The Academy of S.I.D.E.

No. 12: Vital Signs

"Sir! Sir! Mister Adrien!" Patton called, running up to Remy, who was reclining in one of the chairs.

"McLain, I told you, call me Remy," he said, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"The roster says I'm going up against Wildfire today, and---"

"If you want me to give you a different dueling partner, just say the word," Remy told him. "I know that Janus's been helping you out."

"That's not it," Patton said, looking down at his feet. "I'm not---I'm not ready for dueling yet. I need a little more time---"

"Pat." Remy put a hand on his shoulder. "You've been dodging this for two years now. I know you're scared of using your powers in combat, but I also know that you've got a good grip on them. And you want to be able to control them, right?"

Patton hesitated, then nodded.

"Well, if you want to control your powers, you're gonna need to use your powers. I'll let you go up against Janus if you want."

"No, that's okay," Patton mumbled.

Virgil looked back and forth between them curiously. "What's he so worried about?" he asked Logan.

"You'll see," he told him, looking over at the sheet of paper pinned onto the wall. "You should probably go and get changed. You and Roman are the first on the roster."

"What?" Virgil followed his gaze. "Shit." He ran toward the door marked Boy's Dressing Rooms and went in.

"Oooh, new kid!" one of the guys said, smiling. "You're dueling today, right? I'm Sloane."

"Uh---Virgil," he answered, waving. "Virgil Hayashi. Um---what exactly do we change into?"

"You don't have the athletic clothes?"

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. "No."

"Don't worry, there's extras in case you forget," Sloane told him, leading him over to a series of bins. "What size are you?"

"Uh... small?"

Sloane opened one of the bins on the left and pulled out a white T-shirt and a pair of black shorts. "Don't worry about shoes. We're supposed to go barefoot."

"Thanks." Virgil took them and held them up---they did seem like they'd fit. "What are your powers?"

"I can do force fields. Actually pretty useful when you're fighting. My boyfriend Corbin has ultra-strong senses."

Virgil smirked slightly as he remembered something that Janus had told him. "What's his opinion on Masquerduke?"

Sloane laughed. "I'm sure he'd like them better if he actually used those earplugs I keep telling him to wear. What about you?"

"I mean, they're pretty cute---"

"No, I mean, what are your powers?"

"You'll see," he said vaguely. "I'm going up first against Roman."

He raised his eyebrows. "Wow, you must be pretty powerful if you're going up against Prince Renaissance. I mean, all of his creations are pre-drawn, but still."

"Pre-drawn?" Virgil questioned. "He can't make them spontaneously?"

"No, 'course not. Otherwise, he'd have weird-looking sketches that have no sense of proportion running around."

"We have the upper hand, Verge!" Nox said excitedly. "Did you hear that? We have the upper hand!"

"Good to know," Virgil said casually, walking into one of the stalls.