“AWWEEE MAN, There’s gonna be all kinds of examinations today!” Reggie said stretching his arms towards the sky.

Axel and the usual crew were hanging out near the school's track and field, patiently awaiting their showdown with the SPA.

“Is it possible for you to be serious about anything…” Lance growled

“Yen… about the same possibility of you lightening up about anything!” Reggie laughed

“We don’t actually have to beat them right? I mean it would be absurd if we had to defeat SPA captains without even being in the SPA?” Lily said concerned

“Haha, Chill Lils we just gotta rough em up a bit… after a few good punches they'll get the message.”

“Well... I'm not the best at punching….” She said nervously

“This”, Lance began, taking a step into the center of the group, “Is exactly what he said it is, an examination.” “We have to prove to them we deserve a shot at the gauntlet, nothing less nothing more. I mean you really think they expect Ax to take out a colonel?” Lance said unabashedly.

“Yen… good point haha that's one thing we can agree on that ain’t happenen today!” Reggie laughed.

“Yeh Yeh laugh all you want, by the end of this you guys well be calling me Colonel Ax”, Axel gloated.

“Yeh, in your freakin dreams dreamer boy” said a voice from behind them

PB and Jeff had arrived.

“The hell! Who invited these guys?” Reggie groaned

“Hey that my line!” Pb rebutted

“Yeh right” Lance grunted “Chocolate chip cookies would rain from the sky before scum like you made it into the SPA.”

“Why you…” Pb said taking steps aggressively towards Lance

“Enough…. “6 said stepping between them.

“We have both received massive casualties from one another on this battlefield, but today we serve a common purpose…”

“Naaahhh, UHHH Uhh Bullshit man! After what they did to you…” Reggie said

“All the more reason we should avoid confrontation… At least for now anyway.” 6 explained

“Hmph, there’s 5 of us this time… This’ll be no confrontation… It’ll be a landslide!” B said raising up her sleeves.

As she took a step towards the duo a hand landed on her shoulder, it was Axel.

“B… We shouldn’t do this…” He said softly.

“Ax… this guy broke every bone in your body… He would've killed you too if he had the chance!” Reggie cautioned.

“But he didn’t kill me, I’m still here and I’m stronger than I’ve ever been because of it… And… I'm not going to use this power to hurt people! Even if” Axel said tightening his fist “Even if they deserve it.”

“Ax….” said Reggie.

“I decided long ago back before I had powers, power…. is meant to protect, besides… These guys are a waste of our time, we’re not the same runts from a month ago… We don’t have time to squander on these losers!” Axel said reclaiming composure.

“HAHAHAHH” Reggie bellowed.

“True” B said, relaxing her arm.

PB’s skin began to turn into its dark lead pigment form, bubbling on his skin as he became enraged.

“You’ll pay for this!” he scowled.

“You’re going to let him get away with everything he did scot free?” Lance answered belligerently.

“If I were to enjoy inflicting pain… That make me the same as him.” Axel said. “HOWEVER, if during the gauntlet we happen to meet, I’m not gonna hold back.” Axel said making a fist at Pb “I’m praying with all my heart, that in the gauntlet… You’ll be my opponent!”’

“Tsk, your too soft” Lance said walking away “He will suffer… I’ll make sure of it.”

“You think your soo strong since you’ve got all your friends around you! I can't wait to put you in your place again!” PB said gritting his teeth “And this time Ill finish the job,”

Their friendly chatter was interrupted from an air copter closing in from above.

As it landed 8 agents jumped out, with the Colonel leading the way.

“Well well you actually managed to show up! Now are you ready for the real examination? The colonel said.

Axel looked behind him receiving reassured looks from his friends behind him.

“You bet!! When does it start?” Axel

“Right now” The colonel said waving his right hand.

In a flash 8 of the agents disappeared without a trace. The colonel made his way forward and gave each of the students a map.

“Each one of you has been assigned to an agent, you will make your way to the designated spot on each map and meet them there. Here is a picture of who you will be engaging.”

Axel looked down at his map seeing a spot he knew all too well. Nautica valley.

“Dismissed” the colonel said, and in that instant he too was gone.

“And now the true test begins…” Lance said crumpling up his piece of paper. “Remember the promise Axel, if you screw up and fail the exam, I'm not going to wait two years for you to catch up!”

“He that’s my line Lance” Axel said resiliently.

“Juuuust try not to get yourself killed…” Lily said, placing her hand on Ax’s shoulder.

“Yeh every time we take our eyes off of your always getting injured!” 6 said

“Yeh come back in one piece got it Colonel Ax?” Reggie said laughing.

“You know according to O’Brian dying... isn't the worst thing…” Axel said reflecting.

“WHAT? What kind of crazy talk is that?” B exclaimed “If you ever die on me Ax, I swear… Ill beat you the shit out of you!!” She said crossing her arms

After a few nods and smiles of encouragement, the teens each took off to their examination.

Axel made his way up the creek and down to the shores of Nautica Valley coming to the memorial he had been so many times before. Surely enough, awaiting him perched on a rock was the Colonel.

“So.. You’ve finally made it here to this god forsaken place.” The Colonel said.

“You’re familiar?” Axel asked.

“This was one of the first places I came to as an agent… the scene was…. Chilling” He said standing up.

“Darius had pushed his influence to the edge of this forest and people were desperately fleeing from him. By the time we got here many had already been slaughtered ...”

“WHY? WHY didn't you do something to prevent it!?” Axel said.

“Tsk! Why do you think? You think we were out eating donuts or something that day?” Grant growled

“The people of the badlands rejected the SPA long ago! That’s part of our deal! Everything to the east of Nautica Valley is our jurisdiction and everything to the west is none of our business!”

“So the SPA just lets people die?”

“No we never do that! But… The people of the badlands are not entitled to our protection. Any agent who ventures out there has to abide by their rules!

“Their rules?”

“Live and let die!” Grant said lighting his cigar.

“Im fine with that!” Axel proclaimed. “IF that’s what it takes!”

“It’s not that simple!” The colonel said folding his hands. “Darius has too much influence in that place! He’s conquered many territories with loyal subjects, created a military unit with 4 incredibly powerful Shifters leading it… and has even started to infiltrate the city state of Atlantica with crime units there… Taking him on would be nothing short of a full scale war.”

“Sounds to me like you’re just scared!” Axel said.

“Oh you bet! I'm scared! Shitless!” The colonel said “And you would be if you were smart enough! The things he's done, raping’s, kidnappings, and decapitations, to agents and subjects alike.”

“Not me! Anything is better than watching good people suffer for no reason! When I become an agent Ill change all that!” Axel said.

“When you become an Agent? HA…”

“This kid…” Grant thought “He thinks he’s invincible. It makes sense… After all he’s never seen the badlands… Hell he’s probly never even been in a fight!”

“You haven't even made it into the gauntlet yet. Are you even prepared to take me on?” Grant said

“Yeh bring it on” Axel said raising his fist.

“Hehe good, you’ve got some spunk kid!” Colonel remarked “I’ll… at least give you that.” He said with a heavy sigh. “You say these impossible things like there so easy…You have no idea how harsh reality really is.”

“Enough small talk! What is the exam?” Axel said shaking his fist anxiously.

“Your task... is simple” The colonel said shrugging his shoulders. “All you have to do is tell me, what my last name was before I joined the SPA.”

“Hahah that's easy it's Grant!”

For a moment Axel's eyes got dark. Everything around him seemed to slowly fade into darkness. He saw the end of Grant's coat dangling behind him as he walked away. Instinctively he started grabbing his stomach. For some reason it felt like his stomach had been struck, and struck hard. It was like he had just had a head on collision on a hoverbike. His whole body shook from a disoriented shock that seemed to be penetrating every muscle in his body. Struggling to maintain his footing, he fell to his knees hunched over, stretching his hand out in front of him desperately gasping for air.

“What’s wrong kid? Where'd all that spunk go?” The Colonel laughed

“What…. What was that?” Axel thought

Axel struggled to get out a word but he couldn't. All of his energy was focused on replenishing his air supply.

“Here is the game, guess my last name before I joined the force. Here are the rules, every time you guess wrong... I’m” The colonel said taking in a breath and rolling up his sleeves.

His arms were rugged and tough, filled with battle scars and tattoos as far as the eye could see. They were so large and defined they appeared as if he had taken a set of steel pipes and had stretched his skin over them. He flexed his huge arms and slammed his fist into his hand, filling the valley with the echo from the motion.

“I'm going to punch you, and each time I punch you, I'm going to hit a lot harder! Oh and don't even think about not guessing. Every hour I will strike you, if you haven't given me an answer, got it?

“Are you telling me… That was a punch? It was so fast I couldn’t even see it… Hell I couldn’t even see him approach me!” Axel thought

Axel was still hunched on the ground struggling to stand up.

“Oh yeh and one more thing. You can use any means necessary to get my name be it torture blackmail extortion, and no matter what you do, I won’t strike back. You can try waiting me out, there is no time limit after all. We can do this for days if you’d like!” The colonel said crossing his arms

“But once we reach the 24 hour mark, I'm going to stop pulling my punches! So if you want to get out of this alive I suggest you figure it out before then.. Any questions?

“Yeh”… Axel barely squeezed out… “Can I get any hints?”

“Hints? HAHAHA man I can't tell if you’re that stupid or just out of touch with reality!” “This is an examination! There are no hints” He said laughing.

The Colonel lifted up his wallet.

“My wallet has all of my personal information including my original name… not that you’d be able to retrieve it anyway” he said placing it back into his pocket. “There’s your hint! The colonel bellowed out in laughter

Taking in a deep breath, Axel got on his feet grinning from ear to ear, motivated.

“So that's the way he wants to play it?” He thought. “Fine then” Axel thought.

The colonel smiled. He was pleased with the fire that had awoken in the boy’s eyes. “Come at me with everything you've got” he thought.

“Remember the deal, one good shot at your jaw and I’m the next colonel.” Axel said.

The colonel stuck out his jaw mockingly, just as PB had done to Axel once before.

“Hehe well there it is” He said rubbing his jaw. “Let's see what you’ve got!”

Axel wasted no time making a dash towards the Colonels left side ready to attack. He quickly closed the distance and threw a punch aimed directly at the colonel’s jaw. Without even looking at the punch, the colonel parried Axels attack sidestepping to the right, rendering him off balance. Axel continued to follow through his punch falling towards the ground as his punch missed parallel to the colonel.

“Typical rookie put all your weight in one punch and-”

Catching himself Axel guided his hands towards the ground and curled himself into a cartwheel. Now upside down in a handstand he made a second swipe for the general with his left leg in a powerful upside down roundhouse.

“Too fast I cant parry!” Grant thought

The Colonel ducked under the kick barely avoiding it, but this time Axel used the swing of his legs momentum to spin himself, leading into an aerial kick.

Grant maneuvered blocked the kick in a crouched position. As Axel then flipped into the air again to deliver another blow.

“Wow not bad” Thought Grant as Axel’s dropkick came close to connecting. “He pretended to be off balance to catch me off guard… He’s definitely been combat trained, that’s without a doubt. But by who?”

“Alright Ax today were going to talk about fighting opponents that are stronger than you!” Vince said gleefully.

“You mean there's a strategy for that?” Axel asked

“Of course! I'm sure you noticed it in your first fight, opponents that are stronger than you are typically off their guard and aren't as cautious as normal opponents.”

“Yeh that did happen with PB… How do I use that to my advantage?”

“Easy you do the same thing! Or pretend to at least!”

“What?”

“Haha don't worry Ax I'll show you… There's a way to make your opponents believe that you are just as caught off your guard as they are. They'll lay back even more and start to neglect you completely…. Then the second they lower their guard you bombard them with attacks before they can react!”

Axel Jumped into the air and front flipped into a falling kick. The colonel using one arm to block the attack suspended Axel in midair. Axel used the colonel’s arm as a springboard and jumped a few more feet into the air. He landed on his arm again this time with considerable force causing a slight crack in the ground below the colonel’s feet. Smiling the colonel looked into Axel's eyes unfazed as he suspended him in midair with the blocked kick.

Realizing he had lost the element of surprise Axel fell back to where he had started creating a distance between Grant and himself.

‘Aww c'mon kid that's all you got? Your gonna beat Darius with those moves?” The colonel laughed.

Getting provoked Axel took a step forward ready to make another go when he realized the situation.

“If I couldn't get off a single hit while he was off guard there's no way I will get one in now… The strength difference is too big, But…” He thought scratching his chin

“Hey General… you said no matter how hard I attack you won't hit back right?

“Yup that’s the deal ya have my word” He said taking a bow.

“Alright I know Darius isn't going to give me that courtesy but… Here goes nothing.”

Axel began to squat channeling his ether into his hands. As he closed his eyes a torrent of water came flooding into his hands.

“Water powers… hmm interesting” The colonel thought.

“Take this” Axel yelled

“Water Bullet!” He said thrusting a large ball of water towards the general with a fast velocity.

“Hmph” grunted the general, smashing the water ball with his hand.

As the water bullet popped the general’s view began to clear up revealing at least a dozen more water bullets coming his way.

“Heh too easy” he said, punching his way through the rest. From a distance it looked like the colonel was popping giant water balloons with a pin as the spheres of water exploded on his every strike. He swiftly popped the spheres of water gracefully barely using energy at all to move his hands.

When the barrage had finally stopped he saw Axel hunched over with a huge surge of water pulsing in his hand.

“Get ready for this!” Axel yelled.

Axel sprinted towards the colonel, collecting a powerful torrent of water that followed behind him like he was being propelled by a jet ski.

He came to a halt and lifted up the large torrent of water a foot away from the colonel.

“Alright Water Knuckle!” He said smashing his fist into the sphere of water inches away from the colonel.

There was a loud crash, like the sound of a large wave, and soon the Colonel was completely out of vision enveloped in the cone of Axel’s water attack.

“He surely he had to have taken damage from that!” Axel thought

As the water cone dissipated, a misty cloud appeared in front of him baring the colonel’s shadow. When the mist cleared he saw the colonel standing there with no damage taken!

He was standing there nonchalantly pointing a finger down at Axel.

“What… what are you pointing at?” Axel said.

“Pointing? I'm just raising my guard, one finger is enough to stop your attack.” He said laughing.

“One finger? He stopped that with one finger?” Axel thought.

“There's no way I can-” Axel thought as he tried to regroup.

Once again the scene went dark with the Colonel reappearing in front of Axel walking away. Axel began to lose breath and fell to the ground aching in pain.

“Your hour is up!” The colonel yelled As Axel lay on the floor.

“Guuuuhh”

Once again Axel’s body was filled with the whiplash of a high speed motor accident. As the pain pulsed through his body, he howled trying to compose himself.

“That settles it” Axel thought. “The difference is larger than when I fought PB with no powers… At least I was able to move him! There’s no way I can win this exam in a physical fight.”

Struggling to his feet, Axel took a hard look at the colonel desperately probing for a weakness. He was bigger, taller, stronger, more experienced and more seasoned than Axel would ever be. How was Axel supposed to beat him?

No... If he remembered correctly all he had to do was figure out his name, but with no hints and the threat of another devastating blow... he would need to think carefully about what he would do next.

"Are you beginning to see it now kid?" The general asked.

"See what" said Axel

"The difference between you and Darius.”

“What are you talking about?”

"You can't even land a blow on me and you expect to take him out? Heh that's pure sophistry."

"It's not just about beating him" Axel said dusting himself off. "It's about having the courage to fight!"

"And tell me what good is fighting a fight you can't win, there's no way you're going to pass this test hahah, go ahead and guess! I bet the next punch will knock you out!”

"I'm going to show you that the fights you can't win are the most important ones."

"Oh and why is that?"

"It's not something I can tell you I'll just have to show you."

"Heheh alright then let's see it.” The colonel said, crossing his arms.

“Its been fun kid, but the next punch is gonna be game over for you. Good job making it this far.” The colonel thought.