The testing chamber was a perfect white cube, a sterile void that existed outside the vibrant, pulsing world of the Vein. Marla stood alone in the center, naked yet armored in her new form, a grotesque but beautiful masterpiece of ancient bio-engineering and genetic manipulation. Her bruised-blue skin and red eyes pulsed with life, a terrifying contrast to the cold, fluorescent light. Director Mya Tark watched from a high-tech observation booth, a data pad in her hands.
"Agent Marla," her voice high and austere, echoed through the chamber. "Initiating offensive protocol. Target will be a Bio-Sentry."
A heavy blast door on the far side of the chamber hissed open, and a hulking, four-legged creature shambled out. It was a decommissioned model, its bio-steel shell scarred with the marks of countless battles. It had no mind, only a programmed combat routine.
Marla's crimson eyes flared. The vipers in her hair began to hiss and coil, their tiny fangs glistening. Without a word, she raised her hand, and one of the vipers shot forward. A thin beam of sickly green light lanced from its eye, striking the Bio-Sentry's foreleg. The bio-steel didn't just dent; it crystallized. A gray, stony petrification spread rapidly from the point of impact, turning the hardened metal into brittle rock. The Bio-Sentry, a creature of motion and aggression, was locked into place as its petrified limbs shattered under their own weight.
"Excellent," Mya's voice stated, data scrolling across his screen. "Petrification is a resounding success. Lethality is at 98.7%."
"Initiating defensive protocol," Syn announced as the remains of the Bio-Sentry were cleared away by automated drones. The chamber's walls shifted, and dozens of apertures opened, revealing the muzzles of CENO's automated turrets.
"Survive," Mya simply said.
The turrets fired. A barrage of plasma bolts and kinetic rounds screamed through the air, their lights a violent rainbow in the sterile white chamber. Marla didn't just stand there. Her bat wings, leathery and strong, snapped open, and she used their immense surface area to deflect a volley of plasma. The shots sizzled against the dark membrane, but it held firm.
She then used her enhanced speed to dart across the floor, the prismatic purple scales on her legs and torso shimmering as they absorbed and deflected more incoming fire. A kinetic round slammed into her thick prismatic chest plate scale, but the impact only knocked her back a step, the energy dispersing harmlessly across her armor-like skin. She was an unstoppable force of nature; her new epidermis a living shield designed for maximum defense.
"Remarkable," Mya's voice echoed one last time. "Survival rate: 100%. Agent Marla, your capabilities are noted. Your mission is clear. Find Ash and the anomaly Felicity. They have proven themselves to be a threat to our organization, and it is time we address this threat."