A/N: Before you complain that I didn't start using either their names or numbers yet, I haven't had them introduce themselves to each other yet. I figured that since I threw them into a test battle right away it was only fitting they would have no idea who each other is yet.
Gilmore watched silently. The first seven were still unconscious. Up until now the cyborgs had been tested in a state where their entire will was suppressed so completely it was as if they had been robots. They knew nothing about their new bodies or B.G.
The scientist waited as the sedatives wore off of each one separatly. It seemed to take ages before they all opened their eyes to find themselves strapped into chairs facing a huge screen. He was eager to tell them what was going on but he couldn't get himself caught.
"Where am I?"
"Why am I tied to a chair?"
"Is this some kind of joke?"
"Who are all of you?"
"Where are we?"
"I can't remember what happened last."
"Did we do something wrong?"
Gilmore turned the screen on so they could see him seated at his desk in the observation tower. "Greetings to you." He said as calmly as he could. "Welcome to Alpha Base Arena 1. You'll soon realize that you've all gone through some drastic physical changes. It was B.G.'s plan to have nine cyborgs created. You seven are the first to be completed. The other two haven't made it out of recovery yet.
"You heard me right. You're cyborgs. Carefully engineered fusions of man and machine. Each of you has been given a unique set of super-human powers. I'm transmitting the data on that to you now."
All seven began to shriek or gasp as the info on what had been done to them was sent through a special radio link telling them every new detail. The message lasted only a few minutes.
Gilmore silently watched as they looked at each other than at themselves searching for outward signs of what had been done. "Auch!" The German cried his pale eyes wide as he stared at his right hand. What had once been calloused flesh was now jointed tubes of dark steel that clicked as he tested the movement of his new fingers.
"Calm down all of you. I'm sure you'll get used to it. Now listen closely. Today is your first test. You see we need to assess your capabilities before we begin training you properly."
"Train us for what?" The girl asked.
"For war fraulein." The German replied in a dark tone. "They mean to use us as weapons. Right?"
"You are sharp 004. Yes, you'll be the first in a new breed of soldier." the scientist felt sick to his stomach as he told them all this. He wanted to tell them he was going to disengage the forcefield and that if they worked together they might just escape alive.
"What if we don't want to?" The young American asked. "What if we say screw being your soldiers?"
"Then we'll be forced to suppress your wills, you'll be enslaved without even knowing it. Or they might see fit to terminate you." Gilmore warned in a hushed tone.
There was murmuring. The seven looked at each other trying to come to a decision. "If we comply?" The actor asked.
"You'll retane your conscious thought but you'll still be under surveilance and orders."
"I say we at least go willingly now. They obviously didn't give us a choice about becoming cyborgs, but they are offering us a choice now." The Chinese man thought aloud. Everyone nodded. At least they could be themselves.
Gilmore relaxed ever so slightly. He had hoped they would make a wise decision.
"You'll find your first challenge out the door to your left. Good luck." Gilmore said pushing a button on his control panel.
The fasteners on the chairs released and the seven cyborgs rose each one testing their legs cautiously. When they were ready they filed out of the room. The boy lagged till the end. He gave Gilmore on the other end of the screen a long thoughtfull look.
The screen went dead as the arena cameras began to input the progress of the seven up the trail to the break in the forest trees.
What was waiting for them made them pause. Gilmore watched hoping beyond hope they could survive and wondering if they would even accept his help after all of this.
A batalion of robots awaited them. Each of them was the size of a man with a very basic human outline. They had singular scanner beams for eyes and claw hands. The robots started moving as soon as they saw the cyborgs.
The German reacted first grabbing the gun on his hip and firing it. He made no mistake in his aim, but then they had put a targeting array in his right eye. The others followed suit grabbing their guns and slowly beginning to aim and fire. Some were poor shots and others had decent aim.
The Native American chose to wrestle with the robots rather than use his gun. The woman stood watching in horror. She could hear and see what was waiting for them deeper in the forest and she didn't like it. The sudden input of distant enemies was far worse than the ensuing battle around her.
The American was the first to activate his cybernetic abilities. Without warning he jumped to avoid an attack and hovered inches above the robot. He fired his gun into it's 'head' and fell back to the ground with a graceless thump.
The robots were vanquished with minimal trouble.
"Good job now follow the path to your next foe." Gilmore said into a speaker that carried his voice to the group.
They obeyed if only for fear of what would happen. They didn't speak to each other, now was not the time for introductions they could do that when they were finished with this arena.
"STOP!" The Fench woman screamed at the young American and the German who were at the front. A sudden explosion scattered them. All of them looked to where the blast had come from to see three tanks firing on them. The woman screamed. "They want to kill us!"
Another explosion shattered their thoughts and it was the young Russian boy who got them working together. 'Everyone listen to me. Those tanks are armored and our guns are useless against them. We've all got to use our new powers to defeat them.'
Everyone stared at the kid who was calmly staring at the tanks intently.
'Miss can you please take a look at the tanks and tell us if they have a weakness?'
She looked at him astounded. Then slowly turned to the tanks. She shuddered as she saw through the armor and the Brit put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Tell us what you see." He encouraged.
"They are automated with plating but if you hit the turret joints you can disable the guns." She said in a shaky whisper.
The German nodded his thanks to her. Another explosion sent the Native American and the Chinese man into the air and down the path. The American took to the sky again this time a little more in control of himself. "I'll draw their fire you guys get rid of them."
He darted right across the tanks and the turrets followed him. The others all pulled their guns and fired at the joints of the turrets as they followed the flying cyborg.
As the girl had said the turrets exploded, unable to fire on them the tanks started moving forward.
'They intend to crush us.' The boy announced.
"Fallback!" The German yelled.
"Now what?" The actor asked as he fired at the tanks.
"Find a place to hide until we can figure it out." The American said landing near them. The other two rejoined them and the seven raced along the path. So far nothing but trees and brush greeted their desperate eyes. After a few minutes of running they paused to catch their breaths and to see how much space they had between the enemy.
They couldn't see the tanks but they could hear them in the distance crushing trees.
"Nothing?" The cook asked desperately.
"Maybe I can test my strength?" The big American said flexing his arm muscles.
"It's worth a go." The Brit said hopefully.
The Native American waited till the tanks were in sight then rushed the closest one. Without stopping he rammed it and actually forced it to stop. He rammed both fists against the side and it indented enough to damage something beacuse it spat a shower of sparks and stilled.
The others cheered. "One down, two to go!" The American said.
With renewed hope they all took stances. The girl directed their actions to the best locations as the others barraged the tanks as best as they could. The Chinese man tested his ability to breath fire melting a hole in one. He shot the controls and ended its attack.
With one to go the group was feeling hopeful. The third one went down shortly and the group continued their hike through the arena searching for the next trial or maybe the end of this infernal test.
At this point they began to notice minor injuries incured from both the battle and the run through the forest. After nearly an hour of aimless walking they paused. Seated they all looked at each other searching for the words to introduce themselves.
"Attention cyborgs," Gilmore's voice over the installed speakers startled them all. "You've still got one adversary left before you are done. Please keep heading East."
"Why don't you come out here and face this stuff after surgery!" The American yelled back. He was sitting on the ground and his legs were beginning to feel like they were made of cement.
"At least give us some water!" The woman begged.
No response. The German growled as he stood up. He held his right arm against his chest. After a reflex use of his right hand machine gun on the tanks he had felt a sharp sudden pain in it. "We'd better move quickly and get it over with."
The others groaned as they started to stand. The American remained on the ground. The big Native looked at him with gentle eyes. "Need a hand?" He asked in his husky voice.
The younger man tried to ignore the offered hand but after a moment he realized it was better than being left alone. He took it and the bigger man pulled him to his feet. There were a few wobbly steps before they were back on the move.
Gilmore sat at his station almost gnawing on his fingernails. He wanted to tell them that they were about to face off a more treacherous foe than the robots and tanks. But if he was to save them all he had to remain quiet until there was an opening.
The group reached the final enemy and they all paled. It wasn't what they had expected at all. They looked like humans. People in a town. But the woman looked at them and saw them for what they really were.
"They're robots." She said. "They only look human."
The others nodded and as they walkd towards the sea of human-like robots they were suddenly attacked. This time innocent looking men and women grabbed at them. One face reminded the boy of his mother because he ran towards it at first.
"Mom?" The boy was distracted by the familiar countenance and when the robot pulled a gun on the boy he faltered. There was fear in his eyes. He struggled to pull the gun at his hip on it.
The German stepped in lefthandedly shooting the face off the robot revealing the machinery inside of it. The boy looked at the man and nodded a shaky thanks.
"Don't mention it." He said forcing a smile through his pain. He suddenly frowned deeply then tensed. "It can't be."
The boy followed his gaze to a beautiful young woman with short red hair. It walked straight for the German a gleaming knife in it's slender fingers. "It's a robot." The boy told him.
"I know but," He murmured back.
The robot reached him and then as he struggled to pull the trigger it attempted to stab him in the face. A blast fired and the knife spun away from the damaged hand. The German shot the robot through the chest and when it fell a sparking pile of junk he turned to the kid. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." The boy smiled and they continued to mow through the hundreds of robots.
The woman was quivering as an army of children grew nearer. She could see what they really were, but they looked like sweet children. They grasped her red uniform with iron grips trying to pull her to the ground. She ran away unable to fire on them until the American swooped out of the sky and picked her up.
"Fire on the robots from up here. You can't see the phony faces up close like this." He suggested.
Together they fired on the robots and it was his gun that brought down the false children.
Everywhere they looked robots that looked like people, some familiar, others complete strangers, but they all looked so human and innocent. A cry came up from the Chinese man and the Brit came to his aid shooting them in quick succession. When a path was cleared the actor looked at the cook.
"You able to walk?"
"No, it's my leg that was injured."
"Then I'll just have to be an extra leg." He chuckled and helped the other man up. Together they waded through the sea of destroyed robots to a rock where the Chinese man was propped up to rest.
After what seemed like forever the robots finally came to an end. The American landed, "That's the last of them."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Most everybody had some physical injuries and no one had escaped the mental fatigue of what had happened to them from the moment they woke up to now.
"Good job all of you." Gilmore's voice congratulated them. "Here's your exit." A hole opened in the ground allowing them access to a lighted stairway. They all got back on their feet or helped those who needed help and made there way into the stairs.
Gilmore watched relieved that all had survived. Now he had to report what he thought about their combat. And what they needed to train them on.
