Afterschoolers: Glory

Chapter 6: Training to Fail

"You what?!" Natalia shouted.

"Watch your tone," Rebecca said. "It was an opportunity we decided to take."

"And look how that turned out!"

"We did our best," Sasha commented. "Like you and Maya could have done better."

"Can you guys keep it down?" Maya groaned from her bed. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Get up, Maya. We have to talk about our next move," Rebecca ordered.

"Too tired."

"No. You'll get up. Now!" Rebecca approached the bed and yanked off the covers, only to have Onyx appear and throw her across the room.

"Rebecca!" Sasha exclaimed, going to her friend's aid.

"One week. We have one week to prepare for Cord's capture. You and Natalia better get your acts together by then or we're all doomed to fail." Rebecca stormed out of the room without saying another word. Awkward and silent, Sasha followed her friend out the door.

"Cain would know what to do at a time like this," Maya said softly.

"Yeah, but we're not allowed to make any contact with him while we're here," Natalia responded. "Best thing we can do is get along with the others."

"Did you ever think we'd be doing this?"

"What do you mean? Sitting in a dorm room. Working undercover to kill our headmaster."

"Well, yeah... We grew up in a lab. We were given powers that people read about in comic books. I figured that someday I'd want to go outside the lab and see the world. And it turns out, the first time I'm allowed out, it's to kill some guy."

"Cain told me to prepare for how cruel the world is. So if we're going to help him change the world, we have to use our gifts."

"I guess you're right," said Maya. "So we have one week. We'll just have to practice until it's time."

"When do we start?"

Almost immediately, the two friends covered their dorm room walls with pillows and blankets. Shifting around the furniture, they made a little arena to spar in.

"If you're gonna master your power in time, you'll need to face an opponent that can hit hard and fast," said Natalia. "That's where I come in."

"Alright, hit me with everything you've got." Onyx appeared by Maya's side, sword at the ready.

"Here goes." Natalia cupped her hands and unleashed an explosion at Maya. Onyx simply stuck out his sword and blocked the attack before anyone could be harmed.

Smiling, Natalia picked up the pace. Onyx instinctively shielded Maya from every attack sent. Outside the room, faint sounds of explosions could be heard. Liz stood in the middle of the hall curious as to what was going on.

"Okay, so you're good at blocking. Now how about fighting back?"

"I'll show you what we can do!" Maya pointed to her friend confidently, leading Onyx to lunge forward. Natalia blasted away the swordsman and dashed forward. Maya quickly found herself tackled into the door, breaking the lock. Before another explosion could go off, Onyx grabbed Natalia and threw her against the wall.

With overwhelming curiosity, Liz approached the dorm room in question. Opening the door ever so slightly, she spotted Natalia floating up against the wall. Maya stood across from her floating friend confidently, smiling slightly.

"You should give up now," Maya said, watching Onyx hold Natalia up against the wall.

"I don't plan to."