Zteel

His feet up on his desk, Jora lounged in homeroom as the sun set before his phone began to ring.

Standing up, he reached for it in his pocket and looked at the caller ID. "So they made it," he said to himself. "Great news."

He picked up, "Doran! What have you got for me?"

"Well, you know how I feel about kids, Jora."

"Sure, but you know I've got to thank you for taking your time to help them out. They're promising."

"If you say so. You know, I only did it because I was voted by higher-ups to, right? The crime over here's gotten pretty bad, and I'm spearheading that project, too."

"Yes, yes, I know, but think of it as killing two birds with one stone. And how often do I ask you for favors?"

"True, I suppose."

Jora laughed. "Anyway, how're they doing?"

"Well, they made it, haven't annoyed me yet. I let them in on the general plan. They seem ready to go.

We're starting training tomorrow and then we'll get them on the field. They proposed that I let them do some scouting to start off after."

"Well, I'm sure they did. No real updates on my end. Is that all?"

"Yeah, for now."

Jora joked, "Cool, and don't rough them up too much, alright? I want them back in one piece."

"No promises," Doran jested back. "Over."

--

Entering the precinct, the cadets went to where Doran likely would have been, in the meeting room from before where he introduced them to Maverick.

The next morning came, and they did as he had instructed them to do the day before.

As expected, Doran was there with him, both with concentrated expressions as they reviewed notes over on an investigation board.

Doran looked up. "Great! You made it on time, you're off to a good start."

"What exactly are we doing?" Nyota asked.

"Glad you asked," Doran swiftly exited the room behind them as he waved them over.

"Follow me."

Enki exhaled as he and the others followed. "Hopefully, we finally get some action," he mumbled under his breath.

Tatius suppressed his laughter as he shook his head.

"Patience is a virtue, Enki," Idalia reminded. "We're here for the career we're destined to have for the rest of our lives. Take the good with the bad."

"Nah, he's right." Kilo instigated. "I second that. I never said this is what I'd be doing for the rest of mine."

Sage glared at him, gesturing for him to quiet. "Discipline is also a virtue, and without it, you'll live to breathe your last breaths long before anticipated."

Kilo rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"I'll do this for as long as I can," Nyota thought to himself. "As long as I can, if it means I get the answers I need."

After a short while, Doran led the cadets down a staircase toward the back of the precinct and through a tight corridor somewhere beneath ground level.

At the end stood a pair of large metal doors. Doran placed his hand onto a palm scanner key, prompting the doors to swiftly slide open.

Row by row, the overhead lights cut on. Discovered beyond the doors was an expansive training room permeated with many boxing rings, sparring courts and walls of assorted tactical equipment and weaponry.

The cadets collectively exclaimed in awe. The chamber was so large in fact, the smallest whisper could be heard echoing through the space.

Nyota grew eager. He could feel waves of adrenaline flow through his body. "Wow," was the only word he could conjure.

"Wow indeed," Sage adjusted his glasses.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about!" Enki sneered as he hammered his fist into his hand.

"Cadets," Doran announced, his hands resting on his hips. "Welcome to the Solomon Sector." He walked in and approached a wall of weaponry, grabbing a katana and unsheathing it.

"Today, you get to show what you're made of. One by one, show me you're capable of being an apprentice of mine."

The cadets looked at each other.

Doran sheathed the blade and tossed it to Nyota, then walked onto one of the sparring courts. "So, who's first?" He pointed to Enki. "You, you talk too much. Come up here, you're first."

"Say no more!" Enki slammed his fists together, making both of them become encased in rock and increase in size, then he leaped a distance high into the air onto the sparring court.

Nyota and the brothers looked at each other in disbelief.

"Whoa, that… that shouldn't be possible," Kilo spoke.

"Oh, it is," Idalia said as she and Tatius looked at Enki sedately. "This is more or less an everyday thing."

"Ready?" Doran asked, his hands in pockets as he and Enki assumed their positions.

"C'mon man, call it." Enki sneered.

Doran closed his eyes, shook his head and chuckled. "Your move."

Enki darted at Doran, who effortlessly leaped out of the way. He turned and tried to strike again, drawing the same conclusion.

He quickly grew irritated. Strike after strike, he attempted to finally land a hit on Doran, but to no avail.

"Stand still!" Enki yelled as he jumped high into the air.

"Well, he's got a killer's instinct," Sage said from the sideline as he and the others watched.

Nyota nodded his head. "Yeah, tell me about it."

Landing onto the court, and cracking it in the process, he failed yet again to touch Doran as he continued to evade his attacks.

"Hey, careful," Doran spoke again. "We just had to fix another court the other day. Come on, move with some grace."

Expecting Doran to appear behind him, Enki swung around in one final attempt to graze him.

Immediately, Doran dodged underneath and swept his legs, sending Enki to trip backward and fall to the ground.

"Ah, you're too slow, we'll have to work on that." Doran stood up, wiping his hands. "Alright, who's next?"

Enki snarked. "Pure luck," he said as his fists returned to normal and he retreated to the court's sideline with the others. "I could've had him."

"Sure," Tatius mocked as he tried to conceal his laughter. "In your dreams, we don't even know his MO yet."

Doran pointed at Kilo and Sage. "You, both of you. You're brothers, right?"

"Yes sir!" Sage replied.

"Yeah...?" Kilo replied, scratching his head.

"You've sparred with one another before, I'm sure."

The brothers nodded.

"Cool, come on up here," Doran commanded as he waved them onto the court. "Both of you."

"Say less!" They cheered in unison, stepping onto the court.

"So, you're used to the art of sparring. That's great. You've sparred against one another, but let me ask you, when's the last time you sparred together?"

They looked at each other in revelation. Sage and Kilo hadn't remembered the last time they sparred as allies; for as long as they could remember, they were always at odds with one another.

Doran nodded his head slowly. "Don't worry about it, that's all I needed to see." He assumed a fighting stance. "Begin as you wish."

The brothers looked at each other and nodded, and without sparing another second, they split the court and blitzed Doran, each on opposite sides.

"Bold," Doran said as he decided to approach Kilo head on.

Immediately, Kilo threw a punch at him, which was quickly blocked by Doran's forearm.

Throwing another punch followed by a kick, Doran blocked them both and grabbed his leg, thrusting his elbow into it at an awkward angle.

As Kilo fell to the ground, Sage jumped into the air and threw a strike aimed for the back of Doran's head.

Quickly, Doran turned around and averted Sage's strike away from him.

Jumping backward, Doran prepared to strike Sage back, but he had already followed his blocked attack with a small series of punches.

Continuing to evade Sage's hits, Doran recognized Kilo's recovery as he attempted to simultaneously attack him surprisingly from the rear.

"Their attacks, they're uncoordinated," Doran said to himself as he continued to evade them, expecting that they would eventually obstruct each other. "It's time to get this over with."

"Sage!" Kilo called. "Try using your MO, you've got to give me something to work with here."

"Trying, buy me some time." Sage responded as he retreated back away from Doran.

He closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists. Doran noticed that his hands were beginning to steam and subtly glow a blend of fiery green and blue in color.

Kilo proceeded to throw a barrage of attacks at Doran, who continued to block them.

Once Kilo was unbalanced, Doran countered with a kick of his own, once again creating distance between him and Kilo.

Kilo called again. "Sage, that's all I've got man, hurry up!"

"Quit rushing me!" Sage retorted. "You know, this would be much easier had you practiced and developed your own."

After freeing himself from Kilo, Doran darted at Sage. "You guys did fairly well. Go on, show me one last thing of what you've got, and make it good. I want to get a good idea of what I'm dealing with."

"Alright man, you asked for it. This one's new, a first!"

With outstretched arms directed toward Doran and hands together forming a bowl shape, blue flames emitted from the palms of his hands.

"Blue Flames MO: Genesis Beacon!"

In a straight line, the flames stretched to the end of the court, grazing Kilo.

"Hey! Fix your damn aim!" He yelled.

The Big Three and Nyota watched courtside in astonishment.

"This has to be new," Nyota thought to himself. "Before, Sage could only use his flames in short bursts. But now…"

As expected, Doran evaded Sage's attack as he hypothesized his ability.

As Sage, too, was caught off guard by his own ability, Doran leaped out of the way of the attack, returned to Sage's line of vision and delivered a blow directly into his gut.

"That's great stuff, kid, honestly." Doran assured him as Sage shrieked and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Kilo rushed over to Sage and helped him up.

"Alright! That leaves three more. Who's up next? Will it be the lovely young lady? Oo… perhaps the quiet kid, or the gritty, diligent youngeon." He pointed to Idalia, Tatius and Nyota respectively.

Pausing, he kept his gaze affixed to and waved his finger at Nyota. "No, as a matter of fact, I want you last."

The Big Three looked at Nyota. As Idalia and Tatius wondered why Doran made his request, Enki scorned and looked at him with contempt.

"I guess it'll be me." Tatius removed his overcoat and stretched as he walked onto the court.

"Great! For the record, you guys are doing great. If I may, I'll admit that I didn't expect much from you. You're doing a bit better than anticipated—"

Instantly, Tatius rushed at Doran with fist in hand. In one fell swoop, he was able to cover the distance of the entire court.

Nyota, Sage and Kilo were shocked. Within the blink of an eye, Tatius covered a tremendous amount of space.

"What the…?" Kilo exclaimed. "How?"

Bracing for impact, Doran guarded his torso and face with his arms. However, Tatius disappeared from in front of him and reappeared behind him within a single second.

Following his reappearance, Tatius struck Doran in his back, propelling him forward.

Wincing, Doran turned around, caught his balance and rolled his shoulders back to stretch.

Nyota was dumbfounded. "Did he just do what I think he did?"

Sage nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure," he reassured with an intent expression on his face, followed by a snicker.

"Teleportation. Now that's an MO you don't hear about every day."

"Interesting," Doran started with an exuberant tone. "You're quite special, kid. I can't remember the last time I've seen someone with that MO. You're going to prove to be useful."

He wiped his face and signaled for Tatius to attack once more. "Here, let me show you something, try me again."

"Alright."

Without hesitance, Tatius darted at Doran then disappeared again, reappearing behind him and striking him. Doran used his momentum forward to catch his balance and turned around to face him.

Tatius continued his movements, disappearing in front of Doran and spawning again behind him each time.

"This feels a little too easy," he thought to himself, leading him to feel a tad bit apprehensive.

However, he wasn't aware that Doran had been allowing himself to be hit so he could learn his movement patterns.

In an ignorant approach, Tatius continued to attack Doran in the same way.

Airborne, he thrusted himself into a high kick until Doran finally turned around, grabbed his leg and tossed him to the ground.

Tatius attempted to get back up, but when he raised his head, Doran towered over him and kicked him across his face.

"Not too shabby," Doran cracked his knuckles. "But you should know I've got speed on me, too."

He continued, "See the problem should be a quick fix. You like to teleport behind and in front of your enemy. Try utilizing more dynamics, the sides, top and bottom.

You've got a lot of potential with that quirk; I'm looking forward to working with you.

Alright, madam, you're next." Doran signaled Idalia onto the court as Tatius dusted himself off and returned to the court side.

Kilo spoke. "If you couldn't tell already, Nyota, I don't think he's going easy on us."

"Well, that much is obvious, I can tell he's barely even trying."

"Are you going to try using your MO?"

"I'm not too sure yet," Nyota responded, his eyes fixed to Doran as he studied him.

"I'm not in complete control of it yet. But I think I should gain some experience with it in combat, and this would be the perfect opportunity."

"Don't mind the cracks within the court floor." Doran joked with Idalia as she walked onto the damaged sparring court. "We're just having fun, after all."

Idalia closed her eyes and waved her hands in a circular motion. A crystalline material that flowed pink in color started from her feet and flowed throughout the newly formed crevices of the court floor, restoring it to peak condition riddled with a faint pink aura caused by the crystals.

"I prefer to spar on level ground."

Enki and Tatius laughed among themselves. "Clever," Tatius said, nodding.

Naturally, Nyota, Sage and Kilo grew curious. "How so?" Nyota asked them.

Amused, Tatius looked at them, then back at the stage. "You'll see."

Impressed, Doran didn't speak. Instead, he simply nodded his head.

"Well," he cracked his neck. "I've been doing the passive fighting, perhaps it's time for me to get active." Immediately he darted toward Idalia.

As he covered the distance of the court, stakes made of crystal erected throughout the stage, stemming from the crystal material Idalia placed within the stage earlier.

Before Doran could realize, a few of the crystal stakes grazed his shoulders and legs. Rather than feeling a sharp pain, he felt as though his skin was becoming irritable, an itching sensation that pulsated through his body.

Impressed, Nyota smiled and noted. "So, she turned her sparring area into her controlled domain."

"She sure did." Kilo assured.

Sage nodded. "Brilliant."

"You see," Tatius added. "She can be charming and congenial. But when it's time to fight,"

"It's like she's a whole different person." Enki finished his thought.

Wincing, Doran retreated to a space on the court where Idalia's crystals couldn't harm him. "Hopefully, this doesn't do any long-term damage," he laughed. "I've still got federal projects to run."

"Imagine," Idalia laughed. "If my crystals had poison, that'd be a plus. Don't worry, you'll still be alive to show us the ropes."

Raising her hand, shards of crystals levitated in her hand. "But right now, I've got you right where I want you, so just stand still for me."

Doran chuckled. "Have you ever heard of sound breaking glass?"

"What's this? Random chatter? Aww, already? You must've come to terms with the fact that you've lost.

I'm not sure what you're rambling about, but these crystals you're surrounded by can withstand up to half a ton of weight.

Don't worry, though. This'll be quick and barely painless." Idalia pointed her hand at Doran, propelling the levitating crystals in the palm of her hand to dart at him.

"Little girl," Doran laughed, followed by a stern expression. "I'll never need your pity. And I certainly won't tolerate your youthful ignorance."

The cadets courtside were bewildered. The entire court was littered with Idalia's crystals. It appeared the subtle grazing of them had a stinging effect.

How was Doran going to endure such a thoroughly planned attack?

Unfazed, Doran closed his eyes and opened his arms out wide. Then, he slammed his palms together, arms stretched out ahead of him, sending shock waves of persistent ringing through the air of the training basement.

Immediately, the shock waves shattered Idalia's crystals on impact into countless bits and pieces, both erected pillars and those that filled the crevices of the court's fissures.

The ringing was so relentlessly loud, the cadets had to cover their ears.

Kilo turned and shouted to Sage and Nyota. "What the hell is this?!"

Nyota shook his head and Sage responded. "We can't hear you, moron!"

After minutes of sustained ringing, Doran ceased the shock waves and Idalia collapsed to the ground. Every particle of her crystals dissipated into nothingness. 

"Idalia!" Tatius called out. He and Enki quickly rushed to the court to carry her off back to the sideline.

Doran walked over to the side of the court where the cadets stood together.

Nyota couldn't believe it. An attack as planned as Idalia's was, one where she succeeded in turning her battle ground into her controlled domain, was effortlessly subdued by Doran's MO.

It was the first time he had ever seen two Modus Operandi combat each other that were as developed as they were, let alone one being easily defeated.

"Guys," Nyota called, still in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know," Sage responded.

"Introducing my Sound Manipulation MO. You know, if I was really in the mood for laughs, I wouldn't be able to stop myself. I'm the head of this place, and yet…" He paused to look at the cadets.

Nyota and the brothers seemed tense and Tatius was still tending to Idalia.

Doran sighed and let out a slight chuckle. "You all didn't hesitate to put up any fight."

Nyota was as eager as ever to spar with Doran. He felt a feeling of anxiety paired with a feeling of anticipation. He still felt a sinking feeling in his chest but chose to ignore it.

His hands began to heat up, his palms glowing a subtle hint of blue.

The adrenaline was rushing at an all-time high.

"He doesn't think we're worth anything," Nyota thought to himself. "Prove him wrong."

Doran looked at Nyota. "You, your turn. Show me what you've got. And if you can prove to be more of a challenge, that would be a plus." He walked back to his area of the court.

"Enough chat," Nyota removed his coat as he walked onto the destroyed court. "You want a challenge, well I'm sure to give you one."

Kilo scratched his head and whispered to Sage. "Should I be offended?"

Sage gave Kilo a sidelong glance. "Just pay attention, I think we're about to witness something worthwhile."

Once Doran reached his side, he turned around to face Nyota. In the distance through the destroyed concrete rubble, he could see a blue aura surrounding him. "Oh yeah, this is going to be exhilarating."

The other cadets could see it, too.

Idalia had woken up. "Glad to know you're not dead," Enki teased.

Tatius continued on as all five cadets looked over at the court to witness Nyota's brawl with Doran. "His MO was Sound Manipulation, atomized all your crystals on impact."

Idalia stood up, rubbing her head. "Yeah, I remember that much, but… why is Nyota…"

"Glowing?" Kilo concluded her question. With a grin, he answered. "You'll find out."

"Start as you wish." Doran insisted.

"Gladly." Promptly, Nyota closed his eyes and deeply inhaled and exhaled.

"Remember your training," he thought to himself. He could feel the energy course through his veins. Small samples of blue electric static flashed around his body.

The bottom of his soles began to charge, as did the palms of his hands.

He opened his eyes with a smooth grin. "Ready."

"There we go!" Sage expressed.

"Corny…" Kilo teased from the side of the court, an amused smile on his face as well.

Doran sarcastically looked at his timepiece. "Any second now."

With swift haste, Nyota meandered through the concrete rubble, rebounding from one makeshift concrete pillar to another until he neared Doran.

"What the…?" Doran couldn't keep up with Nyota. He had faced plenty of swift opponents before, but Nyota seemed different. The only thing he could make out clearly was the blue trail he had left behind.

It appeared as though Nyota may have been moving at the speed of light.

"Wow!" Idalia voiced.

Enki was astonished. "How in the hell?"

Tatius peeked at Sage and Kilo and noticed their delighted expressions. "Aye!" He laughed and called.

The brothers looked over at him.

"Hello? You two didn't think to let us in on this?" He joked.

Doran didn't have much time to think. He had to do something, so he slipped behind a nearby heap of rubble and prepared his attack.

"This should do it," he thought to himself. He had no idea when or where Nyota would show, but he knew his sound manipulation could affect his entire area adjacent to him.

He peeked from behind cover and aimed toward Nyota's general direction. "Sound Manipulation MO,"

"Oh no, he's about to do it again!" Kilo yelled as he and the other cadets braced for impact. "Everyone, cover your ears!"

Doran struck his outstretched hands together. "Reverberance!"

Immediately, countless persistent waves of ringing sound high in pitch filled the space, much of the concrete rubble that littered the court fractured even more.

Bouncing into the air off one last pillar of concrete, his legs and feet still charged with electricity, Nyota neared Doran and propelled a flying kick aimed for his torso.

"Blue Lightning MO: Thunderbolt Drive!"

"Unbelievable!" Doran mouthed as he tried to brace for impact. Unfortunately, Nyota proved to be too quick for him, which allowed Nyota to land a clean hit into his body.

"Perfect!" Nyota rejoiced.

The other cadets watched, amazed. Despite the tenacious sound waves, Nyota seemed completely unfazed by them. 

"Oh, my goodness!" Idalia shouted.

Kilo and Sage cheered. "He connected! But how did he manage to sustain the sound waves?"

"It's his ability." Tatius interjected. "Light travels exponentially faster than the speed of sound.

Obviously, there's no confirmation for that being the reason, but it's just my guess."

"Nyota," Enki thought to himself. "Damn you. I can't let this kid outclass me, not for long."

"It's impressive," Tatius continued, crossing his arms. "Not to discredit any of the work Nyota did, but it's worth noting the Lieutenant was fatigued.

Quite frankly, our leader being defeated this easily wouldn't give me the strongest sense of security otherwise."

Kilo and Sage returned their gazes to the court, now covered in a large cloud of debris and completely destroyed.

Reluctantly, Kilo agreed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Nyota and the other cadets waited for the dust to settle. As it cleared, Doran remained standing despite Nyota's successful attack.

Nyota sneered. "Unbelievable," he thought to himself. "I don't understand.

Crystals can sting him, and he gets a little tired from basic attacks, and yet an elevated and quick sweeping kick charged with electricity does absolutely nothing.

Make it make sense."

Tatius gave a look of pleasant surprise. "Well, that's bittersweet. You see what I mean?"

Doran laughed and wiped his face. "Nyota Atar, am I correct? Now, when did you learn to do all that?"

Nyota didn't respond. Instead, he stood in place, ready to strike again.

"At ease, cadet, at ease. You did well. I'm calling the match. I've got other things I've got to attend to."

He walked off the court. "I like everything you six have shown me today.

You have the basic tactical talent, you've already showcased professionalism, but most importantly, you've shown me that you're active learners, continuously learning from each other's experiences and others around you.

You're competent, and competence isn't exactly the easiest to find in people nowadays, let alone kids your age."

Collectively, the cadets stood confused.

"Wait, so that's it?" Enki complained. "What do we do now?"

Adjusting the fit of his overcoat, Doran was already heading to the training room exit. He paused, turned around and shrugged his shoulders. "That's for you to figure out."

Nyota and the others cried and complained in unison. "What?!"

They were shocked Doran, as job oriented as he was, would mutter such a thing, especially considering the assumption that they would have a full itinerary during their stay in the southwestern region of Lunanova.

"Look, I said I've got other things to do, one of which is getting this court you guys destroyed repaired, that and anything else wrecked that got caught in crossfire.

Go on and do whatever you kids like to do nowadays.

Nevertheless," he continued on through the exit in a hurry. "Ciao!"

Kilo was dumbfounded. Doran spoke as though it was the cadets alone who had demolished the sparring court.

He looked at Nyota and Sage with a puzzled expression on his face, pointing to Doran. "Did he just…?"

Nyota and Sage laughed a bit. "Yeah, he did."

After a brief silence, Tatius sighed and spoke, following after Doran to the exit, a hand in his pocket. "Well, I'm heading back to the hotel, anyone else coming with, feel free to join me."

"Right, good idea!" The others acknowledged together.

--

It was nightfall and Doran and Maverick were still at the police precinct. They were the two remaining officers in the building before closure.

"Alright Doran, I'm heading home for the night," Maverick said as he put his overcoat on.

"Alright, sounds great," Doran responded. "And thanks for staying the late hours with me. I really do appreciate it."

Maverick humbly waved off Doran's gratitude. "Oh, don't even worry about it. It's my job. Plus, what good would I be doing were I to leave you to figure all of this out by yourself, am I right?"

Doran laughed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. And hey, tell the fam I send my greetings and best regards."

"Will do! Alright now, see you."

"Alright, take care."

Following Maverick's departure, Doran decided to take a small break for himself. Relocating to the front steps of the precinct, he sat down and pulled out his phone to call Jora.

After a few seconds of ringing, Jora answered the phone.

"Hey Doran, what's up? What have you got for me this time?"

"Well, we got the training down, got to see what all six of them are about."

Jora paused, waiting for Doran to elaborate. "Yes, and?"

Doran chuckled. "Well, I've got to say, to be completely honest, I don't think you could have given me any other set of kids as good as these."

Jora was amused. "Oh, really? You don't say."

"Yeah, they all have crazy good skills and passion, and it seems you've sent me two pairs of three, judging upon the way they interact with one another."

"Yeah, those brothers and the kid with heart are mine. Sage, Kilo and Nyota, my 'mentees,' if you will.

Now the squadron I'm in charge of is of high measure, but the other three, Enki, Tatius and Idalia rank at the top of the top squadron.

When I first introduced them to each other, they all reacted as though they'd already met. There was some tension, but not between all of them."

"Really? Interesting," Doran briefly rubbed his chin. "I have an idea of who, but even then, as a collective, they seem to get along well."

"Regardless, that's great news. What sticks out about each of them? How are their tactical skills, and please tell me you have great news to bear regarding their MO."

"Actually, I do. I'm not going to lie; they made me sweat a little. First, I tested Enki, and I've learned he has quite the temperament.

Not much to call home about in the speed or attack range departments, but his MO is still formidable.

Not certain what it is exactly, but I'm sure it relates to the element of Earth, and oddly enough, sheer brute strength.

Next, I sparred with the brothers simultaneously. I figured they were used to fighting against one another, so I made them battle alongside each other.

The younger brother, Kilo, was it? He fights with a fury, no sign of an MO just yet.

Sage is like his opposite almost, collected in nature. His MO was what he called 'Blue Flames.'

Ironically enough, they'll need time to develop their chemistry with one another, but that's an easy fix. If not, I'm sure it'll fix itself.

Then there's Tatius. He's perhaps the most tactical of the bunch, close behind him is only Sage. His MO is teleportation, and he can use it in clever ways.

However, his movements can be easy to catch on to, but this can be changed if he learns how to utilize the art of dynamics to his advantage."

"Interesting," Jora took a seat nearby. "And the others?"

"Idalia, as jovial as she is, she can be quite the warrior in battle.

She impressed me, her ability to use her defense as an attack, and turn her battleground into her own domain with her Crystallization MO.

When a few of her crystals grazed and cut me, they left a stinging sensation that subtly quivered through my veins, an effect I would imagine poison would have. It was all pretty impressive.

I'd say up until that point, she had me more than the ones before her."

Jora laughed. "And yet, you have one name you haven't mentioned."

"Yes, exactly. Let me tell you, when I say I think I'll have a tad bit of fun developing and fighting alongside these guys, I mean it. But Nyota, he's a special case.

Our brawl was short-lived, but— You know my MO, right? Sound Manipulation. I used it to shatter Idalia's crystals instantaneously. But this Nyota kid was unfazed.

He called his MO 'Blue Lightning.'"

"He did what?" Jora stood up as Doran's synopsis piqued his interest. He knew Nyota had been developing his MO, but hearing that he was able to control his newfound abilities, in a battle with Doran, no less, was practically unheard of.

Slightly confused by Jora's enthusiasm, Doran continued on. "Um, yes. When he first stepped onto the court, he already had a blue glowing aura emitting from him. Static was clearly flashing all over his body, and the second the match kicked off…" He paused.

Jora was eager to hear more. "What? What happened?"

"He was ricocheting all over the court from concrete pillar to pillar, damn near at the speed of light. He left a trail of blue light behind him every time he moved.

Granted, I don't have many to speak on, but in all my years, he is by far the quickest I've ever seen anyone in battle, friend or foe.

His final attack was an airborne sweeping kick, and obviously I was able to withstand it and I called the match.

His grit, his will to win, it's almost like he finds it exhilarating when people doubt him, like he's focused on a bigger picture, fighting for something else."

"I see," Jora contemplated. Before the cadets departed, he remembered when Nyota explained to him that he was determined to solve the puzzle that was his memory; he was determined to find his identity.

"Well, I don't know if I could call that obvious, per se." Jora jokingly continued on. "I'm just— I'm amazed, is all. I'm happy to hear about each one of their growths, especially Nyota, Sage and Kilo."

"Sure thing, I've got one question for you though."

"Go on."

"Why do you care so much about those three? You talk about them like they're your sons."

For a brief second, Jora could feel his stomach drop. He knew that the reasons Nyota, Sage and Kilo continued to pursue the line of work of Lunanova law enforcement were different from all other cadets throughout the District.

They were more conscious as a result of his teachings.

He couldn't afford to let anyone else know, even his close friend he had known for years in Doran.

So, he decided to play his response safely.

Jora laughed. "You speak as though I can't take my job seriously. You said it yourself; you can see the willingness to work, the passion those kids hold, can't you? I just want to ensure that they perform at their best."

"You're right, my apologies. But, still, I just don't get it. As talented as they are, they're just kids. Do you even know why they want this? Do they know how rigid this line of work is?

Where are they getting this passion from? I don't even hold that much passion as an adult if I'm being honest. I don't know, perhaps it's just your typical case of ignorant youth?"

Jora tried to reassure him. "I know their reasons, they're rather personal, things I don't think are worth disclosing. I even mentioned to them the very considerations you're speaking of right now.

But if it's any sign of assurance, just know they've put thought into these things, and I don't think it's the line of work itself that gives them the lively purpose that they seek, but rather the sentimental return in investments."

Doran still had his concerns, but he finally decided to trust him. "Alright, like you said, I can tell they're great kids. But you know how we were at a point in time, naive and whatnot. I'm just looking out."

"I understand, and trust, your concern is greatly appreciated. This world's tough, you know as well as I do.

These kids need experienced adults in their lives to mentor them."

"You're right." Doran yawned and stretched. "Anyway, that's the scoop. I'm going to head home now, get some shut eye, and you should too."

"Likewise, I'll talk to you soon, Doran. Over."

"Over."