This was as much a stealth mission as anything else. I needed to make sure that the others were gone. Jamie and I had to blink to the platform after the train began pulling out the station. We made it unnoticed and went to the giant facility they had for us. We signed in and got our badges from the reception desks. Once we both had them, we were taken to the hall for the orientation. This was the last day of the 6 for the tryouts. It was make it or break it. The orientation lasted an hour like last time. I was just a visitor this time. We were split up for Toby to take the personal interview with the admissions members from the five schools. I had high hopes he would not blow it. He assured me he was up for it. "I'll just talk to them man to man." he said. As a visitor, I had the option of being a volunteer again. This time, I would get paid to do it. I was supposed to the combat tester. That meant that it was my good to beat the shit out of as many as possible. The more that failed meant the more impressive it would be if Jamie passed it. I had absolutely no mercy on them. I failed dozens of candidates.
He was able to get through easily. So did Desmond and Evan. The other delinquents only barely got through. For the teamwork section, Desmond and Evan paired up in the round and the other two delinquents did as well. The random partner given to Jamie was someone who could blow bubbles with their mouth. Those bubbles could trap opponents or provide a shield. He could also ride them as they floated up. With the precise spitting Jamie could produce, they were able to storm the facility quite easily. They rescued the hostages and brought them out safely. I was only there for Jamie so I watched him and greeted him when he came back. "It was nothing to worry about. We handled it." he said nonchalantly. I could still tell he was hyped up from doing a good job. About ten minutes later, we were approached by an administrator. I knew what they wanted. They needed volunteers to be hostages for the next session. "You would need to take a medicine to depower you and sign a waver as anything could happen. We do think fondly of team players. Are you two in?" one asked.
Before he could say anything, I got in front of him. I said "We're in. We can even go for two sessions if you want." They smiled and gave us the waivers to sign. We had to take a shot to make us unable to use our powers for two and a half hours. Jamie was looking questioningly at me the entire time. It did not matter to me one bit. "You don't want to go? I was hoping to get a good fuck in before we left." he whined. The shot stung again, but I could deal with it. We were both bound and gagged. We were taken by some guards and places on the fifth floor. We were eventually rescued by an arrogant pair of students. They were the first to reach us, which was very impressive. They were able to free of from our bonds and gags. They did not let us forget that we were saved by them. "Please! I could kick the shit out of you two on my own. You're stronger than the other chumps, I'll give you that." he mocked. They were a bit annoying, but we let them take us down to the safe zone. The two got us out in 56 minutes. The next scenario had us on the top floor and no one was able to get to us.
Some made it to where we were being held, but were defeated by the goons guarding us. The hour time limit elapsed. We were let go and our powers returned to us half an hour later. "Holy shit! Those chumps were fucking worthless. We'd be better off trying to break free ourselves at that point. If I could fucking do it in less than forty minutes, I better get a spot!" he grumbled. I just hugged him from behind and said "You will. I know it." He just grunted and shrugged me off. He sat on a nearby bench and held his head in his hands. From the crabby way he was acting, it was clear he had had enough for one day. It was also much better to get out before we were spotted. Sometimes, quitting while you are ahead was better than winning. As we were about to leave the facility, an administrator called out to us. "Jamie Velvet. As representatives of Heroic College, we have seen your skills and appreciate you going above and beyond to help with the tests we administered. We would like to offer you a full scholarship in our Sidekick course class 1." That was great for him. We won the day.
