the distraction to leave an opening for a brand ball of glitter to be thrown at her face. The resulting explosion saw her originally white domino mask becoming a chaotic rainbow.

Glicer giggled at the taller girl's look as she settled down next to the reptilian warrior, oddly hued fire vanishing from her hair with the arrival of the quiet.

"Glicer, Maledicta. I see your training is proving fruitful."

The smaller one simply grinned as the other's veins bulged on her forehead.

"I fail to see anything of value here, Serpent."

The snake had a smug look on their face.

"Oh, a sharp young woman like you should see my point by now."

The wrathful glare they got in response hinted that no, she didn't.

"Fine. Let me enlighten you. The point here was twofold: Glicer needed to learn to keep her destructive impulses in check, to learn how to use her flames without charring someone. Judging by your lack of burns, she did well enough."

The pyromaniac beamed at the praise, further angering the drow.

"And the second point?"

"I've seen the reports about you. I think you needed to be reminded for all your power you couldn't work alone, and that your teammates were just as capable as you are. You did show more impressive teamwork than anyone expected during that test, but this respect needs to be applied at all times. I'm not asking you to become their friend, just to acknowledge they are equally as competent as you. After all, had this been a battle to the death, we have enough evidence to know who would have been the clear winner."

Maledicta growled, her arms crossed.

"If this was to the death, I-"

"You could have used more dangerous spells? Yes. But would you have had the time to cast them?"

She held Serpent's gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

"As I thought. People are skilled in different areas. Glicer here is a born troublemaker, she'll easily be able to sow chaos in battle while protecting her allies and civilians. You, on the other hand, are a powerful caster who needs to be supported to use your strength to the fullest. There is no shame in that. Different roles have different purposes, and they are all important. If being a Hero was only about being the strongest combatant, then we wouldn't be guardians, just warriors. Oppositely, if Heroes couldn't fight at all, then we'd simply be glorified emergency and relief workers. It's about being a balance of both."

She scoffed.

"What about you and Firefighter? You two seem rather specialized, no?"

"We are. And that's the point. You need a bit of everything. Not to mention, you need to learn how to dabble in the fields of others. I can help even when no fighting is involved, and Firefighter is more than capable of taking care of Villains should he need to. We simply are suited for different things."

She scoffed once more.

"Well, if you have grown tired of this lesson, how about something different? You two against me. No weapons on my side, of course."

Glicer went to exchange a look with Maledicta, but the drow's eyes were fixated on the snake, a smirk on her lips.

"Oh, I'm gonna show you all what I'm made of."

The veteran smiled.

Minutes later, as Sarah adjusted her aim to accommodate the now cloud-like form of the scrap body of Elaimant, she swore she could hear familiar shrill screaming in the distance.