Vortoranii had told us to head down to the lower levels for the battle arena. When we arrived, there were some really bulky suits that were easily three times that of my Super Charge form. There were swords five times the size of my Super Charge form\u2019s blade. X-PO hovered there with a device that had a slot for my belt to fit in. \u201cIf you could put me on the projector,\u201d said Vortoranii. I was puzzled, then figured out that the device was the projector she was talking about. I put the belt into the projector and figured out why it was called a projector. It moved to a spot that would have been a belt on a person. It soon made a holographic woman that made it look like she was made of space and stars, like Vortech. I guess she and Vortech were the same species. She wore heavy armor, but, being a hologram, she moved easily. \u201cSo,\u201d mused Vortoranii, \u201cyou want to learn about the Super Charge form?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell,\u201d chuckled Vortoranii, \u201cto do so, you\u2019ll need to get used to suits heavier than your own. We\u2019ll be getting you through a rough training regimen, the first test being how high you can climb that cliff.\u201d She pointed to a stiff cliff that, while not high enough to kill someone, would hurt someone if they fell. \u201cYou\u2019ll need the suit to reach the top,\u201d instructed Vortoranii. We changed into our suits and immediately felt their weight. We slowly moved to the cliff face. I started climbing but fell after going up twice my height. Some came up shorter and some got up higher, but we never even reached the first marker. \u201cHoo, boy,\u201d sighed Vortoranii, \u201cwe\u2019ve got a long way to go. X-PO! Queue up a montage song!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got the perfect one!\u201d cheered X-PO. The Disney nerds, Haitao, Richard, and Emily, brightened when they heard the familiar drumbeat. We were given a sword and struggled to get it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMan up, ladies and gentlemen!\u201d barked Vortoranii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s get down to business,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To defeat the Huns!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We managed to get our swords up and signaled we were ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did they send me daughters,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I asked for sons?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We tried swinging our swords but ended up knocking each other out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re the saddest bunch,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve ever met!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vortoranii shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, you can bet, before we\u2019re through,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mister, I\u2019ll!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a man!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of you!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We got ready for target practice. Vortoranii let loose a dozen or so spheres and fired on one with a spare blade. We all tried, X-PO stuck a sphere on mine, making Vortoranii scowl at me. I grinned sheepishly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tranquil as a forest,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But on fire within!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We had to dodge several projectiles while balancing a bucket of water on our heads. We all were too clumsy and several of us let the water bucket fall on us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you find your center,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You are sure to win!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We got into a sparring match with each other. Hongo over-powered me easily but got knocked down in one punch by Vortoranii\u2019s hologram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re a spineless, pale,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pathetic lot!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And you haven\u2019t got a clue!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We started fishing with our hands, like in Mulan<\/em>. Like the title protagonist of that movie, I ended up grabbing Xiomara\u2019s leg and pulling her under the water. She looked mad!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somehow I\u2019ll!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a man!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of you!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We started running around a racetrack but fell down before we finished the 1st lap! A fire arrow then stabbed Batman and Wyldstyle\u2019s butts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m never gonna catch my breath!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Say goodbye to those who knew me!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hongo, Emily, Gandalf, Lukas, and Xiomara tried to break a board with their heads and ended up rubbing their bruised foreheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boy, was I a fool in school,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For cutting gym!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A bunch of wooden dummies were being operated behind walls and battering us. One of them hit me in my lower region. Did you guys know that the pain down there is worse for a lady than it is a man?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This guy\u2019s got them scared to death!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hope he doesn\u2019t see right through me!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We had to cross a raging river with a rickety bridge. It was slow going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I really wish that I knew how to swim!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We had to run an obstacle course that went through a river, many of us getting swept downstream, through a tunnel that buffeted us with strong wind and rain, many of us getting tossed around, across a fire path with raging flames, many of us nearly passing out from the heat, and going through a forest without being caught by Elphaba, Rusty, the Brigadier, or X-PO, we all got caught before we reached the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You must be swift as the coursing river!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the force of great typhoon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the strength of a raging fire!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We then had to run carrying five training swords but collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time is racing toward us<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Til the Huns arrive!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n X-PO picked them all up and flew off with little to no effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heed my every order,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And you might survive!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vortoranii showed how disappointed she was in our progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re unsuited for,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The rage of war,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, pack up! Go home! You\u2019re through!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She left us to ourselves so we could observe the cliff face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How could I,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a man,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n At that point, a surge of grit and determination filled my chest. I then went to climb the cliff face. I started off at a pretty decent pace and kept steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You must be swift as the coursing river!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the force of a great typhoon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the strength of a raging fire!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I threw my i.d tag to the ground at Rusty\u2019s skirt. Everyone cheered, making Vortoranii reconsider her stance on sending us home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We must be swift as the coursing river!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we ran across the obstacle course\u2019s raging waters later on in training, we reflected on how we all dodged the projectiles with the water buckets on our heads with nary a drop spilled and how we dodged all the wooden dummies without a scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the force of a great typhoon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We ran through the wind tunnel and reflected on how we ran 99 laps before tiring out and letting projectiles hit us and broke 20 boards with our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Be a man!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With all the strength of a raging fire!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Running through the flames, we reflected on how we crossed the rickety bridge quickly, ran with 20 training swords with no effort, and excelled in target practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we weaved through the forest and reached the finish line without Rusty, X-PO, Elphaba, and the Brigadier finding us, we thought back on the fish we caught and cooked and beating Vortoranii\u2019s hologram in a sparring match. We crossed the finish line! Our official training was over! \u201cThat was intense!\u201d I panted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank goodness you trained with Hyperbolic Time functions in the room,\u201d mused X-PO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike the Time Chamber in Dragonball Z<\/em>?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe same,\u201d confirmed Vortoranii. \u201cIt may feel like two years passed by, but it\u2019s only been 20 minutes out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you think Vortech and his cronies are doing the same?\u201d asked Emmanuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, since Apocalypse is being trained, most likely,\u201d guessed X-PO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne can only imagine what kind of horrors are being concocted on Foundation Prime,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We were all stunned. Hiro was pacing, his fianc\u00e9, Igura, was leaning against the wall, thinking, the others were in a similar state of worry, and I sat on my throne, thinking. Perhaps I should have let Sauron hit me with his mace. War is the last person I want to fight, but perhaps, we can use this to our advantage. \u201cWhat are we going to do?\u201d asked Ambassador Hell. \u201cWe can\u2019t exactly defeat someone who\u2019s immortal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s face facts,\u201d figured Lex Luthor. \u201cWe\u2019re doomed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWould you stop saying that?\u201d I hissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy helicopter works like a clown car,\u201d offered the Joker. \u201cWe can use it to escape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot a chance,\u201d remarked Hiro. \u201cThere\u2019s too much at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe if we surrender, she won\u2019t hurt us,\u201d gulped Saruman, holding no illusions over War\u2019s power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s not going to accept it,\u201d I argued, knowing a little more about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a rather big dimension here,\u201d observed Two-Face. \u201cThere are plenty of places to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one\u2019s hiding,\u201d snapped Igura, \u201cno one\u2019s escaping, and no one\u2019s surrendering! What\u2019s wrong with you people? Don\u2019t you remember what Hiro did in N-1-N-J-A-G-0?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere he fought Death and War?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd won!\u201d reminded Igura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs I recall,\u201d growled Sauron, \u201cthey were caught off guard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe point is,\u201d countered Hiro, \u201cI could beat them! If they\u2019ve adapted to my current strength, we need to train so we could ALL overpower them!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd there is a way to do so,\u201d I remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeating the Four Horsemen?\u201d asked the Joker. He got his grin back. \u201cWe\u2019d have to be crazy! Let\u2019s do it for our shared universe! Let\u2019s do it for crazies everywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s do it for a full fifty million stud reward!\u201d hissed Saruman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt always comes down to profit with you people,\u201d I muttered. \u201cBut, I feel generous. Fifty million each as I told Hiro!\u201d My pawns cheered. \u201cNow, we have training to do!\u201d I made a training facility and we all proceeded to make our way inside. I WILL get the Foundation Elements one way or another!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could not believe how lax the dress code was here at After Academy. Yes, we had uniforms. Yes, girls had skirts and guys had pants, but they were only required for events. Any other day, you could go in civvies if you choose. You could go to certain classes in pj\u2019s! Not that most of us do, anyway. I kept to the uniform today in the colors of my house, black and white with a hint of blue in the petticoats and a blue ascot. I was heading to a private class with Famine, carrying my gym clothes with me in my backpack. I arrived at the classroom. Famine was already there with a grin on her face. \u201cReminiscing about something, Famine?\u201d I asked. There wasn\u2019t a need to call them by titles, only names. War insisted on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, just remembered what War told me,\u201d answered Famine as I changed. She told me about how Vortech\u2019s forces had declared, well, war, on us by attacking War. Their mistake. \u201cReady to learn more about my powers, Ms. Lacey?\u201d asked Famine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s do it!\u201d I cheered I have to tell you, I never so much as grinned back in my universe. This turned my life around for the better. I pulled out a belt that had a circle with four symbols relating to the Horsemen, the main teachers and administrators here, and put it on. \u201cHenshin!\u201d I announced as I spun the circle. My rider armor appeared in a cloud of darkness. It was a mix of the Four Horsemen\u2019s armor, with Famine\u2019s head, War\u2019s left leg, Pestilence\u2019s right leg, and Death\u2019s chest and arms. A little added bonus was a hat on top. I got into a defensive stance. Famine then pulled out her belt with an open mouth and an upright bone in the mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHenshin!\u201d she called. She turned the bone and the mouth chomped down on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFamine!\u201d announced the belt. Her armor appeared with the motif of someone gaunt and starving. She then went on the offensive with a bestial leap. I managed to get out of the way with a side roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood start,\u201d praised Famine, \u201cbut you\u2019re off balance!\u201d She leapt at me from the desk, but I leapt to the light fixture. I then turned my buckle to Famine\u2019s symbol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFamine Mouth!\u201d called my belt. A jagged set of jaws appeared and I leapt at Famine, biting into her. She howled in pain and flung me off. I spun the buckle to War\u2019s symbol. \u201cWar Crusher!\u201d called my belt. My legs bulked up as I leapt into the air and delivered a flying kick, knocking Famine out of her transformation. I then cancelled my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI thought you said you weren\u2019t gonna hold back?\u201d I hissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t,\u201d answered Famine. \u201cTurns out you were too quick for me. Congratulations, you\u2019ve passed my final exam!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s two out of four,\u201d I replied. \u201cNow, I have to learn Pestilence and Death\u2019s powers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you\u2019ll do so easily,\u201d lauded Famine, smiling. \u201cI have faith in you. Now then, I believe it\u2019s about time for War\u2019s gym class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d I agreed. \u201cSee you later!\u201d I sped off to the gym, ready for another afternoon here at After Academy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vortoranii had told us to head down to the lower levels for the battle arena. When we arrived, there were some really bulky suits that were easily three times that of my Super Charge form. There were swords five times the size of my Super Charge form\u2019s blade. X-PO hovered there with a device that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,8],"tags":[51,14,16,13,9,17,12,52,50,15],"class_list":["post-135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kamen-rider-vortex","category-kamen-rider-vortex-chapters","tag-apocalypse-horsemen","tag-batman","tag-gandalf","tag-hiro-adachi","tag-kamen-rider","tag-kamen-rider-ichigo","tag-megumi-hishikawa","tag-school","tag-training","tag-wyldstyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1078,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions\/1078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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