Once everyone had transferred over, Synapse led the way into a wide hallway with an electronic trolley system, taking up most of the space. Then they peeled off into a much narrower corridor, composed of exposed concrete walls, which opened into a central atrium spanning multiple floors. At the base of the massive open space lay a collection of unidentified aircraft, some being worked on by technicians. Before she could fully take in the scene, they ventured into another series of corridors that led them into a gloomy, cavernous opening illuminated by spotlights that cast many dark shadows. At the base of the tall wall up ahead was a heavy set of double doors that opened as Synapse drew near. Past the doors led them to a well-lit room filled with cushioned chairs. Another ominous double door stood on the far wall.
At last, Synapse spun to address them. “What lies beyond those doors is the Holohabitat. I will not bore you with a list of its capabilities, but it is designed to mimic the real world in a controllable manner. We will conduct the rest of your Superhero Assessment Test here, starting now with the debris and rescue course. The specifics of the course will be revealed when you enter the enclosure.”
Synapse’s sweeping eyes lingered on Ella for a few tense seconds before continuing on.
One at a time, they entered the enclosure. The rest of the superhumans were beckoned to use the array of chairs lying about. Kylara was amongst the first to go, but even after an hour had passed, the alien woman failed to return.
“What’s going on?” Sasha cast a weary look at the door. “Why isn’t Kylara back? And why wouldn’t they let us know what’s going on? They’ve usually been transparent, even though the whole thing is rigged against those with non-physical powers.”
“Jesus lady,” Bohdan said. “I’m trying to relax here, not join your conspiracy theory episodes. Pipe down, if you will.”
Sasha gave him the middle finger.
Jamal navigated their spicy exchange, offering his own opinion. “I think they just don’t want us to plan for the test like we could with the dummies.”
“Makes sense.” Ella agreed. “Though I wonder what’s going on in there. Synapse called it the debris and rescue course. Any ideas?”
They delved into theories of what it could entail. Jamal started off Indiana Jones style, where they had to traverse through tunnels, careful not to set off traps while looking for a kidnapped person they had to rescue. Ella’s theory was way more tame with the test being a collapsed apartment building where they had to dig out survivors. Sasha came out of left field with the most inconceivable scenario. The redhead stated that they would have to don special harnesses to be suspended and lowered into a giant, three-story dollhouse replica. Then their goal was to maneuver through the rooms, disabling traps, solving puzzles, and collecting items to rescue a baby doll who wanted to be a real girl.
Huh? She forced herself to hold in her utter perplexity.
Bohdan chuckled as he reclined in his chair. “Leave it to Sasha to blow you guys out of the water with her outlandish theories.”
What had been a serious game of deduction to better prepare for the trial ahead was derailed by Sasha’s extravagance. So they elected to just wait and see.
Regardless, Ella didn’t have to wait long to find out the truth. As she walked through a wide hallway, past the fated double doors, her attention lay on the city landscape in the distance. Perhaps her theory was closest to reality. The corridor led her into a realistic recreation of a city block with roads, parked cars, and skyscrapers. Although the scale of everything, particularly the buildings, leaned on the smaller side, akin to Disneyland’s recreation of their fictional locations. Even the clear sky with its soft blues complete with a sun seemed no different from the real thing. The brick walls of the nearest building felt springy to her touch, clashing with what she knew brick was.
Foam? She touched another building, this time, a small department store. It really is foam.
A booming electronic voice startled her. “Attention candidate, this is the debris and rescue course. Your primary goal is to rescue a civilian located at the north end of the course, then bring them to the infirmary, south-eastward. A compass has been provided for you.”
Immediately, a beeping sensation came alive on the inside of her left wrist. With a quick glance, she noticed a compass on her suit that emitted red light, its sweeping hand dancing as she moved her hand.
“Completing the course in a timely manner is a key criterion taken into consideration for your evaluation. The prohibition of the use of non-physical powers is in effect.”
Then the voice went silent.
Not wasting time, she studied the compass, finding that rather than using the Earth’s magnetic field to display direction, it simply pointed toward her goal. So she strode forward, quickening into a steady jog, her head constantly swiveling and her ears listening for the slightest sound in the recreated city. Her cautious approach paid off, affording her the time to spot a robot with a leveled gun, who looked similar to the dummies from earlier. She darted behind the cover of a building just as energy bolts whizzed by.
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Shit!
Her heart pounded from the near miss. Even though the shots seemed non-lethal, the realism of the situation and the surroundings bred fear in her. She thought of how Kylara fared with the inability to use her powers. Or how easily Vicente would ace this course with super speed and years of experience as a pro in Brazil.
Experience.
That word awoke something in her. Reminded her of her efforts at The Radiant Tower. Of her deadly battle with Crocman, who tore into her skin repeatedly, and how she persevered. This situation was child’s play compared to that. She slapped both cheeks to shake off any nervousness and scanned her surroundings while formulating a plan. The dummy sniper stood on the roof of an office complex a few buildings down the road. Trying the door of the building she used as cover, she found the door to be non-functional and merely a painting.
So her best option lay in the industrial dumpster to her left. She placed her hands under the foam recreation, thankful that the stench of real garbage wasn’t present. Next, she lifted it, rotated the dumpster to her right, and walked forward. As soon as she crept out of the cover, a barrage of energy bolts descended on her. Fortunately, the dumpster proved effective in blocking all the incoming fire.
She crossed the road into the side of the street harboring the dummy sniper. After discarding the dumpster, she encroached on the sniper’s location, always careful to keep a building between them on her approach. At some point, the dummy turned in the direction she came from. So she curled behind a mailbox and held her breath. Fortunately, spotting nothing unusual, it faced another area, turning its back on her.
Her next steps became straightforward. She crept up the building and climbed it ever so carefully, finding it easy as her fingers sank into the foam walls. Then, with light steps, she drew near the dummy. It sensed her at the last moment, yet it couldn’t offer any resistance as she kicked it over the ledge and snatched its rifle.
The clattering crunch of metal and plastic didn’t phase her while she inspected the rifle and checked her compass. Next, she leaped over the same ledge and landed beside the disfigured dummy, her god physiology effortlessly absorbing the impact.
Any dummy she spotted on her way met their end, either to her gun or her fist, which easily pulverized them. After ten minutes, she arrived near the destination indicated by the compass.
Surrounding Ella was the recreation of a dock, which led to a body of water spotting a small island. Naturally, everything was made on a smaller scale to fit inside the enclosure. She spotted a dummy—this time colored bright red and lying down on the sandy shores of the island—waving for help. She dropped the rifle and leaned down to run her hand through the water. Cool to the touch, the bright blue water resembled the ones used in a pool rather than the beaches of Hermosville.
In any case, she took the plunge, remembering that this was her first swim since obtaining her abilities. It seemed surreal how effortlessly her limbs propelled her body through the water. Surprisingly, she found that she didn’t need to breathe and could go without oxygen. Her sustaining power source came from within. When she closed her eyes to understand the phenomena, she noticed a golden ball of energy residing within her heart. The sensations it emitted were warm and terrifying.
In no time, she made it to the shore and rushed over to the dummy. It appeared to be disabled from the waist down. She almost chuckled, wondering how a robot could be disabled until she remembered the test recreated a scenario she could encounter in the field. Rumbling tremors that rocked the island also drained all sense of humor from her lips. She asked the dummy if it could move its arms. It nodded.
“Do you feel pain in your legs?” she asked another question, now taking the situation as serious as reality.
It shook its head.
The shaking island spurred her to act with haste. With her guidance, the dummy locked its arms around her shoulders as she held its legs by her waist. Then she trotted toward the water, the island sinking fast around them. If she were caught in the island’s descent into the water, the immense amount of water it would displace would create a powerful suction force, pulling her in and possibly tearing the dummy from her grasp.
So, with that possibility at the back of her mind, she sprinted at max speed and darted across the surface of the water for a few yards. Soon, the unevenness of the surface and her inexperience slowed her somewhat, which allowed the water to swallow her whole. Regardless, she had created enough separation from the island that vanished below.
Her journey inland toward the infirmary was a much calmer affair devoid of any hostile dummies. However, a large rock smashing into the road ahead and scattering into a million pieces broke all semblance of a serene atmosphere. As she reached for a small piece of debris—finding it to be thick foam—a weary glance upward alerted her to the sky dotted with falling fake rocks with heavy rubber balls serving as their core.
Of fucking course.
She burst forward, her gaze shifting upward to assess the trajectory of the falling rocks to evade them. This proved incredibly difficult, as she had to navigate through winding roads with most of her attention focused above. If a stone were to come in contact with the dummy, her score would plummet. All around, the clatters of the foam stones smashing the ground and releasing their bouncy cores echoed, her arms swinging to swath any errant debris away. Her closest call came when one grazed her shoulder, mere inches from the dummy’s arm. Out of frustration, her fist pulverized another into smithereens.
With the infirmary—a wide two-story building marked with red streaks on its white walls—in sight, she redoubled her efforts to close the distance. Once she reached the steps, the front door swung open. However, as soon as she entered the building, the dummy piggybacking on her dropped off and landed on its feet.
The familiar neutral ambiance of a medical center, which she had grown so used to, didn’t align with the interior of the infirmary with its dark walls and flashing lights. The dummy exited through the front door, clearly heading back to the island to get ready for the next test. In contrast, she walked down the only spacious corridor that led her to a pair of double doors with a blinking exit sign above.
Ivarsson was waiting on the other side of the door. “Congratulations on acing the test. Now, follow me.”
Without a word, she followed, aware that Ivarsson’s tone allowed no room for questioning. Although she may have committed a serious offense by bypassing the security checkpoints at The Genesis Empowerment Center, Ivarsson’s sternness seemed unnecessary, considering how familiar they were with each other now.