The Glass Knight

"I've got him," Damien said, mentally activating one of Jaise's tools. They'd walked into the exam room with an arm full of their own creations, handing them out to different members of the team like candy. Whatever the situation was, they'd come prepared.

And forewarned. The little bit of information he and Vivainne had been able to steal from Professor Artemis's office had turned out to be useful. While the other teams were presumably going in blind, he knew enough to be able to let everyone know that the main combatant they'd be facing was someone with an electrokinesis power. Before the test had started, Jaise was able to alter a few of the tools they'd made to be better equipped to deal with the super.

Not that everything had gone as planned. Damien hadn't been prepared for how fast everything could escalate, beginning the moment Thomas set foot in the bank. Somehow, whatever he'd done had been suspicious, and the super had attacked him. Then everything went crazy.

He remembered it in flashes now, sitting just outside the combat classroom, leaning his head on his knees. He'd done his best, controlling the meta-tech and helping capture the group of criminals, but as the boom of lightning filled the street and brick and glass shattered, it sent him back to the super battle that had killed his parents and made him lose his hand.

It hadn't been so bad, until a stray bolt of lightning caught a woman in the chest. She'd dropped, dead. Damien knew none of it was real, but it still left his heart racing, mind so fuddled he could barely make the final capture. If he'd just been a little bit faster with his power, she wouldn't have died.

He could have done better.

Opening his eyes, he stared down into his lap, the hand disconnected at the moment. He just… needed a break from it.

Footsteps had him lifting his head, the soft clicks of the narrow heels against the tile floor drawing closer. Professor Artemis approached him, stride slowing as she neared, a soft, concerned look on her face in the dimmed lighting of this underground corridor.

"Are you all right?" she asked, stopping in front of him.

"Yeah," he said, lifting his head. He really needed to get inside the classroom. They were all supposed to gather there, to get the results of their test. Damien really didn't want to know how he'd done. "Just—" He screwed his eyes shut again, fighting back a wave of emotion. It shouldn't have mattered. It wasn't as if he wanted to be a hero. But he did want to do better.

"You can take a moment," Artemis said, her voice soft. "And if you need to speak to someone—"

"I'm fine," he said, cutting her off. He grabbed his prosthetic, fumbling with one hand to reattach it, and pushed himself to his feet. He was just being stupid. None of this mattered, he wouldn't ever graduate from the program. He was just pretending.

He brushed past the professor and walked into the room, finding his group standing altogether to one side. He made his way over to them, joining the team as Professor Artemis walked into the room.

Professor Wilson and Professor Canvas were already waiting. Artemis handed them a stack of envelopes he hadn't noticed her carrying, and the professors began handing them out. Apparently they weren't going over the results together then.

Canvas handed Jaise the envelope. "These are the results of the test," they said. "As well as dates for each of you to come and discuss the events of the test."

"Discuss the results?" Damien asked as Jaise tore into the envelope, not wasting any time, eyes darting rapidly across the page before they'd even finished unfolding it.

"There's no growth without feedback," Canvas said. "The meeting will also entail preparing you for the upcoming midterms."

They walked off to the next group as Jaise finished reading over the contents of the envelope, mouth creasing into a thin line. "Hmm."

"Hmm?" Rosa asked, leaning over Jaise's shoulder to read the paper. "What is it?"

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"We could have adhered to our roles a bit better," they said, finger running along the edge of the paper. "I should have been more vocal…"

"What does it say about me?" Thomas asked, still holding his side like it was sore. Well, he had been struck by a bolt of fabricated lightning, and that couldn't feel good. It was a good thing he was so durable in his energy summon.

"Here." Jaise handed over the paper and walked a few steps away, beginning to pace. Damien frowned, watching them. Had they done that poorly?

"Well, that's not as bad as they made it seem," Rosa said, handing over the paper to Damien. Thomas stared on with betrayal.

"Why not give it to me?" he asked as Damien read over the paper, a strange emotion welling up inside him. It included the original copy of their team lineup that Jaise had drafted, including what each of their roles were and what function they were supposed to perform. There were notes on each of the entries, on where they'd strayed from their intended role, what they could have done better, how they could have utilized their powers better.

On the other side of the paper, there were notes for their team as a whole and the event they'd dealt with. Their speed. The damage caused. The lives lost, and lives saved.

Damien felt sick, just looking at the number. Did heroes see the same report after every fight?

How could they receive something like this, and not do everything in their power to save as many lives as possible?

Feeling as though he was burning, Damien turned, handing over the paper to Thomas. Angry. That's what he was, he realized, staring down at his shaking hands. He needed to do better.

Florence tried to catch him as he moved, not sure where he was going, but he dodged out of the way. He couldn't talk to him right now, he just needed to walk.

A red dot appeared at the corner of his vision, the text flashing up before he could turn it off.

I need you to find where they've taken my research, Vora said. No greeting. Nothing. No asking. Just demands. He shook his head, clearing it from sight, wishing he could just ignore it.

Can't, he typed back, eyes shut.

Her response was immediate. What do you mean, can't?

He ignored her, letting the red dot blink at the corner of his vision until it went out. He would respond to Vora later. She'd be angry, but he would deal with it. He couldn't hack into Unity's computers again without getting kicked from the program, and he didn't want to leave.

He stepped into the elevator up to the next floor and began to type. What is your plan for me when you get out?

I'll need to continue my research, Vora said, but that wasn't an answer. He grit his teeth and let it drop. He'd done everything for her. Hack into Unity's computers. Get caught by the heroes. Go into the hero training program. All to help her escape and try and win her daughter back, but now he didn't believe she even deserved it. Vivainne had been hurt, her power core fractured. That was no little, accidental thing. You can help me.

Damien shook his head and powered off the implant. He needed to figure out what he was going to do. About the program. About Vora.

He stepped into the tower's library, seating himself once again in front of the computer. The itch struck to dig into Vora more, but that would only be suspicious. He could look into his parents…

No, he decided. That wouldn't do any good either.

Instead, he opened up the computer and began to research heroes with similar powers to his own.

******

"I don't know that I'm suited for this program," Damien said as Florence hung to his hand, walking toward the auditorium. Over the weekend, Damien had tried to calm down, work out what to do about Vora and his spot in the program, but it was all too tangled together to make any progress. He'd joined the program for Vora, to get close to Vivainne and help Vora get the information she needed to escape. He'd given her the information, letting her know where she was, and she was no doubt using that to construct an escape plan. Whatever she planned to do after she got out… he didn't want any part in it.

Would he be able to stay here after she escaped?

She wouldn't allow that. Vora would never allow that. If he wasn't working with her, he was a threat, and he knew what she did to those. He'd helped cover it up.

Florence stopped walking, pulling Damien to a halt with him. "What do you mean? Is this because of the test?"

He shrugged. "I'm just not sure it's the right fit for me." Maybe he could leave before anything happened, try and keep Vora away from the people here?

But what about Vivainne?

"This is just the first test," Florence said, tugging on Damien's hand. "Give it some time. I'm sure we're all going to learn a ton between now and midterms. You'll see."

"Sure," Damien said. He pulled a weak smile to his face, struggling to maintain the expression. "I'll just wait til midterms."

One way or another, he doubted he'd be in the program for much longer after that.