Return of a Speedster

Training Day (Part Three)

Fort Condiga
July 6, 2019
1000 HRS ZULU

The Team arrives at the military installation, and they are greeted by the sounds of artillery and tank fire; as well as the sounds of ground support fighters and A-10s streaking overhead. Above the constant humming of diesel and electric engines, the Team hears the voice of Corporal Graves shouting orders over the radio.

Upon catching sight of the Team, he shouts, "Cease Fire! All units, cease fire! V.I.P.s on deck! Good work, everyone."

With that last order, the field falls silent. The silence is pierced by the sound of two, twin electro-turbine engines. The engines of one F-485 Spitfire. The craft lands a fewfeet away, and the occupants dismount.

"Ah, Wallace," the decorated artillery officer starts. "Glad you and your girlfriend could join us. Of course, only you can make a hypersonic fighter jet lose in a race against a Sea Hawk."

Wally just scoffs at the comment, while the others chuckle and laugh.

"At any rate," the officer continues. "Welcome Cadets! To your first and only day of long-range attack and mobility training. You all using state of the art, high end equipment to fulfill your requirements. Whose first?"

Arsenal steps forward.

"Ahh, the man with the bionic arm," Tom states jokingly. "This way please."

They walk over to a nearby table. Here, there is a varying assortment of weaponry. There are pistols, long-range rifles, rocket launchers, etc. Arsenal's eyes stop on a replica of his arm. He picks it up and examines it.

"That there is the X-487 bionic arm replacement. It is dual-functioning. As a limb, it acts as an arm but can also hack as electronic device it touches. It transforms into hand-held railgun, that can fire anything, as well as a high-energy plasma canon. The canon's projectiles have a yield of about 0.2 kilotons and a range of about fourteen miles."

"Impressive," Arsenal says. "May I?"

"Be my guest," Corp. Graves replies. He orders his second in command to set up some targets, as Arsenal readjusts his hardware.

Tom gestures toward the target: an outdated Patton tank, positioned about two or three miles away.

"Fire at will, cadet!" Tom exclaims.

Without hesitation, Arsenal lines up his sights and fires a plasma bolt at the '50s era tank. The bolt whizzes through the air at blinding speed, and strikes the tank's broadside. It erupts in a giant ball of fire, leaving nothing behind but a heap of smoking metal. Some large shards of metal are scattered around the field. Unbeknownst to them one of the shards got itself lodged in the side of a general's car on the far side of the field.

"Yeah! Now that is I'm talking about!!" Arsenal exclaims in excitement.

"I knew you would like it," the Corporal states charmingly. "For why have satisfaction when you can have retribution."

"This is good and all," Arsenal starts, "but when do we start training with those?" He gestures toward the artillery pieces lined up next to them.

The Corporal's second in command gets angry. "Oh no. No no no no! You are not going anywhere near tha--"

"Calm down, Private," the Corporal states calmly. "He just wants to take it for spin."

"Yeah, just a test drive," Arsenal teases, as he makes his way toward the high-caliber piece if military hardware. He takes the gunner's position as the second in command, Private James Polasko, cautiously instructs him how to operate the piece of machinery.