Kingdom Gone

CYBORG SAM

12 hours later I arrive in the Fourth Kingdom.

I reach the Tricorp building at around half past 6, the hundred floor skyscraper sticking out like a sore thumb above the skyline of New Tokyo, the capital of the Kingdom of Technology. The man at the front desk is more than helpful, despite how bruised and tired I appear. He gives me a guest access key card and directs me to the elevator. I enter and the doors roll closed, leaving me alone with the hundreds of glowing buttons on the wood paneling. I press the very bottom one labeled Applied Sciences and the elevator surges down a level, opening in a large garage, almost the size of a plane hangar, filled with dozens upon dozens of complex machines and vehicles.

I find Sam and the others huddled around a bank of very large monitors suspended on the far wall, chairs pulled up to a small metal desk littered with tools.

"Jason!" Sam squeals, turning around in her chair as I approach. Circe gets up and hugs me unexpectedly, and I kindly hug her in return, my nerves relaxing a bit.

"You look like shit." Nijah says, now wearing regular sweats with the Tricorp logo boldly on the front. Circe is too, both girls looking rested and showered, the complete opposite of how I feel.

"Yeah well you try falling down a ravine while being chased by mercenaries in the woods sometime." I say, yawning. I look at Sam. "Your arm looks different."

Sam flexes her right arm, the shiny black metal glistening under the fluorescent garage lights. "I've had a bit of an upgrade you could say." Her arm suddenly whirrs to life, green lights glowing from a hidden source within. The metal fingers fold back and the side of her forearm opens, an 18 inch blade pivoting out, the sound of it locking into place echoing around the garage well after it does.

I stare, amazed. "That's not normal metal is it?"

She shakes her head. "The metal is roughly 10 times stronger than diamond, excavated by a Tricorp owned mining company in the Fifth Kingdom. The funds to build this was donated by a generous sponsor, who I guess heard about my little lab accident." She puts away the blade, her hand transforming back to normal. "This thing could punch through steel, and has come in handy here in the lab. Oh!" Sam spins around in her chair, typing away on her computer. Suddenly the concrete wall a few feet away slides into the ceiling, a small platform rolling out, with a manikin wearing a sleek, black leather jacket on top. "A gift from me to you."

My jaw drops as I run to collect it, slipping it on. A perfect fit.

"You like it?" Sam says smiling. "Liquid kevlar v2, now painted on the outside to make the jacket even lighter and three times as durable. It also features a neodymium alloy harness, to carry the heaviest weapons, and of course 100 percent authentic leather."

I walk back and hug Sam tight, pulling her out of her seat. "Thanks, Cyborg Sam." I put her down.

"Forgetting this?" Nijah says, tossing me my katana.

"Circe told me about the flight she and Nijah had in the Seventh Kingdom, so I did a quick scan of the blade." Sam pulls up a 3D image of the sword of the main monitor, a diagram of the molecules displayed beside it. "Turns out this metal is some kind of weak natural magnet, made of an element not on the periodic table." She turns around. "When Circe charged your jacket, the magnetic harness held the current, turning the blade into some kind of super electromagnet. So I hid some powerful yet compact batteries in the hilt. If my math is right, and it always is, you should be able to deflect bullets if you slice in their general direction. You're welcome."

"Hm." I swing the blade, barely noticing the extra weight.

"And in the spirit of giving," Sam says cheerfully. "I put a few things together for the girls." She runs over another table and comes back with an empty quiver a glove. "Here ya go." She hands the quiver to Nijah. "I know you've been complaining about your arrow capacity, so I whipped this up a few days again." She rubs the cylindrical device softly. "This baby 3D prints arrows in seconds. It uses a polymer for the body, and liquid metal that's rapidly cooled for the arrowhead. And it's barely heavier than your old quiver. Take care of her, Nijah, She's special."

Nijah slips the thing on her shoulder, walking around with a small grin on her face, probably thinking about all the people she's going to kill with it.

"And for Circe I made this." Sam gives Circe a light blue glove, with some kind of mesh covering the palm, along with a small metallic ring in the middle, her skin visible beneath. "I don't know much about what you can do, but if I'm right, this glove should help funnel the flow of electrons coming from your hands, allowing you to dish out a continuous stream of lightning. Theoretically."

Circe dons on the glove and smiles, opening and closing her fist. The first time I seen that girl smile in a while. "Thanks."

Sam sighs, stretching in her chair. "You guys only stop by when you need something. So what else is on your wishlist?"