Absolution

2. Shockwave Central.

Morrigan took a moment to glare at the other two in the room. 
The annoying guy that'd been pestering her just a while ago was sitting in the far corner, looking ecstatically happy that she was in their squad. Morrigan curled her lip in disgust at him, she was already sick of seeing his freckly face, strawberry blond hair and large blue eyes.
The guy beside him seemed a lot more respectful and dignified, he was so tall Morrigan knew he towered above everyone else in the squad, and his eyes matched his dark skin. He had stubble covering his jaw, but no hair on his scalp. 
Morrigan decided to address the tall man first.
"Hi." she said with confidence, holding out her hand to shake. The man stood up to greet her, shaking her hand firmly. He bowed his head.
"I'm Ray. I've heard rumours about your skill on the battlefield. It's an honour to meet you." he said, his deep voice filling the whole room.

"Morrigan." she nodded, "Thank you. You seem like a skilled fighter yourself. I look forward to joining you in combat." she fought hard with herself to present as professional, but really she wanted to just turn around and leave. 
Ray looked surprised upon hearing her name. 
"You're a girl?" he asked, one eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I am. Is that an issue?" Morrigan retorted.

"No, not at all. There's another girl in the squad. I think you'd get along. She should be back any moment now." Ray said quickly, now slightly embarrassed by his puzzlement. 
Morrigan was finally beginning to come to terms with joining a squad, and even though she would much rather work alone, maybe she did need the security that a squad provides. 
She nodded in reply to Ray, before the other soldier decided it would be a good time to get on her nerves again.
"I'm such a fan! I know about all the great things you've done and I think you're amazing! Nobody else loves you as much as I do!" He blurted, trembling with excitement.
Morrigan furrowed her eyebrows in vague annoyance, letting out a loud sigh.
"I'm Klein!" he burst out, almost throwing his hand at Morrigan.
She pushed his hand back towards him and went back to her position across the room. 

The rest of the squad strolled into the bunker casually, then realised there was an extra person waiting for them. The one in front reached for her gun straight away, ready to defend herself.
"Who's this?" she demanded to know.
"Who's this?" Klein shrieked, "How can you not know?!" 
"Shut up and sit down, Klein." she snapped.
"I'm Morrigan, or you may know me as The Owl. Either is fine." Morrigan introduced.
"Uzo." the girl replied, "I'm assuming you're a part of our squad now?" 
"She is! Isn't it great!" Klein interrupted again.

"Klein!" Everybody shouted collectively in his direction.

He recoiled and silently sulked while everybody came in and sat down.
"I believe introductions are needed." Ray said.
"Of course." Uzo replied, shooting a glare at the two people to her right.
The lanky, tanned guy with long, dirty blond dreads panicked a little, unsure of how to properly introduce himself. It became apparent that this squad wasn't used to working with new people.
"Uh, I- Um, I'm Jeffrey, hi." he struggled to say.
"Hi." Morrigan responded without enthusiasm. Jeffrey's green eyes, flecked with brown, were trained nervously on Morrigan.
"The name's Kwang-Joon." The other said casually. He was short, with a chubby face but slender body. His hair was bleach-blond and cut in a way that allowed his fringe to fall into his face, close to covering his eyes. His eyes were narrow, displaying an obvious coldness which hid something that Morrigan couldn't quite pin-point. 
Before anyone could say anything else, an ear-splitting bang erupted from outside, the shockwave causing the bunker to tremble. 
Everybody grabbed their arms and headed outside to see what the commotion was. 

They emerged from the bunker in time to see something dropped from a plane in the distance. Klein let out a shriek and tried to dive back into the bunker, but Ray grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back. 
Suddenly a soldier dressed in beige came at Uzo, and before anyone could even blink she whipped out a Desert Eagle and blew his brains out. Jeffrey dropped to his knees and searched the body, pulling out a small object that bore resemblance to a spider. 
"This," he said, "Is not good." 
"What is it?" Klein asked.
"It's a stunner. These little pointy things pierce your flesh and aren't designed to come back out. If anyone puts one on you, you're good as dead." he explained.
"Oh." Klein breathed.

They were hiding in the ruins of the nearest village, which were still standing, but barely. The place was desolate, as it had been fled by the inhabitants long ago. 
Uzo noticed a squad of soldiers heading towards the village. 
"Quick." she hissed, "Get ready to shoot when they come close." 
"No need." Morrigan whispered back, smirking.
"How so?" Uzo questioned.
"I can take them out." 
"From 600M? Fat chance." 
"She can do it!" Klein squealed.
Morrigan stepped forward and position her rifle on the window ledge, the pane of glass no longer there. 
She located the target through the scope, and took a shot. She didn't wait to watch the man fall as she reloaded and shot again. She hadn't managed to take them all out as the remaining two began to sprint towards the area, with another squad coming up behind. 
"Well, you almost managed it." Uzo said with surprise. "You didn't account for the other squad, or the reaction timing of the other members of the first squad though." 
"They don't know where we are. It's okay." Morrigan reassured them. 

Then a grenade exploded from the adjoining house, forcing the wall to buckle and cave inwards on top of them.