"Friend, I find it really, really suspicious that a real government office is willing to hire a pretty, young girl without a college degree," speculated Christine around a mouth full of noodles. "Are you sure they're not just hiring you for your looks? As, you know, an office decoration?"
"It's not like that," Alice reassured her as she fumbled with her chop sticks. They were having lunch in her favorite Chinese restaurant, her mom's treat. Alice was able to convince her mom that her new job was worth celebrating in a place worth remembering. It was, in Alice's opinion, the greatest Chinese restaurant on the planet. Red, lacquered tiles painted with tiny golden dragons covered the ceiling, and a smoky, glass partition etched with koi fish separated their booth from the rest of the other diners. The air was heavy with the scents and sounds of the Mongolian grill and the buffet. From where she sat, Alice could see the conveyor belt carrying tiny plates of sushi around the sushi bar and considered grabbing another one of the little rolls filled with coconut shrimp, but she decided to grab another plate of General Tso's chicken instead.
"I've taken computer applications classes, so I already know about typing memos and using Excel. Plus, they needed someone willing to work really odd, long hours. They're even sending me out of town for training for a few weeks. Apparently, it's a really serious job where I'll be working with fire departments and paramedics and stuff."
"Will you be actually going out with them?" her mom said as she looked up from her own bowl of stir fry. Alice could tell that her attempts to assuage her mom's fears about her new employers weren't yet enough. Her mom was still a little too quiet, a little too stern in her tone to be at ease.
Alice shook her head. "No, but I might sometimes work kind of like a dispatch operator. I'll be safe, but I need a lot of training before they'll let me do it."
"Whatever," Christine said with a mouth full of pot stickers. "Just don't let anyone treat you like you're just a pretty face to make the workplace look good. You're my friend, and you deserve better than that."
Her mom, of course, knew the truth about the terms of her new job. Alice had told her as soon as she'd left her secret meeting with Clawson. Maryanne seemed determined to respect her daughter's choice, but she was no less concerned for her.
Later, after Christine had gone home, her mom came back to the apartment with her. As they made steaming cups of chicory tea together, she opened her mouth to finally say what she'd been thinking all evening.
"Look, honey, I still think this whole thing is still too dangerous. I think you should just stay away from them."
Alice frowned. She knew what she had chosen to do was a risk. But she wasn't sure how to convince her mom it was a risk worth taking.
"But they might be able to tell me more about who I am," Alice reminded her. "You know that's important to me."
Her mother gave her a sideways glance that seemed to say You are smarter than this.
"There is more to who you are than what you are. If you feel a need to discover yourself and your potential, that's fine, but don't let these people convince you they've discovered some secret that you need to know. You don't need them. They need you, and they might lie to you or manipulate you to get what they want."
Alice looked hard at her mother, at the suspicion in her eyes. She knew her mother was telling her the truth, yet...
"Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I'm not saying that because I don't want you to tell me what to do. I'm saying it because I think that, even though you're right, it's my decision, and I think something is drawing me towards these people. This is something I think I have to do, even if it's dangerous."
Her mom listened as her steaming cup lay in her lap. "I know," she admitted. "I'll be here if you need me, okay?"
No more than a week after her tour of the Department of Emergency Resource Management, Levi had appeared at Alice's door with a brown manila envelope in his hands once again. Alice took it from him and began to ask him what it was, but the he was already clomping down the stairs with no more than a cursory goodbye.
Alice opened the envelope and dumped its contents out into her palm. A chunky, plastic device landed in her hand, something about the size of a cell phone, but with no screen. It had a rubbery protective case around it, as though the thing was designed to be dropped from a significant height and survive. Also like a cell phone, it had several buttons along its edge. Alice tried pressing one. A holographic screen appeared in the air above the device, emitted by a tiny glass eye in its surface. The device made an electronic chime as the words "Motherboxx" appeared.
I get my own Motherboxx! I can't believe it! My very own Motherboxx!
Alice didn't yet have any friends that owned such a device. Even those she knew came from wealthier families only owned smart phones, albeit the high-end models that were completely transparent except for the thinnest frame around the super-strong touch screens. But the Motherboxx was different even than these. Though it could be used as a mobile phone, the Motherboxx was closer to a palm-sized computer and hologram projector in one. While TVs and billboards could project multi-colored holograms, even holographic screens, there was no mobile device that could yet perform such a feat. No device except the Motherboxx.
"Miss Fillmore," came Clawson's voice from the machine. Alice tried responding to it, but it droned on as though she didn't speak. A recording. "This Motherboxx will serve as your personal communications device. Take care of it. Right now, you'll find on it a list of instructions you must complete before reporting to our office in three days."
Text appeared, a document with the promised instructions, courtesy of Athena. Much of it was simple. Quit her job. Close her social media accounts. Cancel all appointments for the foreseeable future. Anything that might give someone an excuse to miss her and come looking for her in the coming five weeks. Clawson was basically asking her to wipe her existence from the face of the Earth as much as possible before becoming part of a deniable government project.
Maybe I should just fake my death.
Quitting her job at Morena Rose was the only thing she regretted. Christine's family was good to her, but they wished her well in her new position and assured her that they'd gladly take her back if she ever desired it. Alice had the feeling that Christine may have told her parents of the help Alice had given her the day they met, because her family seemed fond of her in a way that couldn't be explained simply by her job performance alone. They also gave her privileges and considerations at that job that she hadn't expected since she'd only worked there a few months.
If I'd chosen to be a normal person, I'd probably stay there with Christine for a long time.
But the path she had chosen was anything but normal.
Athena's packing instructions were as meticulous as those for clearing her schedule. Her instructions included a very specific, Spartan list of things to bring with her to her "orientation". Many of the items were common sense, like underwear, socks, and exercise shoes. What surprised her was how specific the numbers were. She was told to bring eight pairs of underwear, but sixteen pairs of socks.
What, do they have math equation that predicts how many socks I'll go through?
She used the list as an excuse to buy herself two new pairs of shoes. White and green running shoes and black cross trainers with hot pink accents. Christine helped pick them out.
"You're so lucky," Christine told her as she admired her new cross trainers. "I wish I had an easy job that required me to buy new shoes."
Something in Alice's head told her this wasn't the sort of preparation her new employers had in mind, but what the heck?
**********
"Congratulations on your selection to be a part of ORIGIN's candidacy course," said Athena. Alice was standing, bleary eyed, in the empty hallways of the Department of Emergency Resource Management, right in front of the stainless-steel elevator doors that led down to the real headquarters of ORIGIN. It was four o'clock in the morning, and She'd just stumbled out of Levi's car and into the building for her first day of training. Alice was grateful Levi had picked her up. Flying, even while carrying her bags, would have been easy, but the car ride gave her a few moments to wake up. Moments wasted, to be sure, but Alice was thankful for the ride all the same.
"Normally, it takes up to as much as a year to complete the candidacy process. We recruit from the best agencies and military branches in the world. But you're an exception. Because you are metahuman, you will be put through a condensed version of this course. But you will still be expected to pass in order to join our teams in any field operations. You can expect no leniency or privilege here. We chose you for this course because you're unique. Not because you're qualified."
Alice had to agree with her. Athena and other staff members in the building were already awake and working with a purpose while Alice felt as though she were still sleep walking.
If this is what I'm supposed to act like at 4 am, I couldn't be less qualified. But still, I wanted a chance to prove myself, so I will. Even if I have to wake up every day at this disgusting hour!
"My job now is to prepare you for the selection test and to test your commitment to this work."
Athena paused and let out a long sigh through her nose. She was clearly annoyed, after working for years with elite special rescue and combat units, that this was what she now had to work with. Alice was sure Athena knew Clawson had told her about their arrangement. If he did, she didn't seem happy about it.
"I'd try to wake up, if I were you," Athena began again. "The first week of your training is aimed at testing the limits of your powers. It will be my job to make sure you are very uncomfortable. And I'm going to start immediately."
"Don't worry," Alice groaned like the walking dead. "I'm awake."
Athena smirked as she reached for the gym bag at Alice's feet and hoisted it onto her back. Alice could clearly see the well-defined muscles in her arm and shoulder, the black polo she was wearing stretching to accommodate the swell of her biceps. She escorted Alice to a room somewhere between the ground level building and the Ready Room far below. It was a neat, brightly lit studio apartment with geometric patterns on the spotless furniture and the decor. Golden light filled the room courtesy of elegant lamps, and a soft-looking bed tempted Alice from the corner of the room. The blankets seemed to whisper promises that couldn't possibly be true. All told, the room looked like something stolen from a nice hotel.
That made it all the more torture when she was told she wouldn't be spending much time in it.
"Get dressed for exercise," Athena said, throwing her bag onto the bed. She handed Alice a key card. "This will get you down to the Ready Room and the Galley. Nowhere else. Do you remember how to get to the Ready Room?"
When Alice said she didn't, Athena showed her how she could use her Motherboxx to find her way through the labyrinthine corridors of ORIGIN.
"Good," she said when she was satisfied Alice could read the map. "I'll be waiting there for you. You have fifteen minutes."
When she finally made it down the elevator dressed in gym shorts and a loose tee shirt, she saw that Athena was already waiting for her just outside the elevator doors. Behind her was a small group of six men, all of whom were dressed in laboratory coats and carrying clip boards.
I guess I'm a science experiment today.
With them was one other young man, perhaps only a year or two older than Alice, wearing a black polo identical to Athena's and cargo pants. Alice could see he had numerous pouches around his belt and strapped to his legs. His hair was short and red.
A little way behind them, Alice could see Ethan. He was dressed for exercise as he had been when she first saw him, which meant shorts with no shirt again. He'd already been working out for a while, it seemed. He was already breathing heavily and sweating.
"I said fifteen minutes, not twenty-three," said Athena. Her voice was cold and hard as a steel knife. "If you're late like this again, you might find that your key card won't get you into the Galley for a while. You might also find yourself spending more time exercising and less time resting. If I give you time to complete a task, I expect it done in that time. No excuses."
"Sorry," Alice apologized. "I'm just tired. It's really early."
"Get used to getting up early and having to be somewhere quickly," she countered. "This is not a nine-to-five kind of job. When you're assigned to be somewhere, you need to be there. In this line of work, you are only ever called to be somewhere once the worst has happened. That means the time to be anywhere we tell you is five minutes ago. Is that clear?"
Alice nodded and silently reminded herself that this was something she wanted to do. She wasn't used to being talked to like this. Her love of sleep, her lack of punctuality, had never been serious problems before. Of course, She'd been told to be places on time, but she'd never been the target of heavy criticism. Her grades were too good, her disposition too cheerful, and her record too clean. No one ever had a need to chastise a sweet teenage girl for having minor teenage flaws, at least not before now. But she'd only been in this place for half an hour, and already she'd been threatened with a loss of meal privileges.
I'm not the star student here, she reminded herself. I'll have to earn their trust.
But Alice was already starting to see how daunting a task that would be. This woman, Athena, was stubborn, uncompromising, and blunt.
"We already know you're strong, so let's start with that," Athena suggested. "Let's put you on the Megaton and see how much you can lift."
The men with the clipboards nodded. Alice suspected, since Athena said her job was to test her limits, that theirs was to observe her in action.
They made their way to the huge piston machine. Ethan, with a broad smile on his face, was leaning on it.
Athena waved her hand at it, inviting Alice to step forward.
"This is the Megaton," Athena explained. "What you're seeing is a small part of it. The rest of it, about ninety-nine percent of it, is below us and next to us, built into the bedrock. It's the heaviest apparatus made by man. It was originally built to test the limits of Divinity."
That got Alice's attention.
"Divinity?" she repeated. "Divinity the metahuman? The hero? He used this machine?"
"Yep," Ethan chimed in, polishing the brushed metal surface of the Megaton like a collector shining a vintage car. "This baby was built for the American Titan himself. Some say he only used it to be polite to the engineers that built it. That not even this could really measure the limits of his strength."
Alice paused, a thought forming on the tip of her brain.
"Is this where Divinity was from?" she asked.
Ethan gave a smug nod, apparently pleased she was so impressed.
"We'll get to that later," deflected Athena, her face a stone blank. "Tonight, we'll sit down with you and explain some things. But right now, you're going to focus on the Megaton. Ethan is going to demonstrate how to use it safely."
"The first thing you'll need," said Ethan, "is a new pair of shoes."
At that, Athena stepped forward and handed Alice a pair of what seemed to be a cross between socks and boots. They were made of a tough, gray material with a thick tread at the bottom. Alice looked down sadly at the new shoes she was already wearing.
"Can I not wear these?" she pleaded, already feeling she knew the answer.
"Normal shoes will shred under the pressure you're about to put on your feet," explained Athena. "Really, your feet probably don't need much protection, but the tread will give you enough grip on the floor to keep you from slipping."
With a sigh, Alice removed her own shoes and pulled on the boots. As soon as her toes slipped into place, the fabric tightened until the boot fit her like a second skin.
If only these things came in better colors...
Ethan grinned and began what Alice was sure was a very well-rehearsed speech about the features, uses, and dangers of the Megaton. He explained things she already knew from their previous encounter, that one shouldn't simply drop the Megaton in the middle of a lift. He showed her how the giant piston, about as big around as a concrete storm drain, could be mechanically lifted to a certain height for some exercises. He also showed her the small, subtle grooves where she could grip to lift it from its resting position on the ground. The metal plate it rested on was unlike any kind of metal Alice had seen before. It looked like steel, but it slightly flexed at her touch, like a stiff rubber pad.
"Alright," Athena interrupted as Ethan was demonstrating a one-handed shoulder press against the diagonal piston. "Let's see Alice try it."
Ethan gently lowered the machine to the ground. Then he stepped to a small holographic panel on the wall displaying a dizzying array of settings and graphs. He touched a red, segmented bar with his finger, and dragged it down, changing its color to green.
"No more than three tons, Ethan" warned Athena.
"We already know she can lift it," said Ethan. "The truck she lifted off that woman weighed at least three tons."
"Ethan, do we need to have another talk about equipment safety?" warned Athena.
Ethan dejectedly lowered the green bar even more.
"Besides," Athena continued, this time looking right at Alice, "we don't know exactly how her powers work. They might only be triggered by stress, or during certain environmental conditions. Or maybe she might lose them for no reason at all. Let's keep the weight down until we learn otherwise."
Sensing her queue, Alice stepped up to the machine, stretching her arms and fingers.
"As a matter of fact," Athena went on, "is there anything we need to know about your strength? Something that might be important for us to know before you operate this extremely heavy, irreplaceable machine in a room filled with people?"
That gave Alice pause.
After a moment, she shook her head. If her powers were affected by stress, they would have been then. Alice wondered if maybe that had been Athena's intention.
"Then go ahead and lift it. Not high. Just up to your mid-thigh with your legs straight. And say 'help' if you need any."
"I'll be right here," said Ethan, leaning against the wall near the panel.
Alice slid her fingers under the smooth, cold edge of the piston where it rested on the metal plate on the floor. She bent her knees and tried to remember everything she'd ever heard about lifting heavy objects. With your legs, people always say, not with your back. Did that even apply to her? She had no idea, so she tried to pretend the huge metal apparatus in front of her was just a box.
A really heavy cardboard box. That had once belonged to Divinity.
She lifted.
Ethan smiled, and then laughed and clapped his hands together in excitement.
"That is so cool!" he said.
Athena looked to the young man in the black polo and nodded. He nodded back and removed something from a pouch at his belt. It was some kind of eye goggle made of black plastic and glass that whirred and telescoped out like the eyes of a snail. He seemed to look almost through Alice as she lifted, as though he were seeing something inside her.
"Incredible," was all he said.
It was far from easy. Alice could feel a dull burn in her forearms and fingers from her grip on the machine. Her legs were trembling. She was trying. But somehow she knew she could have done more.
Athena said nothing until Alice carefully set the Megaton back onto the plate.
"Make it heavier," Athena ordered. Her face was expressionless.