Elliot fell flat on his rump. He winced as a shockwave traveled up and down his spine. The testing chamber's padded floor offered little in the way of impact protection. Another day, another little test at the Belmont International research facility. Although, at the moment, he contemplated leaving. To just go home sounded like a viable alternative. If only the job didn't pay so well.

Ayda reached out a hand to him, an offer of help in getting to his feet. Elliot accepted the gracious gesture, but not with his own appendages. On each hand he wore a focus mitt, the little hand pads boxers use to practice punching. He also sported a body protector to cover his lower torso. Unable to actually grab hold of anything, he instead offered a wrist. His partner yanked him up none too gently. Although the act of standing caused him moderate pain, he was glad to relieve the pressure on his sore behind.

"Thanks," he said, slowly rubbing his lower back.

"Don't mention it," replied his partner, grimacing internally. She'd never liked the way her accent sounded in the echoless chamber.

Ayda brushed a stray hair from her forehead. The teenager bounced from one foot to the other a couple times, full to bursting with energy. She'd come prepared for a workout, wearing tennis shoes, black capri yoga pants, and a tight tank top of matching shade. She wore no gloves, only white tape on her hands.

"Remind me again why I agreed to help you warm up," Elliot requested.

"Because I said please," Ayda said simply, "and because you can't say no to me."

"Yeah," Elliot scoffed, "or I just know better."

"Oh, shut up." Ayda playfully pushed back one of his shoulders. "Come on, lets run it again. I'll try not to hit you so hard this time."

"Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts." Elliot made sure to get one last verbal shot in before he became a glorified human punching bag.

Both participants assumed ready postures—legs spread, knees bent, fists up—yet Elliot's was noticeably sloppier, more condensed and jagged. He took a deep breath to mentally prepare. As the inexperienced fighter, this exercise only started on his terms. With a sudden determined look, he nodded his head.

Beginning from a southpaw stance, Ayda threw a right jab followed immediately by a left cross and then back to the right for a hook. Each strike met one of Elliot's pads with a satisfying slap. In response to this torrent, Elliot offered a left jab. Ayda dodged the blow and simultaneously stepped forward to put herself in place for a right uppercut. Somewhere in there, she'd changed to an orthodox stance.

After the uppercut, Ayda leveled a left kidney punch toward her adversary. The body protector—a wide and thick pad worn like a belt—shielded him from the impact. Ayda ended the combo with a quick right jab aimed at the face.

Again, it was Elliot's turn to swing. He threw a right uppercut at her. Ayda avoided it with a twirl. Her little dodge resulted in a brutal spinning backfist. Elliot successfully blocked with his pad. With a hand on his middle, Ayda shoved him back. In perfect range of her legs, Ayda raised her knee and lashed out with a sidekick. Elliot closed his eyes, prepared to once again meet the floor, but all he felt was a light tap. When he opened his lids, he found Ayda had stopped short at the last moment and only made contact with the toe of her shoe. Audibly, Elliot let out the breath he hadn't been aware of holding. Ayda dropped her foot and relaxed. Her partner did the same a second later.

"See? I told you I'd go easy," she said.

"You call that easy?" Refuted Elliot. "My hands are buzzing like crazy, like I've got a bunch of bees in my mitts."

"Then we should probably call it quits," Ayda determined. "We've been at it for a few minutes, anyway."

"Oh, thank God." Elliot said. He undid the strap on his left mitt with his teeth and then clumsily used his other hand to slide it off. With one set of flanges freed, he hastily removed his other pads. With how ferociously he went about this task, one would think they caused him physical harm.

"You're getting better at the patterns, El," Ayda began. "We only had to go over them once this time."

"Yeah, well, when it's either learn or get punched, you pick up on it pretty quickly," he joked. "Really, though, I think this is more of a workout for me than for you."

"Yeah," Ayda chuckled, "you're probably right."

This particular conversation was over. As Elliot had mentioned, his role in the moment was to help her warm up, and to that end he succeeded. Strength coursed through her loose and able joints. She was ready to face whatever the day's test would throw at her, regardless of what it may entail. And it was good she felt so prepared, for as Elliot removed his body protector, a voice came over the loudspeaker.

"I hope you plan on putting all that away," menaced the voice, referring to the way Elliot haphazardly threw his equipment on the ground.

"Yeah, um... of course," Elliot tried to save face. "I just need to get it all off, first." This assertion made little sense, as he could have easily walked into the equipment closet before discarding it. He hastily departed, carrying all his stuff with him.

"Bernard?" Ayda looked toward the observation room window, the source of the voice. She could see her adoptive father through the glass, hunched in front of a stick microphone. "What are you doing up there?"

"I need the computer up here to run the test," Bernard answered plainly.

"That's... different," Ayda tilted her head. "I thought we were measuring the atmospheric displacement of my blasts... again."

"Something else came up, kid," replied a different yet very familiar voice. Its owner stepped into the window.

"Hey, Colonel," greeted Ayda. "I thought you'd be up there, too."

"We can catch up later," began Colonel Hammond, "we have more important things to do right now."

"Like what?" The teenager shot an accusatory glance toward Bernard. "We had a deal. No secrets. Don't break it now."

"I'm sorry, Ayda, I'm not trying to keep a secret. I just haven't had time to tell you. Today's test is..." Bernard took a breath. "It's probably better if I show you first." He tapped a few buttons on the control console in front of him.

Faintly, in a location Ayda didn't care to pinpoint, some piece of digital machinery wheezed to life. It sounded somewhat like a virtual projector, like the kind used by movie theaters. Such noises were somewhat common in the testing chamber. Bernard was always running some sort of fancy technology, so Ayda paid it no mind.

That was, anyway, until she felt someone behind her. Ayda instantly entered a state of alarm. Her back was to the wall, the only entrance firmly in her peripheral vision. Short of dropping through the ceiling or tunneling up from the floor, no one could ever get behind her without her knowledge. Ayda was pretty sure she'd hear someone digging through the metal, so that couldn't be it. She channeled her powers and turned around. What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

Something was behind her, but it could never be called human, although it shared the rough visage of a man. The thing was roughly six feet tall and built like an ox with all the basic features of a person like a head, shoulders, arms, legs, and feet. The similarities ended there. Honestly—and this was a ridiculous parallel to draw—it looked like a character straight out of an old video game. The outline was jagged, a harsh point wherever there should have been a gentle curve. The figure wore no clothes, and had no discerning characteristics. Instead, its body was made of a dark blue light. Horizontal and vertical white lines crisscrossed all around it, making several dozen little squares. Perhaps most disconcerting, though, was its completely featureless face. Ayda took a step back, eying it with cautious confusion.

"Bernard... what exactly is this thing?" She said slowly, as if any sudden sounds would upset it.

"It's a goddamn freak is what it is," Hammond interjected.

"Colonel, please," insisted Bernard. "That is the greatest technological revolution of the past decade. Its a semi-intelligent hard light holographic projection." he could barely contain his excitement. Nobody else shared in his glee.

Ayda blinked twice. "Yeah... you're gonna have to say all of that again, but slower," she quipped. Hammond cackled in the background.

"You might have seen it on the news before," began Bernard. "For a couple years now, the military has been working on using artificial intelligence software and hard light projection technology to make what are basically reactive training dummies. The goal is to create realistic battle simulations to train our soldiers." Now that he'd said all of that, it did sound quite familiar.

"I think I read something about it in history class," affirmed Ayda. She gave the thing a suspicious glare. "Is that what this is, then?"

Without asking permission, Ayda extended a finger to poke at the thing. Instead of passing straight through like she expected, the gesture met with a solid surface. It molded just slightly to her touch, offering a gel-like resistance. It felt to be about the same temperature as human skin, maybe a bit hotter.

"Cool," Ayda said with a grin. "What's it doing here?"

"That's the exciting part." Bernard was becoming more exuberant with every word. "The government is contracting a bunch of different tech conglomerates to help develop the project. Belmont International was chosen to put the finishing touches on its hand-to-hand combat runtimes."

"And let me guess," interrupted Ayda. "That's where I come in."

"Bingo," confirmed Hammond. Ayda couldn't see the old man anymore, but she could practically hear him crossing his arms.

"Hand-to-hand was chosen for initial development because fighting in a single battle is simpler than coordinating with a fire team," Bernard explained. "The runtimes are almost done. It will be easier for us to perfect the program if we see it in action, but we can't really assess its abilities without putting it in an actual fight."

"And you want me to fight it." Ayda didn't need Bernard to say anything more. She'd already figured out his endgame. "Are you sure this is safe? I mean, what is it even made of?"

"The hologram is made up of millions of photonic particles interlocked together until they form a solid, dense material," said Bernard. "As you've already seen, it's safe to touch, and it doesn't give off any sort of harmful energy." Of course, by harmful energy he meant radiation. Ayda sighed and shook her head. Not a single word of that made the slightest bit of sense. Why did she even bother asking?

"To put it simply," Hammond said, "It won't hurt you if you don't get hit."

Ayda smiled. That was the kind of terminology she could get behind. Her expression faded, though, as a realization sprang up in the back of her mind.

"It doesn't really matter what I say, does it?" She said. A hush fell over the entire facility. She locked eyes with Bernard. "If I refuse, you'll just find someone else and test it anyway. I'm not the important part of this equation."

"She's got you there, Bernie," Hammond said with an audible smirk.

Bernard did not respond. Ayda didn't have a good look at his face, but he must have been mortified. She saw right through his little game. So many years around scientists had taught her much about how they operate. When it came to perfecting a new idea, to getting that revolution they all so craved, nothing would stand in their way. To that end, whether or not Ayda volunteered to test it made little difference. Bernard let out a long labored breath.

"You've always been very perceptive," he began. "You're right. If you refuse, we have a backup plan lined up, but we're also under orders to keep our sphere as small as possible. It's easier for everyone involved if you run the test."

"Everyone except me," Ayda asserted. Again, Bernard said nothing. "Just, tell me one thing. Why didn't I hear about any of this before? Why did you lie about my test today?"

"I didn't lie to you," Bernard said gently. "We only received the software and equipment late last night. I had every intention of testing your blasts today just like I said, but this has to take priority."

"It's the truth, kid," Hammond added. "I can show you the paperwork, if you want."

"Colonel, I don't think that's—"

"This is my op, so I make the rules," Hammond firmly cut of Bernard. "As far as I'm concerned, she has full access."

Ayda smiled. "Thanks, Colonel, but you don't have to. It sounds kinda fun, if I'm being honest, but I'll only help you just this once. After today, I'm done."

"I guess it's unfair for me to ask anything else," Bernard admitted with a sigh. "Alright. Thank you, Ayda. Every little bit helps."

"Yeah, whatever," Ayda dismissed. She faced the hologram, giving it a quick top to bottom. "So, how is this gonna work? Are there any rules or anything?"

"Well, the grappling scripts aren't complete yet, so I'd say avoid anything like that," Bernard suggested.

"I'm guessing my powers are also off limits?" This was a rhetorical question. Ayda already knew the answer.

"I think that goes without saying," agreed Bernard. "Your reflexes are fine, but the blasts would be an unfair advantage."

"Hold on a minute," Hammond interjected. "I actually like that idea. Hear me out. In combat, you have to constantly adapt to unexpected circumstances. What could be more unexpected than purple explosions?"

"Well, you'd know better than I would." Bernard said with another sigh. "I'll differ to your judgment on this one."

Ayda smiled. This entire situation suddenly became much more interesting. It had been ages since she'd been able to go all out with her powers on a responsive opponent. Her heart fluttered with anticipation. The prospect of breaking something excited her beyond words. Although, there was a problem with that, something she hadn't realized before. She turned to the observation room with a puzzled squint.

"Hold on, how is this even gonna work?" She said. "I mean, I can't exactly beat a computer program senseless."

"We thought of that, don't worry," Bernard reassured her. "It'll be a five point match, where each hit is a single point, just like in your karate classes."

"It's Jeet Kune Do," Ayda corrected hastily. Everyone got it wrong and, at this point, she had little patience for it. A scoring system put her mind at ease, though. Familiar circumstances gave her a certain sort of advantage.

"Alright, kid." Hammond took the spotlight from Bernard, physically nudging him out from in front of the microphone. "My Marines do something similar in training, so I'll be calling the shots here. Just tell me when you're ready."

Ayda took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled through her nose in one great heave. She assumed a common Wing Chun stance, palms inward, leading with her left side, one hand out in front for protection while the other remained close to her chest, poised to strike. She planted her feet and bent at the knees, a foundation solid as an oak tree. Finally, she embraced her powers. Energy coursed through every inch of her being. The world slammed into focus. She could time every pulse of light from the hologram. This was what it meant to be truly alive, how it felt.

"Ready," Ayda called out a bit louder than necessary.

Through the microphone, Bernard could be heard swiftly tapping a few buttons. Without any other warning or indication, the hologram came to life. It made ready for the bout. The thing rooted down in a comparable stance to Ayda's, but more buttoned up. Its palms were parallel, hands clenched and held up higher to better protect the faced. Many western mixed martial arts fighters preferred a similar configuration. It moved just like a person.

"Okay..." Bernard trailed off. "Diagnostics still look good, we're green across the board. We'll go by your countdown Colonel."

"Cut the theatrics, Bernie," Hammond said. "Just press the button." A pause while Bernard did as he was told.

"Connection successful. Begin!"

Ayda didn't need Bernard's system diagnosis to tell her the fight had begun. The hologram moved toward her, shuffling along to remain in a ready posture. Ayda did the same a fraction of a second later to keep pace with the thing. With both fighters moving toward the same point between them, the distance closed rapidly.

As the shorter of the two, Ayda was at a noticeable reach disadvantage. As such, she threw a punch just a moment before she were actually in range. It was a split-second calculation most normal fighters would be capable of, but one she pulled of without flaw.

The attack she opened with was rather tame, especially by her standards. It was a simple three hit jab combo, something any fighter would be familiar with. The hologram closed up, pressing his forearms together. Ayda's fists bounced off uselessly.

In retaliation, it answered with a cross. Ayda stepped back, out of the way. The blue fist met only air. To say she was impressed would be an understatement. It certainly reacted like a trained combatant. More importantly, though, this little display gave her an idea of what it could do, and how it fought.

Her next attack was not quite so merciful. She threw another simple jab, but it was a misdirect. In almost the same motion, she hooked her foot around the hologram's ankle and yanked forward. The thing fell down to one knee. With the same leg, Ayda leveled a powerful knee toward the hologram's chin. The hologram avoided the blow by advent of sheer dumb luck. It stood at just the right moment to avert harm. The thing stumbled back a step.

They way it reacted was beyond disconcerting. More accurately, it hardly reacted at all. The thing showed no pain, no hesitation nor loss of balance. Lacking any tangible body language, it was absolutely impossible to read. It made Ayda's skin crawl.

While she was only put off for a second, it was more than long enough to lose the initiative. The hologram closed on her and let loose a quick one-two combo. Ayda leaned away from the first, but deflected a second with her wrist and a step to the right. The two fighters were misaligned now, but momentum was on Ayda's side. She tapped it behind the knee with her foot just to off balance it. Then, with one hand, she gave the hologram a swift backfist to the brain stem, accentuating it with her first blast of the match.

"Point, Ayda!" Shouted Hammond from the observation room. The score was one zip, advantage humanity.

A purple shockwave forced the hologram face first to the floor. The thing slid a few feet, but stopped short for the soft foam in the ground. It stood swiftly, again displaying zero reaction to the hit, but Ayda did notice a difference in its behavior. It went back to stance, yet remained perfectly still. Perhaps she was projecting, but it almost seemed shaken, as if it didn't quite know how to react to what just happened. She smirked. No amount of programming could prepare it for her overwhelming power.

Ayda pushed her advantage. She charged full sprint, leaping into the air about halfway between herself and the stationary hologram. The teenager rocketed through the atmosphere toward her opponent. When she was about to reach it, Ayda pulled her fist back. From midair, she struck down with a terrible punch. The hologram put its arms up to block, but it could not withstand the ensuing explosive blast. It fell flat on its back, head bouncing off the floor. Ayda cleared her downed opponent and landed in a somersault. That jump had more momentum than she'd expected.

"I'm counting it," Hammond said. "Point, Ayda! That's two."

Ayda didn't hear him. She had more important things to worry about. She got to her feet just in time to catch the hologram doing the same. They closed the distance. Ayda opened up with a jab and a cross, each one the catalyst for a blast. This time, the hologram did not attempt to block. Instead it dodged the attacks, weaving left and right to avoid all damage from the blasts.

It retaliated quickly with a right hook, which Ayda knocked away. Such an attack could never make it through her reflexes. However, even they had limits. The hologram followed up with a low push kick at almost the same time as it had punched. Ayda's block put her out of position. No matter how infallible her reactions, she could only move as fast as her body would allow. Ayda saw the hit coming, but could do nothing about it. The bottom of the hologram's foot smashed into her knee. She took a few steps back, wincing in pain. The thing hit like a truck, and that wasn't even a good kick. Just how strong was it?

"Point, uh..." Hammond paused. "What are we calling that thing? Glowing blue freak? Yeah, point to the freak. It's now two-one."

Ayda looked upon her opponent with untempered wrath. It learned. The damned thing actually learned! It knew blocking wouldn't work, so instead avoided her attacks altogether. While Ayda hadn't much experience to cull from, no human opponent—excluding her fellow test subjects—was smart enough to figure that out. This hologram did so within two encounters with her blasts. Granted, most people didn't last long enough to have a chance at learning. Regardless, Ayda didn't like it. This fight would be much harder than she'd initially assumed.

When she approached again, it was with caution. The fighters took little steps in and out, jockeying for position and to spot an opening. Ayda dropped her left hand. The hologram threw a big punch, seizing the opportunity. The teenager smirked. Reacting like a real fighter gave it all the same tendencies, just like she thought. Ayda stepped off line and shot her left hand into the hologram's armpit. In the same motion, she grabbed its wrist with her other appendage. She spun around with all her might. Centrifugal force brought the hologram down, hard. It slammed shoulder first into the floor and rolled along a couple times. Its recovery was impressive, though. The hologram landed like a cat and sprung erect.

"Point, Ayda," declared Hammond. If the hologram truly was learning, it would not fall for that same feint twice. Ayda would have to come up with something else.

Ayda closed and attempted a sidekick just like the one which threw Elliot to the ground earlier, except this one had a blast attached. The hologram avoided with a step to its right and threw a low punch. While getting her footing back, Ayda dropped her hand to block.

She had to act fast, or else the freak would continue attacking. She lashed out with a quick jab just to destabilize it, and followed up immediately with an uppercut. The hologram dodged both, taking two steps backward. Ayda came around with a big crescent kick, a blast accelerating her foot to inhuman speeds. Still, the hologram ducked and took a step forward.

Again, it got inside her defenses. Again, she could not defend in time. The hologram unleashed. It punched her once under each rib and then struck straight for the heart. A fourth and final left hook to the jaw sent her reeling. Ayda bent forward and took a few steps to the side, nearly losing her balance.

She rose slowly. Fire burned in her eyes as she glared at the pulsing blue abomination. A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away on her knuckles. This was a new experience for her, underestimating an opponent. Clearly, whatever data the scientists used to program the thing was solid. Clearly, it worked. The hologram certainly reacted like a real human. It fought just like a trained and disciplined fighter. It fought like a soldier. Ayda had beaten soldiers before. It was time to get serious. The proverbial gloves came off.

The hologram was smart enough to realize the advantage had shifted. It was currently winning, in that regard. It stepped in and attempted a mid-aimed front kick. Ayda slammed the foot back down with an open palm blast. She followed up immediately with two big hooks, but the freak dodged both. It threw a jab, likely as setup for another attack, but it wouldn't get the chance. In one fluid motion, Ayda sidestepped the punch and rammed her fist into its liver. Without missing a beat she brought her other hand around in a massive overhand punch. A blast tossed the hologram like a rag doll.

"Point, Ayda," called Hammond. "You're just one away, now."

Ayda had completely lost her patience for niceties. She ran at the hologram in hot pursuit as it tumbled along the ground. It came to a stop on its back, and the teenager was right there to greet it. Striking a grounded opponent was illegal in any regulation match, but that didn't matter anymore. Ayda raised her foot straight up in the air and brought it crashing down into the hologram's chest, a vicious axe kick accentuated by a blast to end the fight.

This time, the blue freak did not get up. Ayda wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it had some sort of protocol for refereed fights, or perhaps Bernard had just been quick on the draw and turned it off. She didn't care. Either way, it was done. She stood up straight and dropped her shoulders, breathing heavily from stress rather than actual exhaustion.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Hammond shouted. "Fuck you, science!"

"How was it, Ayda?" Bernard said, completely ignoring his loud companion. "It seemed rather skilled. Did it fight like a real person?" He was eager to move on with the experiment, to start working on the data. So, when the teenager did not respond, he pressed harder. "Are you alright? Did it hurt you? It's best if we—"

"Jesus Christ, Bernard! Can I get ten seconds to catch my breath?"

At her sudden outburst, the atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically. The rage slowly softened on her face. She looked down. That was wrong. She needed something to take her anger out on, but Bernard didn't deserve it.

"You're angry," he said. It was not an inquiry, but an observation.

"Getting punched in the face isn't fun," Ayda quipped. "I just need a minute to cool off, alright? But, it did fight like a person, to answer your question," she added.

Honestly, that may have been what angered her the most. It had been years since anyone gave her such a hard time in a fight. Even her Jeet Kune Do classmates couldn't manage anything quite so impressive. In the end, her greatest challenge in recent memory came from a computer program, something designed to fight like a professional.

Ayda couldn't necessarily pinpoint why that disturbed her so greatly. In essence, it wasn't much different from the video game characters it resembled, or a training dummy like Bernard had said. And yet, something about it just felt wrong. It walked the uncanny valley in all the worst ways. Although the hologram was clearly an artificial being, it certainly felt real when it made contact. In a philosophical sense, if it looks, feels, and acts real, then it must be, right?

No, don't over think it. Maybe the thing hit her harder than she thought. It was just a computer program, a product designed for a singular purpose. To that end, it was a success. Ayda understood the technology had a long way to go, but it would certainly help soldiers learn how to handle themselves in a fight. If it saved lives, then how bad could it be?