The Agency was an interesting place to work. Imagine a university, but much weirder. The main idea is to go there to get recruited for missions. The missions either range from super easy rescue tasks all the way to stopping criminal organizations. What really sets it apart is the fact that there’s a four-year probationary period. Proving yourself and your abilities are integral to being able to stay. The Agency wasn’t a job but a long-term career that tests every part of your being. I was about to experience that firsthand.

When I walked through the door, I was greeted by my captain. In the letter sent home, there was some information about the names of my team members and the captain for this first year. My captain was almost exactly what I imagined him to look like. He was tanned-skinned with blonde buzzed hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall, around six feet two or so, very muscled and big. Intimidating was the first word to come to mind.

“You’re Lydia, right?” He had his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

“How’d you know?” 

“Because you’re the last one to arrive,” he indicated to the others in the room.

“Oh.” 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like you were late or anything, like some people,” he rolled his eyes.

I took another look around the room. There were only four of us when a team typically consisted of five. If he were the captain, then it meant the second in command was already here.

“Anyways, I’m Lucas. Welcome to the worst day of your life,” he grinned.

I was about to say something when the other guy in the room started talking, “Haha, it’s my turn. I’m Carter,” he vigorously shook my hand.

He was shorter than me at about five feet five. He had pale-colored skin and messy brown hair everywhere. His honey-brown eyes almost matched his hair perfectly. The complete opposite of Lucas, he was a pretty scrawny kid with only a little muscle.

“Lydia,” I responded and pulled my hand back.

“I’ve been waiting for way too long for this day to come. I might’ve gotten rejected from the captain position, but here’s my chance to prove to those clowns how useful I can really be,” he crossed his arms with a triumphant smile.” I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to be reacting to him telling me his life story, so I just stayed silent and nodded.

“Thanks for the backstory, Carter,” Lucas tried to push the conversation along. “Over there we have Clarisse,” he indicated to the other girl.

She was around the same height as Carter. She was darker-skinned and had her box braids pulled back into a ponytail. There was one streak of hot pink in her hair. She was heavily muscled and very beautiful with chestnut-colored eyes.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, grabbing both my hands with a warm smile on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Alrighty, now that introductions are finished, it’s time for business,” Lucas started, “This isn’t an ordinary training session. This will directly test your abilities. As your captain, I have to know your abilities inside and out so I can properly lead you. Let’s determine how useless you all are,” he smirked.

“I can say for sure that I am a great asset to the team,” Carter nudged my arm.

“How are you so confident?”

“You don’t need confidence when you have skill,” Carter plopped into his chair.

Lucas rolled his eyes, “Ok, Clarisse, you’re up first. Come this way,” he indicated to a room in the back.

She smiled widely, “I’m more than ready,” she said while she followed behind him.

They walked into a room that was at the very back of the studio. Lucas closed the door, and I was left with Carter. He was pacing around the room with a sense of purpose, muttering something to himself that I couldn’t quite understand before he settled down next to me on the floor.

“I learned about this place from my cousin. She’s the coolest person you’ll ever meet.” He grinned.

“Wow, that’s really-”

“Yup, she’s really something else. Has been working here forever. I wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to follow in her footsteps. Besides, saving people has always been a dream of mine.” 

“That’s a pretty noble reason for joining,” I finally chimed in.

“I know, right?! I’m a pretty noble person if you couldn’t tell.”

I sat up straighter, “The first time I heard about this place was my junior year of college. If I’d known this place existed, I wouldn’t have wasted my time studying.”Before I could continue, Clarisse walked through the door with Lucas right behind her. She had bandages all over her arms and legs. The confident smile that she had going in there was gone; what was replaced was the look of defeat. I was feeling more unsure of myself by the second.

“Carter, time to prove yourself,” Lucas said, crossing his arms.

“My time has come. I will show you all the magnificence of my power,” he hopped to his feet and headed in Lucas’s direction.

“Good luck, Carter, you’re gonna need it,” Clarisse had a small, tired smile on her face.

“Thank you, Clarisse, but I won’t need it,” he said right as the door closed.

Clarisse sat down on the floor next to me. She sucked down her water bottle as if her life depended on it. Afterward, she plopped her back on the floor.

“That bad?” 

She lifted her head off the ground, “He’s on a completely different level.”

“Thanks for the confidence booster,” I laughed.

“Yeah, sorry. There’s not much positivity that came from that fight,” she also laughed.

I wasn’t nervous. I’d been in more than my fair share of fights. College roommates were the worst. Use the wrong curling iron, and you’re hanging upside down by your ankles from the ceiling. Muscle boy had nothing on me. My teammates just needed to upgrade their skills.

“I kicked butt,” Carter screamed as he came through the door.

He was covered in bandages the same way as Clarisse. Despite that, he had a triumphant smile on his face. I had a hard time believing that he actually did something against Lucas.

“Lydia, you’re up last,” Lucas shoved me to the door.

The room itself was interesting. The walls were completely padded, and there were no mirrors. Deep dents in the floor and scratches in the padding gave off a horror movie vibe. The fluorescent lights were too blinding for the small space. “We each have five minutes to pin the other to the ground. Whoever does it first wins. This exercise also determines your role on the team.”

“No problem,” I got into a fighting stance.

He grabbed a timer out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. After he finagled with the buttons, he also got into a fighting stance. Before I could comprehend what was going on, the time went off, and he charged at me.

On instinct, I somehow managed to snap my fingers. Out came a stream of fire aimed right at him. The blaze illuminated my fingers with a faint burning smell wafting through the air. He dodged at the last second, and the flames hit the wall. 

I turned to look over at him, and he had pulled a knife out of his pocket. He charged towards me. I narrowly managed to get out of the way. Right as I turned around, he had another knife in his hand. It wasn’t his hand rather, but his hand shapeshifted into the knife.

I laughed to myself and sent another string of fire his way. It singed his tank top. Before I could get cornered again, I jumped back. To my surprise, he was already behind me. How he got there so fast, I wasn’t sure.

He wrapped both his arms around me. His hand knife was pointed at my neck, and the actual knife was pointed at my stomach. I had just enough room to snap my fingers when he grabbed my hand. I was about to use the other hand when he reached that as well.

Stuck in his grip, I slammed the back of my head into his face. The force pulled us both back. While he was distracted, I kicked my foot right into his stomach. He let go, and I ran forward.

“You’ve got a hard head,” he laughed. His nose was bleeding.

“So do you,” I was already starting to get tired.

I aimed at him again, but just like before, I missed. I was expecting him to do another close-range attack, but instead, he threw the knife right for my head. I ducked, giving him the perfect opportunity to pin me to the ground. As soon as I reached the ground, the timer went off. The five minutes were over.

“Geez. Your timing is impeccable,” I said as he got off my back.

“I pride myself on it.”

“Yeah, I see that,” I sat on the floor.

“What can I say? I’ve been training for years. Here.” He handed me bandages.

I started applying them, “I guess that separates you from the rest of us.”

“It just means I can protect my team if need be,” he laughed, “You weren’t too shabby. You’re pretty slow, though. Endurance training and cardio would probably be good for you, but that’s not my forte. I’m assuming you already predicted this, but you’ll be good for long-range combat. Your fire can surely pack a punch.”

He helped me to my feet, “That’s fair. I’m pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, though, aren't I?”

We started walking out the door, “Uhm, stick to long range.”

I looked back at the others. Another girl had joined them. They were all laughing about something. Her smile was contagious, reaching up to her eyes. She stood up straight despite her short stature and held her head up high. Her cocky attitude wasn’t lost on me. She was the second in command.