"Team Sentinel's tactical analysis complete," Desta announces during our final strategy session before the match. She stands beside the holographic display in our preparation chamber, eyes flickering with code patterns as she processes the intelligence she's gathered through her system access.
I lean forward, studying the four profiles rotating above the display surface. "What are we up against?"
"Security-specialized team with defensive focus," she begins, tapping the display to highlight the first profile. "Primary asset: Bastion. Enhancement type: Molecular reinforcement with multi-layered force barrier generation. Combat strategy centers on establishing defensive perimeters through overlapping barrier fields."
The hologram shifts to show footage of Bastion in action—a hulking figure whose skin gleams with metallic reinforcement, force barriers rippling outward from his massive frame in concentric layers.
"Weakness parameters?" Ember asks, flames dancing thoughtfully around her fingertips.
"Barrier generation requires consistent energy distribution," Desta explains. "Asymmetrical attack patterns create disproportionate strain on barrier integrity. Molecular analysis indicates vulnerability to targeted frequency disruption at structural nodes."
She shifts the display to the second profile. "Secondary asset: Lockdown. Enhancement type: Neural disruption field generation. Specialized in area denial and mobility restriction through paralysis effect zones."
The footage shows a thin, predatory figure whose fingers trail glowing energy patterns that expand into grid-like fields. Opponents caught in these grids immediately lose motor function, their bodies seizing up mid-motion.
"That's seriously fucked up," Eli mutters, gravitational distortions rippling around his hands with nervous energy.
"Neural fields require precise calibration to target specific nervous system pathways," Desta continues. "Effective range approximately seven meters with exponential effectiveness degradation beyond primary zone. System vulnerability includes power draw fluctuations during field expansion phase."
She highlights the third profile. "Tertiary asset: Perimeter. Enhancement type: Environmental control point establishment. Utilizes neurally-linked control nodes to create localized manipulation zones that restrict movement options and funnel opponents into predetermined paths."
The footage displays a methodical fighter systematically deploying small devices that generate visible boundary markers, effectively reshaping the battlefield's usable space.
"How do his powers work anyways?" I ask, immediately concerned. Technology-based abilities often have less obvious weaknesses than direct enhancement types.
"The control nodes project vibrational patterns into the environment," Desta explains, projecting detailed schematics that she's somehow extracted from restricted facility records. "Capable of turning air into a molasses-like consistency."
"So he basically makes it impossible for us to pass through an area," Eli says, actually following better than I expected.
"Correct. Primary vulnerability exists in environmental calibration," Desta continues, highlighting specific pathways in the schematic. "Control nodes require calibration to atmospheric conditions: pressure, composition, and temperature to maintain stable field generation."
Finally, she brings up the fourth profile. "Quaternary asset: Containment. Enhancement type: Ability suppression field generation. Specialized in neutralizing specific enhancement categories within defined spatial parameters."
This last opponent appears less physically imposing but perhaps most dangerous, the footage shows them deploying technology that creates shimmering fields around other enhanced humans, who immediately lose access to their abilities while inside the effect zone.
"Suppression technology operates through targeted frequency interruption calibrated to specific enhancement signatures," Desta explains. "Effectiveness requires preliminary analysis period to establish appropriate counter-frequencies. Initial deployment general-spectrum only, with 38% average effectiveness until calibration complete."
She deactivates the individual profiles, replacing them with a tactical overview showing Team Sentinel's integrated combat approach. "Collective strategy follows consistent pattern across seventeen recorded matches. Initial phase establishes defensive perimeter through Bastion's barrier generation. Secondary phase deploys neural disruption grid to limit mobility options. Tertiary phase isolates individual opponents through environmental control points. Final phase applies targeted suppression fields to neutralize abilities sequentially."
"So they separate us, trap us, then shut down our powers one by one," I summarize, already seeing how we might counter this approach.
"Affirmative," Desta confirms. "Critical weakness: strategy fundamentally dependent on predictable opponent behavior following standard engagement patterns. Previous opponent attempted direct barrier penetration as primary approach, triggering Sentinel's established counter-sequence."
Ember grins, flames intensifying around her hair. "So we don't do what they expect."
"Their entire approach assumes we'll fight as individuals they can isolate and neutralize," I add, seeing the opportunity Desta has identified. "They've counting on us not having neglected our teamwork so far."
"Prediction algorithms indicate 73% probability of victory if Team Exodus implements synchronized enhancement combinations rather than individual ability application," Desta concludes, deactivating the holographic display. "They expect four separate fighters. We give them one unified force."
Eli's gravity field stabilizes around his hand, the chaotic fluctuations replaced by controlled, deliberate distortion. "Let's show these security assholes what a real team looks like."
As we prepare for the match, I feel a surge of confidence backed by actual tactical insight. Desta's analysis hasn't just identified our opponents' capabilities,she's found the fundamental flaw in their entire strategic approach. Team Sentinel expects to face the same disorganized collection of individual fighters they've defeated before.
They have no idea what Team Exodus has become.
---
The arena opens before us like a fortress designed to break teams apart. Modular barriers rise from the ground in asymmetrical patterns, high pillars offer sniper positions, and narrow corridors create perfect choke points. Everything about it screams "security specialist's wet dream."
"Fuckers really want us to lose this one," Eli mutters, eyeing the layout that so clearly favors our opponents.
Across the battlefield, Team Sentinel makes their entrance. These aren't the mismatched independents we faced in Nova's team, they move with the synchronized precision of a tactical unit. Bastion leads them, a hulking figure whose skin gleams with metallic reinforcement. Force barriers shimmer around his massive frame, layers of protection that distort the air like heat waves. Behind him stalks Lockdown, thin and predatory, neural disruptors glowing at his fingertips. Perimeter and Containment take flanking positions, their specialized gear suggesting serious sponsor backing despite their independent designation.
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"Remember the formation," I remind everyone, feeling the adrenaline start to pump. My recent solo matches have sharpened my combat instincts to a razor's edge. "Rhombus configuration. No one breaks off alone, no matter what."
The countdown begins.
"Combat commences in 3... 2... 1..."
The moment the signal blares, Bastion slams his fists into the ground. Force barriers erupt across the arena floor like a spreading wave, threatening to cut our formation apart before we even start moving. Simultaneously, Lockdown's fingers dance in complex patterns, neural disruption fields materializing in a grid that would paralyze anyone caught inside.
Five days ago, this opening move would have scattered us like bowling pins. But that was before the brutal training sessions that transformed Team Exodus from four separate fighters into something else entirely.
"Rhombus advance, pattern three!" I shout, taking point position.
We move as one unit, our diamond formation sliding across the arena floor with practiced precision. I take the front position, telekinesis swirling around my clenched fists. Eli and Ember form the sides of our diamond, with Desta protected at the rear, no longer the vulnerable target she was against Nova.
"They're trying to separate us with standard containment protocols," I call out, watching Bastion's tactics unfold. "Like fucking hell that's happening."
I slam my fist forward, telekinesis merging seamlessly with the physical strike. After fighting Cinder's plasma-hot flames and Vortex's air manipulation, Bastion's barriers feel almost predictable. My enhanced punch carries telekinetic force at the molecular level, striking not just with brute strength but with precision that disrupts the atomic structure of his outermost barrier.
The barrier shatters like glass, fragments of energy dissipating into the air.
"What the fuck?" Bastion's shock carries across the arena as his primary defense, the one that's supposedly withstood direct attacks from multiple opponents, breaks on first contact.
"Now!" I shout to my team.
Eli's hands thrust forward, gravity distorting in a controlled wave nothing like the chaotic fluctuations he produced in our first match. The arena floor ripples under the effect, throwing off Lockdown's carefully calculated neural grid. Ember steps into the opening, flames erupting from her outstretched palms, not wild fire but precision heat that flows through Eli's gravity field, accelerating and intensifying as it curves toward our opponents.
"Their formation is compromised!" Desta calls from her protected position, eyes flashing with code patterns. "Perimeter attempting to establish containment at junction points seven and nine!"
The air to either side of us bends and curves under the effect of the control nodes Perimeter deployed. Only a narrow corridor in the middle remains passable.
"Eli, gravity disruption on right quadrant!" I command, already moving to exploit the weakness Desta identified. "Ember, burn the oxygen out of that zone!"
The synchronization is beautiful in its violence. Eli's gravity field warps the space where Perimeter is trying to establish control points, distorting the physical environment itself. Simultaneously, Ember's flames create a controlled burn that depletes the area of oxygen, leaving Perimeter's technology struggling in an environment it wasn't designed for.
"They're adapting!" Desta warns, her system interface tracking Team Sentinel's tactical shifts.
Bastion roars in frustration, slamming both fists together to generate a more complex barrier system, overlapping fields with shifting frequencies designed to counter telekinetic penetration. Behind him, Containment begins deploying their trump card: dampening fields specifically calibrated to suppress our individual abilities.
"Combination sequence delta," I call out, the hours of training kicking in.
What happens next isn't just four people using their powers in the same place, it's a single devastating attack executed through four perfectly synchronized components. Desta interfaces directly with arena systems, creating power fluctuations that destabilize Containment's equipment. Eli establishes precision gravity wells at key structural points in Bastion's barrier network. Ember channels concentrated heat through these wells, supercharging specific attack vectors. And I use molecular-level telekinesis to exploit the microscopic weaknesses this creates.
The result is fucking spectacular. Bastion's multi-layered defense system doesn't just fail—it collapses catastrophically, energy rebounding into his own team's formation. The backlash sends Containment sprawling and forces Lockdown to abandon his neural grid to avoid friendly fire.
"Primary defense compromised!" Lockdown shouts, the cool professional demeanor cracking under pressure. "Regroup, pattern seven!"
But Team Exodus isn't giving them time to reestablish their strategy. I charge forward through the malfunctioning environmental control nodes, no longer relying solely on telekinesis as I might have before my solo matches. My body moves with enhanced speed, each step accelerated by perfectly timed telekinetic pulses. I'm on Bastion before he can recover, my fist connecting with his jaw in a blow that combines physical strength with telekinetic force amplification.
The impact lifts him clear off the ground, his massive frame ragdolling backward into their formation. He crashes into Containment, both of them tumbling across the arena floor in a tangle of limbs and disrupted technology.
"Flanking maneuver!" Perimeter calls out, attempting to circle around and isolate Desta, the same tactic that worked against us in our first match.
But Team Exodus is no longer vulnerable to such basic approaches. Eli extends a gravity field that catches Perimeter mid-stride, distorting his momentum and sending him stumbling into one of Ember's waiting flame traps. Fire engulfs him, not hot enough to cause serious injury but precisely calibrated to overwhelm his sensory inputs.
Lockdown, suddenly finding himself the last defender standing, unleashes a desperate area-denial tactic, neural disruption fields spreading outward in all directions, hoping to catch at least some of us in the effect.
"Desta, system disruption!" I call out, already moving to engage Lockdown directly.
Her eyes flash with code patterns as she interfaces with arena systems, identifying and isolating the power nodes Lockdown's technology relies on. "Power allocation reduced by 79% in target sectors," she reports with clinical precision.
Lockdown's neural fields flicker and fade, his equipment suddenly starved of the energy it needs. His eyes widen in shock, this vulnerability shouldn't exist, shouldn't be possible for anyone to exploit so efficiently.
I don't give him time to process what's happening. My approach combines everything I've learned in my solo matches, the speed I used against Avalanche, the environmental awareness I developed against Vortex, the precision control I mastered against Cinder. Telekinesis flows through my entire body, not just my hands, amplifying every movement to superhuman levels.
One punch is all it takes. My fist connects with Lockdown's sternum, telekinetic force precisely calibrated to incapacitate without causing permanent damage. He folds like a cheap suit, dropping to his knees as the air explosively leaves his lungs.
With Bastion, Containment, and Lockdown effectively neutralized, Perimeter finds himself in an impossible position. Surrounded by Team Exodus with his specialized equipment compromised, he makes the only rational choice.
"I yield," he announces, deactivating his remaining systems and raising his hands in surrender.
"Combat concluded," announces the facility voice after just eleven minutes. "Victory by submission and incapacitation: Team Exodus."
The arena falls silent as observers process what they've just witnessed. This wasn't some lucky win or desperate last-minute gambit. This was a methodical dismantling of a specialized security team by a perfectly synchronized combat unit.
"Holy shit," Eli whispers as we gather at the center of the arena, gravity field pulsing with controlled excitement around his hands. "We fucking wrecked them."
Unlike our first victory where Eli and Desta were effectively knocked out of the fight early, all four members of Team Exodus remain standing, combat-ready, our formation unbroken.
"Synchronized enhancement application demonstrated 87% efficiency improvement over previous engagement parameters," Desta observes, her typically neutral tone carrying the faintest hint of satisfaction.
"In normal human terms: we're becoming a real team," Ember translates, flames dancing with controlled intensity around her hair.
They're right. The transformation is remarkable. Five days ago, we were barely a team at all, just four individuals fighting in proximity. Today, we demonstrated something the facility likely hasn't seen before: truly integrated abilities functioning as a single combined force rather than separate powers used side by side.
Victory streak: 2.
