[System Record: Hallway Surveillance] Location: Corridor B (The Path to the Armoury) Time: 08:45 AM Status: Active Pursuit

  Lack Flameheart walked out of the lecture hall. The headache behind his eyes was now a steady, rhythmic thumping.

  Most Captains were currently strategizing with their teams. Knox was yelling at Borg to wash his hands. Lyra was trying to levitate Torin because he refused to walk. Sarah was dragging a blanket (containing Nicki and Olan) across the floor while trying to find Andrew.

  Lack didn't have a team. He had a crime scene.

  "Physics," Lack muttered, scanning the floor. "Follow the path of least resistance."

  The path of destruction demanded no investigation. A scorched mark scarred the wall (Rain’s laser). There was a smashed vase (Rain’s rage). And there was a piece of cheese (Jerry).

  Lack followed the trail of destruction around the corner and into the East Courtyard.

  "GET BACK HERE!"

  Rain (Mirror) was floating in mid-air, surrounded by three spinning prisms. She looked like a vengeful angel of light. She fired a beam of concentrated solar energy at a decorative bush.

  "Eep!" Jerry (Mischief) squeaked, diving out of the bush. He was holding a marker pen.

  "I will vaporise you!" Rain shrieked. "You tried to draw a moustache on my prism! These are family heirlooms!"

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  "It adds character!" Tom (Defiance) laughed from the top of a statue. He was hanging upside down by his knees. "Right now, you're too shiny. You need some grit, Princess!"

  "I am NOT a Princess! I am an Arbiter!"

  Rain spun her mirrors. The light intensified. She was aiming for the statue. If she fired, she would melt Tom, the statue, and probably the wall of the cafeteria behind it.

  "Okay," Lack sighed. "Time to intervene."

  Without shouting or wasting mana, he walked over to the fountain control panel on the wall. He looked at the water pressure gauge. He turned the valve labelled 'Emergency Sprinkler'.

  PSSHHHT!

  A curtain of cold, muddy water blasted out of the garden sprinklers.

  "AHH!" Rain screamed, her concentration breaking. Her mirrors wobbled. Her perfect silver hair was instantly soaked. "My hair! My uniform!"

  Tom slipped off the wet statue and fell into the mud with a splat. Jerry shimmered into visibility as the water coated him, looking like a drowned rat.

  Silence returned to the courtyard.

  Lack claimed the centre of the puddle. The squad stood before him—wet, shivering, and violently angry.

  "Are we done?" Lack asked calmly.

  Rain wiped mud off her cheek, her hands shaking with rage. "You... you ruined my..." Tom spat out a mouthful of water. "Okay, that was actually funny." Jerry sneezed.

  "Good," Lack checked his watch. "We have ten minutes to get to the Armoury before General Valerius locks the doors. If we are late, we get expelled."

  He pointed at Tom. "Get off the ground." He pointed at Jerry. "Stop being invisible. If I can't see you, I can't protect you." He turned to Rain.

  She was staring at him like he was a bug she wanted to crush. "You sprayed me," she whispered. "With garden water."

  "It stopped you from committing murder," Lack said, turning around and walking away. "You're welcome. Now come on. We have weapons to pick."

  Rain stood there for a second, fuming. Then, with a huff that could have powered a windmill, she snapped her fingers. Her prisms spun, drying her clothes instantly with heat, though her hair remained a frizzled disaster.

  "This isn't over, Captain," she hissed, following him.

  "I know," Lack didn't look back. "It's just the tutorial."