The alarms blared.
The voice overhead echoed through the cell:
> "Team 17, report to Arena Sigma. Synchronization test begins now."
Jack stood, already calm. Michael cracked his knuckles, heat already rising from his palms. Emily hesitated, eyes darting between them.
"You okay?" Jack asked her quietly.
Emily nodded, even though she didn't look okay.
Michael stepped forward, his voice low. "We're not winning this by babying anyone."
Jack didn't argue. "We'll see."
---
Arena Sigma
Unlike the other battlefields, Arena Sigma was polished — metallic walls, glowing floor panels, and a massive open space like a futuristic coliseum.
A metal door at the far end groaned open.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
The robot entered.
It stood at least 8 feet tall.
Its body was reinforced with angular armor.
On its back were rotating vents, glowing faintly red.
In each hand — twin plasma blades.
Its eyes scanned and locked on the team.
Then came the announcement:
> "Target: Experimental Series-9. Heat-Seeker class. Weak to coordinated elemental stress. Engage."
> Elemental stress? Jack thought.
The robot surged forward — fast. Faster than any they'd fought before.
Jack pushed Emily aside as the blades slashed down.
"Stay behind me!"
Michael raised both fists, and fire erupted from them — his hands engulfed in roaring flames.
He hurled a blast forward.
The fire hit the robot's chest — but instead of damaging it, the robot absorbed the heat, its vents glowing brighter.
"Shit," Michael cursed. "It feeds off heat?!"
The robot launched toward him.
Jack grabbed Michael and shoved him out of the way — taking a hit to the side.
His shoulder burned.
Emily panicked. "We—we can't hurt it with fire—"
Jack looked at her.
"You're water, right?"
Emily nodded shakily.
"Then drown the heat."
She stared — terrified — but raised her hands.
Water condensed in the air around her, glowing with a faint blue pulse.
She threw a wave of pressure toward the robot's vents.
Steam exploded from the robot's back — it staggered.
Michael's eyes lit up. "Now!"
He blasted fire at the wet vent — the metal screamed, twisting under the extreme temperature clash.
The robot's movements slowed.
Jack clenched his fists.
> "Let's end this."
Black smoke spiraled from his arms, then solidified into one of his monsters.
Not a killer this time.
A support.
Vein Grasp.
The monster hit the ground, spreading its tendrils beneath the floor, slithering unseen.
The robot raised a blade — but before it could swing, veins shot from the floor, wrapping around its legs and locking it in place.
> "Michael!" Jack yelled.
Michael nodded and charged, fire bursting from his hands.
He jumped into the air, slamming his flames into the robot's weakened joint.
CRACK.
The leg bent unnaturally.
"Emily!" Jack shouted. "Cool the other one!"
Emily pushed through her fear — another blast of water struck the opposite knee. Steam rose.
The robot started shaking.
Jack raised one hand and summoned a new monster:
> "Chomps."
The beast emerged from the smoke, launched itself forward — and bit through the robot's exposed chest panel.
BOOM.
The robot exploded in sparks and smoke, its systems failing as it collapsed to the ground in a twitching mess of metal and steam.
Silence.
The three of them stood, panting.
Emily was still shaking — but now from adrenaline.
Michael looked over at Jack.
"You planned that?"
Jack smirked. "We adapted."
---
Back in the Cell
The room was quiet.
Emily sat cross-legged on her bed, fidgeting with the corner of her blanket.
Michael leaned back against the wall, watching his flames dance around his fingertips.
Jack sat in the middle, staring ahead.
They didn't speak.
But something had changed.
They didn't feel like strangers anymore.
They felt like survivors who had bled together.
And that meant something.
For now.