Initiation

Chapter 20: Bloodlines

     Xavier takes me out a separate black door leading away from the entrance Sam and I came in. We enter into a short, windowless hall that has three other doors. We pass the first two that are directly across each other on either side of the hall. Xavier reaches out and opens the third and final door at the end of the hall. I pass him, careful to remain from touching him. I hated that tingly sensation, it unsettled me.

     I enter the room and my mouth gapes open for a second before I can pull myself together. Six, leather, high backed chairs are placed evenly around the large and ovoid, mahogany desk. A massive screen that nearly covers the entire wall hangs from the ceiling.

"Go ahead and sit down." Xavier offers while pulling out the farthest chair; which was located at the head of the table. I nearly jump at his voice, and give him a side eyed glance before sitting down. A sudden surge of power and respect washes over me.

     Argon most likely doesn't realize how efficient the League could be. Even as an enemy I could respect them for their gear, agents who serve, even if it means to die, and the sheer vastness of the organization. When I broke out of here, I had to warn him of the League's secrets. A humming noise breaks me out of my daze. The screen flashes to life seconds later.

     "Now Chloe," Xavier starts, "I will be playing two clips on the screen at once. See if you can pick out any differences. When you do, wait until the end, then tell me what you saw."

I nod once and lean forward in the chair. Xavier walks to the front of the room. I hear the faint clicking of keys from the laptop situated on top of a podium. Moments later the screen flickers to life.

     Sure enough, two videos pop up on a dual screen. I see myself on the left side and wonder how I hadn't noticed that I was being recorded. The right side of the screen must be an older video, the image quality was not as vibrant. A relatively young woman stands in the center a small gym.

     My posture straightens, while my eyes widen. The woman and I are nearly mirror images of each other. She was a lot more graceful and smoother with the arm movements than I was. The videos had to be slower than the live footage in order for me to see this kind of detail. I did notice however, that we had different techniques, but the same formation.

     The woman had no need to form a shield above her. Her attack is so thorough, her lavender aura blasted the octopus-shaped tentacles away in one, swift movement. At the end, Xavier clicks a key on the laptop and the video stops. I lean back and stare at the smooth desk surface as my mind reels. How could we have the same move? She couldn't have copied me, that wasn't possible. The League was the first place I completed this move outside of Argon's warehouses.

"You are perplexed." Xavier states.

Perplexed was an understatement. "Who the heck is she? How did she copy my move?"

He smiles at my questions. "More like you copied her move." My eyes narrow at his accusation. "Let me explain. The video on the right is of my sister- your mom, seventeen years ago. She was nine-teen at the time and had just become a level 4 agent while I became a level 5." Xavier explains with a longing look in his eyes.

     "She wanted desperately to be like me, but in order to be a level 5, you have to be at least twenty-one years old. She claimed that just because she was two years younger than the age limit- didn't mean she couldn't be a level 5 agent already." Xavier pauses to chuckle. "She always had an unwavering spirit. I decided then, that we should test the theory, so we ended up battling."

"Your mom ended up beating me for the first time that day. Her determination and burning spirit never dulled. That was the first time she ever completed our family's trademark move so efficiently, and she never let me live that moment down..." Xavier becomes quiet.