Alita POV
I got another email today. I'm supposed to be in a conference room at 9:00 today. That sort of puts a damper on my plans of doing paperwork, but okay. They've let me keep on being a researcher, they think I can handle the stress. And I can. I absolutely can.
I should make a good impression. It's a conference room. I might be meeting someone important. Adjust my tie, put a pen in my pocket for note-taking, and take a breath. I've got this. My door is open, and I've got an escort. I've got this.
This Site feels even colder than the last. I don't know if it's the ever-present danger or if the
A/C is malfunctioning, but it's freezing. "Ah, Alita! Meet your new team!", a woman calls from inside the room.
New team? I had heard of it. I guess I will finally meet them now. I go inside, to see six people sitting down at a table. "Is this her?", a man with wavy blonde hair, tan skin, and blue eyes asks, spinning around in his office chair.
"I'm told you're my team?", I ask. Half of them look very nervous. All of them look young, save for the scarred woman and the brown-hairs man with the glasses. They look about thirty. The woman has deep scars running down her face, neck, and arms. Claw marks.
The scarred woman shakes my hand. "Kathy Silver. I think I'm the only experienced one here.", she says. "Really? Why the hell would they send new recruits for something so important?", I ask.
"Hey, Sniper! It's the new gal!", the blonde guy jokes. What kind of a name is Sniper? "My name's Emily!", a girl with curly brown hair and pale skin shouts back.
"After hitting that guy with that dart, you don't deserve to have a name!", he replies. "I'm sorry. I'm sniper-trained, I suck at it.", Emily says.
What the fuck? They sent me a sniper that can't do her job? It's like they want me to fail. O5, what the fuck? "Okay, what are your names?", I ask everyone.
"I'm Sophia Lakewood. I'm new.", a girl with straight black hair and short uneven nails says, her voice rather shaky. "David Brooks. I just got this job.", the older guy with the glasses replies, shaking my hand.
"I'm Caleb, Caleb Porter. I've had this job for maybe a year now, been on a few missions. Glad to serve.", a man with curly brown hair and an arm full of tattoos tells me. "I'm Kyle, that's Sniper over there.", the blonde guy says, pointing at Emily. He sounds arrogant. I don't like that.
"Don't listen to him. Caleb calls him Graceful because he got drunk and fell down a flight of stairs. They were in the same unit.", Kathy says, pointing to Kyle.
"So, does anyone else have any nicknames I should know?", I ask them.
"Caleb's Book Boy, he missed a breach alarm because he was reading. David's Family Man, he's here to support his wife and kids. Keep him alive, will ya? Sophia's Shy Gal, cause she's shy as fuck with new people. Caleb and her are dating I think.", Kathy replies, pointing to each member as she tells their name.
"And what about you?", I ask Kathy. "Oh, her? She's Fang. That's cause she fist-fought an SCP-939 instance as a guard, or that's what she told us. She kept a fang that got lodged in her arm. Barely got out alive.", Caleb replies, absent-mindedly picking at his arm.
"I was an idiot and ignored protocol. That fucker killed my best friend and had the audacity to mimic her voice. I went looking and found that thing. They let me keep the tooth.", Kathy says, holding out a red fang attached to a leather string around her neck.
"Puts my shark tooth to shame.", Kyle comments, tugging at the shark-tooth necklace on a bracelet I hadn't seen until now. It fits him quite nicely, his whole surfer-boy aesthetic.
"Whoa. So, exactly how many of you are new recruits? Under a year of service.", I ask the group. Caleb, Emily, Kyle, Sophia, and David raise their hands. Why would they send so many new recruits to such an important team?
A voice in my head tells me that maybe someone on the O5 Council doesn't want me to do well. Perhaps the same O5 that opposed to my addition to the MTF? Well, whoever the voice is, thanks. It's female, sounds quite like Alexandra actually.
"Well, no matter. All you'll really need to do is give me cover and learn to get the hell out of my way. If we're ever in a bad spot I can flip out with this cool little knife I have. Bad part is I can't tell friend from foe using it. I know, stupid. But I didn't make the knife rules.", I say, masking my un-comfort with the fact that someone may be trying to sabotage me.
I've found that I'm not in a panic, the knife is perfectly safe. I can hold it, spin it, throw it at a dartboard. I summon it now, the cold metal feeling just right in my hand. "Whoa. That's cool.", Kyle comments.
They look so... surprised with the anomalous? I don't think this will end well. But I feel attached already to them. A man who wants to support his family loves them so much that he's come here?
A woman fist-fought an SCP to get revenge? She broke protocol? Two Agents Date? They have nicknames? I must keep them alive. I can tell, they have a bond. They may not be skilled, but they have something for them.
An attachment. One would kill for the other. I would kill and die for all of them. That's what a commander should do. I'll lead them all into hellfire but I'll make sure they come out. Whether I come out is a matter of circumstances.
Them surviving is paramount. I don't have a choice in who I ally with. I can only make the best of it. And if orders lead us to Hell and back, I'll give my blood, my sweat, and my soul to make sure they see the Sun again.
Because when have I ever not been a tool to use? I'm just being used differently now. And what good is a tool that gets its users killed? No good at all.
Emily, Kyle, Kathy, David, Caleb, Sophia. Their names are etched into whatever reality-breaking mess makes up my soul. MTF Omega-7, Team Alita. We are ready for service. And I'm ready to die for them.
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The Anomalous Researcher
Hayran Kurgu-IF YOU SEE THIS UNDER THE SAME TITLE ON AO3, DO NOT WORRY. IT'S ME REPOSTING IT THERE- Don't leave a site without authorization. That's the only rule. Well, there were once other rules as well. But those other rules went out the window when she...
