CHAPTER 2 – FERAL TOMORROWS

Feet found ground in a hot sec as someone’s hand shook her foot, eyes half-lidded, and grinding sleep from their windows. Her fists came up and immediately a small sword materialized of violet energy in her right.

“Woa! Candidate Arc, you will stop at once!”

Emmy’s eyes finally started working as sleep shook itself apart. She saw the mortal administrator Ms. Sherwin standing before her with a data pad in hand. She was the same woman who had done her orientation and been her liaison since day one. She was small, maybe 5’2”, in a smart gray business suit, and her eyes, which held not a hint of fear but irritation, stared pointedly at the telekinetic created blade in Emmy’s hand. Oops. She let it go and it flashed to bye bye on the quick.

“I’m so so so sorry Ms. Sherwin. I was asleep then just reacted. My Uncle Billy, well, not really my Uncle, being an orphan but seriously an Uncle or Father in every way that counts. He taught us to always be on our toes as in the tippy tippy top of our toes at all times….I mean he was a real humdinger….”

Her voice cut off as she saw the hard stare emanating from the diminutive woman. Yikes. Once she saw that Emmy was not gonna continue babbling she huffed.

“Good, now stay silent. You have only a few minutes till your final match. Let’s go.”

Emmy turned and went to grab her War Coat but was interrupted, the replay of replays dancing the cha cha on her need.

“We have had this argument before every fight Candidate Arc. You are allowed nothing but the combat suit. It is an even playing field for all perspective Vigilants. So, let us skip the part where you give me a sob story and a two step attempting to get me to relent. It hasn’t happened and that will continue to be the case, irregardless of the words or sad bed time stories of orphan woes.”

Emmy had been about to pull out the big guns with a tear or two, a skill learned early days in the orphanage but instead, grunted, irritated and the woman had used the word ‘Woes’. That was definitely some bonus points. She let her War Coat fall to the cot with one last longing look. Ms. Sherwin nodded, all business, then turned, expecting Emmy to follow, which she did. Damn, that woman was a hot tamale in an iron skillet. She giggled having no idea what that meant but it sounded groovy, even if it was just a lollipop only her mind could lick.

***

She was in the same antechamber she had been thrown in before every fight. It usually lasted for about five minutes before a certain voice would do it’s little announcement thingy then the door in front of her would open and she would have thirty seconds before the fight would roll the kick off.

Her limbs were brimming with anticipation, vibrating with the first drives of adrenaline. She wished they would get their experience from all the fights. Her hunger to see what she improved through all the tournaments was driving her cray cray. It was like her War Coat. They wanted everyone on even footing. All the arenas, all the way back to the locals, then the regionals, and here, had some kind of dampening system that would hold all experience gained until they either lost or won the whole kit and caboodle. Emmy had no idea how they did it but the Meta System was an enigma, a twisty twist to the corridor of reality, bending spoons in the hip-hop sway of mystery. She chuckled. She was on a roll with the word play. Dang and double dang. If Lacey were here they’d be fist bumping on the real.

It was a game they had played since they was kids. They both read, like, a lot, and watched a dumpster worth of vids, old ones, new ones, strange ones, scary ones. Then they would each try to come up with the hippest, coolest word art they could roll from the hip on a gimpy leg doing a jazz step. Groove to the double groove on a bed time lullaby. She was a virtuoso. Giggles.

Alright Emmy, game time, serious face on. She did squats and a few jumping jacks, even hopped in place shaking her limbs like spaghetti. It was hard to form any strategies when there was no clue to what one would be facing on the big stage. She hadn’t even been able to do any media, which had been one of the most exciting parts she had been hungering for when she first signed up for the locals. The Vigilant denied her even that. As soon as she had won each jump-climb to the top, a team of mortals who worked for the Vigilant, swooped in and pulled her away before the national and world media journalists had even gotten within twenty steps. Uggghhh, so unfair. Her thought train was interrupted with the recurring broadcast she’d been expecting, the Paladin’s voice as warm as chicken noodle soup on a cold day.

“Welcome Candidate Arc to your final battle. As always, remember, once the door opens you will have thirty seconds to observe your adversary before battle commences. Victory conditions as normal. The fight will continue until one opponent can no longer fight or surrenders. Are these parameters understood Candidate Arc?”

Emmy laughed, loud and proud.

“Sure thing Pally….I got yous. It’s the same thing you’ve been spitting out since the first fight so the memory is frozen to the chapel, if ya get what I’m slinging. I will make ya shine with pride and win this merry go round.”

Lacey would say ‘Gold’ with that lingo burst. She stifled a chuckle. And she for sure on the bet heard Pally holding back a laugh. For sure sure. Some might say her attitude was too carefree with the stakes as high as high could climb but that had always been her way to deal with stress, which being an orphan, meant from the time her eyes first opened all the way till they slung themselves closed. It didn’t mean she wasn’t taking it as serious as serious could spell itself. There was a reason or two or three she was standing here at the end.

A woman’s voice broke her reverie and it somehow felt familiar but she couldn’t place it. It also sounded irritated on the verge of pissed off which wasn’t a good look for a teenager trying to make the grade to hero of the Vigilant but it was what it was. She couldn’t be anything other then who she was just like she couldn’t say 5’10”. It was 5’9” and a half, the half, key.

“Show respect Candidate. His name is Paladin. He is a Gold Rank Super and Leader of Alpha Team. He deserves more then your babble. Do you understand me?”

Oopsie, there was some definite rage stage going on in that woman. Then her eyes froze in deer headlight stance.

“Lay off Hyppolita. She’s fine. Candidate Arc, ignore her and prepare yourself for combat.”

Did he say Hyppolita, as in Platinum rank Co-Leader of the Vigilant? Emmy’s stomach was doing twists and tumbles and spinning eyes moon saucer wide. She just pissed off one of the most powerful Supers on the planet who could squash her with probably an eye blink, an eye lash, a soft whisper, a blown kiss, though the kiss part probably would never happen, cause well, she was pissed and didn’t like her. Ughh.

It was what it was and would be all that it was. A determined shift crawled across her face. Her Will kicked in as usual with a good dose of sixteen years of stubborness sculpted in orphan woes and a hard path to where she was. No one would stop her, not the haters she’d grown up with, not the orphanage she had been shoved in. She would reach for the stars and ignore the naysayers and yes, even the pissy powerful Supers. She double downed on the who of who one Emilia Ward was, Code Name: Arc. All 5’9” and a half of her teenage blues and angst into one up and coming coolness that would butterfly tap anything that came moseying into her arena.

“Sure thing. I got Pally’s back all day, any day. And I’m about to put this tussle in the rear view with a good dose of kicking booty and taking names or phone numbers? A candid photo? I forget the saying but you buying what I’m selling I know it as much as I know a good breakfast does a body good.”

A mix of female cussing under irritated lips and a hard laugh that escaped fast and beautiful in an all male baritone shimmied it’s way to her ears like caramel candy. Dang, that man could melt butter with a laugh like that. Emmy did her best to stifle her smile. Game time. His dreamy voice was the bell ringing her future.

“Do your best Candidate. Please enter the combat arena.”

The door opened and she strode through, head held high and a smile finally unleashed upon the world and whoever stood in her way to her dreams.

***

She stood in the red ring that was the same in every stop of her road, locals, regionals, or her, now, in the big time. Made sense since all of the arenas had been paid for by the Vigilant, even the locals that dotted every major city. Dang, they had to have some deep pockets. The arena was dark as usual though she knew that was about to change and bam. A spotlight lit two places, the two red rings, one of which Emmy stood upon and about a hundred yards away, the other, where her opponent was, uhh, down on all fours, licking her, paw, claw? Alright, so it was another morphic, one that looked like some kind of cat mix. Definitely a woman, and she looked fast and those claws, uhh, sharp, like really sharp. The woman’s eyes zeroed in on Emmy like she was tomahawk steak and she hadn’t eaten in a month.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Ohh, she went from taking a step back to licking her lips. She loved tomahawk steaks. She’d only ever had one that Uncle Billy bought her for her last birthday. They were super expensive but so so so good. She threw a smirk back at the woman to show her intimidation had failed miserably in the face of meat vision. She chuckled. The voice that rang out was the sexy that was missing in her day to day. Paladin for the win.

“Candidates Arc and Feral, prepare yourself. When the light of the rings turn green, combat begins. You will be disqualified if you move before that.”

The lights of the arena lit up as a countdown in her vision popped through her Meta Vision. Ten seconds and skipping low. She took a breath and violet energy coalesced around her hands and in her eyes. She saw Feral looked confused a bit but then emitted a growl, her hands/claws, thrust up to showcase their razor edge. The lights turned green and Emmy’s eyes lit wide as Feral took off at a speed that had her shocked. Her opponent slipped over the ground so fast she barely had the breath to pull a violet shield of energy out of the air in front of her as Feral careened off it. Emmy was forced back several steps. So her Speed was up there and probably her Agility but her Strength was a no. She could do this though the speed was gonna be an issue.

Her eyes took in Feral as she was circling the arena on all fours, not quite a blur but she was only Level 5 like her. When this girl got higher levels she would be a terror to anyone on the field. Scary but Emmy’s Will snuffed the fear. Uncle Billy was her compass. He taught them everything, from surveillance and investigation, to even traveling across rooftops and every type of environment to always thinking outside the box, not to mention, how to fight. Feral’s yellow cat eyes were zeroed in on her looking for an opening and Emmy was struggling to keep up with angling the kitty in her peripheral, turning her body like a twisty top. And for one second, one second only, she lost her, and her scream tore through the room as she tumbled forward and turned it into a combat roll that gave her space, eyes kicking up as Feral and her claws were careening towards her face, the sheer violence in her eyes not very Super. The shield of violet energy jumped between them and feral went face first into it’s shimmering cascade. Time to show these people she wasn’t just a pretty face. The shield morphed into a small club as she played slap with Feral’s rising face, blood flew as Feral stumbled back, her eyes wide portals that she had been tagged but then an anger like a volcano lit her bloody face.

Emmy focused, the club turning into a saber as the blade thrust for flesh but Feral slipped below it, then her claws came up, and it was Arc’s turn to toddle back, another burning sensation, this time across her stomach. She instinctively turned the blade to another shield just as Feral came towards her. A frustrated grunt escaped the morphic’s lips as she instead spun and dropped to all fours as she went back to circling, a hungry tilt to her eyes. Emmy could feel the wounds, back and stomach, blood leaking, not too deep, the combat suit had accomplished at least that. Longing for her War Coat overwhelmed her far more then just for protection. It was her shield against everything. She kept her eyes glued to the racing form. The wounds that coursed her flesh would eventually put her down from blood loss.

Her dreams were finding a spiral down the closest toilet if she didn’t do something. She had to slow the woman down or she was going to lose. Her body hurt with every spin she took to keep the bloody cat peeled to eyeballs then a thought lit light bulbs in inspiration. The next pass and there, her eyes lit and her hand sent a violet energy streaming as a thick bar emerged in front of the back leg of the racing morphic, then a loud crunch as her shin snapped and she tumbled, skidding across floor, a yodeling scream echoing out.

Emmy approached slowly, a saber once more in her hand. It was the weapon she had trained with the most though Uncle Billy had her and Lacey train with a multitude of weapons. He always said, you never knew what you had to hand and what shit pool you would find your feet falling in. Yep, Uncle Billy had a potty mouth but such was life, he was amazeballs. When she got within ten feet, the screams had turned to a whimper. Emmy’s voice filtered out.

“Surrender. I don’t want to have to hurt you more then the game calling for.”

Feral’s eyes flew at her in rage. Her lips then, out of nowhere, turned to a grin, a bloody one that reminded her of some bad horror vid. Her fingers subtly hit something that looked to be embedded in her wrist. Her grin pulled into a full leer as she pulled a small pill from her waist and popped it into her mouth. Emmy had no clue what was going on. If she couldn’t have her War Coat this girl certainly shouldn’t be having whatever that pill was or whatever was under her skin. Then, right before her eyes, Emmy watched her broken shin heal, the bone stretching the skin, shifting back to where it should be, the jagged gash on her face from where the club had struck, knitting back to umblemished purity. A growling voice spat at Arc.

“You should of just gone down girl. You got no idea what you messed with. Now while no one can see, I’m gonna end you.”

What the hell? Before she could figure out what the woman meant or really, anything else, Feral moved twice as fast as before as if she was on some super steroid, her claws flashing out, and only the years of training from her Uncle Billy kept her head on her shoulders as she utilized her combat acrobatics to perform a back flip, still catching those razor claws along her chest as she tumbled away but as her feet attempted to pull her out of the flip the morphic was already into her, two more swipes ripping her shoulder and her hip. She flashed a shield and saw violets sparks rolling off its face, then more, as the claws were a blur swiping again and again. All the gouged flesh from the cheating morphic were adding up and she started to get light headed as she back pedaled, attempting to keep her shield, between her, and the killer who had a death on her mind and machinations in her steps, and way too much creepy creep to convince anyone she was a Super by a long stretch.

Focus was starting to slip a slope on the quick as Feral used her boosted speed to leap and tumble all around Emmy, too fast for her to keep up with, more and more swipes sliding around openings in her too slow shield as blood became a pool around her feet. One final time she turned too molasses in speed and those claws from hell took a chunk of flesh from the back of her leg as she fell face first to the ground, her shield, going the way of the dinosaurs, extinct and forgotten. She couldn’t catch her breath, barely able to stay conscious with the blood loss, combat suit the only thing that had kept those claws from taking her life in one go. She couldn’t even lift her head she felt so weak, all her dreams becoming ash in her mouth. To get so close and fail was a quarter at the arcade that never found the slot. She could make out a gloating raspy voice above her.

“The EMP won’t last much longer and they’ll be able to get through the doors but by that time, you, toots, will be gone, just another tragedy rift to the whims of fate, reaching for dreams far past the skill to taste them.”

A sharpened claw pierced into her skin under her chin forcing her head up, eyes half lidded, consciousness on the drop of a whim from the black. The blurry face of Feral with a cruel hungry smile came close.

“I’m gonna enjoy this. You’ve been a pain in the ass.”

Will kicked in, the same Will that had refused to let her ever lose sight of faith, belief, a cocky whimsy. Anger burned in her veins. She not only could reach for the stars but rise above them. Her entire being fought the dark that threatened her everything. Her rage fueled by Will became something else, something more. Her entire body vibrated, Feral’s eyes going wide, taking a step back. Emmy’s eyes flashed wide as the lip of canyons, leaking violet stars. Her entire body lifted off the ground, a fire of violet storm and intent.

“I am Arc, Vigilant, and I will not lose, to, you.”

A blast of telekinetic fury lashed out and catapulted Feral into a wall fifty yards away with the speed of a cannon ball, the sounds of multiple bones shattering and insta sleepy bye. Emmy dropped to the ground, limp and empty. She saw flashing notifications roll out and it made her smile, a bloody smile but a smile none the less.

Quest -- Impossible Dreams -- Completed

4/4 Opponents Defeated.

Reward – You are now a Trainee of the Vigilant. Held Experience and Skill and Attribute Enhancement allocated.

Level 5 > 7

Geometric Object Creation – Level – 4 > 7

Hand to Hand Combat – Level 4 > 6

Melee Weapon Training – Level 3 > 5

Stealth -- Level 2 > 3

Combat Acrobatics – Level 2 > 4

Physical (Strength) – F5 > F6

Physical (Speed) -- F6 > F7

Physical(Agility) – F6 > F7

Physical (Body) – F6 > F7

Mental (Acuity) – F5 > F6

Mental (Will) – E0 > E1 (1 Point Remaining)

Mental (Cognition) – F6 > F7

Meta (Potency) – E3 > E5

Meta (Capacity) – E0 > E1 (1 Point Remaining)

Meta (Control) – F9 > E0

New Ability Created – Telekinetic Blast.

The hits kept coming and coming. Giggle followed by a hacking cough. The sound of a door opening made it to her ears though she was too tired to open them or lift anything, much less her head. She had done it. She could just imagine the look on Lacey’s face. She was a Vigilant, they couldn’t take it from her. She felt a warm energy rush into her flesh and that sexy voice caressing her ear like pancakes and maple syrup, hmm, she loved maple syrup.

“Congratulations Trainee. You won. And we will be investigating your opponent and whose behind her. Hyppolita heard everything. Now stay still. I have you.”

Gold, pure Gold. Feral and whoever her boss was forgot about super hearing.

“Thank Pally. Told...you….I’d…..kick…..booty…”

As her consciousness faded to the black she could hear a smooth chuckle that had a completely different kind of warmth kindling her kindle.

Paladin looked down upon the unconscious candidate.

“You did kiddo, you did, and you deserved better then what you got in this life. I’ll personally make sure you get what you need from here till every tomorrow finds it’s end.”

His eyes scanned Hyppolita injecting the other with a healing serum Sky Dragon had concocted. Nowhere near as potent as his touch but enough to keep the traitor in their midst alive. Between Arctic and this he could sense something foul was brewing. His eyes shifted once more to the kid. Something about her, something, something that could be the key to it all. She certainly had some metaphorically huge balls.