Nevermore: The Secret Order

Chapter 13 - Friends Like These

The American sector or AMS for short has shown a tremendous increase in activities as of the previous weeks. All of which were tied to this unnamed faction they've had frequent encounters with. Given the recent developments, the ATR unit was granted use of the an old board room that has remained untouched for years, as well as increased clearance levels and access to more resources. As for their current activities, Vas and Yelena have started to undergo their training. Both showed promise despite their flaws. Vas' being the more obvious ones. For one, he simply prefers to go head on without any regard for orders. And he seems to have issues with authority. Yelena is a pacifist for the most part. She appears to dislike direct confrontation but has no problem using any means of disorientation and her ability to mend anyone will undoubtedly be an asset in the field.

"That's a wrap. Can someone please grab a robe or towel for Mr. Branton." said Director Maia via the audio system.

Vas stood in the middle of the ballistic testing chamber with his skin still smoldering next to Neve and Yelena who both took a couple of paces back. It's not everyday when a man engulfs himself in flames and incinerates his own clothing in the process. Or so they thought. This may in fact become norm in due time.

"That's the third time today." said Raven as he stood next to the frustrated Director. "I'm pretty sure we have something in the agent's code of conduct about indecent exposure."

"The guy loves to go in all guns blazing and whenever he goes all out, he burns everything he's wearing." said Neil. "I've seen his bits more than that of any man's privates in one seating. Even more than my partner's bits."

"You're getting a free peepshow." said Raven. "I feel like I'm being punished for everything wrong I've ever done in my life in a single afternoon. And I'm tired of this shit."

"Doesn't really bother me. Although I kept underlining the words utmost discretion." said Neil. "There's nothing subtle or discreet about a guy that looks like the devil taking a piss out in the open only to walk out of it like he just waltzed out of a nudist beach."

"What's shakin'?" said Brent as he entered the control room with Raven, Neil and the Director present while carrying three pizza boxes. "I managed to grab these on the way back here. I miss anything?"

Raven responded by pointing at the ballistics test chamber below.

Brent watched as a still nude Vas tried to help Yelena up who responded by simply covering her eyes from such a sight. He then turned his attention back to everyone else in the room.

"I did not need to see that." said Brent.

"Welcome to the club buddy." said Raven before breaking into a laugh. "HR's gonna have a field day after this."

An agent finally made it down to the training dome carrying a white bathrobe. The team recalled that Conrad mentioned working on something in order to prevent these instances and everyone hopes it's some sort of a heatproof clothing that their new pyro-kinetic recruit could use in training and on the field.

Vas has shown tremendous raw power so far. This is undoubtedly an asset on the field. He also appears to have a firm grasp of his ability. While he has shown control over his powers, he shows little ability to follow protocol and often preferring to "wing it." This was one issue that they'll have to remedy.

With the exception of Vas giving the Director a headache whether he intended to or not, the rest of the day was a lot more peaceful than most.

The next day, Raven managed to take some time to himself which had become quite a rare luxury at this point. In light of the occasion, he opted to leave his contact lenses back and slide his glasses back on. It somehow gave him a sense of comfort. One he had not felt in a while now.