Nate entered the dining hall with Jarris, quickly got a plate of food, and sat down with Lindy, his Mother and Father, his sister Yoli, and her two crew members from the Union’s disaster outreach division. Lindy looked at Nate as he sat down next to his Mother and across from her.

  She gently rubbed her foot against his leg to get his attention, and when he made eye contact with her, she mouthed, “Are you ok?”

  Nate smiled and nodded, mouthing back, “All good.”

  Lindy exchanged a soft smile back to him and turned back to the conversation.

  “So you lift stuff, and then put it down in other places?” Dave asked Kiki.

  “Well yea, but that’s an oversimplification.” Kiki answered.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to minimize what you do.” Dave said, looking red with embarrassment.

  “I definitely can’t lift as much as Kiki, so if it weren’t for her, most of our rescues would be impossible.” Solvei added.

  “She’s basically The Hulk but without the anger, Dad.” Yoli added.

  “Got it.” Dave replied.

  “Hey Nate, we didn’t see the fight but heard you barely made it out. Nice job getting to the semifinals!” Solvei said.

  “Oh, thank you!” Nate said with a full mouth of food.

  There was a loud thump causing the table to shake for a brief moment, and Nate grunted in pain. He quickly turned to Lindy in surprise before saying, “Sorry.” Still with the full mouth of food, having not learned the lesson. Lindy gave him a flat stare that sent a shiver up his spine before she turned away. Caroline had a mischievous grin across her face and turned back to listen to Solvei.

  “So who’s your next fight?” Solvei asked.

  “Kalia Fayne.” Jax spoke up. “She’s attuned to Life and has some tricky powers, but nothing Nate can’t handle.”

  “She just beat Veronica from Team Lightning, so she’s pretty serious competition.” Mandiba said, Kalazan’s pilot that helped Nate and Yoli visit Earth after they voted no against joining The Union.

  “What else Diba?” Kalazan asked.

  “Honestly, nothing, there was nothing to see. I’m sure Mr. Jax has footage to show you. She turns the arena into a jungle and you can’t see anything. The screens kept flipping to different cameras, still nothing, the whole fight.” Mandiba explained.

  Nate and Jax shared a worried glance but before they had a chance to discuss it Kiki spoke up.

  “Cool, looking forward to it.” Kiki said.

  “Jax, can you tell us more about what you do?” Dave said. “I know you make some really cool gear, but how?”

  “Well, I grew up tinkering with machines, making robots, spending time with the engineers at my family’s company. I’m attuned to Connection, so me and others like me have abilities that let us interact with inanimate objects. One thing that’s different about Connection than the other affinities is we all start with the same two abilities before we get other, more unique ones.”

  “What are those?” Dave asked.

  “Imbue and Fabricate.”

  “Wait, how did I never know this?” Nate spoke up.

  “Because you probably didn’t listen during our exam prep.” Lindy said, giving a displeased look at Nate again.

  “What do those abilities do?” Dave asked.

  “Well, Fabricate allows me to command materials to shape into more complex versions of themselves, usually to make tools, machines, and so on. As I progress, I’ll be able to make more complex things and do it faster. Imbue allows me to empower a device to channel abilities through it. Nate’s spear is imbued so that he can extend his shield through it.”

  “So he’s like the team’s Q from James Bond?” Dave said, turning to Nate.

  “Yea, actually his official title is quartermaster according to the school, and it is an actual profession here.” Nate replied.

  “Very cool.” Dave reacted.

  “I wish I could do more, my ability set just isn’t quite there yet. My Dad can make some insane stuff without much thought though.” Jax added.

  “Do you guys, like you who have Connection or whatever, do you guys ever fight?” Dave continued his line of questioning.

  “Yea, totally! Hal over there is attuned to Connection, and he was active in the field. My school sponsor used to be a contractor before he went into corporate life.” Jax answered.

  “What about you?” Dave asked further.

  “Oh, I don’t…” Jax started before looking at his Father Gax, who was sitting across from him. “I wasn’t planning on it, I like making stuff too much.”

  Dave nodded, picking up that there might be something more there that he didn’t want to poke further.

  After some further light conversation, second helpings from the buffet, and smuggling of snacks back to the booth, everyone settled in, waiting for the hour to pass before Nate had to leave back to the locker room. Jax, Gax, Jarris, and Dave accompanied him for his usual pre-fight briefing from Jax. After the briefing, the men left except for Dave, who stayed back with his son to watch him go into the connection chamber.

  “It’s just a bed?” Dave asked disappointedly.

  “Yea, but a magical one.” Nate answered.

  “And this is what makes you appear in the arena, but you’re not actually there, this just transports your consciousness?”

  “Honestly Dad, I don’t really know. You could ask Jax’s Dad, he invented the thing.”

  “Nathan Foster, you have two minutes until you are due in the arena.” The referee spoke up.

  Nate and his Dad sat down next to each other on the bed before it was time for Nate to lay down for his next fight.

  “Nathan, I’m so proud of you. You have come so far, you’ve got muscles, you’re thinner, more athletic, you are an athlete. You have superpowers I will never truly understand, and you are about to embark on a new chapter of your life going on adventures, doing jobs, missions, using your cool powers. When I dropped you off at the airport over a year ago, I had no idea this is where that moment would take you. But I’m so proud you stepped up and are putting yourself out there instead of playing it safe.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Nate said, leaning into his Dad.

  Dave got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Now, lock in, and kick that girl’s ass.” He said with a smile.

  “You got it, Dad.” Nate replied before laying back on the connection bed and watching his Father walk out of the locker room.

  ***

  Lindy was back at the booth having a good time with Caroline, Yoli, and Dee. They were drinking, snacking, and enjoying talking about pretty much everything.

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  “So, where do you come from, Lindy? It’s time I heard your story, I think.” Caroline started the interrogation.

  “Oh, uh, I’m a human from a planet called Mara. I’m just like you, although just a little different.” Lindy started.

  “Different how?” Caroline asked.

  “Well, uh, our anatomy...”

  “Mara is what everyone else in the galaxy calls the love planet.” Dee spoke up.

  “Uhm, yea, but we contribute to society like everyone else!” Lindy said, trying to clarify.

  “Ok… but she makes it sound like you guys are known for something else?” Caroline said to Lindy while pointing to Dee.

  “Uhhh…” Lindy uttered, not knowing what to say.

  “Look, Caroline, I’m gonna go full disclosure, but please don’t judge my friend because she is not a representation of her whole planet, well, I guess she kind of is because she is a princess, but that’s besides the point.”

  “A what now?” Caroline asked, startled.

  “Hold on to that thought, we’ll come back to that.” Dee continued.

  “Mara is very well known for three things: tourism, fashion, and tourism.”

  “You said tourism twice.” Caroline pointed out.

  “Yes, I did.” Dee confirmed.

  “Mara is a tropical paradise, like all over, because of its perfect distance from its sun, and they have strong local environmental laws, so people go there for breaks and vacations and such. Maran people are also very beautiful, it’s like a planet full of models walking around. Which also attracts a certain, more adult demographic that engage in adult activities.” Dee continued.

  Yoli put her head in her hands.

  “Oh, you’re like a sex planet.” Caroline said.

  “No!” Lindy shrieked. “Sorry. No.” Lindy said in a more normal voice.

  “In the past, with less than progressive leadership, we had a reputation of being a party planet where people would come and live out their worst inhibitions. That was like fifty years ago. Today, we have curtailed that behavior and focused on what our past has taught us about fertility, genetics, and more.” Lindy corrected, speaking quickly but maintaining a semblance of calm.

  “So you’re a reformed sex planet.” Caroline said, smirking.

  Lindy audibly sighed in frustration, burying her head in her arms on the table.

  “Oh stop, it’s alright dear, I was kidding. We have a place like that back home called Las Vegas. It’s the only place people in my whole country can go to legally pay for sex. Tell me more about you being a princess though.” Caroline patted and shook Lindy’s arm trying to get her to cheer up.

  “Well, I’m the oldest daughter of the second youngest son, who is the brother of the Queen.” Lindy poked her head up to answer Caroline.

  “Ok, I think I followed that. How does succession work?”

  “It goes by the oldest child, girl or boy.”

  “So where do you fall?”

  “Oh, a non-existent possibility. The Queen has an oldest daughter, which is a whole scandal I’ll tell you another time. She did in vitro insemination and altered the DNA for it to be a girl, angering a large patriarchal-type group vying for a King back on the throne. Which is funny because we actually have no governmental power since we joined The Union; we are purely societal influencers living off of our many business holdings.”

  “I followed that just fine.” Caroline laughed.

  “Hah. Well anyway, Queen Hildy has an oldest daughter, and then that daughter has a daughter as well, not to mention my other cousins who are children of the Queen. Sorry, long story short, there’s very little chance.

  “But my son is still dating a real princess.”

  Lindy blushed and nodded in agreement.

  “Caroline!” Dave, her husband, hollered.

  She patted Lindy on the back before walking to her husband, pinching his arm for yelling for her in public.

  Lindy stood up and held on to Dee as the fight started.

  ***

  Nate appeared in the arena and saw Kalia Fayne materialize. She was a short green Lizzan with teal freckles on her face, significantly less intimidating to look at than Durgan, but Nate was not planning on underestimating her. The countdown started and the horn blared, signaling the beginning of the fight. Nate decided that this time he was not going to mess around and get right down to business as Jarris wanted.

  Nate warped across the field only to find himself in the middle of a dense jungle. The vegetation was so thick he couldn’t even see the crowd through it. The crowd booed in displeasure as they couldn’t see the action. It appeared out of nowhere, before he warped it was just Kalia, but now he was wading through jungle brush. Nate quickly warped back out to his previous position to see the jungle growing in real time. It was growing, and it was growing fast, trees were popping up like they were pimples being popped from the ground. Nate quickly realized that this wasn’t a greenie-level ability; this was more. Kalia had resonated and she wasn’t holding back. Would Nate be able to go toe to toe with her without using the full extent of his abilities?

  A third of the arena was now covered in jungle as Nate stepped forward and walked into the thick of it. He removed his spear from his back, empowered it and his whole body with his shield then started hacking at the brush so it was easier to walk through. Nate looked around and everything was still growing. Trees were forming and developing a canopy, various plants were unfurling new leaves, fruit and flowers were budding. It was actually quite beautiful to see everything growing so quickly in real time.

  A rustle in some nearby bushes pulled Nate back into focus. He pulled up his spear in front of him, readying himself to strike at the next thing that moved.

  Jax’s briefing had gone over the two abilities they knew Kalia had: the ability to create dense vegetation, but in a much smaller area than this, and camouflage. It was clear she held back so that she could spring the full extent of her abilities on opponents that were more of a threat. Nate felt honored, but that quickly turned back into worry.

  Nate looked around and the vegetation was so thick he couldn’t see the crowd at all, so he decided to try an experiment. He expanded his gravity aura to about five feet and watched as the vegetation flattened to the ground with ease. He quickly turned it off, confirming that he could flatten a huge portion of this place at a moment’s notice if he needed to.

  Nate heard more rustling and movement but in all directions now. He turned on his shield and watched as thick vines sprang up from the ground and whipped at him but had no effect as they were easily repelled by his shield.

  Nate was growing nervous, however, as the number of vines was growing, and even though they couldn’t hurt him right now, if he slipped up for even a second he would be toast. Nate started swiping and hacking away some of the vines, but others took their place eventually. Nate needed to find Kalia and put an end to this quickly.

  Nate turned on his gravity aura to maximum effect and all the vines dropped to the ground and were still for a few moments. Then they started moving again rather effortlessly across the arena floor, attacking at Nate’s feet. They swiped back and forth like Charlie’s violent lab tail when he was excited.

  While the vines were still ineffective, the assault persisted, but it was much quieter now. Nate closed his eyes and tried to focus on what he could hear instead of see. Kalia had to be practically invisible at this point, so why bother trying to see what couldn’t be seen?

  Time pressed on and Nate waited, and waited, and waited some more, until he opened his eyes again out of frustration. Nate looked at the young trees with thin trunks and decided to go scorched earth. He began hacking and slashing at everything that wasn’t immediately flattened by his aura ability, blowing holes through small tree trunks, knocking them down, and accelerating their fall with his aura.

  He started running until he got to one of the walls of the arena, then he turned around and ran to the other side, flattening everything in his path like he was mowing a lawn. He made another pass, and then he saw it—an abnormal coloring and positioning of some leaves and bark against one of the small trees.

  The figure that was hugging onto the tree jumped to the ground and scurried in the opposite direction. Nate warped so the figure would be caught in the weight of his gravity. Kalia struggled to move before she de-camouflaged herself and rolled to face Nate as he walked up to her.

  “Really awesome powers. Sorry about this next part.” He said as he thrusted his spear down into her chest until she disappeared.

  Nate turned off his aura and his shield and waited to wake up in the connection chamber. Moments passed and nothing happened. The crowd was silent as they could see him now and saw what happened, saw that he killed Kalia, but the match continued.

  Nate looked at the booth with his friends and family before he was ripped to the ground by Kalia’s vines. He turned on his shield, but the vines that grabbed him were thicker and had already coiled multiple times around his leg, his shield wasn't even formulating at all. Nate panicked as he found a new weakness to his ability in real time, something he didn’t anticipate at all. It was very easy to see how Kalia had defeated Veronica who wiped the floor with his team in the tournament yesterday.

  Kalia de-camouflaged and appeared standing above Nate with a huge knife in her hand. Nate turned on his gravity aura, causing Kalia to stumble down to one knee and then flat on the ground next to Nate.

  “Really impressive stuff. Are you able to create a double? Is that why the fight didn’t end?” Nate asked, trying not to freak out from losing the feeling to his legs and arms as the vines slowly but surely coiled around him and cut off his circulation.

  “Yeah." Kalia said with a struggling breath. “Yours are cool too. I was trying to keep some secrets so I could surprise you. I didn’t strike fast enough though.”

  Nate laughed. “My trainer literally just yelled at me for dawdling in my last fight.”

  “So who is winning this thing?” Kalia chuckled desperately.

  “It’s going to be me unfortunately.” Nate laughed some more.

  “One more trick up your sleeve then?”

  “Yea, I can warp out of these vines and turn my shield back on so they can’t get to me again.”

  “I can’t lift my hand to surrender, so can you make it quick?”

  “If I turn my field off, will you surrender, you know, on good faith and all that?”

  “Not a chance."

  “I respect that. Sorry for this next part.”

  Nate warped out of the grip of the vines into the air above Kalia. There was a brief moment where she could move during the lapse in Nate’s aura but she couldn't scurry away fast enough. Nate pointed his spear down and let normal gravity propel him to the ground, driving his spear into her head.

  Kalia’s body faded and so did Nate.