They used to call me Young Sorcerer. It is a rather stupid name now that I think about it. I mean really, Young Sorcerer. I think that really speaks to my inability to be creative or about how young I was when I thought of it. Listen to me; it was only about two months ago that I thought to have people call me that. I guess coming to Camp Hammond has changed me a little bit; it's kind of changed us all. I remember the first day we were here.
"Time to get up ladies! Move it!" A voice over a bull horn booms.
"What the hell?" Ben said as he sticks to the ceiling.
"What?!" Kyle said in surprise as his sheets begin to smoke.
"We are already 2 minutes late ladies, so move your asses!" The voice continues. "You got 3 minutes to be awake and down here."
"These guys are a bunch of Nazis." Ben said quietly.
"Well I guess this teaches us teamwork somehow." Elias said.
"By what, screaming at us early in the morning." Ben said as he put on some clothes.
"I am so tired of hearing you complain." Steve said. "This is nothing, just get up and get it together."
"Hey don't talk to Ben like that." Kyle said with his hand ablaze.
"What does the walking match stick have something to say too?" Steve said.
"I am just going to get going." Tim said as he walked out.
"Who are you calling Matchstick?!" Kyle roared.
"You're gonna regret saying that." Ben yelled.
"Guys!" Elias yelled as green energy separated the three of them. "We still have to meet that guy in a minute. So let's just cool it, alright!"
"Fine" Ben said.
"Whatever" Kyle said as he finished getting ready.
"Elias I appreciate you taking control of the situation so quickly." Steve said with his hand out.
"Thanks" Elias said shaking his hand.
"You know Elias, you have great leadership skills, I can tell." Steve said as the two of them walked out of the bunk. "You can really take this team places if we get through this."
"You think so?" Elias asked.
"Yea man, definitely." Steve replied.
The group of new recruits filed out in front of the bunks. "Good timing today recruits, however it is just the beginning." A man in a military uniform said. "I am Lieutenant Corsi and I am in charge of Physical Fitness and Training. Now, hold out your arms."
"Why?" Ben asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." Corsi said.
Each of the recruits held out their arms as a sergeant latched a device onto them. The recruits looked at them puzzled. "What the heck are these?" Kyle asked.
"Those are power regulators. They are going to worn during your entire duration at Camp Hammond." Corsi said. "This is to allow for a controlled use of powers while we are in the training stage of this program."
"So we are going to learn how to be superheroes by not using our powers?" Ben said scoffing.
"Yes, the son of Spiderman, I should've expected a bad sense of humor." Corsi said.
"The bands serve as ways to teach you how to deal with situations where you do not have use of your powers as well as being able to shut you down if you get out of control."
"Don't you trust that we will be able to handle ourselves?" Kim asked.
"It's not a matter of trust but a simple matter of safety." Corsi said tersely. "Now, there was a request to keep the group that came in together yesterday together, so Elias, Ben, Kyle, Tim, Steve, Kim, and Angela are a team here. To begin, we are going to have you guys do 10 laps around the perimeter."
"10 LAPS!" Ben exclaimed.
"AROUND THE PERIMETER!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Well, let's get started." Timothy said.
So as you can see an interesting way to start off our adventures here. Our team was established and we were put in the system. It's funny to see how dead set people on team were against being here at Camp Hammond. Ben and Kyle, my best friends, completely hated it here; probably still do. They are not very pro-authority type of people. Yet I still trust them more than anyone else here. Timothy still confuses me. I just can't ever perceive where he is coming from or who he really is. Kim and Angela are pretty cool. Kim is the very embodiment of what a true field leader is. Her strategies are some of the best that I have ever seen and her looks are… well let's just leave that for another time. Angela is a very spirited person; she seems to follow Kim in whatever she does. And Steve… he seems to very excited about this situation and finally supportive of the entire team, but I feel like he is still hiding something. I know it seems paranoid since he is nice enough to me, but there is just something I cannot put finger on. Regardless, I still remember when I thought this place was useless. Boy did I learn otherwise.
"Hello Elias, my name is Topaz." Topaz said. "You are the son of Stephen and Clea Strange, right?"
"Yes" Elias replied.
"Well, I will say that S.H.I.E.L.D. does not actually have many people well versed in the ways of magic." Topaz said.
"I assumed not." Elias said. "So what are you really going to teach me?"
"Elias there is no need for you to be hostile." Topaz said.
"I am not being hostile; I just really do not know what you can really teach me." Elias said. "I have been taught by two former Sorcerer Supremes. That is tall bill to fill."
"I sense your arrogance as well your feelings of uselessness of this. So if you do indeed feel that way than I propose this: defeat me and I will sign off that you do not need to have this training. Lose, and I will teach you what it truly means to be a mage of battle in the fight against evil."
"I agree." Elias said as he gathered green energy. "I am going to enjoy having afternoons off."
"Well come forward if you dare." Topaz said.
Elias rushed forward summoning the Bolts of Bedevilment. Topaz looked as the bolts came rushing towards her. As she looked at them, she waved her hands and suddenly the bolts faded away. "Hmm, the Bolts of Bedevilment... a pretty good ranged spell to start things off." Topaz said. "Good… but predictable; any sorcerer who worth his weight in magic expects that spell and knows how to dispel it."
"Well, I was hoping that this would be a challenge." Elias said.
Elias summoned green blasts of magical energy. Topaz quickly erected a telekinetic shield which deflected the blasts. Elias summoned the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. Topaz appeared to be bound until she uttered an incantation. Suddenly the bands vanished and she decided she had enough. She gestured her hands complexly and uttered another incantation. A magical cage appeared around Elias. He tried to dispel the cage but it did not work. "Well, do you submit?" Topaz said. "There your magic cannot leave the boundaries of the cage."
"Well, I still have one trick up my sleeve." Elias said.
As Elias looked at Topaz, flames of immense energy erupted around her. She screamed in surprise and quickly cast a ward against fire. The fire seemed to be held at bay until the ward failed and the fire crept closer. Topaz acted quickly and cast the Shield of Seraphim. Suddenly, a glowing red shield appeared around her and seemed to protect her.
"How did you do that?" Topaz asked.
"I can control the Flames of Faltine innately." Elias responded.
"That is indeed a good trick." Topaz said. "However, it is only effective when used strategically. There is nothing else you can do."
"I can't believe it." Elias said as the cage lowered to the ground.
"There is much I can still teach you." Topaz said as she released him. "Your power is great but only if it is honed."
"Well I guess that there are some things I should still learn." Elias said as the cage disappeared. "I am just tired of learning how to be a future Sorcerer Supreme."
"Well it is a good thing that you are here. My main goal is to teach you how to be a battle mage." Topaz said. "You are going to learn mainly how to use magic to combat and protect others."
"That is the best news I have heard all day." Elias said.
"Good." Topaz said. "Well, you are done for today. I will see you tomorrow at the same time."
"See you tomorrow." Elias said as he left.
The term battle mage really stuck with me. It is such a weird term, "Battle Mage"; it's like something out of Dungeons and Dragons or something like that. However, I really liked it. It is something that I finally got to choose for myself and get to study things that I wanted to. It was at that moment that I discovered that because I was the son of two former Sorcerer Supremes did not mean anything. The harsh training that my father imposed on me did not mean anything. The long hours of studying the arcane did not mean anything if I could not protect my friends and innocents. This superhero thing is not about having powers and looking good; it is about using the powers that you are given to make sure that everyone is safe, innocents, friends, heroes, whomever. That is the evolution of Young Sorcerer. I am no longer the kid that thinks magic is just games and its fun to save people. All of this is important and has meaning; it is there for us to learn and grow. A thing like the Camp Hammond helps us become the heroes whom we admire. So I close this entry with me not being Young Sorcerer but Mage, a new, better sorcerer for this new Young Avengers team.
"Mage, it's time for us to go." Tim said.
"Alright then." Elias replied as he put away his journal. "Let's do it."