Battle suit training

  The battle suit was like a finished version of the exo rig. More extensive braces supported the joints, and a full vest hugged the torso. A greater number of metallic strips and cords connected the vest and braces, along with boots, gloves, and a snug helmet. A black unitard underneath it all covered Cole from the neck to the wrists and ankles.




  “The armor is the best part,” Trickster said, pinching the sleeve of Jace’s unitard. “Does it feel rugged?”

  “Feels like long underwear,” Jace said.

  Cole plucked at his unitard. The silky material felt fairly thin.

  Trickster grinned. “That material is probably Googol’s most impressive creation. It’s a wonder of tinkering. He calls it guardcloth. Other tinkers have developed similar materials, but nobody can match the quality. Guardcloth is smooth and comfortable, but hardens against sharp impact.”

  Jace scrunched his face. “It can stop a punch?”

  “It can stop a knife,” Trickster said. “Or an arrow. Feel your sleeve. Rub it.”

  Cole and Jace both complied.

  “Notice anything unusual?” Trickster asked.

  “No,” Cole said.

  “Exactly!” Trickster emphasized. “Now make a fist and give your arm a good chop. Not too hard, but solid.”

  Cole complied. Against his halfhearted blow, the previously soft material felt rigid. He tried hitting it harder, and the material felt hard as steel, hurting his fist, though the arm below the guardcloth barely felt it.

  “No way,” Jace said.

  “I told you,” Trickster said. “And it gets better. Aside from hardening against direct impact, guardcloth also works with the battle suit. For example, parts will go rigid to help reduce damage from a fall. It complements the support you get from the suit.”

  They stood in the widest aisle of the storehouse above Forge’s lair. Daylight streamed through the high windows, spotlighting the covered mounds of derelict machines. Sidekick was patrolling outside the storehouse to make sure they wouldn’t be disturbed.

  Cole glanced at the distant ceiling. “Can I jump my highest?” he asked.

  “In here, sure,” Trickster said. “That ceiling is over six stories above us. Even with the battle suit, your best jump won’t get you that high. But watch where you land. The guardcloth and the battle suit aren’t indestructible. Fall far enough, land on something sharp enough, take a strong enough blow, and the suit will crumple. If it does, you crumple too.”

  “So is it safe to jump my highest?” Cole asked.

  “The rule of thumb is don’t fall farther than you can jump,” Trickster said. “The battle suit won’t let you jump so high that it can’t handle the landing. But if you jump your highest and sail off an edge, you can get into trouble fast. Same if you jump your highest and land on a jagged piece of machinery.”

  Trickster sprang high into the air, getting two thirds of the way to the ceiling, then came straight down and landed in a crouch. “Take small jumps at first. You need to get a feel for it so you can control where you land.”

  Cole took a small leap and barely jumped higher than normal. A bigger jump sent him ten or fifteen feet into the air. He felt wobbly for a moment, but stabilized himself before the ground rushed up to greet him.

  The Jumping Sword would help slow his fall before a landing. The battle suit did no such thing. But when he landed, it squeezed and supported him in such a way that the impact wasn’t too jarring.

  Jace tried a jump as well, straight up and down, going a little higher than Cole reached before landing in a crouch. “I like this,” he said.

  Cole gauged the aisle. Long and straight, it ran the length of the storehouse, crossed by narrower aisles. It had to be almost fifteen feet wide. Springing forward, Cole rocketed up through the air and along the aisle. At the apex of his leap he was almost halfway to the ceiling, and he traveled maybe an eighth of the length of the storehouse. He approached the ground at a speed that seemed like it could be a problem, his insides tingling as they would during a big drop on a roller coaster, but the suit performed marvelously, supporting him and cushioning the landing more than he could have hoped.

  “This really works!” Cole called down the aisle.

  “Did you think I was trying to kill you?” Trickster asked.

  “My brain didn’t,” Cole replied. “My instincts weren’t sure.”

  Giving the jump everything he had, Cole leaped forward down the aisle again. He got over two thirds of the way to the ceiling and extended his distance half again as far. The landing was more jarring, but still manageable. He stayed on his feet.

  Cole dashed to the end of the aisle, taking long, leaping strides that didn’t send him too high but made each step cover about twenty feet. Exhilarated, he turned and started racing back but tried a running jump this time. It didn’t carry him nearly as high as his earlier jumps, but he sailed farther, covering a quarter of the length of the massive storehouse in a single bound. He didn’t try to land at a standstill. Instead he kept running and slowed to a stop near Trickster.

  “Who are you?” Trickster said. “That was incredible! Nobody gets that good that fast! In fact, most people never get that good period.”

  “I have practice jumping,” Cole said. “I like the feel of the suit. It works. I get it.”

  Jace came soaring toward them from the other direction. After a towering leap, he landed beside them in a crouch. “Next lesson?” he asked.

Chapter 14