Gathered at the front of the training center, the prospective student candidates stood waiting for the final briefing. Their bags packed and ready to go, no one would return to this place. If anything were to be left behind, it would remain so.

Candidates trickled out of the building and got into position with their respective teams. Cassidy and Jessica looked around, but saw no sign of Scott. Electra merely stared down at the ground, her thoughts on the future and what would pass in the days to come.

"Wonder where he is?" asked Jessica. A slight hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Maybe he needed to speak with one of the teachers? They do pull him aside a lot," offered Cassidy.

Electra glanced sideways, but said nothing. Maxine was not here at the moment. The idea that Scott was delayed for speaking with a teacher caused conflicting thoughts within the Minotyran girl's mind. She was uncertain of whether the other girls knew it, but throughout their recent training she constantly smelled the scent of Maxine all over her husband.

Maxine, Alice, and Shoppy of all people, walked out of the building. Maxine pushed a small cart. Atop it sat a large stereo with big speakers. The shop keeper plugged it in, while people began to look toward them.

The blond woman waved happily to the students then leaned over and pressed a button on the stereo. The sound of well-orchestrated horns began to play from the device. Most of those gathered did not recognize the tune immediately, but they began to pick up on it after a moment. Even an American completely devoid of comic knowledge would be hard-pressed not to recognize the Superman theme song after hearing it a few times.

Cassidy began to softly hum along with it, "Bah-bumba-ba-bum... bum bum bum..."

Jerry yawned loudly then blinked as he witnessed something strange in the sky overhead. "Hey? What's that?"

"Is it a duck?" asked one of the girls on his team, while she shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up into the sky.

"Is it a helicopter?" asked another Team Jerry girl.

Their questions drew the gaze of the rest of the crowd. "No! It's—" began Jessica excitedly. However, she was cut off by the leader of the mean girl clique, "A tiny bastard!"

Jessica glared hatefully at the girl. Before she could come to blows with the irritating snot, Scott swooped down from on high and hovered in the air briefly.

Red cape fluttering in the breeze to match his bright red boots and gloves showed his intention to color coordinate. His face, slightly obscured by a black domino mask that was held on by no discernible connection, showed a confident expression. Dark black jeans, and dark blue shirt rounded out the ensemble, but the truly notable component was the bright yellow letters 'WIP' emblazoned across his chest.

Scott hovered in the air briefly, knuckles to his hips. Slowly his left eyebrow rose up. A confident expression in his eyes belied the nervousness he felt. This was a beautiful moment for him, but he knew he looked ridiculous. Ah, the life of a superhero.

"And what exactly are you supposed to be?" asked Jessica with an incredulous expression.

"I am..." began Scott, before attempting a heroic action pose. He leaned forward at a sharp angle, one leg back. One arm was thrust back while the other flew up to his face to point forward with his elbow. Honestly, he looked ridiculous to everyone gather around, but he did not care. He confidently proclaimed, "A work in progress!"

Stunned silence fell upon the crowd for a moment. Snickers and laughter followed briefly, but it was Maxine who made the next move. She casually leaned over and turned off the stereo.

"Really?" asked Cassidy, her light tone was at odds with her impassive expression.

Scott straightened up, thrust his chest out, and opened his arms wide while he kept his elbows tucked close to his sides. Just as he turned his palms upward and started to speak, he felt his aura of flight giving out. "Ah, gravity works," he said before dropping to the ground.

Scott straightened up once more and repeated his previous masculine hero pose. "I—" he began, only to be cut off again by Jessica. A cheeky grin on her lips, she asked, "Couldn't even get your own theme music?"

"I don't even know if John Williams is still alive," said Scott.

"Excuses, excuses," said Jessica.

He sighed loudly then put his hands to his hips. Scott tilted his head to the side and asked, "Woman, what part of work in progress don't you understand?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he caught sight of Maxine and Shoppy. "Hey, thanks you two!"

"Sure thing, sweety," said Maxine.

Shoppy merely grunted slightly then ran his index finger under the bottom of his eye to wipe away a bit of moisture. He'd gotten a little dust in it, or something similar.

Alice spoke up before anyone else could cause a scene. "Alright, since everyone's here finally, it's time to load up and head out."

A large bus situated at the other side of the parking lot was their destination. Once on board they were seated according to their group. From the moment of their group assignments, the teens were always separated into their groups. Only afterhours and meals allowed them to meet with the other candidates. Even then they mostly stayed together for the sake of training, or general bitchiness in the case of the mean girl group.

"So, what do you think it will be like in an actual dungeon?" asked Jessica.

Cassidy spoke up and said, "Like the simulations but even more real, I guess?"

Scott glanced over to Electra, who remained quiet since he arrived. There was a sense of tension about her. She refused to look at anyone. He caught her glancing toward him briefly, but her eyes darted away the moment he saw it.

He leaned in and quietly asked, "Something wrong?"

She shook her head slowly from side-to-side while trying not to look at him. He pressed her for an answer, but she did not say anything for a while. Actually, it was not until Jessica and Cassidy discussing the dungeon exploration reached a certain point that Electra spoke. "My people don't look at the dead on the day that they march off to die."

All three members of the team looked to her then, and she took a breath. "That's why I haven't been looking at anyone."

"You're afraid we'll die?" asked Scott.

Electra nodded. "The great labyrinth, or the dungeons as you call it, your people have it wrong."

"What do you mean?" asked Cassidy.

"They know it now, but the classification system that they use is flawed. They determine things based largely on the resonance required to enter safely, and the strength of the monsters inside," said Electra. She pulled on a strand of her hair for a moment. "Despite being told the truth, they have yet to change the system."

Jessica leaned over the top of her seat. "What's the truth?"

"The dungeons are like living beings. They have a certain will of their own, a core, hidden from the world," said Electra. She looked Scott in the eyes and said, "It's possible that no one will die on this mission, but the fact that we're going to a subjugated dungeon concerns me."

"Wouldn't a wild dungeon be more dangerous, though?" asked Cassidy.

"What is more dangerous? A wild beast confident in its ability, or a cornered animal ready for a fight?" asked Electra.

"So, a subjugated dungeon is like a cornered animal?" asked Jessica.

"In a manner of speaking," said Electra before taking a brief pause. "A dungeon is an existence that seeks to expand its influence by drawing in others. The more of your people who regularly enter a dungeon, the stronger it can become."

"Wait, it almost sounds like a dungeon wants to be subjugated," said Cassidy.

"Not wants, but does accept. No dungeon would want to be the tool of another's will. However, as long as it does the minimum to keep the situation intact, it can bide its time and build up its power simply by keeping intruders busy with weak monsters," said Electra.

"Bides its time to do what, Electra?" asked Scott, his eyes narrowed. Why weren't they told this before? Why was no one told this?

She took a breath then closed her eyes, "Expansion."

"So, it gets bigger?" asked Jessica, curiously.

Electra nods. "All at once, without warning, a dungeon will execute its next move. Suddenly, everything changes. The layout, the monsters, the number of monsters, even the amount of resonance required to survive. If someone is caught inside during that time, they are highly likely to die."

"Damn! Do you think it will happen?" asked Jessica.

"The odds are against it happening while we are there, but it is possible," admitted Electra. "I do think it won't be more than another year or two before the dungeons start to expand, however. That could be catastrophic for humanity."

"Why catastrophic? Wouldn't they just go up a class or two?" asked Cassidy.

Electra turned and looked her teammate in the eyes. "The dungeons have taken too long to expand already. Far longer than normal. No amount of preparation will be enough."

"The government knows this?" asked Scott. "Your people told them?"

Electra nodded once, and then quietly said, "It was one of the things that caused our peoples to meet. Labyrinth keepers went to check on the reason why several sections of the great labyrinth seemed dormant. Your people have been warned repeatedly, but the easy access to magical and technological marvels blinds them."

"Couldn't they just position themselves outside the dungeons, then?" asked Cassidy.

"This is what my people told your people. However, your governments feel themselves wiser than we who have spent countless millennia guarding and keeping the labyrinth in balance," said Electra.

She looked around at her team, her eyes narrow and her voice low. "The dungeons are smart enough to lure creatures well. Those of this world already know what they need to do to keep humans inside of them."

"What do they do?" asked Cassidy, her eyes ablaze with curiosity.

"Once subjugated, they produce a handful of monsters while humans are inside. If humans leave, they wait a short time, perhaps a day or two. During that time they produce a similar amount of monsters and loot as before," said Electra.

The Minotyran girl took a breath then sighed softly. "If humans stay gone for a while, they'll rapidly produce more monsters than before."

"Humanity, your governments at least, believe dungeons to just be special zones. They don't insult my people directly, but it's been implied that many of your politicians believe my people's talk of dungeon sentience to be something they call voodoo fairy mumbo jumbo," she said in annoyance.

"That's just ridiculous," said Cassidy a bit too loudly. "Your people know more about dungeons than anyone from Earth."

"Yes. Unfortunately, greed blinds a fool," said Electra. She nodded to Cassidy. "Your governments could subjugate a dungeon, and then pull back. Small squads, what many worlds call adventurers could then enter to do battle."

Electra continued after a moment, "Yes, the number of monsters would remain higher and the resources taken from the dungeon would be lower. However, the expansion of the dungeons would be slowed considerably. Many more of your people would have time to grow strong enough to deal with the world to come."

"Damn..." said Scott, his fingers curling into fists. He gritted his teeth then looked Electra in the eyes. "Answer something, please."

"If I can, husband," said Electra.

Scott took a breath then said, "Do dungeons have children?"

"What like their monsters?" asked Jessica with a grin.

"No, not the monsters," he said with a snort. "I mean, do dungeons give birth to other dungeons?"

"They are a swarm species in their own way. If a world is conducive to dungeon life, they will expand and populate quickly," said Electra.

"God damn it!" he snapped.

"Geeze, calm down," said Jessica.

Scott glared at her. "Don't you get it? That's the reason there are so many new dungeons popping up all over the place."

Jessica blinked slowly then tilted her head to the side. However, it was Cassidy who spoke. "You're saying that the dungeons are being fed so much that instead of expanding, they're spawning new dungeons?"

Electra reached out and placed her hand on Scott's shoulder to calm him. "Husband, they do not give birth in that manner. However, they do send out a signal across the labyrinth. Dungeons begin to appear as that signal grows stronger."

"So, basically they are becoming more populous and they are about to expand... and all because people in the government are greedy?" asked Scott.

"Yes," said Electra simply.

Scott's angry scowl was his only response. Trust the government to make a bad thing even worse.