CHAPTER 11

 

Jasmine stood proud, along with her two friends in the hallway leading up to the yard. General Loeb was there, straight as an arrow, looking at his watch. They had been there for three minutes waiting for the clock to strike noon, in their dark green military uniform— including a cap. Today was the day they would have to prove themselves.

 

An alarm rang from the general’s watch, and he wasted no time talking.

 

“Metahumans, this will be your final test. Outside of the research center are multiple buildings similar to what Jasmine dealt with a few weeks ago when she fought Veronica. Fifteen soldiers are outside, guarding a box containing top-secret information, and it is vital to the state that you retrieve it as soon as possible. They are not allowed to move the box, and they have not been informed of when you would begin.”

 

Jasmine hung to every single syllable of what the man said. He continued.

 

“You will each be allowed to take one rifle, one handgun, and they will have two cartridges each. My men will only have one H1845 with one cartridge of ammo. These are nonlethal SIM rounds containing paint, but if you get hit once, you are eliminated. Similarly, if one of the soldiers gets hit, they will also have to play dead.”

 

The General gestured toward a table. The metahumans all walked forth and grabbed their equipment. Jasmine attached the gun holster to her hip and the rifle holster around her neck using the strap. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders, feeling the stress starting to sink in.

 

“All uses of your powers are allowed, and the time limit is one hour, starting now. Good luck.”

 

They all stood there, frozen for a few seconds until Agnes took the first step, followed by Jasmine and then Franz. Stepping outside was like entering a small quaint village from hundreds of years ago. Today, skyscrapers made of concrete adorned the clouds, but these would do for a test. The homes were again made of wooden logs, and Jasmine could tell the process had been somewhat rushed. 

 

“Anyone got a plan? And do these SIM rounds hurt? They better not hurt!” Agnes whimpered while grabbing her assault rifle.

 

“They probably do.” Franz quickly replied. 

 

“I’ll scout ahead since I’ve gotten pretty good at holding my breath now. Cover me, I guess?” Jasmine said as she relaxed her breathing, getting ready to use her power.

 

“Sure, let’s hide behind this shack, I guess? Might be more accurate to call it a hut.” The man added.

 

Jasmine held her breath and faded away as she stepped forward— slowly at first— unsure of where she should go. The girl decided to scout the exterior, first, to see if she’d find any soldiers. The area wasn’t large, and after just thirty seconds of walking, she froze.

Her eyes darted above her as she saw a hint of a barrel high up on a roof. She slowly took a step back, but two soldiers emerged from behind one of the homes and started shooting at the spot she had just been at. Purple paint spewed onto the dirt as Jasmine realized she had made a mistake.

 

They knew.

 

It took everything she had to not break. Her mind whirred as she tried to find a solution. They stood there, guns pointed at her general area, as well as one on a roof. Jasmine had thought that she was quiet enough not to be heard, but they had been too close. She attempted to silently pull out her rifle when she heard multiple loud pops as bullets whirred past her right ear toward her enemies, hitting one man in the gut. He promptly collapsed.

 

The noise surprised her, and the girl broke her invisibility for a split second, but now she had a weapon in her hands, and she pressed on the trigger, letting forth a rain of gunfire that hit the remaining soldier’s chest. He laid on the ground as he groaned in pain.

 

Jasmine ran back to avoid getting hit by the woman on the roof, and she appeared to have lost her because she fired a few shots, and they were nowhere near her. As soon as she reappeared, Agnes sneaked a look from behind the shack and looked at her angrily.

 

“I almost shot you, fuck. Did you get hit by the guy on the roof?” She asked.

 

“Girl. And no, she didn’t know where I was. Thanks for saving me.”

 

“Anytime. I could sort of tell where you were from where that guy shot, but that was basically a shot in the dark.”

 

“I’m glad you’re good. I don’t think we can win this thing without you.” Franz said while patting her shoulder.

 

Jasmine just nodded. “Should I go again? I think I can get a shot on the soldier on the roof, I just need the correct angle.”

 

“You can try. I don’t think she’ll be able to hit you, H1845s have horrible range anyways.” Franz replied.

 

“But I don’t think she’d be on a roof if she worried about her aim. She’s probably good enough to hit, so you have to be sure your first shot will connect.” Agnes added while sneaking a look into the village.

 

“I got it.” Jasmine said while going invisible again. She was disappointed by her performance— she hadn’t been able to do anything! The girl was the best shot in her group, and she would prove it.

 

Jasmine had made a mistake by not pulling out her assault rifle straight away, but she also had thought that the weight or the noise it made might have alerted people to her presence. The girl passed the bodies Agnes and she had just shot and positioned herself behind the house. Jasmine settled her gun into her shoulder and tilted her head as she prepared to shoot. The girl paused for a few seconds before squeezing the trigger, but she shook her head, reminding herself that the bullets were fake. 

 

The bullet exited its chamber and hit the soldier directly in the back of the head. For a second, Jasmine was worried that the woman would slip and fall from the roof, but she caught herself and laid still.

 

She reappeared and gestured to her friends, and they followed suit. The trio entered one of the homes, and they sat around a wooden table. Jasmine already felt tired, and she was nowhere close to succeeding. 

 

“How confident do you feel about your acting?” She asked, looking at Agnes.

 

“Not… confident enough to try what you’re probably thinking about.” She answered, frowning.

 

“How about this, I get you one of the soldier’s hair, you transform, and I follow right behind you?” 

 

Agnes groaned. “And how do we get out after locating the box? The rest of them are probably all where it’s at.”

 

“We run for it? Things I hold also become invisible, so I can run away.” 

 

“And I get shot? Sheesh, you’re heartless.”

 

“What about me? Can I even do anything in this plan?” Franz asked.

 

“You can cover me when I make it out.” Jasmine answered, slightly lower than what she had said before.”

 

There was a pause as Agnes and Franz looked at her in disbelief.

 

“If you have a better plan feel free to come up with one. I think it’s our best bet.”

 

“Allfather, fine!” Agnes finally said, throwing her hands up.

 

“I’ll go get it then.” Jasmine replied with a grin as she stood up from the chair.

 

The truth was that the girl wasn’t more confident than any of them. She knew this plan was bad, but it was what she thought was best, so it would have to do. Jasmine went out of sight and exited the building. Nobody was around, so she leaned forward and pinched a hair in between her fingers.

 

“Sorry.” She whispered as she tore it from the soldier’s head. He scowled at her, but said nothing.

 

Jasmine returned to the building and handed the hair to Agnes. She got up, braced herself, and grabbed the hair. Jasmine could tell that her friend was anxious. Her body contorted and expanded as she whimpered silently. Her skin bubbled, and her bones audibly popped over and over until she became an entirely different human.

 

“I fucking hate doing that. Fuck.” Agnes said with a booming and deep voice. 

 

“You’ve gotten better. Remember when you couldn’t even stand?” Franz said while eyeing her.

 

“Don’t make fun of me, I just never had any reason to use it regularly before we got taken here. Allfather, my clothes are tight, I can barely breathe.”

 

“Crap, I completely forgot about clothes. I guess— wait, is undressing these guys allowed?” Jasmine said as she facepalmed.

 

Franz grabbed the ridge of his nose with his fingers and swore.

 

“I’m not putting on this guy’s clothes! He’s so hairy, it’s not fucking happening!”

 

“Can’t you just endure it for fifty minutes or so? It’s not the end of the world.” Franz pleaded to her.

 

Agnes scoffed. “You say that, but I’d like to see how you’d like it if I turned you into a woman.”

 

“I— I don’t think that has the effect you’re going for.” 

 

“Chill out, guys. I wouldn’t want to undress that guy, either way, let’s just think of something el—” 

 

The door audibly cracked open as a man nonchalantly walked inside. Jasmine lifted her handgun faster than she could think and shot, but not before Franz collapsed on the ground while clutching his arm.

 

“Argh, Fuck, these hurt so much!”

 

Jasmine’s eyes widened as her head turned toward him. His arm forearm had been hit.

 

“Damn it! I don’t want to get hit by that!”

 

“Franz! Are you ok?!” Jasmine said as she crouched next to him. “Do I need to call the exam off?”

 

“No— fuck, I’m good. I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“Why would they just send one guy at a time? Couldn’t they just win if all fifteen of them rushed us at once?” Agnes asked, still transformed.

 

“I don’t think that’d be wise. If I sneaked away, I could steal the box.” Jasmine replied. “But if I’m being honest, Franz being shot is the best-case scenario. Your power’s pretty bad for this.”

 

“Alright, thanks, I enjoy getting roasted by a seventeen-year-old in my free time.” Franz replied as he rubbed his arm. He sat up and put his back against a wall.

 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I was just—”

 

“Don’t worry about it, kid. If I’m bad at something, I’m glad it’s fighting or shooting or whatever. Wait, I don’t think I’m allowed to speak, I’m dead.”

 

“Oh right. Alright, Jasmine, what do we do now?”

 

“Well…”

 

“Well?”

 

“How do you feel about changing your mind regarding the clothes plan?” Jasmine asked with a grimace.

 

---

 

As it turned out, the ‘dead’ soldier actually got up and spoke to them as they attempted to steal his clothes. Jasmine had to compromise with Agnes and only made her change her shirt. She also had to leave her assault rifle behind. The girl strode forward with her shoulders straight and her head high, followed by an invisible Jasmine attempting to muffle her steps.

 

Agnes quickly looked inside each house, looking for the remaining soldiers and they were all similar. Every single one had a round wooden table, three chairs, and an unglazed window, along with a small bar at the very back. Eventually, the two reached the furthest one from the research center. Jasmine shook her head in disbelief. 

 

Admittedly, it was the most obvious place to put it in, but really?

 

She noticed two soldiers looking out the windows, acting as lookouts. Agnes entered the house without even thinking twice, and Jasmine followed suit.

 

“I swear man, it tastes really fucking good, you should go there on your next leave.”

 

“Not a fan of restaurants. I feel like I can just cook better, you know? Plus, It’s fun.”

 

“Did you really just say that? I could smack you right now.”

 

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’d want to travel all the way up north for food. It can’t be that different.”

 

“Peter, I swear I’ve never seen someone be so wrong in my life.”

 

They were all… speaking? Jasmine had to do a double-take. Agnes seemed surprised for a split second, but she just kept walking. The loud conversations masked the sound of the creaking wood. They weren’t taking the test seriously whatsoever. The girl noticed the box sitting at the table, but unfortunately, that was where the soldiers were mostly concentrated.

 

“Hey, hold on. Report. Did you find the kids?” Jasmine’s eyes widened. Kaleb was there, and he grabbed Agnes’ shoulder.

 

“No, they’re hiding.” She answered as naturally as possible.

 

“Hm. Vanilla.”

 

It was as if time had stopped for Jasmine. As the seconds passed and Agnes didn’t answer, the chatter died down, and heads turned toward them. She internally cursed at her foolishness. Of course, they’d use callsigns if they knew about Agnes’ power. 

 

“Come on.” The girl said as she grinned. “It’s me. You didn’t expect us to take this password thing seriously, right?”

 

Kaleb sighed. “Fine, man. Don’t scare me like that.” He said as he patted her shoulder. 

 

“Sorry. So what were we talking about?” Agnes asked.

 

As soon as she finished her sentence, the soldiers reached for their handguns. A cacophony of gunfire exploded into the room as Jasmine leaped to the ground. Agnes fell onto her, and she pushed her body. The girl crawled a few meters forward and looked around the room. 

 

“Fuck, I hate SIM rounds. I think I got hit by friendly fire.” 

 

“Yeah, my bad, Danny, I think I hit you. Damn, I was almost fooled. She really nailed his persona, that’s weird.”

 

“Gives me the creeps.”

 

“You know I’m not actually dead right? I can still hear you trash talking me.” Agnes said. The girl morphed back into her authentic self.

 

“Still creepy. Anyway, Danny lay down, and metahuman girl, stop talking. You’re dead.”

 

“Wait.” Kaleb said firmly. “Jasmine is here. She has to be.”

 

Jasmine’s heart sank.

 

“The invisible girl, right? Yeah, that would make sense.”

 

“Can you just show up so we can end this stupid test and get discharged? Allfather, it’s been weeks, I want to go home.”

 

Jasmine waited there for ten seconds, then twenty and thirty. She needed to breathe, but the soldiers just stood there. Eventually, she gasped for air, and they pointed their guns at her, ready to shoot, but Kaleb raised his hand.

 

“Hold on. Jasmine, you did well.” He said while offering her his hand.

 

The girl frowned. “You aren’t going to shoot me?” Jasmine said as Kaleb raised her up.

 

“No, I’m the leader here. These guys are all recruits, fresh from boot camp. They’ll listen to me.”

 

“Humble much?” One of them whispered.

 

Kaleb continued. “I have a deal for you, Jasmine. You want in?” She nodded. “Good. If you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat, I’ll let you have the box.”

 

A collective grumble was heard around the room. Jasmine exhaled sharply as she examined her odds. She had never even come close to beating him before, but if she had to pick between that or giving up, she’d choose to fight.

 

“Fine. No tricks?”

 

“No tricks.” He answered. “Plus, we have Franz to heal us.”

 

“Just don’t hit me too hard.” The girl pleaded.

 

And with that, she was off.