I hated bullies with a burning passion. The way they just picked on the smaller kids because they wanted to feel big. It annoyed me so much. Which is why I liked to take action and step in, which always made the boys end up with black eyes. And considering I had to face a lot of bullies, it had gotten me kicked out of seven schools. And I think I was just about to get kicked out of my eighth.
"Hey!" I snapped, striding over to a tall boy who was glaring down at a scrawny little girl. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"What's it to you, Red?" The boy sneered.
"Well, what right do you have to pick on this kid?" I placed my hands on my hips, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Uh..." The boy stammered, obviously not being able to piece something together.
"That's what I thought." I smirked before patting the girl's shoulder. "Run along now." And so she did.
"You think you're so tough, shortie?" The boy growled and I caught his hand that was already reaching out to pull on my hair.
"Yeah I do." I smirked wider before feeling something cold pressing down on my wrist. I turned to see it was a handcuff.
"Eva Marlow?" A man in black asked me as he yanked my hands together to secure them tightly.
"Yeah, that's me." I nodded.
"You're coming with us." Another voice added before a blindfold was placed over my eyes and I was pushed forward.
The blindfold was yanked from my head and it took me a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting in the room. I looked to my left to see two boys and a girl on my right.
"What's going on?" The blonde boy demanded. "I didn't do anything."
"That's not what it says here." A tall woman with black hair came out of the darkness to stand in front of us. "Daniel Morgan. Think you're some kind of action hero? You seem to find it hard to keep your feet on the ground. Tom Tupper. Sophisticated online activity. Hacking into the NASA mainframe?"
"I was testing out their security software." Tom excused.
"By reprogramming the Mars Rover?" The woman showed us a picture of the planet where the word 'Tom' was etched into the dirt.
"Busted." Tom sighed.
"Eva Marlow." The woman looked at me. "You're a troublesome one. Enrolled in seven schools, excluded out of each one for fighting."
"It was actually a justice thing." I shrugged. "I don't like bullies."
"And Aneisha Jones." The woman moved onto the girl sat next to me. "Spending all your time to be other people. You've been spotted with Nelson Mandela, the foreign secretary, and intel suggests you had a front row seat at the Royal Wedding."
"My petition for human rights. It needs big names." Aneisha said. "I'm far too busy to be arrested."
"This isn't an arrest." The woman shook her head as the bodyguards stood behind us started unlocking our handcuffs. "This is a proposition. What do you know about British Intelligence?"
"Spies and stuff?" Aneisha asked.
"The 21st Century faces a new kind of threat." The woman explained. "With your unique skills and our specialist training, we think you can help us keep the country safe."
"Is this a wind-up?" Tom asked.
"No." The woman said. "This is MI9."
The lights switched on and the room revealed four computer screens with all the latest technology plugged into them. There was a laptop on a small desk and bright green lights on the walls around us. A silver elevator slid open in front of us to reveal a man in a sleek black suit.
"Welcome to MI High." The man said.
This is going to be so awesome!
For the rest of the summer holidays, we trained our butts off. Dan and Aneisha were to be field agents, and Tom and I were to be technical agents, which meant we would deal with all the techy stuff. It was so cool. The MI9 base was hidden under a school called Bleakwood Academy, which is where we had to enroll. The deputy headteacher was cautious about me joining but I told him that he would soon whip me into shape, which made him delighted.
"Dan, I'm serious." Aneisha rambled. "I had to look after a goldfish once and my cat ate it. What if I have to look after the Prime Minister?"
"You think your cat might eat the Prime Minister?" Tom quipped.
"Relax." Dan shrugged. "Just don't tell anyone we spent the holidays at MI9."
"Like anyone would believe us." I laughed.
"Yeah, and don't tell anyone we're friends either." Tom said absentmindedly.
"Harsh." I said jokingly.
"Yeah, might keep that to myself." Aneisha said.
"Left, right, left, right." A monotone voice brought our heads up to Mr McNab walking over to us and a group of children holding up a bland sign that said 'WELCOME TO BLEAKWOOD ACADEMY'. "Halt! Pay attention. As some of you may know, Bleakwood is getting a new headmaster today. Given that they never gave that job to me, I can only imagine how strict and exacting he could be."
"Hello!" A distant voice came from behind us and we saw a man on a bicycle. "Is this Bleakwood Academy?"
"Yes." Mr McNab deadpanned.
"MI9 arranged for someone I know." Frank whispered into Aneisha and I's ears.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I overslept." The man said. "I was having this dream where I turned up wearing only my underpants." I giggled quietly at this. "I did turn up to my old school in pajamas once."
"Mr Flatley?" Mr McNab asked.
"Kenneth Flatley. Headmaster." Mr Flatley held out his hand.
"Mr McNab." The teacher took his hand and shook it. "Deputy Headmaster. You'll find me to be quite-"
"Frank!" Mr Flatley cut him off. "I don't believe it. You got a job here too. What were the chances?"
"Mr F, good to see ya." Frank said in a nerdy voice. "And like you say, what were the chances?"
As I stood in the school bathroom fixing my hair, I heard an incessant buzzing. I looked to my blazer pocket to see my pencil flashing. I immediately knew what it was. I rushed out of the bathroom and almost crashed into Dan.
"Woah, steady there." Dan grabbed my shoulders to stop me.
"Sorry." I laughed. "Little excited."
"Me too." Aneisha spoke up.
"Where's Tom?" I asked.
"There." Dan pointed him out. He was stood at the end of the corridor, holding a games console in his hand and earphone stuck into his ears. We speed walked over to him and Aneisha closed the console on his hand.
"Ow!" Tom whined, putting his sore thumb into his mouth. "Aneisha, I was about to kill the flame troll."
"When flame trolls threaten National Security..." Aneisha trailed off as Dan showed Tom the flashing pencil.
"Come on!" Tom said with a smile as we walked to the utility cupboard. Dan put his thumb on the fingerprint scanner and we quickly entered.
Aneisha grabbed the mop handle and pulled it down, a loud alarm going off before we were shot down in the elevator. A laser quickly engulfed us and we were changed into our spy clothes. I was dressed in a black tank top, a black leather jacket, black leggings and black combat boots. Basically, we all wore black so that we wouldn't stand out and because it was so much cooler to wear black.
"Look, this is just a drill." Dan said as we stepped off the elevator. "We're totally professional."
"Actually, it's your first mission." Frank confirmed. Aneisha giggled and we high-fived. "Well, it's not all good news. An hour ago, a SKUL agent was arrested not far from here. You won't believe what he told MI9."
"Look, I swear the last ten years, SKUL have been working on the ultimate weapon. Something called the V95. Whatever it is, they're moving it across town today. Please don't send me to jail. My mum'll kill me." The man on the video explained.
"We don't know what the weapon is or what SKUL are planning. MI9 have put the city on maximum alert." Frank said.
"Bird's in the air, people." Tom said excitedly as he sat down at the desk we shared. I quickly took the seat next to him. "Bird's in the air."
"We've had this all summer." Aneisha laughed.
"Helicopters are looking for the weapon from above. On the ground, MI9 are blocking all routes out of town. Dan, Aneisha, your job is to set up a roadblock near here." Frank pointed to a location on the screen.
"If SKUL see a roadblock, won't they just turn around?" Dan asked.
"Exactly." Frank smirked. "Which is why we need to get creative." Frank reached behind him, picked up a box, and showed it to Aneisha.
"Seriously?" Aneisha grimaced at the wig, fake teeth and necklace she held in her hand.
Aneisha, Dan and Frank had already set off for the location. Tom and I had live feeds from the comms set up in the base so we could hear every word that would be said.
"Morning sir." Aneisha's fake nasally voice came through the headset. "Patricia Snodsworth, Road Safety. I'm just doing a survey on how bumpy you think this particular stretch of road is. Now, would you say it was A. Bumpy? B. Very bumpy? C. So bumpy it makes your teeth fall out?" She was really good at this.
"Tom, Eva, you're up." Dan said as he showed a thermal scan of the blue van. "What can you see?"
"Got something." Tom said as he tapped away at the computer. "Could it be a totally awesome laser cannon?"
"Or maybe just gardening supplies." I said as I looked closer at the image. "Yeah, it's just gardening supplies."
"So, I'll put you down as bumpy then." Aneisha laughed. "Not you, the road. Drive safely now, sir." The man drove off and we heard another van pulling up. "Morning sir. Patricia Snodsworth, Road Safety." Aneisha said again before I tuned her out.
"It's weird, I can't see inside." Tom said as we looked at the thermal scan of the next van.
"Maybe they have some kind of protection. Or it could be an empty van." I suggested.
"Dan, they could be hiding something." Tom said.
A loud bang came down the comms and then a screeching. They must have attached the small bomb device onto the wheels. So, it was the SKUL van.
Aneisha told us that the V95 was a redheaded girl who appeared to have no understanding of what was going on. Strange.
"Team." Frank said as we entered the small room that held Stella, V95, and two MI9 agents testing her. "You remember Stella. Stella Knight. Chief Agent Knight."
"Look after him, will you?" Stella said. "Somebody has to."
"Tension alert." Aneisha joked.
We all walked over to the opposite desk and watched V95 spin an ornament that she managed to easily break. I placed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing too loud.
"Now, why don't you start by you telling us your name?" Stella asked. "You do have a name?"
"V95." The girl said. "Full name: V95-ZOE6."
"And your parents?" Frank added. "How do we contact them?"
"I never knew my parents." V95 said quietly. "Spent my whole life training at SKUL to be a SKUL agent, but I didn't want to be there. I hated it!"
"Really?" Stella asked in disbelief. "What does the lie detector say?"
"Uh... big squiggle, little squiggle." Tom said. "Yeah, she's telling the truth."
"You can cheat lie detectors." Dan snapped.
"I'm not cheating." V95 sneered then turned on the puppy dog eyes. "Please."
"Either way, if you hate SKUL so much, you won't mind telling us where the Grandmaster is, will you?" Stella asked.
"Face it, she's got no idea where the SKUL base is." Tom concluded after about an hour of us sitting there and trying to interrogate V95.
"Really?" Dan glared. "You buy she was blindfolded every time she left the building?"
"It's possible." Frank shrugged. "The Grandmaster doesn't trust anyone."
"Just think." Aneisha added. "What if she was kept in a prison her whole life?"
A loud beeping came from V95 and she looked down at the watch on her wrist.
"It's him." V95 panicked. "It's the Grandmaster."
"Wait!" Frank shot forward, stopping V95 from answering. "If you're serious about leaving SKUL, maybe you could help us trace the call. Tom?"
"Already working my magic." Tom grinned, tapping away at the laptop.
"Put the watch in here. It'll pick the signal up." Stella said. Frank took the watch and put it where she told him to.
"Stay very calm." Frank instructed. "Don't say any more than 'hello'."
"Hello?" V95 said shakily.
"So, you're alive." The Grandmaster's voice sounded. "You took so long answering, I feared the worst. What is your status, V95?"
"Status: still in the van en route to the rendezvous." V95 told him.
"Ask him where he is." Stella whispered.
"What's your location?" V95 asked.
"The General and I are still- careful, that's a priceless family heirloom!" The Grandmaster grumbled as the sound of something smashing came from the background. "I must go before these cretins destroy everything!" The Grandmaster ended the call.
"We can't lose him!" Stella slammed her hand on the table. "Call him back quickly!"
"I can't." V95 shook her head. "The watch only works one way. It's to stop me making contact with the outside world."
"Doesn't matter." Frank sighed. "Look."
"This is us." Tom pointed to the screen. "Signal went up the SKUL satellite, back down to here, where the call came from."
"The Grandmaster's secret base." Aneisha said excitedly.
"This is Chief Agent Knight." Stella pressed the speaker button on her office phone. "I want all agents to report immediately. This is a Code Nineteen. I repeat, a Code Nineteen."
"What are we waiting for?" Dan yelled. "Let's go get him!"
"No." Stella ordered. "You four have a new mission. Stay here. Watch the girl."
"You're kidding." Aneisha scoffed. "There's no way we're gonna miss this."
"Agent Jones, until I find out who she is, watch that girl." Stella said calmly before leaving the room.
Whilst Stella and other agents got to have all the fun, the four of us and V95 were pushed into school. I had a feeling we wouldn't get to learn so much education with our new job.
"Frank said to keep her in HQ." Dan grumbled. "What if she tries to escape?"
"She won't." I sighed as I approached the girl with Aneisha.
"Here." Aneisha handed her a book. "I took this from MI9. I hate not finishing a book."
"I haven't picked up a book since the start of the summer holidays." I groaned. I missed feeling the texture of a book as I read the words etched into the paper.
"She's gonna need a name." Dan added. "We can't really call her V95."
"How about Lightning? Or Firestorm?" Tom said excitedly. "Actually, I know Firestorm online. Three, actually."
"Tom, keep the overdone names to the virtual world." I laughed.
"How about Zoe?" Aneisha suggested.
"Zoe! I love Zoe!" V95 jumped up excitedly. Well, it was better than V95 or V95-ZOE6.
"Excuse me." Frank butted in. "I told you to stay in HQ."
"You, girl!" Mr McNab bellowed as he stalked over with Mr Flatley. "I haven't seen you here before. What's your name?"
"Sorry Mr McNab, I should've said. This is my niece." Frank stammered.
"Zoe." Tom added.
"Zoe." Frank repeated, nodding.
"I'm Zoe." Zoe grinned happily.
"Zoe's school burnt down tragically." Frank lied smoothly. "I thought she could come here instead."
"Oh, you did, did you?" Mr McNab said patronizingly.
"Of course." Mr Flatley said over him. "Zoe's more than welcome here."
"Well, that's settled." I whispered into Aneisha's ear. "There's more girls than boys now."
Lunch came quickly and we were sat in the cafeteria. Zoe was happily eating a bowl of jelly and Tom was examining the watch that Zoe substituted as a phone.
"Great." Aneisha grumbled. "MI9 are nearly at the Grandmaster's base."
"Careful." Dan warned. "She could be watching."
"Dan." I sighed. "All she's watching is that bowl of jelly. The Grandmaster's an old man. I seriously doubt he'd make it here in time."
"I take it you weren't allowed jelly at SKUL, either?" Aneisha asked. Zoe shook her head before staring at Dan's jelly. He glared at her before handing it over and she sighed happily, taking it from him.
"You haven't lived." I sighed.
"Still, we should be there." Aneisha said. "Not stuck here doing whatever it is."
"He's trying to figure out how to hack into that SKUL satellite." I told her, putting one of my feet against the edge of the table and rocking back on my chair. "Obviously he's coming up short."
"Oi, what are you doing?" Aneisha asked as Dan took one of her chips.
"It's only a chip." Dan shrugged, slouching in his chair and linking his hands behind his head.
"Yeah, but it's my chip. 'Hello, I'm Aneisha's. Get your filthy hands off'." Aneisha said.
"That's it!" Tom exclaimed, shooting up from his seat, effectively knocking it over.
"Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack." I sighed, clasping my hands over my chest as I put my chair back on it's four legs.
"That's how I'll hack into the SKUL satellite." Tom whispered.
"By pretending to be a chip or giving Eva a heart attack?" Dan deadpanned.
Tom didn't answer him, he just left and we shrugged before following him.
"Frank, I know how to hack into that SKUL satellite." Tom declared as we walked into HQ, holding up the watch. "Using this."
"What? How?" Frank asked. "Zoe's communicator only works one way."
"The communicator does. The transmitter chip will work in anything." Tom explained, holding up the flashing green chip. "All we have to do is steal the chip."
"Does anybody else know what he's doing?" Aneisha asked.
"I have a basic understanding." I told her.
"The signal from these goes to an MI9 satellite." Zoe said, holding up Dan's pencil communicator. "By using my chip, it'll go through the SKUL satellite instead."
"I'll take that, if you don't mind." Dan whispered harshly as he plucked the communicator out of her hand and slipped it back into his pocket.
"There, done." Tom said, holding up the pencil with the flashing chip on it. "Dan, call Aneisha."
"Hi, Dan." Aneisha chirped. "How's the attitude?"
"Check it out." Tom said, sitting at the desk. "The signal from Dan's pencil goes up the SKUL satellite and back down to Neish."
"All he needs to do is piggyback the signal." I continued.
"Bingo." Tom smiled, the screen showing the words 'ACCESS GRANTED'.
"You've hacked into the satellite." Frank grinned.
"It's everything being said over the SKUL communicators right now." Zoe said.
"Tell me about it. This evacuation's doing my head in." A voice came through.
"You managed to get out of there, yeah? We're driving to that old office block on Stanley Road. Grandmaster's gonna escape from the roof." A different voice explained.
"What? How's he gonna do that?" The first voice said in confusion.
"I don't know!" The second voice snapped. "But I gotta go. Later!"
"So, the Grandmaster's on his way to some office block?" Aneisha asked.
"It means that he's not at his secret base." Dan grumbled.
"I'll call Stella. Tell her to get to that office block, quick." Frank pulled out his phone.
"It's on Stanley Road. That's miles from where Stella is now." Dan said.
"But it's not far from us." Aneisha spoke up. "We could be there in minutes."
"Zoe, stay put. Don't move until we get back." Frank ordered.
We quickly entered the elevator and Frank zapped off the power.
We made it to the office block quickly and climbed up to the roof. We took cover as we watched two SKUL agents talk to the Grandmaster.
"We go in fast and quiet." Dan said. "Attack them by surprise."
"Wait." We all turned around to see Zoe. "I'm coming with you."
"Zoe." Frank said, grabbing on to her shoulders. "I thought I locked- asked you to stay in HQ."
"I can pick security locks." Zoe glared. "And I wanted to help. That book I've got. The only one I was allowed at SKUL. It's about five friends who solve mysteries. I've never had any friends to help."
"Oi!" The touching moment was interrupted by the yell of a SKUL agent who was pointing over at us.
"Alright, but stay behind me." Frank ordered to Zoe.
The six of us quickly made our way over to where the SKUL agents and the Grandmaster was stood.
"MI9... like I didn't have enough problems." The Grandmaster croaked. "Gentleman, do your worst." The agents held electricity balls in their hands, ready to fire them at us. "V95? I thought you were at the emergency rendezvous."
"Yeah, well, we got to her first." Aneisha said defiantly. "Guess what? She thinks you suck. Tell him, Zoe." The silence was palpable as Zoe refused to talk. "Zoe?"
"Come, V95. The situation has just gotten far more serious." The Grandmaster exclaimed. Zoe started to walk forward towards the Grandmaster then stopped. "That's an order, V95!"
"No." Zoe shook her head. "No, I'm never going back to SKUL! Never!"
"Teenagers." The Grandmaster grumbled. "Go get her."
The SKUL agents stepped forward towards Zoe but Dan jumped in and managed to subdue, knocking them both out with their own electricity.
"The Grandmaster!" Dan yelled as the plane started to take off and then zoomed off into the sky.
"Thanks for saving me." Zoe smiled. "And I'm sorry he got away."
"No, he hasn't got away yet." Tom insisted and moved over to a box and ripped it open.
"Tom, that's a communications mast." Frank said.
"Look, the escape pod must be controlled by a radar and I bet you anything it's from that SKUL satellite." Tom explained as he pressed buttons on the pad. "I can hack in again using the mast."
"Then you can hack into the Grandmaster's control panel." Frank finally understood.
"There, we're in." Tom took his hands off the buttons.
"You're not seriously gonna fly the pod from here?" Aneisha asked.
"Nope." Tom pulled out his console. "From here."
Tom attached a wire to the console and started to control the plane. It went around in circles before doing barrel rolls and then it managed to crash into a field.
"Game over." Frank laughed.
We made our way to the crash site and stopped when we saw a bunch of people trying to wrestle the Grandmaster out of his seat.
"How many henchmen has he got?" Aneisha asked.
"They're not SKUL uniforms." Dan said. "Someone else is after the Grandmaster."
"I'm not one to surrender." Tom said. "Okay, I'm completely one to surrender. What do we do?"
"We fight." I declared, holding up my fists.
"You let me handle this." Zoe told us after doing a series of flips over to the other bad guys. She managed to expertly fight them off as they came at her. But she was only one girl and they were five men. We quickly stepped in. Tom grabbed the one that had Zoe, the rest of us took on our own. I managed to wrap my leg around one of the bad guy's necks, and pull him down with my strength.
"Yeah, you run away." Tom taunted as the men quickly scampered.
"Tell me why SKUL was evacuated." Frank said as MI9 agents ran in and grabbed the Grandmaster.
"Because someone told them we were coming." Stella snapped as she grabbed onto Zoe's arm.
"It wasn't Zoe!" Dan defended. "Someone else is after the Grandmaster and they're getting away."
"This girl is a SKUL agent." Stella hissed. "And she's not to be trusted."
"Look out!" Aneisha exclaimed, pointing out the Grandmaster who was pushing a button. Zoe collapsed after the Grandmaster had released the button.
"Zoe." I said, rushing to her side like the rest of us had. "Zoe! Zoe, no!"
We were once again shocked into silence as Zoe failed to respond to my pleas. Dan had checked her pulse and given us all a solemn look.
"Wait." Dan cried. "She's alive."
"How?" Stella asked as Zoe sat up and coughed.
"Saved Frank's life." Tom declared.
"Exactly." Aneisha said. "Now, do you trust her?"
"Grandmaster, on behalf of all my MI High teams, you're under arrest." Frank smugly smiled and the Grandmaster grumbled.
"It's the end of my first day here at Bleakwood." Mr Flatley started as we all stood in a crowd, listening to him. "The school which hands out rules and regulations galore. But what it doesn't give is encouragement. It has no heart. Which is why I'm changing the name." Mr Flatley reached over and pulled on a cord, which revealed a bright red sign with the words 'ST HEART'S HIGH SCHOOL' in gold lettering engraved into it. "To St Heart's. This school is going to see a lot more changes from now on." We all clapped jovially.
"Look, whatever MI9 has planned for Zoe, I'm sure they'll look after her." Dan reassured Aneisha as the four of us walked to the utility cupboard.
"I hope so." Aneisha sighed. "I'm gonna miss her, that's all."
"Me too, Neish." I nudged her shoulder with mine and smiled.
Aneisha opened the scanner and pressed her thumb against it, a beep sounding. We opened the door and there stood Zoe!
"Zoe!" Aneisha and I cried at the same time.
"One minute thirty-eight seconds." Zoe grinned. "Not bad for MI9."
Aneisha hugged her first and then I did. It was so good to have her back.
"We thought we'd never see you again." Aneisha laughed.
"Okay, enough of the mushy stuff." Tom complained.
"Shut up." I pushed Tom playfully.
"Who votes Zoe pulls the broom?" Tom asked and the four of us raised our hand.
Zoe grabbed the broom and pulled it. The familiar beeping went off and we shot down the elevator. I loved my spy clothes. As we stepped off the elevator, Aneisha and I were still grinning at the fact that Zoe was now an MI9 agent.
"Well, what do you think of my little surprise?" Frank asked.
"Finally, I've got another person to talk about spy clothes with." Aneisha giggled. "That jacket rocks."
"And hair." I clapped a little. "I'm not the only redhead here now."
"With Zoe's talents, I'm sure she'll make a great addition to the team." Frank said.
"So, what about those men that attacked us?" Dan said, pulling out the badge that had been sewn into the uniform.
"They didn't work for SKUL." Zoe said. "Who are they?"
"KORPS." Frank declared.
"Who are KORPS?" I asked.
"A very old organisation." Frank explained. "They used to be around when I was a young agent. I thought they were dead and buried. A bomb blast supposedly killed them all in a shelter. They must have been reawakened now that SKUL has fallen."
Oh no.
So, this is my new MI High fanfiction and KORPS has only been explained in this chapter because I can't seem to find Trojan KORPS anywhere on the internet. All I can find is Part 1 and that's not really enough. So I'm going to skip right to Grosse Encounters. Hope you enjoyed reading and please review!