"So," Ryan asked, once his teammates had transformed and changed back into their street clothes, "what else have we learned so far today?"
Syd raised her hand, jumping up and down like a student eager to be called on in class.
"Ooh, pick me, pick me!"
Trying his best to stifle a grin at the irrepressible young woman's antics, he pointed at her.
"Yes, Syd?"
"We learned that you have a map in your head and that makes you a very un-fun person to play hide-and-go-seek with!"
"Very true. Anything else?"
"Um." She chewed on her lower lip, her expression growing slightly more serious as she thought about her next observation. "We learned that Prowler Mode doesn't work very well for hiding in daylight, at least at its current Rank. If we want me sneaking around to be part of our plan for taking out the next Zorvax attack force, we'll probably want to choose an ambush location that's deeper in the woods so that I can blend in better."
"Good point. There's a whole lot of forest around here to choose from, and we'll definitely want to keep that in mind when we're looking for a place to set up our campsite. What about you, Amy?"
"We learned that our actual bodies won't get hurt if we take damage while transformed," Amy grumbled. She'd inadvertently made that discovery by falling from a not-inconsiderable height after running out of Stamina while airborne despite his warning. "If our War-Forms get damaged, the only thing that happens is that we lose transformation time."
"If you take too much damage at once, it might overload the Changer and immediately end your transformation, but otherwise you're right. That's why I wasn't too worried about you two hurting yourselves while training. Learning that you can trust the suit to keep you safe is another part of the adjustment process." He paused, considering, then added, "In the middle of a real fight, it would be very bad to suddenly find yourself thrown back into your human form, of course."
Amy and Syd both nodded, taking his understatement for the warning that it was.
"Well, I'm sure you get the picture. Anything else, either of you?"
A long pause followed before Syd hesitantly raised her hand again.
"Actually, there was one more thing that I noticed while we were training," she said, her voice and expression uncharacteristically serious. "Just that one practice session was enough for me to start making huge improvements. If I fought myself the first time I transformed, the way I am right now, I'd wipe the floor with me."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, and she blushed.
"That came out kind of weird, but you get what I mean. Anyway, I remembered you saying that Zorvax Enforcers go through months of training like this before they get sent out on their first mission. Even if we work our butts off nonstop for the next couple days, it... kinda seems like they might have too much of a lead for us to ever catch up, doesn't it?"
"You're not wrong," he replied carefully, "but I don't think it's as one-sided as you're making it out to be. Yes, when it comes to experience using a Changer, the Zorvax Enforcers that we fight have a head start. That's just a single advantage, though, and it comes with some serious weaknesses."
"First," he continued, pacing back and forth as he spoke, "regardless of how individually skilled they might be, the level of coordination in your average Zorvax Enforcer team... it's not good. Lower-ranked grunts get the initiative beaten out of them early. The elites are even worse, constantly jockeying against each other for position, more concerned with taking credit and securing their own rewards than the objective. As for the officers leading them, let's just say that they're not exactly beloved by the rank-and-file."
Turning to face them, he added, "From top to bottom, the whole Zorvax command structure is focused on conserving resources and avoiding risks. You know how you can tell that a Reserve-Commander outranks a Forward-Commander? Because Reserve-Commanders are posted further away from the fight. Their supreme military leader's title is The Most Remote, and they all respect that, because it tells you how well-protected he is. Getting a safe, cushy job as far from the action as possible is the life goal that every single Zorvax officer aspires to, and they'd happily step on one another in order to reach it."
He pointed at the open shotgun case laying on the table behind them.
"Besides that, they're also totally inflexible in the way they approach problems. Enforcer training doesn't even consider the possibility of using inferior human technology in a fight. From the Zorvax perspective, their Changers are so advanced and so powerful that it renders primitive weapons like ours totally obsolete. If we were up against high-Level War-Forms, that would probably be a valid assumption, but the officers assigned to Forward Operating Command Sol-III aren't their best and brightest, and they get the short end of the stick when it comes to issued equipment. To the big shots in the Zorvax Star Empire, Earth is an insignificant backwater, after all. And like you've already seen, when they're at lower Levels, War-Forms aren't bulletproof."
"Not a bad speech," Amy said once he'd finished. "Very motivating. Did you practice it?"
He snorted.
"It's something I've been thinking about, too. Like I said, we can win. We're just going to have to work harder and be smarter than the bad guys."
"We have another Mark-II Changer," Syd reminded him. "Bringing another person onto the team to back us up might help even the odds..."
"Agreed, but I'm sort of a stranger in this town. Was there somebody in particular that you had in mind?" he asked. "Either of you?"
Syd shook her head, then shrugged.
"Maybe one of Amy's cop friends?" she suggested. "Or her old Marine buddies?"
Amy grunted noncommittally.
"I trust the people I work with," she said carefully, "but all of this is a lot to drop on a person out of the blue. Besides, now that there are government agencies involved..."
Her words trailed off, and he nodded in understanding.
"There isn't much that we can do about it while we're out here. Let's keep the question in mind for later, though." He grinned at them. "Enough about all that. I know what you've been waiting for. So... who wants to go first?"
"Memememe ME!" Pushing her way forward, Syd unbuckled her Changer and practically shoved it into his face. "Me first, me first!"
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"Okay, okay, take it easy. You've still got that spare Mark-I Changer we took off the Blaster last night, right?"
Nodding eagerly, she handed the device over to him. Taking the pilfered white Changer in his left hand and Syd's purple Changer in his right, he began scrolling through his Implant's menus.
Convert Change Matrix [Mark-I Silver] to salvage?
CAUTION: This process is final and cannot be reversed!
Confirmed. Salvaging Change Matrix [Mark-I Silver]...
"I'm going to get to Level 4 before you do," Syd smugly informed Amy as the Changer in his left hand burst into a cloud of glowing fragments.
Change Matrix [Mark-I Silver] has been converted to salvage.
Change Matrix [Mark-II Amethyst] has been upgraded.
Change Matrix [Mark-II Amethyst] has gained an Effective Level!
All Change Matrix functions have been reset.
Type: Change Matrix Mark-II (Amethyst)
Class: Assassin
Effective Level: 4
Combat Data Collected: 39%
As they'd previously discussed, he selected the Energy Claws Ability for her Level 4 power expansion slot, locked in his choice, then handed the newly-enhanced Changer back to her.
"Your turn next," he told Amy.
Type: Change Matrix Mark-II (Gold)
Class: Juggernaut
Effective Level: 4
Combat Data Collected: 12%
Unlike Syd, the Changer Amy was using had already reached Level 4 just from the combat data it recorded during last night's battles. All Ryan needed to do was select her new Ability.
"Did you make a decision on which Ability you wanted?" he asked.
"When we talked about this before, I thought Transpose and Momentum both sounded like Abilities I'd want to have eventually," she said, sounding somewhat uncertain. "The other two... Density Boost and Enhance Toughness, I think they were called? Those didn't seem as useful to me. But there are new Abilities I can choose at this Level, too, aren't there?"
"Just one. You've got all the same options that you had last time, plus one additional choice..."
In the end, after soliciting input from Ryan and (surprisingly) from Syd as well, Amy finally made her selection.
Ability Name: Power Stance
Rank: 1
Requirements: EL4, Intercept, Energy Shield
Effect: Greatly improves the user's Strength and Toughness in exchange for a proportional reduction in their Agility. Each rank increases the Strength and Toughness gain while reducing the loss of Agility.
Restrictions: Remain stationary to activate. Consumes Stamina to activate or deactivate. While the Ability is active, user cannot move.
"It's perfect," Amy had announced as soon as she heard the Ability's description read out to her. "All I need to do is get in front of the bad guys, plant myself, and let them come to me. Just like setting a pick." The comparison drew blank stares from Ryan and Syd. "You know, a screen? In basketball?" Seeing their continued incomprehension, she started to explain. "The department has a rec league team, and – wait, why am I even trying to justify this to you two? It's my Changer, and that's the Ability that I want to take first."
Stubbornly crossing her arms, she lifted her chin, daring either of them to object.
"Hey, if you're happy, I'm happy," he told her, making a conciliatory gesture. "There's no right or wrong choices here."
"Yeahyeahyeah okay," Syd blurted out, practically vibrating in place with excitement. "She's happy, you're happy, we're all happy. When do we get to try out our new stuff?"
***
Syd held her gauntleted hand out, turning it from side to side so that she could admire the curved, violet-glowing blade that now jutted out from just ahead of her wrist. She opened and closed her segmented metal fingers, then started waving the energy weapon around, admiring the electronic hiss it created as it cut through the air.
"This is so fucking sweet," she whispered, keeping her voice low to prevent Amy from chiding her for her language. "And I'm going to get more of them when I Level up, right?"
"If you decide to put more Ranks in the Ability, yeah," Ryan confirmed. "One per Rank, alternating hands. You'll have ten of them by Rank 10, if you want to go that far."
"Sweet."
In comparison, Amy's new Ability was less impressive visually, but she seemed to be equally enthralled by it. The tall blonde had planted her feet in the middle of a clearing, arms spread wide and shoulders back, and was swinging her Energy Shield in short, violent arcs. Every few moments, she'd stop, take a few steps in one direction or another, then set herself in a new spot and resume blocking and bashing the host of imaginary enemies surrounding her.
Ryan gave the pair some time to themselves, allowing them to get familiar with the Abilities they'd chosen, and practice integrating them into their existing toolkits.
After a few minutes had passed, he called them together again. While they listened, he explained the last remaining item on the day's training itinerary.
Sparring? Amy asked. Between me and Syd?
Sure, why not? he responded. Syd hasn't ever learned any formal close-combat techniques, as far as I know. Ryan glanced at her, and she nodded in confirmation. You and I have both trained in hand-to-hand fighting. Some initial light sparring will help us figure out what specific areas we need to focus on in future training sessions.
I guess that makes sense, she agreed.
"Energy Shield!" Amy shouted. A moment later, the familiar glowing gold disc crackled back into existence, hovering over her wrist. "Power Stance!" Her boots sunk an inch deeper into the ground.
Wordlessly, Syd replied by summoning up her own Energy Claw, then dropped into a half-crouch that she was probably copying from some anime character.
And remember, ladies, he reminded them cheerfully, you don't need to worry about holding back! Damage you take won't transfer from the War-Form to the user. Worst comes to worst, your Changer overloads and it ends your transformation early. Got it?
Oh yes, I understand. With a scary look in her eyes, Amy cracked her knuckles. Because she was transformed, the gesture was totally unnecessary, but he thought that it made for an intimidating display nevertheless. Ready when you are, Syd.
"Ahaha," Syd laughed nervously. Um. Maybe we could do more lunges instead?
***
Syd walked up to him, hands clasped behind her, looking none the worse for wear despite the ten-minute beatdown her War-Form had just been on the receiving end of. She'd already changed back into the cute tank top and leggings outfit he remembered her wearing earlier, although she was now barefoot.
"Hey, Ryan, would you mind doing us a tiny little favor?" she asked, hitting him with her cutest puppy-dog eyes. They were, he had to admit, very cute. She even shamelessly fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Pretty please?"
"Uh, sure, I guess. What's up?"
"After all this exercise, we're both totally dying of thirst." Lowering her voice conspiratorially, she continued, "Do you think my new boyfriend could maybe take the car, run over to the gas station that Beth mentioned was right down the road, and grab us a couple of drinks?"
"...the gas station that's twenty miles away?"
"Hm, that is what she said, isn't it." She tossed over the Range Rover's key fob and her credit card, then shot him an exaggerated wink. "Be a dear, will you? There's no need to rush, you can take your time. Enjoy the scenery along the way or whatever. While you're out, Amy and I going to have a quick girl talk. I'll shoot you a text when we're done."
He shrugged. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do.
"Remember to get me something caffeinated with lots of sugar!" Syd called after his departing form.