The First Trial

You took a deep breath as you passed through the ominous metal doors and into the training room. It was a small room, with a table on one side and an open to on the other, spotlights shining down on both. You took your place in the open space, looking up to see the five of the six original members of the Justice legion slowly appraising you.

To the farthest left was Sea Man. He wore a dark brown, reinforced sleevelesswetsuit that always seemed to be dripping with seawater. Despite his age, he had a wrinkle-free, boyish face, with flowing brown hair and a majestic goatee. He wore a netted golden cape that doubled as his main weapon, an unbreakable fishing net.

Next to Sea Man was MidKnight, another founding member and your favourite hero. No one knew who MidKnight really was, and one motivator for you to join the Legion was to find out. The rumors were endless, especially considering the clandestine nature of his powers- he seemingly possessed control over shadow, being able to melt into them and fire opponents through inky black portals. He wore an all black suit, including a cowl that kept his face in shadow. The only evidence of light from his suit were two menacing, white eye hole visors and a morose crescent emblem on his chest.

Next to MidKnight was Uber-Man. Uber-Man was the face of the Legion, the always happy guy, the poster child for democracy and good morals. His suit was all white, barring a red cape, a big red 'U' logo on the front and his red spandex. He had dark skin, a buzz cut and a welcoming smile.

To the right was where the two ladies were- Red Star and Lady Owl.

Red Star was closest. One of the most powerful heroes on the planet, she was a Russian cosmonaut in the 1950s who's spaceship went wildly of course and ended up in the gravitational orbit of a dying star, which exploded with the ship. Presumed dead, she somehow was spat out of a black hole worryingly close to Earth, and was found by MidKnight. She was bestowed with the power of a dying star, able to hyperheat herself to insane temperature and fire blasts of pure molten heat.

Finally, Lady Owl. Along with Uber-Man, they were considered the two leaders of the Justice Legion, and the faces of American freedom. She wore a heavily mechanized, all purple and gold suit. On her head she wore an owl themed helmet with menacing yellow visors, followed by a large, mechanical purple suit with yellow streaks.

"Hello there young man. Please introduce yourself to us." Uber-Man said, smiling invitingly.

"H-hi! M-my name is John UH! I mean I'm Fastball, from Minneapolis and I can throw extremely well!" You splutter, cursing yourself at your slip up. Thankfully, the heroes seemed to only be amused by this... except MidKnight. You didn't know what the hell was going on beneath his mask.

"Don't worry about it... John Doe." Lady Owl drawled. Your blood forze. How could they know?

Sea Man chuckled at your apparent confusion. "Don't be scared... it's our job to know these things." He said.

"Can we please move on? We still have dozens of cadidates left." MidKnight's mechanical voice intoned, shocking you into silence. Red Star blew a raspberry at him.

"Very well then." Uber-Man muttered, unhappy with the chastising. He waved his hands carelessly, and you turned around, shocked as the back walls of the room parted to reveal a large obsatcle course.

"The First Trial is very simple. You will have to touch the button and come back, within the fastest time possible. Your feet may not touch the floor for the duration of this exercise. Using your powers to make this course easier for you will discount points." Lady Owl spoke, her voice somehow magnifying through the room. "You may begin in 3... 2... 1... Go!"

You shot off, swiftly moving through obstacles with practiced ease, treating this place no different to the rooftops of suburban Minnesota. You danced through moving blocked, swung through rotating poles, all while instinctively avoiding various booby-trapped missiles aimed at you. You swung through the last bar, contorting yourself mid-air to avoid a renegade paintball. You slammed the red button, before turning around and swinging your way back.

"OOF!" You grunted as you landed back on the starting platform, before turning the face the Legion, who indulged you with a polite round of applause. You scrutinized their expressions carefully. MidKnight was unreadable, for obvious reasons. However, Sea Man, Uber-Man and Lady Owl all looked impressed with your performance. Only Red Star seemed unimpressed, frowning as she looked at you.

"Well done, Fastball. You have been cleared to the second trial." Lady Owl says, her voice smooth like honey. You allow yourself a small smile before entering the next room.

It's a strange room, to say the least. It's completely blank, the floor and walls of the cylindrical room the exact same material- a strangely soft, white substance, almost like hard pillows.

"The next trial will be direct combat, one round only. You will be placed in a simulation room against another hopeful, and you are to engage in combat until we deem the round over." You heard the gravelly, robotic voice of MidKnight float through the room. You looked up and saw high up was a small window, where the heroes had gathered.

"For the first round, please enter the changing rooms and put on the clothes provided"

Hesitantly, you do so, finding yourself wearing a basic spandex suit, with the Legion logo on it. Immediately, small forcefield activates around you. You recognize that it can and will stop lethal blows, but allow non-lethal ones to pass through. A part of you felt naked without your usual armor and projectiles, but you pushed it aside.

"Please, step back into the Hazard Hall to meet your first opponent."

A/N: I promise the fun stuff starts soon!