A young man stood frozen with disbelief. He had been chasing his target for a while and he had been failing to hit him. The level of luck his target possessed made him itch with jealousy. Yet, here he stood, with one of his spikes embedded deep into the lucky bastard's skull.
'I was aiming for his neck, why did he bow his head? It's like he wanted to die. No, that doesn't make sense, the fear in his eyes was very real. Maybe I'm just over thinking this and it's just an accident. I should get to cover, there might be an enemy with flight just like last time.' The young man shuddered when he recalled that particular memory.
He rushed to the closest building and the doors automatically opened as he approached. The door stayed open for a few seconds before closing only to fail in their attempt. The motion sensors couldn't detect any movement in the doors proximity but an object was in the path of the closing doors. The young man's headless corpse lay at the building's entrance. His head being nothing more than gruesome graffiti on the once pristine floor.
********
In a brightly lit room, three people sat in comfortable chairs while staring at a gigantic holographic screen. The screen was divided into sixty smaller parts each showing a different student. Half of the screens had a green outline while the other had a blue one. The green represented Katix Academy.
"I'm genuinely impressed B. You turned normal teens into cold blooded killers. And the new kid is not half bad." Marie, the tall woman said, "I just don't get why chose to train normal teenagers though. Your skills would have been better applied to an official squad. So tell me, what did you see in these kids that wasn't in the squad of recruits you were provided?"
Captain Furn payed more attention to the two's conversation than before. He was also itching to know why General B, one of the most accomplished generals he knew, would choose to become a captain. A recruit captain at that, one of the lowest ranks in the Sleeper Association.
"I've always believed in the quote that history is written by the winners. I also know that fear is the driving force for growth and evolution. When I first saw those recruits selected by the association I was disappointed to say the least. Their eyes were dead. They lacked emotion." Captain B paused for a moment when he noticed that Marie wanted to talk.
"That makes no sense. It's been proven that emotions only breed hesitation in soldiers, that's why the elite recruits you high ranks are provided with are already honed. It's counterproductive to take normal teens and start training from scratch. Plus the only reason we use teens as recruits is because of how malleable their minds are. Is all this just a way to satiate your ego?"
"If I had that big of an ego, I wouldn't have bothered to acknowledge your existence." Captain B said with a chuckle. "I'm an enthusiast of ancient knowledge. Honestly, if it wasn't for my ability I would have been a historian. Think of this as an eccentric experiment to prove that ancient methods of training soldiers are more effective than the current ones."
Captain Furn couldn't handle it anymore and decided to interrupt. "There are literally hundreds of thousands of scientifically proven articles that prove you wrong."
"And I wrote two of those." Captain B said with the most annoying smirk on his face.
"They always said you were crazy but I realize that everyone was wrong. You are just stupid." Marie said with a huff.
"And yet there's only two people left on your side, General Alfred." Captain B said without a change in expression, the smirk seemingly frozen on his face. Captain Furn looked confused for a second then shook his head before focusing on the screen.
*******
Aris was having more trouble than he thought he would. It was the first time he had experienced this problem in years. He was lost. Absolutely lost. Aris paused for a moment to assess his surroundings before rushing off into a random building. A minute later, Aris left the building, the creases on his forehead a clear sign of his frustration. 'Looks like I have no choice but to use that. Good thing this is just a simulation.'
As he said that, Aris' hair grew longer and spread apart into individual strands. Part of his hair touched the ground while the rest levitated as though frozen in place. He stayed in this position for a few seconds before his hair returned to its normal length. Aris turned his gaze to the left then vanished.
Sitting on a public bench was a clone of Chris with a glass of juice in his hand. He was lazily staring at the sky when his vision was blocked by Aris. The clone flinched at his sudden appearance before smiling. "Hey Aris, how's your hunt going?"
"How many of you are currently roaming around this place?" Aris asked without bothering to answer Chris.
"Thirty."
"Have you found anyone from the opposite side?"
"Just one"
"Where?"
"Five kilometers that way. He's just standing in the middle of the junction." Chris pointed in a certain direction as he spoke.
"I need more specific directions."
"Hmmm, in that case. Wait for about thirty seconds then follow this road straight shot till you see me. I'll direct you from there." Chris went back to his juice after saying that.
Aris could only sigh and impatiently wait for the time to elapse. Thirty seconds later, Aris was receiving directions from a different clone this time more accurate.
In the middle of a junction, Nick was bored out of his mind. He was used to being the bait but it was taking longer than usual for people to take the bait. Maybe that meant that they were winning. Nick looked at the destroyed ground and smiled lightly. We'll be rewarded greatly for this win. Captain Marie seemed more invested in this challenge than the last one.
BANG!!!!!!
Nick couldn't understand what was happening. He knew that he had been hit in the face but he hadn't noticed anyone approaching him. Dazed, he tried to stand only to be hit harder than the first time. 'What's happening? I can't even react. I keep getting hit whenever I move. Who's doing this?'
Even as these thoughts filled Nick's mind, the attacks never seized. The only saving grace was his indestructibility. Aris was getting pissed. This day was really getting on his nerves. He really wanted to go back to sleep but he just had to meet someone who can take his hits. His attacks strengthened as he loosened his restraints but his opponent was nothing if not resilient.
Nick was shocked when the attacks suddenly stopped. His mind finally settled enough to scan his surroundings. He was still at the junction where the trap was laid but he knew that it wouldn't work. Nick kept his gaze locked on his opponent while he prepared to warn Boris from attacking. His shout had barely left his lips when his opponent flickered. Multiple lances of ice plunged into the ground where he once stood.
Aris grabbed Nick by his neck and lifted him up with only one arm. The disbelief on Nick's face lasted an instant only to be replaced by dizziness and disorientation as Aris moved. Nick saw his surroundings blur and only then did he realise just how fucked he was. 'This guy is a speedster not a telepoter.' Nick felt his back slam into something that quickly fell apart before the grasp on his neck vanished. The wind roared in his ears and his body spun as though gravity didn't exist before it all stopped. His body rolled around for a while then came to a halt. Nick stayed still and saw that he was back at the junction but his body was stained with blood.
Aris had rushed his opponent to the roof where he thought the ice user was located. Luckily, his guess was right and the guy was still peering at the ground trying to find him. Using the tough body of his opponent like a battering ram, Aris smashed into the ice user intending to push him off the ledge. His plan didn't go as intended as the ice user's body was merely human. The bones shattered on impact, the body bursting apart in a gruesome explosion of blood.
Nick played dead, not daring to even breathe when he noticed that the speedster was already standing beside him. "Indestructibility is really annoying to deal with. I really didn't want to do this but I have no way of hurting you. So I'll let someone else give it a try."
Nick heard the most melodic and enthralling voice utter the most bone-chilling words he had ever heard. His surroundings blurred indicating that he was being carried by the speedster. The movement lasted longer this time. Long enough for him to learn that the shifts in momentum the speedster was experiencing at every turn would have killed a normal human.
Nick was suddenly released in a new area. He didn't bounce on the ground this time since he was embedded in a very viscous liquid.
"Thanks for the new toy Speedy." These were the last words Nick remembered from the challenge.