Alec reacted immediately, launching the projectile upwards and sending it bounding into the treetops. Another came soaring along in its wake, zipping through the air like a misshapen bullet, and with it came a shout of "Down!"

Again, Alec complied, increasing the strength of the gravity in the area so that the ball was jerked downwards. It slammed sharply into the ground and stayed exactly where it was, without so much as a slight bounce. It remained fixed in place as if it had struck a piece of industrial-strength flypaper and not a patch of solid earth.

"Up!"

As the ball's successor came forward, Alec sent it soaring to join its previous companion.

"Right!"

A split second of confusion marred Alec's balanced stance. He recovered fairly quickly, trying to veer the ball to the east, but he was still too late. The ball slammed directly into his stomach and the force of it bowled him over, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him with the feeling as though something inside had been viciously crushed.

"You okay?" Wildfire called.

Alec gave a weak thumbs-up from the floor, still clutching his stomach as pain radiated through his gut. With an involuntary groan he pushed himself up from the floor, his eyes on the two men in front of him. Wildfire stood slightly in front with his hands on his hips, his head tilted as he surveyed Alec; behind him stood Ethan, telekinetically juggling three tennis balls. They had been there for the better part of fifteen minutes, Ethan psychically launching the balls at Alec at high speeds and Alec using his influence over gravity to send them bounding skywards or crashing to the floor at Wildfire's command. Up and down were easy enough, but Alec was still having trouble bending the force to move objects in other directions.

"I suppose that's good enough for now," Wildfire said, his voice sounding as though he were repressing a sigh. "Clearly we still have some work to do on the other directions, but it's still impressive how much you've improved so far. How's the magnetism coming along?"

In response, Alec held his hand out towards Javon, who was sitting beside Maddison some ways away from their work area. While Maddison was watching all of this unfold with intent eyes, Javon was playing around on his phone. His hand jerked sharply forward as the phone was snatched from his hand, leaping into the air and soaring across the grass into Alec's outstretched palm.

"Hey!"

Alec tossed the phone upwards, then slowed it to a halt at shoulder height as he stood once more, sending it floating around him like a tiny, rectangular satellite trapped in orbit around him. Once he was done, he sent the device careening back into Javon's hand.

"Not cool, man," he said bitterly, inspecting the phone keenly as though searching for some sign of damage.

"So magnetism's down then," Wildfire noted. "A simple 'yes' would have sufficed, though. What about the energy?"

"Also check."

"But you can still only use it by first channeling it through your own body?'

Alec shrugged. After days of hard training, trying to correct this method, he was starting to think that was less his own shortcoming and more simply one of the limitations of that power.

"Well that's good," Wildfire said. "You've made a hell of a lot of progress in such a short time, and on your own, at that!"

He gave Alec a genuine smile, and in return a flush of guilt flooded the pit of Alec's stomach. He had decided to inform their squad leader of his newfound abilities at last, hoping that he could get more insight into new methods of training and thus better control. He had conveniently left out the part that Proxima Venus had helped him to discover these abilities, and instead made it sound as if he had simply stumbled across them during personal training. Alec tried to return the grin then quickly changed the subject.

"I was also working on my Earth Mimicry. So far I can only use it on my entire body, but I've been working on whether or not I can shift a few parts of it instead. And if I can absorb more than one material at the same time."

"And?"

"Well . . . nothing," Alec said lamely.

"Doesn't matter," Wildfire said bracingly. "You've still got a whole new arsenal ready for your Gym midterm, even if you don't get this one polished enough before then. Next up." He clapped his hands, signalling the end of Alec's session.

Alec turned and strode towards Maddison while Javon and Ethan took center stage, the enthusiasm the latter had from pelting Alec with tennis balls fading rapidly.

"I still think this is stupid," he said bluntly. "Why do I have to learn to fight? The whole point of my powers is that I don't have to lift a finger to do anything."

"And that's exactly why you need to learn how to fight. Sure, it's not like Alec who needs to have earth around him at all times in order to defend himself, but there are still plenty of ways your powers can be neutralized. And in such a case, you end up helpless. As such, you need to learn how to defend yourself in other ways. Into position."

Still scowling, Ethan took his position in front of Javon while Alec sat down beside Maddison. She alone, not counting Alec, had already gone through her training session. According to Wildfire, there was very little he could actually teach her. And in this case it wasn't because he was an incompetent teacher, but simply because she was already so advanced. She had a very strong understanding of her powers and weaknesses, she was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and she had the makings of an excellent tactician. She wasn't one of the top students in the year for nothing.

Which was why Alec had never understood why she had been cast into Hades. It was an old issue, and one they had all undoubtedly moved beyond long ago, given all that had transpired since then, but from what he understood, the students were separated into the Dorms based on the results of their very first test: assessments of pure physical strength, speed and durability as they lifted those ridiculously heavy tablets, raced around the room, and braced themselves while a wall of energy slowly enclosed around them. That, on top of the final test to capture the glowing ball, where they would display all three as well as their current level of mastery over their abilities and how well they could develop a strategy for victory.

The best performers, the strongest, fastest, and most advanced power-wise had gone to Zeus. Those who had done well but had plenty of room for improvement had been claimed by Poseidon. But those who had put on the least impressive performances were deposited at Hades.

It wasn't a system Alec necessarily liked, but it wasn't anything new either. Even at his old primary and high schools students were streamed based on academic ability. The separation, in the school's perspective, was necessary: to identify those who were quickest and put them together with people of similar capabilities and sheperd them along at the same rate.

That still didn't explain why Maddison was here though. There was no doubt she had put on an excellent performance, even if Alec hadn't been here to see it.

He had witnessed her skills firsthand numerous times, and almost everyone he had seen in his first few days here had been shocked at her placement, along with that of several others now Alec came to think about it. There were quite a few cases of them, of people who at least deserved to be in the Poseidon pool, but Maddison stood out the most, as she and Damon were frequently spoken of as the front of the pack, though there was still a heated, ongoing debate about who exactly was better.

No matter what angle he looked at it from, it didn't make sense. Especially when he remembered the Headmistress's offer to bump him up to Zeus himself. It was a flattering, and extremely tempting offer, but completely undeserved. Alec had no delusions about his own abilities, and he was keenly aware that he was in the place where he belonged from an objective standpoint.

All that memory did was renew the suspicion that Headmistress Lewis wanted something from him and was trying to keep him close.

Still, while he knew where he belonged, his growth in his time here was undeniable. While it wouldn't do much to change his place, it would at least make him more deserving of the praise he had been receiving from day one as "that kid who beat Shadow Shifter." Which was why he was putting so much effort into his practice sessions. Well, that and the fact that he was trying to take his mind off of the mystery of his grandfather. It had taken quite a while, and while he had never actually made peace with the fact that the old man had withheld his identity from him even to his dying day, he had at least managed to put it behind him. Yet after his most recent conversation with Professor Wyatt, everything had come bubbling up once again. He would deal with that in time, but right now he was focused on his upcoming exams. Which meant training.

For one, there were the evening meetings with Wildfire, but after studying their new abilities keenly, he helped them to develop their own personalized training regiments. Alec, for one, was quite pleased with his own.

He had yet to display these newfound developments to anyone outside his squad, though. No, he was waiting patiently for the midterm examinations. There, he would make himself proud. And at the same time, though he knew it was silly and irrational, a small part of him wanted, even though she wouldn't be here to see it, to make Proxima Venus, his first actual teacher, proud too.

"All right, that's enough, everyone. Gather round please."

Crystal Zero's voice boomed around the enormous Gym, bringing all action to a grinding halt. Students looked up and fell back into place at his gesture, leaving their specialized training items behind and lining up in front of him.

"I have an announcement. Today marks the end of Precision training. I know, I know," he said, holding up a hand to stem the torrent of protests he was now receiving. "I know what you're going to say. Yes, we have spent an unusually short time on this. Ideally, this is a topic that should have been introduced next year, after your exams. But I wanted to give you a chance to get the feel for it before then."

A hand was slowly raised.

Crystal Zero pointed at the girl who had hoisted it into the air. "Yes?"

"I don't mean to be rude, sir, but what was the point in introducing the concept if we weren't going to finish it?"

"While I understand what you mean, that question isn't entirely accurate. We are going to finish it. Just not in the coming week. Let me explain: many of you have made great progress since your Entrance Examination in August. The midterms are designed to gauge just how much progress you've made since your enrollment, and the data the school will collect will be used to determine how you continue at Helix. Piqued your interest with that one, I see."

Crystal Zero allowed himself a small grin at the sudden uptick in intrigue. "Unfortunately that's all you're getting out of me. This is a conversation to be had with the Heads of your respective Dorms, so don't bother trying to weasel anything else out. The reason I introduced the topic of Precision, even though I knew perfectly well a good number of you wouldn't fully grasp it, is because even if you didn't master it, there is still much benefit to be gained from trying. Most of you, at the very least, obtained a basic level of control over your abilities before coming to Helix.

"You developed your own styles of fighting, your own methods of training that suited you. For many of you, Precision is a huge change. It forces you to completely abandon those methods of practice you developed and try something entirely different. You had to turn your powers inside-out, upside-down, look at them from completely different angles.

"And in doing so, some of you developed better understandings of how your powers work and the limits you have in place.

"Armed with that knowledge, and any skills you may have picked up or refined because of it, you have a stronger chance of putting on a better showing during your upcoming assessment. Be honest now, how many of you can say that you've made even the slightest progress with the exercises you were given? How many can say that because of those exercises, you now have a more thorough and intimate comprehension of your limits? How many can say that you have developed, or are developing, a new technique because of it? Show of hands."

Tentatively, several hands pierced the air. Then another group joined it, and another, so that by the time people looked around to take note of who else had achieved these things, well over half the class had raised their hands.

"Excellent, thank you. Mastering the technique isn't the point, not at this stage. It's to make progress. And most of you have. There are other techniques that will provide similar results, but unfortunately, due to time constraints, we would only be able to touch on them before your exam. Besides, I very much doubt your Heads of Dorms would be pleased with me if I gave you the whole curriculum before the intended time. As a result, I think it better we get back to what we were originally supposed to be doing at this time. You can work on the techniques you're in progress with in your free time, while we work on the ones you've already mastered. Today, we'll be doing some simple combat trials. Who would like to go first?"

As the examination period drew closer, the teachers seemed to grow more relaxed. It was a peculiar thing; Alec was used to teachers cracking down in these moments, doing last minute revisions and exercises for those topics that weren't completely understood. Some, like Professor Sheilds, opted instead to use their final classes to give them a rundown of what they would be facing.

"You will of course be taking the theoretical aspect of the exam first. This will be quite simple: diagrams of various instruments we've covered that you must label, list instructions on how to dismantle, reassemble, and properly handle, et cetera, et cetera," he reeled off. "And this will account for forty of your hundred marks. The remaining sixty will come from your practical, in which case you will physically implement these very instructions. You will be tested on different weapons, gadgets, and of course your mastery over the vehicles in different environments. If you need more time to practice with them, you may see me after school. I will take you to the field, and you will be free to do so."

Professor Laylor was more or less the same. "Your theoretical and practical assessments will be split fifty/fifty," she said, walking around the classroom. "Fifty standard multiple choice questions, and a practical examination centered mainly on coding. The days of silly exploding pranks are behind us. This will be your first official examination since joining Helix, and will likely set the pace for the rest of the year. I urge you to not only do your best, but to ensure that your best is well beyond 'good enough.'"

The same conversation was reiterated in Health, Criminal Justice, and Clothing and Textiles, roughly the same points all twisted in the varying teachers' specific parlances. By the end of the day, almost every student could predict word for word what their teachers would be saying, yet no one was at all exasperated. The point was drilled perfectly into their minds. There was no room for failure.

When the day had finally come to an end, Alec retired to his room. He hadn't exactly been neglecting his other studies, but like many of his peers he had been putting a disproportionate focus on Gym. Like them, he was eager to gauge the physical progress he had made. But he also knew that physical prowess wouldn't be enough to earn him a passing grade for the semester. So, with a sigh as heavy as the enormous Criminal Justice textbook in his hands, he sat down and began to read, wishing the island's cafeteria provided coffee so that he was at less risk of falling asleep.