Unexpected

Psychologists and Super Spies

To be honest, I had completely forgotten about my psychological evaluation. I mean, it made sense that they wanted to make sure all incoming agents were right in the head, but at the same time, I had stuff to hide, namely all I knew and felt about Loki! Throwing on a smile I begrudgingly followed behind Agent Hill anyways, trying to calm myself down with deep breaths as I listened to Maria.

"Considering what we do in this agency, the choices we have to make and the things we encounter, we make sure to have a psychologist on the payroll at all times. They've been pretty busy ever since the invasion, but it looks like an appointment canceled or something since you've been bumped up this early." She stopped at a little kitchen area that must be a break room, "You didn't eat or anything before coming here right? With your physical and all?"

"No, I haven't."

"Have a muffin." She said, nodding to a small basket of them sitting at a round table, "Coffee?"

"No thanks." I said, turning down the coffee as I plucked a blueberry muffin from the basket.

"Water then?" Maria opened a small fridge and pulled out a clear plastic bottle.

"Please." I ate as I followed her out of the break room and to the elevator. We rose a few levels and made our way along a fogged glass-lined hallway of offices until she stopped at a door.

"I'm not allowed in for this portion. I'll be out here trying to see if your trainer will be in today so you can meet. Once you're done I'll take you to the cafeteria for lunch, then I'll give you your tour."

"Sounds like a plan." I assented before entering the office.

It was a small room with two comfy beige chairs and a love seat in the center. Along the back of the room, in front of the back wall that was almost entirely made of a single window, was a desk where a middle aged Arabian looking man sat at a computer. He looked up with a surprised expression at the click of the door as it opened.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should- uh, should have knocked!" I stammered, already feeling my manufactured calmness slip.

"It's no problem at all!" he said standing up and coming over to shake my hand, "You're just in time for your appointment Miss..."

I shook his hand, trying to make it as firm and confidant as I could, "Penelope Copper."

"Pleased to meet you. May I call you Penny?"

"Yeah."

"Please sit." He waved to the cushy furniture in the center of the room. Once I had settled down in one of the chairs and had put my crutches to the side, he took the chair across from me, "So Penny, you're here for a psych eval to become an agent, eh?"

"Yep." Was all I could manage as I tried to keep my nervousness at bay.

"Wonderful. Now I want you to know that you are completely safe here, that the specifics of what we talk about here will be kept between you and me. There're no cameras, no recorders, just the two of us, and at the end of the evaluation I'll only share whether I think you are mentally and emotionally ready for the job at hand. Okay?"

I nodded.

"So, tell me about yourself, Penny. Where are you from?"

I ended up telling him about growing up in Michigan with my grandparents then moving to New York for college, which led to me having to explain why I lived with my grandparents and not my parents and about my childhood. He then asked what I had gone to college for, why I had followed the path I had, and what things I wanted for my future. This lead to me telling him that I wasn't sure about my future, that my whole world had been turned upside down since my kidnapping, and he responded with questions about my time in the underground lair, about how I felt about the rape attempt, how I'd felt in each of my situations, especially with the stress of being in direct contact with Loki, and why I had fought after my escape instead of running away. He asked me how I've handled myself since all this and the invasion happened. I told him I felt I was doing well.