Chapter 5

Chapter 5 opens with a propaganda-esque description of what Urquhart does, labeling all 8 variants for the first time. This is then shown to be a speech given by Urquhart's director, Emma Esser, welcoming new recruits to Urquhart. Nate greets Victor, and they share a conversation about coming activities. Nate is teasing, where Victor is in turns upbeat and cheerful, and resentful of group work.

We cut to Masha, who is sitting by herself in a bank of empty seats, looking incredibly sad. Her mentor, Roslyn, calls her name, encouraging her to come with them. They meet up with Nate and Victor, and Victor makes fun of Masha's nickname, asking if her parents named her after mashed potatoes. Here it is revealed that Masha is a trans girl, as she explains that she chose her name after her "baba," or grandmother, and that her parents gave her a boy's name, "but they were wrong".

The group of four discusses variations, including telekinesis and electromanipulation. Here there is an explanation that the patterns on the suits connect with the variations: telekinetics have a bib-like formation on the front of their suit, and electromanipulators have a diagonal slash across the front of their suit.

They are approached by Ebele and Jeremy and two young girls, around Victor and Masha's ages. Jeremy has already lost his mentee. Nate asks if one of the two girls- Anne and Sayuri- following Ebele are his; Ebele reveals that she has two mentees this year. Jeremy splits off from the group to look for his mentee, and the remaining group (containing Nate and Victor, Roslyn and Masha, and Ebele and Anne and Sayuri) continue to a room where an obstacle course is set up. Anne says that she will "win all the games" to her mentor.

After a brief discussion about the point of the games (which can be briefly summarized as an aptitude test for the mentees) Jeremy returns, toting a young girl with curly red hair. Yup, it's Julia! She asks to be put down, promises to stand still, and promptly begins to try to sneak away. Victor and Sayuri are directed to race by Ebele, but while Victor takes off like a shot, Sayuri refuses to move and stands stubbornly at the beginning line. When pressed, she says that she "refuses to participate", after which Julia and Victor are paired off for a race. They race through the course with a number of very dramatic panels, and Victor wins. Both children are exhausted and gleeful.

Next, Masha and Anne are paired off for a race. Anne insults Masha, but Masha takes a lead, evading Anne's attempt to cheat (in which she grabs for Masha's hair) and winning. Anne, a sore loser, verbally assaults Masha, calling her names and blaming her for her loss. Victor backs up Masha here, with a brief interlude from Julia, and Ebele encourages Sayuri to try again at the race. Sayuri refuses.

A grouping of panels finishes out the scene- it shows Victor and Julia and Masha racing, and Sayuri refusing to participate throughout.

After the race scene, there is a dormancy test. Nate stands outside the doctor's office, and inside, a medical professional assures Victor, who looks apprehensive, that it's just a checkup. The professional asks about the social side of the initiation, so far, and Victor confesses that Sayuri doesn't want to join in. The dormancy test concludes, and we cut to the next day. Nate prompts Victor to guess what the activity of the day is- Victor, excitedly, suggests "blowing things up," to which Nate replies that they will be doing teamwork exercises.

Ebele and Nate have a brief exchange about Sayuri. They're both puzzled by her refusal to join in. Julia and Victor try to convince Sayuri to join in, but she refuses, saying she just wants to go home. At this point, Anne joins the conversation, telling her she should leave if she's dormant and taunting her, saying that she's useless. Masha stands up to her, warning her to back off, at which point Anne shouts at her and stalks off to the mentors, who are talking in a clump. Victor compliments her, saying that she was brave, and Julia joins in, saying she talks like an adult. At this point, their ages are revealed- Julia is eight (and three quarters), whereas Victor is nine, and Masha is ten. The kids are called back to their mentors, breaking up the discussion, and they move on to the next exercise.

Nate and Victor have an exchange in which Victor is disappointed that they won't be "blowing anything up today" and Nate questions his enthusiasm for pyrotechnics. Victor is dejected until Nate gives him a gun, and he responds loudly and very positively to the gun. Nate clarifies that it is a laser gun. The rules are explained. They each have three lives, losing a life when they are shot in the chest or the back. Winners are the last men standing. The winners get pizza, and, crucially, variations are allowed and encouraged. The kids are varying levels of excited, with Victor being the most thrilled and Masha looking actively uncomfortable. Anne looks determined.

The teams are evenly split. On the red team are Victor, Julia, Sayuri, and various other un-named cadets. On the blue team are Masha, Anne, and cameo characters Kalo, 65, and Reggie from the webcomic Recoil (written by Spire Eaton), as well as other unnamed cadets.

At this time Julia encourages Sayuri specifically, and Victor suggests makng 'a plan'. It's made evident that Victor has some electromanipulation powers that are only just beginning to be touched on- in this scene, he shows that he is able to *feel* which way North is. An unnamed cadet looks confused at this and refuses to play along, saying that the plan is to shoot, no more. Julia is a gremlin.

In the laser tag room, the lighting takes on primary colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow. The kids split up, and Victor shoots one of the unnamed cadets immediately as the scene changes colors. Rounding the corner, he is forced to drop to the ground as a cadet with long braided hair fires at him. He taunts them, saying "ha! Nice aim!" in a mocking way, and is promptly shot in the back by Reggie (Recoil; Spire Eaton). This is the first life he's lost. He attempts to use a "lightning attack" on her but fails, as she throws up what appears to be a shield, and wanders off as she looks scared.

It is clear that Victor is having issues with his power already, much like earlier in the comic, because he stares at his hand and demands it to make lightning, before being shot at by an unnamed cadet, who misses. They go invisible, laughing, and Victor slips on ice, dropping his gun, and is promptly attacked by a vine holding a laser gun. He manages to dodge as a burst of fire engulfs the vines, going for his gun, and runs smack into Anne.

They hold their noses in pain and Anne warns him to watch where he's going, before asking where Masha ("brace face") is. Victor tells her that he doesn't know, as she's on Anne's team, not his, and Anne warns him to "stay out [of her] way." Victor finally reclaims his dropped gun, but an unnamed cadet (possibly Kalo (Recoil; Spire Eaton) uses telekinesis to shoot him in the back, thus taking his second life and leaving him with one remaining life. Victor scarpers off down an adjoining hallway.

He takes cover in a niche, looking pleased, and Julia immediately greets him- here she's also taken shelter. She is eating a loaf of bread of unknown origin, and she offers Victor some, which he declines. She then asks if he wants to see something cool, and removes the tip of her pinkie, revealing it to be fake (ostensibly, lost to frostbite). Victor runs screaming from the alcove, scrambling over a half-wall; behind him, cadets attack each other with their powers as he hides.

His vision turns to Masha, who is standing on an elevated part of the playing field with her back to him. He laughs, assuming that it'll be an easy shot, but sees Anne confronting Masha on the same ground. The scene is suddenly much more drastic- Anne looks furious, Masha looks terrified. Victor's face changes to puzzlement.

Anne uses her variation on Masha, causing her pain, and Masha protests that they're on the same team. Anne fires back that she doesn't *want* to be on Masha's team, and telling her that she doesn't get to tell her off. Victor breaks in, aiming his gun at the pair and shouting for Anne to leave [Masha] alone. At this point his variation backfires, causing his gun to break, and he tries to get it working again to no effect.

Anne forgets Masha, chasing Victor as he runs, and she grabs a handful of his hair. She uses her grip on him to push him *off* the edge of the elevated platform they're all three on, and we get a nice shot of Victor's shocked face. He falls for a beat, and then Masha catches him, using her telekinesis right before he hits the ground. Before he can say anything but thank you, she shoots him in the chest, taking his third and final life, with a small smile. This ends the game. Masha runs off, dropping Victor, and the kids exit the room, going to their waiting mentors.

Nate reassures Victor, saying that everybody loses sometimes, and Victor complains, saying sadly that he couldn't use his variation. Nate tells him that practice will help him get better, and that "everyone improves with a little time". Victor says that he wants to get "really good", and Nate says that he will, ruffling Victor's hair.

The scene transitions to the bedroom, where Victor and Julia talk to each other. Julia explans that her pinkie tip got frozen off, and lets him pull off her "dummy finger". Masha passes them, distracting Victor, and Victor stops her and apologizes for making fun of her name. Masha tells him that it's okay, then changes her mind, saying that it *isn't* okay, but thanking him for the apology.

The three kids focus in on an empty bed, and Victor asks where Sayuri is. Masha says that she hasn't seen her since this afternoon; Julia breaks in, telling them that she's gone dormant, apparently having lost her variation that morning. It is then revealed that Anne is gone, too. Victor notes that Anne, at least, was using her variation in lasertag, and Masha remarks that she "didn't know it could go that quick".

It's time for lights out. The kids get into bed at this time; the beds for boys and girls are on opposite sides of a half-wall. Inhibit said trans rights; Masha is on the right side!

Masha thinks about it for a minute and then calls Victor's name, then saying she's "not sorry for dropping [him] on his head". He pauses and replies that he isn't sorry for letting Anne "spike" (presumably slang for Anne's use of her variation) her. There's a pause, and then Masha tells Victor that she's scared, at which point Victor joins her on her bed to comfort her. She tells him that she is afraid of going dormant, and that she doesn't know anyone who is dormant. Victor here reveals that his dad is dormant and is "fine", but that his mother and sister are "normal". He comforts her, saying she doesn't have to be scared, and that if she *does* go dormant, it may come back. He tells her that they'll "finish entry and get really strong and fight lots of bad guys", which cheers Masha up. Victor then returns to his bed, falling asleep. The last detail at chapter's end is that he's sparking faintly.