Saturday, October 29th, 2043. 3:00 PM
Today was the last day of our training. Daina and I had worked hard under Arthur's tutelage. Besides almost slave-driver levels of stamina and endurance building exercises to both refine our control and increase our maximum energy capacity, Arthur taught us various skills, the most important of which was the defensive utility of Force-Manipulation. We were taught how to reinforce our bones and muscles to better absorb incoming trauma and reduce injuries. The best part about this skill was that it hardly cost any extra energy expenditure until we actually got hurt, because our energy remained within us.
When I had confided my nightmare to Arthur, he told me that in recent years he was developing a feeling that a need for combat capability would arise sometime and that my dream was probably an omen to the winds of change. Originally, he was a man opposed to all violence. He handled all his problems with diplomacy and charisma. He was under no illusion that APEH would remain out of public knowledge forever. He feared the glaring possibility for calamity Plasma Energy contained; his mentor had instilled that within him. Now, his mindset was that if the time ever came he would stand in the gap and fight for the safety and stability of his treasure that was Santa Pyre; come fire or high water.
All this led to here, in the training room, today. Arthur and William were standing against the west wall, below the monitor. Daina and I were facing each other with three meters of clearance between us, squaring each other up. "Let's make this a good and clean fight," said William. Daina and I nodded as Arthur held up his right hand, the Plasmarium gem on his band glowing. My current max energy was 370 MJ, and Daina was 235. We had honed our skills as much as we could, and now we were going to put them to the test.
"Are you ready, Sister Daina?" I asked with a smile as I pulled into a boxing stance, already focusing the flow of my energy throughout my body.
Daina held her fists at her sides and her feet a couple of feet apart, a stance which had very few openings if the user kept an appropriate level of situational awareness. "I am. And you?"
I just nodded with a smirk and she returned it. Arthur threw down his arm. "You may begin!"
There was just brief moment where we narrowed our eyes at each other before I initiated our spar. I charged at Daina with a ready fist raised. Daina moved to the left to dodge and countered with her left fist. I just ducked as I continued before turning around while sweeping out my right foot. Daina jumped over my leg and did a stylish flip to hold out her right leg as she came back down.
"Whoa!" I hopped back twice. Daina stood back into her stance after landing. "Wow, that was fun."
"Agreed," Daina nodded with a smile. "Let's take it up a notch. Partial Form Coat: Duralumin!" Daina coated just her arms and lower legs in an iron and aluminum alloy, a light but strong combo. Then, she charged at me this time, her eyes gleaming with fiery determination.
My own eyes widened as she let loose a barrage of swift punches at me. I ducked, dodged and weaved with a slight amount of difficulty. "Light Boost, Level One!" My body tensed as my energy flowed more powerfully through it. My increased speed and reaction ability then made it much easier to avoid Daina's furious onslaught. I smirked as I prepared my right fist in metals. The solution to my burn problem was to first coat my hand in a thin, protective layer of tungsten then coat that in the metal I would channel the electricity through. My Lightning Bolt was much safer now. "Thunder Fist!" I punched Daina in the stomach, throwing my fist with less than my full force. Even the thunder crash sound was quieter as Daina slid back across the ground.
"Wuh!?" Daina's eyes were wide with shock. "Bill, you did not just… Well, two can play at that game." Daina coated her fists in lead as she charged at me!
I felt a little scared but I stood my ground. "Give me your best shot!" I taunted her.
"Alright, but you asked for it!" Upon nearing me, Daina did a double Lead Fist, which I ducked to avoid. But that was a mistake, for I was underprepared for her follow up attack. "Mercury Splash!" Daina gushed out a small bath of quicksilver and washed me away!
"Whoa!" I slipped and fell onto my back. "Ow…"
"Looks like I win," said Daina proudly, standing over me with a fist held out at me. I had noticed that Daina had become a lot more confident in herself as our training had gone on, a change I could get behind.
However, in this instance, I felt the need to take a few pegs off her high horse. "It's not over yet!" Quick as a flash, I grabbed her hand. "Seven Amps Shocking Touch!"
"Aaahh!" Daina screamed before wrenching her hand out of my grasp and moving back. I took that opportunity to kick into standing. But when I looked at Daina's face, I instantly regretted my life choices. The look in her eyes promised pain. "Billy… That wasn't very nice," she said in a low tone. My hairs then stood on end as my imaginary danger sense went off. No, it was real now. The fear I felt was very real as Daina changed the metal composition on her right foot. "Naughty boys need to be punished!"
"Daina, wait! Stop!" Arthur cried, but it was too late.
"MOMMY!" I all but yelped as Daina dashed forward before jumping, once again doing a stylish flip.
"Steel Earth Splitter!"
"YIKES!" I threw myself out of the way. CRASH! The ground shook briefly. When I got up and looked around, my eyes shrank at the sight of the small crater Daina's ankle made on the floor, cracks spreading out of which the longest ones had snaked up the walls. She definitely meant business with that attack. Note to self: don't make Sister Daina mad, I thought. "Okay, Sister Daina. I'm sorry. You win; I surrender." If I had a white flag, I would have waved it fervently.
Daina turned to the shocked Arthur and William. "William, Arthur. I am sorry for my actions. The moment got the better of me and I lost my composure for a second there."
The two exchanged glances before Arthur meekly said, "It is alright, Daina. Just… try not to let it happen again." Daina nodded as she went over to reabsorb the mercury. "And as for you, Bill."
My hair straightened again. "I'm sorry. It was just a spar, but I didn't accept my defeat and provoked Sister Daina," I apologized quickly in hopes of lessening the impact of my inevitable scolding. As friendly as Arthur was, the aura of sheer power he radiated scared me and drew my utmost respect.
To my surprise, Arthur came up to me and placed both hands on my shoulders. "Hey, it's okay to never give up until you've exhausted all options. You only need to remember to keep your head on your shoulders and use a healthy dose of discretion. Analyze your situation and pull back if necessary. Whatever you do in life, Bill, make sure your heart is in the right place, or you'll find yourself filled with regrets." I marveled at the life advice so casually but earnestly bestowed upon me. I just nodded. "Good. Now, let's all head on upstairs. Your training isn't complete by any means, but these past two weeks should have been enough for a solid base. I myself had good fundamentals by the third week since Sapharubi started training me."
"Can you tell me more about her?" I asked. "Your voice has this almost physical quality of respect whenever you mention her."
Arthur chuckled. "Let's see, where should I start…? Ah, a kinder soul I never met anywhere else." Behind us, as soon as the last of us was out of the training room and the door was closed, a few pieces of the ceiling fell down.
Sunday, October 30th.
Today was the time to go home. Daina and I were sure now that we could go the rest of our days with little problems concerning our abilities. How wrong we were, we had no idea at the time.
After Daina and I were finished packing up our belongings, we sat to breakfast with William, Julie and Arthur.
"Say, Daina." She looked at me from her food. "If you wanted to be a superhero, what would you choose to be your super name?" I asked.
"Huh? Well..." She looked thoughtful, not really expecting this kind of question.
"How about Metalina?" suggested William. She shook her head. That name reminded us too much of Miss Diego. "I guess not..."
"I've got it! How about 'Metaina Mercury'? It sounds better and the first part is closer to your own name!"
"That's wonderful, Billy! I love it!" She reached over and embraced me tightly from her chair. "I have one for you too! Try not to laugh."
"Okay, well let's hear it."
"Zipzap!" It took me all the willpower in the world and more as I denied even one chuckle at such a funny and not very cool name. I just stared evenly at her, my body shaking and sweating from the urge. "Whoa, I am just joking, Billy. You need something cooler, right?"
I shook my head. "No, Sister Daina. Now that I think about it, I really like the name. It sounds a bit like the pattern of the sound that my high electric energy makes, so it suits me." Daina gasped before smiling. I turned to Arthur. "How about you, Sir?"
"Me? Well… nothing too complicated," Arthur replied. He seemed to deliberate for a moment, looking down at his food. "Sir Land, simplicity itself." He nodded, as if to just himself.
Julie giggled. "Brother, you riot. The irony is so strong, you can taste it." Everyone but Arthur burst out into laughter, leaving Arthur confused until he finally got it. Again, it was pretty ironic that a man of the sea had power over the land instead.
"Alright, Mom should be here to pick us up any moment," I said once I finally got it together. "Let's finish eating."
"Right!" agreed Daina.
Half an hour later, it was time to go.
"Thank you for all that you have done for us," I said to our three hosts.
"Don't mention it, Bill! It was nothing really!" William was scratching behind his silver hair.
"We will be sure to put everything we learned to good use, and keep our powers hidden," said Daina.
"I'll be staying in Santa Pyre for a month before I set out again on the sea," said Arthur. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to call us."
"Don't be strangers now," said Julie with her ever present smile. "I would love to have you with us again sometime. Heck, I'll even arrange to clear some of my busy schedule so that we can properly spend time with each other."
"That sounds wonderful," replied Daina. "Well, this is bye for now. Ready, Billy?"
"I was born ready!" I replied. "Bye, everyone! See you later!" Daina and I turned to the front door.
Suddenly, at that moment, there was a knock and the door opened. A person least expected came inside. "William-san! I finally got a moment to myself to visit. I have been so busy at school and... Nande sore wa (What is this)!?"
"Mr. Sakamoto!" exclaimed Daina.
"Tanaka-san!?" I exclaimed.
"Daina-chan!? Bill-san!? What are you doing... Huh?" Tanaka held his head and seemed out of it for a moment.
I reached out my left hand. "Hey, are you okay?"
"This feeling...!" He began to scrutinize us. His eyes fell on our bands and a sudden look of shock followed by joy crossed his face. "No way! You're... You...!" There was an unnatural rush of warm wind as he almost instantly pulled us into a wide embrace. I was left bamboozled. "You're just like me! I have more family now! This feels great!" That statement further wracked me, at least until I noticed through the contact a familiar feeling. Setting us down, he backed up. "I've been worried sick ever since I heard about the incident! By the time I had gotten to visit you two at the hospital, you weren't there. I honestly feared the worst. But you're alive! Yokatta(Thank goodness)!"
"Ah! Tanaka-san, I am so sorry!" apologized William suddenly. "I forgot that you were a part of their school. It didn't cross my mind to inform you that they were alright."
"I forgive you, William. I know you meant no harm." Tanaka turned back to Daina and I. "Yes, I have APEH just like you…"
I put two and two together even as I quickly interrupted him, my mind going a hundred miles a minute, "Tanaka-san, you control air using Heat Control, right? I had always been puzzled on what I had felt when you rushed in and saved me from Miss Diego's punch."
Tanaka looked shocked, but quickly overcame it. "Figured me out, have you? You and Daina have been training, I see." Tanaka took notice of Arthur and inclined his head respectfully as a quick greeting. He would be asking questions soon. "Let us talk more about things some other time. Bill, your mother is waiting outside. She is really nice."
"Alright... But I'll hold you to that! Let's go, Sister Daina."
"Uh, yes, Brother Billy." We waved them as we stepped out the door.
"Hi, you two. You look happy," called Mom from the car. She approached us. "How was your "vacation"? Did you have a good time?"
"I am sure they did!" called William from behind us. Daina and I parted and turned as he approached.
"Dr. Williky, hello," Mom greeted him. "Am I to assume that everything went well?"
"I'd say more than well!" I exclaimed.
"And I'm more than happy to finally get back to work. Bill's class has most probably had to have a substitute Homeroom teacher in my absence."
"Ah, right. I can't wait to see Sammy, Joseph and Lauren again. They must have been really worried."
"Well, then, don't let me keep you," said William. "I'm sure Bill and Miss Daina will explain everything they can to you. We can keep in touch if anything comes up. But for now, things should be much safer for your family compared to two weeks ago."
"Alright, Dr. Williky. You have my thanks." Mom beamed him a smile. "Well, Bill, Daina. Let us head home."
Daina and I had already made our sign-offs, so the three of us entered the car and left without further ceremony.