New Friends
I blew back into Nick's office precisely one hour later, with my backpack stuffed full of my scarce belongings. I'd replaced my ruined clothing and purchased a few extras that I'd been unable to resist. Christmas had come and gone during the time that I was being assessed and I'd taken full advantage of the post Christmas sales. I was wearing an incredible Hulk sweater for my trip upstate.
I did wonder briefly if it wasn't a tad awkward to be wearing Avengers merchandise when I met the Avengers, but they couldn't take it as anything other than a compliment right? I bounced toward Nick's desk with an excited smile on my face. There was a man lounging in the chair that I usually occupied, he stood when I flung the door closed.
“Got all my shit together Fury, and Jess has taken more samples so I'm good to go...” My cheerful prattle coming to a slow stop as the stranger turned around to look at me, I found myself gawking at the face of Tony Stark. “Ah screw me!” I swore flatly, shooting Nick a dark look. Tony's eyebrows raised. He gave me an appraising look.
“Are you sure you've got the right person Fury?” He asked, still looking me over, “She seems small.” Fury gave me an amused smirk.
“I'm average.” I insisted quietly, but neither male paid my words any attention.
“Oh I have the right person Stark. This unassuming woman is the same that, ah, gave you some trouble. Try not to let your ego take too much of a hit.” Nick said, blinking at me. Or winking at me. I don't know. It's hard to tell with the eye patch and all. I took a deep breath. I shouldn't be too upset really. I was bound to run into Stark again sooner or later. I just hoped he wasn't the type to hold a grudge.
“So um...” I said to Tony, “You'd be my ride then?” I shuffled uncomfortably. How was I going to ride with the same man who I'd thrown up on and knocked out? Tony shrugged. He had yet to smile. I gave Fury a very nasty look and he just smirked at me.
“Yes, I was heading out that way anyway as a personal favor to a couple friends. Nick asked me to swing by and pick you up.” Stark said. I nodded. He didn't seem to hate me too much. Though goodness knew what he was going to be like once he got me alone. Nick spoke, taking Tony's gaze away from me and I sagged with relief.
“Steve says that the new recruits are proving to be very promising, though most of them are away for Christmas holidays, I believe he, Sam and James have remained behind.” Fury said to Tony, and then he addressed me, “They will initiate your official training. I expect you to follow your orders and stay out of trouble.” I sarcastically saluted him and he handed me a thick file, which I assumed was full of information and instructions, "Be safe.” He gave Tony a smile and then dismissed us with a wave of his hand.
Tony and I headed down to the garage level in silence. I felt extremely self conscious and already couldn't wait for the trip to be over. My mind kept reviewing our altercation in slow motion. Especially the part where I'd puked on him. Friday also occupied a large percent of my thoughts. She'd been an enormous and unforeseen problem, but if I put that aside, she really was an astonishing program. I kind of wanted to ask Stark about her, but I feared that would just lead to all sorts of awkward other questions. I decided to go for a general question that might ease the tension.
“So um, were you waiting here long?” I asked haltingly. Tony pressed a button on his keys and a beautiful sports car bleeped at us. He shot me a sideways look as we slid into the seats. I dumped by backpack on the floor at my feet and put on my seat belt.
“Nick doesn't like me hanging around Shield facilities for too long. I have a habit of hacking into his computer systems and learning things that he doesn't want me to know.” The car roared to life and we eased up into the street. “Of course, it's a bit insulting, since he's had you camped there for weeks now.” I sighed. There was the jab.
“He doesn't let me near any of his computers, tablets, wall panels or phones.” I offered weakly. Tony snorted.
“You weren't near any of mine, but you still managed to access confidential files. How did you manage that by the way?” My first experience in New York traffic in a car was a bit worrying. I looked at Tony's profile and tried to ignore everything else.
“Ever heard of Astral Projection?” I asked him, thinking of the easiest way to explain what I could do. He nodded cautiously, “Well, I did that. And then I possessed your computer systems. Sort of. I'd have been able to more, but Friday made it really hard for me. I wasn't there to cause trouble you know. I was just looking for something.”
“I know. Fury told me what you were after. You went for the wrong Avenger if you're after Hydra information.” The car swerved abruptly and I let out a squeak of terror. Tony glanced at me, “Did you say that Friday, made it hard for you?” I nodded, “Good. Be a pointless program otherwise.” He said, with a beatific smile. He was instantly more likable. I could see why he was such a playboy and a press magnet.
“She ultimately forced me out, she even completely restricted my access to some data and that has never happened before.” It was actually kind of nice to share my frustration over the matter. I was so used to doing whatever I wanted in a computer, Friday had really irked me. But I couldn't talk to Nick about it because I'd decided to keep it from him. In fact, Talking to Tony about it was my only option at this point, because he already knew that I could hack without needing access to a console. "Though I think that with practice, I could learn to disable her, though it wouldn't be easy. I should at least be able to maneuver around her. Or maybe mislead her.” I said, almost to myself. Tony showed no sign of having heard me.
“I take it that Fury doesn't know that you can go all possessive on computer systems.” He stated wryly after a small silence. I tried not to look too guilty.
“Well no, not technically....” I said nonchalantly, “Stark Tower didn't have what I wanted, but Shield definitely did, and there's no way that Fury would've given me the information and risk me going out on a vendetta, which was what I was planning to do originally.” I fiddled with my chain and tried to act casual. “So I omitted to tell him about certain aspects of my Astral Projection abilities... Which let me have unrestricted access to all Shield files. Who wouldn't have done that if they were in my place?”
“Fair point.” Tony said, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was planning on revealing my little secret or not. I guessed that I'd soon find out if Friday suddenly appeared at Shield and the Avengers Base.
“So, why are you heading to the Base? I thought you were kind of retired or something.” I asked, keen to change the subject before he asked me what else I'd discovered in Shields files.
“I'm going to help a couple of the guys with their gear, Rhodey wants an upgrade and Sam reckons his pack isn't at a hundred percent.” He spared me a quick glance before returning his eyes to the road, “Rhodey is War Machine and Sam is Falcon.” he clarified. I thought it was nice of him to offer that information, even though I'd already learned the identity of all of the Avengers in Shield's database. I smiled suddenly.
“Didn't War Machine spend some time as The Iron Patriot?” I asked, Tony laughed, “Yeah, not James's best look so far.” he said mirthfully.
“He looked like the forbidden love child of Iron Man and Captain America.” I agreed, to which Tony laughed harder.
“I will be sure to tell him you said so.” He informed me with a cheeky grin and I stuck my tongue out at him. I stared out the window, watching the landscape whip past.
“I, Uh, I'm sorry about your suit.” I said breaking the silence. “My bad.” Tony shrugged carelessly.
“Honestly, it was a good excuse to refine the next upgrades. Though I'd prefer it if you kept the fact that you so badly mangled it to yourself.” He sniffed. "A man has his reputation to uphold after all."
“Ok, but you can't tell anyone about the vomit.”
“Deal.” He grinned and gave me a wink. I'm no expert in friendships, but I was pretty sure that we were bonding.
“So,you're from Australia where everything is trying to kill you. That's quite exciting.” he said. I smiled.
“Australia's not really that bad Stark. A bit harsh perhaps, but it's not just one entire death trap of poisonous and toothy things.” I paused and thought about it for a moment. “Mostly.” I added.
“Bullshit, I have read a lot of damning information about the wildlife there. I will not be making it a holiday destination any time soon.” We swung around a turn off and I gripped the handle on the door like my life depended on it.
“This coming from a man who was captured by terrorists, fought an army of aliens, flew through a portal into outer space, had to beat up a scientist supreme who altered his girlfriend, went to war with a bunch of artificially intelligent robots and is currently driving like a bat out of hell in a very expensive death trap? I believe that your priorities of self preservation are ever so slightly jumbled Pal.” Tony just cackled. I gave him a dirty look.
We lapsed into a comfortable silence and I fidgeted with my chain. I could feel the sharp tug of the missing piece of my soul lessening. Since the day after my catch up with Luke, I had felt it moving further away from me. It was a slightly distressing feeling, but not so horrible that I couldn't overcome it.
During this drive though, I knew I was getting closer to wherever Hydra had decided to put Luke. Much closer. I didn't recall any of the known Hydra Bases on Shield's database being in this particular area, so it appeared that Luke was somewhere that was unknown. I didn't feel good going into the Avenger Initiative with such a heavy secret, but I couldn't bring myself to reveal anything either. Luke might prove very useful as a Hydra insider, and that information could help everyone.
“Nearly there.” Tony commented, bringing me out of my thoughts. I swallowed. Now that it was closer, I felt extremely nervous about meeting the Avengers. Anxiety causing my skin to shift and crawl. Stark shot me an alarmed look. “That is really disarming to watch.” he said, “Don't worry, it's just a bunch of ordinary people who can do extraordinary things. You'll be fine.” he correctly interpreted my molecular phase as spike in my anxiety.
“Right.” I squeaked, “Except one's a soldier from WW2 who's spent 70 years frozen like a flippin' tv dinner, one's a omnipotent being that was created by mad scientists and a god, and one's a young woman who's powers can't actually be explained in a way that makes sense but they're terrifying anyway.” I prattled, clutching the file Nick had given me in a death grip. “Don't get me wrong Stark, but that's about the furthest from ordinary as you can get.” Tony snorted.
“Yeah, you're not wrong when it's put like that, but hey, let me put it like this. The newest recruit is someone who can astral project into computing systems and do whatever she wants, up to and including launch nuclear missiles. Not to mention the fact that she's sitting shotgun into my car, completely changing her matter make-up in an anxiety attack. Gimme a break Davis, they're all at least as ordinary as you are.” He wasn't wrong, and I did calm down a bit. To say that I was equal to everyone here would be pushing it, but I definitely was not just your average joe.
We pulled up near a large building. It sort of looked like a plane hanger, or maybe a bunker. I couldn't decide. A large 'A' decorated the face of the building and I raised an eyebrow. If I had the courage to interfere with satellite systems, I could have found the large, pretentious Avengers Headquarters all by myself. They were not exactly hiding.
“Wow. Subtle.” I said to Stark as we got out of the car. He grinned, “Our leader wears red, white and blue spangled tights. By choice. We don't really do subtle.” He had a spring in his step as he took me by the shoulders and steered me towards the building.
“Besides, you've already met the most intimidating hero,” he gestured grandly at himself and I rolled my eyes.
“I knocked the most intimidating hero out with one headbutt.” I snorted, pretending to be unimpressed. Tony looked at me over his sunglasses, “Yeah, after you threw up all down the front of me.” He smirked.
“I'll be good.”
As we got near the entrance, somebody came out the door to greet us. A tall, blonde man with a traditional haircut and baby blue eyes approached us. He wore a t-shirt and track-pants. an outfit that I strongly approved of. I stared. His shoulder to waist ratio was mouthwatering. I did not doubt for a second that I was looking at the most prime specimen in all of human existence. He clapped Tony on the shoulder and Stark's knees buckled. I just stood with my mouth open.
“Stark! Fury called ahead to let us know to expect you.” He said to Tony, who nodded enthusiastically, before grandly introducing me.
“Brooke, this is Cap, Cap, this is your new recruit.” he put his hand in the small of my back and shoved me forward. I stumbled momentarily before dropping my backpack and reaching out to take the proffered hand.
“Miss Davis, good to have you on board. I'm Steven Rogers, but please, call me Steve.” I nodded, still staring. Stark casually put a finger under my chin and prompted me to shut my mouth. Steve just smiled in a knowing sort of way. “Please, come on in.” He turned to lead us inside the building and I was treated to the back view of him, which was every single bit as good as the front view. That bottom was so tight you could bounce a coin off it. I scooped up my backpack and trotted after Steve, with Tony sniggering in my ear.
Steve led me through the building to what looked to be dorm rooms. I was shown into one at the end of the hall. The doors I passed each had names, Sam, James, Vincent, Wanda. I saw Steve scribbling on a narrow slip of cardboard and push it into a slot on the door. It read, Brooke.
I felt my body slip and shift as it hit me. I was really here. This was actually happening. I was in the Avengers Headquarters. I was going to train to be an Avenger. I grabbed my neck chain in a death grip and tried not to hyperventilate. All of the molecules in my body were shivering and rearranging, deciding what substance would be best to defend myself should the need arise. Steve stepped back alarmed, but Tony, having seen me do something similar in the car, decided to try and comfort me.
It was his extreme misfortune to clap me on the back in a supportive action, just as I was cycling through a sand shift. At the impact of his hand, my whole body exploded forward, crashing into a sandy heap on the floor. I was so shocked that I stopped panicking. With heroic effort I literally pulled myself together, the shift rippled down my body changing from sand into flesh. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have the presence of mind to reform myself back into my clothes, and so ended up pushing myself up off the floor completely naked except for my chain.
I heard Tony's swearing come to an abrupt halt as soon as he realized what was going on, and when I looked up, Steve was turning a dark shade of purple. They were both standing directly over me and I tried to act as casual as I could while I collected my clothes.
“Oh thank god!” Tony exclaimed, realizing that I was ok and he hadn't just accidentally broken the new recruit, apparently totally at ease with the suddenly naked woman in the hallway. Well, he would be I supposed. Steve didn't say anything, he just kept on changing color. I idly wondered if the Captain had ever even seen a naked woman before. Tony spared him a glance and began laughing. I sat on the floor and began pulling my clothes back on, trying not to giggle helplessly. I'd made a hell of an impression.
“I'm good,” I managed, pulling my t-shirt over my head, I decided that for the sake of poor Steve, I would act as though nothing had happened. The Captain didn't meet my eyes and his cheeks were still very much flushed. Tony was still laughing. I cleared my throat a bit and he waved a hand at me weakly, covering his mouth with the other hand. I gave Steve a bright smile, like I hadn't just completely fallen apart and then been bare assed in front of Iron Man and Captain America, “So um... What next?”
“Um, we'll let you have a little time to settle in and um,” Steve stumbled avoiding my gaze, “then we'll take you through orienteering and go through your file together, so we can clarify some things and learn more about you.” The color in his face was coming back to normal until Tony said, “I think we've just learned more about Brooke than we ever needed to know.” Steve's face reddened again and he shot Tony a dirty look before stalking away. Tony gave me a wink, then followed him along the hall. I went into my newly assigned room, lay down on the bed and laughed until I cried.
***
A bit later, I'd thrown my backpack into the wardrobe, which was my way of unpacking and settling in, and then I started flicking through the file. Fury had seen fit to include a brief on each of the Avengers, old and new. Though I already knew much of the content from poking about in Shield's computer, I read it anyway. Comprehending computer data streams and reading were quite different actions. Reading was rather more relaxing. I was incredibly intrigued by this Vision character, or Vincent, as he was known here. Someone created, and not born. I was curious to see whether or not he had a soul, and what it might look like if he did.
Nick had included a few paragraphs on what was to be expected of me, which left me scowling. I was going to spend a lot of my time training, which was not a thought that I relished. Spending ages at a time plodding along on a treadmill or doing push-ups wasn't my idea of a good time, which is obviously why I did not already possess the ultra toned and muscled physique of a superhero.
An hour had passed and nobody had been sent to fetch me. My stomach was rumbling and making whale noises, so I decided to take myself on a grand tour and find the kitchen. I slipped out the door and started wandering the halls, hoping at least come across someone who could show me the way since this place was shaping up to be extremely maze like. It wasn't long until I spotted a man I recognized from my file as Sam, or Falcon, dragging his feet along the halls, a towel slung over his shoulders and sweat beading on his face.
“Oh hey! Sweaty guy!” I called and he turned to me, a puzzled look on his face, “I'm starving, could you point me in the direction of the kitchen please?” I smiled while he placed me.
“Australian?” He asked and I nodded. “New recruit.” a pause, “Bree?”
“Nah, Brooke.” I corrected him. He nodded.
“Right. Cool. I'm Sam.” we shook hands and he pointed in the direction that I'd come from, “Kitchen's that way, if you wait a moment though, I'll take you there.” We walked back to the rooms and I waited in the hall bouncing on my toes for him to change while my stomach gurgled. He emerged while it was in full whale ballad mode, and shooting me an amused look, led me on toward the kitchen.
We ended up in a large space with a state of the art kitchen, dining table and breakfast bar, complete with bar stools. Sam pointed me to the pantry and then began raiding the fridge. The pantry was huge and I looked through the contents with something close to disdain.
"This isn't food! This is ingredients!" I wailed, hearing Sam laugh at my misfortune. I stuck my head out and glared at him. "Where's the fun food?"
"I think Rhodey hid a packet of chocolates biscuits behind the cereal." Sam confided and a moment later I let out an "Ah ha!" Of triumph and began demolishing the treats, savoring each and every bite of deliciousness. I heard sets of footsteps enter the room and remained in the pantry with the booty in case it was Rhodey come to claim his snacks.
“Hey there Fly-Boy,” Sounded like Tony. “You're the fearless leader Steve, just go get her. Be professional. It'll be fine.” He was saying.
“I'm just saying that maybe she wouldn't be all that comfortable that's all. Give it a little more time and it'll be less awkward.” Ah, that was Steve. I assumed that they were talking about me and the fact that they'd seen me in the buff.
“Awkward? Did you not see her? Of course you did that's why we're having this conversation,” I swear I could hear Tony rolling his eyes, “Cap, the most awkward person there was you. She didn't look all that phased. Just go get her, it's been over an hour, she's well and truly settled.”
I was still stuffing my face when I heard Sam ask, “Are you guys talking about Brooke?” There was a grunt of conformation. “Oh. Well she's in the pantry listening to you guys talk about her.”
I emerged with the box of biscuits that I'd already half decimated and gave everyone a chocolaty grin. “Sup fellas?” I asked, Tony grinned, Sam raised his eyebrows at me and Steve began to blush and avoided eye contact.
“Ah Steve was just about to come and get you.” Tony said. I snorted, and raised my eyebrows at Steve.
“Oh I thought he was waiting for the awkwardness of seeing me naked to pass.” I said tartly. Steve blushed harder and Tony laughed. Sam perked up. “Wait, what?” he asked. At which point Rogers cleared his throat and finally found his voice.
“Never mind that now, we should go through orienteering.” He shut Sam's question down smartly. Tony mouthed the word “later” to Sam over Steve's shoulder. I was quite amused by the way the men interacted, I wondered if the rest of the team would be similar.
“So, Fly Boy, how are the wings?” Tony asked Sam conversationally. Sam came around the bench, “They haven't been the same since Scott messed about in the pack. I appreciate you having a look.” He said, the the two wandered off and out of the kitchen, leaving Steve and I alone. I saw Steve mentally preparing himself to talk to me face to face. The charming boy next door was replaced with the stern professional. He was still sexy though.
***
Orienteering was long and boring, as they usually tend to be. I was shown around the Headquarters, advised on emergency protocol, given a timetable and then Steve wanted to go through my capabilities to see what training exercises might best suit me. We stood in the center of the large space with matted floors and a comprehensive gym on the opposite end of the room.
“Ok, let's see what you've got.” He said and I stood awkwardly. I swallowed and felt the pre-anxiety attack tingle under my skin.
“What, now?” I fidgeted with my chain and shuffled my foot. Steve smiled. It was like the sun breaking through the clouds. I didn't know how I was supposed to try and blend in with all of these gorgeous and charming people. Tony, Steve, Sam. I was an average weed among the prize winning roses.
“Well, yeah. I read a bit about what you can do in Fury's notes, but it'll be helpful to see for myself. After all, that's why you're here.” He swung his arms enthusiastically and I pulled a face.
I rolled my chain in my fingers momentarily, then I charged at Rogers. He didn't even blink before taking a defensive stance. I got just within punching range and then shifted, being sure to include my clothes this time, I changed to water and the momentum of my run threw me forward. I hit Steve directly in the face, then splattered to the floor behind him. I quickly pulled myself together, twirling up and coming back to myself. Steve turned around, quicker than I had anticipated and I barely had time to drop down before he threw a punch. I shifted to my Vibranium infused form and sprang forward, ramming my shoulder into his gut and pile driving him to the floor. He was flicking me over before we'd hit the ground, my concentration broke, the Vibranium faded and I came down with a painful thud and a grunt.
Steve was on me pretty quick, and I became desperate just to get away from him. I shrank down to a rabbit and bolted out from under him, zig-zagging across the room and dropping the shift whilst I skidded to a halt, facing my adversary. It was taking a lot of focus and energy just to include my clothing when I changed, I could feel that I was burning through energy at an unsafe pace. I hadn't been forced to change so often and so quickly since my Hydra days. I was panting and sweaty. My stomach felt hollowed out and fatigue was weighing my arms and legs down, making me slow and clumsy. Barely a minute against Captain America and I thought I was going to faint. I missed going toe to toe with Iron Man.
Steve suddenly ran at me, I swore before dropping down into a protective ball, quills erupted from my head and exposed back and I become a dangerously spiked ball. They were raised, and made a slight rattling noise as I shivered them threateningly. I felt Steve coming to a stop and in the moments that he was within reach, I pulled my chain from my neck and Shifted it into a straight and solid rod, which while slender, was still strong. I whipped my arm out, using the rod to take Steve's legs out from under him while I retracted the quills and leaped to my feet. I heard my blood raging through my body, and my vision started going black.
“Oh shit.” I muttered before I crashed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
“Well, you can't say that she doesn't give it her all.” I heard someone say. Tony I think it was. Somebody picked me up.
“Is it just me or does she look skinnier than before?” That was probably Sam. The light changed with the motion as I was carried somewhere.
“She's very light.” Steve sounded concerned. I was gently placed down. I hadn't passed all the way out, but I was close to it. I was in that strange state just moments before, where everything sounds weird and your body doesn't quite co-operate.
“Food.” I breathed, lifting my eyelids barely enough to see. Steve, Sam and Tony were gathered around me in a room that was far too bright.
“What?” Tony asked, leaning closer.
“I need food. Lots of food.” I told him weakly. Sam immediately vanished from my line of sight. Steve and Tony began to talk, but I zoned out, just concentrating on staying conscious.
“I got protein bars.” Sam announced on his return, balancing stacks of boxes in his arms. “I didn't know if you had any flavor preferences, so I got all of them.” He heaved the load onto a table by the bed, boxes falling to the floor and careening off to corners of the room. I seemed to have been taken to some kind of medical room.
“Thanks.” I told Sam, “Pass me that one.” I gestured expansively to the pile and Tony selected a box at random, he took a bar, unwrapped it and handed it to me. I don't think I even chewed it. “Another.”
They watched me chomp my way through half of the pile in silence. My body began to visibly fill back out, all the mass I'd burned as energy returning and I perked up. Then they started with the questions.
“So, if you'd have kept going, would you have just wasted away?” Sam.
“What would've happened if you didn't get food?” Steve.
“You know, you'd have had Steve if you'd have kept up for like, a second longer.” Tony. Of course.
“I couldn't have kept going Sam, I'd reached my limit. It's been a long time since I had to participate in exercises like that and I'm really unconditioned. I didn't use my physical abilities much after I escaped. Didn't really see the need to.” I said, answering the first question. “I'm telling you, I really wish I'd kept it up now.” I looked at Tony with a knowing smirk, “There wasn't a single time that I came even close to beating Steve during that exhibition Tony. I think we both know that.” I understood that he was feeling a tad inferior seeing as I'd manage to incapacitate him, but not Rogers. Well, as Nick said, it was good for his ego to be taken down a peg or two.
“Shifting burns energy.” I said, addressing Steve's query, “The more often I do it, the less energy it will take. It's been so long since I had to do it that frequently so it used a great deal of energy. With training, I'll be able to do much more, for much longer. I can replenish energy through food consumption or my body shuts down to a coma like state and slowly replenishes itself. Right now, I can either eat the rest of these protein bars and be back in tip top shape, or I can be unconscious while my body pulls molecules from my surroundings. Tiny particles in the air are used to fill out my mass. This is why it takes longer. I need food for a quick recovery. As long as I'm able to actually eat, I can bounce back from virtually anything. Otherwise, it just takes ages." I told the blonde. I dearly hoped that I was making sense.
“Regenerative properties? So, you heal.” Steve stated. I nodded.
“Yes, that's right, and since I have limited molecular control, I can heal others too. Though it all costs energy really.” They were all silent for a moment until Sam declared, “Oh well that's pretty cool.”
“So you've been trained for combat with your abilities before?” Steve questioned. I nodded, grimacing. I'd hoped to avoid this conversation, but it seemed as though we were going to have it anyway.
“Yes. I was with the Kree for over a hundred years-” Sam spluttered out a surprised expletive, “- and when they realized that I had some amount of control over my molecular structure, the nature of the experiments changed. You've heard of the Colosseum in Rome yes? Well the Kree, as advanced as they were with their technology, could never seem to evolve past enjoying brutal violence and gore as part of their regular entertainment. So, I was transformed into one of their gladiators, as it were. They wished to study my survival behavior once I had changed to something beyond an average human, to see how it fared when compared to unchanged humans.”
The men were all watching me with expectant expressions. I smiled and I reached for another protein bar. Looked like story time to me.
***
I was still. My heart raced and I forced myself to control my breathing. A breeze blew across the testing arena, stirring up the dirt. I had my eyes closed and was trying to focus. I had to block out the external noise and concentrated on the feeling. I heard the noise of a crowd. Excited shrieks and murmured conversations humming steadily in a background of death screams, grunts of exertion, obscenities uttered in languages that I didn't understand and sometimes, prayers. There was the noise of weapons and armor clashing, and the sound of the monsters erupting from the dirt, roaring and claiming another victim.
I could feel it, a rumble in the earth. Seemingly subtle but quickly growing in force. I had to bend my knees and ride the movement of the soil to stay upright. I counted down in my head, at the conclusive moment I flung my long staff down along the earth, gripping it in my hands as a monstrous set of jaws burst forth from the soil beneath me, I quickly levered my feet to ride the length of the my weapon as I rose up on the face of the beast. As soon as I felt the pause that meant we'd reach our peak, I leaped from the animal's face, straightened my body and discarded the staff. plummeting directly down into the retreating maw, I shifted as I fell, changing myself to a metal that was impervious to the corrosive nature of the Worm's saliva. And then, very suddenly, I was hurtling through the creatures teeth.
My toes impaled the back of the throat, but the force of my fall kept me moving down, tearing a jagged gash in the Worm's esophagus. The mouth closed, leaving me in constricting darkness, and I felt the throat muscles contracting, working to dislodge me and swallow me down. However I remained firmly stuck, all its efforts served to do was to stop the blood from the wound build up around me. I could feel the Worm thrashing and knew that I had limited time before it sought refuge beneath the soil again, so I ignored the suffocating place that I had gotten myself into and turned my focus inward. Long spikes sprouted from my torso, jabbing all the way through the flesh.
The noise coming from the monster was indescribable. I had severed the vocal chords with my spikes, but it still tried to scream. Seeking to finish this murder quickly, I redirected my thoughts within. I began to lessen the distance between the spikes, they soon more resembles blades all perfectly lined up with one and other. Then that space was filled, completely severing the monsters head. And as I pushed it away, I took lusty breaths of the air and watched the Worm's head roll away in the dirt. My hard metallic skirt retracted back into my body and I jumped from the falling corpse, landing with a roll.
Cheers and screams filled the air, and though I knew that they were for me, I didn't revel in it. I was not fighting for adoration. I was fighting for survival. A short distance from me, I watched a small group of gladiators finishing off another Worm, using their varied skills and teamwork, they had the creature trapped on the surface and were cautiously darting in and jabbing or slicing at it. It was covered in lacerations and stab wounds and had all but ceased to struggle. Shortly, it would finish bleeding out and finally die.
I tried not to watch the dark woman dart in and poke it again, I tried not to notice her smile. I fought to ignore her enjoyment of the power she had over the stupid, helpless animal, but I failed. Instead of standing by and observing her cruelty, I strode over to them, snatched the spear from her hands and using all of my strength, I sank the tip of it through the Worm's body and into its heart, killing it instantly. I turned to glare at Shira, but her hands were over her mouth, and she stared at me, eyes filled with horror at what had been done. The blood lust had left her and now she stood, overwhelmed with guilt. I looked at her. Her perfect ebony skin was torn and bloodied, her dark hair was matted with blood and dirt and her lovely face was contorted into an expression of despair. My anger and disgust at her left me and I wrapped my arms around her. She broke and began to sob, her shoulders shaking. I stroked her filthy hair and rocked her body.
“Hush,” I whispered, her language sounding awkward on my lips, “Hush my loved one.”