When her battered alarm clock woke her at seven o'clock Codi very nearly turned it off and went straight back to sleep. However, in the nick of time she remembered where she was and what she had to do. With a groan she sat fully upright before shutting off the piercing tone of her alarm, and then threw the thin covers away from her. The combination of missing last night's sleep and the long day that followed had meant she slept like a log.

Swinging her legs off the side of the bed she scrunched her toes against the featureless grey carpet. Light streamed in through the small window aperture, but when she looked over at it, Codi realised it faced the wrong way to see the sunrise. A small jab of disappointment hit her, but she shook her head and got down to the business at hand. Forcing herself to stand, she invaded the wardrobe and took stock.

Everything lay in meticulous organisation, with a boldly functional array of whites, greys and blacks. First she grabbed a towel, feeling the soft, feathery fabric between her fingers before slinging it over one shoulder. Then she delved into the clothing that had been provided. It wasn't much, but free was free. Tugging free a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved grey top, she turned and crossed the room to the en-suite shower.

She glanced at the shower controls and found them to be gratifyingly simple. Only a single dial awaited her touch, with a series of coloured marks around it shifting from blue to red. In a single sharp motion Codi twisted the dial up into the red and the shower burst into life. In seconds hot water was gushing from the nozzle.

After washing away the previous two long, hard days, she struggled her way sleepily into the clothes and went back into the room. She slipped her feet into a pair of black plimsolls and reached for the door handle, but then an afterthought struck her. Turning to the desk, she swept up the empty locket and clipped it around her neck before leaving the room.

As she made her way through the corridors a niggling feeling of apprehension pressed its way into the back of her mind. The first day of Gauntlet training; what should she expect? Codi expected it to be tough at best; brutal at worst, but what she didn't know was how she'd handle it. Physical activity didn't worry her, but Drake Vasco did. If he was going to be standing over them like a drill instructor for the entire day then her temper would see things quickly spiral into chaos. She re-ran his words though her head. If you're going to compete, do exactly what I tell you.

She let out a resigned sigh. She owed it to Barrow to at least try and see this through. And whichever way she looked at it, this was an opportunity beyond anything she'd ever had.

Entering the canteen area, Codi found the rest of the group already there, the four of them seated at a table eating, drinking and chatting. To her surprise, Vasco himself stood in the kitchen area, cooking. He glanced around when she entered and nodded approvingly.

"Bang on time, kid," he said. "You're off to a good start."

"Thanks," she murmured, uncertain of what to do next.

Vasco beckoned her over. "C'mon, get some breakfast." She obeyed wordlessly, not looking at the others as she passed their table to the kitchen area. Vasco turned and placed a large steaming bowl of what looked like oatmeal in front of her.

"You a coffee drinker?"

"Uh-huh." A mug of coffee materialised a few seconds later. She stirred the food suspiciously with the spoon provided. "What is this stuff?"

"Think I'm trying to poison you?" Drake rolled his eyes. "It's a kind of porridge, but heavy with vitamin and protein supplements."

"Drugs?"

"It's not drugs, Codi. But it will give you a boost that normal people don't have...over time. Gauntlet fighters are not like everybody else. The preparation by necessity makes you hit harder, move faster, and it'll ramp up your pain threshold a few notches." He inclined his head to the food. "So shut up and eat so we can get on with the day."

Codi resisted the urge to snarl a reply, contenting herself with a derisive snort as she scooped up the bowl and mug before turning to sit down. She sat at one of the empty tables and kept her eyes downcast, shovelling the porridge into her mouth. It tasted good, richer than the glop the orphanage had fed her, and she could almost feel the nutrients flooding her system. Maybe it wasn't a drug, but right here, right now, it certainly felt like one.

"Too good to sit with the rest of us?" said a female voice. Codi paused, licking porridge from around her lips before looking up to see Lita glaring back at her. She held the other girl's gaze unblinking for a long moment, then smirked and returned her attention to the food. She heard the outraged hmph! but ignored it. Clearly this kid would be an easy target to wind up if she wanted to. For the meantime, however, she rooted her attention to breakfast, ploughing through the entire bowl and then draining her coffee in several long gulps.

She sat fiddling with the spoon and staring into the dregs of the coffee while the others finished eating. When they did, Vasco strode between the tables making sweeping gestures with both arms.

"Alright everybody," he bawled. "Chow time is over. Let's get down to business." Leaving their dishes where they were, the group rose almost as one and followed him into the elevator. With six people crammed into it, Codi found herself standing uncomfortably close to Max, his own narrow shoulders hunched as he did his best to make room for the others. She glanced up at him, in turn making him look at the floor.

She scrambled gratefully out of the confines of the elevator when the doors opened, out in front as the group entered the training centre. Looking back over her shoulder, Codi saw Vasco waving the others away to the sparring equipment. As they split off, the instructor walked straight over to her.

"You ready to work?" he enquired, though the question seemed to be a nicety more than anything else.

"As ready as I'm gonna be," she muttered.

"Good, because this morning I need to get a sense of what you can do." He started towards the treadmills. "C'mon, kid." When they reached the line of machines pointed at one. "Get on and start running."

"For how long?"

"Till I tell you to stop." His face remained totally impassive as he spoke, and Codi realised he wasn't joking. She stepped onto the treadmill and braced herself as Vasco keyed in a pace. Then the floor beneath her started moving, forcing her to run almost flat out to keep from falling.

Five minutes later she slumped against the rails of the machine gasping for breath, swinging her aching legs off the moving surface. Vasco eyed her grimly.

"Did I say you could stop?" he queried.

"My legs...are sore," she hissed between breaths.

Her tutor merely shrugged. "Get used to it. Now get back on that treadmill till I say you can get off."

Shooting him a venomous glare, Codi swallowed her rage for the moment and did as he asked, forcing her limbs back into the punishing pace. She managed another five minutes running but just as she thought she was about to collapse, Vasco punched the stop button on the treadmill. Leaning heavily on the supports of the machine Codi turned her eyes skyward, thanking whatever higher power had spoken to the man.

"Well," he said. "Your endurance isn't exactly up to scratch is it?"

"Kiss my a-,"

"Now let's check how much that scrawny frame of yours can lift." Before she could even formulate a stinging retort Vasco was walking away from her, towards a daunting arrangement of bench weights and dumbbells. Cursing him under her breath she followed him to the next test. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, but rather than picking out one of the weights, he beckoned her over to a strange, box-like contraption standing slightly off to one side. It looked like a chamber of some kind, maybe seven feet in height, half that across, and she could see two hand shaped black marks in the roof.

Codi eyed it dubiously. "What's this for?"

"Stand under there." Vasco pointed inside the thing. "And put your hands where the indicators are. You'll see what it's for in a second."

Still wary, she took a tentative step into position and placed her hands above her head, but even reaching all the way up she couldn't quite touch the indicators. Vasco pressed a button and suddenly the roof plate unlocked, falling gently to press against Codi's outstretched hands. He looked at her for a moment then raised an eyebrow.

"You might want to brace yourself," he advised. "That plate is about to get a lot heavier." Her eyes widened in realisation and she immediately dropped into a firmer stance, legs spread apart and knees slightly bent as she waited. "Ready?"

"Ready."

He pressed another button and she felt the weight increase straight away. At the moment it was manageable though; she stood firm with her arms braced against the roof panel.

"How does that feel?" Vasco asked, his voice displaying genuine curiosity.

She thought about it for a moment. "Err...it feels okay I guess."

"Alright, how about now?" He pressed another button. This time Codi couldn't stop a growl of exertion escaping as the pressing weight increased dramatically. Her knees almost buckled under the surge, but she gathered herself in the nick of time to hold the panel steady once more.

"Not...great," she snarled through gritted teeth.

"And now?"

The weight ratcheted up again and she almost screamed as she fought to hold her ground. Her arms and trembled violently as she pushed back the panel for several seconds. Then Vasco pressed large green button and the weight mercifully vanished. The roof panel retracted back into its original position and Codi gasped in relief, pain lancing through her whole body after the ordeal.

"Eighty pounds." Vasco lolled his head from side to side. "Not bad. You're what, 5'5?"

"Something like that," she grated. "Why?"

"Just getting a sense of where you're at." He jotted the information down on a clipboard that seemed to have materialised from nowhere, then gave her a nod. "Alright, next."

So the morning crawled on, and Vasco pushed her limits in every way he could think of. They continued to use the box (he informed her later of its affectionate nickname, Crusher) for several more tests, seeing the kind of loads her body could bear in different positions, compiling a spreadsheet of painfully accumulated data for the head instructor to mull over.

After that they moved on to the more conventional means of punishment; the dumbbells and bench presses scattered throughout the gym. He tested the maximum weights she could lift, then the number up repetitions she could perform with each one. By the time she'd finished Codi could barely feel her arms. Then there were sit-ups, press-ups, pull-ups, leg raises and stretches, followed by a gentler stint on the treadmill of maybe fifteen minutes jogging.

Eventually he let her have a break. As she lay down on one of the padded mats, limbs splayed out, Vasco scribbled down the last of the information on his clipboard then looked it over. A few minutes later he sighed.

"Well, kid, you're about as average as they come." When she glared at him he simply grinned. "Not to worry. We've got plenty of time to turn you into something special."