The Quiet of a Melancholic Moon

Vacant

Tommy stood at attention, arms crossed behind his back with his fingers holding onto the opposite wrist. He was surrounded on both sides by other kids in a somewhat straight line. All the kids had varying expressions like confidence, happy, or anxiety, but Tommy remained emotionless. He kept his eyes focused ahead with firm lips pressed together. The other kids had tried to shake his resolve, but he didn't allow his body to flinch away from their mock hits. Tommy would not allow these children who knew nothing of pain yet to make him look weak.

"Hello, everyone, thank you for coming! My name is Eret. I am one member of the Angels. We are the heroes chosen personally by the head of the Heroes Association, XD. He has given us the responsibility of training the new recruits. Some of you will become heroes straight after training, some will become a sidekick, and the rest of you will be returned home. This training camp isn't for fun. It isn't to make sure that all of you are ready for the trials of the hero life. You all have the potential to become great heroes. It is up to you to live up to that potential," A man with sunglasses said with a voice that wasn't loud but resonated with power. "To begin, you will all perform in a mock battle with the person next to you. If you win, you will be chosen by one of the Angels. To anyone who loses, we are sorry to say that you will not be apart of the program this year."

All the kids shifted to the person at their side. Tommy looked over to see a brown haired boy gearing up a punch with a golden shine to it. When the kid swung, Tommy leaned back. Once the part of the skin that wasn't discolored came to Tommy's eyes, he latched onto it. The boy jerked forwards at Tommy's pull. To make sure he won, Tommy lifted his leg to slam into the boy's ribs. The boy tumbled to the ground. Tommy twisted the boy's arm until the kid squirmed and yelped. Tommy continued staring with emotionless eyes. This was for Dream. If Tommy didn't pass, Dream would get rid of him. Tommy couldn't go back to who he was before.

"Do you yield?" Tommy spoke while his eyes stared down at the boy. The kid was shivering underneath Tommy's gaze. The blonde was sure the entire rooms. All the other kids had stopped fighting to watch. While they had all been trained, Tommy was something else entirely. The brown haired boy knew that he wasn't going to win, but to his credit, he wouldn't go down without more of a fight. Tommy vaguely wondered if the kid had something to protect like Tommy did. If this kid lost, would he lose the life he loved?

The kid's skin illuminated gold before energy burst out. Tommy was flung into the air. His eyes slammed shut to keep him from going blind, and he felt heat pulsate across his skin. Tommy tapped his wrist to release gravity's hold on him. Tommy touched onto the roof with his feet. Tommy bent his knees before leaping downwards to the ground. Tommy landed with a roll as he made gravity take a hold of him again.

Tommy's eyes, unfortunately, were still out of commission. He could hear people rustling around him, but there was nothing distinctive enough to determine who his opponent was. Tommy couldn't feel anything against his skin except his clothes and the warm air. He could taste his breakfast on his tongue. It was when Tommy breathed in through his nose that everything came into perspective. Tommy's opponent was close, on his left, getting closer. He smelled like burning rubber. While Tommy's senses were better than the average adult, he hadn't trained them enough for Tommy to pull off this trick unless the person he was fighting had a unique scent.

Tommy rolled forwards. The sound of a crash sounded where Tommy had been seconds before. Tommy continued running in zigzags as his eyes came back to perfect condition. When Tommy could see again, he halted immediately. Tommy jumped into the air, flipping feet above his head backwards. Tommy landed behind his opponent. He kicked the child in the back to knock him to the ground. Tommy's foot rested against the kid's throat to keep him down. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"I yield! I lost!" The kid shouted immediately. Tommy stepped away. He didn't try to help the kid up, but with the way he was glaring at Tommy, the kid wouldn't have taken the hand anyways. The boy shuffled to his feet before wandering to where all the other losers had collected to get medical treatment should they need it. If they didn't, the kids were escorted out. Tommy watched his opponent go. He turned to look when Eret started talking.

"Congratulations to our winners. We saw some good work among you. All of you have the skills and qualities to make you exceptional heroes that may rise the ranks one day. For now, however, we see that you all have areas that you are not expertise in. Whether that be offense, defense, public relations, or a lack of control with your powers, we understand that you need special attention in these areas. For that reason, we will separate you all into groups underneath an Angel that excels in what you lack," Eret explained to everyone. Tommy didn't care. He had passed. Unless he did something horrible, Tommy would pass this training camp. Tommy had no reason to be kicked from Dream's side.

"Tommy, Deo, Joshua, Luke, and Kit will be under me. We will work on how you treat villains, other heroes, and most importantly, the public. You all are capable in terms of efficiently dealing with threats and adapting to situations with precision. However, your care with the opponent afterwards and your general demeanor could use some guidance," Eret finished his speech. Tommy looked over that the group that was left under the tutelage of Eret.

The person closest to Tommy wore an orange hoodie over a white undershirt with dark gray-blue pants and a black sunglasses. He sported a red beanie with a white ball at the top that was like a small Christmas cap. Past him was darker skinned kid with a blue unzipped jacket with a gray shirt and denim blue jeans. A light blonde kid wearing a pale baby blue shirt with green pants was playing with his hands next to the jacket wearer. The last kid was in overalls with a mask hanging off his face with brown curls.

Tommy rolled his eyes. This was going to be something, wasn't it?