Team Exodus becomes official with Eli's addition to our roster. The system confirmation comes through my tablet as we leave the meeting place:

  ---

  TEAM CONFIGURATION: EXODUS

  Primary: Asset 7249 - Designation: Kinetic - Role: Offensive Specialist

  Secondary: Asset N-4186 - Designation: Desta - Role: Tactical Support

  Tertiary: Asset 9324 - Designation: Ember - Role: Offensive Specialist

  Quaternary: Asset 6523 - Designation: Eli - Role: Defensive Specialist

  Status: ACTIVE

  Combat Rotation: SCHEDULED

  First Team Match: 48 Hours

  ---

  Just two days until our first team fight. Not much time to build coordination and trust, but we'll make it work.

  Right after the confirmation, another notification pops up.

  ---

  WARNING! Simultaneous enrollment in individual and team matches is not recommended. Simultaneous individual and team match scheduling could result in inadequate rest periods between matches.

  Withdraw from individual matches?

  [YES]/[NO]

  ---

  Like hell I’m going to withdraw and end my win streak right now. That’s the only thing keeping me from Integration!

  But this is also quite troublesome. According to this warning I could potentially have an individual and then a team match scheduled back to back? That would be difficult to deal with if I get injured in an individual match and then have to fight in a team match right away. I guess this is one of their methods of keeping our win streaks in check.

  But it also offers additional protections for people like me that need it. I only need to have one win streak active to protect myself from Integration, whether that’s in the individual or team category. So even if I do lose one, as long as I continue winning in the other category, I should be safe from Integration. So it might be better for me to keep myself in both categories for now instead of focusing only on team matches.

  Though that will potentially come at the cost of my team’s performance.

  I will have to consider this more carefully after we have our first team win.

  We head to my upgraded quarters in Block C, the victory wing I finally accepted after completing the team roster. The space is significantly larger than standard independent allocation, with separate rooms for training, strategy planning, and even a small kitchen with actual food ingredients instead of nutrition paste. Perfect for our first team meeting.

  Ember arrives first, her red hair flickering with small flames that reflect her agitation. "Seventeen messages from Nova since I transferred team registration," she tells me without preamble. "Ranging from pissed off to genuinely concerned about my 'questionable decision-making.'"

  "She'll get over it," I reply, unconcerned with Nova's feelings. "Did you bring the combat footage I asked for?"

  Ember nods, withdrawing a data chip from her pocket. "Six matches, including the three I wasn't officially supposed to record. Should give you a comprehensive view of what I can do."

  "Perfect," I take the chip and slot it into the room's projection system. "Eli and Desta should be here soon. We'll review everyone's capabilities and start developing team combinations."

  "Who's Eli?" Ember asks, flames intensifying slightly with her curiosity. "Never heard of him."

  "Gravitational manipulation. New enhancement subject," I explain. "Desta found him through system access. Raw talent, not much experience yet, but his abilities should complement ours perfectly."

  Ember's eyebrows rise skeptically. "A rookie? We're putting our freedom in the hands of someone who just got here?"

  "Everyone's new at some point," I remind her. "His abilities have serious potential. We just need to help him develop control quickly."

  The door chimes, and Desta enters with Eli following close behind. The gravitational distortion around him is more visible now than it was in the storage room, small objects in his vicinity hovering erratically. He looks around the luxurious quarters with wide eyes, clearly overwhelmed by the dramatic upgrade from medical facilities.

  "Holy shit," he whispers. "People actually live like this in here?"

  "Only if you win," I explain. "Victory has its privileges."

  Eli's gaze shifts to Ember, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of her flame-wreathed hair. "You must be the fire lady," he says, then immediately winces. "Shit, sorry, that came out wrong. Ember, right?"

  The flames in Ember's hair intensify slightly as she studies him with undisguised skepticism. "That's right. And you're the new gravitational guy who's going to help us win our freedom?"

  "That's what they tell me," he replies with a nervous laugh. "Though I'm still figuring out which end is up with these powers, literally."

  As if to emphasize his point, a small decorative object from a nearby shelf suddenly shoots upward, hitting the ceiling before dropping back down. Eli lunges to catch it, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Sorry about that," he mumbles, carefully returning the object to its place.

  Ember glances at me, concern evident in her expression. We're placing a lot of faith in someone who can barely control his abilities.

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  "Everyone sit down," I say, gesturing to the strategy table. "Time to get acquainted and start building our approach to the freedom pathway."

  We gather around the holographic display surface, Eli staring in fascination as it activates to show basic enhancement profiles of each team member. His profile is notably sparse compared to the others, containing only preliminary assessment data from his brief time in the facility.

  "First things first," I begin, activating the secure measures Desta installed to prevent facility surveillance of this meeting. "Full disclosure of capabilities, real capabilities, not what's in our official records. We need absolute transparency within this team to build effective strategies."

  Ember nods, flames dancing around her fingertips. "Makes sense. Who starts?"

  "I will," I decide, setting the example. "My official records show telekinesis and enhanced physical abilities, but the actual implementation is significantly more advanced. I can manipulate matter down to the atomic level, not just move objects. My physical enhancements are fully integrated with telekinetic architecture, allowing force multiplication beyond standard parameters."

  I demonstrate by lifting a metal utensil from the kitchen area, not just floating it but altering its molecular structure before their eyes, transforming solid metal into liquid and back again without heat application. Then I compress it into a perfect sphere, demonstrating density control before returning it to its original form.

  "Holy shit," Eli breathes, staring wide-eyed at the demonstration. "That's not just moving stuff with your mind, that's like... rewriting reality."

  "That's definitely not in your official capability profile," Ember observes, clearly impressed despite herself.

  "No, it's not," I confirm. "I've been hiding my true abilities to avoid Integration interest until the victory protection rules were implemented. Now I can use everything without restriction as long as we keep winning."

  Eli looks confused. "Integration? What's that?"

  "Nothing good," I tell him. "Basically a program where they harvest neural templates from promising assets. It's what we're all trying to avoid."

  Eli swallows hard, processing this new threat he hadn't even known about. "Right. Great. One more thing to worry about."

  "Your turn, Ember," I say, moving us forward.

  She straightens, the flames around her hair intensifying slightly. "Pyrokinetic abilities extend beyond simple fire manipulation. I can control combustion at the molecular level, adjusting oxygen flow, heat distribution, and energy transfer rates. Not just making fire, but precisely controlling how and where things burn."

  To demonstrate, she extends her hand toward the holographic display, flames dancing between her fingers. Instead of wild fire, she creates an intricate pattern of differently colored flames, each burning at precisely controlled temperatures.

  "I can ignite specific materials while leaving surrounding objects untouched," she continues, the flames forming complex structures above her palm. "Create heat without visible flame or visible flame without significant heat. Absorption capabilities allow me to extinguish fires by reclaiming the thermal energy."

  Eli watches with undisguised amazement. "That is so fucking cool," he says with genuine enthusiasm. "Like, actually the coolest thing I've ever seen."

  Ember's expression softens slightly at his sincere reaction, the flames around her hair settling into a more controlled pattern. "It took time to develop this level of precision," she tells him. "Raw power is one thing, control is something else entirely."

  "Desta?" I prompt, turning to our tactical specialist.

  She meets our gazes steadily. "Technokinetic abilities partially restored from suppressed state. System interface capabilities allow access to facility networks through direct neural connection. Information gathering, security protocol identification, and limited system manipulation possible within proximity range."

  Eli looks between Desta and me, confused. "Wait, I thought, aren't Nulls supposed to not have powers? That's what the doctors told me."

  "Facility classifications aren't always accurate," I explain carefully. "Desta's abilities were suppressed, not absent. We've been working together to restore her neural pathways."

  "You can do that?" Eli asks, looking at me with new respect. "Fix people's powers?"

  "In some cases," I acknowledge. "It depends on the enhancement architecture and suppression methods. Speaking of which, your turn. What exactly can you do with these gravitational abilities?"

  Eli shifts uncomfortably, clearly self-conscious after the impressive demonstrations from the rest of us. "Honestly, I'm still figuring it out. They did their weird alien shit to me just a few days ago." He holds out his hand, brow furrowing in concentration. The air above his palm visibly distorts, forming a small rippling sphere.

  "I can create these... gravity wells, I guess you'd call them," he explains, the distortion growing more pronounced. A pen from the table rises shakily into the air, then begins orbiting the distortion. "Make things lighter or heavier, pull them in different directions. Sometimes I can push things away instead of pulling them."

  His control slips suddenly, and the pen shoots across the room, embedding itself in the wall. "Fuck, sorry," he winces. "Like I said, still working on the fine control part."

  "Raw capability is evident despite control limitations," Desta observes. "Enhancement integration appears incomplete but fundamentally sound."

  "What she means," I translate, seeing Eli's confusion, "is that you've got serious potential. The control will come with practice and proper training."

  Ember studies Eli thoughtfully. "Gravitational fields could actually work really well with my fire. If you can control air flow and density around my flames, we could create some devastating combination attacks."

  Eli brightens at this suggestion. "Like focusing the oxygen to make the fire burn hotter? Or using gravity to direct where the flames go?"

  "Exactly," Ember nods, seeming to warm slightly to our newest team member despite his inexperience. "Your gravity wells could concentrate oxygen for my flames, create directional acceleration for attack vectors."

  "Now for the serious part," I say, bringing everyone's attention back to me. "Ten consecutive victories won't be easy. The facility will throw increasingly difficult opponents at us, and they'll be looking for weaknesses in our team dynamics as well as our combat capabilities."

  "First match occurs in 48 hours," Desta reminds us. "System access has not yet identified opponents, suggesting special selection protocols in effect."

  "They'll start us against another team with less established fighters," Ember predicts, drawing from her experience. "Let us build confidence with an easier victory before throwing real challenges our way. Standard arena psychology."

  "Maybe," I acknowledge. "But after my demonstration against Tremor, they might accelerate the difficulty curve. We should prepare for anything."

  Eli raises his hand slightly, like a student in class, before catching himself and lowering it. "So, uh, what exactly happens in these matches? How do they work?"

  Right. He doesn't even know the basics yet.

  "Four-on-four combat in the arena," I explain patiently. "Victory conditions include submission, incapacitation, or administrative decision if the match goes too long. Our goal is to work together as a cohesive unit rather than four individual fighters."

  "Which is why we need to start training immediately," Ember adds. "Beginning with basic team formations and communication protocols, then moving to paired ability combinations."

  "Ember and Eli should work on fire-gravity synergy," I suggest, already planning our training schedule. "Desta and I can develop information-action implementation cycles to translate her tactical insights into immediate combat advantages."

  Eli looks overwhelmed but determined. "I'll work my ass off, I promise. Whatever it takes to get better control."

  As we begin mapping out training schedules and combat approaches, I feel something I haven't experienced since arriving in this facility, genuine optimism. Not just determination or stubborn resistance, but actual belief that we can achieve what we're setting out to do.

  Team Exodus started as a desperate gamble for freedom, but looking at these three people around my table, it's becoming something more. Desta with her analytical precision, Ember with her controlled intensity, and now Eli, bringing raw talent and a refreshing humanity that reminds us what we're fighting for.