The First: EVO Uprising (13 page)

“
How come there aren’t any Replicators with our powers?” Adrian held hand up his hand again.

“
Good question,” Erica addressed him. “I have not been able to develop the technology to replicate your abilities. Yet. Molecular types’ cells are highly evolved to the level of being almost sentient, which is how you are capable of transforming the way you both do.”

A broad smile appeared on Adrian’s face, then vanished when Rogers stepped over to get in his face again.

“
Your bodies maybe evolved.” He looked him up and down. “But not that pebble rattling around in that skull of yours.”

“
Sir, yes sir,” Adrian swallowed while standing at the stiffest attention again.

“
Anything else Lady Tech?” Rogers asked while burning a hole through Esposito.

“
Shoot, how rude of me.” She smacked her head. “Let me introduce you to the rest of our family. Maxine, please call in Angie and Jennifer.”

“
Yes Miss,” Maxine acknowledged.

Less than a minute later, Jennifer and Angie walked through the door gabbing with one another.

“
Holy smoke, there’s three of them,” Oliver swallowed.

They walked over to their sister standing nonchalantly next to her, ending their conversation as they turned to look at the new recruits before them. Jennifer appeared disinterested, while Angie showed particular interest zeroing on one particular recruit. With a bright smile she waved and gave a wink.

Adrian furrowed his brows realizing she was addressing him.

“
Maxine, you have already met,” Erica began to properly introduce, “she is not only an android, but the main AI computer for the entire base. Next to her are her sisters,  Jennifer and Angie. They will also be your instructors and sparring partners from time to time. All three possess a well of knowledge  that you can tap. So if you pass them in the hallway, and have a question, don’t be afraid to ask.”

During Erica’s introduction, Adrian began to uncomfortably fidget as  Angie continued to make flirty suggestive advances toward him from afar. They were mostly puckered kisses, lip licks, and eye winks.

He lowered his head pretending not to see and to avoid getting on Rogers’ bad side again. Jennifer catching her sister’s antics gave her a sharp elbow. Angie retaliated with an elbow of her own.  Before it turned into a full blown fight, Maxine showing emotion for the first time glared at her two younger sisters with bright pink glowing eyes ending the disagreement.

Lady Tech ending her tour and introductions stepped back allowing Rogers to step in again.

“
Now that we’ve all be properly introduced,” Rogers glanced at each of them, “the schedule for the next six months is pretty damn simple. Asses up at 0500 for breakfast, training from 0600 to 1200 hours,  and then lunchtime. Training begins again from 1300 to 1900 hours,  after that is chow, and the rest of the night to do as you damn please, which should be getting rest to do it all over again the next day, and then the next. Do I need to send you an email or text message about this schedule?”

“
Sir, no sir!” the trio yelled.

“
Good, because the dumbass that shows up one second late will suffer, and the ones that show up early will suffer twice as worse.”

Rogers’ threat made Oliver and Rosann both turn their eyes to Adrian standing in the middle. He answered the non-verbal accusation with a dirty look.

“
Now I would like you three to get the hell out of my sight till tomorrow,” Rogers grinned. “Maxine will escort you each to your new quarters. By all means explore and take in this grand facility, because come tomorrow, each of you are going to wish you took that chopper ride home. Dismissed!”

“
This way please,” Maxine gestured with a smile.

The trio grabbed their duffel bags and followed Maxine out of the Hurt Locker with Angie sashaying behind in tow until her sister bounced her in disgust. The two sisters began arguing again exiting the room leaving just Rogers and Lady Tech.

“
Is that going to be a problem?” Rogers motioned.

“
Nah, they argue all the time,” she snorted.

“
I was implying to the orange-haired one giving Esposito ammunition for a sexual lawsuit,” Rogers elaborated.

“
That’s what happens when you build highly evolved artificial intelligence,” she shrugged, “it’s just a harmless school girl crush, you want me to reel her in?”

“
No,” Rogers shook his head, “Let’s continue to make Mr. Esposito uncomfortable for now. See which one makes him break… her or me.”

“
So what do you really think of our new recruits?” She turned to him.

“
My true opinion is not for young ears such as yours,” he answered, “six months will tell me if this is or isn’t waste of our time.”   

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Three months later, Rogers made good on his promise of breaking the will of the trio. The first day of training told him what he already knew. Despite their impressive physiques both Adrian and Oliver’s stamina and endurance not only did not meet up to Marine standards, it barely met the standards of children, while Rosann failed to meet both standards all together.

Although he already knew what he was working with, it did not stop him from tearing into them. And so began the task of breaking their bodies in order to rebuild them. From morning till noon, he drove them into the ground until they puked their entrails out, and then after lunch he did it again for another five hours before handing what was left to Erica.

Every night for almost a month, he’d walk pass Rosann Esposito’s room, and hear her crying to herself, wishing to go home. Every day when they fell in, he waited for her to raise a hand, giving her resignation and request to go home. Every day she never uttered a word.

During the two hours which took place in the Hurt Locker, Erica taught the trio EVO physiology 101 to better understand, control, and employee their abilities in combat situations.

Oliver had more practice and control over his abilities than the twins. He had already mastered flight and energy manipulation. Unlike his other counterparts that wielded electricity, Oliver could use his abilities in a wide array of ways. By focusing, he could envelop his body in a white electrical plasma form without harm to himself. This apparently bolstered his abilities to an even greater level. Oliver had two problems. The first one which Erica saw was that his emotions affected his abilities. Emotions such as anger and frustration brought him to uncontrollable levels especially in the heat of battle. Left unchecked he could accidently unleashed a multi-direction electrical nova blast devastating a radius of two hundred miles.

Erica created a special suit along with boots to help him regulate his powers until his could consciously control them on his own.

His second problem which Rogers caught as a result of his first was that he hesitated in combat situations. Even when civilians were not present in combat scenarios, Oliver hesitated with the knowledge of Rosann and Adrian in the area. His main tactic was strafing and evading; searching for an opening he would use concentrated attacks to bring his opponents down. This in Roger’s eyes prolonged fights that did not need to be stretched out, and left the team to further unknown dangers. He constantly pushed him into heavy populated scenarios, especially those where civilian lives were lost. Abe had to make him understand that if he hesitated lives would be lost. And even if he did not hesitate lives could still be lost. It was something he had to live with if he wanted to be an effective soldier.           

For Adrian it was learning the properties of different metals and other noncarbon based materials, and how they would affect both his strength and durability. Aside from his antics that constantly bore him to the wrath of Rogers, Esposito proved to be a quick study with the great potential to be a skilled soldier. His problem was both over confidence and an eagerness to prove himself the capable soldier the Sergeant still believed was not there. Because of this he performed some risky acts. Some were successful, while others badly backfired. In the first he found no praise from Abe. The second found him dragged through the seven levels of hell and back after Rogers was done with him.

Rosann’s training was similar, except hers consisted of both getting use to her hybrid transformations which were painful for her, and a course in Zoology. Through practice Erica revealed to her that transforming into mammal hybrids was easier on her body because theirs and human physiology was somewhat similar, and that repeated transformations was key to them becoming easier. She taught that it was similar to stretching a muscle. In time it would become both painless and second nature to her.

Human and EVO transformations proved to be much easier for her as the only thing that changed was her skin, hair, eye color, and sometimes muscle physique. When it came to duplicating other EVOs powers and abilities, her feats were similar to her brother’s when she duplicated his ability. However, when she duplicated Rogers’ Titan abilities or Oliver’s electrical powers she was slightly weaker than her male counterparts.

Erica explained the reason for this was based on compatibility. Because her and her brother’s DNA was virtually the same it was easier for her cells to accept her brother’s cells and all of its properties. However when it came to others whose DNA was not similar to her own some properties would be lost or discarded giving her the ability to duplicate whoever she touched powers, but not at the same strength or intensity of the originator.

Erica also pointed out to both twins that the properties they absorbed were not gone when they reverted back to human form, but dormant. Once they absorbed a property it remained within their cells, touching the property again only triggered and activated their abilities. In time with training and concentration they would be able to morph without the need of a trigger.

Rogers stood in front of the observation training window with Lady Tech watching as the twins and Oliver took part in a fierce simulation battle with three Replicators.

The purpose of the training session, which he explained prior to it taking place, was for the team to learn to deal with fighting in single combat situations, while figuring out how to get to their teammates in order to fight as a unit. They were placed in an urban city scenario several blocks from one another. One stipulation which was enforced on Rosann was that she was not to borrow her brother’s or Oliver’s powers at anytime during the battle. She had to rely on her own abilities in order to help her team win.

Rosann in a female humanoid cheetah form tried her best to match speed with a Mercurian Replicator, while her brother Adrian in Titanium form took on a Titan Replicator. Blitz matched his lightning ability against a Replicator possessing the ability to unleash intense heat and flame.

“
They’re not doing too bad. Oliver is showing great control over his power. The twins’ combat prowess is getting better. Adrian’s using more of what you taught him and less brute strength.”

“
Yeah,” he sighed. “Now let’s throw in the wildcard.”

The wildcard was a fourth Replicator with the power to manipulate water.  Powering up it pulled air together focusing and channeling a massive amount of H20. It used it for aerial propulsion. Its first act was to team up with the fire Replicator. They purposely crossed streams of fire and water to create a steam smoke screen.

 “
Guys!” yelled Oliver. “Could really use some help here!”

Adrian seeing Blitz being double teamed even through the thick steamy mist side stepped the Titan Replicator slamming its gut with a knee and then booting it to the side of its skull knocking it down.

Turning on his heel, he rushed to Oliver’s side only to run into an ambush from the flame wielding Replicator blasting him with a full dose of plasma heat. His titanium physiology saved him from fourth degree burns, but he choked and gasped within the airless environment.

 
Oliver with fist cocked and charged of electrical power, dived down to his teammate’s aid clobbering the Replicator with enough force to send it crashing against a concrete building.

There was no breathing room as the water wielding Replicator unleashed a hurricane force stream on both a recovering Adrian and an electrically charged Oliver. The blast shorted out Blitz’s powers and sent him flying along with Adrian. He went crashing through the window of a Walmart, while Oliver smacked up violently against a parked Honda Civic.

A feral Rosann barely took down her Replicator speedster. She landed a lucky open handed slash to its face. The Replicator’s synthetic body and reaction where extremely realistic as it hit the pavement in writhing pain with simulated blood pouring from the four gashes made by her claws across its face.

It caught her off guard a bit. Even though it was not a real person, the scene was all too real for her. Especially when her hands trembled at the sight of the blood on them.

“
She’s freezing up again,” Rogers sighed.

Rosann’s feline senses detected an incoming attack forcing her to leap backwards as the recovered Titan Replicator came down with both fists looking to hammer her head off. It ended up cratering the concrete instead.