The Final Test

by Verlin Thomas Halfmann

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"Emergency." The voice echoed in his embedded comm bud. He recognized the mellow voice of Steve Rogers – also known as Captain America. "Buckley, this one is for you. The entire team is indisposed and you are seconds from the scene. Police are likewise occupied. Exit the building at once. I will guide you to the action."

"Cap?" Buckley sub-vocalized. "Do I have to wear the costume?"

"Wear it, don't wear it, I don't care! But be sure to bring the gear. Try to make use of it if you can. Reports indicate that a citizen has gone crazy and is attacking people at random. Perp appears to be unarmed. Use maximum restraint. Time is of the essence."

Buckley had been in disguise and preparing for a workout. He dropped his towels and began peeling off the facial makeup as he raced back to his locker. Once inside, he ignored the costume. His code name was 'Panty Waist' and he would never, ever be comfortable wearing it. He buckled the utility belt around his waist, strapped the arm cannons to his wrist, and affixed the disk shaped medallion to his chest.

As he raced toward the door, past dozens of surprised faces, he slapped at the medallion and said: "Activate recording function."

Certain that the bodycam was up-and-running, he listened as Cap vectored him to a spot behind the very building that he had been in.

He did not need directions. Once he was outside, he could hear the shouts and curses. It was a young man about his age that was completely out of control. Possibly under the influence of drugs. He was running at people, screaming, picking up debris and throwing it. Most of the people were muttering worriedly and retreating out of range. When he saw that Buckley was not retreating, he charged.

Honey Lemon, I hope this works! He said to himself as he pressed a button on the belt.

A second later, he was surrounded by an iridescent bubble that wobbled and pulsed. Within another second, the bubble began to congeal. By the time that the charging man impacted, it was a protective cocoon of tough plastic.

The man hit, bounced back, and charged again. Over and over again. The chem shield was a success!

The crowd was curious and moving in for a better view. Idiots! Why weren't they running away?

Whoever the guy was, Buckley was impressed by his stamina. He was not particularly muscular, but had sinewy extremities that reminded him of an athlete. Finally, he began to run down. He was huffing and puffing and glaring at Buckley with hate-filled, poisonous eyes. He finally seemed to notice that he was not getting anywhere and turned away and toward the crowd who were much too close.

Buckley pressed another button on his belt. A fine mist exploded outward and the plastic bubble dissolved into wet mist. For just a split second Buckley hesitated. If he shot a cryo round, it would take up to 30 seconds to take effect. Plenty of time for the man to do plenty of damage to innocent bystanders. Plus, if there were drugs in the man's system, they might interact with the anesthetic and harm the man. If he tried to restrain the man, then one of them was bound to get hurt.

As he rushed toward the back of the man, he snatched the chem shield projector from his belt. He slapped it to the man's back, hit the button, and jumped back. It was designed to adhere to any surface. Within seconds, the man was surrounded by a plastic bubble and completely helpless.

The man raged and screamed and threatened but it was to no avail. Eventually the police arrived and Buckley used the mist projector to dissolve the bubble.

On his way back to Adventures tower, he reflected on what a hassle it would be to establish yet another secret identity. Could not be helped. He was beginning to feel uneasy, strange, as if something was crawling around inside of his head. He shrugged it off as nerves.

He reached the tower and took the elevator to the debriefing room. He was beginning to itch. On his arms. On his legs. On his scalp. Arriving at his destination, he opened the door and…

Surprise!

There was a party and everyone was there. Captain America, Black Widowmaker, Pink Eye, Pepper Potts, and many others.

It was Captain America who stepped forward to do the honors. He had a smiling young man in tow. Buckley paused and gaped. It was the same man that he had handed over to the police just a few minutes ago.

"Congratulations, champ." Cap said. "You did it! You passed your test."

Black Widowmaker seemed especially happy. Buckley was too stunned to even respond.

"Allow me to introduce the crazed manic." Widowmaker said. "One of the highest ranking black belts from my Dojo. To you, he looked like an average guy. You outweigh him, have years of training, and could have easily beaten him to a pulp. Yet you found a way to protect yourself, the crowd, and – most importantly – the perpetrator himself. There is not a scratch or bruise on him.

"Son – you just earned yourself an upgrade!"

"An upgrade?" Buckley was beginning to catch on.

"We have already started enhancing your reflexes. You may have noticed the itching sensations. There are other side effects as well."

"It was a time for joyous celebration, and Buckley was down for that. But it was still early in the day and the party quickly wound down. As they were beginning to clean up, Pepper Potts approached him."

"So, champ." She said. "You earned the afternoon off. Why don't you meet me in the gym so I can begin my training. Just because I wear an iron suit does not mean that I cannot be physically fit. I spend way too much of my time sitting on my butt behind a desk. Afterwords, we can hit the sauna. That is, unless you don't trust yourself around a woman twice your age in a state of undress."

"Is that a challenge?" Buckley said. "I'll bet I can!"

Apparently, that was what she had been expecting him to say.

"Prove it! Meet you there in 10 minutes."

That was when Buckley noticed that all conversation in the room had died. Everyone was dead silent and were grinning like a bunch of idiots. Had he said something wrong?

"See you in 10 minutes." Pepper repeated, waving, and left.

Everyone was staring at him.

"What?" Buckley said. "What?"

"Nothing." Cap had a Cheshire grin on his face. "Have a nice workout."

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The End