The sand was starting to feel comforting as the trainees lined up for Monday drills. A nice thing laid out to catch them should they fall. A little growing counterbalance to the outright menace that was Para waited for them as usual.

  “Aright. You’ve all made progress… I guess."

  Though maybe a bit of his edge was lapsing.

  "But don’t expect things to be easy now that you’ve gotten somewhere."

  Only a bit though.

  "Next week you’ll be starting fight training, as well as a little selected coursework. Can’t have you just skip out on a proper education. But this week though, oh this week you're all mine. To prepare you properly for fighting at the level expected of you, we won’t be doing standard training routines. Instead you'll be learning to control all that strength you’ve built up. And to start that all off... Aegis!!”

  The lined up trainees looked to an opening storage door on the side of the arena. It was large, almost reaching the stands above it, but no one could make out what was actually inside the space. The keen eyed saw a rounded shape matched into the darkness, but could only put real definition to it once the door was fully open and the object started rolling. And when Seth finally saw that matte black exterior roll into the light, he and the Garkah reeled.

  The sphere from the center of his town, the Garkah’s Ark that had fallen on and taken away his old life. The source of the greatest disaster this world had ever seen. But it was… different.

  The melded in space rocks had been removed, and it was visibly scarred from all manner of attacks. Cracks from punches, burns and slightly melted sections from energy attacks, there was even a deep, but limited, gash from a sword. As Aegis somewhat effortlessly rolled it out onto the arena floor more marks became visible, but none of them seemed to be anything more than surface wounds. It finally stopped behind Para, looming over him at nearly three times his size. Seth hadn’t realized it was that big, but it was half buried and in a crater last time.

  He could feel the Garkah scramble for understanding, a few looking for countermeasures if the worst was coming due already. Worry that the League deduced their presence, learned something from the Ark, or worse restarted it. All those thoughts rang away as Para slammed a hand onto the sphere. Resound with a deep metal gong and silencing the trainees' gossip that Seth was too lost in thought to hear.

  “A few of you seem to understand just what this is, good for you. For the uneducated, this is… was… the source of the Laceroid Crisis.”

  Seth was forcibly reminded of the first few months in the orphanage, hearing that name attached to news reports. Hating it. Watching speculations over the cause fill the hours. The classifications of the monsters that were his… Seeing the casualty numbers rise every day. Hundreds of thousands were dead by the end. A globe spanning effort, all the terror and pain, everything the crisis had caused. All of it had stemmed from this massive black sphere. And yet no one could figure out what the hell it was.

  The trainees were visibly shaken up a bit by its presence here, Seth especially. But… but he understood he needed to get ahead of things before his reaction drew notice.

  “Why… is it here?”

  The grit on his teeth and warble of his voice turned the trainees toward him, most seeing a similar stare of deep seated dread.

  “It’s here… because no one can do anything with it.”

  The trainees turned back to Para, scowling at Seth for interrupting.

  “This accursed thing is virtually indestructible, these marks and cuts are proof of that. They weren’t made by tools or machines. These are all marks from some of the strongest heroes we have left.”

  Para rolled the sphere back slightly, the massive weight undeniable as it creaked the floor of the arena despite the sand. An indent that appeared to crack its surface slightly came in over his shoulder.

  “This one was made by Kineticlysm, the force he put out almost leveled the old Terrace base.”

  He rolled it again showing a melted blast mark.

  “This was made by our very own Hothead, the temp he put out was measured at just a touch over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This thing could skip off the surface of the sun and still remain solid.”

  He rolled again, revealing the gash from before.

  “This is the deepest damage we’ve ever done, and Makani Samurai’s contribution. He studied this damn thing for months, tested every weakness, every attack angle. This was the best he could do. Today we use it as a test of true strength and skill among the League’s heroes. A rite of passage for the best of the best from all over the world. If you can leave a mark on this thing, you’re strong or skilled enough to do anything.”

  The trainees lit up at this comment, raised dread melted away by common spite and future recognition. Secondary goals were powerful motivation. A few though seemed to truly relish in the fact that the cause of the crisis was being used as a punching bag. Para killed the motivation real quick.

  “Don’t even think about it. We get enough demands from the other bases as it is. And it’s off limits to trainees…! With one exception. Today I’m taking you all up to the mountains, we’re going to find the steepest rock wall we can find and we are going to climb it. First one to the top gets to smack the ball. Once! I sure hope those rock climbing routines stuck, because this is going to be a free climb. No safety, no ropes, just you and the wall. Now come on, transport’s waiting.”

  The trainees funneled out, leaving Aegis out of the loop and begrudgingly pushing the several ton sphere back into storage. They followed Para through the periphery of the arena to the logistical side of The Hill. Passing dispatch and command-and-control rooms bustling with support staff. Till leaving through a wide cargo door to the outside platforms, landing pads for the League’s VTOL transports. And in turn led to the only active craft on the deck, that had Mediknight leaving it as they approached.

  “You’ll have to do this without me. Can’t be gone from The Hill for very long. Left plenty of canteens for you though, and a few med packs. But do try not to fall.”

  He walked off, staying at the doorway to watch the class leave. That empty stare almost feeling worried as Seth moved to board. The trainees crowded in and strapped down into jumper seats on both sides of the craft. As Seth stepped on, it audibly groaned under the weight of his suit. Limit alarms blaring from the cockpit as the pilot winced in his seat. Seth strapped the suit to the cargo hooks in the center of the floor to try and balance out the weight, and calm the sensors, before taking a seat himself.

  Para scanned up the rows and gave a thumb to the pilot. The craft beginning to thunder to life despite the burden, dual tilt-jet engines roared deafeningly as it lifted off slowly. But the noise from the engines disappeared as the loading ramp closed, leaving nothing but the metal reverb to fill the silence. No one really knowing what this was going to really be, and few wanted to test Para for a good mood.

  The trip was quick at least, a bank or two out of the city's airspace and a bit of acceleration to get them there all the turbulence they had. Also the pilot had apparently scouted the area ahead of time, so the mountains were fairly close.

  “Trust me, the view‘ll be worth the climb.”

  Para glared at him for encouraging his trainees, and answering the silent questions himself as he turned back to the cockpit window, scanning the area around the ascent.

  “Land there, we’ll walk the rest of the way.”

  The craft wobbled and pressed Seth into his seat as it turned to land in a clearing. Touching down with a compressing thunk.

  “I’ll stay on station if you-”

  Para dead eyed the pilot into silence and waved his trainees out.

  Everyone funneled down the ramp as the engines died down before it blew too much of a dust storm into being. But, as he hefted the suit back on his back, Seth could see the area was… kinda odd. Relatively young saplings surrounded long dead trees that still stood at defiant attention. There was no canopy left in the forest here, like a massive fire had swept through years ago. He actually recognized some of the plants, a bush he’d seen in his backyard and a small flower or two that grew like weeds when his dad had made him try at mowing the lawn. It was just a lot more barren than his old home. A lot less dark of a forest. And, as the engine finally stopped… it grew quiet.

  Completely quiet.

  The mountains still loomed over their clearing, but were a mile or so away. A visible set of trails snaking out toward them, just as defiant despite what should be considerable disuse. Para passed the nature observant trainees and headed up the straightest trail to the mountain, everyone filing in behind him without a word. As if the quiet would allow them to.

  Seth felt like this exercise was going to be as odd as the scenery. Para had mentioned they would learn control, but free climbing seemed like too simple a task for that. Though he realized it would be simple for everyone else, the obscene amount of dead weight on his back coloring his expectations.

  Only to have that turn down several more shades as Para finally stopped everyone. At the base of an almost sheer wall of sedimentary stone that curved out around them. Though even calling it stone was too much. There were obvious soft spots in between several of the rocks, and a substantial wash flowed away from its base in browns, blacks, and tans. This wasn't a wall, it was a landslide ready to happen.

  “We’ll rest up here. Tabby, Kaze, fire wood. Combo Breaker, fire pit. Toaster, fire. Waterboy, Snowcone, fill up those canteens. Butterknife, Ditto, I know you brought food, prep it here, you’ll be sharing it at the summit. Everyone else, butts down.”

  Everyone did what they were told, though with obvious obstinance at the continued use of those derogatory nicknames. Maya raised a stone ring to act as a fire pit. The area was fairly barren this close to the mountain and the wind blocked away by the slight divot they had stopped in, but Para seemed to at least subscribe to safe camping practices. Razor and Alex asked Maya for a table for prep work and were quickly given one to cut up the sandwiches they had apparently secreted with them. Though it seemed like Razor was being used more as a mule in this exchange. Half his pockets being turned out with little bagged squares. David and Jacob meanwhile took turns filling and icing everyone’s canteens.

  Kaz sized up a few small dead trees that lined the path behind them and sliced them up while Tabby scrounged up loose twigs for kindling. Kabar poked at the empty fire pit with a slowly burning twig he’d picked up. Once finally given burnables, he ignited the twig and stuffed it into the kindling, using his hands to add to the smoldering spark as needed. The rest of the group gathering around the growing fire. The cold mountain air wasn’t too bad but the warmth made it nice and relaxing. Baring the odd grit in the smoke. Seth sat down, letting his suit fall back like a makeshift seat back so he could lounge. Para leered at him almost immediately for it, so he sat up a bit more properly.

  “Now. You should have noticed by now that the wall behind me is unstable. The connecting soil, dust, ash, and sand between the rocks makes this climb treacherous for even seasoned climbers. It takes more than strength to pull yourself up on this thing. Pull too hard and you’re liable to loose a boulder that will, at best, take you with it. At worst, you'll be taking out everyone below you. To this end, I’m allowing limited power use, but no pulleys, no flying unless you fall. And no breaking my wall! You ruin it, I will make you drag that accursed sphere around the arena until you pass out or get crushed by it. Is that understood?”

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  """Yes sir!"""

  Seth was almost astonished by the unanimous affirmation. Even if he was a jackass, the trainees still begrudgingly respected him. To that end they quickly rested and planned their ascents.

  Kaz and Razor were going to use their weapons as artificial handholds, so had things somewhat easy. Everyone else was left with just their hands.

  Jacob could use his powers to freeze his in place, but was worrying about leaving slick spots for the others. Tabby seemed to have things made, taking on the form of a snow leopard and testing the first couple of handholds.

  Maya tested the consistency of the loose material, outwardly theorizing she could solidify it with a little water. Which David overheard and quickly joined in as support.

  Zeleny tried to cheat slightly by barely floating as she pulled herself upward, but Para spotted and scolded her quickly.

  Before anyone was really ready, Ohm rocketed up the wall. Little care paid for the dangers or the consequences. Marco followed suit, but with more forethought. Both using their powers to add speed and force to their upward momentum, so as to not allow the weak structure to fall out from under them. Alex copied Tabby and gave chase, a red tinted snow leopard looked weird but it was effective. Kabar and Cleo stayed back as the rest started their climbs, taking up the rear of the pack and promising to catch anyone who fell with their lines and straps. No sense winning if someone died along the way.

  That just left Seth to be last, though he was having to alter things.

  “So… does limited powers mean I can stop hauling my suit?”

  Para, observing the climbers from below, turned down to glare at him.

  “No.”

  Seth’s shoulders dropped in disappointment, but he thought through it again. Releasing the suit from its travel mode, he twisted off one of the gauntlets.

  “How about if get to at least use some of it?”

  “Hmph. Just give up and get climbing already. You’re way behind.”

  Seth scowled.

  “You and I both know I’m set up to fail this as is. Either I go up without it or you let me use pieces of it. I’m not going up to just fail automatically under weight no one else is carrying.”

  Para turned fully to him, meeting scowl with scowl.

  “Fine. If you want to cheat your way through this then go ahead. You weren’t winning this competition anyway.”

  Seth turned away, only partially relieved. One small win for another belittling. He took the straps from the suit and fashioned a line to hang it below him by the collar handle, it would be too cumbersome as a backpack otherwise. But not before taking off both gauntlets and putting them on. The gel layer tightening around his hands to keep them there. They would offered traction he didn’t have naturally thanks to their retractable claws. But Seth focused before starting up, making extra sure the gauntlets were locked in place and his hands were strong enough to hold on to what was ahead of him.

  So, with one hand, he raked a low boulder for a handhold until it snagged. Allowing him to pull upward and start his climb one rock at a time.

  But to say this climb was treacherous would be understating it.

  ‘How something this unstable is still standing is beyond comprehension!’

  Dust and loose pebbles raining down with every foot gained by the rest of the class. Every hold or step up needed three other anchor points to manage the weight, and finding even one was hard enough. What looked like sedimentary rock initially may as well have been a filled in gravel pit that was forcibly turned into a cliff face.

  Thankfully he found some of Maya and David’s quickcrete hand holds, so made better progress than on the path he initially chose. But as he climbed, that began to make itself known. The wind at least was blocked on this slope, but every motion required equal footing to even just progress. His suit becoming more a message against him than a hope for the future. Just deadweight, a stupid idea, too much trouble for what it was worth.

  But those thoughts just wore down the wrong emotions, like the holds getting smaller around hi-

  “FUCK!!!”

  A hold suddenly slid free of the wall, loose dust surrounding it slipping the whole concrete block out into Seth’s hand. Thankfully he was at least stable before it tried to drag him back.

  He desperately forced himself forward and slotted the block back in, but saw something strange between exacerbated breaths. Some kind of black dust that hadn’t mixed into the concrete. There was a sorts of sand and gravel and ash and dirt all mixed together in the block, but not this... pitch black dust.

  Seth looked around and saw lines of it everywhere, seams around some of the stones. And on them. Like it had seeped in from above, or rained down over. He didn’t really have time to investigate, his weight was going to weather any holds he held so he had to keep moving.

  Foot by foot he climbed. The claws on his gauntlets allowed him purchase on the larger more stable stones as the hold proved to dangerous. Some of them even had weathered vertical grooves that made it easier.

  But fucking hell was the suit getting heavy! Inordinately so.

  Like all that focusing of power was pointless. Like maybe he hadn't listened to well to those climbing lessons. He could at least hear celebration from the peak, sounding like Ohm gloating about beating everyone else. He kind of expected that. What he didn’t expect though was Para suddenly appearing right next to him. And climbing up past him barely fazed by the nature of the wall.

  “If you’re this slow with cheats on Tinman, why even bother with the suit. Better to just ditch it all together and start from scratch!”

  Seth fought the urge to sneer at him, his balance was a little precarious at the moment, but he still caught the ridiculous speed with which Para clambered upward. Like he’d done this before, grabbing handholds Seth couldn't even see and moving with barely a single grain falling in his wake. He was a little sure he was the one cheating, but accusations were a luxury right now. And he was only a few yards behind Kabar and Cleo when they pulled themselves over the lip.

  Those last few feet were the hardest though, much of the stable rocks were in pieces, looking almost shattered. And that loose sediment was even finer, running like water when disturbed. So he was restorting to out right stabbing into what solid rocks he could to make progress, every inch a burning struggle on already whining muscle. Like... like they were atrophying with altitude.

  Finally he slammed his armored hand down on the solid plateau that marked the summit, digging metal claws into it for even the slightest grip. Clawing over the lip on all fours, still weighed down and using every ounce of strength he had left to pull up to his feet and hoist the suit up. Before falling into a heaving heap as it cleared.

  He slowly picked himself up, grabbed the suit by the collar and dragging it to a clear spot. The trainees were quiet, exhaustion maybe, he didn’t care. He just found a place and collapsed back into it, leaving the suit to stand guard at his feet as he waited for those probably smooshed sandwiches to be passed around.

  Every muscle, every bone felt stretched near to breaking, and even his power felt drained for some reason. Worse yet, he could feel that dust in his shoes, in his clothes, and despite the seal he could even feel it in the gauntlets. He sat up and yanked them off, but caught sight of the rest of the group before he could flop back down.

  They were all looking out over the landscape below, Para standing ahead of them. And they all looked… tense, despite their exhaustion. Seth struggled up to see what was the… big… deal…

  He saw it immediately. How the hell did he miss it getting up here?!

  ‘HOW THE HELL DID I NOT SEE IT!?!’

  The landscape below wascut in two. One side pure barren wasteland, pockmarked craters and poisoned earth. What tree line remained so very dead, burned, and almost completely gone. But the other side was abandoned by all the rest of that definition. Overgrown concrete slabs and hollowed out warehouses as far as the eye could see. And in the middle of it all… was a wall.

  The Wall.

  Seth's knees failed as the weight of the past fell upon him. He’d tried to put the worst of the crisis behind him, tried to move on and forget, but those memories were always there. And all began forcing themselves to the forefront en masse. He fought it, thought of all the good already done, all the time since that was better. But nothing could stop what was right in front of him, taking up the world below him for as far as he could see.

  But he could feel Para’s gaze track over him. Justified. He’d planned this from the start, and spared only a small regret at its effects as he turned back and addressed what was now fully known.

  “You all know the stories from that dark time. First Contact, the Signal Massacre, the Longest Day. Well no one tells the stories from this side of The Wall.”

  Para moved to face the bombed and once burning landscape on the other inside of the cordon.

  “Up here we didn’t have infrastructure, we didn't have turrets and soldiers to fill the gaps, nor someone to replace us when the worst came about. All we had was each other, the unforgiving terrain, and an enemy that took everything you had just to hold back.”

  He looked down at two indentations, ruts in the plateau that no one paid any mind to. Almost like... boot prints.

  “I stood here 13 years ago. Not much older than most of you. For weeks we were forced to hold this position, your only company the hero to either side, locked to their own positions.”

  The trainees looked around, similar plinths stood on peaks that chained down to the real wall below.

  “The only saving grace we had was that the big hordes never came up here. But it still meant we had to fight those fucking things face to face. You know why this wall is so treacherous, it’s because I pulverized it to bury the bastards several times over.”

  The past leaked through, Seth putting his hands on his head to try and smother it away, but he couldn’t get the image of the first one he’d seen. Burned practically to the bone, but still dead set on ripping him apart. The look of desperation locked in behind its eyes. Its familiar green eyes.

  “Despite being smashed and buried by boulders and gravel, despite getting crushed to paste and splattered across rocks. They just kept on coming. I even saw them chew and pull their own arms and legs off to get out of the rubble. Every time they just grew back, the sound of it like bacon on a skillet set too high. That sound haunts the dreams of everyone who fought those things. But still, seeing an enemy do everything it can to eat you alive… It adds a lot of perspective to things.”

  Seth was trying his damnedest to bury them, to pull back, but he couldn’t stop hearing the screams. Hearing the people who tried to help get ripped apart.

  “Despite how difficult the climb was, they always found a way. Either charging straight up the pulverized rock, or climbing over their falling comrades. So when all else failed, we were forced to fight hand to hand. And you should all know why that was pointless. They tell you to just keep hitting them till they burst, just outlast the healing like a true hero, but the reality is you have to force back 12 for every 1 you can even kill. And the powers they sent up here weren’t making things easy either. Sonic waves disrupted them fine, but my flanks were left to guys with water powers. They did all they could just to force them back every time they attacked, slowing them down in slogs of mud and landslides. But that wasn't enough. And most of the fire based heroes were assigned to The Wall, because it took priority over everything. So up here… we only had one.”

  Seth remembered the smell of the fires, of shrapnel burning through flesh, and of… the dust… caking his hands.

  “She was our saving grace most days. Swooping in to clear our backlogs. Boiling and broiling till there was nothing left but scattering flares and boiling mud. Till she swooped too low. Trying to make sure she was doing her part. Trying to make sure we were safe. One of them leap right off the wall and grabbed her by the cape. Pulled her right down into that campsite we just made.”

  The trainees peered over the edge, down at the barren site they camped at, circles radiating out from it that they couldn’t see from the ground. The ground that was rippled like a massive weathered crater. But Seth couldn't see, couldn't but see, as slowly he pulled his hands off his head. And felt the grit sticking to his scalp.

  “I was stupid back then. I jumped from my position to try and save her. Blasting as many as I could before we lost our only hope. Driving them off in a rain of sound and fury. All before I even saw it was already too late. She was barely there by the time I had even reacted. Ripped in half and shredded across anything left. Only an arm still left able to move. She… She used that arm to self-immolate, to use everything she was as fuel. To take the horde attacking us with her. I only had a few seconds before she turned herself into a fucking thermobaric bomb.

  "…So I climbed. I climbed faster than I ever thought I could. Didn’t look back, didn't look forward, just let instinct take over and drive me to hell up that wall. I can’t even describe what it felt like… Just that it was.

  “The explosion nearly pulled me right off a boulder before catapulting me most of the way up. The fire she started turned this mountain side into an impassable hellscape. Melted rock into slag and turned trees into pyres. And when I made it to the top… I saw those fucking things suffering. Rolling around in the fire desperate to put it out. Bursting as it consumed them whole. Running screaming in voices that weren't theirs! But they still…! Kept! Coming! They followed me up, burned to the marrow! Snarling with hardly a lung left between them, if even that! I still hear the damn sizzling in my dreams!”

  Seth finally looked down… at his numbed hands.

  “So I blasted every single one of them apart. Right then and there. Till their dust rained down like snow. Numbing away everything it touched.”

  His blackened hands. Black with that dust. The dust of those dead laceroids. The dust that…

  That used to be his family.

  Used to be his neighbors.

  Used to be his friends.

  Used to be everyone he just barely knew.

  But… but all their eyes were still staring at him, baring down from all sides! Demanding he see! Demanding he know! Demanding more than he could ever give!

  But he... he could only look ahead. Look straight ahead. At eyes crying, staring toward him while their body snarled like a starved animal.

  As all that dust fell down upon him. And all the strength he thought he had fell away.

  “Let it be known that this is what will be expected of you as a hero. This is reality for us. You will have to survive odds that will never match up. You will have to learn the hard way that trying to even gain an inch is pointless. That holding the line is all that matters. Because your strength is all that matters… To everyone behind you. To the countless miles behind you that can’t hope to have a fraction of it.”

  Seth couldn’t hold out anymore, his vision was blacking, his ears were ringing. He felt Threat trying to reach him. Speaker trying to organize the control room, to stifle memories like it was…

  Too late.

  *thumph*

  As it all went out. All his will falling into the ash and dust that caked the plateau. Falling out of this world the only way he could. To spare him from the worse it laid before him.