The rod fired a bright red laser that the girl spun to avoid.
"Now before you panic, the lasers are strictly for show. They cause next to no harm but getting hit once will mark the end of your test."
Axel and Kale looked at the woman like she owed them money.
"These are fucking lasers! Who does the military think we are, Silver Flash!" Kale cursed.
The girl in the room, meanwhile, was avoiding every single shot like it was second nature to her.
Kale's eyes traced her every movement from her eyes to her muscular coordination.
"Listen. I think I know how she is avoiding the lasers." He whispered to Axel.
"Oh yeah? Tell me then." Axel adjusted his glasses.
"Before one of the rods fires off the laser, it glows brighter than the rest about two seconds before," Kale revealed tentatively to his friend.
Axel placed his hand under his chin and observed the girl in the room.
"Hmm. That actually makes sense and is true." Axel acknowledged before a wry smile spread on his lips.
"And how exactly did you notice this?"
"Oh, I was looking at her body. Shit!" Kale didn't need to look at Axel to see the knowing smile he had on.
"Isn't that something? Looking at her body, huh? I don't need glasses to see where this is going." Axel chuckled.
"Please, like you're one to talk." Kale scoffed and went back to looking at her body. Ahem, the rods.
The girl slid her right leg back as a rod on the far left glowed brighter.
The instant the beam shot out, she pivoted on her heel, twisting her torso in a tight spin that made the laser cut harmlessly past her arm.
Before finishing the spin, another rod above her pulsed brighter.
She ducked low, her black bodysuit creasing against the strain as the beam carved across the space where her head had been.
"Did you see that?" Kale whispered as his eyes widened.
"She's reading them like a damn book," Axel muttered, adjusting his glasses as if that would help him keep up.
The girl didn't stop moving. She used her momentum to roll sideways, palms slapping the floor in a controlled tumble before she sprang up again.
A rod at the far right hummed, its glow swelling.
She didn't just sidestep it but leaned into the dodge, her body bending at an impossible angle before straightening like a whip.
Her stance was all sharp precision and flowing rhythm, like she wasn't just dodging. It was like she was dancing.
Kale swallowed hard.
"Bro… I don't think I've ever seen anyone move like that."
"Yeah," Axel smirked, never taking his eyes off her.
"And you were definitely not looking at the rods that time."
Another barrage fired in rapid succession, three beams from different corners.
Instead of panicking, the girl lunged forward, flipping into a handstand, her legs scissoring apart as two lasers flashed past her thighs. She twisted in midair, landing as light as a feather just as the third beam burned across the floor behind her.
Kale's jaw went slack.
"…Okay, I'll admit it. Maybe I was staring at her body."
Axel chuckled. "At this point? Who isn't?"
Ten rods swelled up with the bright red light and fired at the same time.
Once again, she swerved, flipped, and bent her body, but this time it wasn't enough.
As she landed from a double backflip, a laser beam hit her chest, and all the rods lost their red glow, signalling the end of her test.
She cursed and walked out of the room.
On her way out, she saw them and approached.
"Miss Cayenne." The girl bowed to the woman.
"This is Ming Lee and those who pass the test well enough to be on the front lines will find themselves in the same program as her." Miss Cayenne tapped away at her tablet.
Ming stared at everyone and shook her head almost in disappointment.
Her eyes spared an extra moment on Kale and Axel, particularly on the latter.
'Maybe they aren't all useless.'
"Well, I'll be on my way." She strutted away from their sight.
"Eric Singfall, your turn."
The burly, aggressive blond man walked into the room.
The onlookers observed as the rods lit up and fired the first shot.
Eric tried to dodge but his ankle gave him a painful reminder of its condition. A sharp bolt of pain hit him and stopped his attempt.
The laser hit him and the rods powered down.
Eric tried to speak, perhaps even ask for a second attempt but before he could,
"Next… the next person. Kale Vincoff, please make your way into the room and Eric, move out. Now." Miss Cayenne resumed her tapping of the tablet.
Eric's chest rose and fell heavily as he glared at Kale and Axel.
This was all their fault. He wanted nothing more than to just smash their heads in.
'Calm yourself for now. You'll get your revenge later. You'll break and destroy them.' Eric limped out of the room without sparing the twins a second glance.
Kale slowly entered and waited until the rods fully lit up. Then he began.