Prism and The Red Wolves

Prism spent the first few days of the week doing a series of psychological and intelligence tests for the Red Wolves, all administered in Dr. Liam’s presence. It was a mentally rigorous process for Prism, but he endured it.

“Your mind seems as fit as a fiddle. And yet, you still have so many attributes that are a complete mystery to us.” Liam had said to Prism after his second day of psych evaluations.

“Such as?” Prism asked while they walked down a hallway of the Auxiliary.

“You speak, read, and write the Æban common language as if you were a native speaker. How could that be? From what you’ve told us about your stay with the Queen’s scientists, they had no incentive to teach you language at all since you refused to speak to them.” Liam reasoned.

Prism did not want to share the real reason why his Æban language skills were so good; that he could “gain” languages by magically scanning the minds of those who already knew them, and then essentially copy that understanding into his own mind. Prism knew that whatever trust he’d built with the Red Wolves would probably be damaged if they knew that he could read their minds. It wouldn’t matter to them that he only read minds when consent was given, Prism thought. The only time he broke that rule was when he felt like his life was in serious danger. Reading more than the surface thoughts of a mind could be deadly, especially if the target’s mind was strong and willful.

“As I said before, I had plenty of time to learn the language through observation. I was kept out of that rejuv-pod for at least five years until they exhausted their attempts to learn my secrets.” Prism said confidently.

“Your tests have proven that you have a wealth of intelligence, but that story still seems silly to me.” Liam said with an annoyed sigh. “When you transformed in front of Commander Ursun, he told us that he heard your voice directly in his mind. I have an inkling that your ability to gain language is telepathic in nature, though even telepathy seems just as farfetched as your “magic” powers.” Liam surmised.

“Perhaps magic is exactly the reason I can speak whatever language I want…” Prism said flippantly to hide the panic he felt from Liam’s spot-on reasoning. Liam scoffed loudly before the two parted ways for the evening.

The next day began Prism’s skills testing, which had Prism run through an outdoor obstacle course. The course winded partway around Kyero Mountain, which contained the Red Wolves’ main base. Normally a test of endurance, the twenty-kilometer course through the sloped boreal forest had twenty difficult and complicated obstacles that truly tested the mettle and physical prowess of all who attempted it. The sub-arctic climate made the area treacherous much of the year, but the summer season kept the temperature comfortable and the course manageable.

The "Terrible Twenty", as it was dubbed by the Red Wolves, was usually reserved for mercenaries and security guards who sought leadership and elite positions. But after witnessing Prism's magical powers firsthand, Dr. Liam knew that he'd need to make the alien's skills tests as hard as possible.

"On the count of three, I'll start the clock. You'll have four hours to complete the course. We'll monitor your progress using cameras installed throughout the area." Liam explained to Prism, who was readying himself to take off running a few meters in front of the doctor.

"Like we've already told you, you're free to use whatever methods at your disposal, but you must actually complete the obstacles. Do not skip over any of them." Leanna added.

"I understand, and I'm ready." Prism said after looking back at both of them and giving a thumbs-up.

His daytime security guards, Dill and Dy, stood beside Liam and Leanna. Healing Jaik had improved the commanders' treatment of Prism, but he was still always under armed guard. Dill and Dy had at least begun to converse with him that morning while they escorted him through the base. Prism had learned that the two had been friends since childhood, and had come up in the company’s security division together as well.

"Three, two, one..." Dr. Liam said before pressing a button on the arm display that he wore.

Prism's eyes shined with red light while his body began to glow with a scarlet hue. When he took his first step, the people behind him felt a sudden shockwave that nearly pushed them back. Liam frantically began to tap away at the screen on his arm when Prism quickly disappeared from view. Leanna calmly pulled up the camera feeds that tracked Prism's movements on her own arm display. She marveled at his superhuman ability, and how his red aura danced through the air around him while he moved.

"Our equipment says that he is running at over 90 kilometers an hour! That's double the speed of our top talent!" Dr. Liam yelled while quickly inputting notes on his arm display. "And he's completed two obstacles already, each taking him about 30 seconds!"

"At this rate, he'll be done with the course in less than thirty minutes." Leanna said with a big smile on her face.

She could barely believe the words that came out of her mouth. It had taken her three hours to complete the course just over a year prior to her meeting Prism.

"Well, let's get to the other end of the course before he beats us to it." Liam said. Leanna could see that he was clearly annoyed by the entire situation.

As the four Red Wolves drove along a narrow mountain pass that bordered the Terrible Twenty course, they could catch glimpses of red light through the trees once they’d gotten halfway to the course’s other end. Dr. Liam, who’d decided to drive their off-road vehicle, floored the throttle at the perceived slight of Prism being faster than a motor vehicle. Leanna shook her head at how angry the doctor had become. He surely knew that the mountain road that they were on was a whole five kilometers shorter than the obstacle course, making it highly unlikely that Prism would outrun them. Leanna looked back at Dill and Dy, who were sitting in the backseat. Dill shrugged while Dy smiled.

“Made it with ten minutes to spare.” Liam said once he’d parked the red solar-electric vehicle within a large, busy garage at the other end of the obstacle course atop a hill that overlooked the last leg of the Terrible Twenty.

“Of course we did…” Leanna said sarcastically as the doctor hurriedly got out of the vehicle and quickly made his way out of the garage.

The garage was full of different kinds of vehicles that were being worked on by a large group of mechanics. There were both the standard solar-electric vehicles that most people on Æba used, and old-style gas-powered vehicles that were still commonplace in the neighboring nation of Ruskeda. The Kyeran Environmental Research building that the vehicle garage was connected to had several scientists within working on a variety of projects. The facility was usually called "The Kerb" by most Red Wolves.

When Leanna walked through its lobby towards an exit to the Terrible Twenty course, she recalled working there for a short time while she was still in school. The three-story building of glass and steel was under a kilometer from one of the few large entrances to Kyero Mountain's interior, making it serve as a transportation hub on that side of the mountain.

Liam spent twenty minutes complaining when Prism didn't come running out of the course at the thirty minute mark. The doctor had made his way over to the course area several meters from The Kerb. While monitoring the course’s cameras in the meantime, Leanna had noticed that Prism had stopped using his speed magic at certain intervals to stop and rest for a few minutes at a time. When Prism finally appeared to Leanna a few meters from the course’s finish line, he was no longer glowing red and looked a bit tired. Liam smirked smugly at the sight and vigorously tapped his arm display to stop its timer.

"Good, even he has his limits." Liam said spiritedly as he approached a very sweaty Prism.

Prism, whose black tank-top and red athletic sweatpants were completely sweat-drenched, bent over and placed his hands on his knees for a moment to catch his breath. He looked up to see the steep slope that he'd need to traverse to get to the others. He soon stood tall and stretched his arms to the sky, smiling wide and bright to himself. He'd run long enough on his own natural ability to get a rush of endorphins. He swiped the sweat from his forehead and flung it on the ground before continuing forward to join Dr. Liam and the others.

"How did I do?" Prism asked Liam with a friendly smile when the two came face-to-face.

"55 minutes, thanks to your "magic"." Liam said with a scoff, barely looking up from the screen on his forearm.

"You finished it in a third of the time that our best mercs have achieved. Pretty incredible." Leanna quickly added from a short distance away. She was further up on the hill that their vehicle rested atop.

"I'm still slowly getting back to 100% of my normal mana capacity, so I had to pace myself." Prism said. He tried to laugh off Liam's skepticism, but the doctor's attitude still managed to annoy him.

"Is that why you kept stopping to "recharge"?" Leanna asked. She, like many of the Red Wolves, was very curious as to how Prism's powers worked.

"Yup. I just needed to gather more mana when I'd run out. It'll be a while before I won't need to do that so often. My body's a lot weaker than I thought from being mana-starved for so long." Prism explained. He could see from the corner of his eye that Liam was taking notes while he spoke. "In case you were wondering why I'm so sweaty, doctor." Prism said a bit more loudly.

"Yes, yes, I figured as much, my fantastical friend. You can go get cleaned up and rest now. We will come get you for the next test tomorrow." Liam said while shooing Prism away with a repetitive hand gesture.

"Will do!" Prism said happily with a smirk before running up the hill.

He joined Leanna, Dill, and Dy, and then the four of them walked to The Kerb's garage. It didn't take them long to get into a smaller vehicle that was parked next to the one they'd ridden out to the course earlier.

"So we're going straight back to the Auxiliary?" Prism asked Leanna a bit disappointedly.

"That's right. We'd let you get a quick shower here, but this place isn't very secure." Dill answered as he got into the driver's seat.

"Of course. Gotta keep me safe, and all..." Prism said sarcastically while Leanna got into the backseat. "This'll only take a moment, then."

Prism clasped his hands together as if he was praying, closed his eyes, and then slightly bowed his head. His body surged with white light as all traces of sweat and dirt disappeared from his skin and clothes. With a final flash of light, all visual traces of magic faded from his body. He unclasped his hands and began to step into the car until he noticed everyone scattered throughout the expansive garage looking over at him.

When Prism looked into the vehicle before him, he saw Dill, Dy, and Leanna glowering at him. Dill began angrily motioning for Prism to get into the vehicle, and Prism finally obediently obliged.

"Did you not hear a word that I just said!?" Dill yelled while looking at Prism in the rearview mirror. The young security officer's freckled face was bright red.

"Sorry...I didn't think it was a big deal." Prism said half-heartedly.

In the years that she’d known him, Leanna had never seen Dill blow up like that. To her, he was a quiet person who diligently followed the orders he was given. He also had a reputation for being a gentle giant, despite being an elite security officer.

"You don't get it. We're the ones that'll get in trouble for word getting out about you." Dy said calmly.

Dy brushed his curly black bangs out of his eyes and rubbed Dill's shoulder in an attempt to calm his security partner down. The dark-skinned young man hated to see his blonde, pale-skinned best friend lose his cool. After taking a moment to regain his composure, Dill started the slimmed-down SUV and proceeded back to Pack HQ within the mountain.

Prism remained quiet for the duration of the trip, instead watching the forest view turn into rugged industrial construction as they entered the interior of the mountain. He didn't understand why he needed to remain a secret to the larger Red Wolves population, despite Leanna attempting to explain it to him that morning.

"You've got the locals talking up a storm about you down there." Srell said to Prism later that evening, when guard duty changed over to Lorias and Srell.

"Don't be disingenuous. They are speculating, nothing more." Lorias said to Srell while Prism ate the meal that had been brought to his room. "You have been asked to limit your displays of "magic" to zero when you are not within designated testing areas." Lorias said to Prism.

"Let me guess...Dr. Liam told you to tell me that?" Prism said before taking a sip of water.

"The one and only." Lorias replied with a playful smirk.

"You really should be more careful, kid. We're in the middle of a war. There are spies outside of these walls. The last thing we need is an attempt on your life before we can even get any real use out of you." Srell said in a fit of irritation.

"Idiot." Lorias said plainly to Srell.

Srell looked a bit hurt by Lorias’ insult, but then quickly laughed it off.

"It's alright, I appreciate his bluntness." Prism leaned back in his chair and said with a raised hand. Prism didn't want to argue with Srell, but he also didn't want Lorias to argue with Srell. "How is Jaik?" Prism asked, hoping to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"He's doing very well. He wanted to come and see you, but Dr. Liam isn't allowing that until after he's done testing you two." Lorias said.

"That guy...he isn't going to find evidence of magic using his machines. I've told him that it's beyond his science, but he just...doesn't believe in anything that he can't measure." Prism lamented.

Srell laughed and shook his head before grabbing what was left of Prism's water and drinking it. Srell then slammed the glass back on the table in front of Prism, making the bald alien flinch.

"To a caveman, our machines would seem like magic. Don't dismiss our skepticism like you're some unknowable god or something. We've seen how weak you really are. Your tricks can't be too complicated for us to understand."

Srell seemed to bark more than speak. His words were full of malice and contempt for Prism. Prism was flabbergasted.

"That's it for you. Too much drinking already this evening. We're going outside so that this unknowable god can get some sleep, caveman." Lorias said to Srell while practically dragging Srell out of the room. Prism nodded gratefully to Lorias, who gave him a knowing wink before leaving the room.

Sleep came easily to Prism that night, and would for the rest of the week. With each new test, he reached the limits of his stamina.

The day after the Terrible Twenty course was a target-hitting test within a large gun range within the lower levels of the mountain base. The room was easily over a hundred meters in length, and around half that in width. There were several Red Wolves within the vast, cavernous room to watch Prism's magic powers at work including Gnapp, the engineering commander.

"Good morning, young man." The tall gray-haired man said to Prism.

"Good morning." Prism said with a boyish smile.

He may have looked young, but Prism was far older than any of the Red Wolves seemed to think that he was.

"From what I read about you, you have the ability to shoot projectiles of pure energy from your hands. Is that correct?" Gnapp asked while leaning down a bit closer to Prism's right ear.

"That's right." Prism said with a nod.

"Well, I don't think our conventional shooting targets will work very well in this situation. So, I am using this opportunity to test my newest inventions." Gnapp said to Prism before standing up straight and making a few swipes on his arm display.

Twenty grapefruit-sized golden machines flew out of a metal crate that sat beside several engineers in orange jumpsuits a few meters away from Gnapp and Prism. Each of the machines had a series of holes on their surfaces that contained small fans that kept them afloat. The machines hummed through the air, and became stationary at various points within shooting range portion of the room. They hovered in the air like stars in the sky, reflecting the light from the covered rectangular lamps that ran across the ceiling of the large room in several long, continuous lines.

"I call them roundrones, because they are round drones. Miniaturizing the existing ball drone technology was a challenge, but I managed. And no, these are not like those insect drones that Leanna carries around in her dronepack. Those bugs are purely organic technology, and of Etrysian-design. And though these roundrones look purely mechanical, they each have bio-computers. I am doing my best to marry the traditional with the organic, despite my colleagues’ doubts as to the safety of such hybridization." Gnapp said with a long, slow stroke of his short-bearded chin. "They will serve as your targets for today's test, if that wasn’t clear." Gnapp added.

"Is it really okay for me to destroy these things?" Prism asked. He was hesitant to harm what was probably a useful new invention.

"I agree with your sentiment. It is absolutely ridiculous that he would use our resources in such a wasteful way." Dr. Liam said loudly.

Liam and Leanna were only a few meters away from Gnapp and Prism, behind a transparent protective partition that ordinarily separated the range from the shooters. Liam had asked Gnapp to stay behind the partition, but Gnapp had flat our refused his request.

"My roundrones need to be stress-tested before I can finalize their design. This is as good a chance as any." Gnapp said loudly as well.

He spoke out into the open area, as if he was addressing everyone within the room in general.

"Old fool..." Liam cursed under his breath.

"In any case, let's get started with this first batch. I would like you to take them out one at a time, if you wouldn't mind." Gnapp said politely to Prism, who nodded energetically. Prism was grateful to be spoken to so kindly by one of the commanders.

Prism took a few steps forward and stopped at a red line that had been marked for him on the stone floor. The nearest roundrone was at least ten meters from him, and the farthest was eighty meters away. Prism was excited by the challenge that lay before him. He'd always been fond of shooting things out of the sky.

Prism raised his right arm in the air at an angle, and pointed his fingers at the nearest roundrone. His eyes flashed bright red before an arc of electricity shot from his fingers and struck the roundrone. Sparks flew from the floating roundrone before it exploded in an instant. Small golden fragments shot towards Prism and Gnapp within the blink of an eye. Prism reflexively held his other hand up in front of his face, and caused the shrapnel to burst harmlessly into flames as he created a barrier of intense heat in front of him and Gnapp. The event got many gasps and excited shouts from the dozens of people behind the shooting partition.

"My goodness, perhaps I should go behind the barrier." Gnapp said when he saw how close he'd gotten to being struck by dangerous shrapnel.

"That would be wise!" Prism said with glowing red eyes.

"Yes, well, good work in protecting me. I will be right over there from now on." Gnapp said before quickly walking over to join Liam and Leanna behind the protective barricade.

Prism quickly returned to shooting the rest of the roundrones with increasingly faster bolts of small lightning from his fingers. Each roundrone created a small explosion when struck, which thrilled the audience of Red Wolves that watched Prism at work. It only took him less than five minutes to destroy all of the roundrones that had glittered so beautifully in the air in front of him. His eyes then lost their red glow, and he lowered his right arm back to his side.

"Astounding!" Gnapp yelled.

Gnapp began to clap for Prism's achievement, which spurred on the others to applaud as well. Liam rolled his eyes and quietly made notes on his arm display.

"Release the second batch of roundrones, gentlemen. It is time for round two of this examination." Gnapp said to his engineers.

Fifteen roundrones flew out of the same large metal crate that the previous drones had come from. The roundrones flew into similar positions that the others had, except they spaced themselves further apart. Prism looked curiously at the formation, and then back at Gnapp.

"This time, you will need to destroy as many of these as you can simultaneously. Show us if you can get them all at the same time, Mr. Prism." Gnapp said jovially. He'd already been impressed by Prism, and he hoped that he hadn't raised his expectations too high.

Prism smiled and waved to the engineering commander before setting his eyes back on his objective overhead. Prism paused to think for just a second. His eyes glowed light blue as he started to raise both of his hands in the air in front of him. Two blue circles began to appear from his palms and expand slightly until the edges of the flat glowing shapes stopped at his fingertips. Cool wind started to whip around his feet and travel up his body.

Wind also started to twist around Prism's hands, focused on the blue circles of light that he seemed to hold. The wind became strong enough to be felt beyond the shooting partition. The personnel that were amassed on that side of the room once again became abuzz with excitement and a bit of fear while they felt the gusts emanating from Prism pick up speed and intensity.

"Command over the elements..." Liam said quietly while he intently observed Prism.

After a minute or so of funneling more wind around his hands, Prism stretched out his raised arms widely as if he was about to give someone a big hug. The glowing blue circles that hovered over his palms started to fly away from his body, taking the swirling gusts of wind from Prism's hands with them. The circles flew into the aerial center of the range, and pulsed intensely with cerulean light. The circles quickly began to move in a spherical pattern around each other while Prism slowly clenched his fists until a surge of wind began to suck in all of the floating roundrones into one area.

In a single bright flash of blue light, the circles burst, releasing a sphere-shaped fulmination of wind that destroyed all of the gathered roundrones at once. The explosion of air was so powerful that it released a shockwave that cracked the shooting barrier in several places before knocking the air out of several people's lungs. Coughing and wheezing could then be heard throughout the room. Prism looked over at the people he'd accidentally hurt and rushed over to see if he could help.

"I'm sorry, everyone! I didn't mean to..." Prism yelled when he approached the shooting barrier.

"It's fine! You only winded them. No one is seriously injured." Liam yelled back to Prism.

He held up his hand to tell Prism to stay where he was. Prism was shocked, but also relieved. The blue light faded from his eyes.

"If that is all, then we'll continue with the last part of the test." Gnapp shouted after coughing a bit himself.

He smiled, and motioned for his engineers to release the last fifteen roundrones into the shooting range area. The roundrones began moving quickly and erratically through the air above Prism. Prism couldn't discern any pattern to their movements.

"This time, I've given you some moving targets. Take them out individually, if you'd please. I was going to let you take them out in whatever way you choose, but I've changed my mind." Gnapp said with a smirk.

Prism chuckled and gave Gnapp a thumbs-up before returning to the red line that he was supposed to stand at. Prism appeared to point his right forefinger straight up before having his eyes glow green. Prism then began to quickly whip his finger back and forth towards the flying roundrones, creating a pulse of green light from the end of his finger each time. With each whip of his finger, a roundrone fell to the ground and crumbled into an unworkable piece of junk. It didn't take long before all fifteen of the last roundrones were lying motionless and corroded on the ground amidst the debris of the earlier roundrones.

"Top marks! Excellent work, Mr. Prism!" Gnapp yelled before once again applauding Prism.

Much of the other Red Wolves joined in the applause like they'd done earlier. Liam started to clap, but quickly stopped himself before many could notice. Leanna giggled at the sight, but did not speak of it for fear of souring Liam's mood further.

Prism turned around to see the people celebrating his victory. He pumped his fist into the air and smiled widely at the room as he walked over to make his way past the shooting barricade. While his eyes still glowed with a verdant green light, Prism tapped the surface of the barricade, imbuing it with his magical energy. The cracks that had been in the composite material began to fade away as the magic repaired the damage. Gnapp took note of the magical occurrence, certain that he could make use of it in the future.

"It's been a pleasure working with you. Let's do it again sometime." Gnapp said to Prism while offering his hand to the alien.

"Certainly!" Prism smiled up at the tall commander and shook his hand firmly as the green light left his brown eyes.

"Well, if there's nothing else, let's get you back to the Auxiliary before these wolves deafen you with their entranced howling." Liam came over to say to Prism. Leanna was close behind.

"I'm surprised you let so many people in here today." Prism replied with a smirk.

"Most of them are here to make sure that your destructive powers didn't kill us all, though I am starting to realize that we are probably not capable of stopping that from happening at all..." Liam said snidely.

Prism stared into Liam’s eyes and shuddered a bit. To Prism, Liam’s spiteful words seemed strangely ominous. Prism would need to be more careful during the next day’s final test; the live combat test that would show Pack Command how he truly handled himself on the battlefield.