Many people were talking to each other about the new Chrona Riftworks Protocol recruits while in a cafeteria. It was 6:53 A.M. The cafeteria itself was buzzing and huge, filled with countless voices overlapping, rising and falling. It looked as if it was cleaned thoroughly, boasting spotless metal tables arranged in neat rows, a huge glass window that lined the far wall, revealing the morning light to see the outside. Near it was the seven different lines that offered different regional cuisines: Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Italian, German, French, and American

  At one of the many tables near the middle of the room, a group of boys were talking to each other over a recent incident involving Division 3’s horrible company –a failed trial that went horribly wrong, leading to the deaths of fifty percent or more innocent bystanders that were caught in the cross-fire

  “Apparently, they’re selecting a huge group of new recruits to replace Division 3. Maybe even a new captain!” one of the boys said, grinning wide at the hope of being near the big divisions

  “Really? I thought they already had a powerhouse captain,” another said

  “No, that’s Division 0 you’re thinking of. That strong woman, Aisling O'Dana. Division 3 and their captain were all fired for negligence, disorderly conduct, and unauthorized use of weapons,” another boy explained

  “Hahahahaha!! What a waste of a division,” they laughed

  “I swear, hahahahaha!!” laughed the first boy. “Division 3 has only been filled with complete idiots. It was just full of people that shouldn’t have even applied. I’m surprised they even made it through the process.”

  They all continued to laugh and taunt the incident, echoing from their table. Some people side eyed them in annoyance. Others mocked their laughter. A boy was sitting to himself near the corner of the cafeteria, uninterested in their conversation. He was eating a burger while listening to rap music, black headphones firmly kept on his head, and scrolling through social media and the news. He had a gray hoodie, black pants, and gray shoes with a black design on the inner and outer sides. He had his hood up, covering most of his face, but some strands of his hair were shown to be blonde–tinged with yellow–peeking out. His gray eyes looked bored with everything. They appeared dull-like and emotionless, as if he was a corpse reanimated

  “BOOM-BLAZE, check the soundwave now!

  The striker’s in, so don’t test how I get down.

  Grip the mic tight—shiftin' into overdrive,

  I spit heat, no retreat, just raw live.

  Steel in my style, locked in and blastin',

  I move swift, bold—built to be everlastin'.

  Thoughts aged in fire, now they flow in lines,

  Heavy with the wordplay, sharpened with time,” played the music

  The screen of his phone was filled with reports of anomaly outbreaks all over the country. Some being mere small things, like innocent anomaly creatures that could be handled by citizens or even angry children, to creatures capable of destroying houses and structures that needed explosive firearms to be normally dealt with. He turned off his phone, shoving it into his hoodie pocket, taking a bite out of the burger

  “I wonder if I’ll get to meet her again in this place…,”

  These anomalies have been appearing since the dawn of time. They have punctuated the fabric of our world, appearing without a given warning and defying the comprehension of our planet. These creatures have always been unpredictable, ranging from harmless entities that wouldn’t even cause harm to a newborn baby, to devastating creatures capable of leveling cities if given the chance. These anomalies aren’t exactly hard to find. They make a ripple in the dimension – pocket realities that they’re tethered to. They could happen anywhere. A bustling city, a remote field, an abandoned warehouse, or even in the heart of family houses. Each and every ripple has a command hidden under the evil in order to rebirth the given dimension, in case they hold something humans may need, such as treasures, relics, and technology. But, they do not go down without a fight. Old folklore and old tales speak of brave people who ventured into these ripples, finding new people, friends, treasure… or their ends. Many people have drawn conclusions to why they exist. Some commented that they were created by the gods to observe or punish, some believed they were a curse, and others believed they were a test… a test of either to adapt to new circumstances – or perish beneath

  The weaker anomalies were captured when on the run and even hid from some humans. Some anomalies were mythical creatures, like fairies, dwarves, hobbits, and even liquid star-like substances that took the form of animals and acted like such. They were harmless, but due to the factors of other harmful anomalies, they were seen as a danger. Many mythical creatures were created because of Anomalies, including elves, minotaurs, centaurs, mermaids, and dryads. Throughout history, humans have been reminded that this world, no matter how much they advance, they could never truly rule this planet. They were later labeled as “Trials”, due to a man by the name of Dean Sanders learning and studying anomalies. It fits them the most, compared to what others suspected them as. Another man, Nolan Oliver, also gave different insight about what these Trials hold. He studied about the behavior of them to get a better understanding of how they function. Dean and Nolan came together and founded the Chrona Riftworks Protocol, a government funded organization, to handle these anomalies. These two have developed specialized technology and gadgets made to combat the more aggressive ripples, having a scale from Elementary School all the way to God Level. Some angry anomalies still are around to this day, such as the Super Human level anomaly, a Ghost anomaly from way back in the Gilded Age, and even a female Demon anomaly that arose during the American Revolution. The highest ever seen throughout history was the infamous Forbidden Outlaw level, which was capable of destroying cities as child’s play, but was one of the few talked about due to its horrifying awakening. The Forbidden Outlaw was said to be a berserk giant who still holds the rage after being separated from the human it was supposed to take care of, but because of the persecution, the human was taken away. It has never came back since… but it still lurks in its ripple

  “Can all tryout participants please report to the ceremony room?” the intercoms blared

  The cafeteria instantly erupted into a frenzy. People rushed to the exit, pushing and shoving ach other as if they were unimportant. All except the boy. He looked unamused and rather uninterested. He’d looked disgusted, giving off the vibe he regrets applying here. His hoodie stayed on his head, making sure to keep a low profile. When no one was looking his way, he faded away into thin air. He spawned in a chair, sitting with his arms inside the pocket of his hoodie. People flooded in like a water faucet, taking in every seat they could. By the time everyone was situated, the lights dimmed. The ceremony room was incredibly big. The flooring was a beautiful white marble, polished gray concrete walls, and a high vaulted ceiling. At the front of the room, there stood a stage, covered by a huge white curtain with the words, “Chrona Riftworks Protocol” imprinted in gray and outlined in black, stretching across the fabric like a banner

  The lights above the stage turned on. A slightly tall woman emerged from behind the curtain. She looked incredibly beautiful and elegant, taking the stand with a warm and welcoming smile. She had dyed plum purple hair that was braided into a French fishtail, swaying slightly from side to side as she walked. Behind her circular glasses, she had bright periwinkle eyes. Her smile stretched from ear to ear with pure happiness. She wore a pristine plain white trench coat over a black shirt, paired with a white pleated skirt, and tall black heeled boots. Taking the podium, she adjusted the microphone, clearing her throat, and relaxing with a quick exhale

  “Welcome, everyone, to the Chrona Riftworks Protocol tryouts!” announced the director. She had an obvious French accent in her soothing voice. “I’m thrilled to announce that a majority of you will be chosen today as new recruits! For most of you, this will be the start of something extraordinary! Maybe even a new captain will be chosen if you’re lucky~!”

  The room buzzed with cheers and murmurs of excitement

  “Settle down. Settle down,” she chimed. “Now, as you know, Trials have been occurring throughout history for centuries with no end. They have plagued the world, constantly interrupting events and people sadly falling victim to their outbursts. As a member here in C.R.P., you’ll have to fight and protect the innocent people of Atlanta, Georgia from these Trials. The upcoming challenges are designed to test your strength, intelligence, resolve, and independence. Only the best shall succeed!”

  The boy’s music drowned out her words. The music playing in his ears was something he used to listen to when he was younger

  “Call me a wild one—bet you knew.

  Kickin’ the glovebox, screamin’ through.

  Hangin’ from the window, feel that thrill,

  Engine’s on fire, I’m chasin’ the kill.

  Engine’s on fire, I’m chasin’ the kill.

  Sirens on us, they’re closin’ in fast,

  I’ll break every law just to get us to last.

  High on the rush and this backseat beat,

  Floatin’ like smoke with the pedal to steel.

  Runnin’ it hot ‘til the tank runs dry—

  Ain’t stoppin’ now, we just kiss the sky!” his music blared into his ears

  He leaned back in his chair, scanning the room lazily. His eyes glanced between each participant–each one indistinguishable from the next. All boring. All nervous. All the same. He manifested a spicy beef stick out of thin air. No one bats an eye, or even notices. Two men entered the stage from behind the curtain. They both were dressed sharply in black suits, blue ties, black pants, and dark brown leather shoes. One had dirty blonde hair, slicked back neatly, and the other had light brown cut short. They stood next to her, standing like bodyguards

  “My name is Makayla Bowman, and I’m honored to announce this is the official start of the tryouts! Now without further delay, time to throw in one hundred percent of effort and be accepted into C.R.P! The door to your right will lead you to your first challenge!. We hope you all qualify! Good luck everyone!” Makayla cheered. She gestured to the far door next to the entrance. The room erupts into another frenzy of applause and cheers for her. They scatter like ants to the room. The boy stayed silent for a bit, thinking over some things before he picked up the presence of someone familiar and dear to him. He froze in surprise. He was relieved for a moment

  “Hmph… so she’s here,” he muttered under his breath. For a split second, a sharp grin stretched from ear to ear across his face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He shook the feeling off, joining the others in the room over

  The next room was much different. The obvious thing standing out was an actual ripple. Its fractured edges shimmered like a broken mirror in the middle of the room. A cosmic aura emits off from it, giving a cold and warm feel at the same time. A star-like glow makes the ripple stand out more

  An instructor stepped through the doors behind the ripple. He dusted off his clothes before standing up straight, his arms folded behind his back. He was tall, wearing a white lab coat, glasses, black pants, and brown leather shoes. His ginger hair was parted to the side. His voice was deep, calm, and held authority. “This is a stimulated anomaly that we often use for new participants. This one is made to test if you can retract an artifact by challenging your strength, adaptability, and strategy. We do allow teamwork, but it’s not required to pass,” he explained, glancing over at everyone. “You’ll pass if you actually put in effort to help others or yourself advance in this simulation. Before you start, each of you must equip an armband so we can monitor you. It’s a safety precaution, not a trap.”

  Everyone glanced at each other before reluctantly nodding. There was a booth next to them with the armbands laid out and ready to go. The boy waited for all the others to get out of his way before grabbing one himself. Each armband was a thin, sleek band of polished metal. Its surface was embedded with designs that were glowing with white plasma flowing through it. He slides it on his right arm, seeing an empty black screen on the underside of it. He eventually jumps in with everyone else. The armband beeps. When he goes to look, he sees it was reading and displaying his information

  Name: Fionn O'Dana

  Age: 18

  Birth: 04/01

  Sex: Male

  Height: 6’1

  Weight: 82kg

  Hair Color: Blonde

  Eye Color: Green

  Ethnicity: Unidentified [Can’t identify DNA]

  Blood Type: O+

  Anomaly Resistance Index: 82%

  Heart Rate: 63 bpm

  Body Temperature: 97.8 F

  Oxygen Saturation: 99%

  Energy Level: ???

  The plasma abruptly shifts to a gold color of plasma. Fionn looked confused by it.

  “Gold? What the hell?”

  He looked around at everyone else’s armbands. Most people had purple with a dim glow, or a glowing light turquoise. Rarely, some had a slightly dark gray color. Only a couple people had silver colors, no more than two, but no one else had a golden plasma color like he did. He shook his head, pushing that thought down. It was nothing… or so he thought. Uneasiness still coursed in his body. Curiosity did get the best of him. He peeked at another participant’s screen. Her wristband was one of the turquoise ones

  Name: Ivory Thompson

  Age: 19

  Birth: 5/24

  Sex: Female

  Height: 5’6

  Weight: 72kg

  Hair Color: Black

  Eye Color: Blue

  Ethnicity: German + Russian

  Blood Type: B

  Anomaly Resistance Index: 43%

  Heart Rate: 67 bpm

  Body Temperature: 98.2 F

  Oxygen Saturation: 100%

  Energy Level: B+

  Her black hair shined faintly with navy blue undertones from the sun. He guessed she dyed it but didn’t linger much on that thought

  Each armband monitored a single participant. It constantly kept updating to keep the scientists noted in case something went wrong, and would silently vibrate the wearer’s arm, but not enough to interrupt them. If something were to go wrong, it’d send a slightly loud distress signal from the participant’s armband to the lab. It’d even stabilize the vitals if necessary, heal the wearer of any minor wounds like cuts or scratches, and if in dire situations, it’ll deploy an unbreakable energy shield to keep the wearer protected if close to death. These armbands were made to ensure the scientists could get a perfect display of their skills without having the participant meet their end

  Behind the scenes of the ripple, the lab was bustling with work. There were five groups of scientists, each one focused on one task with fifteen other members. One group focused on their names and information, another focused on vitals and oxygen levels, another focused on their physical attributes, another focused on monitoring their progress in real-time, and the last group focused on the participant’s combat, tactical IQ, and directing them through the challenges if necessary. One of the scientists paused when reading one of the names. Even the information was incredibly similar to an existing member in Division 0

  “O'Dana?”

  Another scientist double checked to see if they were reading the same last name. “But I thought she didn’t have any family.”

  “She didn’t… right?”

  “There’s no way…,”

  “Is this someone else?”

  “We’ll need her to confirm it. Report to the head scientist about it. Maybe even Ezekiel or Vincent could get into contact with her,”

  “Well… same last name, same hair and eye color… even the same unidentified ethnicity and energy level… their blood matches together as well,”

  The lab started to murmur with confusion, though none of the commotion could be seen or heard. Fionn glanced around the open grasslands of the stimulated ripple. The air was much lighter and more noticeable than Earth.There were many trees off to the distance, a clear blue sky with barely any clouds, and a bright sun, same as Earth, but this felt too serene. It was too good to be true to him

  “This… is this the wrong ripple?” a girl muttered, sounding a bit disappointed and confused

  “Why does this feel… like it’s a fake one?” a boy added, his nervousness starting to turn into confusion

  “Did something mess up?” another boy chimed in

  They started to talk amongst each other, confused by what this challenge really was, until the ground rumbled beneath them. It silenced them without a squeak. The soil started to split and crack. A huge hole started to form in front of them, and from the depths of it, a gigantic centipede-like creature crawled out of the ground.

  Its eyes, many of them, were furious with a cold, predatory look in them

  Gasps filled the air, as shock took over some of the participants. When the centipede locked onto the participants, screams of pure fear erupted like a volcano from their throats. They scrambled to flee, running away in groups. Fionn clenched his fist a bit

  “This is supposed to be a test?” Fionn thought, gritting his teeth with tension. With a pink glow, fireworks materialize from his fingertips, exploding towards the centipede. Upon contact, the fireworks combusted, but he noticed there was a translucent barrier of armor protecting the centipede from actual damage. His eyes widened when he saw it

  “It has armor? Seriously!?” he shockingly thought. The centipede screeched at him for attacking it. His eyes narrowed in return as the centipede locked onto him, looking like he was simply a treat. It started charging towards him, its countless legs skittering against the grass. He propelled himself backwards, holding his palm out again. From his fingertips, he charged multiple mini yellow energy blasts that expanded into full fledged balls of energy. It illuminates the barrier for him. They still didn’t do damage to even the barrier

  “Alright,” he said, narrowing his eyes at the visible barrier. He knew how to deal with the shield now

  As the centipede approached him again, he disappeared in an instant. The centipede’s eyes widened in confusion, looking around and trying to sense his energy

  “Wh-where’d he go?” a girl muttered, too scared to speak up

  “Did he just… leave?” a boy worryingly said aloud

  “Did you see those energy bullets?” another boy hesitantly said. “How’d he do that?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  High above the air, Fionn charged a gigantic ball of fire from his palm

  “That shield of yours is a pretty creative mechanism,” another grin was plastered on his face, stretching from ear to ear in amusement

  His energy level was still incomprehensible for the armband. The scientists were in a swarm of slight panic. The energy was so familiar, yet so different from her’s. How was this possible!?

  “His energy is still unidentified! There was never a person of this caliber in fourteen years!” a scientist exclaimed. Her eyes were as wide as circles, watching the screen with pure shock and surprise

  “Is there an error in the system!? None of the participants could ever even ward off the centipede without causing distractions!” another scientist added “Not even Division 4 does this much damage straight off the bat.”

  He sends the fireball hurling to the centipede without any time wasted. It bypassed the protective shield, landing a critical hit on the centipede’s back. The fire was frying and scorching through its armor, causing unfathomable pain. Its screeches of pain pierced the air, making it known that it was hurt. It wiggled all over the ground, even banging its head against the ground to make the pain stop. The other participants watched in a mix of horror, shock, surprise, and confusion.

  “H-how… what… is…,” a girl stammered, stuttering to even finish her thought

  “Is this real!?” a boy said, staring at the hurt centipede

  “This can’t be real… right?” a girl muttered under her breath, refusing to believe this is real

  When it rolled onto its back, Fionn started bombarding the stomach with miniature balls of electricity to stun it. The orbs cracked and sparked against the body, causing the nerves of the centipede to shut down. He went for the kill without another thought, flying higher in the air as he ignites his foot on fire

  “From Heaven to Hell,” he muttered, blasting downwards at high speeds to give off a meteor effect. The participants couldn’t believe something like this was real. The centipede could only watch as Fionn’s attack gained more momentum

  He shatters through the armor of the centipede, decimating the exoskeleton with a giant crash. The impact rumbled the whole ground, smoke and dust flying everywhere and surrounding the crater he made. Lifting his hand in the air, an invisible ball pulled the dust into a compacted ball, turning it into another fireball. He scans the centipede to see where the artifact was. There were seven artifacts engraved in its brain. His armband beeps again

  “Artifacts Detected. Ranking E,”

  Fionn made a ripple of his own, grabbing the artifacts out of its brain

  The artifacts were a glowing white ball of energy before taking form. They turned into weapons: three swords, two axes, and two maces

  He grinned slightly as he threw the fireball into the ripple, making the centipede’s head explode. Its brain matter splattered everywhere on the ground, dropping dead

  All of the scientists were stunned. It was clear he was related to her. He was, without a doubt, Aisling’s younger brother

  “He… he really is her younger sibling…,” a scientist tried to say. “Now there’s two of them.”

  A voice came from Fionn’s armband

  “Fionn O'Dana, please report back to the ceremony room. We have questions for you. I repeat. Fionn O'Dana, please report back to the ceremony room,” the intercoms called, cutting off shortly after. He shrugged a bit, before teleporting away. Some people were still stunned, others were scared and shocked. Ivory, and a few other people, were skeptical, shocked, and most of all, worried

  “That… that was brutal,” a boy said

  “That wasn’t human at all!” Ivory muttered

  “He turned the smoke and dust into fire right after crashing down like a meteorite!” a boy added

  The participants stood in silence. What could they talk about other than the event that just took place?

  When he teleported back to the room, he was immediately surrounded by a flurry of scientists asking him questions and even Makayla wanted answers for his display of power

  “That display was amazing!” Makayla exclaimed

  “Your stats were incredible!” a scientist added

  “Your ability to adapt to the anomaly’s shield was nothing like we’ve seen before, not even in the higher-ups,” another scientist added, their voice in awe

  “You were able to bypass the shield of something that was nearly indestructible without specialized weapons! How were you able to do that?” another scientist said with amazement. “It was supposed to repel physical attacks and even elements.”

  Fionn shrugged his shoulders, as if he does this naturally. “The centipede’s shield was nothing more than a barrier. I figured it would rely on the shield as defense, so I made something that could hit it directly without having it cancel on impact,” he explained. “That’s why I used the energy blasts to illuminate how it works.”

  “You extracted the artifacts that were kept in its head,” another scientist chimed in. “The goal was actually found through its stomach… how’d you manage to not only distract it with a fireball, but also defeat the anomaly without actual training?”

  “It was kind of in the moment. It was another anomaly, so I treated it as such. I just wanted the thing dead, really.” he said calmly

  “That reminds me, how did you create a ripple effect within a ripple? That should be physically impossible, even with our technology!” another scientist questioned

  Another grin stretched through his face. “Oh, that? It was just a shortcut. I needed quick access to the real artifacts without having to mutilate the creature any further. And to put it out of its misery, I made its head explode!” A wave of uneasiness blew over the scientists at his weird enthusiasm

  Before anyone else could ask something, Makayla spoke up. “That all seemed like you were ready and knew what to do… the precision, power, and brutality…,” Makayla said, pointing at his face. “Are you, by any chance, related to Aisling O'Dana?”

  That made Fionn’s lips stop moving. He knew she was here, but still didn’t like talking about it. He looks away to the side, then back at Makayla. “Uh… yeah. I’m her younger brother,” he muttered, his tone sounded reluctant and lower than before

  That made her smile with amusement–her suspicion was right. “Ah! That explains so much,” Makayla said, a smirk appearing on her face. “She’s one of our top three fighters, being at number two.”

  “Wait, then who’s number one?” he asked

  “The captain of Division 0, Preston Morris,” she answered

  “Really? Then what’s-!” His sentence was cut short as a woman materialized in the ceremony room. His eyes widened in recognition of who it was, but his lips turned down into a frown. His gray eyes started to fill with a mix of green and blue

  She stepped forward, wearing a black jacket with the letters, “D.V.0” written in white, outlined in red, a matching black-red pleated skirt, and black leather boots with dark red laces. She had blonde hair fading slightly into a light pink, stopping at her hips. She was much taller than the last time they talked–she was up to his chin now. Her green eyes had a mix of blue in them, different from before. She donned a solemn expression, looking at the group of scientists with a look of small concern

  “What was I-!” she stopped

  Her eyes widened slightly when she saw him standing off to the side. Her serious face faltered for a second

  “F-Fionn…?” she said with shock in her voice

  “Shit…,” he muttered under his breath, annoyance starting to make its way to his voice

  She was irritated by just the sight of him

  “What are you doing here?” she snapped, her irritation taking control

  “Minding my damn business!” he shot back

  “Then you wouldn’t be here in the first place!”

  “What does that have to do with you?”

  “Because this is the place I attended and trained in when I was still a child.”

  “And guess who else was with you?”

  “A helpless brat that couldn’t even use or control his abilities correctly!”

  “What’d you expect out of a four year old!?”

  “What I expected was for you to hang low, you idiot!”

  “Then you’re expecting too much!”

  “I clearly did! You couldn’t even comprehend the situation!”

  “Because what was I supposed to do about it!? Maybe if you didn’t drag me into your bullshit, then neither one of us would’ve been in the situation in the first place!”

  That clearly hit a sore spot in her heart, her anger hitting an even greater high

  “You ungrateful little shit!”

  Fionn’s anger matched her quickly, gritting his teeth harder

  “WHAT is there to be grateful for!?” he shouted, raising his voice at her. “I didn’t even want to run off with you! You dragged me along without even thinking about it! We were fine, but no! You decided to run-!”

  Aisling’s annoyance took over her body for a moment. “WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!?” she screamed, years of anger finally being let out. “I TOOK YOU WITH ME BECAUSE YOU’RE MY LITTLE BROTHER!! IF YOU COULD PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE REALIZED I WANTED TO PROTECT YOU FROM OUR PARENTS!!”

  There was an awkward silence that filled the room. Fionn and Aisling glared hard at each other, merely seconds away from the thought of maybe killing each other. Her attention darts to the group of scientists

  “Is he the reason why I was called?”

  “U-uh… y-yes, m-ma’am. Sor-!” a scientist stammered

  “DON’T call me AGAIN!!” she shouted, teleporting away without a second thought

  Another silence fell on them before Fionn brushed it off. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He turned his head and grinned at the scientists as if that interaction never happened

  “Total bitch, right?” he said, cheesing. He was smiling as if he wasn’t angry literally two seconds ago

  The scientists just looked at him with pure confusion and astonishment. Why did he just act like that wasn’t anything serious. What’s wrong with him? Makayla unintentionally coughed a bit, breaking the deafening silence

  “U-uhm… well… let's get back on track… I guess,” she said, pointing at one of the analysis sheets. “You’ve obviously qualified for becoming a member, but we want to see if you’re captain material.”

  “We’ll have you fight against Division 4’s captain, Logan Miller,” a scientist said, regaining their composure

  He raised an eyebrow at the new objective. “Is this a personal vendetta? Because that doesn’t seem like a fair fight to me,” he warned

  “Well…,” another scientist hesitantly started. “We couldn’t put you up against Division 1’s or 2’s captain, since they’re out on a mission.”

  “Why not Division 3?”

  “Oh, uh… a tragedy occurred during a mission, so they were all fired. It was an accident that happened recently,” another scientist answered

  “Can I take that spot?”

  They were slightly impressed and skeptical of his immediate question

  “That’s why we want you to fight Logan,”

  “Ah… fine, whatever,” he said, shrugging

  “Right this way!” Makayla guided, turning on her heel

  She leads him to the training room–it looks like a big gym. There was a huge section of it dedicated to weights and heavy lifting, another was for yoga, combat, and even weapon wielding. Gray walls, countless equipment, and even a room just for smoothies, protein shakes, and a massage lounge

  “This is the training room. We often see the weaker Divisions in here,” Makayla said, gesturing to the weight bench. “While we wait, we could test your strength and flexibility.”

  Fionn nods, walking over to the weight bench

  “Not going to stretch?” a scientist asked

  “Don’t need it.” he said calmly. He materializes three 22kg weights on both sides of the bar before going under

  “W-wait, that seems like a lot,” a scientist worried

  “It’s not,”

  “What do you mean it’s not!?” another scientist said, confused by his uncaring tone

  He started to lift the bar up without an issue. Everyone’s eyes widened, writing down his new display of strength. Makayla grins a bit

  “So, is that hoodie just to throw people off from your real figure?” she asked, sounding flirty and teasing now. It catches the eye of some scientists–exchanging uneasy glances–but no one comments on it

  “It’s just something I threw on,” he said calmly, not picking up on her tone of voice. That only makes Makayla smile more. Without warning, she slides onto his stomach, sitting comfortably with her legs casually dangling from his side. Even with her sitting on him, he didn’t even falter with lifting the bar–it was like she wasn’t there

  “...Maybe we could just rank you as captain already,” Makayla purred, her eyes shifting to a gleam of mischief and seduction. “You seem more than capable~!”

  “Uhm… director?” a scientist said, worried about what she was planning. He was hesitant to even ask a question

  “Yes~?” she said, smiling at them. She looked like a predator finding its prey and now just waiting to strike. Her voice made each of them uncomfortable. The scientists didn’t even want to ask her nor want to be near what she was planning

  “...Nevermind,”

  Tension filled the room, but Fionn was still clueless to Makayla’s obvious flirting. They make him go through more tests: testing his agility, flexibility, mental puzzles, and combat speed. With each challenge, Makayla increasingly grew more and more attracted to him. When they were finally done getting the proper stats, the door flung open. A boy walked into the training room, accompanied by two girls and another boy

  “Sorry for being late. I had more important things to do than fight some rookie,” he said dismissively, his voice sounding more like an arrogant teenager than a disciplined soldier. Fionn’s neutral face twisted into a scowl at him, glaring from the corner of his right eye. His green-blue eyes turned a darker shade

  Logan was wearing a similar outfit to Aisling, but noticeably different: a white jacket with the letters “DC.V.4.” written on the back, outlined in black, black pants, and white boots with black laces. His messy black hair framed bright silver eyes that gave the sense of entitlement. His demeanor gave off the vibe of laziness and arrogance. Fionn’s calm and neutral demeanor from earlier faded away, turning into suppressed anger

  “So this is the brat?” he said with a scoff, downplaying Fionn’s appearance

  “Hey now, captain,” a petite girl said softly, speaking up on Fionn’s behalf. “Don’t underestimate someone strai-!”

  “Oh please,” Logan interrupted rudely, his voice now annoyed. He silenced her with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You and your constant warnings. That doesn’t help anyone, you know?”

  Fionn silently watched how he treated the girl. He got enough information about Logan to know he wanted to go through with the upcoming fight without any regrets. He scanned over what seemed to be his subordinates, piecing their personalities based off appearance

  The girl who spoke up was a pretty short girl, estimated around 5’3, with a young and adorable face framed by brunette hair and soft orange eyes. She was wearing a similar color-themed outfit to Logan, but donned a long sleeved shirt with thumb holes, a plain white skirt that came down to her knees, and light brown boots up to her lower knees.

  The second female subordinate stood a bit away from them. She had her dyed baby blue swept the left side of her face, her bangs concealing her left eye. She was scrolling through a social media app on her phone, watching videos and tutorials. She wore almost the same attire as the other girl, though she wore black tights beneath her skirt and brown loafers. Her visible eye was magenta, leaning more towards pink

  The other male subordinate was definitely taller than Logan, but had a more mature look to his face than he would ever have. He wore a white hoodie with the letters “D.V.4” written on the front, outlined in black, black pants with white stripes, and black shoes. He had a calm yet solemn face, and his dark red dyed hair was kept nice and combed. He felt like the contrast to Logan’s impulsive personality

  Fionn turned his full attention to Logan, his annoyed tone cutting through the tension

  “Listen to your subordinates, you prick!” he snapped

  The team froze in surprise. They never thought they’d hear someone snap at him like that, especially Logan

  “You got balls to speak to me like that, you lousy brat,” he sneered, an amusing smirk forming on his face. “Got a problem with the way I talk to my subordinates in my own Division?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he said, sharpening his tone

  Logan was getting irritated with his attitude, but hides it with a grin. “Who cares what you think? My Division, my rules. You don’t mean anything to me anyways, boy!”

  “Then ignore my opinion,” he shot back. “If you want to test your pathetic muscle, you can have your ass kicked and served to you on a platinum platter, asshole.”

  Logan’s grin started to falter into genuine anger, but he kept up the act to seem as if he wasn’t affected by Fionn’s attitude

  “Alright, you little shit! You think I’m intimidated by the likes of you!?” He lets out a mocking laugh, his arrogance and irritation becoming more and more clear. “Not even your sister impressed me, and she’s the lieutenant of Division 0!”

  The tension in the room was heavy. Fionn’s concealed anger grew sharper, the glow in his eyes turned dim, like an angry storm. The scientists nearby exchanged uneasy glances, worried about how Logan is going to look after this scuffle. Silent consensus formed together: “He’s so dead,” Makayla muttered to the other scientist. Sensing and feeling the tension, she looked at Fionn’s serious glare, then at Logan’s fake smug look, then at the scientists’ concerned glances

  “Well,” she began, her tone sounding happy about the situation, although it was only a mask. “Since you two appear to be situated… why not start the fight?”

  In reality, she just wants to see Logan be humbled

  Fionn glared at him from the corner of his eye again before sighing and looking at Makayla. He lets a low but resolute “Fine,”

  Logan lets out a smirk, despite wanting to hit him with all of his strength for talking back. The tension started to get to him. He felt as if he pushed Fionn a bit too far, but wasn’t going to let his pride falter, even to save his life and reputation. Before anyone could get another word out, Fionn gets the idea to teleport everyone in the room to a boxing ring

  The scene shifted in an instant

  The boxing ring was a square with a thin layer of velvet padding. The ropes encasing it bore the colors of the American flag: red, white, and blue. In the center, there was the Chrona Riftworks Protocol logo. In the top left corner of the ring, Logan stood there now with gray boxing gloves on. Across from him in the bottom right corner, Fionn had blue boxing gloves on. He altered his clothing, now wearing a white tank top with black boxing shorts. Logan’s subordinates huddled on his side of the ring, while Makayla was in the center as the referee, now donning a black-and-white striped dress shirt with a red bowtie, black pants, and polished black shoes. The scientists, still reeling from being teleported, were seated and watching in the audience

  Makayle blinks at her outfit, checking herself out. “Oh wow… did you do this, Fionn?” she asked with a hint of surprise in her voice

  “Yeah,” he said calmly, adjusting his gloves. “It’s a fight anyway. I might as well try to make this entertaining for everyone.”

  She nods, her flirtatious smile coming back to her face. “Alright, then. I want a good, clean match! Nothing below the belt, and no cheap tricks!” she said, looking at the both of them, making sure they’re both ready. She raised her hand dramatically. “Ready?”

  Fionn and Logan touched gloves, glaring at each other with anger

  “Fight!” she said, swinging her hand downwards

  Fionn seemingly teleported right in front of Logan before he could even see him clearly. Fionn’s fist crashed straight into his stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs. His eyes widened with pure shock and disbelief. Logan was caught way off guard, staggering and trying to regain his focus. His face felt like he was tasing static

  “W-what the–!” his sentence was cut off as Fionn’s vicious uppercut hit his jaw–snapping his head up–then continued with a brutal right hook to the side of his face.

  The room was purely silent. Makayla and the scientists both looked astonished at his speed of attacks and his precision

  “Wow,”

  “That looked like it hurt.” a scientist muttered amongst the others

  “That definitely hurt,” another replied

  Fionn took a step back, allowing Logan to get a breather for a second. He started to bounce and shuffle on his feet. He looked like a predator just torturing their prey. Logan, red-faced and furious, came to his senses and glared at him. He grits his teeth in rage, rushing in with straight jabs without a plan. Fionn ducked and weaved the first six before he blocked one with his shoulder, twisting his foot and hip, then shoots a quick yet powerful forward jab, cracking Logan’s head back again, following up with a left hook to the side

  “Keep your guard up!” the male subordinate shouted desperately

  “Duck! Duck!” the petite subordinate squealed, holding onto ropes like it was a lifeline

  The other female subordinate didn’t care, staring at the action with a blank face. She got the idea to start recording her captain getting beat up, a small smirk crossing her face

  Fionn leaned back to throw a fake straight jab at Logan, predicting he’ll fall for the trap. When he raised an arm to block his face, Fionn indented his fist into Logan’s gut with a terrifying jab, clobbered his face by hook–followed by another hook–then an uppercut from below. Logan couldn’t keep up with his speed in the slightest. You could feel the impact and force with each hit from the audience. Makayla watched in amusement–she knew this was all the built up karma for Logan–and was happy to have someone finally dish it out

  As Logan’s vision started to blur, stumbling backwards, he put his guard up, blocking somewhat of the next shots thrown at him. He was backed into the corner, trying his hardest to stay standing. He was breathing hard, the color of blood staining his lip from a split wound on it. Fionn stopped when he saw Logan cowering in fear

  “Done?” he said, smirking and shuffling his feet again

  Logan hesitated to lower his defensive guard. He was still clearly mad, but didn’t verbally say anything

  Fionn grinned sadistically at him. “Want me to fight with one hand? I think that’ll be fair, hahahahahahaha!” he said, laughing aloud again. Although it sounded as if he was joking, Fionn does put one hand behind his back. He taunts Logan to come on with his glove

  Logan grits his teeth, rushing in again. He threw stronger jabs and hooks at him, but Fionn didn’t even move from his spot. He ducked under two jabs, blocking a hook with his arm, and stopped some punches by grabbing them with little to no effort

  He tilted his head toward Makayla, not even looking Logan’s way “Is this match over with?” he asked, ducking under a punch

  She grinned smugly, taking a more playful and taunting tone. “No, no, he’s still standing,”

  He nods. He stepped to the side to evade a punch, only to counter it with a much stronger jab than before, breaking Logan’s nose with a sickening crack. His face caved in a bit from the strike. He dropped onto the mat with a hard thud, red lines of blood running down his nose like a leaky faucet. He tossed the boxing gloves off his hands and clutched his nose to ease pain. He groans, some tears flooding his eyes as his pride was shattered and his composure crumpled

  Fionn exhaled casually, relaxing. “How about now?”

  Makayla looked over at the defeated Logan, then smirked at Fionn, trying to keep a laugh from coming out. “Jeez… make him bleed more next time,”

  “Director!” a horrified scientist called out

  “I’m joking! …Kind of,” she said with an innocent shrug

  Some whispers occur amongst the scientists, their hushed conversations going silent just as quickly as it started. One scientist stands up, clearing his voice

  “Well…,” he starts, adjusting his glasses, “it goes without saying. Fionn O'Dana, you are hereby enrolled into Chrona Riftworks Protocol.”

  GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!