I hit the ground, tumbling several times before righting myself to my feet. A cloud of dust swept around me, and I shook out my numb arm.

[Not bad. I don't think I've really been hit by one of those before.]

The elf had a passive, cold expression on her face. A second arrow already drawn to her bow ready. "Perhaps if you were paying more attention, it wouldn't have hit you."

I wasn't entirely to blame.

Over on the side, Roxy was taking a breather from her training. With one hand behind her head, she was leaning against a slanted wall of dried lava, the fresh sweat on her muscled body glistening in the-

Reflex ran through my synapses, and I sidestepped the magical arrow. It burst about twenty feet behind me, sending a plume of dirt upwards on a gust of air.

Ren lowered her bow as Belle and Clara moved in to discuss things with her. They were out of earshot, so I went back to navel-gazing. Behind the inadvertently seductively posed super was a miniature forest of half-walls and jutting rock formations.

She had found that by going barefoot, she could burst lava from her feet and immediately control it to build walls or spikes a short distance away from herself. Her skill in manipulating lava was almost as impressive as the way she had caught my gaze and started communicating silent intentions with her eyes alone. We really did need to find some privacy.

Roy, on the other hand—as I forced my focus away—was not having quite a good time of training. He was dead set on forcing his breakthrough and had spent most of his time pushing through some brief moments of hyperspeed, but immediately losing it. Part of me wanted to step in, but I had helped Roxy get hers by almost dying to her after pissing her off.

I wasn't really in the mood for a near-death experience today. It was my vacation.

[Roy. Why don't we trade places? Ren could use your help.]

The Captain glanced over at me and then at the bow. I could tell he didn't think it would be helpful for his own growth, but he'd help her out since I requested it. He gave me a nod, and we traded places.

While part of my soul was drawn toward the lounging super, I approached Clara instead. She had promised me potential upgrades, but I'd just been made a target dummy instead.

"Shirking your responsibility already?" She crossed her arms.

[She isn't ready for my training yet. Once she hits Roy, I will help.]

The elf gave me a terrible scowl. She probably understood what I was doing, but wasn't immune to being goaded. Her bow came up, and she made her first shot - something the speedster easily avoided.

Clara gestured over to her table, and I followed. "Not everybody works better when they're angry, Gunquake."

[When I wanted to improve, I tried to think of ways I could kill you all.]

"Are you including me in that?" She tutted and sat down. "I'm flattered, which, coincidentally, is what motivates me."

[Ah, so all this flirting was just for an ego boost.]

"Not entirely, Gunquake." The techie turned a page in her book. "Here, item number one for your consideration."

There was a sketch surrounded by notes. A reimagining of my old backpack. This one had a low-profile jetpack and a deployable leg to turn me into a tripod.

"If we ever get into exceptionally heavy or powerful munitions, it will help stabilize you. The current recoil from your arm is not enough to make this a priority, however."

[What about my Arcane Overload?]

"There are other, more pressing issues with that attack, Gunquake." She tapped her cybernetic finger on the page. "This will also function as a drone relay, and teleportation device."

[Sounds perfect. No notes.]

"Next, we have a few ammunition types." The techie turned a few pages. "Naturally, without our base, none of these are even in the prototype stage."

[Could you make a few more with my blood?]

Clara indicated a line in her notes. "Already accounted for. The one that you used previously was literally a cartridge filled with your blood, but there are ways in which we can improve them to be more efficient at holding spells rather than being containers of your bodily fluids."

That certainly sounded nicer. One of my plans during our training holiday was to learn at least one new spell. I couldn't accept that I had peaked in my arcane aptitude. Even if I had to tie any potential upgrade into a shotgun shell to use, that would still be another tool at my disposal.

Now that I was on tentative speaking terms with Boss, I might be able to pry some more information about myself from his brain. I was of his design, so he must know my true potential. Of course, if he was currently ignoring my messages, that would make things difficult.

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"Most of the other designs are rather basic in principle," Clara took me out of my thoughts. "One of our biggest hurdles at the moment lies between fabrication and storage. Both will need to wait for the new base to be resolved. Armor piercing and Sanguine stakes will come first, as you already have enough variety for soft targets."

[Chevalier had a powdered version of the Sanguine ore. Do you think we could make a shell with that?]

"Provided enough testing, yes. Although it may make you unpopular among some of your peers."

I looked over at Roxy, who was currently pushing over all the created walls. She had been able to expel the powder from her lungs through partially drowning herself with lava before coughing the mixture up. It was incredibly unlikely she would be too happy about having to do that a second time. The Captain would just be shit out of luck.

[Emergency solo missions, perhaps.]

"Regardless, I think that your most promising new upgrade is the manipulation of your artifact." She held out a finger and tapped my gun-arm. "Should you learn to control the emissions. Arcane backwash running through a rebuilt loading mech would not only make me very unhappy, but will be rather dangerous."

[You're telling me to get it under control before we move into the new base.]

She nodded before gesturing to her laptop. On the screen was an overlay showing the Meteor somewhere. "The other half of the artifact is out in the desert, a mile away. You can practice without putting us in danger, Gunquake."

[Hmm. That should be enough for me to work on for now.]

"Once I have a workshop, we'll be able to do more together. My hands will be extremely full tending to both our needs."

It was going to be a very long two weeks; I could tell. After giving the techie a nod, I turned my attention to Ren.

The elf fired out an arrow, which the speedster dodged once again. He had a smug look on his face, which just added to her very visible annoyance. Ren fired the next one, and after it passed Roy, it blew a gust of air back toward him. He stumbled slightly, not expecting the wind, and barely avoided the snap-shot of a hastily drawn second arrow.

"Almost," he said. "Now I'll know to expect it, though."

I stepped up beside Belle, who was watching the proceedings with hands on her hips.

[Verdict?]

"Unfortunately, His guidance doesn't help me interact with the bow. Some artifacts have… adjacent traits, almost? It's very old elven magic, which might as well be from another planet, as far as I'm concerned."

[What about mine?]

Belle shrugged. "I can tell even less from yours. Could be older. Or it might not have any historical significance at all."

I recalled the time when we had first stolen it, and I had heard it talking to me. Probably not important. It had certainly been inert since Clara had split it and created my arm. Could it be linked to the reason I could destroy the Aberration? Insufficient information, and pointless to speculate at this stage.

[My artifact is linked directly to my brain, so that makes it easier for me to control. How does it work for you, Ren?]

She lowered her bow, and the arrow in her hand dissipated. Although she maintained the steely glare, she responded without prejudice. "It's similar to a magic spell. A request to borrow the power imbued in the weapon."

"It sounded similar to a patron," Belle added, "but the bow is more of an inanimate object, so doing things my way was no help."

[I assume there is a connection to your ancestry?]

Ren nodded. "You can try to use it if you like."

Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, I accepted the offer. She stepped aside as if that specific patch of dirt was the designated mark to fire from. I took the bow carefully and stood in position.

It didn't have a traditional string running from the two ends, and appeared to be just the main body - as detailed as it was. Surprisingly light. I held it out in my left hand and tried to feel for the magical thread to make an arrow appear.

[Hmm. It is definitely an artifact; I can feel the potential of it. A very specific magic that I cannot interact with.]

"Good." The elf gave me a dry smile. "If you could somehow work it just through force of will, I might have just quit on the spot."

[Have you considered some tech upgrades?]

She crossed her arms and pouted while continuing to frown at me. "There's supposed to be a long list of traditions relating to using the artifact. Admittedly, I have been considering breaking a few rules to become more efficient."

[Do you need to touch the bow?]

"Well, generally that is how one is used. If you're talking about summoning arrows, then I can do that without." She held out a hand and conjured a magical arrow in it. "But without the propulsion part of my shtick, it doesn't really do much."

A magical bow that could do wind-based attacks in the form of arrows - ones that could be detonated remotely and blow intense gusts in any direction predetermined. The elf made it sound rather plain and one-dimensional, but perhaps it was her thinking that was too rigid.

[Are any of these traditions directly forcing you to perform below your current capacity?]

She fidgeted under the weight of the question. With a short sigh, she closed her eyes. "Maybe. It could be a mental block. A self-imposed restriction thanks to the teachings of my elders. Or, it could just be a bow."

I rolled my eyes and tossed the weapon to her. Ren's bright blue eyes snapped open, and the bow hovered in the air beside her as she scowled at me. Offended that I hadn't handled it respectfully.

[Is this your bow, or are you the bow's wielder?]

Before she could formulate a response, I left her to it and went to catch up with Roxy. Rude of me to leave the elf hanging, but the seeds had been planted. The truth was that I saw my own artifact as a tool to be exploited. Used in whatever way I needed to stay alive. It was up to her how much reverence she wanted to give her bow, but as someone who had been created as a living weapon, life was often smoother when I could utilize my purpose fully.

In contrast with this thought, I approached Roxy with nothing but hearts in my eyes. She was standing with hands on her hips, inspecting the mound of rubble she had created.

"This is tiring work," she announced. "I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I don't think I should be able to create matter like this."

[Magic works in mysterious ways.]

"Yeah? You think I'm magical?" She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

[Alongside several other more salacious compliments.]

Roxy bit her lip. "I don't know what that means, but I have a skill you might be able to help me with? We'll have to be a bit further from the others in case it goes wrong."

I nodded, and she turned to do a short leap further into the wasteland. My V-Force drives powered up, and I did a handful of my own miniature hops to catch her up. Now, with the rest of the Disasters as smaller smudges in the backdrop, Roxy paused and grinned.

"The more contact with the ground I have, the more wall I can create." She wiggled her toes in the sand before raising her fists. "I'm not sure if this will work… but watch."

Both her hands and feet burst into lava, and she squatted down so that she could touch the ground. A swirl of lava snaked through the dry dirt before emerging up into the air. I turned my gaze as a circular wall around us both grew into a small dome.

From the base to the peak, it dried out and turned to rock. Rather cozy. Illuminated only by the barest light pooling in from a small hole at the top, the super stood up and dusted her hands off. Her eyes were on fire as she pulled her shirt off.

[Very impressive. It is about time we had some privacy.]

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