Chapter 3 [Monsters]

Capricorn 8 / 2261 10:13

|||| "It's empty," he said. I looked around the large hanger and frowned. Hissing voices warned me of what would follow. He took another step in. His next step took him outside the ray of light cast by the open door. I tried to yell, but my voice was gone. I watched him disappear into the darkness. The hissing grew louder. I covered my ears and screamed. ||||

"Jade?" a voice called. I jerked awake. I jolted up, my breaths short and panicked. Quinn! Quinn, damn it! I jerked around, my eyes scanning my room. "Jade? Are you okay?"

Sweat made my skin slick and cold. I closed my eyes and pulled my knees up to my chest. Deep breaths. I remembered. Calm down. It's just a dream.

I covered my face and attempted to calm my frantic breathing. After a few minutes, I was composed enough to look at my desk and the small hologram waiting on it.

"I'm fine," I told the AI. Vix tilted her head at me. She had chosen the form of a younger girl, one that looked a lot like me when I was young. "Just... just another nightmare."

"They are becoming more frequent," Vix noted. She turned as a holo-screen appeared beside her. I saw a chart with dates down the side and X's beside a lot of them. "Four in the past week."

"You're keeping track? Really?" I asked. Vix placed one hand under her chin and stared at the screen. I rolled my eyes before pushing the sheet off me.

"I am concerned. In the past week, you have a total of thirteen hours of sleep. For a girl your age, you need at least, at the very least, 42 hours a week." she explained. She turned back to me, her green form flickering as she thought. I stared at her for a minute before standing and stretching my arms over my head.

"I'm fine, Vix," I promised. A bitter taste filled my mouth. I swallowed and turned to my closet. "I just need a mission."

"You're trying to distract yourself," Vix observed. I rolled my eyes as I got dressed.

"Do not discuss anything with Nati or Jermia unless I give the okay. Understood?" I shot her a sharp look. She narrowed her eyes at me but nodded. I pulled the hood over my hair, glancing at the mirror before I left. Dark shadows lined my eyes. My bottom lip was split from my most recent fight, and I was so pale my freckles looked black. Great. I could almost hear my grandmother scolding me for going out like this.

"I also wanted to mention, there is a group of Legend soldiers training in the outdoor yard if you wish to see. Perhaps seeing their skill in person will help your doubts." Vix said. I'd spent the past week ranting about the Legends. Vix had to hear all of it. I shrugged before heading to the door. I had nothing better to do anyway. I glanced back as my door slid shut before heading to the lift. The outdoor yard was outside the walls, about a five-minute walk. It was pretty much a giant field that the base used as a running track and obstacle courses. I walked out and paused at the metal benches that lined the outside of the track.

A team of twelve Legends ran the track. All of them taller than any normal person I'd ever met. Each one built like a tank. As I watched, I could see how fluidly their muscles moved under their skin. How easily their strides ate up the track. They were, admittingly, stunning. I could help but give a small gasp when they ran past. My hair waved in the breeze they caused. As I watched, I realized they weren't even trying. Their strides were relaxed and calm. A few spoke amongst themselves. Then I noticed three pull ahead of the crowd.

I recognized only one in the trio. Reaper. He was the tallest of all of them with short brown hair and dark hooded eyes.

{Hey kid, no cheap shots.

There are no cheap shots in war, Reap.

Fair point, Storm.}

The memory of our first fight made me grin to myself. Reaper was arrogant and teased a lot, but he was strong and smart.

"Stormy, checking out the Legends?" Raven appeared beside me, making me jump back. I wiped the smile off my face. I looked around before realizing she had dropped from the top of the bleachers. "They are combustions, aren't they?"

"Combustions?" I asked, looking at the three Legend soldiers. Reaper I guess was good looking... not really my type though. Too full of himself. I watched as he slowly pulled ahead of the other two. Not by much. Both of the other men were fighting to beat him. Now they were trying. I tore my gaze off them and looked at Raven. "You've been hanging around the mechanics too long."

"Can you blame me?" She ran her hand through her hair and fluttered her golden eyes. She looked at them and smiled. "Smart and hot, best of both worlds. At least the young ones are."

"You need a hobby," I stated, rolling my eyes. She chuckled and shrugged. At least she had chilled out since the last time I saw her. I saw her gaze locked on the three racing. They tore past at alarming speeds.

"I'll give you a hand on who to look for." Raven sat on the lowest bench and leaned back. Her long hair brushed the ground when she did that. The twenty-five-year-old was a pilot at the base, at the time when she started, she was the youngest. I met her when she decided to steal a jet and take it for a joyride, trapping me alongside her. "Tallest one, the one leading, is great at running, but he's not flexible. Shorty is also quick, and he's amazing at the obstacle courses. He also throws his weight around. Black hair with the shaved sides is the quiet one, from what I've seen. He hasn't spoken this entire time. But he seems to have an issue with the tallest. He's really trying to beat him."

I looked at each one as she spoke. Reaper was the tall one she noticed. I was almost certain he was close to eight-zero tall. Shorty was just over seven, probably around seven-one. Black haired one was maybe... seven-six.

"Stop analyzing and listen." Raven snapped. I jerked out of my thoughts and faced Raven.

"Sorry, continue." I bowed my head. I sat beside her and braced my arms on my knees. Without thinking about it, I raised my hand and bit my nails. I watched the Legends from under my hair. I didn't want Reaper to notice me. Not that he was really paying attention to anything but his race against the other two.

I looked at the rest of the group. Five girls, seven boys. Most of the Legend program were men. This was mainly because mutations in the human DNA were more common in men, especially mutations linked with the X chromosome. Gian chose children with genetic mutations because they were more likely to survive the surgery. I spent most of my childhood reading about the Legend program. At the time they fascinated me.

"Tall brunette in a ponytail, she is clearly the best looking of the group," Raven smirked when the girl looked over. Raven wasn't bothering to lower her voice even when the Legends ran by. I watched their gaits. None of them had any sign of weakness. Long and powerful strides tore up the ground, making them do laps in half the time it took a regular soldier.

"Do you know their names?" I asked Raven. Maybe I could find this Ethan. I guess I was considering it now.

"Nah, sorry." Raven shrugged. She stood and stretched to her full height. I knew why she liked the Legends, she hated being taller than most people at the base, but the Legends were over a foot taller than the average person. Around them, Raven didn't feel like a freak with her height. "But if you get the girls name, let me know, kay?"

"Right." I rolled my eyes and continued to watch the Legends. The pilot hummed a quiet tune as she left. One of the Legends stopped running and stared at me. Reaper and the other stopped too. I could hear Reaper boasting about his win. Shorty continued to stare at me. I met his gaze with my unblinking one. Then a sly smile spread across his lips, and he started towards me. "Oh, fuck off..."

I muttered to myself. I stood as he got halfway to me. Before he could go any farther, the quiet one grabbed his arm and turned his back to the group. The quiet one managed to get him two steps away before Shorty jerked free and ran up to me. I didn't flinch when he skidded to a stop in front of me. I saw Reaper notice this. Even at a distance, I saw him grin. Reaper followed the quiet one to me.

"What?" I snapped at Shorty. I narrowed my eyes in my classic glare. Shockingly, the man didn't flinch back like the others did.

"So you're Special ops NightStorm," he smirked. I raised an eyebrow, mentally asking how he knew that. I jerked my eyes to Reaper. 'Ugh, Reaper just keep your damn mouth shut.' I looked back at the Legend in front of me and crossed my arms over my chest. "Story says you can fight against a Legend soldier and win."

"Would you like a demonstration?" I growled. I tilted my head and gave a wicked smile. "You can tell me how grass tastes."

"You're confident." he chuckled. His laugh pissed me off. I narrowed my eyes until they were slits. Reaper got close enough to hear. He glanced at the quiet one and muttered something to him.

"You're arrogant." I retorted. I dropped my smile into a sharp snarl. He clenched his fist, his smirk twisting. This better not be Ethan or I may kill him myself.

"Kyle." Reaper snapped. Good, this isn't Ethan. I glanced at the taller Legend. Reaper met my gaze and gave me a quick nod.

"Enough." the quiet one added. I looked at him, hesitating slightly. I felt my face flush. 'Sorry, Rave, I think this one is the cutest.' I thought. I quickly shook my head to force the thought away. 'No, no! No.' I growled at myself. I refused to let myself get caught up in this type of thing. But I still found myself staring at him. His light gold skin looked even paler against his black bangs. His thin lips drawn in a thin line. Shorty, or Kyle, jumped and froze, fear flashing over his face. I couldn't help but smile at his reaction. Any time Reaper teamed with someone, you knew to listen. Reaper always works alone. If he brings help, you really screwed up.

"Fine." Kyle groaned. The quiet one and Kyle returned to their group. Reaper watched them leave and turned to me.

"Hey, kid." He smiled. I rolled my eyes and sat back on the bench. "Looking good."

"Go train, Reap." I chuckled. He bowed his head at me.

"Later." He waved over his shoulder before leaving. I spent another hour watching before going for my lab. Jermia met me just as I was walking in the front gate.

"Storm. Have you read the file yet?" he asked. I took a deep breath and shook my head. I had just thrown the file on my desk. Gian's note bugged me. A few things about it. For one, who the hell was Onyx?

"No, I've been busy." I shrugged. Acid filled my mouth. 'Busy watching Legends, damn it, I sound like Rave.' I brushed past him and crossed the grass. I walked to the medical building without another glance at Jermia. There I took the lift up to the labs and walked into my private one. The minute I walked in, the lab lit up in a blueish-green glow. Vix appeared on the island table, an expectant look on her face.

"Not a fan," I answered. I opened the file that held my own work. "How's the hack going?"

Before my mother was killed, she placed millions upon millions of firewalls over her work. All of it can be accessed by a password. Something no one did anymore. Because no one did it anymore, there were very few AI's that could hack them. Even then, the AI's needed to know how many letters or numbers there were. My mother didn't leave that hint, and she set it to destroy all data if the wrong password was used. Vix and Cleo, my hacker, had been trying to hack it for seven years now with no luck.

"Nothing. Cleo is stopping by in about ten minutes." Vix sat down on the holo pad and crossed her legs. I clicked open the file for the design Cleo, and I had been working on. A suit. One like the ones the Legendary soldiers used.

Their suits were absolutely amazing, even I had to admit that. It encased their entire body, leaving no skin showing. Gel lining to absorb shock, a metal alloy at the joints and thick metal plates. It would take over a thousand human bullets to penetrate it. But it was hand hard to move in, and the Legion used energy bullets, something that could eat through the metal faster than metal bullets. Cleo and I had been designing a new suit. One that was lighter and stronger than the Legend suits.

"What about liquid crystal?" Cleo said as she entered. I glanced over at my best friend in confusion. She shook her newly dyed blue and white hair before smiling. The twin sister of Raven looked as different from her as possible. Skintight, bright coloured clothing set off her golden skin and eyes. Her left eye glowed pink as she opened another screen and typed something into it. Her left arm was silver and pink. A new prosthetic limb. "Instead of gel. It absorbs shock better than any gel."

"How?" I asked. "Also, nice arm."

"Thank you. It's so much lighter." Cleo flexed her metal fingers and smiled. She even painted the nails bright pink. On her face was bright pink lipstick and dark blue eyeshadow that somehow worked. "Anyway, it absorbs shock. It's like a non-newtonian fluid. Becomes solid when there is a lot of shock."

"Wouldn't that just cause more pain?" I asked. I leaned on the counter as she turned the screen to show me a video. A bullet hit a layer of blue gel. The gel became white as it absorbed the shock and turned solid.

"No, because only the first layer would turn solid. If we do three or four extremely thin layers, the shock will dissipate as it went through the layers." She explained as the video showed it. "The thickness would be half of what it is in the Legends."

"That's good." I nodded. I turned back to my file and noticed Cleo had already added the new material. In a box, she had noted that she had started preparing the fabric that would go between my skin and the layers. Cathian spider silk. More than bulletproof.

"Also, have you noticed how many of them have been hanging around lately?" Cleo frowned at the ground before looking at me. Her left eye turned back to gold. Cleo was part robot. There were sections of her brain that were fused with circuits. This allowed her to connect to her arm at a neurological level. Her left eye had also been replaced with a robotic one to allow her to read coding faster. She had lost both her arm and an eye in an explosion a few years ago. "Before it was rare to see one, now we have whole groups."

"I noticed." I tapped my fingers on the stone counter. I glanced at Vix with a questioning look. The AI glowed brightly for a second before fading back to normal. She had just gotten some information. Maybe a message or a file.

"Want me to do some snooping?" Cleo asked. I stared at Vix as she stood, barely hearing Cleo's question. Vix blurred her face for a minute. Something she did when she was concerned.

"What is it, Vix?" I asked. Her face returned to normal, and she looked at me with worried eyes.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. Her face flickered.

"How are you not sure?" Cleo asked. Her eye returned to pink when she turned back to her screen. "You're an AI."

I didn't say anything as Vix flickered. Cleo glanced between Vix and me, worry filling her face in a downturned smile.

"The master has called for all Legends to meet on Lexi for a meeting next year," Vix explained. I tilted my head and frowned. "That's almost seven hundred Legends."

A pit opened in my stomach. Something terrible must have happened if she needed all the Legends. Or something bad is going to happen. Either way, I didn't like this. I pulled a strand of hair around my face and played with it as I thought. She's calling about it a year before the actual meeting? That's not good. It means she needs everyone.

"What's the meeting about?" Cleo asked. Vix shrugged. She pushed her short hair behind her ear before freeing it again. Cleo turned away from her screen and looked at me. Her gold eyes were wide with worry.

"I wish I knew. She didn't say." Vix answered. I bit my lip. I looked at the door and frowned.

"That can't be good," Cleo muttered. Vix nodded her agreement.

"What about the metal." I turned back to the screen. The pair jerked in surprise and Cleo stuttered an answer. "It needs to be more flexible. The Legends have large plates, what if we used smaller plates that could overlap?"

"That could work." Cleo recovered from her shock. Her eye glowed as she went into her files. "You fight with a lot of flexibility, that was never a concern with the Legends because they fight with their weight. You don't have that."

"Aren't you worried about the Legends?" Vix asked. I glanced at her and shrugged.

"Nah, I'll check it out at the meeting," I answered. Vix tilted her head and bit her lip.

"Its Legends only, you aren't allowed in." She played with her holographic hair again. I pulled my own ponytail around and pressed it to my lips as I thought. I dropped my hair and shrugged.

"I would love to see them try to stop me," I smirked. Cleo snorted and covered her mouth. After seven years of dealing with me, this attitude was no longer shocking to her. I glanced at the youngest hacker in the military and grinned. "Besides, in all technicality, I am classified as a Legendary soldier."

"You are?" Cleo asked. I nodded and raised my eyebrows.

"Legends are classified as any genetically enhanced soldier. I was given the HCDS. I am a genetically modified and a soldier." I smirked.

HCDS. Hypercellular development serum. A serum my mother made based off the Legend soldiers. According to Gian's files that were released a few years ago, the serum was supposed to do what the surgery did, without the mortality rate. The serum was classified as a failure, mainly because Jadien Ryder-Selene died with her parents before anyone could judge if the serum worked. That's what the files say because that's what Cleo changed it to seven years ago, just before the records were released to the public.

At sixteen Cleo was the best hacker anyone had seen in hundreds of years. She hacked the most encrypted military files just because she could. Her robotic enhancements only made her a better hacker. But, like Raven and me, her age became a block. No one listened to us because we were too young. We spent our entire lives proving our worth. I was still struggling to.

"Right." Cleo nodded. "But you would have to use your name then."

"Maybe. I'll find a way. And either way, Jadien is a soldier here." I glanced at Vix, who nodded. I had two names at this base, both with different rankings. Jadien Ryder was a Lieutenant. She, according to the files, had been at the base for two years. NightStorm was a Special Ops, she was the name I used most. In her file, it said I had been in the military since I was eleven. Both have come in handy more than once. "But that's a later issue, we need to finish this and get started on the first version."

"Kay." Cleo turned back to her screen. The pink tattoos that covered her skin in intricate circuits designs glowed with her pink eye. We worked for hours on the finalized design.