Bleed the Freak
The training simulation was relentless. A swirling torrent of duranium blades and piercing lasers, swooping through the battle grid with deadly precision. Brat hit the ground, immediately crying out and tucking her legs in. She was still too slow to avoid the training droid's first swing, cutting across her thigh. She scrambled to her feet, ducking under another swing that would have taken her head off. When she prepared to use her sonic scream, its leg shot out, catching her in the chest.
"Not good enough, Brat. Think on your feet, don't be so predictable," A dark voice rang out from the intercom overhead.
The Powerpunk girl snarled and started to get back on her feet. She shot into the air, screaming in frustration when a tendril shot out, catching her ankle and hurling her back across the battle grid. As she flew through the air, Brute shot by her, throwing a devastating punch at the training droid.
Its own hand shot up, like a shield, deflecting the punch. Brute barked in pain, dodging a duranium buzz saw. The blade cut through the part of her hair, dropping a few strands to the ground. Her eyes widened and her lips pulled back into a vicious growl.
"YOU FUCKING SHIT, FUCKING DIE ALREADY!" she screamed, throwing herself at the training droid. It weaved in and out of each of her mighty blows. She threw a wicked haymaker, only to find herself tumbling through the air, a duranium blade coming down toward her neck.
"I got you!" Berserk shouted, blasting the training droid with her heat rays, slowing its attack just enough for Brute to slip by unscathed. The droid's gaze fell on Berserk and it advanced on her, clanging its blades together and grasping at her with its sharp claws.
She swallowed nervously, backing up, until she hit the wall. She grunted, dodging an attack that would have impaled her. A tendril shot out catching her by the neck and lifting her off the ground. An electric current shot through it, flooding her body with indescribable pain. Berserk's eyes widened and she exploded with a silent scream, spit and blood trickling down her lips as the tendril tightened around her.
The droid grunted, turning away from Berserk, slamming her into the ground, and advanced on Brute, who had dared to hit it from the side. The Powerpunk leader swallowed nervously, dodging a swing from the training droid. It snatched her by her leg and swung her into Brat. It swatted her from the air, then caught her by her skirt, lifting her up. With a brief pause, it slammed the two together and dropped them to the ground.
"Pathetic, is this the best you can do? You're garbage, the lot of you. Finish them off, get them out of my sight," the dark voice sneered.
The training droid cocked its head, raising its duranium blades. Its blades lunged at the fallen Powerpunk girls. A torrent of fire fell over it, blowing it back, causing the attack, which would have been deadly, to miss, instead grazing Brute's side and Brat's cheek. Berserk stumbled toward them, clutching at her throat and gasping for air, smoke hanging on her lips.
She tried to swallow and shook her head. The training droid sat up, its plating horribly burnt and its head twitching, advancing on her. In a flash, it jerked to the side, one of its legs torn from its body. Berserk yelped, caught in the side of the head by a duranium tendril and knocked to the ground. The droid tried to turn, only to take another fierce blow to its abdomen. Brute grunted, her fists bleeding and bones popping as she took another swing.
Brat sat up, rubbing her cheek and growling. She wiped the blood off her face and glared at Berserk, "You're so useless," she spat, turning and screaming as loud as she could at the droid. It froze, mid swing at Brute and its hands rose to its head. The eyes on the training droid sizzled and it began to shake violently. With a snarl, Brute took a wild swing, finally tearing the head from its shoulders.
The training droid dropped to the ground, and the Powerpunk Girls breathed a collective sigh of relief. The battle grid died around them and the door opened. The Oppressor strode into the room, hands folded behind his back as he looked at each of them.
He sneered at Brute, who was sitting on her knees cradling her bloody fists, "Pathetic." He chuckled, watching Brat try to stop the bleeding on her numerous cuts, cursing under her breath, "Weak." He paused by Berserk, who was lying on the ground, still struggling to breathe and cradling her head. Her eyes were unfocused. He knelt down beside her, "Useless." he spat, rising to his feet and stalking back toward the door.
"You've made no discernable progress. I'm starting to think we should consider other options," he mused.
Brute coughed, pulling her bloody fist from her mouth, "What? No way, we fucking killed that sonuvabitch. Give us another,"
The Oppressor smirked, "That's what I was hoping to hear. Your next training session begins, now," The door slid shut behind him and the battle grind spun to life again.