Soon My Friend

The next morning, the tattooed man and I were told we would be training in different places. He will be training in the rocky terrain and I will train in the pool with the suit.

As we were in the locker room, the man with tattoos murmured across the room, "We will soon be together Atlas and when we do we're gonna have a ball,"

Chills ran down my entire spine as his voice echoed all over the locker room until it faded away.

"Well then, let's get this started," I uttered.

I put on my suit, it wasn't as I expected to look as the average space suit. It was much smaller and instead of white it was navy blue. It felt very loose on my body. I noticed a button on the collar. Curiosity got the best of me and I pressed the button.

Every fiber in the suit started to shrink, it became smaller and smaller until it fit snuggly on my body. It felt like a second skin. I tried the boots and the gloves as well. Both had the same button in some area so they both fit just right.

"Whoa, ha ha this is awesome,"

I made my way to the pool where I was met by Natasha.

"Well, well. Don't you look fitting," she said in such a coy manner.

"This feels," I paused before continuing, "incredible,"

"It should, this suit is a new prototype of space suit. It adheres to the user's body to provide optimum comfort. The suit is made of a new hybrid of kevlar and steel, it can withstand freezing temperatures, and nearly indestructible,"

I took a moment to look at every aspect of the suit. It was absolute perfection.

"Now then Mr. Atlas, should we get started?"

"Oh yes, so what are we going to do today?" I curiously asked.

She made her way to across the pool and directed me to a small compact submarine.

"You will be submerged to the very bottom of this pool and will be let outside where various tests will be run. These tests will prove how well you do in an environment somewhat similar to that of space,"

I made my way to this compact little sub, inside it was filled with endless amounts of switches and knobs.

"You don't have to worry about knowing every single button and switch. Just the essentials. We will have radio contact with you as you go down. We will help you only so much with the test, most of it wil be on your own,"

I put on my helmet, got inside the sub, and nodded the signal to drop me down. The sub slowly became covered to the top with water. I could see the lights from the warehouse slowly dim away and the water shades darken as I slowly dived down.

All I could hear now where the noises the buttons made every now and then that broke the silence of the deep. It now became almost pitch black where I was. There was a blue-ish hue that gradiently smoothed to the dark as I looked up from the sub.

"Mr. Atlas, you have reached the bottom and are now ready to begin testing,"

I pressed a red blinking button right next to the hatch. The top lifted from the bottom up, just like a clamshell would open. A massive bubble of air was released from the sub as it became engulfed in water.

The pressure on the bottom became clear to me that this was going to be by any means no easy task. Every breath I took became so heavy, and every movement of my arms and feet felt like they weighted a ton.

"Now Mr. Atlas, we will begin by performing underwater welding to test your skills in the event of a hull breach in the space shuttle,"

There was a compartment opposite of the sub where the equipment was. But in my mind this seemed very bland. So I started thinking, What if I tried my powers here?

I concentrated as I would if I wanted to levitate. I focused on my hands and feet, then slowly a circle would form around them. I now managed to form pockets of air. These pockets of air I could now control underwater. I moved the pockets where I pleased. So I moved them to both of my feet and hands.

Now with pockets around them, I was trying to figure out what I could do next.

What if?, I thought to myself. So now that I had formed pockets, maybe I could somehow move around the water much faster.

I concentrated on thrusting myself upwards with the pockets of air on my feet. My legs gave a slight rumble when all of a sudden, a short burst of speed came from under my feet. I gave a slight Hmph in approval.

Realizing now that I can move faster with the pockets on my feet, I thrusted myself even faster around the water. I gave it a couple of more tries until I got the hang of it. Realizing now what I can do, I swimmed around the water so effortlessly. Like a dolphin in its natural habitat, I sped through the water with ease.

Water streamed across my face as I swam up and down the pool. I felt so alive being underwater. There really is no limit to what my powers can make me do.

"Mr. Atlas, Mr.Atlas! Could you please focus with the task at hand," Natasha exclaimed with anger in her voice.

But I wasn't really paying much attention to it. I was having way too much fun swimming in the pool.

I was literally down there for about an hour til I decided to come up. Now that I could move through the water with ease, I don't have much use for the sub. I launched myself from the bottom to the top. The blue-ish haze from the bottom now became a lighter color like of that of the sky.

Lighter and lighter the water became until I catapulted from the water straight into the air.

I landed right on the edge of the pool were the old man and Natasha awaited me. The look on their faces were absolutely priceless.

"So what's next?" I eagerly asked.