Phantasm had been so completely amped at the prospect of getting her first "[i]official[/i]" (Emily Vickers and her stupid ice breath and bitchy attitude junior year didn't count) superhero fight that she hadn't stopped to consider that he was making fun of her name, and strode boldly along the wall to her designated room. She could feel the blood coursing through her veins, the adrenaline kicking in as her anxiety collapsed in on itself to form a compact ball of focus and determination. The only individual stopping her from becoming a hero was just behind Door Number 8, and she was going to turn them into [i]chalk dust[/i]. Fuck the stretcher, they'd be leaving in a trash bag. In the line the other rookie heroes would whisper and murmur about Door Number 8. The only people who went in left looking a lot worse on the way out, and whoever was in there had enough juice to keep kicking ass and taking names scrub after scrub for [i]hours[/i] at this point. Even now she could feel the eyes boring into the back of her, everyone watching the new meat swagger its way into the grinder. She wanted them to watch. This wasn't a test, it was a goddamn competition, and Hope was gonna [i]thrash[/i] it. Let them see her walk out of this room taller than anyone else, harder than anyone else, and better than anyone else. Just let them see.

The steel vault swung open slowly, and Hope dauntlessly waltzed inside to find... nothing. Not a soul. The room was sleek and clean, like a smashball court except maybe tougher. And no one was here. Hope paused for a moment. This was either for dramatic effect, whoever she was fighting was invisible... or it was a trick. Unfortunately, Hope was already high on adrenaline on top of being an impatient person. She instantly decided that she didn't have time for this bullshit.
"Hellooooo-ooo?!" her muffled voice echoed through the chasm of nothing, bouncing off empty walls as the vault eerily shut and spun behind her.
"Are we gonna fight today?! Helloooo-ooo?! Anyone?! ...Is this some kinda stupid joke or what?!" She spun around as she walked toward the center of the room, more than once, but didn't spot anyone. Lying in the middle of the room was a brick, painted as white as the walls were.
...Seriously? So this was some kind of mind game?
"If you're trying to psyche me out, it's not gonna work! So stop wasting my time, get out here, and fucking fight me!"
It was the only thing in the room, so it was obviously significant. There wouldn't just be one brick and nothing else. Probably a trap. The thing is, Hope didn't really give a damn. Whatever would come would come, and she'd tough it out and smoke'em. So Hope did the reckless thing.
Hope reared back, and kicked the brick.