Practical Evaluation - Part 2

Cracks webbed from Hellfire's point of impact with the ground. He slowly rose from his crouched position and approached Atreus.

"Young Atreus, you have lit a passion in me! Tell me, boy, what exactly is your ability? You are registered in the Academy database as a type of telepath, but I have seen you exhibit no such powers! Your style seems similar to mine or Atlas'; a brawler! Enlighten me!!!" The large man walked forwards with his arms outstretched.

Atreus stood his ground, unfazed.

"I wouldn't call it telepathy, exactly. I guess it's close enough." With his hands still in his pockets, he began to walk towards Hellfire.

"OHOHO! YOU APPROACH ME?! YES, YOUNG MAN, YESSS!"

The yellow accents on the Hero's red costume began to glow, and the temperature in the arena began to rise sharply.

"Hellfire! You impulsive oaf, take it easy! If you injure a student on their first day…" Prism sighed.

"Prepare a medical team…yes send them outside the arena, just in case…" Captain Mercury said into his comm.

Hellfire ignored his teammates and rolled his shoulders. He dug his left foot into the floor and slid his right leg out, his stance wide. Dropping his arms, he braced for combat.

"Now…COME AT ME, BOY! SHOW ME YOUR RESOLVE TO BE THE WORLD'S GREATEST HERO!" He closed his fists and roared a battle cry. The area around him burst into flame. The dull arena was set ablaze with color as a massive tornado of fire was sent hurtling towards Atreus. Novaheart quickly pressed a button on her wrist control panel, and an energy shield materialized around the platform holding the Champions.

The white-hot flames careened towards Atreus, demanding that everything they touched became nothing but ashes. The young Hero continued to push forward with his hands in his pockets, seemingly unbothered by the certain death that was heading his way. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

'Focus on the energy around me…focus on the molecules slowing down…'

The swirling inferno surged forward, about to overtake Atreus.

He opened his eyes and casually took his right hand out of his pocket. With it, he swiped outwards.

*WHOOSH*

The sea of flame instantly dissipated mere inches before it would've engulfed the young Hero, leaving only sparks and embers in its wake.

'HUH?! My flames were extinguished in an instant...but when did he...?'

Atreus turned his attention towards a dumbfounded Hellfire and darted towards him. He opened with a big overhand right punch. Hellfire wove out of the way, but before he could react, Atreus slammed his shoulder into Hellfire's chest.

*CRACK*

The flame Hero had been sent flying backward and was now plastered into the wall across the arena. Atreus appeared in front of Hellfire almost instantaneously and threw a barrage of uppercuts to Hellfire's midsection.

"AAAHAHAHAHA! YES, YOUNG ATREUS, YES! KEEP IT COMING!" The Champion was surprised by Atreus' combat expertise and strength but was ultimately undeterred by the blows. He inhaled and released another wave of flames, pushing Atreus back.

'Tch. He's tough.' Atreus removed his other hand from his pocket.

'Guess I'll have to put in some effort since he can withstand my physical attacks.'

"Where is your telepathic ability?! SHOW ME!" Hellfire bellowed as he threw a pair of fireballs towards Atreus at lightning speed before charging after him.

Atreus ducked left and swerved right to avoid each burning ball of flame when suddenly, he saw Hellfire appear on his right side from his peripheral. The burly man's arm was loaded behind his head, ready to unleash a massive punch.

"Using your projectiles to cover your approach. Clever. However, you're now in my range."

The arena fell silent once again except for the gasp of a few Champions.

Hellfire was frozen in place, hovering a few inches above the ground with his arm still cocked to throw a punch.

"You wanted to see the extent of my ability? Here it is." The white-haired boy put his hands back in his pockets, turned to Hellfire, and smirked.

"Absolute vector manipulation." He moved closer to the Champion, whose face was still contorted in a labored expression. Hellfire's eyes darted around, panic-stricken.

"I can manipulate vectors of matter and energy. I guess you could call it a 'variation of telekinesis,' but I think my ability is far too advanced to be compared." He tapped the Hero on his forehead and released him from his mental grip. Hellfire gasped for air as he fell to the ground.

"Most…impressive young man. However, it doesn't explain your extraordinary physical strength and speed." Captain Mercury had brought the platform down, each of the Champions having hopped off.

"It does, actually." Atreus walked and grabbed the tracksuit jacket he had taken off at the start of his evaluation. "My powers only work within a certain range. Since I can't manipulate anything outside of that distance, I decided to teach myself how to manipulate the vectors of my own body when I was young."

"INCREDIBLE! ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE YOUNG MAN!" Hellfire had regained his composure and smacked Atreus on the back.

"Ouch."

"WHAT IS THE RANGE BOY? HOW DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT?! TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"Mmm, I'll pass. I've said it already; you're my competition."

"Cheeky runt..." Red Ronin mumbled.

"Atreus, if you could please step in here for just a moment. We will call you back once the rest of the evaluations are completed!" Prism said as she quickly ushered him through a door opposite the one he had entered.

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The Champions were all gathered around a hologram.

"How intriguing. Manipulating the vectors of his body would explain his speed and power. Still…he must possess extreme intelligence to be able to calculate what vectors affect what forces while he's fighting. One can only imagine what he had to have put his body through in order to move at such speeds and hit with such strength..." Novaheart mused while replaying footage of his evaluation.

"AHAHA! I KNEW I LIKED HIM! His combat aptitude is unlike anything I've seen in a fledgling Hero! And the way he dispelled my flame tornado...If he did that with his mind…HE MUST BE A MONSTER! We may have a genius on our hands!" Hellfire shouted.

"Indeed. He must have manipulated the vectors of the air molecules within his range the second your flames reached him. To think someone so young has such control at an atomic level…" said Captain Mercury.

"I'm at a loss at where to place him for his courses since typically we assign students instructors that have abilities most similar to their own. On paper, he should be enrolled in some type of matter or energy manipulation program. The way in which he uses his powers, however, is significantly closer to that of a hand-to-hand combat or super-strength oriented course."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Hmph. An anomaly" grunted Red Ronin.

"Atlas? What are your thoughts?" Captain Mercury inquired.

They all turned to their leader, who had been silent throughout the entire evaluation.

"I don't care," he said coldly. "He may be useful in the future. That's what matters." He turned and walked away.

"Don't forget why we're here." With that, he opened the roof to the arena via his wrist control panel and flew out.

"Ahem…we can create a hybrid program for him to follow," said Captain Mercury.

"I've never seen anyone handle Hellfire the way he did, on top of obliterating the Hardlight villains in under ninety seconds. The rest of his peers took nearly the entire fifteen minutes…Objectively speaking, he might be the strongest student to ever walk through these halls…including those of us who attended this institution. We must nurture him accordingly," said Novaheart.

The Champions all nodded and murmured agreements.

"It's settled then. Let's finish the evaluation of the final student and give them their results."