‘What do mean her ability is latent?’ The boy muttered as he fumbled the documents in his hand, his fractured movements punctuate the brief silence as the nurse studies him coldly. Her eyes lack concern for his obviously nervous condition as she bows shortly and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her. He watches her as she leaves, his mouth open and his eyebrows knitted together in unashamed disappointment.

‘Latent?’ He murmurs. The word trembles in the air, half formed as the silence they find themselves in swells. His cold laugh breaks against the source of this problem, crashing waves on her ears. Like a bark it is coughed, it doesn’t match his young features. ‘First they tell me you’re female. Then they tell me that your ability is latent. This has to be some sort of mistake.’ He continues to stare at the papers in his hands, searching the DNA files desperately to find the source of this unusual issue.

‘Identify yourself.’ His command is brutal, as he slams the papers down on the white desk next to the neatly made bed. She doesn’t flinch as she shifts her eyes from the point on the wall she’s been admiring, you can see where the painter scuffed it, and turns her eyes to his feet.

‘Android 40762, East Division.’ She replies. Her voice is a surprise, she can see from the way his left foot twitches once against the polished floor. Unlike other androids, her tone is flat and a deliberate extension of her composed personality. Often she wondered how these people had such strong emotions, the world may have been jagged and rough but the more it wears away at you the more polished you should become. Androids were taught from the day they were bred to act as humanly as possible. To fit into the neat little roles this society had for them. But to her, this never seemed like a logical path. Humans were not perfect, and their emotions stood in the way, why should she aim to be more like them. Why should she strive to fit in?

‘That’s your name?’ He snaps, massaging the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb.

‘Androids are not given names.’ She responds calmly, closing her hands in front of her and adjusting her stance.

‘Well what do I call you then? Am I supposed to spit serial numbers at you whenever I want a cup of tea? What about when we’re in battle?’ His temper flashes briefly, but it’s enough, the pencils on the desk shift slightly. The room is shaken by an invisible tremor, the android adjusts her stance again, shifting so her footing is more secure and blankly returns her gaze to scuffed wall.

‘I am sure you will think of something to call me, Sir.’ She tilts her head gently and tries out a smile, remembering her training. Never, ever antagonise a human. Especially one who’d discovered their ability. He’s frozen as she smiles at him; he knows it’s as fake as she is. But it doesn’t make it any less interesting to see it.

‘Come with me. We have someone to see.’ He snapped before turning on his heel and storming the door, forgetting not to slam it behind him in his temper. He’s surprised when the heavy metal is abruptly frozen in place, secured by a thin hand. Carefully, the android slides out after him and shifts the door shut gently on the room throwing it an almost unnoticeable forlorn grimace.

‘It’s only a bedroom.’ He deadpans, he knows she’s matching his hurried pace a few feet behind although he’s not sure how, his legs were far longer than hers and he was burning holes in the ground through his combat boots.

‘I am aware.’ Short and sharp her words hang in the air, pausing for a second he decides to brush it off, he wasn’t sure why but her voice was different. The sound of his combat boots squeaking into action reminded her to try and keep up as she trailed him down the maze of corridors.

Soon enough he starts to sense her growing discomfort, he was leading her straight to the place most androids never set foot. The West Division was the adjacent camp to the East Division. Where the East housed all developing androids, the West was a training facility for their human counterparts. Connected at a centre point the internal passageway between the two facilities was a ridiculous and overly grand edition to the plain and modern structure. A huge courtyard crossed both horizontally and vertically with two stone paths that met at the centre of a huge well-tended garden was not what one tended to encounter at a military level building. A few people and androids mill around the courtyard, they don’t meet each other at the middle. She notices that everyone hangs on the edges, using the outlining paths to make their way from one place to another. With no obvious intentions of following their example she watches helplessly as she’s forced to walk the central path from one facility to another. Staring eyes burn holes into her back and she’s aware that she’s being weighed up.

‘Don’t worry about them.’ She jerks her gaze upwards at his words; she hadn’t noticed him looking at her. It was the first time their eyes met directly. With a gentle cough she looks away, but the damage has been done. Now another set of eyes are burning into her skin, she can feel their heat corrupting her as she tries unsuccessfully to back away.

‘The woman from before, she said your ability is latent.’ He takes a step toward her, his eyebrows raised quizzically.

‘She’s not technically wrong.’ She answered, adjusting the distance between them.

‘And by not technically wrong you mean...?’ Securing his stance in front of her he does something no one in the courtyard is prepared for, he lurches one knee downwards and swings the other round. His foot connects with nothing but air as he watches her dance easily out of his way. She’s surprised and he can see a small crack leak through her façade. Her milky white skin tints ever so slightly with a bloom of irritation and her eyes narrow. She still won’t look at him.

‘Answer me.’ He’s striking again, this time with a series of complicated blows designed to distract an opponent. She evades carefully, using her left hand to avert the strikes away from her torso.

‘Stop it.’ The words are cold, but they’re not empty, there was emotion bubbling behind her eyes.

‘Only if you get angry.’

‘Anger is a pointless emotion.’ Her voice is as flat as smooth ground, and as unfeeling as ice.

‘Getting you angry is the only way to make you use your ability. I wouldn’t say it was entirely pointless.’ His words grate on her ears as she observes his movements. The slightest twitch of a finger, the inching of a foot could signal another range of attacks. He lowers his fists gently and straightens his back, he steps forward slowly, his combat boots toeing the ground first to see if she’ll remove him from her personal space forcefully.

‘What are you doing?’ She mutters, confusion inching across her face, he smiles victorious.

‘I command you to stay still.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you can’t disobey a direct order.’ He smirks and steps an inch closer to her, their faces are almost touching. Nose to nose he can see that it’s true what they about androids, they never blink. Her wide eyes are sharp and aware, their shifting colour a tell-tale sign of something inhuman. After a few seconds of shifting through shades, her mind settles on the colour of liquid mercury. Pure, reflective and completely unreadable.

‘What are you doing?’ She repeats, desperate to inch back but forcing herself to remain immobile.

‘Making you angry.’ He leans forwards and it’s clear what he’s planning. His lips had barely moved a millimetre before he’s being flung onto the grass, the strange sensation of suffocation clogging his immediate surroundings. The wind rushes past him and air whistles in his ears, he’s aware of the impossible notion that he is in a vacuum of sorts. But the strange thing was he hadn’t felt a blow, and even stranger than that he was positive his android hadn’t moved.

He coughs and sits up; she is still immobile as she takes in the destruction around her. The flowers on either side of the path are scattered and smashed, as though a huge force had simply yanked their petals and leaves away, flattening the stems in the process. The androids and humans who were dancing around the edge of the huge courtyard seemed to have retreated to their respective zones. Shock and distrust bubbles across their faces as they admire the damage this android had done, emotions run like liquid tension, almost palpable in the air. A distinct cloud of dust is disturbed around her feet as she suddenly collapses to her knees. Furiously she beats the ground once with her fists; tears well and disperse across her now dirt stained face. Animalistic cries punctuate the astounded silence as the world seems to fluctuate. The air around the android bends, creating dangerously sharp channels that cut through the already demolished garden and suddenly she’s gone. A crack similar to thunder is heard as she simply vanishes, leaving nothing in her wake but a bone-chilling silence and the crackle of pure energy in the air.

'Definietly. Not. Latent.' With a sigh he slumped back into the grass, his consciousness slipping.

The child stares through the glass, his small hands are glued to the surface, his eyes desperately searching out the occupant of the room. He’s not quite tall enough to see in comfortably and his chin hurts from being pressed to the metal frame. Inside a girl is sparring with an older boy, her hands are tied behind her back.

‘The aim is to fight using only your feet, 40762.’ Her team captain snaps as she harshly barges him with her shoulder, using her significantly smaller build to dodge past him quickly. She doesn’t respond. Slowly, she circles him, her eyes are predatory. A tiny bird stalking a wild cat.

‘I am aware.’ She sighs as she lunges forward gracefully. She forces herself upwards using his bent leg to propel herself forwards, harshly she snaps her other knee forwards and collides with full force. The blow sends his head snapping backward, his jaw shutting with an audible snap and shattering his over-confident smirk. She hated sparring.

The older boy hits the floor just as she lands herself, rolling gracefully upright. She doesn’t wait for him to get up before she yanks her wrists apart, separating the electro-magnetic cuffs, they were completely useless once her sparring partner hit the floor. A cacophonous display of clapping filled the training hall, cheers erupted and in the back row and a few sponsors clapped in slow disbelief. This android was something else.

The younger boy outside stared on with greedy eyes, she was special. In that moment he turned and tugged once on the hem of his Guardian’s suit jacket.

‘I want one like her. But a boy. Like me.’ He said. The Guardian looked down and nodded once.

Choosing an android was difficult, it was largely down to genetic selection. When recruited into the academy a genetic sample is taken from the host body, this is used to breed a selection of androids. To make sure these androids will be successful candidates they are also bred with the DNA of the founders of the Academy: The Twelve Generals. In their time, each of these Generals wielded immense powers that couldn’t be harnessed by most men. After the Guardians passed away those who could succeed them were trained and provided with an android. These androids are subjected to rigorous training whilst their human counterpart is also trained in an adjacent facility. In the end the academy chooses your android for you.

‘Personal preference is a huge part of choosing your android, Young Master, but do not let the fact she’s female deter you. It is clear she’s the strongest. She could well be chosen for you.’ The Guardian suggests lightly, he turns his eyes to the girl now waiting at the edge of the mat for her next sparring match. ‘After all we are yet to see a female android gain a General’s seat.’

‘That’s why I want a boy.’ The child whined, yanking a snotty hand across his nose and sighing hyperbolically.

‘I think fate has other ideas for you, Young Master.’ The Guardian smiled as another huge roar erupted inside the room, accompanied with the girl once again perching on the edge of the ring, her blank eyes clinical as she scanned the crowd.

‘I can’t win with a girl. It can’t be her.’ The child’s voice was devoid of tremors or waves, the finality in his tone surprised his Guardian, who only smiled and nodded deftly in response, it wasn’t his place to disagree.