Chapter 2- Clearing Targets
"Ok, on to the next room I guess." James said aloud to himself as he wandered down the hall. It didn't take long before he reached a door that read, "Interview Room." "This is it then." James thought to himself as he knocked twice on the door. "Come on in!" A somewhat gruff voice called from the other side. He did as he was bade to and entered another simple room. By most accounts, the room looked almost like a police interrogation room. The walls and floor were black, but the room was decently lit. There was nothing in the room save for a medium-sized table and three matching chairs in the center, and of course, the people seated at the table. On the side farthest from where James stood, there were two chair occupied by the personal that would be conducting the interview.
The man on the left was an older gentleman, perhaps middle-aged, and he wore a black suit bearing the Grayco company logo on it, a gray sphere with lines cris-crossing across it. His short gray hair and hardy demeanor implied he might have served time in the military. The man on the right was much younger, perhaps late 20s, and wore an all-black kind of jumpsuit. He had short-to-medium brown hair, however his most notable feature was the dark red sunglasses he wore. Although he wore no Grayco logo, he did wear a nametag badge on his chest that had it, along with the name "Scott Summers."
"Welcome, kid. My name is Richard Smith, and my accomplice here is Scott Summers. But you can just call us Mr. Smith and Mr. Summers. Please, have a seat." The gruff-looking man said in a name befitting his appearance as he motioned to James to sit down at only empty chair at the table, across from where they were. "Thanks, uh, how's it going?" James asked timidly as he took his place at the table. "We're good, thank you. Now I understand you want to join our little team of heroes, hunh? Do you have any idea what that entails?" Mr. Smith asked in his rough and tough voice as he flipped through some papers in front of him. "Well to be honest, no, not really. But just the name hero sounds awesome to me." James replied with a bit of a smile.
"So you want to be a hero then?" Summers asked with a hint of a smile of his own. "Yes, sir, it's been a bit of a dream of mine for a while now." James stated again. "But do you have any idea what it means to be a hero? I mean, it sounds great, kid, it really does, but what does it mean? What do you have to do?" Smith asked incredulously. "Well, admittedly, no I'm not sure what it entails, not really. But I've trained for this, both my body and my spirit. I want to help people, I want to live for something greater, something to better someone else's life. I want to change the world, for the better." James replied with conviction. "That's great kid, but it's a fool's dream, always has been. Everyone wants to change the world, but how many do? As a team maybe, but just you, not a chance! Look, we've been interviewing people all day, you're the last I believe, we should just let this kid go." Smith sighed to himself and then turned to Summers. "No, let's finish up just like with all the others. It's only fair." Summers replied.
"I suppose you're right. Well listen then: Grayco's Hero Initiative isn't a joke, kid. It's about finding the best of the best to do exactly what we need to, like you said I guess, change the world together as a team. So you have to shine better than all the other candidates who've walked through here. Can you do that, kid?" Smith asked as he looked square at James. "Of course I can, I won't let you down. Just give me the chance to." James replied adamantly. "You seem honest in that, and I like that, but all I see is a naïve kid a little over his head. Could you make the tough calls? Follow orders to the tee? Leave behind friends for the sake of a mission? Turn your own back on love…" Smith went on, but James cut him off. "Now with all due respect sir, I don't believe that's what being a hero is all about. It's about sticking up for your friends and what you believe in. And love… that's all that matters and if it drives you, I don't think failure is an option." James cut in. "I like this guy more and more. You have heart, James, don't lose that. Smith, I say we give him a chance." Summers stated with an obvious smile. "Are you serious? Well it can't hurt I suppose. I only hope my superiors share the same enthusiasm. Kid, you've made it through here. Let's walk on over to the physical testing gym from here." Smith sighed as he got up from the table. The others followed suit and the three began to leave the room.
"Thanks, Mr. Summers, I won't let you all down." James whispered to him as they walked out the door. "I know. Just keep it together. And call me Scott." Scott whispered back. "Thanks, and cool shades." James remarked with a smile as they walked down the hallway to a large door at the very end. Scott simply smiled back as they stopped at the doorway. "Now if you two are done making small talk, it's time for the true test to begin." Smith stated with a smirk as he slid a card into a slot next to the door, clearing security. With a beep, the door opened, revealing a very large, open room. "Whoa…" James thought to himself as he looked around. There was next to nothing in the room, save for a few doors on the walls. It reminded him of a giant gymnasium, only without the basketball hoops. Actually, the emptiness in the room was a little unsettling.
"This is the physical test of abilities room. It may not look like much now, but just wait until your combat assessment begins." Smith chuckled a little. "Do you see those windows up there? We'll be watching when your assessment begins. There are some other officials too, but don't worry, there's not much pressure." Scott added as he pointed out the large panel of windows on a part of the wall in the upper areas of the room. "Ok, doesn't sound too bad. Will Amy be up there too?" James asked. "Um, probably, I'm not too sure." Scott answered with uncertainty. "Alright, that's quite enough chit-chat, let's begin. James, like Summers said, we'll be up in the luxury booth recording your assessment. You might want to take a moment to prepare yourself for this. You you're your combat equipment right? Good, just hang tight a moment, and good luck, kid." Smith told him as he and Scott exited the room through a door to the right.
"Alright, well I guess this is it then. Here's my chance to prove myself. I just hope I don't screw it up." James thought to himself as he took a deep breath and dropped his backpack onto the ground at his feet. He closed his eyes and took a moment to ready himself, although the moment must have taken longer than expected as he was alerted by a voice on a loudspeaker. "Hey kid, you asleep? You ready for your evaluation?" Smith's voice blared throughout the room. James nodded yes and bent down to open up his backpack. "Alright then, your funeral. What kind of weapons you got for us?" Smith asked with just a hint of sarcasm. "Tactical tonfas, sir. I've trained to use them to their fullest." James answered as he pulled out two identical small metal poles from his pack. They both had handles on them, which James grabbed onto to wield them.
"That's it? Alright, like I said, you're funeral kid. Preparing level 1 targets!" Smith called out as the floor began to vibrate. At once, the floor moved and holes emerged from which rose up red and white targets on metal poles. There were a good number of them, maybe 25 or 30 scattered throughout the large gymnasium. "You probably figured this out already kid, but the goal of the first part of this test is to break all of those targets you see there. We're going to time you, starting at the count of three. You ready? One… two… three!" Smith's voice echoed throughout the room. "Here we go then!" James exclaimed aloud as he dashed towards the target closest to him. He spun around as he drew close to it and slammed it hard with his pole-like tonfas, shattering the cheap board of wood. He then did a flip, landing him near a target to his left, and struck that one as well. "Well, this may be harder than I thought." James sighed to himself as he continued to break the targets with style.
Meanwhile…
"The kid's not bad I suppose. He's making good time." Smith said to his colleagues in the booth where he watched James destroy target after target. The interior of the booth was lined with fancy-looking computers and had some more near the center. Presumably, these were to control the facilities of the training room below. There were also a few other chairs, although everyone stood watching at this moment. Other than Smith and Scott who stood next to him, there was one other gentleman of note, other than the various technicians who ran the computers and training system. One wore an official looking suit and tie and had features similar to Smith, although he bore no relation. He had slick grayish-white hair and his name was Senator Graham of the United States of America. He was there to observe the auditions with the thought that the government might need to have a hand in this gathering, for so-called safety's sake.
"Yes, I would agree with you, but we'll see." Senator Graham added in a slightly mean tone. Not that he wasn't always in some kind of bad mood, but it was apparent he didn't really want to be there anyways. "He is human right? That's great, it's about time we find someone that sets a good example for our kind." Graham remarked snidely, showing off his prejudice against mutants. Scott opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the doors to the room slid open and in walked the president of the Grayco Corporation, Mister Blake Gray himself. "Now, now, there's no need for any prejudices here." Blake remarked coldly to the politician. Blake was a slightly tall man, but what was most intimidating about him was his overall demeanor. He had the air of someone of great power and influence, which of course he did, and he almost seemed cold and distant, yet with a slight touch of warmness to him. He had slick black hair and wore a completely dark gray suit, with a matching white shirt and black tie, which bore the company logo.
"I invited you here Senator because I thought you'd be interested in this gathering of power. I consider that a privilege on your part, and if you keep up that attitude, I may have to take that away from you. Are we on the same page now?" Blake continued with a smile. "Yes, Mr. Gray." Graham sighed with resentment. "Excellent. Now, how is our final audition of the day going?" Blake asked the other gentlemen as he stared out the window, watching James smash targets. "Not bad, sir. The kid's doing pretty well. I don't see too much in him, but I think Scott feels otherwise." Smith told him. "Do you?" Blake asked, turning his attention to Scott. "With all due respect, I think Smith underestimates James's heart. He may not have any mutant powers or any other super abilities, but he's got what it takes to be a hero, or at least serve on your team." Scott replied. "Our team, it's a team for all, not just me. I'll clear up all confusion at the reception when everyone gathers, rest assured. At any rate, you may be right. I sense something in him, but keep seeing how he does." Blake informed them.
At that moment, the doors opened again and in walked Amy, holding the same clipboard from before. "Oh, Mr. Gray, I didn't realize you'd be here. It's no problem, I just have something to report." Amy stated as she walked up to the gentlemen. "Then it's a good thing I am here. Funny how fate works things out. What do you have to report then?" Blake asked her, with little more than a faint smile at the mention of fate. "The blood samples from the boy James have been sent down to the lab." Amy told him. "Yes, but that's fairly normal. Is there anything else?" Blake asked, with a touch of confusion on his face. "Yes, just as I was placing the sample in the hands of our lab scientists, we both reported seeing the blood turn… a slight yellowish color." Amy continued. "Hmm, that is odd. He claims to not be a mutant, correct?" Blake asked to confirm. "Yes, that's correct, sir. He isn't using any powers during this test either." Smith answered. "Hmm, then this is a puzzle." Blake stated, mostly to himself. "He could be lying, you know. Mutants do that sometimes." Graham interjected.
"What did I say about that attitude? Let's not assume anything yet. Amy, keep me posted on how the testing goes. The rest of you continue to monitor this audition. The only thing left to do is see how things play out. That's all there is to do really. Carry on." Blake told them all with an air of power as he strolled out of the room. "You know, Amy, James was asking about you watching his performance here. Are you going to stick around?" Scott asked the nurse. "I wasn't planning on it, but I might as well I suppose." Amy replied as she glanced out the window. "Sir, he's nearly completed with level 1." One of the female technicians announced to the booth.
On the ground floor…
"And that's the last one. Ya!" James shouted as he smashed the final target in the room. "Good job, kid. Maybe there is hope for you after all. But don't get cocky; we're just getting started. Activate level 2 targets!" Smith's voice called out from over the loudspeaker. "You mean there's more? Great, bring it on!" James shouted back encouragingly as the room began to shake again. The floor opened up again, raising more targets, but differently from last time, holes also appeared in the ceiling, lowering targets down into the room. These targets were unique in that they were being held afloat by propellers, levitating near the ceiling. "Try this, kid! One… two… three… go!" Smith exclaimed again as he began the timer. "Alright, this can't be too, too hard." James thought to himself as he charged the first target, a ground one. When he reached it, he did another spin and smashed it with style.
"There's no way I can reach those flying ones though. Unless… I have an idea!" James thought to himself as his face lit up with epiphany. He ran up towards the next nearest ground target and jumped up, landing on top of it. He then let go of one of his tonfa rods and attached it to the pants of his leg. Slamming his foot and leg down hard, he shattered the target below him and used the momentum of the clear to launch forward and break one of the flying targets above him, although barely reaching it. "Wow, that actually worked! Alright, I have to keep going." James thought to himself with a smile as he reattached the rod to his arm and kept breaking targets.
"Well that was pretty resourceful. You may be right, Scott, there may be something to this kid. But I'm not going to say that just yet." Smith noted to his accomplice from the booth. "I agree, he's got skill and finesse, that's for sure. Amy what do you think?" Scott asked the nurse. "He has potential I suppose." Was her simple answer. "You know, he asked if you would be watching this. Now I can tell him later that you did." Scott told her with a smile. "He did? Well ok then." She said rather apathetically as she continued to watch the rampant smashing of the targets.
"I'll bet Amy is watching me right now. I can't explain why though. At least, I hope she is." James thought to himself from the target field. "But then again, does it matter? I mean, yea she's beautiful, but even if I make this team, what are the odds? There's just something about her… I'll worry about that later though, I gotta focus!" James continued in his head as he spun and smashed the last ground target with the tonfa rod in his right hand. Then, in one fluid motion, he landed with one knee on the ground and hurled that same tonfa at the last flying target, nailing a bull's-eye and shattering it. "And that's all she wrote." James said aloud with a smile of both happiness and pride. "Excellent James, your time was actually one of the best." Scott's voice this time called out over the loudspeaker.
"Is that it? Does that mean I passed?" James shouted to the greater part of the room as he went to pick up the tonfa rod he had tossed. "I don't know, that should be it right?" Scott asked his comrade up in the booth. "Normally, I'd say yes. But since this is the last one of these, I really want to push this kid to his best. I'm going to send out the Sentential against him." Smith revealed with a minor smile. "Are you sure? Alright, if you think so." Scott replied. "Great. Hey kid, we're gonna put you through one final test." Smith called out over the loudspeaker as he nodded to one of the technicians, who inputted a command into her computer. "Sounds good, bring it!" James replied encouragingly as the ground vibrated again. This time, a larger hole opened up in the floor and a platform rose up from the basement. Instead of targets this time, a large, purple, humanoid robot emerged. "Maybe I spoke too soon." James whispered to himself. "Now don't panic, kid. This is a weakened version of the Sentential model robots. Try and defeat it. There's no time limit on this one, so we'll start right away." Smith told him.
"You ready? Then go!" Smith called out again as the machine's eyes lit up yellow and it whizzed to life. With a mechanical groan, it took a step forward and took a punch at James. Not expecting this move, James tried to move, dodging the brunt of the attack, but losing his balance a little and fell to the floor to the right of the Sentential. "This guy's tougher than it looks. Alright, time to give it my all!" James thought to himself with the gritted teeth of determination as he got to his feet again. The robot whizzed again and spun to the right, attempting to smash James again. This time he was prepared for it and jumped on the moving arm. Before it could react, James smashed his tonfa rod straight into the arm of the Sentential, but it didn't break all the way. "Apparently a lot tougher, that only made a dent." James observed as the other arm of the machine whirled around struck James, smacking him off the arm, and sending him back to the ground.
"You see? I told you, this kid may be good at clearing targets, but when it comes to real combat, he's second rate." Smith commented with an tone of sarcasm to those in the booth. "Typical human." Amy thought viciously to herself without saying a word. "I don't think he's out yet. Just watch." Scott added. Back on the ground floor, James was getting to his feet again. "Man, how am I going to defeat this thing?" He thought to himself as he rubbed the side of his head with his hand. "James, help!" A voice called out in James's head as a surge of pain rippled across his brain. "What was that? I couldn't sworn I just heard a voice just now. And that pain… It's from my dream last night!" James realized with shock.
"But I can't worry about that now, this machine's not backing down. Maybe I can defeat it here, and then figure out who needs my help." He added as he gritted his teeth again with determination. The Sentential was approaching, so time was short. It got right up to James and lifted its foot to smash him with a step. At that moment, James slid under it, and jumped up near its back. With a cry, James dug his tonfa rod into it's back and used that momentum and get right to the back of the robot's head. With another swipe of his rod, James nailed the machine in the back of the neck. "Sir, we're getting reports here of an electrical disturbance coursing through the Sentential. It appears to be originating from James's weapon." One of the female technicians announced in the booth. "That's impossible!" Scott exclaimed. Amy looked a tad impressed for a moment, but then returned to her usual stare. Back on the battlefield, sparks flew across the impact site and the machine let out a mechanical cry before crumpling to the ground. "That did the trick I guess." James thought to himself with a smile as he landed back on the ground triumphant. "You really outdid yourself there, kid! Electrical tonfas! You didn't tell us that part, way to keep a good surprise for the end!" Smith's voice called out excitedly from the loudspeaker. "Electrical? That can't be right, these are just ordinary metal rods. I wonder what he means." James thought to himself as he looked down at his weapons. "That's it! Test clear! We're coming on down." Smith called out one last time, ending the trial.
