The girl in yellow stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Yesu wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, cleaning blood blurring her vision.

She met the girl’s gaze.

At first, nothing happened.

Then Yesu blinked.

The world felt... wrong.

Not blurry.

Late.

The yellow-uniformed girl’s gaze remained fixed on her, breathing unevenly as faint veins darkened beneath her eyes.

"Now," she whispered.

The boy in black moved instantly.

Metal spread visibly across his right arm with a grinding sound, silver plating crawling from shoulder to fist like liquid steel hardening over bone.

Not like armor. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Growth.

The reinforced limb doubled in size.

Yesu saw him move but her body reacted a second too slowly.

The steel fist crashed into the side of her head.

The impact snapped her sideways.

Gasps rose behind the observation glass.

Before Yesu could recover, the second blow slammed directly into her injured leg.

A sickening crack echoed through the arena.

Yesu collapsed hard onto one knee.

Everything felt delayed.

Her thoughts moved normally. Her body answered late.

The boy struck again.

Steel knuckles hammered against the half-healed fracture on her skull.

Blood splattered across the concrete.

Above the arena, Doctor Heckman stiffened.

"Enough..."

The Commander raised a hand slightly, stopping him.

Inside the arena, Yesu’s breathing grew uneven.

The yellow-uniformed girl swayed where she stood, maintaining focus.

Sweat rolled down her face now.

A thin line of blood slipped from one nostril.

The boy in black pulled his arm back for another strike.

Then Yesu moved.

Not faster.

Earlier.

She tilted her head before the punch came.

The steel fist grazed past her ear instead of crushing her face.

The boy froze briefly.

So did the girl in yellow.

Yesu’s body adjusted again.

Her damaged leg shifted underneath her automatically, compensating for the fracture.

The delay was disappearing.

The girl’s eyes widened in panic.

"No..." she whispered.

Blood suddenly streamed heavily from her nose.

Her concentration broke instantly.

She collapsed onto the floor.

The steel plating vanished from the boy’s arm at once.

"Lena!"

He abandoned Yesu immediately and rushed toward the fallen girl, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Lena, hey... look at me."

The panic in his voice felt painfully genuine.

He carefully lifted her shoulders. "You pushed too hard again, didn’t you?"

The girl gasped weakly. "I didn’t."

Her eyes trailed to Yesu who was lifting herself.

Above the arena, the spectators were silent.

"She... adjusted?" Doctor Heckman said, hand on chin, studying Yesu.

"Fought back maybe. Resisted?" One of the board members came.

The Camp Commander snorted. "The girl didn’t try hard enough. And that boy.." He frowned deeply in disapproval.

He glanced at the Head Warden. "It’s starting to look like your Campers are weaklings, Warden."

The Head Warden gulped quietly.

The Commander pressed the button on the intercom beside the observation glass.

"Take these kids out of my sight."

Yesu limped to a corner and leaned against the wall. Her gaze flickered to the observation glass.

"Are you done?" She shouted. Not in anger, in exhaustion.

The arena doors opened and the soldiers came in, ushering the Campers out.

The boy in blue glared at Yesu.

The girl in red couldn’t meet her eyes.

And the girl in yellow stared for a brief moment, in wonder. The boy in black still held her.

The doors shut.

Yesu went down to the floor, still leaning on the wall. She touched her leg lightly. The bone was completely fractured.

The boring floral clothes the hospital had given her when the CCD had come for her were soaked with blood.

She ran a hand through her hair, there was a dent in her skull.

"I think that’s enough for today." Doctor Heckman told the Commander.

"Fair enough." The Commander replied. "She seems badly beaten. Might take a week before being able to face evaluation again without dying."

Doctor Heckman smiled. "Not necessarily. That’s one thing I’m sure of."

***

The streets were quiet for a Friday night.

Ms. Vance pulled her coat tighter around her neck against the drizzling rain.

Underneath, she was dressed professionally as always, in a power suit and heels.

She walked along the road in purposeful strides, glancing behind occasionally.

She stopped in front of a shabby-looking building, the tallest in the street.

She knocked at the door once, then twice.

The door opened and she entered quickly. Then the door shut.

Across the road, a little far off, someone was watching in the shadows.

Detective Clarke.

Inside the building was warm and cheerful in contrast to the world outside it.

"Evening, ma’am." The young man who had opened the door greeted.

"Good evening."

Ms. Vance took off her coat and hung it on a rack by the door. There were other coats lined up.

"The Chairman called for a meeting." The man informed her.

Ms. Vance noticed a sleek coat amongst the others. It looked polished and expensive.

Definitely didn’t belong here.

She said nothing and took the stairs.

Ms. Vance could hear agitated voices as she walked down the hall.

"I assure you, sir, I know nothing about the incident at Null Avenue."

"No one else in the district could have access to ammunition of that kind"

"Probably. But I confidently say the ZCP is a symbol for many things, but not terrorism."

"If it..."

A sudden hush.

Ms. Vance now stood at the open door of the Chairman’s office.

Five men stared at her.

The Chairman sat at his desk. Two Coordinators stood over a blueprint.

Nothing new.

Then there was a man in an immaculate suit, hair slicked backwards, with a poised structure. A bodyguard stood next to him, hands behind his back.

One look and Ms. Vance concluded the man was certainly a politician, or affiliated with one.

She almost snorted.

"Ms. Vance," said the Chairman. "What brings you here tonight?"

Ms. Vance walked in. "A case sir."

"CCD? You can handle that." The Chairman said without interest.

"Not just the CCD." Ms. Vance said, her voice grave. "This is a case that has never occurred in the history of this district, probably in the whole of the South."

She now had the Chairman’s full attention. And that of the others.