CHAPTER 13:

APRIL 24, 2530, 12:00 HOURS, UNSC ARMISTICE, GYM

Margaret 53 hefted a heavyweight bar and pushed it up, she didn't remember if it was 300 kilos or 3000, her new eye sometimes gave her double vision. Somehow it felt unusually light. She pushed the bar against her chest and pushed up again, repeating the notion, she felt her muscles tense and her bones feel brittle with each rep, she pushed through the discomfort building in the fading scars of her forearms, her arms felt like glass for a second as she pushed it to her chest, then felt she was weightlifting with a fully loaded M12 "warthog" Force Application Vehicle.

The weight bar fell at her chest, but she didn't feel pain, only the blunt impact against her skin, she gripped the bar again and tried pushing it up with a pained grunt as the bones in her forearms weakened.

Otto 31 came by and helped her pry the weight off and set it back on the bar, she eased herself at the side of the weightlifting bench and rose to a sitting position.

"Thanks for that, Otto." she said, with her ever-tired smile

"You okay, Mag?" he said.

"Honestly, my bones feel like glass, my muscles ache, feels like someone's ripped up my entire body and stitched it together again. But other than that, I feel kind of Invincible, thanks for asking."

"You sure, Maggie?" He had that cautious stare, he was being too protective, damn it.

She smiled, shook her head and said, "You ever listen to what Halsey says? Its the usual after they thawed us out. Just an adjustment phase to the new bod."

"Alright, just lookin' out for you, feels like I'm denting up the punching bag, mind asking Roma to have a go in the ring when she's done with the tread?"

"I'll ask her on it, no promises."

"Alright" he went back to punching the bag. His arms worked in quick motion with the punching bag, the velocity and impact of his fists akin to a bullet.

She flexed her arms and examined the scars. Surgical lines where they had initially grafted her bones to hyperdense alloy, then the surgical implants grinded her bones in her arms and legs to twisted messes. Her heart gave up from the shock. Even as unlucky as she, Otto Vic, and Roma had been. They still felt relatively unlucky to what had happened with the likes of Kirk and Rene, they had been encased inside buoyancy tanks and had began receiving surgeries in an attempt to effectively replace the entirety of their skeletal structures. Rewriting bones from nanographs. Recent word was the operations were going well, though it was unknown if they would ever serve again, never mind being able to function as Spartans.

Now, The four she had teamed with her entire training, was with her again, and back under the designation of "BLACK Team". ONI Section III had wanted a Covert Operations team from the new bunch, and they were it. They would likely never see the others again, at least for a while, years even. But she was happy with what she had.

Mendez and Halsey walked onto the gym and announced themselves to the four. They each snapped to salute.

"Black Team" he said in his voice, ever strong enough to drown out the roar of a dropships engine. "Soon your re-training will be over, your new bodies are now on-par with the other Spartans. You are ready."

Mendez's voice was strangely comforting to Margaret. She'd rather have no one else as a DI. Mendez had forged her as just a little girl, to amongst the ranks of the most elite warriors in the history of humankind, she was thankful to have been given that second chance by Doctor Halsey too, to be the soldier they and the rest of her squad needed her to be. It made her feel a sense of pride.

"Final callisthenic examinations will take place to ensure your peak fitness and stability in your new bodies. You have always exceeded expectations like the others, and you will be no different." she smiled.

"At ease, Spartans!" Mendez said, more smoothened than before, "Get some bed rest."

They eased their stances as they left. It was very unusual for them to be addressed directly rather than summoned to a briefing. A lot of things were different this time.

To the rest of the Spartans, they were dead during their last mission of training, and they were fighting across the colonies, from a threat she herself never fully understood.

"Great. Performance check in a few days. Gutsy already" Roma chuckled.

"Don't drag me down with you!" Otto laughed with her.

"Not if I do it first!" pack up the gym and stow it away, maybe a game of cards before bunking?" Margaret replied.

"Sounds all well with me, Mag" Victor gave a common slight smile.