by Viola Grace
Max left it at that, and the rest of her afternoon was spent trying on clothing and finding out what styles she liked. Despite her size, she preferred softer and ladylike clothing that managed to give her a presence and the look of self-possession.
“You don’t know what this means to me. Since the growth started, I have lost control of my body. This is an excellent step to getting myself back again.” Max had four huge bags of frilly frocks and underwear. “I will ask Investigator Jianik about shoes that change with me.”
“Good. The suit has built-in footwear, but for daily wear, something more specific would be nice.” Lore gave her the standard discount, and Max winced but paid the bill with a grin.
“I will have that frock for the wedding done in two weeks. Did you want me to send you a design before I make it?”
“No. Surprise me. I like everything I have tried on aside from that yellow thing. Yellow has never really been my colour.”
Lore smirked. “Mine neither. I end up looking like a tropical fish.”
Taxo was sitting on the counter, and he bowed from the waist. “It was an honour to see you again, mistress.”
Max blushed. “Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again, Bright Flight.”
“It will happen, mistress.” He smiled brightly, and the newly minted hero left the shop with a spring in her step.
Lore looked to Taxo. “Change clothes, and we are going for dinner.”
He blinked. “Not dinner in the apartment?”
She laughed. “We are getting takeout and eating on the roof.”
Taxo nodded. “That makes more sense.”
She ruffled his hair. “You will figure out what you are seeing. Just remember that I don’t want you worrying when I am on a mission. I am going to be fine until you are an adult on a team of your own and flicking through the skies and far beyond.”
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “How far beyond?”
“A long, long, long time. I will be hurt occasionally, but I will get better. I will be away, but I will be thinking of you and then keeping my mind on the missions. The ladies I work with will eventually make our family bigger.”
“So, none of the men made it to Team Eight?”
“There is one who really tries tomorrow, but it doesn’t end well, and I can never seem to get there in time.”
“You will try.” Taxo nodded and hopped off the counter, going to the back to change his clothing.
Lore watched him as he undid the tab at the back of his neck, and the soft fluff of his wings was exposed. She was going to miss a few weekends with him, and there was going to be a frank discussion with the school.
She had always been a working parent, but she was about to take it to the next level. Fortunately, her son was on board all the way, for the moment.
Chapter Seven
Taxo enjoyed their trip to his school. She had driven at a hair-raising pace in the early hours, but there was little to no traffic which wrecked his own plans for a wild ride around other vehicles.
Lore took his helmet and settled his pack in his arms. “I love you. I miss you. Study hard, and I am always watching out for you.”
He kissed her cheek and tapped her nose. “I love you, I miss you, and take care to kick butt today. We have powerful gifts in our family. Make sure they know it.”
She grinned. “Family pride?”
“Yes. Grandma was very specific. We don’t have to be the best, but we have to try harder than others. We know what there is to go back to on closed worlds, and fighting for freedom is all we have.”
“Well said. Bye, Taxo!”
He walked to the gates and waved when the attendant authorized his entrance to the secure area. “Love you, Mom!”
She smiled, stowed his helmet, and fired up her cycle, driving at full blast through the streets to get to the training centre on time.
It was time to go through training and the confidence course that the candidates had been going through the day before. It was standard for applicants, and she was insisting on ticking every qualifying box.
Officer Hrem nodded and checked the records. “You are here for training, Agent Forecast?”
“I am.”
“Welcome to the training centre. A guide will meet you at the visitors’ parking area.”
She didn’t fuss about the guide. That was how new arrivals were treated, so she was going to simply pull into the visitors’ lot and wait for her escort.
Lore wanted to turn around and drive off when she saw the guide that was waiting for her. Why didn’t I look at today more closely?
She had known she was going to run into him, but for him to be her guide meant that he would be with her all day long.
She steeled herself, thought of family honour, and took her helmet off, dismounting her bike and stowing the helmet with Taxo’s under the rear storage area.
She got up, faced her fears, and smiled brilliantly. “Darkflight. How nice to see you.”
He laughed and bowed, his leathery wings flexing wide to make him more intimidating. He straightened, and she sighed mentally as she looked at him. He was sculpted of black marble, and every inch was lovely. She had vomited on him twice.
“So, today is the day you join a Team.”
“It is.”
They walked into the admin building.
“So, first, we are going to get you a suit for the training sequence, and I have heard that you want to go through the confidence course?”
“When it comes out about my family, and it will, I want to make sure that I have gone through every single trial and test that the others have gone through.”
“Wise. Special treatment can be misconstrued.”
She gave him a dark look. “Like having someone from Team One at my side.”
He grinned. “I had a minor injury to my wing and volunteered to be your guide and minder today.”
“Did the injury occur after my mother mentioned my assignment to the team?”
“Perhaps.” He grinned, his sharp, extended canines gleaming.
They went to the admin office, and she got the folded suit that she would wear during her trials. Darkflight took her to the changing area, and she got a locker for her normal clothes.
The basic black suit made her smile. It was what every candidate wore for their trials. She flexed it, and it had armoured patches at the knees and elbows, a plate across her breasts and two on her hips. She preferred a tunic, but that would be for her proper suit.
She pulled her hair up in a high braid and wrapped it around so that no strands of the thick stuff were exposed. Lore stared at herself in the mirror, and then, she couldn’t put it off any further. Darkflight was waiting.
She stepped out, and he looked her over.
“Nicely done. The colour suits you.”
She grimaced. “Black suits everyone.”
“And it doesn’t show blood, so let’s get you to the confidence course.”
She nodded. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.
They walked past the engineering department, and she smirked when she saw the four suits that were being built.
“The team is going to have six members. I don’t know where the other suits are.” Darkflight frowned.
“It is fine. I know where they are.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Your hair and skin should have reminded me that you are not like your mother and sister.”
“No. I am not.”
“How is your son?”
She smiled. “He’s good. He has his own code name now and is delighted with it.”
“What is his name?”
She blinked as she realized how it was going to sound, but she said it anyway. “Bright Flight.”
He paused. “After anyone I know?”
“Assigned by the administration. He isn’t named after you.” She chuckled.
They walked out to the trial yard, and she look
ed at the timers and the route that she needed to run.
“This is a timed course. You need to start at the gate and stop the clock on the far end of the course. Whatever path you can take is fine. There will be a full video record of your initial test for the archives.”
“The clock starts when I pass the gate?”
“It does.”
“Thank you.” She looked at the course, saw her options, and she bolted through the gate, pelting down the path and using her grip on her future to work on getting through the course.
The mud couldn’t be avoided, so she saw the rocks and supports inside the frame, and she used the small handholds to pull herself forward. She came out covered in muck, but the pool that was next gave her a chance to wash off. She swam fifty metres, got out, climbed up, and used the overhead grips to swing over another puddle of mud.
Balance wasn’t normally her skill, especially when she was dripping wet, but she managed the beam over rough gravel. And then, she went on an all-out run through a series of traps that snapped behind her, grazing her heels.
She climbed the tower and reached for the timer, pulling it down through the brittle floor and stopping the clock.
Lore heard the buzzer, and she leaned against the post she had climbed before she dropped to the ground before the weight crashed through the spot where she had just been.
The lesson was when you thought the mission was over, watch your back.
She walked back to Darkflight after exiting the gate, and she sighed. “So, that was fun. What was my time?”
He looked. “One minute, forty-five seconds.”
“What is a good time?”
“Two minutes.”
She crouched and exhaled. “Thank goodness for that.”
Having a better-than-good time on the initial test would give her a reasonable reason for being assigned to the team.
“Come on, we will get you some energy drinks, and you will feel more yourself before you get to the training course.”
She laughed. “I have never felt more like myself. Don’t tell my mother I said that.”
He laughed. “I won’t. Bright Burn has her own way of thinking, but you should never doubt her affection and respect for you. She has always wanted this for you, to find your own team to be part of.”
“I have known it was coming for a while.”
He chuckled. “Of course, you have.”
She stood straight and smiled. “Right. Sports drink and two minutes and off to the training centre.”
Darkflight smiled. “Indeed. Off to the training centre.”
His cold silver eyes could be remarkably chilling, but right now, they were sparkling with amusement.
They headed inside with her feet making squelching noises on the ground. It turned into squeaking sounds when they were crossing the polished stone.
The dispenser for the sports drink let her choose her flavour, so she chose the blueberry flavour. She had yet to eat any berries that tasted like the combination that she was drinking.
She finished her boost and sighed. “Now my two minutes.”
Lore walked to one of the nearby benches, and she breathed in and breathed out with slow deliberation.
“You aren’t going to be sick, are you?” Darkflight was suddenly wary.
She laughed brightly. “No. Just focusing on the next phase.”
“Why?”
She gave him a sly look. “Someone is going to try and take my head off.”
“What?”
Lore smiled and stood up. “Trust me.”
The walk to meet the rest of the team felt like it was her doom. It was going to get worse before it got better, but it would get better. They just had to sort who was in charge and who had the guts to survive. They also had to get over her pedigree. That was going to be a sticking point.
The five other members of the team were gathered in a lounge. Mini Max smiled at her, but the others were either confused or hostile.
Made had a resting bitch face. There was no other way to describe it.
Darkflight made the introductions, so she could stop pretending that she didn’t know who she was looking at.
“Everyone, this is Forecast. Forecast, this is Made, the team commander; the strong woman, Mini Max; the cumulative armourer, Wrapped; the long-range communicator, Cone of Silence; and the rift creator, Port Hole.”
Forecast nodded at all of them. She had met more than Max before. Port Hole attended one or two of the family events that Team One and Two had gotten together for. She was the daughter of two heroes, but the wide look in her eyes was begging Forecast to keep her mouth shut.
Made got up and sneered. “So, you are the child of a hero, and you want to play on the new team?”
Forecast smiled slightly. “What I want is immaterial. What I have been requested to do is all that I am focused on.”
“Forecast, huh? You are a weather girl?”
A punch came toward her. She moved aside, and let the momentum carry Made past her.
The second punch came nearly as quickly, and she dodged it as well.
Darkflight raised his hand, and Made was wrapped in the dark tendrils that he commanded and lifted off the ground. “Enough. She made it through the time trial in one minute and forty-five seconds. She has beaten the times of everyone here, including yourself.”
Made was still. “She did? Why did she take the trial?”
Forecast looked at her. “Because I knew that there would be whispers on the team unless I did. The records of the trial are available for anyone with team credentials. You can all see it for yourselves.”
Made huffed. “So, what is your skill?”
“Foresight. I can see my own future with an extreme degree of accuracy.”
Max grinned. “She’s also a seamstress and designer. She has designed that suit you are wearing, Made.”
Made looked down and then at Forecast. “You designed this?”
“I did. I designed suits for all of us.”
Made frowned. “Why is it black?”
“The active teams all have bright suits that scream they are there for action. We will be going into situations that they will not be assigned. We don’t need to be flashy, we need to be understated. The element of surprise is the best weapon a team of women can have. Some worlds will dismiss us on sight.”
“Well reasoned. Are you sure that you don’t want the position of captain?”
“No. I have a split focus. I would rather be the tactician.”
Made nodded. “I do work better with a battle plan, but to prove the efficiency of your skills, I propose a challenge.”
Forecast crossed her arms and nodded. “I knew you would.”
Chapter Eight
The fist came for her face, and she ducked; she jumped sideways and kicked out, sweeping the other woman to the ground. Once the other woman was down, Forecast didn’t stick around, she ran to the other side of the small gymnasium and kicked through the door.
She ran for the cycle at the end of the yard and jumped when her first opponent lunged at her, sliding under her feet by less than an inch. Lore used the sliding body for propulsion and leaped the remaining distance to the cycle, landing hard, wincing, and then firing up the cycle to roar to the next challenge.
The rock that came flying at her was dodged by a whisper. She didn’t need to look to know that Mini Max was hurling objects at her.
The challenge was simple. The three physically active members of the team were trying to stop the three who were defensive. Forecast had been linked to Cone of Silence and Wrapped.
“Can you hear me?” She leaned forward and whispered it. “Make your move down the hill.”
A single click on the com confirmed that she had been heard.
A flicker of light on her right side made her wince, but she kept going on her path. The light shut off and another hole opened in front of her, letting in a torrent of wate
r that nearly sent her skidding.
The spray touched her face, and she grimaced. Saltwater. She had been struck by part of some ocean.
A log came flying through the air, and it lodged across her path. There was nothing else to do, so she ditched the bike and slid under it.
She felt the bodysuit tear as she scraped the road and cupped her arms over her head, rolling to a stop. She took a moment to settle and got to her feet, running for the barrier that indicated the end of the course.
She looked over at the hill that led to the field their goal was in, and she grinned when she saw Cone of Silence riding Wrapped like a wave board, with the mix of grasses and mud providing the slick surface for a fast slide.
Forecast knew that a hand was going to grip her ankle, and she braced for it. She flipped through the air and tumbled to the grass. Her vision showed her the hand pulling back through the hole.
Forecast got up and faced the charge of Made. When the woman was too close to stop, she stepped aside, and the hero continued her charge.
Forecast focused on her run, as did Wrapped and Cone of Silence. The first two made it to the podium, and then, Forecast was next to them. They pushed the buttons, and the buzzer rang out.
Forecast slumped back, and she swayed. Wrapped was still coated with a light layer of dirt, but she caught her. “Well done, Forecast.”
Made walked in front of the podium, and she quirked her lips. “Well, I guess I was wrong. Passive gifts are useful.”
Forecast smiled. “I can hardly wait until I have a proper suit. This one tears too easily.”
Made looked her over and cursed. “You are losing a lot of blood.”
Forecast smiled. “Anything for my team.”
She wavered, and Made moved in a blur and caught her. “Right, medical for you. You need to be armour plated, like Wrapped.”
Forecast chuckled at the novelty of being carried by another woman, even if that woman was a soul controlling a construct. “I will be. My suit has plates that cover me for the moments on a cycle.”
Made was making amazing time across the grass and toward the med centre. “Good. I would hate for you to get injured.”
