Numbness had flooded through entire body, preventing me from standing. How long has it been since that day? A few days? A week? A month? It feels like I've been out to sleep for 30 years. All of my memories had come flooding back. Those painful, torturous memories. The thought of that tragic fire invaded my mind, and I began to heat up from it. I didn't even have a chance to say a final goodbye to Director Otto. Keeping my eyes shut, I fought off any potential tears. I could have saved him! I could have died to save him! But now fate has taking something else from me. My vision. I knew there was no point in opening my eyes, because I knew I'd be met with darkness. Nothingness. A void, filled with nothing but visions of the people I've witnessed die. My father. My mother. Director Otto. All victims of that murderous bastard, Roger Jackson. I saw him that night! Why didn't I stop him? If I didn't, Otto would have been left to be cremated in the burning prison of the F.B.I Training Academy. I tried to lift up my arm to wipe my brow, but I couldn't. I was restrained.
"Rhys?" spoke a soft voice. Agent Ashfield. "Rhys, you're awake! Oh thank Christ!" I could hear in his voice that he wanted to throw his arms around me. But he must've known that I was badly damaged from the fire. "Rhys, I'm sorry. Director..."
"I know. I watched him. I let him-!"
"Rhys, you didn't let him do anything! You let him say goodbye. And he wanted me to tell you that..."
"That what?" He quickly wiped away a tear.
"That he loves you. That you, and Felix, were the greatest things to ever happen to him." More tears started forming, and he just let them fall. I did the same. Sniffling, he spoke again, "So you're probably wondering why you're restrained, and why you're eyes are bandaged."
"My eyes are bandaged?" I opened my eyes for this first time since this encounter. As usual, I saw nothing.
"You may not be able to see now, but I'll give you some good news. The last order given by Director Otto was to make you, and Felix, as well as our other two candidates, a part of the Agent program." He removed my bandages, and all of a sudden, I could see everything. I was in an open tank, that was emptying a strange liquid, similar in colour to the test tubes in the corridor towards the training room and the locked door. There was another open container as well, likely where Felix was kept to become an Agent. Was this the locked door? Was the equipment to become an Agent behind it all this time? But how? How can I see all of this?
"This is the power we have given you, Rhys. We used your lack of vision to give a very significant boost to all of your other senses. Through smell, hearing, taste and touch, your mind is able to create a clear image of your surroundings. And with your touch, you can feel vibrations of things approaching to have an edge when fighting someone." This was all so startling. I'm blind, yet I can still see.
"If I'm blind, and can only see with other senses, then how am I still seeing colour?" It was the one thing that stuck out to me. No one can smell or feel colour. That's something that not even science can make possible.
"You haven't been born blind, so you're mind is only filling in some gaps here and there." The human brain is incredible. "Oh, before I forget," he unstrapped my arms, releasing me from my restraints, "I should probably let you move." Blinking, I was still getting used to seeing in a different way. I put my arms down, and lowered myself onto the linoleum floor. Ashfield took my arm as I steadied my balance. He gave me some independence, but helped me manoeuvre across the room. I reached out for the door, and it was right where I touched. I opened it up, and new information flooded into my brain.
My vision spread out through the ruined corridor like ripples on a pond. Very suddenly, it all came into view. Proving myself off of Ashfield's arm, I took a few short steps. I ended up falling over a small rock that I didn't realise my senses had picked up. I then suddenly heard Ashfield's quick footsteps move closer to me. This must be my augmented hearing. I knew he was going to try and help me up, so I shook my head rose off of the ground. Inhaling, I took a few shorter steps. Almost shuffling, I made my way about three feet before actually lifting my feet off of the ground. And eventually I broke into a slow walk. I felt heroic, like I just lifted an ancient blade, and was ready to slay a dragon. By the time I held the door handle at the end of the corridor, I was able to walk in full strides. It would take a few hours for my body to wake up fully before I could even have a hope of running, let alone power walking or jumping. I opened the door to almost nothing. Only the ashen outer walls stood crumpled, showing signs that there was something here. I covered my mouth to stop myself from crying out, but I couldn't control the tears that fell from my eyes. I sank to my knees, pain filling up my heart and my lungs. This was it. This was where I watched Director Otto die. All of the most harrowing experiences in my life had culminated into this fateful, recuperative walk of melancholy. I felt Agent Ashfield take a knee beside me and rub my back in comfort. It was a moment of realisation for me: I have people that can help me. I have people around me that care and that have also been through the exact things. A tissue was offered in front of me by Ashfield. I took it blew out the snot that had accumulated. He took it from me as I dried my eyes with my hand.
"So who's the next Director?" I asked.
"I am" Director Ashfield replied.
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As I covered my mouth to block any dust, the Director's car pulled up alongside a roadside shack. He got out, opened the door for me, and handed me something: sunglasses. "The Sun might hurt your eyes." I knew he knew that the Sun wouldn't do anything, but I kept them anyway. It's a strangely sentimental and generous gift that I have still kept to this day. I don't need them, but I like to refer to them as my 'obligatory blind person glasses'. I didn't think this at the time, but they went really well with what I was wearing: a black suit with black trousers, complimented by a white shirt with the top button undone. I felt like a really cool 16 year old. I doubt that I actually was. Ashfield knocked on the door, with a recognisable style: a funky, cold medina. Almost immediately, the door was opened by a navy suit-clad Felix. A smile grew on his face and he took the both of us into his arms.
Shutting the door and sitting down, Director Ashfield explained that he had to perform the Agent procedure on Felix, take him to a safe house, then drive back to meet me when I woke from my slumber. "I knew that my son would be safe, because his body didn't sustain any physical damage, but you needed at least some protection."
"So what sort of 'ability's did you get, Felix?" He held out an open hand and a wave of electricity appeared in it.
"Oh my-!" I almost fell out of my chair in shock. Literally.
"I know, right? Dad said that the procedure allowed electrical signals to escape my nerve cells and thus my body, allowing actual electricity to be produced!" I could hear that he was very eager about this. I couldn't stifle a grin at that.
"So, are you Felix 'Walking Taser'Ashfield?"
"Heh, yeah, essentially."
"Ah. Now there's a problem," interrupted the Director, "you can't refer to each other by name anymore, especially in public. Privately, not so much, but you can't go up to each other in a mission and call each other Felix and Rhys."
"Well, then what will we call each other?" I asked.
"We're gonna be going on missions soon?" Felix eagerly figured out."
"Correct, but I'll get onto that part in a second. You will now refer to each other by a number."
"A number?"
"That is what I said, yes. Agents, depending on when they were given their powers, they are given a number based off of how far into the Agent program we are. For example, Felix, you're the 22nd person to ever receive the serum. And Rhys, you're the 23rd, so on mission you will call each other by those numbers. Your two other partners also have been assigned numbers: Agents 20 and 21. And you never know, there might even be more in the future! An Agent 97! Hell, even an Agent 120!" Like father like son, I suppose. Both fascinated with how things work and for what purpose. The Ashfield's have an endless pit of curiosity in their minds.
"So when are we meeting them?" Felix asked.
"We're gonna go to them now." Suddenly, a new stimulus entered my wave of vision. And then a second. A third. Six now.
"Director, 22," I whispered, "I think there are people here." Ashfield pulled out his pistol and kicked over a table and hid behind it. Felix and I did the same. He pointed at a sofa, and Felix crawled over and lifted up one of the cushions: two more pistols and extra magazines. One was tossed to me, along with two of the magazines, and Felix took a set for himself. Ashfield cupped his ear, and I held up five fingers, then one, and pointed at the door. He then silently opened up a rear window, and lowered himself down. I could just hear two of the six assailants whispering to each other. This gave off more vibrations, giving me a better signal of where they were: the whisperers were right in the doorway, with two men either side. I glanced over to Felix and saw him begin to charge up some electricity in his hands. He nodded, and I did too. Taking off my sunglasses, I tosses them to the other side of the small room. "They are in here!" The potential leader screeched, "Open Fire, men!"
The door was kicked in, and before a single shot was fired, Felix punched the table that was out cover. The electricity he had built up in his hand burst out,blasting the table at the soldiers. They were all knocked back through the doorway. I looked over at Felix, acknowledging his action with a very surprised look in my face. The attackers scrambled to stand up and pick up their weapons, but not before I shot their hands. They weren't able to pick up the guns, but still tried to fire anyway. Switching my magazine, I saw Director Ashfield spring out from the side of the shack and fire shots at the opponents. Bullets shot through their helmets, and their skulls, creating a bloody mess. Putting away our pistols, Ashfield turned and reminded us: "Always fire back. Try to deescalate, but when the time comes, never hesitate." We nodded in unison, and I quickly ran back inside to retrieve my sunglasses. Putting them back on, I could see Ashfield striding over to the bodies. He then crouched down and tore a patch of off one of the corpses arms. "Get in, guys." He opened up the car, and Felix and I slid in on the backseats. The engine was started, and we were on the road almost immediately.
"Dad, who the hell were they?"
"People I never expected to see for a long long time." He tossed the patch back to us, and we saw it clearly for the first time. It was a patch that bore the image of a black star, in the style of a pentagram. It was a simplistic logo, but obviously for the Director, it had deeper, more terrifying connotations.
"Black Star is an organisation that has existed for decades, possibly even centuries. Their leaders try to push the idea that humanity needs to be reset. That we must begin anew to become a purer, more powerful species again. Obviously there are many flaws to this plan. Risk of inbreeding, economical and social collapse not only under the brutal reign of Black Star, but also due to the lack of any working civilians in the world to support them."
"How does this-?"
"Have anything to do with you? Well, from this; I think I can confirm a suspicion that I have had for a few years now: Roger Jackson is a part of Black Star." This makes so much sense! A homicidal maniac, who is a member of an organised militia with a totalitarian regime. "However, we do not know his rank in Black Star, whether he is a mere grunt, a Sergeant, or even a General in the force!"
"What if he's the leader of this 'Black Star'?" Felix asked, right before I could get a word out.
"If he is, and we take him down, then we win. Black Star will be over. However, it is unlikely that he is the leader. Blowing up an F.B.I Training Academy is not his usual deal. If he wanted Director Otto dead, then he would've assassinated him. Someone else must've planned it." He adjusted the centre mirror to look at our reactions, and his eyes suddenly widened. Whipping his head around, he shifted gear and accelerated very quickly. "Rhys, how many people are in that car behind us?" I turned around and could sense a car driving towards us. It appeared in my range of vision, but I couldn't tell how many people were in there.
"They're moving too fast! I can't see them!" Felix cocked his pistol and jumped into the trunk. Charging up electricity, he placed his hand on the window. It shattered immediately and he began shooting at the car. When the bullets connected, it provided more vibrations on the car, and I could get a clearer picture. One driver and three soldiers were sat inside, each with assault rifles. They wore the same patches as the earlier soldiers. Black Star. One of the soldiers in the back seats smashed his window, poked his head out, and started firing on us. Felix sucked behind the cover of the door to the trunk, and Ashfield swerved to stop bullets hitting him.
"Rhys!" Ashfield shouted back at me, "Any ideas?"
"Get closer to them!"
"Aye aye." He slammed his foot on the brakes and drove level with our chasers. Smashing into their side, I signalled Felix to start charging up some electricity. He tossed me his pistol as I grasped my own, and I started raining lead. They ducked behind their doors as I emptied my magazines.
"Accelerate!" Ashfield got us ahead of our attackers, so close that our bumpers were violently caressing as we drove. "Felix! Now!" The trunk opened and he put his palms flat on the bonnet of the other car. Electricity surged across the metal shell and into the engine. He shut the door and we kept driving. Felix's electricity obliterated the engine. The car exploded, flipping over and sliding across the road. The soldiers did not survive.
"Black Star is a serious threat. We need information on Roger as soon as possible."
"How're we gonna get that?"
"Well, were definitely in need of help. That's why we're on our way to see your fellow new Agents: Agent 20 and Agent 21."
"We are? Wow!"
"Alright!" We had no idea who these people are. Are they kids like us or adults? What sort of abilities do they have? How long have they been training for? Are they connected to Roger in any way? Who knows? I definitely didn't know at that point.
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It was an arduous journey to get from Virginia to 304Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrI5QmTqgSd
Washington D.C.. Not only did we have to face those soldiers in the shack and in the car chase, but our car was riddled with bullets, and could barely manage to crawl along the dusty lanes and unfixed street roads. Through the hours of endless driving, we weren't even able to sleep for but a few moments every half hour. By the second time we crossed state lines, the Sun began to leave us. The glorious fusion of oranges and reds was strangely calming and tranquil, especially when all we could hear was the quiet hum of the battered engine, and the sound of rubber hitting tarmac. At one point, Felix and I started to sleep at the same time. I think we were about to lean on each other, but all that happened was us accidentally hitting heads, laughing at how silly the situation was. Although there was a moment where his head was on my shoulder. As much as I wanted to sleep, my mind was telling me to stay awake and appreciate what was happening in this moment. I shook my head at any feelings about him, and put them and myself to rest without any awkwardness in my heart. Although, that only lasted a few minutes.
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After five to six hours of travel, we finally pulled up outside of the J.Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C, a gorgeous behemoth of a structure. I shook Felix awake and he shot up, head off of my shoulder almost immediately. Straightening his tie, he opened the car door and stepped out nonchalantly. I climbed over to his side and almost tripped out of the car getting out. He took my hand to balance me, and I copied his tie straightening as we began to saunter over to the entrance of the building. The Director looked at us with a giggle, then cleared his throat and prepared to walk inside to be greeted by a crowd of excited F.B.I agents. Felix and I were only focused on one thing: Agents. Who are they? Anticipation was the only thing we felt. We were reminded to stay calm and play it cool in front of everyone else. In our heads, we were pretending to be elite bodyguards, protecting F.B.I royalty. Stepping through the main entrance, everyone turned and gave a respectful salute to Ashfield, as did Felix and I. He returned them, and encouraged everyone to go to back to their work. He then arrived at a door, presenting a keycard, his eyes, his fingerprints, the whole ham. We all stepped through, and were met with a corridor that was exactly the same as the one that was half-destroyed back in Virginia, except there was a significant lack of test tubes containing animal DNA. At the end, there was a very much so locked door, with even more security than the old one. To the right was a training room, and in the right room, the two Agents we'd be spending almost half of our career with. It was a sweat-inducing feeling, simply holding a doorknob. 'Screw it.' I thought, 'there's gonna be people in there, so it doesn't matter what happens now. I just need to make a great first impression. And who should I open the door to?
None other than Charlie and Florence.
All four of us broke down into floods of tears, running to hold each other. None of us could muster up a single 'Hello' because of how choked up we were. It had been about 7 or 8 years since we all were together last. I was not anticipating us to be reunited in this sort of setting. They had both changed a lot since they moved schools all those years ago. Charlie's long, black hair and been cut down to just a curly black fringe that covered her right eye. That same innocence had remained in her eyes, but her face was dignified and professional. She had grown a lot, now almost as tall as my towering 6' 2" stature. Florence was still a bubbly, sweet girl, and the same gorgeous smile was still alive and well. Her frizzy blonde hair was now darker, closer to brown but still blonde, and had been tied into a messy bun.
"Surprised to see each other, eh?"
"Wait, so you knew we'd be seeing Charlie and Flo again?" Felix cried out in confusion.
"They were chosen by Director Otto and I. They've been affected by Roger as well."
"You mean-?" I said as I looked over at them. They bowed their heads in melancholy. Charlie spoke.
"He killed my brother. I saw him! I saw him when he did it! And I ran away, and I recognised Felix's dad, and he said he was looking for me anyway. So I went with him, and Flo was in his car, crying."
"For me it was my sister," Flo revealed, "He was standing over her as I walked into her room and he made me watch him kill her." She turned and started crying into Charlie's shoulder. She gave her a comforting pat on the back.
"On the subject of Roger," Director Ashfield interrupted, knowing that it was a sensitive subject for Flo, "I think you might like to know how he's gonna get his just desserts, y'know?" He signalled for us to sit down at the conference table, and he began discussing a plan of action. "We have no idea what his location is, where he could have travelled, what his status is, who he has working for him, how he keeps escaping our grasp, or why he'd want to murder people in our families."
"Well that's a great start," Felix said, trying to lighten the mood as per, "where do we go from here?"
"We have a lead." He pulled out a Manila folder and a single page spilled out. "Guy."
"A lead!" Flo excitedly said, "What's his name?"
"Guy."
"We know he's a guy, but what's his name?"
"His name is Guy!" He put his hand in his forehead in dismay, but he was secretly trying to stop himself from laughing, "We've traces his calls and emails multiple times. It's had to track them, but we believe he's been contacting Roger. Your mission is to extract any information from him, any info at all, and report back to us as soon as possible. With that information, we should be able to climb up the henchman hierarchy and reach Roger in no time. But before that, I think we should have a test of teamwork, and a test of power, so that you guys know who you're really working with." A smug smile crept across his face as he glanced over at Felix and I. "You two, show 'em what you've got."
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We moved from the conference room to a gym, and took our positions on fighting mat. It was about twice as large as the one in the Training Academy, so we'll have much more space to work with. I remember Felix and I being incredibly nervous. We were told about Charlie and Flo being incredibly tough, and we didn't know they were who they are at that time, so we weren't as anxious to fight them. Now they've been revealed to be our childhood friends, I have much less confidence. They cracked all their joints and took up more aggressive fighting stances. Felix and I gulped, and we trembled into fighters pose. Ashfield blew a whistle and they both ran at us.
I unconsciously yelped and went to throw a punch. My fist was met with another: Charlie's. The impact sent a sensation down my arm, like it had broken, but it was one that knocked me back. I landed and stood back up, just in time to see her go for Felix. His fluid movements helped him dance around her. She was Thunderstruck, he was Swan Lake. He took one of her attacks and used it to throw her to the floor. He didn't want to reveal his Disable ability just yet. With my Sense, I could hear something whistle through the wind. I looked up from the action to see a foot coming straight for my face. I dropped to the ground and started running at where it was coming from. It was Flo? I could feel in my peripherals that her leg had stretched all that way, like she was made of rubber. That's because she is. When I went for a knee strike, her body caved inward, and my fist bounced out. Flo then stretched out her arms and wrapped them around me, flinging me to the side. I stopped myself before I flew off the edge of the mat. Felix was locked in hand-to-hand combat. When contact was made, I could feel him wince every time. He seemed in pain. And I knew why.
The entirety of Charlie's body had increased muscle mass tenfold, her biceps were the size of watermelons, just for some perspective. She managed to elbow strike him in the abdomen, and he was almost knocked unconscious. I couldn't help him, because Flo had already made another start at me. Two fists flew, and I dodged them, but only barely, because she then slammed them down on me, knocking me flat onto the combat mat. I rolled forward, leapt up and spun for a roundhouse kick. Flo couldn't recall her fists in time, and was hit across the face. She was harmed, but sustained no injuries due to her rubber skin. I went for another, but felt the air begin to vibrate. It was Felix! Charlie has thrown him at me! Catching him, I turned him on Flo and went to fight Charlie. I had more confidence against her, because it was easier to predict where her attacks would land.
She was a foreboding figure, however, as her muscles increased size to such a degree that she had grown about another meter. She went for a knee attack, but I dodged it and swept her other leg. She wasn't easily tripped up, however, and ended up smacking me across the face with the back of her fist. If this is what she does to friends, who knows what she could do to our enemies? Charlie could kill them in one punch! Fear settled in, and despite my seemingly confident stance, I was still quaking. I could sense that Felix was about to back up to me, and I felt some static energy in his body. He was ready for a final blow. We switched places, and was met with Flo's oncoming leg. I caught it and pulled her closer towards me. As she was dragged, I wound up my arm and hit her right in the jaw. Felix braces for an attack from Charlie, but ended up releasing his electricity and putting her out of commission. The sparring was over.
"I'm very impressed!" Director Ashfield applauded, "Exceptional!" I helped Flo up off of the ground, and she was absolutely fine. I could feel a heat source be slowly released from Charlie, however, likely from the intensity of Felix's shock attack. We all had a group high-five and were told by Ashfield:
"You're ready to fight in the field now. Let's get you suited and find that Guy, shall we?"
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