[color=gray] [center][h2][b][u][color=white]Chapter 1[/color][/u][/b] The Test[/h2][/center] [color=white][i]"Alright, Six. This should be a simple test. Do as we tell you and we'll give you fifteen minutes outside."[/i][/color] a man's voice said through a loudspeaker. Six followed the voice, her eyes searching the pitch darkness of the cold chamber. She knew exactly where she was. She had been here hundreds of times for their tests. The room was practically purpose built for safely experimenting with Six's power. An old, retrofitted missile silo. It did the trick well enough. [color=white][i]"Six? Did you hear me?"[/i][/color] the voice inquired after hearing no response from her. [color=white][b]"I heard you."[/b][/color] she said flatly. There was a pause in the darkness, then the voice spoke again. [color=white][i]"We're going to open the silo. Once the sun is on you, you may begin."[/i][/color] Six rolled her eyes, [color=white][b]"So you can design better implants to stick into me? I quite like having next to none as it is."[/b][/color] More silence. Six crossed her arms. [color=white][b]"Did you hear me?"[/b][/color] she then asked, mocking the scientist's tone from before. [color=white][i]"This isn't a choice for you Triple-Six. Do as we say or you'll be wiped. Remember you're on your last strike before that happens again."[/i][/color] the use of her full subject number told Six the scientist wasn't trying to be friendly anymore. [right][abbr=Do as he says.][color=7FFFD4]Ḋ̸̵̶̵̶̻̰͙̹̙͌̑̋̚ǫ̷̶̶̴̸̼̻͚͔̾͆̓̎̚ ̶̶̶̶̷͔̙̰̱͈͐̂̓͛̚ȃ̸̵̴̴̴̢̛̟̜̭͉̀͌̀s̴̸̴̸̴̜̟͉̙͖̈́͋̈̌̄ ̸̶̴̴̷̘͕̹̙̱̐͌̊́͝h̵̸̸̶̷͓̯̘̹͈͑̏̔̕͝e̷̵̶̴̸̬̫̞̜̳͐͐̍͛̃ ̸̸̴̵̸͉̻͉͕͔̇͊̏̏͝s̴̶̵̸̴̩̻͉̘̒̃̓͑̚͜ȃ̶̵̵̵̷̞̝̻͍͈͗͐̈́̚y̵̸̵̶̸̛̪̯̬̭̘͒̇̆̒s̸̷̴̶̷͎̦̥̅́͒́͜͜͝.̷̶̶̴̵͎̹̯̠̻̍͑̍͌̌[/color][/abbr][/right] [abbr=Fine. But I'm not going all out.][color=white][b]F̴̴̶̸̴̧̖͔̄͂́̔̀ͅͅȉ̶̴̷̶̶͔͔̦̤̺̌͂͘͝n̶̷̴̷̸̦͇͈̲̣͊̂̓̓̕e̶̵̶̸̵̻̲̫̳̾̌͒̌̎ͅ.̵̸̶̴̷̤̞̼̭̦̃̈́̀̌̊ ̵̶̴̴̵̺͚͚͙̘͌̿̈́͂͝B̸̴̴̵̷̢̨̼̲̩̎̓͂̉̿u̷̸̶̸̸̢̦̖̰̔̔̐͒͘ͅt̵̵̸̴̸̛͈͉̜̰̪̾̉͋͝ ̷̷̴̵̷̢̜͙̠̺̓̀͐͗̃Ḯ̷̸̶̷̵̞̗̣̬̠̈́̌̿̈́'̸̷̸̵̵̲̯̪̙͖̇̀́͛̂m̶̸̷̶̸̡̹͙̪͕̿̊̃̀͝ ̶̴̸̶̷̗̠͉̝͉̆̏̃̈̕n̵̴̸̷̷̘̟̲͎̬̽́̉̒͠o̸̸̸̷̶̯͙̤͈̒̽͛̐͝ͅt̸̴̸̴̵̡̼̞̦͚̀̒̽̊̈́ ̶̶̴̵̸̙̼̮̥̮̔̒͌̈́͠g̴̸̷̷̶̹͈̜̻̽̓͐̌͒͜o̶̸̵̸̴̺͎̝̟̬͋̔̐́̒ḭ̶̸̶̵̴̡͈͍̀͛̍̄͝ͅn̴̸̸̶̵͎͚̯̙̫̓̈̍̀͝g̷̴̸̵̷̭̠̖̻̺͒̐̇̈́͘ ̶̵̷̶̷̛̞͍̞̻̳͌́̈̃ä̴̸̵̷̴̻̘̭̺̲́͆̾̎̈l̴̴̵̴̷̺͚̝̞̻̂̀̌̀̇l̴̴̴̸̴͉̟̳̼͐͆̎͊͝ͅ ̴̵̴̸̴͎̰͙͎̮̍́́͋͗o̸̴̷̶̵̯̰͍̾̂̿̉͝ͅͅû̶̵̴̴̸̢̲̬̺͎̑͂̕͘t̸̷̴̷̶͖̫̗͂̍͒̐͛͜ͅ.̸̵̴̴̵͖͈̮̬̳̃̄͒̊͝[/b][/color][/abbr] [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNHonW5TVzU][Mood Music][/url][/center] [color=white][b]"Let's get this over with..."[/b][/color] Six said impatiently. Six heard echoes in the tall chamber, sounds of the silo hatch unlocking. A klaxon began to blare periodically, alarming the staff on hand that the silo was opening. [color=white][i]"Attention all staff, experiment 666-308 is underway. Security to your stations."[/i][/color] Six stood in the middle of the round chamber, looking up as she heard the sound of the silo hatch beginning to open. She grinned. When the first bits of sunlight begin leaking into the silo and bouncing off the mirrors placed on the underside of the hatch. Six felt the immediate effect. Her cheeks flushed as she got warmer. Her gray eyes started fading into a brown, then an muddy orange, as the reflected light was focused through a large magnifying lens near the top of the silo. Eventually those eyes began to glow ever so slightly. Six could hear the implants resting on her ears beeping, detecting the spike in her body heat. [color=white][i]"Limiter switched to passive. All staff be advised, Subject Triple-Six is active."[/i][/color] More light began pouring into the silo. As it did, Six's eyes glowed brighter and brighter. She could feel the power beginning to awaken inside of her. A tingling sensation ran up her spine as that sunlight bounced off the concrete walls of the silo and hit her body. She took in a deep breath, [color=white][b]"Ahh~ This is what I'm talking about."[/b][/color] [color=white][i]"Silo hatch is at 15 degrees, continuing to open. Test chamber now exposed to two-thousand lumens and counting. Triple-Six's core temperature climbing. Ambient temperature climbing."[/i][/color] Six took deep breaths, counting down the seconds until she could ignite the air around her. [color=white][b]"I've missed this feeling~!"[/b][/color] Six said cheerfully. It had been months since she was last activated. The temperature continued to rise. [color=white][i]"Silo hatch is at 30 degrees, approaching Six's flash point. Test chamber now exposed to three-thousand lumens and counting. Ignition temperatures reached in t-minus five... four..."[/i][/color] Six was grinning from ear to ear now. She could surpass the power that these scientists thought she had, she could burn it all if she wanted. But she held back, knowing that she could harm the other subjects if she did. Zero had warned her of that. Zero had taught Six the concept of restraint against the Project's staff. Six was sure everybody is the facility was capable of as much damage as her. It wouldn't take much to overthrow the security if they all rose up together. But it wasn't the time. So she played along. [color=white][i]"... three... two..."[/i][/color] Almost. [color=white][i]"... one... Subject Triple-Six is now at ignition temperatures. Whenever you're ready, Six."[/i][/color] She was surprised that the scientists even cared if she was ready or not. Nevertheless, it wasn't often that she got to flex her power at the staff. So she played along. The hatch continued to open, allowing more light to reach Six. That was where she'd pretend that her powers had reached their limit. Six turned and looked up at the tinted black reinforced window where she knew the scientists were recording her. The air around Six rippled, and her simple clothing was beginning to plasticize and brown around the edges from the heat. Then, with a loud [i]whoompf![/i], a vortex of flame burst out around Six, flooding the chamber with a brilliant yellow light. The sudden flare launched up the silo, the only way it could go. Large fans sucked the flames away from the lens and deposited them outside. The klaxon that had been blaring stopped as it melted from the heat. The loudspeaker was next, rather the support keeping it bolted to the chamber wall, and it smashed into the floor. The flames continued to whirl around Six, causing the first layer of reinforced glass of the observation window to ripple and flex. She was sure the staff were glad that they layered the windows after the last test. She held the flames in that spiral motion for what felt like five minutes at least, making a conscious effort to keep her temperatures leveled so they'd be convinced she was at her limit. But the fire started to break up in patches. She felt colder and colder all of the sudden. Her vision started to blur and her chest became tighter. Her inferno was consuming all of the oxygen in the chamber. She took a deep breath and held it, reinvigorating the firestorm for a time longer before she exhaled deeply. Six let the flame go, letting it whirl on its own until it died out. She started gasping for air, choking on nothing. The fans higher up in the silo reversed to start pumping air into the chamber, and the silo hatch remained open in order to allow as much air in as possible. This was the most dangerous part of Six's experiments, running the risk of suffocating her with her own power. The airlock door which she entered through burst open, and a trio of men ran over to her as she fell to her knees, still gasping for air. They all wore breathing apparatuses, hooked up to oxygen tanks. One man reached out to try and give her an oxygen bottle, but another stopped him. [color=white][i]"Don't touch her. She's hot enough that your skin will fry."[/i][/color] The third man, clearly a member of security, kept a rifle trained on Six. She was used to having weapons pointed at her while her powers were active. But she wasn't in any condition to use her powers, not while she could hardly breathe. The man who had warned the other scientist not to touch her knelt down, making sure not to rest his knee on the hot concrete. The soles of their shoes were already leaving burnt rubber on the floor as it was. [color=white][i]"Breathe, Six. Breathe. You did very well today."[/i][/color] Six looked at the scientist, seeing the shape of a grin through her blurred vision. She knew he only spoke to her softly like that so he could entice more results of her. She could incinerate him right now, all of them really. The more breaths she took, the more focused she became. That blur of a firearm became sharper as she collected herself. The security guard took a step forward, [color=tan][i]"Stand down, Triple-Six."[/i][/color] he said. Six figured he must've recognized that look in her eyes when she was about to do something she wasn't supposed to. Six looked away, gritting her teeth while she breathed deep through her nose. [color=white][i]"Seems you fried your sensor implants again, Six. We'll have to replace those."[/i][/color] She could feel the hot metal ear cuffs. [color=white][b]"Outside... First..."[/b][/color] she said between her breaths. [color=white][i]"Fine, fine. But we should probably get you in some new clothes before that. Wouldn't want you traipsing to the surface in the nude after all."[/i][/color] Six hated that he had a point. It was comments like that that made Six think they actually cared a times. She knew that if they truly cared, she wouldn't even be there in the first place. [right][abbr=You did well, Six. Enjoy your time outside.][color=7FFFD4]Y̷̷̶̴̵͎͉̟̦̥̓̃̓̍̅ǫ̴̷̷̷̴̭͇̜͉̌̈́̏̓͝u̷̵̷̶̴̟̘̠̪͔͋͆̐̄̔ ̴̸̸̵̶̠̹̦͙̦̔̓͐̐̋d̴̸̴̵̴̲̤̺͙̬̈̏̓͗͠ị̶̵̴̶̶̳̪̟̽͋͗̈́͝ͅd̵̶̴̶̶̡̢̩̣̝͆͑̏͑̐ ̷̵̶̸̴̡̳̹̺̞͂̏̌̄͋w̴̸̸̸̴̡͍̫̺̑͛̓͂̎͜e̴̶̷̷̵̡̩̤̻̗̎̊̀͒̂ľ̷̴̴̶̸̢̝̤̯͓̅̈̈́͝l̶̶̶̶̶̡͔̰̥͈͑͂̏̆͠,̷̸̴̸̴̡̩̳̪̤͛̿̑͋̚ ̵̷̵̷̵̛̤̼͇͓̠̎̎̅̔S̸̸̶̴̸̞̦͕̺͐̓͆͂̚ͅi̶̸̴̵̵͙̱̗̩̟͂̅͛͝͝ẍ̷̶̶̵̸̛̰̫̗̰͙̔̒̇.̸̵̸̵̷̨͚̠̼̟̉̌͛̚̕ ̴̶̸̸̵̢͚̹̻̟̾̊̈́̎̈́Ê̴̷̶̵̸̹̝̥̿̾̃͜͜͠n̴̸̴̴̵̙̲̰̬̳̈́͛̾̎̔j̷̷̵̶̴͍̮̙̗͛̐̐͜͝͝ŏ̶̶̶̸̵̫̖̼͙̹͆͗̚͠y̸̵̶̸̷̮̮̻̤̹̿̎͒̔͘ ̵̵̵̸̶̪͉̯̲̮̃̉̉͆̔ȳ̵̷̸̴̵̘̟̲̹̥̐̀͆̎ȍ̶̷̸̷̵͉̲̮̗͓̿̄̂̃ṵ̸̴̶̶̴̢͚̙̖̀̏̌̿̿r̶̸̷̴̶̡̯̟̘͎̄̈͊̏͘ ̸̶̶̶̶̺͇̟̝̙̂̎̀͝͠t̶̵̴̸̴̖̤̥̝͆̈́̂̌̕͜ǐ̵̷̷̸̸͎̘̭͚̗̅̈́̒͛m̶̵̴̶̷̧͉̱̮̞͆͑̈̃͗e̸̷̵̵̷͓̩͍̠̭͂͌̈́̓͠ ̶̴̴̶̷̳̹̘̗̗̆̂̂͊̈́o̴̴̶̵̵̢͖̳͉̘͌͛̃̽͑ů̷̶̵̵̷̫̫̫̳͎̂͆̓͝t̵̷̶̷̴̥͇̳̘͔̓̐́̃͝s̵̵̷̶̵̢̞͚̬̲̀̌̍̄̅î̵̸̷̵̷̡̜̺̯͙͋͗͌͝d̶̶̵̷̴̙̠̳̹̭̓̅͐͑͠e̴̴̴̶̵͕͖͚͉̎͒̅̈͜͝.̷̵̷̵̸̱̣̰̬̝̾̃͋͛̓[/color][/abbr][/right] The silo hatch closed, and the chamber was once again filled with darkness save for the flashlights the scientists had brought in. The glow in her eyes faded. She could hear a loudspeaker outside of the chamber announce, [color=white][i]"Attention, Subject Triple-Six is now inactive."[/i][/color] [/color]