Victor snuck away to the shooting range in the Tower. He set his weapons on a table-- his SUROS auto rifle, the Fourth Horseman, and his Against All Odds. He stretched his arms, cracked his neck and knuckles, and adjusted his armor plating. "What are you doing?" Nathaniel asked. Victor shot him a look, then picked up a weapon and looked down the sights. "Level seven, Cabal; round one," said the announcer as holographic legionaries formed in the room. Nathaniel turned from the range to Victor, then sighed. Victor stepped in and shut the plasteel door. The "Cabal forces" began marching to him, firing non-lethal projectiles. Victor spun around and crouched behind a barrier. He peaked over the wall and trained his sights on a target's head. He held the trigger until the target was eliminated. The hologram exploded into small pixels. Matson and Laurel had snuck into the arena and was watching the titan through the one way glass, along with Nathaniel. Victor reloaded, stood back up, and gunned down another Cabal. Again. Again. Again. Now, only two targets remained. Victor switched to his Fourth Horseman shotgun and ran out. He charged the first Cabal and held the trigger. The fully automatic weapon put out all five shells into the programmed beast in two seconds, easily. The titan hid behind a pillar and began to insert shells into the weapon. He stopped and listened as the last legionary approached. He ran around the pillar, building momentum. Once he got close, he jumped in the air and kneed the creature in the throat! It fell back, but wasn't dead. Victor held the barrel of the shotgun just under its helmet. He pulled the trigger until that hologram exploded into pixels. Victor didn't even break a sweat. He walked over to the door and opened it. He got startled when he saw the two Guardians standing there. "How long have you been here?" He asked as he got more ammo. "About twenty minutes ago," Laurel answered. "So, you basically watched my whole session?" Victor asked again. "Yeah," Matson added. Victor opened the door again and stepped in. Matson grabbed his arm. "Shouldn't this be something we do together? As a team?" The hunter asked. Nathaniel turned to the titan and smiled. The simulation started up again. The desert terrain formed around the team-- "sand" rising around their feet. This time there were many more targets, all stronger and more intelligent. "Level seven, Cabal; round ten," the announcer said. Four phalanxes pushed up the middle as two centurions gave cover fire from behind. Laurel and Matson were not prepared for the strategic tier they needed to outplay. "This isn't even close to how Cabal actually fight!" Victor yelled as he flipped a psion over his back and punched its helmet, cracking it. It died shortly after. Matson pulled out his No Land Beyond sniper rifle. Even with the rusty iron sights, he lined the bead up with the head of a phalanx. In nanoseconds of him pulling the trigger, the bullet flew out of the barrel, spinning unimaginably fast! It pierced the helmet and the skull of the target, dropping it instantly. The shield still stood for a moment before turning into pixels. "So, you're taking it easy on us?" Matson asked as he turned to the titan. Victor dodged the stock of a slug thrower as a legionary tried to crack his head open. The titan punched it in the ribs, discharging built up arc energy in the beast. It shuttered for a moment but tried to swing again. The titan punched it in the gut, then shot it in the head. Behind the wall of Cabal, a soldier glowing orange, charged. It laid down surppressive fire on the the three Guardians. Laurel screamed as micro rockets flew over her head just as she ducked down. Laurel concentrated, then formed a fusion grenade in her hand. She stood up, tossed it, and it plastered to the centurion. It grew in temperature, melting it's nonexistent armor, then exploded in a brilliant fury of pixels. "Good kill! Good kill!" Victor yelled as he reloaded his weapon. An hour of fighting had passed. The team was low on ammo and energy. Laurel's heart pressed against her chest and her-- typically lavender-- eyes were turning dark violet; a sign that she was getting tired. Despite being hidden under his helmet, Matson's hair was a soaking mop atop his head, dripping sweat into his eyes. Victor's muscles were beginning to ache, but his adrenaline raged on. He had a hatred for Cabal that smelted in the furnace within him. Nathaniel studied the advisor that showed the number of enemies the Guardians had to fight. "Vic, the challenge is about to be over," Nathaniel said with a hint of concern. "Just tell me when the last one shows up!" Victor yelled as he shrugged from a small explosion that hit the wall he sat against. "You're about to see him..." the ghost said. Victor looked at him for a moment. A savage growl caught the titan's attention. He looked over the barrier to see a lone monster holding a massive chain gun! "Scheisse..." The titan said, embracing his German heritage. The beast tilted the three rotating barrels to Matson, who was perched on a rock as he chambered a new shell into his sniper rifle. Victor dashed over to him! He could hear the nightmarish drone of the gun spinning up. "Get down!" He yelled. "Get down!" Victor jumped up to tackle the hunter to the ground. The micro rockets were racing to them as well. Matson landed in the sand. He looked to the back wall to see a line of blast marks streaking across. There was one problem. The line was broken. He looked down at his stomach, he felt sick as he peaked down... He was fine. The hunter looked at the titan half burried in the sand. The missing bullet marks crossed his armor! Matson began to breathe deeply. He snapped his head to the patrolling colossus. "Laurel, I'm gonna need a lift." "What?" She asked over the comms. "Just get ready to give me a boost!" Matson got to his feet and rushed to a rock. He climbed the rock and double jumped off of it! The Cabal soldier raised the gun up again. "NOW!!" The hunter yelled. Laurel looked up from the crevice she hid. She force pushed Matson higher into the air, over the stream of bullets! The hunter landed on the monster. It dropped the weapon and swung its arms around, trying to snatch Matson. He hung on to the armor plates on its back as he was swung around by the Cabal's frantic movements. Matson finally climbed up and pulled out his knife. He raised the razor edged blade in the air, letting his built up arc energy course down the weapon. With all his might, the hunter forced the blade through a gap in the armor at the neck! The colossus began twitching violently from the power flowing through it, then it fell over kicking dust up into the air. "Woo!!" Laurel cried as she jumped in the air, clapping her hands. Matson looked up and, despite his helmet hiding it, he smiled. The two ran over to Victor's limp body. Like a switch turning on a light, Victor came out of his state of limbo once the round was over. Victor began coughing uncontrollably as he clenched whatever he could reach, Matson's collar specifically. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're good, Cap!" Matson said as he willed his helmet off, letting his sweat drip to the floor. Victor let go of the hunter and looked around. "Did you kill the colossus?" The titan asked as he got to his feet. He held his stomach, it was still sore from the rounds hitting him. "Yeah, we killed it!" Laurel yelled happily as she hugged Matson's neck tightly, nearly cutting off his air. Victor looked around, nodding slowly as he, once again, realized that these two were gifted. He looked to the one way glass, which looked like another wall to him, "Nate, go ahead and shut off the simulator. I believe we're done here." As the team stepped out of the door, a massive Cabal-- much bigger than the colossus they fought-- wearing blue armor appeared. Before the enemy was fully rendered, the system shut off. The lights shut off, the door locked behind them, and the chamber was silent once more.