Brock glanced around uncertainly. Supposedly he was being tested, but he had no idea what to do. In front of him, KB (Administrative) still loomed menacingly.
“Killbot,” Yuriel called down, “stat baselines are established?”
“Affirmative, Doctor Yuriel.”
“Operator Swift, are you prepared for confirmation observations?”
Yuriel’s voice sounded bored, like she was going through a checklist. At the side of the arena, Cap had flipped her eyepatch up, revealing the glowing golden pupil underneath. She was staring directly at Brock with it.
“Appraisal initiated.”
“Very good. Killbot, you may engage.”
Before Brock had time to think, one of KB’s metal legs was scything down towards him. He tried to jump out of the way, but it clipped his shoulder and spun him to the ground, causing him to land straight on his back.
It hurt. Significantly.
“Ow ow ow,” he moaned, staring up at the spotlights. “What the heck was that for?”
“You must dodge me, meatbag,” KB (Administrative) said sternly, lifting him back to his feet. “Until you do, you are my toy.” Another limb swept in from the opposite side, smacking Brock in the stomach and sending him on a tumbling roll across the arena. He fetched up against the wall upside down, legs hanging to either side of his head. Once again, the robot dragged him upright.
“Do you enjoy pain, meatbag?”
Hellfire eyes gazed dispassionately at him, and Brock stared back, dazed. The room seemed to be spinning around him.
“Uhhh, not really.”
“Then I suggest you move faster.”
KB (Administrative) struck again, this time a scissoring motion with two legs at once. Brock tried to duck beneath them, but the bottom one still caught him on the side of his head, cartwheeling him across the sand. Stars flashed across his vision and his ears rang like he was inside a struck bell.
Damn, he thought through the pain, I almost had it that time. If I was just a tiny bit faster...
KB (Administrative) hauled him into a standing position once more. Brock grimaced, swaying on his feet. If this went on much longer, he wasn’t going to leave the ring as anything other than ground meat. He tried to widen his vision to take in all of the robot's outstretched limbs.
Just a little bit faster...
A leg thrust towards his face, blunted metal speeding directly at Brock’s forehead. He twisted violently to the side, trying to make his body move quicker than it had before, using every last bit of energy in his muscles.
Remarkably, his body obeyed, and the strike snaked by a hairs-breadth from Brock’s nose. His wide-eyed reflection stared back at him from the metal leg as it flew past, and then the leg retracted like it was never there. Panting, Brock fell into a crouch, prepared for a follow-up blow, but nothing happened, aside from a strange voice in his head.
“Stat increase observed,” Cap called out. “One point in speed.”
“Confirmed,” Yuriel responded. “Value alteration from five to six. Response times within one standard deviation. Killbot, you may stand down.”
“Affirmative, Doctor Yuriel.”
Brock slowly straightened from his crouch. He had no idea what they were talking about, but at least KB (Administrative) wasn’t hitting him anymore.
“First test concluded,” Yuriel announced. “Stat growth under Limiter constraints corresponds to human standard. No abnormalities detected. Moving on to second test - ultra skill analysis. Operator Swift, continue Appraising.”
“Acknowledged,” Cap replied, her normally concealed eye still glowing.
“Test 2A - unknown ultra skill ‘Recollection.’” Yuriel’s voice was still that same clinical tone. “Current working theory - some sort of memory enhancement. Note that it appears to be unaffected by the Limiter. Killbot, you may begin testing.”
KB (Administrative)’s legs flashed out once more and Brock flinched back, eyes closed, anticipating another beating, but when he opened them, all the robot had done was place a large table in front of him. On it was a neat grid of cards, each one showing the same identical red and white pattern. KB (Administrative) delicately flipped one over, revealing a child-like drawing of a duck. The second one it flipped over was a frog, and the third a snake. It kept flipping them over at a steady pace until all were face up, and Brock realized the drawings appeared in pairs.
Every pair was different, and none of them were next to each other. Brock thought there might be over a hundred total cards on the table.
“You have five seconds to study these, meatbag.”
“Whut?”
“...and time.”
Arachnid limbs flickered above the table in motion too fast for Brock to make out, and half a breath later, all the cards were face down once more.
“Reveal as many pairs as you can. You may begin.”
Brock reached out hesitantly for a card he thought might be a duck. He flipped it over, showing a ringed planet.
Crap. I have no idea where any of these are.
His second choice ended up being a ladybug.
“And stop. Thoroughly underwhelming, meatbag.” KB (Administrative) cleared the cards off the table. “Please commit the following sequence of numbers to memory.”
The robot rattled off number after number for what seemed like an eternity. Brock felt his eyes glazing over. Finally, it fell silent.
“Repeat the sequence as accurately as possible.”
“Uhhh, one? I think? Five? Oh wait, was it thr-”
“Incorrect, as usual, meatbag. Observe.” A hologram of a generic human body appeared on the table, projected from the robot's blazing eyes. It began to move in a quick flurry of kicks and punches, then disappeared. “Perform the combat techniques that were just displayed.”
Brock frowned.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Can I see that again, please?”
“No.”
Brock sighed, and stepped away from the table. He did his best to recreate what he’d just seen, but he felt foolish and uncoordinated, and knew he wasn’t even close to mimicking the graceful movements.
“It is comforting to know your pathetic nature is consistent, meatbag. Doctor Yuriel, do you require anything further?”
“Ending test 2A,” Yuriel announced. “Subject’s ultra skill ‘Recollection’ does not appear to be linked to visual, mathematical, magical, somatic, or any sort of neural process. Marking as ‘undetermined.’ Proceed to test 2B - unknown ultra skill ‘Host.’ Current working theory - some sort of external possession. Note that it appears to be unaffected by the Limiter. Killbot, you may begin testing.”
“Stand still, meatbag.”
KB (Administrative) made the table disappear, and moving rapidly, began drawing an intricate series of rings and geometric shapes in the sand around Brock, who stood there nervously. After a minute of watching the robot work, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.
“Uhhh, what are you doing?”
“An exorcism. Don’t move.”
KB (Administrative) finished the last symbol and stabbed its legs into the sand around a series of runes. They glowed a pale white, and then the entire diagram lit up in opalescent radiance. The light expanded into the circle where Brock stood, and he held his breath.
Everything faded away until he was standing in a beam of pure brilliance, but other than that, nothing happened. After a while, Brock began to hum nervously, tapping his hands against his thighs. He felt like he was stuck in an elevator. Eventually, the light faded away, and he was back in the arena.
“Ending test 2B,” came Yuriel’s bored voice again. “Subject’s ultra skill ‘Host’ does not appear to be linked with the possession of any sort of paranormal or extra-worldly entities that can be separated from the body. Marking as ‘undetermined.’ Proceed to test 2C - unknown ultra skill Renewal. Current working theory - a healing mechanism of some kind. Note that this skill is affected by the Limiter. Unlocking Limiter.”
Brock suddenly felt way better. The scrapes and bruises he’d picked up earlier vanished instantly, along with the headache that had been slowly forming behind his eyes. He stretched his arms to the ceiling and smiled.
It was nice not being in pain.
“Killbot, you may begin testing.”
He was still smiling when KB (Administrative) punched him clear across the arena and into the wall in an explosion of dust. Brock felt various parts of his body crack and splinter, along with the stones of the wall, and as the dust drifted all around he rose to his feet, injuries disappearing just as quickly as they’d arrived. He felt a strange memory of pain, as if he’d experienced the event but then somehow had returned to a point before it had happened.
“Hey! What the-”
Two menacing aquamarine circles appeared through the dust before he could finish, and then resolved into the cannons on the robot’s back. They fired a blast of crackling energy that melted off both of Brock’s arms, along with his legs below the knee, and sent him hurtling into the wall again.
When Brock stood, he realized he was now wearing shorts and a sleeveless grey workout shirt, the edges crisped and blackened.
“C’mon! Knock it-”
A metal limb coiled itself around his waist, and then he was thrown violently into the air. He crashed completely through the wall of the building and flew in a rapidly ascending trajectory into the dim, massive interior of the Bell. Below, he could see the abandoned city growing smaller and smaller. There were also five small, fiery dots corkscrewing around each other that seemed to be climbing towards him. They quickly resolved into a full loadout of missiles from KB (Administrative)’s back attachment.
“Oh, for fu-”
The explosion was apocalyptic. Brock felt like he had been transported into the heart of a star, trapped in a buffeting roil of incandescent light and heat that smashed him every which way. As gravity finally reasserted itself and he fell out the bottom of the aftermath, he saw a dirty grey mushroom cloud extending high overhead, violet lightning flickering in its depths.
Just before he bounced off the first skyscraper, he realized he was now completely naked.
After doing his best impression of a pachinko ball, Brock finally hit the ground and decided to lay there for a moment, in case something worse was on its way. Aside from feeling like he’d just been through the washing machine spin cycle from hell, he was otherwise unhurt. “Huh,” he remarked, staring at the backs of his hands. Even his hair had returned, exactly as it had been before. A cool breeze blew across his naked butt and he shivered.
Suddenly, a coruscating circle appeared on the ground below him, again reminding him of the entrance to the Director’s office, and before Brock could move, there was a second of discontinuity. He emerged five feet above the arena sand and fell on it with an “oof.” Something soft landed on his back, and he could hear Cap screaming threats at Yuriel from her position by the machines at the edge of the circle. As he rolled over, he discovered the soft object was a new set of grey workout clothes that KB (Administrative) had tossed on him. Brock scrambled to pull them on, face turning red.
“Ending test 2C.” This time Yuriel’s voice held a tinge of interest. “Subject’s ultra skill ‘Renewal’ appears to be a regenerative healing function of unsurpassed capacity. No observed effect from munitions as high as Class Omega. Followup investigation recommended, focusing on the mechanism behind the restorative effects.” She clucked happily to herself, ignoring Cap’s continued imprecations as she stormed up the steps between the recliners. “This will give us plenty of leeway testing the other skills.”
She fell silent as Cap’s shouting form entered the area behind the workstation, and there was the sound of a brief scuffle, followed by the Director’s low tones. Brock stood bemused on the arena sand, clothed once more, still trying to process his latest set of experiences. He looked over at KB (Administrative), who was busy polishing its cannons and restocking its missile rack.
“Were you trying to kill me?”
He wasn’t even upset. He didn’t know what to feel anymore. Obviously no one could survive whatever had just happened to him, yet, here he was.
“Just doing my job, meatbag,” the robot replied congenially, sliding the last missile into place. “It’s not personal. It is fun though.”
Brock sighed, then sat down to await whatever might be next. After a long minute, Cap returned to her position just outside the arena, eyepatch up and expression furious, and Yuriel resumed speaking, a self-satisfied gloating sound. Apparently, whatever argument they’d had had been decided in Yuriel’s favor.
“Proceeding to advanced skill testing. Subject’s ultra skill ‘Renewal’ will be left active to avoid any accidental death events.”
“Wait,” Brock interrupted, “‘accidental death events,’ that doesn’t sound good. Can we talk more about the ‘accidental death events,’ please?”
He was promptly ignored, and Yuriel continued.
“We’ll start alphabetically. Test 3A, unknown advanced skill - ‘Adaptation.’ Current working theory - some kind of accelerated skill acquisition mechanism. Initializing at level one. Unlocking Limiter. Killbot, you may begin.”
Brock felt the world splinter into stasis around him. KB (Administrative) stood motionless, one leg barely lifted off the sand, small scratches and imperfections on its kitten stickers and cheerful drawings shadowed in the frozen light overhead.
Just outside the arena, Cap’s open eyes, one brown with gold flecks, one white with gold runes, were locked on him, her unmoving face a study of concern. Stray wisps of her raven hair hung perfectly steady.
What’s happening to me?
...Tara?
Brock wanted to flinch but felt like a fly trapped in amber. That second thought... once again, just like in the building he’d first woken up at - it wasn’t his own.
With a sight he didn’t know he possessed, Brock saw Fiona and Mikael leaned slightly forward in their comfortable chairs, Verdant’s vine puppet peeking slightly out of Mikael’s suit jacket. A warm sensation spread through his chest; a sudden gratitude.
Guess you managed to save them after all. Thanks.
...are you... Starak?
Brock’s perception shifted to the workstation at the very top row. Director Shimada and Doctor Yuriel were both staring at a readout, corners of their eyes barely beginning to widen. Yuriel’s finger hovered an inch away from a bright red button. Almost imperceptibly, it began descending.
Looks like I’m out of time. Keep an eye on everyone for me. You seem like a good kid. For a Sekkie.
Are you... still alive?
Brock felt a wrenching sensation, like his body was tearing itself apart and reassembling around him down to the atomic level.
Time sped back up and the room exploded into chaos.