Even as I stepped up to the start of the obstacle course the world warped and suddenly I wasn't standing at the edge of a grassy field, but the edge of a tropical jungle. Already, I could feel the difference, the air became sticky and moist. It clung to my skin and hair, trapping the heat and offering no relief.

Test one, I thought as I stared into the thick green vines and twisted tree trunks. I had thought it would be starting on a simple, easy plain, an open, level field of short grass. I had planned that the start would be an easy pace, easy room to run and to see threats if they advanced. Not anymore.

Clever, very clever I had to admit. It was a test of adaptability, a way to measure how fast a competitor could think on their feet when the world went sideways, or in this case, changed landscapes and climates.

I wiped my forehead which was already beading up with sweat from the thick humidity and then walked into the thicket of trees.

The dense jungle was dark, varying in shades of brown, green and black. Overhead I heard birds chirping and other furry creatures moving about in the massive canopy. First things first, I thought as I ducked under a low-hanging vine. I need some tools.

Jungle was a hard enough place to survive as it was, but I knew it would come to an end soon enough and I'd be faced with another terrain that would come with its own set of challenges, not to mention warriors whose sole job would be to try and stop me from reaching the top of the mini-mountain.

I wanted to be prepared for those obstacles and a jungle certainly provided a chance to create a few tools to help with both of them. I ducked to the leaf-strewn ground and searched the earth, spotting several rocks along the ground. Perfect. I sifted through them, aware of the time ticking away, but as much as the time limit was grating in the back of my mind, I knew long-term I had to do this. I would need some rope to climb the mountain and since they hadn't provided me with any, I would have to create some myself.

Finally, I found a black rock, obsidian I thought that looked reasonably sharp and set to work. Looking up at the massive trees around me, I put the stone between my teeth and jumped upwards, hoping to reach a branch that was a few feet above my my head. I figured I could make it.

I was wrong.

I shot up passed the branch I had been aiming for and landed with a hard, dizzying thud into the fork of the tree at least ten feet up from where I had been on the ground. "Ow," I groaned around my makeshift knife feeling my head throb hotly and scratches burn on my face.

I had completely forgotten to take into account the potion Sif had given me. I wasn't working on human strength and speed right now, I was working with the Asgardian standard.

I grinned to myself and started to climb toward a thick bramble of vines not far from me and carefully walked out onto a thick limb. I grabbed three of the vines, each reasonably thick and quickly twisted them together. Once I'd done that, I dared to test it, pulling on the newly made coil which tightened but did not snap or give way.

I half-grinned. I wouldn't know if they'd be optimal for climbing until I actually had to climb, but they'd have to do for now. They seemed strong enough on their own when I'd found them and they were clearly even stronger when I combined them. Given how time was still ticking, I'd have to make do with what I had. I couldn't afford to keep spending time here.

I began cutting at the base of the vines, the rock sharp enough to shear through the plant fibers, but I still would have preferred a machete or something more effective. Once they had a fairly good tear in them, I put the stone carefully between my teeth and grabbed the vines with both hands and yanked.

They ripped apart like wet paper and fell back to the jungle floor with a soft thump. I steadied myself against the thick trunk, looking at the black earth below. A ten foot jump would have shattered my bones earlier, but now, I had some Asgardian traits. I knew from experience that they were crazy strong and now I had that same strength coursing through me.

I had a feeling it had come with something else too, durability. If my bones were as brittle as they'd been before the potion, then it had no real purpose. I'd throw a punch and break every bone up my arm. That feeling was strong enough that I decided to test it and I leapt from my perch in the thick jungle tree and landed with a light thump back onto the ground.

Nothing was broken. In fact, I might have only just skipped the last two steps on a stairwell. Nothing was damaged and I wasn't the least bit harmed. I couldn't help my smile as I lashed the vines in a semi circle and threw sidelong across my body. They'd stay with me this way and not hinder my movements.

I pulled the sharp rock from between my clamped jaw and held it lightly in my hand. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it would do for now, at least until I managed to steal one off of the guards who I was sure to run into later. Better than nothing in my mind.

I began walking again, watching as the sunlight cut through parts of the thick treetops and beat down on me. Not that it was needed, I was hot enough without the sun beating down on the back of my neck. As I walked, I snapped tree branches, raked my feet into the ground for form Xs or cut rough, evenly spaced markings into the trucks of trees as I went. The canopy was too thick here, I knew that and that took away my ability to use the sun as a compass for now. So this was my next best way to make sure I didn't get lost-mark a trail. Xs, neatly broken objects or things that were evenly spaced were all fairly rare in nature, a few episodes on the Discovery Channel had taught me that and I fully intended to use it now.

I ducked underneath a thick, low-hanging branch but in doing so, I neglected my footing. The tip of my sneaker caught on a fallen branch and I slammed into the forest floor. The impact was jarring, making my teeth rattle and I crawled away from the branch before regaining my footing.

"Dammit," I growled, voice hoarse and my throat as dry as sandpaper. I tried to swallow then, but it was no use, my mouth was too dry. I need to find water, I thought even as I wrung out sweat from my shirt. I knew a few things about humidity, namely that the body's cooling mechanics like sweating were pretty useless. The air was too wet to let anything evaporate off the body and that was one of the reasons people got do dehydrated if they were stranded. That and drinking water that wasn't clean. Even if I'd found water, I didn't have the time to make a fire to clean it.

"I need to get moving," I said aloud, drying out my throat even further. I would never make that hour time limit if I kept up like this. i needed to change my game plan but what exactly was I supposed to do? I leaned up against a nearby tree and shut my eyes.

Think Hamada, Officer Burn's voice sounded off in my head. Her guttural tone as clear now as it was during my days at the police academy. What's around you? What do you have that you can use?

I touched the vine around my shoulder and the little rock in my hand, but other than that I didn't think I had a great deal to work with. Though I was going to be undoubtedly faster now than I ever had been that still didn't help. The jungle was too crowded, I'd clothes-line myself the moment I built up enough momentum and be slowed down even more as a result. Not to mention tire faster when I still had five more obstacles of overcome after this one, along with the guards I still hadn't run into. I growled, frustrated, what was the point of having Asgardian powers if I was in an environment where they'd be useless?

I slammed my hand against the tree, but rather than feel the sting of bark biting into my skin, I heard a splintering crack. I jumped and tightened my grip on my knife involuntarily as I stared at the fist-size crater I'd beaten into the wood. Then it dawned on me-speed wasn't useful to me here, on the forest floor it was useless. But the strength could be an asset. If I just moved up a bit farther at least.

I looked at the little rock and sighed before I tipped it over onto the ground. If I was going to do this, I couldn't carry it in my hands, I'd need them, and my mouth was out too, it was too hazardous to risk with what I was about to attempt. I knew my body was durable now, but I didn't want to know what bits of rock in my stomach would be like once that potion thing Sif gave me wore off.

I looked up into the tree in front of me and then rolled back my shoulders, tensed my legs and leapt upwards and I went flying into the thick limbs. Air whipped past my ears, whistling and I caught myself on one of the limbs, palms burning as I swung myself upwards onto the branch. I scurried up a bit higher, right until I was level enough with another tree a mile away. Or at least I thought it was about a mile. I could see that it was far off, but it didn't worry me so much, I could still see it clearly as if it had been the next one over.

I grinned, the smile probably a bit crazy looking as both disbelief and exhilaration ran through my blood. I tensed up again and leapt. The forest would have turned to a colorless blob if I'd still been operating on human eyesight, but I wasn't and everything was clear as day. I twisted and turned in the air, avoiding vines and other small obstacles and then I caught myself in the tree I'd been aiming for. I adjusted the vines, making sure they were still secured around me and then launched myself forward again, into another tree about the same distance away from my first jump. This was certainly a lot faster than walking.

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The trial has started! Anyone recognize this chapter? It's actually recycled from the very first draft! Neat huh?

Write on! :)