The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Nine: Falling in Line

The final piece of armor clicked into place. Willow took a step back and assessed her work. The new soldier prototype looked similar to the rest of Scorpion's soldiers, except for its color. Without the red paint, it was mainly a deep bronze—the color of the scraps of alterium alloy Scorpion had gotten their hands on.

The Director hadn't returned from his break yet, so Willow had a few minutes to kill. She picked up her tablet and opened her altered tracking algorithm. Scorpion didn't have access to the list of altered that the Fortuna Guard had found, and Willow couldn't find a copy anywhere in Delta Labs' digital archives. She wasn't particularly invested in whether or not Scorpion kept up with recruitment but helping them would make her look loyal.

Plus, Scorpion's altered were the ones stealing equipment for her and the rest of the lab engineers to use, so adding to their numbers did benefit her a little.

So, she'd put together a social media tracking algorithm to monitor kids who'd lived at Tyche Point. When they posted something that identified their new location, Scorpion sent a team to investigate. They usually found nothing of interest, but sometimes Wren identified a kid with abilities.

The Fortuna Guard was clearly monitoring social media as well, given that they tended to show up at the same time to pick up altered. Willow was surprised by how many fights they won. She had to admit they were impressive. They'd be more impressive if she'd joined them, but Scorpion still had the tech advantage. By far.

There was nothing new on social media, so Willow moved on to her other side project. She slid open the top drawer and front of her and pulled out the drone she'd built. It flew great, but she still needed to get its camera hooked up.

Before Willow could figure out where she'd left the small camera sitting, the door to the lab swung open.

"Ready to test it?" the Director asked as he entered, his face hidden behind his mask and dark goggles. He nodded toward the soldier prototype.

Willow set the drone down. "Yeah, I'm ready." She moved to a spot ten feet away from the soldier and turned to face it. Her hands lifted instinctively. The chill living deep in her chest crept to the surface.

A thin layer of ice materialized on the floor beneath her and expanded in the soldier's direction. The ice spread rapidly at first, but as it neared the soldier, its pace slowed. Willow strained with the effort of pushing it farther.

Finally, the ice came to a stop inches from the soldier's feet. An invisible barrier stopped Willow's ability from bringing it any closer. Her shoulders sagged. She sucked in a deep breath and, after a moment, straightened up. "Looks like it works."

"You think the alterium armor can resist freezing?" The Director asked.

He was testing her. And he had to know she knew that. Willow shook her head. "The alloy can still be compromised by extreme cold. Or heat. And after I let go, the ice I created is just ice." She glanced at the Director and found herself staring at her own reflection in his goggles. "It's the energy I'm using to manipulate it that can't touch the alterium. I can't force the ice onto the soldier."

"Correct," the Director said. "The armor could be melted at high enough temperatures, but it should withstand an active blast of fire from a pyro."

"We should have the other altered test their abilities on it," Willow said. If this really did work, the alterium-armored soldiers would also be immune to electrical tampering from the likes of Summer, and to being thrown around by Sam.

"I'll let you handle that," the Director said.

Willow nodded as she walked up to the soldier. "Is this all the alterium we have?"