Argent Eye IV

15

I arrived at work the next morning quite promptly, having gone to bed early that night. I'd gone home, totally shattered, having only enough natural energy to make myself some food and have a shower before jumping into bed.

I let myself into the SED sector for the first time, using my newly printed ID card that Stark had given me just before I left the day before, and my handprint for the elevator, before I walked down the stairs in the converted underground bunker. When I got to the bottom, there was a girl standing there, with her arms behind her back. She wore what I assumed was the combat uniform around here, with tight black cargo trousers and a short sleeved top, and an empty utility belt around her waist. I could see that there were holsters for all kinds of weapons, although I couldn't be sure which weapons they would be. She also had big, chunky combat boots on. What struck me the most, however, was her pale skin. It wasn't like the usual kind of pale, like mine, though. I couldn't help but notice an eerie kind of glow to it.

Then again, it could have just been a trick of the light down here.

By the way the girl smiled at me, I assumed that it was me she was waiting for.

"Hey, Millie." She said, approaching me. She had black hair with dark red highlights in it, tied in a thick, messy braid that flopped over her shoulder.

"Hi." I smiled, worried for a moment that perhaps we'd been introduced yesterday but I'd not paid any attention to her name.

But, then she held her hand out. "My name's Tina." She said. "I'm gonna be your mentor."

I took her hand. "Oh, hi." I said. "Nice to meet you."

"And you." She said. "I have to say, I'm quite excited to be working with you."

I chuckled, not sure what to say.

"Anyway, come with me." She said, and started leading me through the computer space.

"So it's true?" She asked after a moment.

I frowned. "What is?"

"That you can control all of the elements?" She asked. "You're one of those Argent people, right? Meaning it's not normal for you to manipulate more than one element?"

"Oh." I said. "Yeah, I can do that. And no, it's not normal."

She laughed. "Awesome."

"And you? Are you an Argent?" I knew she wasn't, but I didn't know what else to ask.

"Do I look like an Argent to you?" She turned, but she was amused.

I chuckled. "I mean, no, but I didn't know what question to ask."

She smiled. "Around here, it's pretty normal to ask someone what they are. It's not considered rude or anything like that." She assured me.

Then, we bumped into Stark, and our conversation was momentarily forgotten.

"Ah, I see you two are already acquainted." Stark said, seemingly happy. "That's one less job for me." He turned to me then. "Anyway, I want you to go out with Tina today. She's been assigned a small task, and I think it would be good for you to start going out in the field."

I frowned. "Already?"

"Yes." Stark said. "We tend to cater our agent's training on a case by case basis. For you, I think it would be more beneficial for you to learn on the job. You'll still spend a lot of time here, but today it would be good to see how you react in the field."

"Okay, sure." I said, surprised that I'd be leaving the base so soon. After all, I'd only been here a day.

"Only if that's okay with you?" Stark said. "If you're uncertain about any of the decisions I make regarding your training, you must tell me. After all, not everyone trains the same."