[Book 4 Preamble] Numbered Inmates: Part 3
Salvation
---Several Weeks Later---
Lennk folded his arms with an eyebrow raised as he inspected what he considered a walking corpse. "You have yet to imbue her with such powers; she only has a fraction of that which you gloat."
"True. But, while Sixteen has only a subset of it, she fares against your Alpha: your precious Six. It is an absolute certainty Omega will best your Alpha once I have…"
"Always 'once I have' this or that with you. I expect results, Kievaa; not theories and postulation!" He sneered down his nose as it wrinkled looking at the pale woman below. "However," he said, dropping his eyes to the metallic techno-armor she wore, "Some of your research has proven to be effective. Six Alpha has, indeed, been much less temperamental in the suit. She certainly won't be able to resist commands with both your inhibitor and the implant (of my own amazing design!)."
Kievaa sidled up to the man, leaned over and looked up at him with bashful eyes. "And just like us, they can work in concert."
Lennk scoffed. "Is that so? Well, much like our… arrangement, I need proof; a solidification, as it were. Enough with theories and outlines and promises!"
"Oh, my dear Lennk, our union was not simply a business transaction, and I know our affinity goes beyond this. I know you well, and I knew you would ask." Kievaa stood upright, pressed a button on the observation shield, which promptly buzzed, allowing her voice to fill the room below.
At the beep from above, Six and Sixteen paused their sparring. Both breathed heavily, tired from the exhaustive tests their captors had put them through for weeks. It was the way of things for them: awaken to the nasally voice of Kievaa or Lennk on a speaker while another Number would escort them to the to the testing facility. Neither knew how long the tests would last; whether they be fighting against each other, or having their techno-armor tweaked (with sometimes painful ramifications). It wasn't until a week had passed until Sixteen finally began to see what Six had eluded to in their first meeting: The asura took pleasure in their captivity and torture. Through their mutual incarceration, the two had developed a kinship and an understanding of how to communicate. Thus, a plan had begun to form; neither however, knew exactly how to enact it.
"Each suit has now been calibrated to allow for maximum damage output. But rather than throw away all that research on you two decimating each other, we've decided on a proper test; cooperative, as it were." Kievaa pressed a button her pad, promptly commanding a door in the testing facility to slide open. A guttural growl came from the darkness of the room beyond.
Six looked at Sixteen, held her fist in her view which sparked and crackled with lighting. Through the visor, Shiera saw the act - a gesture they had devised in their clandestine conversations. Shiera nodded, holding aloft a bloodstone axe which smoked as she channeled her powers into it. Both looked up at the observation lounge, then back to the doorway as a large monstrously mutated crocodilian creature emerged.
"Meet Biological-Organism-Beta, recalled specifically for a proper test. No safety protocols. He bites your head off, you're dead!" Kievaa giggled. "This includes you, Sixteen Omega; I won't go reattaching your decapitated skull!"
Lennk snickered at the quip, then cleared his throat. "Six Alpha, Sixteen Omega: attack!"
Sixteen's axes glowed bright red. "My name… is… Shiera!" she said as she leaped toward the monster.
"Are you still playing with those...things?" Lennk sneered in disgust as he looked down through the armored window, watching as the snarling, mutated crocodile-like beast step toward Shiera and Six below them. "I thought you brought me down here for a surprise."
Kievaa turned to Lennk and grinned, much to Lennk's further disgust. "Oh your real surprise is coming tonight in my chambers," she said with a wink. "I just thought we could watch another demonstration of our children's abilities; I know that always gets you going."
Lennk rolled his eyes and frowned at the woman's presumptions. "First of all, do not refer to them as our 'children'. They are tools, weapons, means to an end. And secondly..." he said, watching as the beast roared in combat below. "Your chambers... midnight."
Six readied herself with a fist of superheated plasma in one hand, her other turning to stone. Knowing her captors as she did, this creature certainly suffered a life of pain and cruelty. No doubt a product of Kievva's genetic manipulation, it would be a mercy to end its torment.
Shiera leaped toward the beast, axe in hand, with a swipe at the creature's shoulder. The blow found its mark, drawing blood through its thick scales. It roared and swept a powerful tail in an arc, struck hard and set the woman against the wall with a painful thump. Shiera sat up, shook her head for a moment, then leapt to her feet, ready for another attack.
To Lennk's annoyance, Six just stood there, her eyes covertly scanning the room, as if looking for something. The asura groaned, slammed his fist upon the button for the intercom. "Six proceed to attack." Lennk's voice crackled.
The teen looked up at the control booth and glared at her master and Kievva, then unapologetically ignored the command. She only halted her scan to blast the beast back with a bolt of plasma whenever it came to close to her. The action only further infuriated the monster, and Lennk.
"What is she doing?" Kievva asked. "Your pet doesn't seem as obedient as you thought." She sneered. "Perhaps your implant isn't as technologically advanced as you claim!"
"And your creature only has to disrobe for your control to malfunction! Don't speak to me of fallibility!" Lennk irritably leaned down and pulled the microphone closer. "Six! Attack! Now, dammit!"
Whether it was from Lennk's irritation or from finding what she was looking for, Six grinned. There, in a distant wall, under the overlook where her captors stood, was a small crack in the wall, barely noticeable and almost imperceptible to most. Shiera's visor had spotted it during her last training session, and the two had used their method of communication to devise a strategy. Lennk's control over Six had the woman constantly passing out from the 'shutdown' process after each session, thus she was thankful for the small freedom allowed during this confrontation, and furthermore was thankful Kievaa had introduced this beast as a distraction.
Shiera continued battling the monster, only looking back momentarily at Six to ensure the plan was underway.
Six knew she had to be quick and knew this would be painful, but it may very well be the only chance they would get. She put a hand to her own neck and drew in as much power as she could muster. Her fist sparked and crackled with electricity. She closed her eyes, finally sending a concentrated blast of electricity into her own neck, which flung the woman bodily to the wall.
"Six! Stop that at once!" Lennk's voice boomed on the loudspeaker. "Six! Cease that! Stand down!" He screamed as he pounded his fist on Six's deactivation button in the control room. But it was already too late: the control implant in her neck had stopped responding, fizzling out and powering down with the electric pulse it had received.
Dizzy, dazed, and in an exorbitant amount of pain, Six pushed through and forced herself to stand. Her plan was working; she was steps away from the crack in the wall - the weakest point of the testing room. She took in a deep breath, steadying her resolve, called for the magic needed to blast the wall with a torrential ice storm. The metal's temperature plummeted to hundreds of degrees below zero.
"Shut her down!" Lennk commanded Kievaa, who was already attempting to do so.
"My suit's not responding! It's your damned chip; When it blew, it severed the remote connections to my suit's controls!"
Lennk tapped another button, frantically calling forth two of the Numbers to contain the situation.
The extreme cold blast halted. Barely able to stand, Six closed her eyes, summoning the last of her strength. Her hands, arms and chest began to glow as it conjured superheated plasma within. She opened her eyes and erupted it from her body, blasting the frozen spot on the wall.
The airship lurched as the wall exploded, the supercooled metal reacting to the incredible heat of Six's plasma blast. Outside air rushed into the room as smoke and fire blew outward.
The young woman collapsed, barely able to keep her eyes from closing. The starry sky and dark silhouette of the jungle far below them was the last thing Six saw out the hole she had made. The plan had worked: if Shiera survived the creature's attack, the hole would lead to salvation. Such was the last thought in Six's head as she closed her eyes and let the darkness come.
From the observatory overlook above them, Kievaa watched as Sixteen darted toward the hole Six had created. Her hand hovered over the button to shut down her pet's suit. One tap to immobilize her creation, rendering her escape impossible.
After a few minutes, the asura withdrew her hand and slyly grinned...
[To be Continued...]
