The only sound that filled the vacant corridor was the sound of Dominance's high heels clicking on the metallic floor. The woman moved at a good clip, in spite of the fact that she wasn't looking forward to this meeting. The experiment in El Paso had taken several unexpected twists that no one had foreseen. She feared that she'd be the one blamed for these mishaps.
The doorway slid silently open as Dominance approached it. The room beyond was a conference area. A large table occupied the center of the room, with nearly a dozen chairs around it. In the middle of the table was a picture of the Earth; North and South America mostly, with a blood red hand on top them.
The two men in the room looked at the mentalist as she entered. She quietly took a seat and waited for the worst.
One of the men was standing, and paced at the head of the table. Behind him were several wall-mounted chalkboards all of which were filled with various notes. The man was nothing special to look at, in spite of the outfit he was wearing. He was rather short, even shorter than Dominance was without her high heels. She guessed that he had to be in his fifties by now. What little hair remained had turned gray a long time ago.
"I can explain everything, Peacemonger...," the mentalist said.
"Silence!" The standing man, Peacemonger, was not in the mood for any of her explanations. Peacemonger wore a loose-fitting, bright green costume, with blue gloves, boots, and cape. A yellow belt and sabre scabbard rounded out the ensemble. The same picture that appeared on the conference room table graced the man's chest.
"All is not lost," the seated man commented, absent-mindedly playing with a elegant flute held in his hands. He had white hair and green eyes. His outfit was less extravagant; a simple martial arts practice robe with loose-fitting black exercise pants. "We may have lost our test subjects, but we can still monitor them."
"The loss of the VIPER installation is of no importance," Peacemonger declared. "It served its purpose and now they bear the blame for our actions. The test subjects have traveled to Sanctuary. As Virtuoso said, we can still monitor them. As a bonus, Genetic Deviant X killed one of the Superior Seven. One less annoyance to oppose us."
That made Dominance feel much better. No punishment seemed to be heading her way. Still, she would need to be very careful for the next few weeks. No further mistakes would be tolerated until this incident blew over.
"I can go to Sanctuary and observe," Dominance said.
"Virtuoso will accompany you. I want to know what progress they are making. Acquire whatever test results you can. And stay out of trouble. I do not wish our involvement in this affair to be known to anyone."
Dominance rose from her chair and nodded her understanding. She exited the conference room with Virtuoso on her heels. Peacemonger turned back to his boards of notes. He scanned them and added more...
Jessica was one of a trio of teenagers who had been subjected to vile experimentation by the world-wide criminal organization VIPER. The girl now possessed superhuman powers, the nature of which she was not entirely sure. It was these powers, and the idea of living among a tropical paradise, that had prompted her to join the Young Champions Program at Sanctuary.
"You're up early." Unnoticed by Jessica, the Tigress had approached to within five feet.
"Yeah-- wasn't all that tired anymore," Jessica responded.
The Young Champions had returned from Texas the day before with their new recruits. It was mid-afternoon when the jet touched down at the landing pad. Jess, her twin brother Jason, and Jennifer were given rooms for the night at the hotel. The teens were introduced to the island staff and the necessary paper work was handled. Their testing would start today.
The Tigress stretched her muscles nearby. The routine reminded Jessica of the movements of her younger sister's pet cat. "I love this time of the morning," the Tigress explained. "Nice and peaceful. Perfect for a cat nap."
"Going a little overboard with the cat theme?", Jessica questioned.
"Maybe, I do have some feline traits... My sleeping habits usually consist of a nap here, a nap there. Give me a warm spot in the sun and I'm happy." The Tigress curled up in the sand.
After a time, Jessica asked, "So what's it like here? What am I getting myself into?"
The Tigress regarded the younger girl. She had those very same thoughts just a few short months ago when she was in Jessica's place. "In spite of that stoic disposition, Gladiator is an all right guy. He'll be really tough on you, but it'll pay off in the long run. You've got a different set of problems than I did, and probably a lot more to learn. My mutation was basically just an increase of things normal people do, like jumping, running, etc. I didn't have to contend with many of the more unusual powers."
"At least my life won't be boring. Thanks, Tigress."
"Call me Erica."
"Thanks, Erica. So, what's in store for me today anyway?"
"My guess is that the docs will poke n' probe you a bit, maybe do some power testing. That'll be interesting to watch."
"Sure-- you're not the guinea pig," Jessica protested.
"True. But it'll be refreshing to have you around. Sapphire isn't exactly a normal woman."
"No-- really?"
The Tigress shot Jessica a glance at her sarcasm. "Hey, I share a bungalow with her. Believe me, she is not from this world."
"You guys have a bungalow? That sounds cool!"
"I wouldn't be so happy about that. You'll probably get the ditzy blonde as a roommate," the Tigress said with a knowing smile.
"You're kidding, right?" Jessica was not pleased with the idea of having to share quarters with Jennifer and her almost child-like mentality.
"Sorry. There's only one extra bungalow for the staff and my guess is it's for you and the air-head. Your brother will probably take Starbolt's old digs with 'Wings. I'm gonna miss that hot head."
"I see." Jessica stood and stretched as the sun cleared the horizon. "Guess it's going to be an interesting day."
Several hours later, Jessica had joined up with Jason and Jennifer at the infirmary. The initial examinations were being conducted by Dr. Angelique Marin. Dr. Marin is an attractive woman in her early thirties, and stands about 5'4" with stylish blonde hair and green eyes.
The teens were seated in the doctor's private office. Jason and Jessica on chairs before the desk, Jennifer wandered the room wide-eyed. The twins were dressed in normal warm weather clothes, Jen was still in the blue/green bodysuit that the Sorceress had created for her.
"So what's the verdict, doc?" Jason wasn't sure if he even really wanted to know. Was he even still human? Mutant? Something else entirely?
"Everything looks good," Dr. Marin reported. "Body temperature, pulse, and respiration are within normal ranges. Each of you has unusually dense skin."
"Dense skin?", Jessica parroted. She felt her the skin on her arm and didn't notice anything different.
"What's that supposed to mean?", Jason asked. He also didn't think his skin felt any different.
"Your skin simply is more resistant to penetration than a normal human's," Dr. Marin said with a smile. "Could probably stop bullets, but I wouldn't recommending shooting yourselves to find out."
"Getting shot isn't high on my list of things to do," Jessica commented sarcastically.
"Yeah, really," Jason added. "Anything else?"
"Based on my examinations, reviewing the material the Superior Seven gathered from the VIPER base, and from what you've told me, I can offer some theories as to what sort of powers each of you now possesses."
This was what Jessica was waiting to hear. "Okay, let's get to it."
"Jessica is suspected to be a air/water elemental. You said that you were able to project a blast of concentrated water from your hands. My examination shows that you possess a high degree of resistance to pressure. I'd say that you can survive underwater, even great depths, without the need for protection. Your lungs show similar characteristics to those beings I have examined who can draw oxygen from either air or water."
Jessica seemed rather pleased with all that. "So you're saying I can go deep sea diving without the need of air tanks or a suit?" She thought about the implications for a moment. "I think I like that."
"Again, these are things that should only be tried under controlled conditions for safety's sake. Your vision also extends into the ultraviolet range."
"I noticed that this morning. I could see just fine and the sun hadn't come up yet. It was really weird."
"Carrying on with the air/water elemental theme, then it's possible that you're vulnerable to your counterparts-- earth and fire."
"So that means," Jason rationalized, "that me and Jess are vulnerable to each others powers?"
"In theory."
"That does make sense," Jason continued. "We were caught up in a blast of fire inside the VIPER base. It didn't bother me all that much, but knocked Jess out."
"From what you told me, Jace," Jessica added, "I'm happy to have missed it."
"That does provide some support to this hypothesis. It also suggests that you are highly resistant to your own elements. In this case, Jason not being bothered by the fire." Turning back to Jessica, she added, "That's all I was able to determine from your examination. Future testing will reveal more about your abilities."
Seeing that Jennifer was engrossed with a perpetual motion machine in the back of the office, Dr. Marin moved on to Jason. "I really don't have much to add about Jason that we haven't already discussed in regards to Jessica. You seem to possess the ability to manipulate earth, such as when you caused the ground to move you along, like riding a wave on a surf board."
"And when I had the ground rise up around Centurion," Jason added.
Dr. Marin stood up and crossed the office to where Jennifer was, observing the swinging silver balls on the coffee table. "And then there is Jennifer. Her results are somewhat confusing. Apart from body temperature and pulse, I wasn't able to get any conclusive results from any test that I performed! No tangible results on her electrocardiogram or her electroencephalogram."
"That's really weird," Jason commented.
"Fits the bill if you ask me," Jessica added with a smirk.
"That's not very nice, Jess." Turning back to Dr. Marin, Jason asked, "What about her amnesia?"
"I was not able to find any trace of physical trauma to her head. Jennifer also doesn't breath."
"She doesn't breath!?" That certainly caught the twins by surprise.
Even Jennifer paid notice. "Uhm, is that like a big deal or something? Should I make an effort too?" The young girl appeared to be genuinely concerned.
Jess shook her head slightly and had to laugh, not believing what she was hearing. "She's like a cross between a cheerleader and a puppy..."
Dr. Marin responded to Jennifer's question. "Obviously, you don't need to breath to survive. I wouldn't worry about it."
"Okie!", Jennifer said cheerfully and continued to play with the toy.
Returning to her seat, Angelique added, "All in all, you three are in perfect health. I would like to run more tests, with your permission of course. There are many things unanswered here. I'd like to take blood and DNA samples as well."
"Excuse me, Doc, but if we have bullet-proof skin how are you going to get a blood sample?," Jason asked. "Won't your needle break on my skin? If you got a way, I'm willing to try it."
"You're skin is tougher," Dr. Marin explained, "but you're not invulnerable. A needle should work just fine."
"I'll agree to any test, as long as I you don't have to use any needles on me," Jessica stated.
"Fair enough."
"I've got some questions as well, doctor," Jessica continued.
"I'll answer as best I can. Fire away."
"How is it that my body creates these water 'blasts'?"
Doctor Marin considered for a moment and then responded, "I'd speculate that your body can absorb moisture from the atmosphere, store it and then project it. The process is similar to how those folks with ice powers work. They just carry it a step further and freeze the moisture."
Jessica's next asked, "Has my body's physical properties changed because of these 'powers'. Is it possible that I can do other things we haven't found out yet?"
"Your physical properties have definitely changed. That's why I need to run deeper tests, like a DNA check, to see how far you've changed. I wouldn't be surprised if you had other powers that have yet to manifest themselves."
"That makes sense," Jason replied.
"Great." Dr. Marin led the teens back into the lab and took the necessary samples she would need for the additional tests.
While the samples were being extracted, Gladiator entered the lab with another member of the Sanctuary staff, Dr. John Brinton. The long-time Sanctuary physician was quite handsome and distinguished looking. Introductions were exchanged.
"So what's next on the agenda, Sarge?" Jessica figured that her day was far from over yet.
Gladiator never really cared for that particular label, but it was tolerable. "Physical testing. Dr. Brinton will be attaching monitors to each of you. Then we'll put you through some exercises to help flesh out your new found abilities."
"Where do we have to go for that?", Jessica asked.
"Training Town."
Training Town was a combat simulation area on the southwest portion of the island. From a distance, it looked much like a Hollywood movie set. A simulated main street, except that the buildings were only heavily reinforced frames.
"This is our main training area," Gladiator explained. The three teens and Dr. Brinton had been joined by Tigress, Archangel, and Turbo on main street. Numerous sensors had been attached to the new recruits.
Turbo rushed to up Jason. "Hi!Nicetometyou!Myname'sTurbo! What'syours?"
Jason didn't know what to make of this hyperactive man that was moving about him like some mad Mexican jumping bean. "Uhm, hi. I'm Jason."
"Greattomeetyou!I'msurewe'llbegoodfriends!" Turbo moved on to Jessica and then Jennifer. Even Jennifer wasn't sure what to make of the young man.
"Kids, Turbo is the last member of our group," Gladiator explained. "He's not quite ready for the world, so we didn't take him along to El Paso."
"I can see why," Jessica said. "Too bad he's such a geek," she thought to herself. "He's kind of cute!"
"Unfortunately, Turbo's system is hyperactive. He ages twice as fast as we do. He's only ten years old, but appears twenty."
"He and Jenny should get along great," the Tigress commented to no one in particular.
"We're ready to begin," Gladiator continued. "First we'll test your mobility. A simple distance race. First to make it to the end of the street and back here will have a day free from chores."
"Sounds good to me," Jason said. He and Jessica moved to the starting line.
Seeing that Jennifer wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention, Gladiator added, "Jennifer! Would you like to play a game?"
"Sure!!" After explaining the object of the game, Jennifer took her place on the starting line.
"GO!"
The three surged forward and rushed down the street. Jennifer took to the air and quickly surged ahead. Jason ran, but so far the ground wasn't rushing up to propel him along.
Off on the sideline, Turbo ran the same race. The youth completed the course in the time that it took Jessica to run twenty feet! "Noone'sfasterthanme!I'mTurbopowered!!" The hyper teen followed that up with several victory laps around Training Town.
Annoyed, Jessica ran after the other two. "Catch her! She can't win! She probably likes doing chores!" Jessica pushed herself and was shocked when she started to rise into the air! "I-- I can fly!"
"No fair!", Jason yelled as now he was the one rapidly falling behind.
Jennifer had already reached the end of the street, but had failed to turn around and return to the finish line. Archangel was futilely trying to explain that to her.
Jessica was momentarily lost in the joy of having escaped gravity's bonds. "I could get used to this..." Realizing that the race was still on, Jess streaked towards the finish line.
Bringing up the rear, Jason's ground surfing ability had finally kicked into gear. The ground swelled under him and he surged forward.
Jessica was already on the return leg of the race back when Jennifer finally realized that she had to fly back. Jess kept looking over her shoulder as the dizzy teenager gained ground on her! "NO! You can't beat me!"
Jennifer just waved and said, "Hiyas!"
At the mid-point, Jason skidded to a stop. The girls were well ahead of him at this point. "This really sucks!" The ground reversed course and carried him back the way he had come.
"Now, now, Jace, watch yer language!", Jessica said with a smirk. "You'll never catch me!"
Jess was bearing down on the finish line. Jennifer had closed the gap between the two, but wouldn't be able to make up the difference before the end of the course.
"Oh yeah," Jason taunted, "Watch this, sis!" Unexpectedly, Jason, dove forward off his earthen wave and plunged into the ground as if it was nothing more than water!
"How'd he do that? Big deal, he won't catch me!" Jessica gritted her teeth and surged over the finish line first. A split second later, Jason erupted out of the ground and finished second, beating Jennifer by a hair.
"Yes!" Jessica soared around the training facility doing a victory lap.
"That was pretty wild," the Tigress said to Jason. "I've never seen anyone do that stunt you just did!"
"Thanks. I really can't explain it-- It just seemed like the thing to do."
"Most enlightening," Gladiator commented. "Two new abilities have been brought to light out from this one exercise." Motioning to Archangel, he added, "Best bring her back here."
Jennifer had failed to stop at the finish line and continued to fly out of Training Town and was halfway across the island by now! Archangel gave a gesture of understanding and flew off after the rookie.
Jessica came back down and Jason had caught his breath once more. "Way to go, sis."
"Thanks! That was fun."
Dr. Brinton stepped out on the street once more and made a few adjustments to the sensors that the pair wore. "So far, so good. We're getting some interesting data."
"Glad to make your day, doc."
Turbo continued to rush about the setting, seemingly never staying in one spot for more than a few seconds. In sharp contrast, the Tigress leaped up to the top of one of the buildings and found a nice place to relax with a good view of the rest of the proceedings.
Archangel swooped in and landed with Jennifer right behind him. The girl was utterly fascinated by the young hero's large, white wings. "Pretty!"
After conversing with Dr. Brinton, Gladiator once more spoke to the new recruits. "You may wish to consider adopting code names to protect your privacy and that of your families. Using your real names could potentially have bad results. Combat outfits would be advisable as well."
"No problem, Sarge," Jessica said. "That file called me Tempest and I like it. So I'll take that name."
"Jen's already pretty much adopted Nemesis, so I guess that'll take care of her," Jason added.
"So what's it gonna be, Jace? Terra Fire?"
"I don't know, sis. It makes me sound like I'm trying to scare people."
"You'll have plenty of time to make your choice, lad. In the meantime, I'm going to have Archangel take Tempest and Nemesis out for some flight drills. This'll give us some ideas on the limits of their flight."
"Okay," Jessica said. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Catch me if you can!" Archangel took off, leaving the two surprised teens behind.
"So, birdman wants to race? Come on, Nemesis!" Tempest leaped into the air followed closely by Jennifer.
"Where are we going?," Jennifer asked innocently, as she pulled alongside her teammate.
"To catch the guy with the pretty wings!"
"Oh, Okie!"
Back on the ground, Jason watched the trio fly off and out of sight. "So what do I do in the meantime?"
"Some target practice." Gladiator led Jason to a shooting range adjacent to Training Town. The Tigress followed, leaping from building to building with her namesake's ease. Turbo grew bored and ran off.
"This is a shooting gallery-- a practice area for those with ranged attacks." Gladiator placed Jason in front of a waist-high wall. A large open area, at least fifty yards deep and twenty yards wide, was on the other side of the wall. A roof covered the area, but the sides were open, except for supports. "Straight ahead is the target area. The targets will be of various sizes, and will appear at various ranges from the floor or ceiling."
"Just like a target practice game then?"
"Essentially. All we are trying to do right now is gauge what kind of ranged attacks you may have and their potency. We are not concerned with accuracy in this exercise."
"Good thing, too." Jason readied himself. But he had to admit that these training exercises were becoming more and more interesting. It was almost like Christmas when he was a kid: wondering what new power would surface next.
"GO!"
A small target sprang out of the ground some seventy-five feet away on Jason's left. Jace concentrated on the target as hard as he could. Nothing happened and after five seconds, the target disappeared into its hiding place.
"Bummer."
A moment later, a new target appeared from the ceiling. It was a mere ten feet in front of Jason and was large in size.
"I think I've just been insulted!" Concentration once more furrowed Jason's brow, but this time he got results. Suddenly, a dozen earthen arms shot up from the ground underneath the target! "Wow!"
"Concentrate on your task," Gladiator snapped. "Use your power, don't be impressed by it!"
"Yes sir!" The dozen 'arms' that had been haphazardly flailing about, seemed to take on purpose. They reached for the target and half of them grabbed onto it. "This is weird-- I can feel the target in my hands!"
"Good. Release the target."
Continuing to concentrate, Jason willed the arms to release their prize. A moment later the target snapped up into the ceiling. Jason was very impressed. The hands gave themselves congratulatory high-fives.
"No time to celebrate! The next target is up!"
A new target presented itself in the back of the gallery, off to Jason's right. The teen grumbled to himself and willed the arms back into the ground. Obviously, this training wasn't going to be all fun and games.
Unnoticed by all, the figure of a man slowly inched his way closer to the shooting gallery. He moved slowly, silently along one of Training Town's buildings. His form seemingly merging into the backgrounds as he moved past. He watched Jason's testing with great interest...
Far above Sanctuary, Archangel led Tempest and Nemesis on a merry chase. The girls had caught up to him fairly easy, but he could outdistance them with effort. His body was conditioned for extended periods of flight. He doubted that his new teammates were as fortunate.
Archangel upped his speed and started to pull away from his pursuers. The miles rapidly passed by and several small islands came into view. The winged hero dove towards the nearest one and accelerated through a small jungle, weaving in and out of trees at breakneck speed!
"Have you lost your mind?", Jessica shouted as she desperately tried to avoid any collisions. Unfortunately, a large tree appeared right before her! Tempest threw her hands over her head, closed her eyes, and screamed as she prepared for the impact!
To Jessica's surprise, the impact never came. In shock, she opened her eyes and found that she somehow had avoided the impact. Tempest felt strange. Her arms had an ethereal quality to them. They were still visible, but she could see through them!
The tree that Jessica had missed suddenly exploded into splinters! Nemesis had been unable to avoid the obstacle also, but her powers had destroyed the tree before it could harm her. Jen continued forward and flew right at Tempest. "Oop-sie!"
Nothing happened as Nemesis harmlessly flew through Jessica.
Archangel came winging back a moment later, looking very concerned. "You two okay?"
"No thanks to you, 'Wings!" Jessica was shaken by this turn of events. "I flew right through that tree! Then Jennifer flew through me! I'm like a ghost or something!"
"Wow! Maybe you've turned into air?"
"What are you talking about? That's crazy!"
"Is it?" Archangel passed his hand through Jessica's body and met no resistance. "People move through air without hitting anything, just like my hand passed through you."
"Maybe you're right. I don't like this! I want my body back!"
"Calm down. Getting upset won't help. Relax and concentrate. Will yourself back to normal."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Jessica said, "do you?"
"Hey, it sounded good!"
Nemesis had remembered to return to the others this time. "This is a fun game! I like it!"
"I don't think the tree appreciated it all that much," Archangel commented, looking back at the blown apart tree.
Jessica took several deep 'breaths' and relaxed. She concentrated and tried to make herself solid once more. Her hands slowly began to take on solid form, the wispiness fading from them. In moments, she was back to being solid.
"That was pretty wild." Jessica said as she advanced on Archangel. She slapped his upper left arm.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!", Archangel exclaimed.
"That's for you being such a jerk! Someone could've gotten hurt!"
"I'm sorry. I was just doing as instructed," Archangel protested. "I was just seeing how good you two could fly. If you didn't think you could have handled it, you shouldn't have followed me into the jungle!"
"Don't be a smart ass."
"I said I was sorry!"
Jessica fumed for a few moments and then said, "Where are we anyway? You probably got us lost as well."
"Give me a little credit. I know these islands pretty well. This is my practice run. Sheesh, with a temper like yours, no wonder you call yourself Tempest!"
"Flattery won't get you anywhere." Jennifer just watched her two teammates bicker with great amusement.
"We'd best head on back to Sanctuary. You gals think you can handle it this time?"
"Careful 'Wings, or I'll blow you out of the sky."
"Just try it, Ms. Temperamental!" Archangel took off, the girls right behind him.
Shortly after having risen above the island, Archangel noted something off to his right. "Look at that!"
"What?," Jessica said, scanning the sky in the direction Archangel was pointing to. "I don't see anything."
"I've got eagle eyes," he replied. "It's probably out of range of normal sight."
"You better give'm back, 'Wings," Jessica said with a smirk. "Eagles are an endangered species, ya know." The joke went harmlessly over Nemesis's head and Archangel just ignored it.
"It's a distress flare!", Archangel reported. "It must be a ship in trouble."
"Danger, huh? Let's check it out!" Jessica surged forward, off in the direction of the flare.
"Hey, that may not be a good idea!" But it was too late and all that Archangel could do was fly after his teammate. Nemesis brought up the rear. Besides, it was probably nothing overly serious, just some people in need...
Back at the shooting gallery, Jason was not having the best of times. His powers were sporadic at best and he had hit less than half the targets. But it had revealed a variety of ranged abilities. In addition to creating a flock of earthen arms, he had managed to summon a giant fist that crushed a target in its grip. Another target was enveloped in earth.
Still unnoticed, the man who blended in to the backgrounds like a chameleon continued to watch. What he was learning could be very useful...
"You must keep your concentration!" All throughout the drill, Gladiator had been hounding Jason. Jace had enough of the abuse. A new target appeared forty feet ahead of Jason.
"Alright, you want an attack? Here you go!"
Suddenly the earth in the shooting gallery began to noticeably tremble!
The Tigress leaped down from her perch in alarm. "Hate to say it, Sarge, but I think you pushed the kid too far. I got a really bad feeling about this!"
The ground split asunder and a hellish glow filled the rift. As the ground was separating, another portion of it was rising upwards in the shape of a cone.
"It-- It looks like a volcano!!"
