...

We all sat across Midpoint's big sunken concrete amphitheater. Stadium lights lit us harshly. Sharp shadows were thrown in all directions, blurring together over the distance into fading black suggestions.

Penelope sat beside me. Tall, broad, and powerfully female, she easily overtopped my slender 5'7 frame. "That's all of us," she said gruffly. "Any idea what the old man's got cooked up for us today?"

"No idea," I replied. "Major plays his cards close to the vest, like most of us."

The Valkyrie snorted. "Some more than most".

"Fair point." My head turned.

Clad in his dark fullbody All1 sneaking suit, Zero appeared atop Midpoint's central steps. Our lanky top agent slowly descended towards us. Killjoy (rank 3), Goat (rank 9), Viper (rank 11), and Presto (rank 13) were seated on a granite bench atop our gathered ranks; Zero joined them, lounging idly. Because of his facemask, it was impossible to tell if he was listening to their conversation or watching something else on its interior optical display screens...

"That makes thirty five out of fifty three," Penelope muttered beside me. "The largest gathering of our agents in two years."

"Might be an important meeting," I replied dryly.

She smirked. "Ya think?"

Conversations echoed out into the silent subterranean darkness. Voices gradually quieted. Tension built. Approaching footsteps abruptly sounded. A spotlight activated, shining down. Major marched onstage stiffly, accompanied by his trans woman aide Silent.

My gaze fixed upon him.

Tall, dark, and handsome despite his years, Major was an enigma none of us had yet solved. Our official liaison with High Command, his classified background was a mystery even if his skills were widely known from pride-shattering practice bouts with him in the sparring circles...

This was a man to be respected. Perhaps feared.

After reaching centerstage, Major turned towards us all with military crispness, snapping a salute. "Ten HUT!"

We all stood together, snapping matching salutes. "TEN HUT!!!"

"At ease."

We all sat back down.

Major launched into things without preamble, as always. "Much has changed in the world since our last mandatory group training session." His deep voice echoed in the silence. "This presentation will consist of four parts, all concerning Cabal asset development. Let's begin with your new "Balanced Steroid Cocktail."

We all listened intently.

"Our Cabal's been working long and hard on this upgrade. Standard testing protocols were followed, and all final subjects passed without side effects. You can trust it." Major paused. "The general physical performance increase for this mix is quantified at 6%. Endurance saw an uptick at 8%."

Murmurs broke out amongst us. Surprisingly, it was Tesseract (rank 6) who raised his hand. I rarely saw him anymore. As our theoretical sciences expert, his mission schedule usually kept him off-base.

"Yes, Tesseract?" Major rumbled.

The slender man stood up. A dark All1 sneaking suit covered him, although his facemask was off. Laugh lines edged his bright blue eyes. "Will a full research write-up be available in B Lab after this meeting?"

Major glanced aside. His willowy aide Silent nodded; her eyes were hard. "It's available now," she answered in a soft sibilant voice which carried far.

Tesseract smiled, inclined his head and sat back down without another word.

Major gazed silently out at all of us for a long moment, waiting. No further questions came. He resumed. "You all know my thinking on steroids. They're necessary for keeping pace with other covert operatives around the world in a purely physical sense, but never forget: our skills must remain sharp, and our minds sharper. That is what truly separates the good from the great, and that is what makes you all the top agents in the world." He smiled thinly. "That you know of."

My neutral expression never changed, but I agreed completely. Complacency was death.

"Daily intake still applies for best results," Major continued, "although work on a long-term subdermal applicator continues. Initial injections will be available directly following this presentation." He cleared his throat. "Moving on. Our Cabal has made another recent biological breakthrough, finalizing our army's second proprietary stim: Acuity v1. Like its name suggests, this Stim gives your mental acuity a temporary 25% boost. I've tried it, and can vouch for its potency. Downside is that its peak only lasts two hours, instead of Endurance v1's three. Withdrawal side effects are similar, including a 24 hour period of jitteriness and lethargy."

Murmurs broke out again. Amidst Zero's inner circle, Goat raised his hand.

"Yes?"

The wiry man stood up. "Does it provide any benefit for pure physical tasks? Can it stack with Endurance v1?"

Major nodded. "Good questions. Partially. Acuity v1 raises awareness of your body and surroundings but its specific use is all mental, for memory retention and advanced problem solving. As for stacking, that's a yes and a no. Acuity v1 only plays nice with the new "Balanced Steroid Cocktail" compliant version of Endurance v1, so old formula holdovers will be out of luck."

Our resident climbing expert stroked his black goatee thoughtfully, sitting back down without another word.

Another hand went up.

Major pointed.

Jezebel (rank 17) stood up. She was a voluptuous woman. Her revealing uniform barely made regulation. "I hate to be that gal, but what's next? These first two stims don't fit my style." Her voice became a throaty purr. "Call me greedy, but a little more variety would be nice..."

"Be patient. The human body is complex and working the kinks out of a Stim takes time." Major raised one bushy eyebrow. "But strength, agility and sensory stims are still in the pipeline. Satisfied?"

Jezebal smiled. "Never. You know me." She sat down, sultry.

Major's gaze lingered, then he turned a hard smile upon the rest of us. "I expect your questions are just getting started. Because it's time for the big stuff. Part 3." He turned, gesturing. "Your new advanced sniper rifle."

Silent stepped away from him, coming forward. Expert sleight of hand produced a fully assembled sniper rifle. It was compact, black, and packed with tech. She paraded it high, from stage right to stage left, then halted a few feet off centerstage.

Another hand rose.

Major nodded. "Go ahead."

Midnight (rank 7) stood up. Her perfect black skin still made me faintly envious. "How soon until we have it in our hands? Don't tell me this is just a prototype..."

"It's not." Major chuckled. "This weapon's going to be a game changer. Codename is Piledriver. It has the destructive-penetration force of an assassin's wet dream. Capable of punching straight through concrete, steel, and most bulletproof materials." He glanced at his motionless aide. "Begin the demonstration."

Silent kneeled. She brought the advanced sniper rifle up into a firm two-handed grip, aimed, and FIRED. The recoil KICKED, knocking her back a step. Concrete EXPLODED!!! Layered echoes followed. Smoke and sound gradually faded away, leaving behind only cold subterranean quiet. But things had changed: a hole wide enough to crawl through now marked the amphitheater's central partition. Stadium lights fingered inside it, playing across unused interior changing rooms and mixing with dusty shadows still slowly swirling back into stillness.

None of us gasped. None of us moved. But I knew we were all at least a little impressed, because I was.

Gun barrel still smoking, Silent strolled back over to stand tall beside Major. "Piledriver has two firing options: Pinpoint and Spread," Major continued. "Pinpoint uses "drill" bullets to achieve maximum penetration through an obstacle. Spread uses "explosive" rounds for maximum splash damage, while still achieving impressive penetrative power when compared to normal rifles. What you all just witnessed a minute ago was an example of both. We call that a Piledriver doubletap."

Another hand rose.

Major pointed.

Ugly (rank 16) stood up. The long-haired man was a black-hearted bastard with a foul mouth. "Explain," he growled.

"Take a closer look. Use the All1's advanced optical zoom if you have to."

I had 20/15 vision, so that wasn't necessary. A long look at the big hole in Midpoint's central partition revealed a much smaller hole drilled deadcenter amidst scorching on an old wooden wardrobe, passing through it and the concrete backwall. A tiny trickle of dim light filtered back through it, from the direction of...

"I know what some of you are now wondering. The answer is no, it did not penetrate Midpoint's central command shack. No coups today." Major gave us one of his rare full honest smiles. "But as should be obvious by now, this rifle is a BIG upgrade. Most modern bulletproof materials can't stop either of Piledriver's rounds, and only two can stop Pinpoint. I see a few of you smiling. Yep, straight assassination jobs just got a whole lot easier."

"Shitfucking hell," Ugly hissed, practically drooling. He sat back down.

Another hand rose.

Major turned. And sneered. "Yes?"

Killjoy rose. Major's least favorite stone-cold assassin wore her typical uniform: black sunglasses and a sleek black trenchcoat. Half-Valkyrie, she was tall, imposing, but radiated a chilliness all her own. "This one won't overheat with rapid use? We all remember the discontinued Heavy Rifle, and some of us still kill in bulk."

"Absolutely not. It's 100% ready for primetime."

An evil smile slowly spread across Killjoy's pale face. She sat back down.

Another hand rose.

Major waved impatiently. "Yes? What else?"

Twofer (rank 15) stood up. "Future upgrades in the pipeline?"

"Of course. A range of additional offensive ammunition are being finalized for it, along with a low power "Subversion Mode". This last mode will still pack a kick, but can help in obscuring the weapon's unique firing signature." Major held up both of his big hands, forestalling any further questions. "I know Piledriver's got everyone all hot and bothered, but save it until the meeting's over. Our gun range exhibition will be quite thorough." He briefly caught my eye. "Don't forget: we're still working on your next generation stun baton too. Be on the lookout for it at year's end."

I didn't smile, but was quietly pleased. It was my general philosophy as a covert operative to travel light. The All1 provided for most of my defensive, offensive, and technical needs when on missions. However, I had begun my career with heavy use of a stun baton. An upgraded version might someday prove similarly useful...

Major bulled forward. "On to the final part of our presentation: an early prototype version of your upgraded All1 sneaking suit." Ignoring our sudden loud consternation, he gestured. "Show them."

Silent handed him Piledriver, unzipped her jacket, stepped from her suit pants and came forward. She slowly stalked from stage right to stage left, giving us all a long eyeful of the new All1 suit revealed beneath. All dark, it largely resembled the old one. Nothing impressive.

"I know what you're all thinking. It doesn't look much different than your current version, right?" Major grinned, all white teeth. "Wrong. All major subsystems have been updated. Carrying capacity for its subdermal liquid pouches has been increased by 10%. Liquid and gas dispersal range from your fingertip tubes has been bumped up 30%. Core power supply jumped 40%. GPU, CPU and related systems saw a general 90% performance boost The OS is an entirely new generation. Various new modes are available for your facemask's interior optics display. New biometrics will better support the constant monitoring of your bodily health. And more. Much more. But I haven't even gotten to the best part yet." He pointed towards us all. "Open question: is anyone currently armed?"

Hands rose.

"Show me what you got."

Weapons were raised high: a serrated hunting knife, a slim sword, an old revolver, a hand gun, a semi-automatic M.A.G-

"Toss me the M.A.G," Major called.

They tossed it.

Major caught it. "Perfect." He thumbed its safety off. "Your current All1 is nominally bulletproof, although you wouldn't want to stand still for a firing squad or heavier armaments... such as this M.A.G. Its singleshot firing mode packs a punch. Even All1 covered targets would suffer bruising and subdermal bleeding from a direct hit. Its shotgun spread would take things a step further, damaging the All1's advanced plastic membrane material itself. But again: this new suit is different." He gestured. "Begin the motion impact demonstration."

Silent pulled down her facemask. Covered head-to-toe in the new All1 prototype, she then cartwheeled away. Gunfire sounded. Each impact caused stiff hiccups in her spinning motion. She ended things with a backflip, landing adroitly back onto both feet amidst fading echoes.

"As you all can see, there's not a visible scratch on her. This prototype suit features "Reactive Skin 2.0". Sensors now anticipate AND react to impact force, stiffening an appropriately-sized section of the suit material around the point of contact to better re-distribute damage." Major smiled again, with an edge this time. "But as previously mentioned, the M.A.G shotgun spread still provides a normally overwhelming amount of offensive power." He gestured. "Begin the stationary impact demonstration."

Silent stepped forward, lowering into a martial arts defensive squat. The M.A.G. fired again, BOOM. She stumbled back stiffly and re-set. Echoes followed, trailing away. Her suit still appeared pristine.

Multiple hands rose.

"Again: no visible damage to the prototype suit, although microscopic tearing likely occurred this time." He nodded. "Greater impacts mean greater protection. The suit can stiffen up almost entirely, rendering you into a partially mobile statue. That is also why her defensive stance, with a low center of gravity, was necessary for the final demonstration." Major grinned. "Which isn't to say you won't still feel big hits in a big way. Silent?"

His indomitable aide just shrugged, albeit gingerly. "Doesn't hurt any worse than a solid kick in the chest. I'll survive."

Major nodded. "Indeed. But full rollout of this tech is still a year away, and we aren't done here yet. This is a two part hardware finale. Let's end things with optics." He gestured. "Equip the prototype advanced vision goggles."

Silent produced these with more expert sleight of hand. The goggles were black and compact. She strapped them onto her face, her total outfit now vaguely calling to mind some new covert unit of our army's Black Ops tactical-insertion shock troops.

"These prototype goggles are a big upgrade over both your current and upcoming prototype suit's interior optical displays. Settings include increased resolutions, night vision, thermal and an echolocation modes. It also syncs with your All1 to draw extra power and share data. Solid tech, but we'll go over this more later." Major finally deigned to notice all of our raised hands. He pointed out five of us. "You five, in order. That's it. All other questions can wait until we disperse for guided exhibitions and group work."

No one grumbled. We were all used to Major's impatience with general Q&A. He was more of a hand's on type of educator, and we would learn best during guided exercises.

High-flying Hawk (rank 12) stood up. "Does the new All1 have any specific countermeasures for fall damage? How does it sync with Piledriver?"

"Shock absorption saw a 20% increase, and it syncs well. Next question."

Nondescript Chameleon (rank 22) stood up. "What's the word on upgraded active camo tech?"

"The prototype suit's skin can emulate richer colors and higher resolution textures. Next question."

Aquatic's expert Shark (rank 26) stood up. "Any details on increased underwater operability?"

"Submersible pressure rating is doubled and oxygen filtrations systems saw a 40% boost. Next question."

Firebrand stood up. A lithe teenager, her bright red hair always drew the eye. "That sounds like a nice start, but I made a highly detailed request to our Cabal AND High Command for a massively upgraded gas filtration system. Was it fully implemented?"

Major eyed her warily. "Your design was taken into consideration. Next que-"

"That didn't answer my question."

Sudden silence fell, which made it possible to hear a single sharply indrawn breath. Hell, even I was shocked. One did not interrupt Major. We all waited...

The handsome old killer simply stared her down for a long moment. "Most of it."

The irrepressible youth looked ready to protest–

"What else can you realistically hope for?" Major's gaze was cold. "There's only so much room in the suit's relatively thin subdermals. Not everything can be fit inside, no matter how many requests you agents put in. Science has its limits. As do we all." His hardass smile flashed. "Why the urgency? Planning another unnecessarily explosive exfiltration?"

Firebrand glared, and–

Major had already moved on. "Last question."

Stymied, Firebrand sat down muttering about necessary contingencies.

Serenity (rank 5) slowly rose. She was everything Firebrand wasn't. A perfectly composed veteran, her skills were formidable. Standing tall. Waiting...

Major nodded. His expression was respectful. "Please, go ahead."

Her calm gaze never wavered. "What is your personal opinion on this new tech?"

"Oh? My personal opinion?"

"Yes. I would find it invaluable."

From anyone else this might have come across as base flattery. But not from her. Major gave it serious consideration. When he answered, it was in a tone gone thoughtful. "Good question. Perhaps a fitting one, considering some of the classified intel I've been receiving lately." His expression became grim. "The world is ever changing, agents. You all know it. None are better equipped for it. Still, our work is never done. And neither is that of our enemies."

We were all listening intently. Such an expansive oration from our intimidating liason with High Command was almost unprecedented.

"These suits are solid tech. Well tested, and inarguably useful. The rest of it too. I would have you consider using everything on display today. What's coming will require more than what you're all currently capable of. Or at least what you THINK you're capable of." He hesitated, then continued softly. "What kind of world do you want? And what are you willing to do to make it so?"

A thrill ran through me.

"These are questions we all must answer. The time for true loyalty is coming..." His voice rose again, brisk and back to business. "That's all. I will now lead the future weapon's exhibition at the gun range. Silent will lead the prototype suit exhibition at Wardrobe. Trainers Branch and Tun will handle the rest. Dismissed." He turned smartly on his heels, marched left and descended the stairs towards Midpoint's West Gate. Silence headed right towards East Gate.

Agents began rising all around me, chatting excitedly. I followed suit. "Ready for our next match?"

Penelope towered beside me. "Yep. Gonna enjoy cleaning your clock again, number 2."

I pushed out into the press, descending towards East Gate. "The rankings only judge our skill overall as agents," I corrected her. "I'm not the second best hand-to-hand combat expert, marksmen, or hacker." Yet. "Just the second-best agent."

She wrapped one big brawny arm around my neck, bringing me in close for a burning noogie. "AWWW! You almost sounded humble there for a second."

In one motion: I twisted, ducked, and broke her disrespectful hold. "Improvement is a matter of will. Don't take me lightly in the ring or I'll humble YOU."

Her smile was predatory. "You're the most stubborn agent, I'll give you that."

Outside Midpoint, agents streamed away in all directions. One big group went with Major. Another with Silence. Zero's group headed off for the Living Maze: a monstrous structure of shadow, spikes and twisting corridors. Our incorrigible top agent glanced back at me and waved. I ignored him, leading Penelope towards the sparring circles.

"What's your opinion of Major's ominous closing thoughts?" Penelope finally asked me.

"Besides the fact that they were entirely out of character?" My brow furrowed. "A lot, actually. I've felt it too. The interdependent political climate of Pangaea remains convoluted, but with a growing sense of fragility. Some players have become too bold. Others too weak. There's no center anymore. I agree with Major: change is in the air. Maybe catastrophic. Unless we do something."

"We? Idealism's not my style." Striding tall at my side, she shook her head. "I know you want to join Gray Man, Grimwalda, and Stranger at the top. Hell, tagging one of them could help your cause more than anything. But in the end you'll still have to face Zero. Changing the world? Yeah. Maybe. Baby steps first, eh?"

I strode out into the first sparring circle. Turned. Moved into a defensive stance. "Enough talk," I announced. "Come at me with everything you have."

Penelope stopped on the opposite side. At 6'6 she towered over me, even moreso than the BBB had at Artuga's island mansion. "You sure you want that?" She cracked her knuckles, and began slowly circling the ring. "Never beat me before. I'm bigger, faster, and stronger than you. Your hand-to-hand combat's improved a lot in the last few months, sure, but c'mon. Everyone has limits, and you're no Valkyrie. Why not stick to what you're best at?" She grinned. "No offense. You're one hell of an agent. Generally better than me, no doubt. But some things can't-"

That wasn't good enough. If I couldn't beat Penelope I couldn't beat the BBB. If I couldn't beat the BBB I couldn't beat Zero. And if I couldn't beat Zero then I couldn't change the world. Turn a weakness into a strength, right?

I sprang forward, launching my attack.