Evolutionize

Chapter I

“Will you try to be quiet?!” Lillian called behind her, her voice dangerous.

“In due time!” Sera snapped, panting heavily in reply, “But White House roofs aren’t really the easiest of obstacles.” She pointed out, slipping on the dome for the 6th time.

“Oh, you’re HOPELESS, Sera.” Lillian sighed, pulling her friend up with expert ease. “Crap.” The taller girl grunted. “We’re attracting attention.”

“Well, YOU were the one who decided to wear black while we tried to break into the White House!” Sera snapped, whose curly chocolate hair looked like dark crimson blood in the light of the moon.

“We blend with the night sky!” Lillian retorted.

“Fine, we’re here, now what?” Sera asked, sitting with her back to the spire. “Wait, why are we here again? We literally abandoned our last Mission. And for what? To do some life-threating roof-hopping?”

“As if we do anything that isn’t life-threatening. Save your stupid questions for the guys.”

Sera glared at her. They had never met the all-male specialty unit. It had always been just them girls, for all they knew; the guys could be British princes or complete jerk-faces. “It was sarcasm. Now, really, why are we here?”

“Ugh. We’ve been over this a million times-“

“Maybe in your head...”

“- We’re going to a KIO secret meeting for our new mission and we have to have our skills tested. It’s like a fatal pop-quiz. Not even the President knows about this.”

“Stupid place to have it.” Sera grumbled, spying a sunroof nearby.” Has Momo disabled-“

“Don’t insult me, of course I did.” Momo hissed, poking her head through the sunroof, dressed completely in black spy gear that went well with her raven hair and mocha skin. “Now get down here, you ding-dongs, the meetings about to start!”

Sera stuck her tongue at Momo, “Geez, no need for such language...” She and Lillian jumped through the sunroof, landing without a sound in the middle of a long table surrounded by visibly smart and athletic kids. The girls slid into their seats, eyeing their company.

Mrs. Lyra cleared her throat, briskly. “Now that everyone is here.” She shot an icy glare at the newcomers. “Let’s begin the meeting.

“This is Operation Exterminate, and because of the difficulty and possible death rate of this Mission; I have chosen not one specialty group, but two.”

Collective gasps erupted from both sides of the room. Needing more than one specialty group was unheard of. What problem would need 10 of the world’s top prodigies?  The KIO, Kids Intelligence Agency trained children of world-class spies and assassins from all over the earth. Specialty groups were groups of 5 to 7 teens, raging in ages 16 to 17 that had excelled in intelligence, strength and stealth all their lives. There had always been just 2, girls and boys. And never before had a problem arouse that had needed them both.

Ignoring them, Mrs. Lyra continued, “Your mission is to track down a group of, say, poachers that proudly call themselves The Evolutionists.” She held up a pamphlet describing the organization in bright green font and bubbly letters. Their logo was an infinity sign with snake eyes. “Basically, they believe that the human race is worthless as mammals. They just don’t like mammals’ period, they want to re-revolutionize the world.”

“What?!” Lillian shrieked. “That’s just suicidal!”

“Exactly.” Mrs. Lyra replied darkly. “If they value how human evolution so much, they must have a secret plan we don’t know about. Your job is to infiltrate their headquarters, and stop them before they go through with it. And also, Miss Lillian, I would advise you not talk back to your superiors.”

A few sympathetic glances were offered from her team, but the boys on the other side of the table were snickering quietly.

Mrs. Lyra looked at the agents, “For this mission, in which you,” she stared pointedly at the boys, “will be helping the girls-”

They groaned.

“Agents Will and Lillian will be Captains. Corey’s medicine. Daisy, you’re combat. Momo and James are technicians. Lucas, you’re weapons. Lena’s a tracker. As for Seth and Sera, do what you want. Expect to be joined by Agent Noelle, who is finishing up a solo mission in Russia. Remember why you are here, each and every one of you scored at least and IQ of 180.  Play nice.”

Mrs. Lyra turned and walked out of the room.

The two teams remained at the table, staring each other down. Finally, a boy with spiky brown hair broke the silence.

“How about we take care of the poachers and you girls can just run a long and try to keep out of our way.” It was more of a command than a question.

Sera glared at him.  “Seth, is it?”

The boy narrowed his eyes.

“Well, Seth. Thanks for your input. But we’ve got a mission to do, and we’ve got to get started, if you don’t mind, we’ll take the poachers and so you can play your little video games.”

Corey bristled after this comment. “Are you kidding me? We’re not going to be second best to a bunch of girls!”

“That is possibly the most sexist comment I have ever heard.” seethed Lena. Everyone looked in surprise at the small blond girl who had been sitting so quietly before. From the look on Daisy’s face, this was not normal Lena behavior.

“We can do this mission with or without you, and I’d be willing to bet we’ll finish first.”

That was too far. Every boy will rise to a good bet- and a chance to prove it.

“You’re on.” Corey said smiling nastily. Lucas spoke up. “I bet we can do it years before you can!”

“The average mission takes 4 months max!” argued Daisy, standing up resentfully.

Seth’s face was relaxed, “Either way, they’re still female. This will be easy.” he told James, ignoring the girls completely.

“Thou art the son and heir of a mongrel bitch.” Sera spit.

“Shakespearean, what too scared for big-girl words?”

“I think you were the one with the 180 IQ. Only an moron would take it this far. You’ve already underestimated five people, simply because of their gender. You need to learn some respect.”

Before the other teens could react to her comment, Sera reached across the table and smacked Seth across the face.

Stunned silence. The only person who didn’t miss a beat was Will. “You hit like a girl.” he sneered.

“Move out, men.”

The silence was so tense it felt like it would snap. Momo looked like she was fighting off a temper tantrum and fainting at the same time.

Lena was perched in her chair, like a bird, ready to peck someone’s eyes out; ideally Corey. Next to her, Daisy fingered her dark braids, occasionally glancing at Lucas. Sera held her chin up as Seth passed her, her eyes steel. Will and Lillian intentionally bumped shoulders, glaring at each other with raw, undisguised hate.