Finally, the story where my OC appears!
Yes, this is an ATLA story, though it's set in a futuristic version of our world.
I chose to give the story a T rating. It might have to be rated M, but I'm not sure if I need to, depending on how detailed the violence is. There's no swearing or sexually explicit content.
A young soldier walked into a laboratory. In his hand he had his ID. He sat on the side and waited for the procedure that would change his life. He wasn't sure if he was excited or nervous; he barely felt either of those emotions when he went on numerous missions. Once he was seated at the waiting area, he removed his combat fatigues and he was now barefoot, wearing a green tank top and matching shorts.
The room was a bit spacious, with a bed in the middle surrounded by a metal capsule. There were a lot of chemicals on the nearby countertop. Some were red and others were blue. On the capsule there were a lot of wires and mechanical limbs.
"Private First-Class Gabriel Hoodman," a doctor walked into the room. "It's time for you to receive the serum."
"Okay," said Gabriel.
Gabriel lay down in the bed. The doctor inserted needles into veins in both of his arms. After that, the doctor restrained his limbs and chest. Gabriel wasn't too comfortable with a needle inside him for a long period of time, but he just relaxed. He had given blood before, and he should be used to pain. Gabriel took some deep breaths as the walls of the capsule locked him into the capsule.
"Stay calm, Private," said the doctor. "I will administer the serum into your bloodstream, which will strengthen your cells and improve your strength, your senses, and your reflexes. You are about to become a super soldier."
It was the year 2155. In a world going through an energy crisis and war, super soldiers were being developed to hopefully bring the war to a quicker end, though it was possible that one side was going to be destroyed by the other.
Gabriel took a deep breath. He was locked in place and the only way out was through the procedure.
Moments later, the serum was flowing through his veins, though he only felt a little bit of his blood flow get interrupted. He lay comfortably in the bed, not even feeling the prick of the needles. He was expecting to get some side effects or to be sore, but so far, he felt the same. He felt his muscles tense up as the serum flowed into his body.
A few minutes later, the sounds of a lock opening and the doors of the capsule opening told Gabriel that the procedure was over. The doctor removed his restraints and the needles.
"Sit up slowly, Hoodman," said the doctor. "For the first few hours it might feel weird. I suggest you refrain from any strenuous physical activity for the rest of today. The serum will take effect within a day. Tomorrow, you can safely exercise and go beyond what you can normally do."
Gabriel sat up and stayed there for a short period of time. He felt more energetic, and his muscles were tenser, like he grew them overnight. He looked at himself and noticed that he wasn't much bigger, but his muscles were more toned, like he had just completed a year's worth of hard workouts in a matter of minutes. He also didn't grow at all in height. He was a man that was a bit tall and muscular. The serum didn't change his height, though, and changes to his physical appearance were negligible. He had tan skin, brown eyes and black hair that was in a buzz cut.
"Oh, it doesn't make you much bigger and you wouldn't look like most bodybuilders," said the doctor. "You could be smaller and skinnier, but you'll still be much stronger than the average human. Anyways, welcome to the Myrmidon Corps."
"What should I do now?" asked Gabriel.
"Well, it's almost time for dinner, then I will take you to meet the other recruits before you will begin your training," said the doctor.
Gabriel sat in deep thought. He had just taken the super soldier serum and now he had joined the Myrmidons. He was in the special forces and would be out fighting behind enemy lines all over the world or be sent to space. He couldn't wait to see what his new powers could do. He and other recruits would be given the chance to try out their powers in a fitness center. There were also specialized weapons that he heard of, but details were kept hidden from the outside world. You had to be a soldier beforehand and pass multiple physical and mental screenings to qualify for the serum.
Gabriel ate some dinner. It was a nice meal of his choosing, which was only available to soldiers on holidays or special occasions like graduating from a training program. He chose to eat some chicken that was a bit spicy with some rice.
Later in the evening, Gabriel followed the doctor to a group of recruits. He had picked up his new uniform.
There were men and women of different heights and builds. They all wore their combat fatigues, which were camouflage, but they wore black berets. There was a gold insignia that looked like a rounded shield with a spear and sword in the shape of an X. On the top, there was a green number 12. The insignia was on a grey backdrop.
It was the next day and Gabriel didn't have a hard time getting up. He had slept well that night, even though he couldn't wait to try out his powers at the gym. He hadn't experienced any side effects, though he felt a little uncomfortable in his body. It was as if his muscles felt heavier. He knew that the serum would make muscles and bones denser.
Gabriel had a quick breakfast. After that, he waited a little to digest his food. It was rare for soldiers to get breaks, and this was one of the times he had free days. Sometimes he got vacations, but most of the time he was at the base. While he wasn't deployed, he would be constantly doing drills with his squad. He had two whole days of free time to ease into Myrmidon training. Also, it was a Saturday, and training programs always started on a Monday, which was the start of the workweek for most people.
He walked into the gym, where there was a section for the Myrmidons, while normal soldiers and staff exercised in another section.
There were a lot of weights, and when Gabriel picked up a plate, the weights felt light as if they were made of plastic. He started with 350 pounds, which was his maximum weight for deadlifting. He found that he could effortlessly lift it, so he experimented and decided to stop at 800 pounds. At that point, it started to weigh a bit heavy. The plates at the gym were special, being made of denser material so that they were heavier but didn't take up a lot of space.
He did other experiments like running in the indoor track, where he ran so fast, he felt a breeze rush through him. He also saw other Myrmidon recruits who were eagerly trying to see the heaviest weight they could lift. Gabriel also tried different exercises and did them effortlessly.
When he went to the shooting range, he noticed that his aiming skills were better. He could also switch between targets faster. He concluded that he had sharper reflexes and better aim. In the blink of an eye, he could hit his target and duck for cover.
Gabriel was gearing up with his fellow Myrmidons. He had been split into a smaller group of eight, which was the size of the squad minus their commander, which would be a staff sergeant. Their instructor had ordered them to put on armor and equip rifles.
"It's the end of your first month of training," said the instructor. "I expect a clean fight when you go through this level. In some fights, you'll be completely alone, and you often won't have technology to back you up, so get used to it. Eliminate the targets that you come across and press the button in the cave at the end of the map.
"This is a stealth mission, so I expect you to use as little ammo as possible. Your goal is to sneak through the field, just like you would sneak through enemy territory. Complete the course without getting detected or firing any bullets."
The group of recruits walked out of the building and into the cold, snowy forest. Gabriel could only see white around him. Everything he wore was white. He had a few throwing knives, a rifle, and a pistol. He also had a communicator in his helmet. He had no targeting systems or any kind of advanced detection systems. He had to rely on his natural senses. Scouting would be more difficult.
He had been on a lot of training simulations when he trained as a regular soldier. Special forces, however, were expected to be deadlier and sometimes quieter. They were trained to be stealthy and complete their mission despite being surrounded by enemies. Sometimes, if they weren't being covert, they were expected to punch through enemy defenses while accompanying regular soldiers. Some of the training exercises that he had undergone were much more physically demanding than what a normal human could handle.
The enemies were all robots that could be eliminated with minimal effort by attacking at precise locations. They could be easily rebuilt. If they spotted the recruits, they would shoot a paintball dart at them.
Gabriel moved through the snow as quietly as he could. His rifle was up and sometimes he looked through the sight, and other times, he looked around him. He also stayed low to be less visible. His objective was to just keep moving forward and kill any robot he came across. The training grounds were surrounded by an electric fence so it made the area smaller, and the recruits couldn't get lost.
His weapon of choice was the knife. It was versatile, small, and good for throwing. With his improved strength, he could throw the knife harder and farther, and could do more damage to the opponent, leading to a quicker and quieter kill. This was no ordinary knife, however. Its blade was electrified and could stun its victim before killing them, which was why it could kill more quickly. It was essentially a throwable taser, with electricity always coursing through the blade. Some of his comrades chose other weapons like an electrified stick, while others had other bladed weapons. Even if they weighed more than the average weapon, the Myrmidons could wield them effortlessly.
It was a stealth mission, so the gun was a secondary weapon. They learned to save every bullet.
Gabriel spotted a robot patrolling the forest. One of his comrades was in that area of the forest as well.
The robot wore a soldier's combat gear. It had a helmet, vest, elbow, and knee pads as well as combat boots. The robot was somewhat skeletal, as its neck was made of steel beams. Its head had blue eyes and some holes where the nose and mouth would be.
Grabbing a knife by its handle, Gabriel aimed for the robot's neck. Once the knife was lodged in, it would shock its victim so that they couldn't scream. He stood behind a tree with his rifle in his right hand.
Gabriel made a throw. The knife spun quickly in the air and lodged itself in the robot's neck. Once the blade made contact, it destroyed the robot with an electric shock.
Gabriel checked for any enemies before going back to pick up his knife. It was common practice to loot dead soldiers after securing an area. He and the rest of his squad had to keep moving forward so that they could reach the end of the level. The goal was to slip through enemy defenses and only directly engage as a last resort. Some missions required stealth while others required strength. Gabriel walked a few more meters. It felt like hours would pass but he would only make it a hundred meters at a time. The forest and snow cover makes it seem like a huge distance. It also seems like a long distance because he is trying to sneak past the enemy. So far, so good. He didn't need to fire a single bullet so far. However, he couldn't be too relaxed. He could be spotted when he least expected it.
After passing through a grove of trees, the area was a bit clearer, with some rocks and bushes. Gabriel went prone and lay on his stomach, watching as one of his teammates took down a robot by sneaking up behind it and stabbing it from behind with a short sword. The robot fell with a stab to the heart. With the extra strength, a Myrmidon could puncture a soldier's armor more easily than the average human. Although the robot was made of metal, there were weak points that the blades could pierce.
Gabriel crawled while his teammate jogged into an area full of tall rocks. There was a hill full of bushes. He wanted to get there so he could have a good view of the surrounding area and probably see some enemies.
Gabriel walked slowly, meeting up with two of his teammates at the top of the hill. They only had their own eyes and the sights on their rifles for this training exercise, so they didn't have good visual on the enemy. They hid in some of the bushes that were covered by snow.
The Myrmidons aimed their rifles to look for any robots so that they could avoid them. They also saw the small mountain ahead of them, where they assumed the cave was. There was another patch of forest that stood between them and the end goal. After a few minutes, they slowly jogged down the hill and went their separate ways upon reaching the bottom. Gabriel strapped the rifle to his back. He grabbed one of his knives and snuck up behind a robot. When he was close enough, he stood up, placed a hand over the robot's mouth and stuck the knife into its head, deactivating it, but not destroying it. Gabriel pressed on and took cover behind a tree, then crawled a few meters away from the body. He had to keep moving forward, no matter how slow he was, whether by walking or crawling.
It didn't take long until Gabriel reached the entrance of the cave and pressed the button, notifying his instructor that he had finished. A few other Myrmidons also stood there. Shortly after, two other Myrmidons walked in, then the last three ran through.
The instructor came in. He was tall and had skin that was a bit light. He also had black stubble.
"You've all done very well," said the instructor. "I see no one got painted, which was the goal, and you've all passed. Let's go back in and check to see how many bullets you used."
They had removed the magazines on their guns for inspection. They were each given 90 bullets in two assault rifle magazines. The instructor checked to see if the magazines were still full.
Gabriel didn't fire any bullets. Others didn't either. Some of the Myrmidons used a lot of bullets, which would draw attention to them, but that would also allow them to kill more robots.
"Those who fired shots gotta do better," said the instructor. "I don't care if you panicked or were desperate. There's no room for panic in a stealth mission! You must take control of your trigger finger!"
It was then time for dinner. All the recruits passed the level in 3 hours, as no one had been detected by the robots, even those who chose to shoot their targets from a long distance, which was an hour earlier than the allotted time. One month down, five to go, then the Myrmidons were going to be sent on a mission. Gabriel felt good about himself, and he stepped into the shower after a long day outside. He had passed the test of the month, and after that he would be subject to other tests like zero-gravity ones or underwater ones. It was going to be hard, and Gabriel was a bit nervous, but he felt a lot of excitement as well.