Going Beyond

Indigo gauged the Queen’s reaction for a moment. There was not a single hint of a joke in the ruler’s demeanor.

“So you want me to die too.” Stated Indigo. “Only if you tell people who you are, or if you lose.”"How do you know I won’t lose?" "I don’t. No one does. But you already beat someone far stronger than you. You are a safer bet than most." "So? That means I have to play your game and risk my own life?" barked out Indigo.

Sarta did not react to the young girl’s anger. Instead, she pulled out a small electronic panel from under the table. She clicked a single button on that panel. When she did, a hole about a meter in both width and length opened up in the wall.

The insectoid robots that cleaned the facade of the building took a tray with two cups of tea all the way to the table. “Drink slowly. It will give you time to think” Sarta offered the tea to Indigo. The young woman shook her head. “Is this poison?” "Switch with me if you think so."

Quiet took over the room. After, Indigo nodded, and started sipping the tea. She didn't know if it was flavorless or if rich people could tell what it tasted like. Still, despite its warmth, she could feel her head cooling off.

Once she felt that tension eased up, Sarta continued talking about the deal she wanted to offer to Indigo."This thing you are already doing is not any safer than it is to fight for our delegation. What do you think will happen if someone catches on to what you are doing? Or what if you kill the wrong person and suddenly a crime group is searching for you?"

Indigo bit her cheeks when she heard this. She wanted to give an answer of some sort. But she couldn’t find one that convinced herself. Sarta kept on talking once she was sure that the girl was listening. “What I can offer you with the duels is certainty. You’ll get paid when you win, and you’ll get paid more if you keep winning. In here, there’s no chance that you’ll risk your life killing someone who has nothing you can take.”

Again, there was silence. Indigo broke it to ask about the specifics of the deal. “If I do this, will you do something to my brothers?”

The Queen smiled again. “The families of our fighters remain safe as long as the fighters keep their work a secret. As far as their family members know, the duelists work as guards for the government.”

“When do I start then?” The terms were good enough. She just had to do what she was already doing, but this time the government ’d pay her for doing so. It was an upgrade, however slight.

“We’ll give you an electric tag that will give you access to a train below this building. You’ll board it at 7:00 AM. You’ll get more details once you arrive at your destination.”

Noisy repeated ringing coming from somewhere in Sarta’s person interrupted their conversation. “My time is up. I left some of my personal guards posted here. They’ll help you with the rest.” The moment that the last of these words escaped Sarta, 2 people in uniform came into the room.

“Keep your wits about, and you will survive, Indigo.”

The Queen left with that. Two of the guards approached Indigo. Their appearance was indistinct between themselves. Both wore thick purple polyethylene body armor divided into tortoise-like plates, and with a vest over. Their helmets were wide, somewhat cylindrical, and of a near-black purpureous color. Thick pants and boots of the same colors completed their outfits.

Everything from their height to their build was similar. And when they approached Indigo, the synchronous motion of their steps made them seem even more imposing. Indigo shrank forward instinctively once they were close.

As soon as they reached her, one of them placed his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be helping you keep your job a secret, okay?” The voice that came through the helmet was low, distorted through a voice changer, and paternal in tone. “Follow us. You’ll get tagged on the floor right below this one.”

What ensued after felt pedestrian to Indigo. They took the elevator down a single floor and arrived at a small room with a wide reclining chair. There, a couple of men and woman in medical coats helped her lay down and injected her with something. They observed her for 15 minutes, and then let her go. The guards from before escorted her back to the elevator.

“Now, think of the ground floor.” Commanded the security officer who’d placed his hand on her shoulder before. Indigo, who was already fairly tired of the rather hectic day she’d gone through, did as requested without complaint. To her surprise, the elevator did as she commanded. That explained how Sarta had taken them to the upper floor without pressing any button last time.

The 3 of them left for Indigo’s living space. It was a building even further down the Wild Streets. Indigo and her siblings lived in an apartment on the 2nd floor. Inside, there was barely enough space for a single person to walk. To the right, there was a small kitchen with a stove, a tiny fridge, and a sink. To the left, there was a long wooden board that they had affixed to the wall horizontally with 3 chairs facing it. It was their makeshift table, and they tried to eat together as often as possible. at the end of the hall was their room, there was enough space for a bunk bed, and they alternated who got to sleep alone. There was also a single bathroom and a window. Bluth, the youngest sibling, grew strawberries by the window.

The only one inside at the moment, aside from Indigo and the security folks, was Gray, the middle sibling. When he came out of the bathroom, he noticed Indigo first, and the two guards behind her second. He froze when he saw that. Noticing this, Indigo broke the silence."So, I have a stable job now."

She turned towards the two who were following her. One of them nodded and explained. “Your sister was hired to perform as a government agent. Her job will be in keeping watch and acting with force if necessary.”

A pause ensued. Gray’s eyes were wide. He asked. “So, are you going to patrol the Wild Streets?” Indigo smiled in reassurance. “Nah, just watching over a few doors. Some fancy shmancy stuff people might want to get their paws on.” Gray blinked slowly, then he heaved a sigh.

“If it goes well, maybe our next place will have a larger kitchen.” Said Indigo. “For sure. Though I won’t stop working just yet.” Both siblings nodded at each other, then Indigo ruffled her brother’s hair.

“We’ll be taking our leave now. Don’t be late tomorrow.” The guards left unceremoniously, leaving the two siblings alone. They didn’t exchange more words. It’d been a long day for Indigo, and she usually napped after finishing her work anyway. Both she and Gray took a bunk each, and each of them napped for a half hour, until Bluth slammed the door open.

Noticing how hard he’d opened the door, he closed it slowly. “Sorry,” said Bluth in a tiny voice. Gray and Indigo both laughed and climbed down from the bunk bed. They then noticed Indigo was carrying a container.

“The neighbor gave me some bread with chicken bits for a couple of strawberries!” While he earned the least out of the three of them, Indigo was still proud of how Bluth still earned money, food, or books, off of trading things. As of late, he’d been able to get paid more consistently. At 13 years old, he was already finding ways to make even slightly more than he used to.

“If we eat it little by little, it can last us a few days.” Said Bluth. “How about we eat it all today instead? we’ve got something to celebrate after all.” Replied Gray while looking at Indigo. “Alright, alright, you two got me.”

The night then continued as per usual. Bluth was excited to hear about Indigo’s job, and they could eat a decent bit more than usual. Once they were done, Gray washed the dishes, Bluth checked on the strawberries, and Indigo slept earlier than the other two.

She set up the old smartwatch that she’d gotten from her dad to wake her up at 5:30 AM. In the morning, she took a quick shower and headed for the Blundex building. There was no one present.

“Alrighty” Indigo braced herself and went in, then she headed inside the elevator, following the same process as before, and thought of the station below the building. It headed down without ado.

She was greeted by a pure white station that resembled the shopfront. Unlike it, a thin layer of dust blanketed the entire room. Each one of Indigo’s steps pushed away particles of disuse in the air, pushing them outwards in every direction. In the center, there was a transparent tube with a thin train car the length of 3 cars inside it. Indigo couldn’t imagine it fitting over 10 people.

When she was close enough, part of the transparent tube automatically slid upwards, and the doors to the train opened up. She went inside as Sarta had instructed her to. The doors shut forcefully behind her. the inside was wine red, the seats were made of leather, and they were rather wide and spread out. The floor was covered in felt with a light red color, and a design of black-colored, branchlike stripes running through it. Above each of the sits there were pipes with a black liquid coursing through them.

The girl took a seat. As soon as she did, the train started moving. She felt nothing, no vibration nor anything else, and looking through the windows revealed solely the unchanging white walls. The only change she noted was that the cleanliness increased as they went further. Eventually, she’d arrived at another station with an identical design to the one she’d just been in. But rather than having an elevator, this station had a long flight of stairs.

Indigo ran up the stairs. At the top, she found a hospital-type room with a single reclining chair. It reminded her of the one at the Blundex building she’d seen the day before, except for one detail. For some reason, the room was about as wide as a street block despite being empty except for the chair at the center, and a couple of table-sized machines beside it.

Outside of the furniture and equipment, Indigo noticed that Sarta and a few people whom she assumed to be medical staff were standing there all in lab coats.

“A half-hour before requested, so roughly on time.” The Queen motioned for Indigo to take her place in the chair. Which the girl did.

Sarta looked at the doctors. One of them, a woman in her 30s, nodded and started explaining what was going on to Indigo.

“You’ll be undergoing the augmentation process today. We’ll run a few quick tests and scans to tell which combination of Blundex patented empowering solutions is compatible with your body. Once we find out for sure, we’ll provide your body with a combination of serum and Blundex formula that will then awaken your specific potential. “

“Will it hurt?” Asked Indigo. “Regardless of how it feels, we’ll need you to stay awake for the process.” Rather than the staff, Sarta was the one who answered, leaving little room for disagreement. The girl took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and then opened them. “I’m ready”

Next thing she knew was that she was getting some blood drawn from her. Large square machines were making scans of her body. Vials of her blood were being mixed with liquids and powders she didn’t know, then tested for color and scent. They dropped some on pieces of paper, which were later dried. The process took a few hours.

A doctor looked at the results. She held a rather quizzical expression on her face and nodded inwardly when it was clear she’d finished reading. She called the rest of the medical personnel present and the Queen. They had a talk, and then they came back to where Indigo was.

The staff moved the scanning machines and other things they’d been using to analyze her data. Someone removed what seemed to be the bottom of Indigo’s chair, leaving her resting in a thin but resistant hammock. To her surprise, they didn’t restrain her in place.

The doctor from before connected a tube to Indigo through a vein in the girl’s arm.. At the end of the tube was a mix of serum with some form of purple goo. It flowed inside of her quickly, enough so for her to feel heat crawling up her forearm to her shoulder and spreading throughout her back.

Once the solution was empty, the doctor disconnected the tube from her. She cleaned the area with alcohol and put a gauze where the tube had entered. “In just about a half hour, you will have your awakening. Stay here in the chair while you wait. We’ll be over there.

A piece of the wall slid open to reveal another room. Everyone except Indigo entered said room. Rather than sliding closed, the door released a very thick glass that slid in its place, closing the room. They were all able to see Indigo.

At the start it seemed like some joke or test. Nothing happened at all. Indigo looked up at the ceiling. She hoped to find something with which to entertain herself. Nothing caught her attention. She closed her eyes, hoping to at least be able to relax.

A jolt of pain running up her spine forced her to open her eyes. It felt as if each of her vertebrae had taken into a life of its own, growing wildly and messily like mold. Her muscles went from aching and tensing up in pain to becoming utterly flaccid and flailing around wildly. She screamed until her throat closed in. When she could scream no more, she began shaking in every direction.

Then she felt something spring out of her back. It was fleshy and thick. Without seeing it, she could feel it was about as long as her torso, perhaps a little more. It had something hanging out below, snaking back and forth. Whatever it was, it began emitting liquid with such force that Indigo’s body jettisoned upwards. Then it stopped. The girl dropped from several meters in the air, hitting herself hard on the ground, and bouncing.

Everything hurt. But the bodily pains she’d been feeling at the start began subsiding. She stood up. Despite everything, she felt stronger, much more so. It felt as if her body was reaching capabilities it never did before. And the thing that came out of her back was still there.

Indigo looked at the medical personnel and Sarta. They were all clapping. The Queen took a microphone from under a shelf and communicated with the girl.

“Your augmented form is ready.”