Chapter 5

Power bloomed to life within me as I sat in the back of a PRT van along with Armsmaster, Amy (still in her role as a healer) and Crystal (acting as Amy's chaperone). The first power that was offered was too powerful for me to take in, a lesser (though potent) version of the power that was still bookmarked and nestled within my soul, just waiting to be purchased. The second, simply put, was a godsend.

Magus Education (Kara no Kyoukai, 100cp): An official education! The proper way for a magus to learn his arts, to travel to the famed Clocktower institution and learn from the greatest, and most egotistical, minds of the Mages' Association. Even if you're some country bumpkin from the Far East, you've had the chance to get a formalized education and degree at the Clocktower over the course of four to eight years. It taught you all the basics of being a Magus, such as decent capability with Formalcraft, Reinforcement, Gradation Air, and Hypnotism. The core arts of any magus, as well as a general familiarity with the supernatural world. You also took on something of a specialty, possibly even a family legacy you inherited, in magecraft. In a field of modern magecraft, you've made a name as having decent potential. An amateur to any professional but in your chosen field, from a rookie Alchemist to a burgeoning Elementalist to a spirit user or something more specific, you've got a few years training on the other students with no ability at all.

My instinct was to become an Elementalist, slinging fireballs and the like, classic mage stuff. In fact, I would have if it wasn't for something incredibly important. While a lot of the more technical side of Magecraft went over my head, I was still a Fate fan, which meant I knew that Magecraft was able to be used for healing. I'd just promised Amy that if I could, I would help her as a healer.

I'm not one to go back on my promises.

I accepted the power and felt years worth of education dump itself into my brain, teaching me the basics of being a Magus of the Clocktower while at the same time vastly expanding my knowledge of healing magic, which came with a lot of knowledge of the human body itself. I didn't suddenly gain magical circuits, but I did feel my already considerable mana pool expand slightly and sensed that I could use the power therein to power my new Magecraft.

Unfortunately, that sudden influx of information wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience and I let out a rather sudden and surprised groan of pain as I leaned forward and rested my head in my hands, a killer migraine already forming.

All eyes turned on me and Armsmaster looked curious. "Is that what it looks like when you gain a new power?"

"Not always," I grumbled through gritted teeth. "But every now and then."

"What did you get?" Crystal asked curiously.

"A grab bag of minor powers," I said vaguely. "With a side of healing."

Amy jolted in her seat, eyes lighting up. "You mean…?"

"Probably not as good of a healer as you, but definitely enough to qualify. Looks like we'll be needing you during power testing after all." I gave her a wide grin.

"You said you just acquired a grab bag," Armsmaster pointed out. "Does that mean you can gain multiple powers at once?"

I made an iffy gesture with my hand. "Sort of. They'll sometimes come in packages, though they definitely cost more when they do. This grab bag cost me only one 'charge' as it was, but the downside is that most of the abilities either take a while to become useful or require some rather intensive practice and training to get stronger."

Crystal let out an incredulous snort. "It's stupid how broken your power is, especially if they continue to be permanent."

"Another healer would certainly be a boon," Armsmaster noted. "How good is the healing?"

I mentally went over the new magic I had at my fingertips. "As of right now, I'll be able to heal most basic cuts, burns, bruises, and broken bones with little to no issues. However, I feel that the ceiling is higher with this power. I'm sure I could eventually learn to cure diseases, gunshots, perhaps even severed limbs, especially with the amount of practice I'm-"

I was cut off mid sentence as the Grimoire struck again unexpectedly. The power offered was too good of a chance to build up my foundation of power, even if I knew little of the source material.

A Sacred Soul (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 400cp): Born with inherent magic similarly to Zelda, you hold a heritage capable of using magic naturally without the need to call upon the powers of nature or the goddesses...though not quite on par with the Sorcerer King utilizing the Triforce of Power. With this noble lineage, you can perform a variety of magical phenomena such as ghost lights, phantom images, magical sounds and with training and time could even replicate weaker versions of the 3 Goddesses' spells(Naryu's Love, Farore's Wind and Din's Fire) without using magical energy. Finally, you are able to use this magic to weave power into notes and songs - such as those of the Bolero of Fire or the Nocturne of Darkness. Who knows what more you could do if you borrow the powers of the heavens and earth for your cause?

The power within me grew immensely upon taking in the perk, a massive swell of energy filling my metaphysical veins. I once again doubled over and hissed in slight pain as my soul expanded, the amount of power I could call on dramatically increased.

Armsmaster noticed and frowned slightly. "Another?"

"They come in waves," I replied as I took a deep breath and shrugged slightly. "I'm going to have to start writing these down. This one is more of an expansion of how much power I can call upon before I need to rest as well as some more minor illusions."

"I thought you could already do illusions, right?" Amy asked curiously.

"Yes, but that was by manipulating the raw soundwaves and light particles. A lot more energy intensive and took some concentration. This power is more like… like preloaded programs that I can use at a moment's notice, rather than using raw code. Less power, less concentration," I explained as best I could without just directly throwing out the word 'magic' and making myself look like even more of a lunatic.

They seemed to take that at face value and didn't bring it up again as we arrived at the Rig. The repurposed vessel was massive, the glittering shield surrounding it making for an impressive display of the Protectorate's power, a symbol that despite the gangs, there were still heroes in Brockton Bay.

Sure, they were stuck in an utterly shit position thanks to politics, Cauldron's meddling, and government bureaucracy, but I had hope that the city could still be saved with the right actions.

I was given a thick domino mask to conceal my identity and then led to a large area with an array of machines and technical equipment. Several people were running around, looking at data and setting up some test dummies, but none introduced themselves to me and Armsmaster didn't pay them any attention.

"Currently we have on file your illusory powers, sound manipulation, the Striker power that adds energy effects to attacks with a weapon, the empowered quiver that duplicates projectiles, and last of all, a Mover power that enables you to jump large distances and heights. Would you like to add anything to the record before we begin?" Armsmaster asked in a formal tone, a hint of something lurking beneath it. Maybe he too knew the importance of sandbagging? I had told him about Coil after all.

"I recently acquired a healing ability and would like to have that tested while we have Panacea on standby," I said with the same tone of formality.

"Understood," Armsmaster nodded and then gestured for me to step up to a table that held a wide array of weapons and tools. "Then please start by demonstrating your Striker power upon the targets, in order of the least armored and then continue until you are unable to do any damage."

The dummies ranged from civilian dressed, to fully armored head to toe like a PRT trooper, to a dummy strapped with thick plates of metal that must have been meant to simulate a Brute.

I looked over my options and finally picked up a simple baton as I doubted the PR team would let me get away with swinging a sharp sword. I hefted it slightly to get a feel for the weight, then went into a hurricane spin and slammed the weapon into the dummy's chest, sending it careening off into the far wall where it shattered! I stepped up next to the target wearing standard issue PRT armor and did the same, the blow knocking it back, but not doing significant damage. Finally I tried it on the Brute one, but failed to do more than push it back a foot or so, the metal barely even scratched.

Armsmaster nodded to himself thoughtfully and tapped a few keys on a terminal. "We'll now test the quiver. On the table is a crossbow of the same variety we arm Shadow Stalker with, fully automated reloading. There are also three different bolts on the table: Blunt bolts that are useful as distractions or to cause minimal harm, tranquilizer bolts, and lastly another tranquilizer bolt, but one containing a Tinker made concoction. If your power can replicate it, that could come in handy in the future."

I nodded in understanding and picked up the sleek weapon, then conjured my quiver. I first fit the blunt bolt into the slot and immediately the quiver was filled with identical bolts. I fired several shots experimentally at a target, not really hitting anything, but I began to get better at aiming the damn thing after half a dozen tries or so.

Armsmaster sent a few technicians to go retrieve the bolts for further testing, but they vanished into motes of light once picked up. No spamming infinite rare materials it seemed. Armsmaster came to the same conclusion if the frown on his face was any indication, but he nodded again. "The tranq rounds now, please."

The effects were exactly the same, the bolt, once slotted, being endlessly replicated by the quiver. Armsmaster examined the quiver as I was firing, experimentally marking one bolt before I fired it, then examining my constantly refilling quiver to see if the bolt 'reset' back into the quiver. No such luck and he eventually shook his head in irritation and said something about 'directly converting energy into mass and back again', before asking me to test his tinker-tech drugs. He looked mildly surprised and a combination of pleased and irritated. Probably happy that it would make me more of an asset in the field, probably a bit annoyed that I could replicate his tech like that. Magic as it turns out, is bullshit. He even asked me to test the drug on a human volunteer, one of the PRT's various office workers who was alright with a day off. The drug knocked him out in the exact same way that Armsmaster said it should, meaning that the tranquilizer inside of the copied bolts was still just as potent as the original.

"That opens a lot of avenues when dealing with some Brutes," Armsmaster commented while the testing area was being shifted around to begin some other trials. "Those tranquilizers, while powerful, are expensive to make. Having a basically infinite source, even if it's only through your power, gives me some ideas."

"Like for Lung or Hookwolf?" I asked curiously, accepting a bottle of water that a nearby worker offered me.

He gave me a sharp nod. "You catch on quick. Good. It's also something of a bonus that the bolts you fire vanish. As much as an infinite supply of rare materials would be useful, we also wouldn't want something like my tranquilizer formula getting into the wrong hands and parahuman made material does tend to vanish after a while anyway, so valuable materials would be worthless in the long run." He tapped a gauntleted finger thoughtfully against my quiver. "Can you loan this item to other people or is it bound to you?"

I wordlessly held it out to him and the veteran hero took it with more finesse than his armored frame would make you expect. He experimentally picked up a bolt, accepted the crossbow once I offered it to him, and then began firing, the crossbow still refilling as it would for me. Then, at his questioning look, I held my hand out in a 'gimme' gesture, and the quiver vanished before reappearing in my hand.

He nodded again, a small smile creeping onto his face. "So you can allow others to borrow the item, but it's foolproof against theft. Even more useful than I thought. I may ask to borrow this on occasion or have you loan it to Shadow Stalker."

"Absolutely," I agreed cheerfully, glad to know that a rather weak power that I had been debating the usefulness of, would still come in handy and help my new team. "Maybe when we're not slated for patrols at the same time? It would be nice to have a nonlethal ranged option."

"We'll work out the specifics when the need arises," Armsmaster decided. "In the meantime, let's test your illusions. If you could simply make a bright light in the center of the room, then do so. We're testing to see if you're simply shaping light or if you're actively controlling some aspect of human perception. The difference between a Shaker effect vs a Master."

I'd already explained that I was controlling lightwaves, but I guess they wanted it all on record just in case. I used Lunatic Eyes as he asked and created a simple brilliant golden light. Armsmaster had me change it into a variety of colors, then asked me to begin creating more and more complex illusions, such as disguising my face or even my entire body or creating illusory doppelgangers, all the way up to small crowds of people. The more complex the task, the faster my mana was burned and the more tired my brain began to feel. Luckily, with some of the more powerful foundational perks I'd picked up, my mana pool wasn't in danger of running dry anytime soon.

After all the illusions were done, Armsmaster played back the recording and hummed thoughtfully as he viewed the images. "Shaker effect then, good. Masters tend to be difficult to balance in terms of PR. I also noticed that the thermal camera doesn't register the illusions, something to keep in mind, even if it might not come up at all." He cocked his head to the side and put a hand up to his helmet in the universal 'taking a call' sign. "He's here? Good, send him up." Armsmaster shot me a look. "We want to test the limits of your sound manipulation, so I've arranged to have Triumph come up here before his patrol and use his sonic shout on you."

I gulped somewhat nervously. "Can't he shatter concrete with that shout of his?"

"At maximum power, yes, but he'll obviously tone it down for you," Armsmaster reassured me.

The elevator pinged and the gladiator themed hero walked in. He gave a crisp nod to Armsmaster and then walked up to me and shook my hand. "Hey there, you must be the new guy that the office is chattering about. I'm Triumph, nice to meet you."

"Magus, until PR picks a better name anyway," I introduced myself. "Sick costume."

He let out a small chuckle and it sounded infinitely more authentic than Armsmaster's. "Yeah, Image knows what they're doing, even if they can be a little… much. Just roll with the punches, be polite, but firm, and I'm sure they can get you a costume and name that you can be proud of."

"I'll keep it in mind. So I guess I'm practicing my sound manipulation against your shouts?"

"That's what Armsmaster told me. Let's move over here," the younger hero led me out of the way of all the technicians and monitoring devices. The dummies from earlier had been moved out at that point and I noticed padding on the walls. "Alright, just start using your power and I'm going to shout at you. Ready?"

I activated Lunatic Eyes and gave him a quick nod. Triumph inhaled briefly and then roared. The lion theme was well chosen as the wall of sound slammed into me. Even straining Lunatic Eyes to my current limit, I still had to take a step back and instinctively put my hands up to cover my ears. Despite that, both him and Armsmaster were giving me looks of appraisal, reevaluating my abilities.

"Did it work?" I asked, a little louder to hear myself over the ringing.

Triumph gave me a thumb's up, until Panacea came over and placed a finger against the side of my neck. There was a faint popping and then the ringing was gone. "That was actually pretty damn good. That shout was meant to throw you across the room, that's why the walls are padded. And you've only had those powers for a few days?"

"Give or take," I confirmed.

He gave a low whistle and shot Armsmaster a glance. "I'm gonna be out of a job if the rookie keeps this up."

"We might all be," Armsmaster said with the faintest trace of a bitter smile. "Thank you for the confirmation, Triumph, that'll be all."

Triumph nodded, gave me a wave and headed back to wherever it was that Protectorate members hung out when not on patrol. Hopefully I'd find out for myself soon enough.

"The Mover aspect of your powers will have to be field tested when one of our fliers has the time," Armsmaster told me. "Though someone with New Wave could also qualify. We simply need to determine how high and far you can jump without hurting yourself. You also have the odd limitation that you can't be pushed from a large height?"

"Erm, yeah, powers are weird. I have to be jumping with intent in order for my power to cancel out the height, otherwise gravity and all it's consequences play out like normal. I haven't tested that part for obvious reasons, but I know that's how it's supposed to work," I explained.

"We'll trust your knowledge of your own powers, but try to avoid such a situation in any case," Armsmaster said.

"Will do. Kind of an oddly specific circumstance anyway."

"Indeed, but it can still be the difference between life and death in the world of parahumans." Armsmaster frowned down at his computer monitor and muttered a bit under his breath. "Unfortunately for us, though I suppose good overall, the infirmary both here and at PRT HQ are currently unoccupied. I'll check with any of the squads or Protectorate that are on standby to see if they have any minor injuries you can test your new power on while Panacea monitors. She's the closest thing we have to an expert on parahuman healing and I would rather not have to wait for weeks to get authorization to use it in the field."

"I could test it on myself?" I volunteered. "It would just take a quick cut or bruise."

"Too many variables. What if you have a secondary power that enables you to use it safely only on yourself? What if it's adapted specifically to your body? It's best to have Panacea watching with her power if you use it on a completely random individual." Armsmaster once again turned away and seemed to be speaking to someone within his helmet. He seemed as pleased as he ever got when he turned back. "Velocity has a sprained wrist from the encounter with Uber and Leet the other day. That'll give us a chance to show you the living area too."

He marched off and I scrambled to follow with Crystal and Amy following close behind. "While we are not necessarily encouraged to live on the Rig, we're heroes, not soldiers, we all have small rooms and a larger shared living space for overnight shifts, emergencies, and visiting heroes from out of town. You'll be assigned a room once all the paperwork is all finalized."

The elevators got us to the correct floor in record time, Armsmaster having to punch in a special code and flash a scanner with a badge he pulled out of a pouch on his armor's 'belt'. Stepping out of the elevator, we were greeted by a foyer that looked like something you'd see in a nicer apartment building, minus the two large doors ready to be sealed at a moment's notice.

Armsmaster explained when he caught me examining them. "The Rig is fortified against attack, whether that be from some villains that have grown bold or an S-class event. That includes the forcefield you saw outside of course, but the internal structure has been reinforced as well should the need arise."

"I suppose any heroes who are staying here would sleep easier knowing they're well defended."

Through the doors was a nice common area, a variety of couches and chairs spread throughout, a large t.v on one wall. A small kitchenette where any Protectorate members could grab a quick snack rather than hike to the cafeteria was nestled in one corner of the room. It didn't feel like a home per se, but it did feel welcoming in it's own way.

Already suited up and waiting was Velocity. The older hero approached me and offered a handshake. "Nice to see you again, Magus. I hear you're officially joining up and offering healing too."

"You hear correctly. Mind if I take a look?"

"Go right ahead." Velocity rolled up one sleeve of his costume to reveal red and swelling flesh around his wrist. "Hurts like a bitch, but I was going to just take some aspirin and call it good for the next few days."

"Just one moment," Armsmaster interrupted. "Please allow Panacea to fulfill her role here. If you would?" He prompted the healer.

Panacea stepped up and placed a hand daintily on the back of Velocity's. "I'm currently monitoring. The angle might be a little awkward, but-"

She was cut off as I activated my Magecraft and murmured an incantation, mana surging forth and covering my hand in a soft golden glow. The energy mirrored itself on Velocity's sprained wrist. Amy looked absolutely enthralled as the healing Magecraft did it's thing, the redness and inflammation fading rapidly.

"You're able to heal over distance?" Armsmaster asked sharply, looking between us rapidly and visually scanning Velocity's healed injury.

"Yeah. An aspect that can be trained too I believe. I'll be limited to line of sight or even closer for the moment," I confirmed. "Panacea? How's my healing working out?"

"Complete cellular genesis," she said with an awed tone. "I- When I'm healing, I have to monitor every aspect individually, manually telling injuries to heal and making sure things are stable. If I do a bad job, it could cause complications down the line. Whatever you just did, it completely healed the injury by just… changing the damaged cells. It shouldn't be possible."

"Except it is," I grinned cheekily and poked her arm playfully. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're still Brockton's best healer, but now I can help out a little too."

"I want to see you do that again sometime, see if I can work out the process. If I could replicate it, it would speed up my healing time tremendously."

"You're welcome anytime. So does Panacea's approval mean I'm officially cleared?"

Armsmaster let out a small quick snort that I almost missed. "If only it was so easy. There will be more paperwork involved, Velocity will have to be monitored and my report as well as footage will have to be submitted to the Think Tank, but assuming everything comes back good and Velocity's injury doesn't suddenly return, then yes, you'll be cleared as an official healer. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, it would have been easy to keep it to yourself and profit on the side."

"I'm a hero now or soon to be at least," I said with a small and embarrassed shrug. "Just doing my best, ya know?"

"That's all we can ask for." Armsmaster sighed. "Apologies, but this has taken up much of my lab time as it stands. I believe I've done all I can to get you introduced, so for now, please return home, finish up reviewing and signing all the needed paperwork, and then of course, the manual."

I felt my stomach drop. "Manual?"

"We're technically an extension of a law enforcement agency. You need to know our policies and procedures." Armsmaster actually looked amused at my dismay. "Think of it like homework."

"I hated school."

"Then all the more reason to get it done sooner rather than later. I'll send an agent to escort you around some more if you want or take you home as you need. Laserdream, Panacea, the Protectorate and PRT thank you for your assistance today," he gave them a nod in farewell and then marched back to the elevator and left.

I was taken off guard by the rather abrupt exit, but Velocity just clapped a friendly hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about him too much. He's very dedicated to his work. The fact that he stuck around all morning for your power assessment and initial meeting with the Director says a lot."

"That's… good?"

"It's great! Armsmaster didn't even bother when Triumph got promoted, he just pawned the job off to Miss Militia. Not that he isn't a good leader, he's just not…"

"A people person?" I offered, not wanting to say anything directly negative about the hero who had just helped me through a whole morning of annoying tests.

"Yeah, thats a good way of putting it," Velocity agreed. "You wanna stick around, maybe meet some of the others?"

I glanced at Crystal and Amy, then shook my head. "Thanks, but I think I've kept the New Wave gals around too long. Better to let them get home and enjoy their day off."

"Hey, no big deal," Crystal objected, punching my shoulder lightly. "We knew what we were signing up for."

"Still, I'd feel guilty keeping you longer now that the necessary tests are done. I can always come back and meet the others later," I pointed out. "And Armsmaster was right, I've got to deal with the learning stuff now if I'm going to be an effective hero."

Crystal rolled her eyes, but didn't resist further as we said bye to Velocity. A PRT agent showed up as Armsmaster had said. I told him we wanted to leave now and he didn't object, simply taking us back to the hidden vehicle bay where we climbed into a rather simple looking sedan with tinted windows. Back across the water we went before stopping back at PRT headquarters.

"So what's the whole scoop then?" Crystal asked as we stepped out of the car, the agent walking out of earshot, but still lingering. "I mean… Aunt Carol didn't look too happy when she walked out of the office. Not necessarily pissed, but… irritated maybe?"

"That was her 'my client is an idiot face'," Amy responded drolly. "I've seen it enough times to pick it out."

"Piggot was skeptical of taking me on with the terms that Carol outlined," I explained. "Too much of an investment into someone whose powers they couldn't even verify. I mean, to be fair it's still been less than a week since I got these powers, for all anyone else knows, yeah, I'll eventually stop getting powers altogether or start losing older ones." Not that I ever would, thanks to the Grimoire. "So I accepted a less lucrative contract for the time being. It's still pretty generous, the PRT is paying off all my student debt and I'm starting with a full member's salary. Six figures ain't nothing to sneeze at and that's not even considering overtime or merchandise."

"I bet they'll add some bonuses on for the healing, especially if you're on call," Crystal theorized. She elbowed Amy playfully. "Been saying you should do that, cuz. PRT would pay a fortune."

"I do enough work at the hospital as it is," Amy grimaced. "And it'd be wrong to charge for my healing anyway."

"Charging the everyday citizen who just needs emergency healing, sure, but charging the big government organization for the right to wake you up at 2 a.m or the hospital that probably has the money to spare? That's downright entrepreneurial if you think about it," I chuckled. "As the Founding Fathers intended."

Amy just shook her head with an exasperated look. "You guys don't get it."

I fixed Amy with a firm stare. "Don't let the expectations of society drag you down. You still matter, your thoughts, your opinions, the amount of energy you have, all of those are factors. Panacea is a title, but it isn't who you truly are and it isn't up to them how your powers are used. You aren't just your abilities, some healing dispenser. You're Amy Dallon and you get the ultimate say on how you use your powers."

She took a step back at what must have seemed like a sudden shift in intensity from an otherwise easy going guy, but when I'm motivated, I get real passionate. I'd be damned if the Red Queen would happen in this timeline, not while I was around.

I ruffled her hair playfully and grinned. "Just think about it, 'kay? Once my approval gets through, you and I will clear out this city's hospitals in no time at all."

Crystal let out a small huff as Amy wandered off in a bit of a daze and seated herself in Crystal's car. "I swear, she acts like she's personally guilty for every single injured person in this city. And I'm sure even if she did reach anyone, she still would feel guilty about the rest of the world."

"It's a heavy burden, to be the White Mage," I said solemnly. "That she uses her power so responsibly is a huge testament to her character." I'd just ignore the whole 'healing gangbangers that Glory Girl fucked up' thing. Most important person in her life asks for help? Seemed pretty reasonable to me, if kind of scummy coming from the 'accountability' superhero team.

Amy might have had the potential to become the Red Queen, but I was a firm believer that anyone under the wrong circumstances, could reach a breaking point and become a monster. I wasn't about to judge Amy for 'what-ifs', especially because Jack Slash wasn't going to live to ever see Brockton Bay again if I had my way.

"You're telling me. God, just spending time with her like this I can see how stressed she is and I don't even live with her. I can only imagine how Vicky and Aunt Carol let her get like this…"

Vicky can't really be blamed, Amy is pretty good at hiding how she feels toward her sister, but Carol… bitch probably doesn't even care all that much or at least, doesn't care enough to even notice that her daughter is in a spiral.

"I know I haven't known you guys long or anything, but it seems like Amy needs some work/life balance readjustments," I said delicately. "Plus having a mother figure as… intense as Brandish and then a father who's going through depression… It's probably a lot to deal with for a normal kid, let alone a hero like her."

"You aren't wrong…" Crystal muttered to herself. "Damn, you really aren't. I'll try and make more time for her. Gotta keep my own work/life balance, ya know?"

"I get it," I agreed. "You're a good cousin either way." I shuffled awkwardly a bit and then dipped my head in her general direction. "Well uh… thank you guys for showing up today and giving me a ride and all that. We'll have to patrol together once I've debuted and everything."

"We will," Crystal promised. "See ya around, Mak."

I waved as they left the garage and then approached the PRT agent. "So, I'm assuming there's some more paperwork?" I asked dryly.

The agent, a tall dark skinned man, head completely shaved, gave me just the barest hint of a smile. "This is a government agency. There's always more paperwork."

"Well then please, lead on to HR, Agent…?"

"It's Trooper, technically speaking, today is just a plain-clothes day. The name is Roger, Roger Cole." The man gave my hand a firm shake, his face a mask of professionalism the whole time.

He led me back into the PRT Headquarters where I spoke to the very enthusiastic and overly cheerful HR staff, was given a huge packet of papers that represented my official contract, and a thick binder that was the training manual, as well as a temporary pass that would get me into the building, but keep me out of the more restricted areas.

"So do I have to actually memorize this thing before I'm allowed out on patrol?" I asked nervously, eyeing the massive binder of rules and regulations.

"No. That's part of the reason rookie heroes get paired with a senior hero, learn some on the job and make sure what you are studying sticks," Cole explained to me as he led me to the cafeteria for lunch. "New heroes are needed out on the streets too badly to just keep you cooped up until you pass some written test. You will have to pass certain exams and licensing issues before you can patrol solo though."

"Makes sense." I eyed the stack of papers and sighed.

The burdens of being official I suppose… Is it too late to be an independent hero?

It probably was, not to mention that a six-figure salary was making me feel extremely motivated to do the best I could. There was a small addendum to the paperwork too, in light of my new healing power. An optional box offering double-pay for emergency healing sessions, with a clause for denying the call if my secret identity was in jeopardy or I didn't think I could heal the injury. I accepted of course, because it was something I'd have offered to do anyway and more money was fine by me.

More documents… NDAs to keep top secret information just that, not to reveal the identities of capes (the wording made it seem like villains might technically be included) and just generally be a law abiding citizen while in the employ of the Protectorate. All really boring stuff that I would ordinarily have simply skimmed and signed, but I didn't want to get accidentally screwed over, so I sent the digital copy that I'd been sent over to Carol and asked her to review it while I read as closely as I could. She earned her pay when I got an email back ten minutes later pointing out some weird wording in the part about merchandising that might be used to prevent me from using my powers if I ever left the Protectorate, as well as editing the after-hours healing bonus from double pay to a minimum five-hundred dollar payment per call, unless the amount of hours exceeded a certain threshold, in order to prevent the PRT from just spamming me with low level injuries that might just be healed by a day or two in the infirmary.

At least the food was somewhat decent as I went through the paperwork. Made in house apparently, because outsourcing the food for an organization like the PRT was just asking for infiltration or poison attempts. Trooper Cole sat placidly, eating his own lunch and taking care of paperwork of his own.

An hour later, I stood up rather abruptly, eyes fuzzy and mind abuzz with legal lingo. "Does this place have somewhere I can train more destructive powers?"

He considered my request and then nodded. "Training rooms for the Wards. They aren't meant for larger scale powers, there are specialized cells on the Rig for that."

"I don't feel like driving back there today. Wherever the Wards train should be fine."

Cole glanced at the paperwork I'd been signing and gave a slow nod of consideration. "You've scribbled enough on those to be legally responsible I think. Guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if you met any of the Wards by accident." He stood and motioned for me to follow. We walked through more office spaces down into the bowels of the HQ, finally arriving in a large room that looked like a firing range, though it lacked any actual firearms.

I gave Cole a brief nod of thanks and then stood a distance away from the targets and began activating Lunatic Eyes. At the moment, I was a glass cannon, not particularly durable, though between my punches, magical attacks, and reinforcement magecraft, I had a lot of options for close up hits. I needed ranged options though, especially because I couldn't always rely on getting too close to an enemy if the very environment around them became a hazard. So focusing with Lunatic Eyes, I copied a trick I'd read in a novel once, creating a quick noise with a snap of my fingers, then amplifying and guiding the sound waves to try and cause devastating damage. The hero who used that trick in that particular novel was extremely lethal and would cause practice targets to shatter under the power of her sound blasts. My weak first attempts caused the targets to vibrate, but little more than that.

I kept at it for a while, Trooper Cole taking a seat on a wall mounted bench and keeping a close eye on me. I wondered briefly if I could use Lunatic Eyes to create lasers, but dismissed the thought for the moment. Get good with sound first, then try and branch out to other waves later.

I was so focused on my attempts to use sound as a weapon, that I barely even noticed as the doors slid open and another figure was suddenly at the range. Tall, dark costume, and white mask in the shape of a woman's face. Shadow Stalker. She began firing bolts from her crossbows, training ones from the way they simply bounced off her distant targets and didn't so much as say a word to me.

I kept snapping my fingers and making the target rattle in the distance before finally getting tired of the silence. "Hey there. I'm Magus, nice to meet you." I walked up just a bit and offered my hand.

She glanced at me, scoffed, then went back to firing. "Yeah, I heard about you from Kid and Gallant. Fucking idiot that got handed his ass by Leet of all people."

I lowered my hand and went back to the snapping. "Not my best moment, I'll admit. Didn't keep my cool, got punished for it."

She grunted in what sounded like approval. "Least you own it. You've been a cape long?"

"Few days. You?"

"Bit longer than that," she shot me an appraising look. "Why join the Protectorate so quickly? Most capes at least start on the streets first."

"Needed the money," I shrugged. "Hated working a normal nine to five, not to mention almost impossible in Brockton fucking Bay when you're a minority. If I'm going to beat up Nazis, then I might as well get paid for it."

"If the damn pencil pushers will even let you," she muttered. "Should've stayed on the streets if you wanted to see real action."

"Wards don't patrol?" I asked probingly.

"We patrol the goddamned Boardwalk and sign autographs or 'safe' neighborhoods," Shadow Stalker said with utter scorn in her voice. "The places where we're least likely to see a fight. Still come across the occasional mugging or burglary, but it's so rare compared to my original part of town."

"Yeah I read about you a bit. You did a number on the bastards in your neighborhood. Shame the PRT doesn't let you go all out like that anymore."

"Amen."

We continued practicing in silence for several more minutes before Shadow Stalker's phone went off. "Gotta head out on patrol. We should spar sometime." She tried to word it casually, but there was an edge to her voice. In her mind, it wasn't a suggestion.

"Sure," I agreed. "Have to get my hand to hand skills up to par somehow."

As I went back to training alone, Cole spoke up. "You handled that well. Most guys, especially one your age, would have gotten pissed at Shadow Stalker."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, still focusing on my target.

"She called you an idiot right to your face," Cole looked vaguely amused for a moment. "And you're considerably older. That would hurt most guys' pride."

I hummed noncommittal for a moment, then snapped my fingers particularly hard and rather than focusing on directing the sound at the whole target, I amplified the sound waves on just it's head. It shattered with a screech of metal. "It did piss me off. Quite a bit. But pride has it's place and in this case, she was right. If I had kept my cool and approached things differently, I probably could have beaten Leet. But instead I charged in like the newby I am and got my ass kicked for it. Shadow Stalker has a considerable head start in terms of experience as a cape. I'm not going to get pissed at her for just speaking the truth when I'm the new cape here." I paused and snapped again, the target noticeably caving in at the power of the sound waves. "Though I'll admit, she didn't have to be such a bitch about it."

That got a small cough out of Cole, which I took as a laugh from the rather stoic man. Had to take my wins where I could.

A/N: Was going to try and pad out the word count, until I realized I just didn't have much else to include in this chapter. Hope y'all enjoy. Also I'm slowing the pace at which the MC now acquires points, from 100 points per 1,000 words to 2,000. Hopefully that will slow the growth a bit as I feel like at this point he's gotten some rather overpowered abilities rather early in the story. Now back to writing! Going on vacation next week and I gotta get more chapters prewritten so that I can still post!