Paladin's Academy

Act I, Chapter 5: To The Academy!

Interview day. One month before classes begin.
Current Location: The Rental Base.

"Generate three Legion class threats, all with the intent to kill."

"Simulation Activated."

In the morning before the interviews, most parts of the rental base are dead quiet, all except for one place, the training room. Currently, Streetwise is napping next to the supercomputer, and Quinn is sound asleep in the med bay, which leaves only one culprit for the noise.

Matter has equipped all her hero gear as she faces off against an augmented reality training program with three supervillains deemed legion-level threats. In the world of superheroes and supervillains, to determine how strong or how dangerous one is, they are assigned a class. From strongest to weakest, it goes:

Ultra Class, the strongest there is. Only seven heroes and twelve villains have ever held this title. An Ultra-class threat would constitute a national emergency.
Titan Class, the strongest class one could hope to achieve without ascending, a titan class threat would be capable of defeating a battalion of soldiers.
Legion Class is the average class for professional Superheroes and Supervillains. This is the minimum class required to teach at a Superhero school. A legion class threat would constitute a city-wide emergency.
Scout Class is the average class for sidekicks. These people have gained enough experience to take down a local gang or a gaggle of bank robbers. Sidekicks and Heroes in this class will find themselves struggling against an actual, full force Supervillain.
Core Class is only for inexperienced student heroes or rambunctious thugs. Generally, people in this class have little to no control over their abilities. Often sloppy, a core class threat can often be subdued by just the police.

The simulation begins as three shadow opponents charge at her. Matter has the unique ability of permeation, also known as the ability to phase through stuff. Thanks to the laws of physics,  she cannot get stuck between things, and when she does, her powers cause her to repel towards either side, keeping her whole and giving her a boost. While the potential of this ability is immense, Matter's mastery over the ability is rudimentary at best. She can avoid attacks and make her own attacks unblockable, but her technique is amateur, and her physical strength is lackluster.

The three simulated villains go on a rampage. Not giving Matter any room to breathe, they launch several attacks right at her. She quickly ducks and hits one of the villains right in the face, but they don't even budge, as she gets smacked across the face, bouncing off the wall, to the ground. She struggles to get up, as her arms and knees are shaking. She then gets kicked in the gut by one, and the other follows up by smacking her right in the back and collapsing to the pavement.

Had this been in the real world, Matter would be in another dimension right now. Matter shakes her head, this cannot, will not be her end. She begins to phase through the floor to try and gain as much momentum as possible. The three villains follow her around and try to catch her, but to no avail. She then jumps out of the floor and kicks one of the figures right across the jaw, sending the villain flying and causing it to disappear. 

Even with one of their comrades gone, the other two simulated villains don't let up, as they unleash a flurry of attacks upon the fledging hero. Matter tries to duck and weave, but the fatigue of training all morning has finally caught up to her. She is thrown around like a ragdoll all around the platform. The two villains have had enough, and aim to finish the fight here and now, but before they could end it, a new challenger jumps into the arena. His overwhelming intensity causes the villains to jump back.

"Tag out Matter, I got this!"

Streetwise has arrived in the nick of time! He carefully places Matter down outside the arena as he effortlessly leaps back onto the battlefield.  He sizes up the two simulated villains by just staring at them. The two villains don't even move, as if there is a glitch in their programming.

"I've always wondered, can simulations feel fear?" Streetwise grins under the mask as he begins charging up something in his arms. Several glowing white cords emerge and start wrapping themselves around his forearm, forming rope-like gauntlets.

Streetwise lunges the villains at breakneck speed, giving them no time to react. With one punch, Streetwise hits both of the simulated villains right in the stomach. The impact shakes the base itself as the villains erupt into pixels, ending the simulation. He leaves the platform and walks over to check on Matter,

"You good?"

"Yeah, I had it under control," Matter says while groaning in pain.

"Here, tough guy, it helps after getting your ass kicked," Streetwise chuckles as he hands Matter a small orange pill.

"Dick," Matter laughs, as she swallows the pill. In an instant, all her physical wounds have healed. "I still can't get use to that."

"You can only take these once every two weeks, so stick to scout class threats, alright?"

Matter remains silent.

"What im trying to say is don't push yourself too hard."

"Right,"

Streetwise grins under his mask. A devilish thought has seeped its way in.

"Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?" He asks.

"What?!"

"I mean, Quinn just got here, and suddenly you're trying too hard."

Matter punches Streetwise in the arm. He barely reacts to it.

"This is not about that!"

"Really? Okaaaay. It's like when an only child finds out they're getting a sibling"

"Ew!"

"Relax Matter, okay? You are irreplaceable." Streetwise says as he hugs Matter. Matter desperately tries to escape, but Streetwise is too strong.

"I wish that simulation killed me."

"Anyways, go freshen up. It's time to go to the Academy."