The Power of Ten Book Four: Dynamo

“I have them waiting for you,” Director Carter said as I walked down through the corridor in the underground SHIELD facility in Queens. She eyed my hands, and the new knuckle-dusters on them. “A new toy?”

“You familiar with a Hand of God? Or Angel Fist?” I asked, a rhetorical question. She blinked. “I commandeered one as a trophy. Dr. Richards reverse-engineered it and improved it. It doesn’t need any power source but me, so it’s not nearly as bulky as the original. We’re working on variants for the others and him.”

“Well.” I could see her filing that away.

“If he can make the power source more viable, I’m sure getting some for Shielders would not be difficult. It’s a big power draw, has maybe six hits in it as it stands, and as you know, it’s quite showy.”

“A nice reserve to have, short of wearing power armor,” she agreed, flexing her gloved hand meaningfully. “We try to stay away from the power armor as a matter of routine.”

“Which means you have them in case of emergency,” I read underneath her words, and she smiled slightly. “Not a surprise. You’re the ideal users of such things.”

“Stark’s suit is a generation ahead of ours, however.” She shrugged. “Technology is always advancing.”

“Truth.” We entered the main gym of the facility, thirty feet high, and big enough for three basketball courts. The matted floor had a lot of seams to it, with doubtless many types of recessed mechanisms below which could be brought up for training purposes.

Gearheads gotta gear, after all.

Currently there was some form of maneuverability test going on, the students having to parkour through and around obstacles. The multiple Spider-Totems here had no problems doing it, while the others were displaying varying forms of competency.

Hmm, new guy, blond, dressed in green leotards... hah, where’d he come from?

Danny Rand is here?

I didn’t look at her, although I’m sure she was waiting for it. A surprise for me to handle, see how I did. No files on them all.

She was naturally noticed walking in, as the Director didn’t visit every day. Me walking at her side, street clothes over dark red outfit, but no mask on as per request, was naturally noticed, too.

The bouncing through the hoops, over the bars, between the rotating spikes, over the walls and under the beams stopped soon enough, as the trainer shouted out for their attention. Quickly enough they bounced and trotted over into a rough line to receive her.

I noted John Walker, the Blue Shield, was the overseer today. I imagined that was not coincidence, either.

“Trainees, I have a new member who’ll be doing some occasional training with you all,” the Director said. “I believe you’ve all heard of Dynamo and some of the things she’s been doing. She’s somewhat more trained than most of you, and may have some opportunities for some of you. She’s been working with Dr. Richards on some things, and is a fully trained alchemist, among other things.”

“What!” Spidey blurted out from under his mask. “You never said you worked in the Baxter Building!” he asked before anyone could stop him.

I just waited patiently for Director Carter to finish, glancing at her. Peter shuffled at the gaff and shut up awkwardly as everyone glanced between us.

“There’s no need to go easy on her, as I’m sure you realize if you’ve read about who she’s tussled with. Because you probably need some proof of that, we’ll run her through the paces with the rest of you.”

With my addition, that made four girls on the team and four guys. The girls were eager to add another one to the mix.

“Lightning powers and super-speed, right?” blurted out the blonde Spider-girl as I took a step forward.

“You can call me Dyna or Dynamo, your choice. I generate electricity, I’m a dynamo. I don’t really ‘control’ it in any serious manner. My full name is actually Dyna Morgan Ouilette, says so right on my ID.” Which I promptly held up for them. “I don’t have any family of note, so I’m not too worried about my name, I just mask up so I don’t get mobbed in my down time by people I don’t know.

“I don’t really go to school here in the States, as I completed my basic education overseas via other channels.” Way, waaaaaay overseas. “I work some days in the Baxter Building, either making alchemical goods for people, or with Dr. Richards and the FF on special projects.

“SHIELD has a big hairy eyeball about underage Powered all popping up, as you probably noticed,” there were groans all around, from everyone except Rand, “and so I’ve been roped into this training course with you.

“I’m probably more familiar with functioning at a metahuman level of ability than most of you are, as I’ve had powers longer.” Just not THESE powers... “Regardless of what you see here, I will note to you that my greatest power is probably the fact that I’m really smart. Like, REALLY smart. The rest of my powers are just window dressing to the fact I’m smart.” I turned to the Blue Shield and bowed slightly. “What do you want me to do first, sir?”

“Well, let’s see how your agility training has gone,” he asked, looking at me in assessment. “Get over on the line, and run through the course. You need to go through all four red hoops, and hit the button over there.” He pointed at the far side of the course.

I’d seen them bouncing through it, those without spider-springs taking the low course, the hoppers a higher one. The hoops forced the spider-guys off the ceiling, and there was a Stillflight in effect right now, meaning the fliers couldn’t do so, forcing them to actually run the course, much to their grumbling.

I lined up, he barked “Go!” almost instantly, and I was off.

Repulse for extra speed. Hit the first bar, bounce to the ceiling, come down, hit the side of the wall, bounce sideways and arc down under the next wall and bar with a Repulse slide, kick off the bar, bounce backwards, ricochet off the wall and through the hoop, up over the next wall, grab one of the spokes there to redirect me sideways as I fell down towards the next hoop, tumble through in a somersault, up and spring for the ceiling thirty feet up, over the bars and wall completely, Repulse off and down on the other side, land in front of the last hoop turned ninety degrees, redirect up and sideways through the hoop, hit the button, vault over it, and come down in a perfect landing set.

7.92 seconds flashed on the timer. They all gawked.

“Rapid direction changes, even a course reversal; frequent altitude changes to maximize the speed of the path instead of the length of it; control, balance, and flexibility,” Walker stated, nodding his head. “Was that a lightfoot technique you were using there?”

“Something based on it,” I confirmed, strolling back in his direction, having not even broken a sweat. I kicked off and coasted along just above the ground towards him, not moving my feet, as everyone watched the voltage below my soles with great interest. The fact I could do it in the no-fly field definitely sparked some interest...

“She calls it sparkfoot,” Spidey said under his breath smugly. Everyone looked between us again.

I slid to a stop in front of the Blue Shield. “Next, sir?” I asked calmly.

“Run a lap.” A course lit up around the room, the starting line nearby.

I glanced at it. “Do I need to stay in the lane?”

“Huh.” He eyed me at the question. “Why are you asking, Dynamo?”

“Because it’ll slow me down on the turns. You don’t have a slope or wall there,” I pointed out helpfully.

“Put up a restraining wall,” he said into his mike, and steel walls rose up all along the outside of the room, following the track.

I stepped over to the line, and adopted a very odd feet-together starting position, while bending over otherwise in a sprinter’s set.

“Go!”

Full Repulse shot me off like a rocket. I was twenty yards away before I took my first step, locking to the ground even as I was sliding forwards, Repulse shoving me forward again, getting the air out of my way, the air pressure coming in from behind to accelerate me further, and I just picked up speed.

I had to wrench myself sideways and get up on the restraining wall as I hit the curve, momentum too linear, sliding and racing down the curve sideways on the wall, held there by centrifugal force. I came off the wall with a 270-degree sideways tumble, hit my feet, and shot forward again, covering the seventy-yard straightaway with frightening speed before going up on the wall again, and pretty much not able to take another real stride as I screamed around the turn, coming off the wall with another sideways turn for nearly twenty yards in the air, and then bursting across the finish line.

---

“Whoa!” Spidey said for all of them as she blasted by... except there really wasn’t any wind to speak of, although there should have been.

“Three hundred yards in 5.11 seconds from a standing start,” Walker called out. They all watched me coasting along the track as I slowed down, leaning into the turn as my momentum carried me on, clearly not trying to run any more... but I was already halfway around the track again, clearly going to be able to make it back to them again.

“Pretty sure she could have picked up more speed on the straightaway too. Damn!” Luke Cage murmured, watching her. “That’s faster than you flying, Jess!”

And it went without saying that it was faster than any of them afoot. Only Nova could beat that speed, and that was when flying.

“A hundred and twenty miles per hour average, from a standing start and with turns,” Spidey did the math in a little disbelief.

“She was closer to two hundred when she passed us,” Nova muttered back. “That’s like a drag racer.”

“Five bucks she can out-bench you,” Spidey offered quickly.

Nova grimaced. Despite his high-tech suit, he was actually one of the weaker people on the team. All of the girls were stronger than him, and only Danny Rand, a normal human, was weaker. “No bet. You’d have to be damn strong to run that fast. The air resistance alone... how’d she overcome that?”

He looked over at Danny, who was the best of them at sizing up an opponent.

“She’s not using normal lightfoot, as she’s not touching the ground, and she’s not flying. She must be repelling the ground, based on how she took off. So, if she can repel the ground... can she repel the air?” He waved his hand at the finish line. “There was almost no breeze as she came past, like the air opened up, let her by, and closed right in behind her.”

“Man, how much control does that take?” Luke asked softly.

---

“Wow, that is REALLY fast,” Spider-girl murmured, staring at the newcomer now coasting down the far side of the track. “Can she, can she hit someone that fast?” Fighting lessons were the thing she liked the least about all this training, yet among the most necessary. She didn’t like hitting people...

“She’s got something else at work. She wasn’t running. It just wasn’t flight,” Silk sniffed, elbowing Jewel. “It’s like superfast skateboarding, or something. Could you do something like that?”

Jewel frowned, her brow furrowing, and shook her head. “No, I still can’t get off the ground...”

“Could you push yourself sideways across the ground?” Silk prodded her.

“How big a cement rash do you want me to get?” Jewel promptly complained.

“So unfair,” Spider-girl muttered as the newcomer glided up, slowing down as she did so, finally braking to a halt in front of the Blue Shield. The other two looked at her. “How is her hair still perfect?”

They both looked at Dynamo, and their eyes narrowed intently.

“That is unfair!” Silk stated.

“I don’t think she broke a sweat, either,” Jessica sighed.

“I want the secret to her hair!” Gwen Stacey declared to the others, and they both nodded.