Ultraviolet: Codename S.P.E.C.I.A.L

Author's notes: Readership has gone down again. Ah, well… Can't force it anymore, so here's the next chapter.

Chapter 25

Potential

Supers have to have their Super-suit.

The young supers couldn't call themselves Specialists without their own identity, both as a team and as individuals. For many weeks the issue was raised, then dropped after a hasty apology. Nobody dared to question Father's intentions after a while; he had his own direction, and if he didn't want to share it with them, they wouldn't find out.

Now he wanted them to.

The Specialist gathered in the meeting room once again, on Father's request. Each of them passed a barely noticeable glance around the room, as though asking the others why they were here.

Someone cleared his throat behind the siblings, and they jerked upright. Father walked to the front, giving a dismissive wave as they greeted him. "It's been some time since you all have been here; you may call yourselves Specialists, but not until you have your Super-suit."

There was a flurry of movement as everyone tried to catch each other's eyes. This was the moment they had been waiting for; it is the one thing that distinguishes them from humans.

The first suit was mainly black, with yellow gloves and boots. It looked like those from the average hero or villain's suit. A description flashed underneath it.

Basic combat suit – For all purposes. Made from a tough, resistant material and able to defend against most forms of attacks, from Supers or otherwise. Able to resist a bullet from fifty metres out, equipped with a utility belt for storage of equipment.

The next one was jet black all over. The material was flexible, and instead of boots, the suit merely ended in pads. The gloves were made of a similar material, and covered up to the wrist.

Sneak suit – Stealth missions only. Light suit meant to blend into the night. Not suitable for combat; offers minimal protection. Travelling noise reduced to ten decibels.

The next one looked more like a motor-cross biker's armour. There were thin metallic materials lining around vital areas around the heart, neck and limbs. It looked like it can be attached to the basic combat suit.

Full combat suit – Gunfights, harsh or extreme combat situations. Metallic lining stops bullets up to point blank range. Metallic lining does not hinder movement; however it adds weight to the suit. Can be attached or removed from the basic combat suit. Lined with fluids that help to spread heat around the body in winter.

Diving suit – Underwater movement. Mouthpiece attached to filter oxygen dissolved in water.

Their next task was to think of a name for themselves, one that represented their powers. It didn't take them long to come up with it.

Lance – Heatseeker

Serena – Terabyte

Ken – Chronomorphosis

Anna – Phobia

The training room had a strangely therapeutic effect on Serena; she visited it whenever she was down. The fighting calms her, bringing her adrenaline levels under control. Once again, she found herself in the largely empty room, but this time for no apparent reason. There was just this compelling urge to go there, as though something was going to happen.

She had given herself an excuse: to test her new suit. The soft material was practically part of her body, with the exception of the gloves jutting out near the elbows. She had to get used to this as soon as possible.

Serena punched a couple of buttons on the control panel offhandedly, and her records appeared on the screen. Eight hundred and fifty-two opponents. That was her best performance in one go. Sure, it had taken four hours to achieve that feat, not counting the millions spent training up for it, but it just wasn't good enough.

Four hours of hard fighting… Maybe she'll break that record today.

Her wristwatch started beeping. Serena frowned, glancing down at it. There wasn't anything scheduled for her this afternoon… Surely there weren't any important messages?

"Terabyte: Promotional Examination. Defeat one thousand opponents in the training room. Restrictions: none." Serena read out the instructions briefly. She paused, re-reading the instructions again, before she started feeling flustered. Lance had told her that this would mean she would be an official Specialist and like he said, the examination would come in the form of a surprise.

No one had managed to beat a thousand opponents in the training room… Lance came close, with about two hundred shy… but there was a long way to go for her.

"Examination starts in five seconds."

No time to think, Serena, just fight.

"The examination has begun."

A trapdoor opened overhead, and from it dropped five robot soldiers. Not much of a challenge, Serena thought, as she slammed the nearest robot into the wall. At least, not yet. The successive battles would leave her weary, with its constantly increasing difficulty.

Leaving the fallen robots in a heap, she moved towards the centre of the room. One of her first lessons in the training room was not to get hemmed into a corner. She still had a bruise to show for it.

The trapdoor overhead popped open, leaving Serena no time to think about battle scars. There were ten this time. She scanned the area, waiting for a single movement…

The first robot fell back, after Serena drove her fist into its face. Withdrawing her hand at once, she ducked the next attack and delivered an uppercut to its jaw, rendering it out of commission. The next few she dispatched with a repetitive combination of punches and slams.

With the few seconds' respite, she checked her breathing and heart rate. Breathing was normal, but heart rate was approaching a hundred and ten. "You'll live through it," she told herself, even as twenty soldiers landed around her.

There was a moment's pause, during which Serena noticed her opponents reaching for their weapons attached to their belts; all robots had a standard six-inch dagger and nine-millimetre calibre handgun. They were getting serious, and maybe Serena ought to be too.

There were weapon racks all around her, the nearest one less than ten metres away. The problem was the ten or so robots in her way. Not really a problem to me, she thought.

There was a gentle breeze on her face as she dodged a dagger. Swinging her arm upwards, she flipped her attacker over and wrestled the dagger from its hand. There was movement behind her; without hesitation she rolled aside as yet another robot dived straight at her, plunging its dagger straight into its comrade's chest.

The robots towered over her, which was not a good sign. Desperate, Serena raised her legs and spun them like helicopter blades, driving back her opponents while allowing her to get back on her feet. Pushing back two robots in her way, she stabbed a third with her dagger in its chest, taking care not to trip over the pile of metal at her feet. She had reached her goal; she pushed away the robot along with the dagger, reaching out for a staff.

The staff was about two metres in length, extending her reach by more than half that length. It was her favourite weapon, especially in training where advantage was crucial. Her fingers curled up against the rough wood, gripping it about one shoulder's width apart. She found herself grinning, despite the situation. She was ready…

The staff swung towards the nearest robot, hitting it in its neck. Almost instantly, the weapon was drawn back and driven into the nose of another robot behind her. Serena brought it down with a simple flick of her wrist, pounding the staff's base into its chest twice.

With every move she made, she recalled the various times she had used them. She found herself using most of her techniques, from the eastern styles and their western variants. Even as more robots dropped down, she still felt relaxed. She was in control.

The floor was littered with broken bodies, reducing the areas where she could step on safely. She passed the halfway mark of five hundred opponents with a time of ninety minutes. It was quite a record for her, and she was amazed that her body was coping well with the test.

Each new group brought with them a new challenge. They were now armed with various weapons, ranging from baseball bats to assault rifles. The robots with firearms were already a great challenge, but with a whole bunch of armed goons… that was a whole different story. Dodging the bullets put a strain on her endurance, but she struggled on, taking them down one at a time.

Soon she found a consistent rhythm, a standard set of manoeuvres that she repeated once she was finished with a set of opponents. Looks like this wasn't so tough after all…

She paused from her routine to glance at her current score. She had surpassed her previous record; she was now less than five hundred robots to the completion of her examination. A warm sensation washed over her, and she knew that it was the feeling of achievement. She could hardly believe it… just a few more to go.

Metallic hands grabbed at her weapon, shaking her out of her moment of distraction. A crack followed, as a few hundred pounds of metal landed on the centre of her weapon, snapping the wooden staff into two. Serena raised the wooden shards in time to block her assailant's attack, but fell victim to a sneak attack from behind. Sprawled on the floor, she gazed at the three pairs of legs around her.

She can't give up now…

Two hands reached under her armpits, dragging her up to her feet. As though taunting her, the third robot reached for a staff, poised for the fatal strike…

The weapon actually came up to within an inch of her face before she stopped it with her right forearm. Ignoring the sharp pain, she thrust her left leg into the armed robot's chest. Falling back on basics, she felled her captors with two successive throws. Bloodthirsty instincts seemed to consume her as she charged down the last standing robot, severed its arms from their sockets. Tossing the appendages aside, she ripped its head off with a vicious tug and finished by grabbing its dagger and plunging it into its stomach.

She straightened to her full height, amid a shower of sparks from the damaged robot. Her adrenaline levels were over the limit; there was nothing in her sight except her opponents. Like a storm she tore through the next group, as the metallic carcasses accumulated on the floor.

Nothing could restrain her; she felt like she could just spend the rest of her day here. Her limbs were numb to any form of action; it didn't feel like she was controlling her body, but she was merely watching the action far off. The minute of action took away the last vestiges of energy. She told herself to last through one more… one more before she gave up…

Her muscles seized up, her brain shut down and she slumped to the ground. Before her sight faded, she managed a glance at her score. Nine hundred… and ninety… five…

How much was that? She asked herself. Numbers swirled around in her mind. Something told her that she was close to her goal, but her body just couldn't respond to her commands. She felt her body leave the ground; something was holding her up.

Serena's senses cleared, just enough for her to be considered conscious. Two robots were dragging her. Out of the room. Five more to go. It seemed insignificant compared to her feat in the past few hours, but to her body now, it was the difference between her last gasp of breath.

In front of her eyes she could see… the exit.

A Specialist would not tolerate failure.

She pulled her hands back, leaping up to her feet the moment she hit the ground. The five opponents converged around her. That would be sufficient for now.

She blocked a punch; the next few attacks had the predictability of a mathematical pattern, and posed no threat to her. Without hesitation, she lashed out at the nearest opponent's stomach, smashing its head against her knee. A boot to its chest sent it to the floor.

Feeling movement on either of her sides, she leapt upwards to avoid two of her opponents charging at her. Crashing headfirst, the two ceased movements after a moment. Serena turned to face the last two, smirk plastered on her face. Enjoy this while it lasts, she told herself.

One of the robots stepped forward against her. She just had to hold on for a while more now… Grabbing it by its head, she broke the circuitry in its neck and disarmed its dagger in one swift motion. The last opponent was armed with a similar dagger. At least it would be a fair fight.

End it quick, she told herself.

Raising her left forearm in anticipation, her glove came into contact with the opponent's dagger as she thrust hers forward… straight where a human heart would be.

"It's over then," she told herself, before she fell to the ground.

End notes: Wow… that took some time. Again, many awkward references to robots… I gotta stop doing it sometime…

Anyway, it gets more exciting (I hope) as I move on to another part of the Specialists' lives. Read on to find out… and don't forget to leave a review.