A Day in the Military Chapter II

Written by Camille Jones :: [Wednesday, 26 September 2012 15:57] Last updated by :: [Wednesday, 19 December 2012 14:19]

A Day in the Military

 

Chapter II

 

By Camille Jones

 

            I can already smell the Black Forest pull further and further away as I am flying high above commercial airplane traffic, I was quite surprised that the I was still able to smell the licorice-esque scent from way up here. Here, I was safe to hit much faster speeds as I was cruising comfortably at Mach 1, my ponytail-tied hair whipping behind me. My eyes are able to tolerate the harsh winds and the near-blinding sun high above me as I was crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Down below I was able to hear a few ships crossing by, mostly fishing ships nearby Greenland as I started to bank southwest from the pivotal point. Thankfully, there was plenty of cloud cover for me to dart into, but traffic was rather quiet today.

 

            Despite feeling the incredible sensation of flying at such speeds, I can’t help but see Tom’s face flash into my head every now and then. Seeing his charming smile and those alluring eyes causes me to blush everytime I look at him. Ever since we’ve met that day, he has pretty much won me over. Especially with what he said about my old photo I.D, I will never forget those words that he said to me from across his kitchen counter.  I think that was the very moment that I fell for him because I can see that he loves me for who I am, and not just because I have superpowers. Though I’ll admit, the fact that he likes that aspect of me and that he knows about it a lot more than I do is icing on a five-layer cake.

 

            Even though I’m the supergirl, I just feel safe and free from harm underneath embrace. I can just imagine the look on his face if I tell him about this irony.

 

            I’m sure he’s pretty excited about how the testing goes, I know I am! I’ve always wondered just how strong or how fast I am or if I am truly impervious to any conventional weapons. My contact in the U.S Army wouldn’t tell me what kind of tests they have planned or what kind of weapons they are going to use, but he did make note that he has gained clearance to bring out 'the big guns'. I don’t know what that means to be honest, I’m more than positive that they are not going to spare any expenses. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I’m more than sure they’ll probably end up wasting tax payers money just to find that nothing can hurt me.

 

             Ever since I touched that meteor, I’ve always had this feeling that I’m able to do anything that my mind sets on, me flying at 15,000 feet above the Earth is proof of this. But I guess I just want some hard evidence that there is nothing that can challenge me on this Earth. I wonder if there are any limits to my powers. I guess today’s the day I’ll find that out for myself!

 

            I then dive down a bit, peering past the thick clouds to find myself rapidly approaching the eastern coastline. I take a glance at my wristband before realizing that I’m going to be 5 minutes late.

 

            You’d think that superspeed would’ve made me more punctual to important meetings, huh?

 

            Shrugging off the thought, I then kicked my speed into high gear as I fly back high to the clouds. I can hear a few ‘booms’ blow behind me, leaving a few clouds disproportioned and deformed as it yields to my sudden burst of speed as I fly towards White Sands, New Mexico.

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            The sun has not even cracked over the horizon yet, bringing a rather chilly morning over the desert. However, the soldiers living in the base knew that this refreshing climate will not last as soon as the sun starts to rise, turning the New Mexico desert into a dry and hot wasteland in a matter of minutes. Even so, they were up earlier than usual, their wake-up call blaring through the loudspeakers as they immediately moved about in a more frantic pace than usual. While most of them are going about with their morning duties, one particular soldier was grinning ear to ear, as if he could not believe this day has finally come. Most of the soldiers were kept in the dark about why they are awake at this ungodly hour, knowing very well that a ‘exercise’ does not require them to be up at this time. They were also unaware of the top generals, their majors and the U.S contracted scientists that are going to arrive at their base.

 

            All, save for Staff Sergeant Jason White, since he was already cleared to be a part of the classified meeting that he would have otherwise would not even be allowed to be near the building giving his current rank and position. After all, he is her only contact in the military and the only way the United States is getting the chance of testing out this ‘so-called’ supergirl. However, that does not mean he was not met with his fair share of skepticism over this matter. Initially, his superiors dismissed the first request of getting her to come out for testing. But after a live video chat of watching her hands compress and mangle a barbell into a metal ball, he decided to entertain the idea. After arranging the date and time, they had to made sure that this exercise is to remain confidential and underwraps. Now, they just have to wait for this girl of might to show up at their base.

 

            As the soldiers were getting ready, the top officials and scientists begin to arrive into the base. One by one, they arrive in their Humvees before entering into the makeshift debriefing room. They all sit down in an orderly fashion according to rank and order as the scientists sit down across from them. Jason follows in right behind them, taking a seat close to the podium after making his proper introductions and salutes. Finally, after much murmur and whispers, the general appointed to be in charge of this detail steps towards the podium with a manila envelope in his hand.

 

            “Morning gentlemen,” General Roberts said, his rather gruff voice projected clearly as the murmurs die down. “If all of you would pull out the manila envelope located underneath your chairs we can go ahead and get started.”

 

            All of the personnel sitting down slowly reach underneath them before producing a manila envelope, opening it to view the documents inside. Most of them start to take a read at the contents, primarily depicting the e-mail conversations between the woman in question and Sgt. Jason White. They all then stare up at the Sergeant as he reads his exchanges with the supergirl. General Roberts then presses a button and the projecting screen rolls down from the ceiling before he turns the projector on. The screen is already loaded with the image of a woman from the neck down to her waist with a barbell right in front of her, located on a table.

 

            “On the surface, we are simply conducting a military combat exercise. However, the true nature of the exercises today are not to be disclosed by anyone beyond the authorized personnel participating in the exercises. I repeat, if you as so much breathe a whisper of what is going to transpire here today, we will charge you with treason against the United States, which can be punishable by death if proven guilty.”

 

            Most of the men nodded and solemnly agreed, knowing very well of the dangers of speaking about something that should not be heard by the general population. General Roberts then pauses to clear his throat for a moment, a few decades spent smoking cigarettes will cause a rather rough cough to develop overtime.

 

            “This young woman does not give us her name, her address or any other information that can identify her. This is perfectly okay, we will not ask her about these things because she is a civilian that has chosen to participate in this exercise. She claims to be superstrong as well as very fast. She also claims to be capable of being able to fly completely on her own without any outside aid. Though it is likely that she is capable of performing other feats, she chooses not to disclose this as of yet. So far, the only hard proof that we have of her superhuman abilities is this video clip.”

 

            General Roberts presses play and instantly the woman in the video clip begins to move. She offers a dainty waive of her fingers, as if to purposely tease the viewers with what is about to come. She then grabs a metallic pen and taps it gently against the barbell, offering some sort of auditory proof that the barbell is indeed real. She then sets the pen back inside the cup before grabbing barbell by the ends and starts to push her hands together. The metal begins to whine in protest before the handgrip completely folds in as the weights smash together. The audience can see her arms tensed with muscle and power as her ‘dainty’ fingers compress the weight further and further until it is in a spherical shape. They can hear a small giggle coming from her mouth, a bit airy and soft, as she then grips the metal ball before squeezing in her grip. The metal ball yields to her mighty grip, appearing to be like clay in her hands the metal starts to ooze out in between her fingers. She then releases her grip, one finger at a time, before the weight drops with a loud ‘thud’ on the hardwood table. The supergirl then dusts off her hands before she offers the camera another wave. The video stops as she reaches over to the camera.

 

            Everyone in the audience was stunned and left speechless as to what they saw. They saw her feminine hands crush steel like it was made out of clay. Well, everyone, save for the one lone scientist who stood up and out of his chair.

 

            “Dr. Gerard Mason, head of the Physics Department at Columbia.” the rather cynical man said, introducing himself. For a man breaking into his 65th year of life, he had a surprisingly good posture when he stands as he adjusts his bifocals before looking at the professor. “Now, I’m sorry but do you expect me to believe that this woman is able to defy the laws of physics on a mere whim? I find that hard to believe, especially considering that the only evidence we have is this low-quality film that was shot with her laptop camera.”

 

            The other scientists begin to nod and agree as he clears his throat further.

 

            “General Roberts, I can’t believe that you of all people would entertain this idea in the first place. You should know better than going off on such a unreliable source! The quality of the video is purposely and painstakingly-obviously terrible, making it that much easier for her to hide her crude editing. For all we know, she could’ve placed the metallic sounds there when she edited this ‘live’ video to make it seem that she was actually bending the weight, which could’ve been cleverly crafted putty or deformable plastic. I must say I do commend her for being able to trick the military so easily, not  that it’s hard to do, but I’m afraid this little charade will stop here. The fact that this so-called supergirl is not even present shows that this has been nothing but a waste of time and money!"

 

            He then grabs his belongings and starts to make his way out of the door, obviously not wanting to waste anymore of his time, the other scientists are starting to follow suit. However, just as he was about to reach the aisle to the exit, the people inside were able to hear a faint sonic boom from the distance. Everyone that was eating their breakfast inside the mess hall stopped to see someone in the air with the wake of the sound barrier breaking around it bank left and heading towards them. They knew that they were purposely far from an airbase and that they would not test so far out here. They begin to scramble out of the mess hall, searching for their weapons in order to retaliate against a potential threat before they see the figure slow down, heading towards the debriefing room. Inside the building, everyone was panicking, save for Sgt. White who simply smiled as he knew that she was here.

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            I’m so late! 

            I hurry as I then scanned the military base with my x-ray vision before I was able to see into one of the buildings, seeing a room with some dressed in non-combat uniform and some sporting white coats. I figured that is where they are meeting so I swooped down to enter in the building. Seeing that the doors were closed, I then opted for going through the window. I figured that it would be the least damaging out of all the possible entrances though I do not think they might be appreciative of me breaking their windows so I’ll make a mental note of paying for that damage as soon as I can.

 

            The glass shatters around my body harmlessly, noting that there was no one standing underneath the window. I then straighten up into a vertical position as I can hear the gasps coming from the majority of the people there. I slowly hover down until I am just about two feet above the podium stand, my boots dangling in the air as my hands were proudly on my hips. I shake off some of the glass from my hair before I offer a sheepish smile as I look around in the room, realizing that all of their eyes are on me. Of course, I was not aware of the skepticism that was being thrown around a few moments ago and I have no idea I triumphed over their doubts by crashing into the window and hovering there. I have no idea that I have undermined most of their life’s work in only a matter of seconds. The only thing I was worried is that I was late, considering that I know these military types have no tolerance for tardiness.

 

            “S-sorry I’m late.” I managed to say as I shrugged my shoulders in an apologetic manner. There was no response; most of their mouths are still agape as they just stared at me.

 

            This is going to be one hell of a day. I sighed in my thoughts.