Joseph Blane set on the cold concrete floor of his assigned room, an empty soda can in front of him. He'd learned from his first few attempts that this should only be done on certain surfaces, or he risked damaging useful stuff. He held his hands beside the can and a blue glow started to form around him. A few seconds later a web of blue lines formed in each palm, and from the center of each palm jumped a pencil-thin beam of ions, striking the can on each side of its top. He kept the flow of ions going for several seconds before the can started to melt, then he moved his hands down the can, his corona diminishing slowly as he was losing the ability to replenish it as quickly as he was using it due to the fatigue of his efforts. After several more seconds all that was left of the can was a pile of molten aluminum. He stopped the flow of ions into it and it began to cool.

He looked at his watch. [i]Fifteen seconds. That's a whole second better than last time.[/i] He was about to grab another one from the bed-side table where he kept them when he realized he had less than five minutes to be in the Admiral's office.

He stood and put on his jacket, letting his Corona fade. Once he was ready, he jogged down the hall and knocked on the Admiral's door. Once inside he sat in the chair the Admiral offered him and waited.

When the others arrived, the Admiral began. "I am Admiral Takahashi." said an older Japanese man in a voice that reminded Joseph of George Takei. "I have been given control of the second phase of your testing, as well as this project." He sat down it an elaborate chair in front of a wall full of medals and awards. "Because only one of you have any form of actual military training, you will be sent on a series of missions in which we will evaluate your performance and leadership skills. Every mission will have a different commanding officer, so that we can see which of you is the best at that position." He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "I demand two things out of everyone under my command, honor and loyalty. If you behave dishonorably, or endanger or betray your team, you will be immediately kicked from the team, and may face criminal charges. If none of you are kicked from the team, and you all perform well enough, your team will then move to Stage three, in which we test your ability to operate in a sustained mission, with our chosen leader as commanding officer."

He faced Coleman. "You will be in charge of the first mission." The Admiral handed the man a stack of file folders, each with a copy of the mission briefing to hand to the others. "There is a new street gang in New York City, calling itself the Dragons. They have the ability to manipulate fire, we believe through the same Meteora virus you possess. The local police are having trouble dealing with them, so we need the recruits to handle it. You are not, however, authorized to use lethal force except in self defense, so make sure you bring back prisoners, not bodies. Their leadership must be captured. Now, get your gear and ship out." The Admiral spun his chair around, and Joseph knew the meeting was over.

He got up and walked into the hall. When the others were outside as well, he looked at his temporary CO. "So, Sir, what's the plan?"