The Silver Wolf

Chapter 6

(Silver Wolf POV)

As I walked into the room, all eyes were on me. I could see some students with injuries from sparing, nothing too serious, but most of them would have bruises the next morning. It wasn't hard to find the cause of the injuries, as she was standing in the centre of the room. As I got close, she went into a fighting position. It was a change to be sure, but a welcome one, as her calling me Jules all the time was really getting on my nerves. Coach Brunt seemed surprised too, as she relished Carmen's attempts to trick me. Whatever she did it for, it seemed to make her sloppier.

"Silver Wolf, spar with Carmen. Don't knock her up too badly, just enough to send a message."
I nodded, taking my place. As Coach Brunt counted us down, Carmen started to whisper.

"Sorry about this Jules, but I'll need that mask."
As soon as we were given the signal, we lunged forward. Carmen was trying to knock me down, so I would lose. I wasn't about to let her get the better of me, so I became more aggressive. Every move I made, she matched, and moved around it. Even though she was bigger, she was more agile. As I tried to turn around, she manages to throw me off balance, and I fell to the ground. I was out, meaning the fight was over, but Carmen kept coming towards me. She reached out at my face, grabbing at something, but I delivered a kick to her stomach that sent her flying back. I stood up, ready to fight again, but Brunt stopped me.

"No, the fight is over. You can go."

I could hear the bitterness in her voice, upset that I couldn't beat Carmen. I was upset with myself, and headed to the gym. I spent the next three hours training non-stop, loosing track of time. I was in a great deal of pain by the end of it, but I took the painkillers that Doctor Bellum had given me. Every recruit had them, in case of injury on a mission. These were powerful, and they could numb any pain for a limited time. I took 5, above the recommended amount, but enough that I no longer felt any pain, and left the gym. It was dark outside, and I hadn't realised how long I had been training for. I was heading back to the barracks for sleep, when I got stopped by Doctor Bellum.

"Come with me, I have something for you."

I followed her back to her lab, trying not to give away how much excess energy I had. The painkillers also gave you a boost, meaning you could jump right back into the fight. I was planning on reading up on fighting techniques before I lost all the energy, so I wouldn't be bested by Carmen Sandiego again. When we arrived, I took my usual seat. Bellum pulled out a long box, one that had been hidden behind a drawer. She also pulled out a small room divider.

"Here, take this outfit and get changed. I will explain my genius afterwards."

I took the suit she gave me, grey, with silver lining. There was a section on the back that seemed to be magnetised, but nothing would stick to it. Once I got changed, I stepped out from behind the divider.

"Brilliant! Cleo came up with the design, but I came up with this!"
With a flourish, Bellum pulled out a large metal tail from the box. She walked over to me, and the tail seemed to almost fly out of her hands. She connected it with the magnets on my back, and it was a lot lighter than expected. I could control it as well as any other piece of my equipment, with it swishing at a single thought.

"This will help with your balance, so we can avoid fights like todays in the future."

She opened the door and went outside to a dimly lit obstacle course, motioning for me to follow her. As we walked outside, I could feel all my heightened senses tingling in the fresh night air. I tilted my head every which way, trying to take in my new surroundings. Bellum noted my interest, and continued speaking.
"This is an obstacle course made to test you. You will be able to come to it as many times as you like, but each one will be recorded. Take a walk around it to familiarise yourself, then we'll begin."

As I went slowly through the obstacle course, I could see how it was custom designed. It was dark, made to test my vision, even during the day. There was a room that would contently move, the only clue to get out would be noise coming from the exit. I had to make my way across a beam very high up, a beam that only got thinner. There were the regular training things, like knock down fake people, slandered agility, and Doctor Bellum's favourite training robot, 'Cupcake.' She considers all her robots her children, and gives them all cute names. After walking the course, I headed back down to the start line. Still full of energy, I was ready to go, prepared to do well at this, to make up for me losing to Carmen in that fight. As a robotic voice counted me down, I got ready. I knew exactly what was coming, and I was ready. The signal to start rang in my head as I ran, echoing through my head. I ran on, passing through the obstacles with ease. As I got to the balance beam, I slowed down. I started to make my way across, using my tail to help, when I started to feel woozy. All my energy got sucked out of me, and I tripped. I tumbled to the ground, hitting branches of trees on my way down. I could see Doctor Bellum come running while I was tumbling, until I hit the ground. Then there was nothing.