*Author's Note: Hi guys, welcome to my first fanfiction! Exciting, right? I hope you like my story and come to love the characters as much as I do. I know the beginning's a little slow- bear with me, I promise it will get much better. I will try to upload every couple weeks. Please let me know what you think! On that note- enjoy!*

They came for me at school, the men in the black suits. They looked like those guys from the Men in Black movies, with their sunglasses and little head pieces, and they showed up in a big black stretch limo. Everyone at Berwick Academy stopped and stared. Even at my pristine boarding school, this was unusual. I watched intently from my perch on one of the courtyard benches, wondering, just like everyone else, what they were doing here.

I was so absorbed in thought that when they suddenly stopped in front of me, my heart just about stopped beating. "Saphira Elizabeth Fay?" One of them intoned in a deep voice. He had close cropped brown hair and was built like a bulldozer. I swallowed and nodded slowly, wondering how and why this man knew my full name. "Would you mind accompanying us for a short trip?" asked the other man, his hair was blonde and had a slight wave at the top, and like the other man, was huge, though slightly shorter. I hugged my messenger bag to my chest nervously, "I, um, I actually have a-a class. I'm sorry." I muttered, looking around, trying to beg people for help with my eyes. After all, everyone was still watching. Unfortunately, I was probably the most unpopular person at school and I have no friends. No, I'm not exaggerating, I do not have one single friend... Unless you count Marcia the lunch lady, and I'm pretty sure she's just doing her job.

Anyway the point is- no one was rushing to my aid. Then the brown haired man reached into his pocket. I stiffened, convinced he was about to pull a gun on me or something. From the surrounding gasps, other people had the same idea. (Not that that inspired any of them to suddenly run forward and help any more than before). My blood ran cold, and though my brain was screaming at me to run, I couldn't seem to remember how to move my legs.

After what felt like forever, he pulled his hand out of his pocket. However, the only thing in his hand was a small envelope with my name scrawled on it in cursive. A ridiculous wave of relief spread over me and I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I took it gingerly when he offered it to me and read it through quickly. Despite the long piece of paper, there were only a few paragraphs. It read:

To Miss Saphira Fay,

Dear Saphira,

This is your headmistress~ Ms. Black. I give you permission to go with these two men~ (their names are Chris and Paul) ~as they have something very important to show you and you could benefit greatly from their offer. I honestly believe that this is the chance of a lifetime and if you miss it- you will regret it for the rest of your life. As you will be absent for the next couple days~I have already informed your teachers and they have excused you from the days' lessons.

I took it upon myself to have one of the maids pack your suitcase in your dorm. I entrusted it to Chris and Paul earlier today. I also spoke with your foster parents~ The Cantwells~ and they are completely fine with this trip as well. They wish you luck and happy tidings. You are in good hands~ and I hope you have a most wonderful trip.

Sincerely Ms. Black

Berwick Headmistress

I read and reread the letter. My headmistress, one of the most responsible people in the world, wanted me to go with two complete strangers. In fact, she was practically pushing me out the door, having a maid pack my bag and already telling my teachers that I was going to be skipping out on the next couple lessons. And then there were the Cantwells. God, they wouldn't care if these men were physicopaths. They were probably just happy to have me off their hands for a few days. (If this is any hint: I'm not exactly on 'good terms' with my foster parents.)

Anyway, Ms. Black had left me with no way to get out of this. I had no choice, because even though she had technically only 'given me permission', I could read between the lines. She expected me to go and not make a scene about it. So, my cheeks red, and my nerves a tangled mess, I stood up from the stone bench, straightened my uniform skirt and slung my standard messenger bag over my shoulder.

The two men - Chris and Paul apparently- took my standing as agreement and led the way back to the limo. I felt the eyes of the whole student body on me as I walked away. Chris or Paul (I'm not sure which, as Ms. Black didn't specify who was who) opened the back door for me as the other climbed into the drivers seat. As soon as I was in, the man shut the door behind me. A second later, he had climbed into the passenger seat and off we went. The blonde one- the one in the passenger seat turned around to look at me, "Do you need anything Ms. Fay? Something to eat or drink maybe?" he offered generously. I shook my head, politely declining. He nodded once, then gestured to the movie and stereo system to my left. "Please put on whatever you like. And there's a fridge off to the side there in case you change your mind." "Thank you," I replied trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible. He nodded once again and turned around.

Not really sure what else to do, I turned to the movie player and selected one at random. I needed something to calm my nerves and take my mind off what was going on. I also reached into my bag and pulled out a notebook and a pencil. Doodling helped get my mind off things most of the time. So that's how I spent the two hour ride. I drew small pointless things like flowers and lighthouses and dogs and cats as I watched Finding Nemo. Somewhere in the middle of the ride, I gathered enough courage to crawl over to the fridge and grab a water. I sipped it for a while and watched out the window as scenery rushed past. I had no idea where we were and when I asked Chris and Paul they either didn't hear me or ignored me, which set me on edge even more.

Finally, we stopped. From what I could tell, we were practically in the middle of no only building in sight was a cracked white cement building the size of a school. It was surrounded by what must have been a small forest. A faded sign over the entrance read 'Plymouth Hospital and Medical Center'. It was run down and obviously abandoned. My heart went into overdrive, beating so fast it thought it was just going to burst out of my chest and run away. Why were we here? Were they going to experiment on me? Were they going to lock me away? Panic swirled around inside me until I felt like I was going to throw up everywhere or hyperventilate, I'm not sure which... maybe both.

Chris and Paul came around and let me out of the car- the blonde one had my suitcase. "I can take your bag," the one with the brown hair offered politely. I handed it over, too weak with nausea and nerves to care or be suspicious anymore.

They led me to the entrance and I had the crazy idea to run off into the woods behind the clinic and hide until I could call for help. But before I had time to fully hatch that plan, we were inside and I had missed my chance. My first impression had been right. It was definately abandoned. There were papers and scary hospital stuff like needles and stringes and water bags spewed across the floor. Dirt was all over the place and just like the outside, that walls were cracked. "Hey- I-I don't think this building's s-stable." I stuttered, my voice an octave higher than normal. This time I knew they had heard me, but neither of them answered, they didn't even acknowledge that I had spoken. I bite my lip, trying to keep from crying with fear and anxiousness.

The building was deathly quiet, the only sounds coming from the men's heavy black shoes and my scuffing and tripping. We walked for what felt like forever, which was strange, since the building didn't seem this big from the outside. The hospital was starting to make me physically sick when we finally reached a stainless steel door that looked comically out of place in this neglected place. The brown haired man stepped forward, "Would you mind holding this for a second, Chris?" he asked passing my messenger bag to the blonde man. So the blonde man was Chris and the brown haired man was Paul. I felt an odd sense of pride in figuring that out.

Anyway, Paul pulled out a keycard and held it up to a tiny black dot. A green light flashed and the huge metal door swung open of it's own accord. Chris and Paul ushered me inside first. While passing the door, I got a sense for how big it really was. It was about as thick as Paul's shoulders, which was pretty darn thick. It must have weighed a ton, because when it closed, I felt it shake the whole building. Dust sifted from the ceiling and I looked around. We were in a small room with one window. And it was completely empty. That's when I completely lost it. "Please," I begged, "Where are we going? What do you want?!" I demanded. The two men looked completely startled by my outburst, and Chris hurried over. "Ms. Fay, we're very close now, we're just going to the conference room to meet Mr. Ramon and the rest of the team." he said soothingly. I pressed my fingers to my nose, not sure how much of this I could handle. "Please, Ms. Fay, we're almost there I swear. Would you like me to tell you exactly how much we have left?" Chris asked. I nodded. If there was more than three things I had decided that I wasn't going to go. I was going to order them to take me back and not move until they did. Chris smiled, "Okay, we go down the elevator, and turn right to the conference room." he said cheerfully. 1-down the elevator 2-turn right. Sighing, I nodded. No going back for me. "But where's this elevator, we're in an empty roo-" I stopped abruptly looking over to where Paul had been fiddling with something in the far corner. A loud beep sounded and suddenly the entire back wall completely slid open and in it's place there was now a glowing white elevator. My jaw just about hit the ground, "How?..." I trailed off, not really sure what else to say. Paul waved a hand, "Don't worry about it, Ms. Fay, Mr. Ramon will explain." he said, gesturing for me to enter the elevator. I was beginning to wonder just who this Mr. Ramon character was, and why he had decided to have a meeting in the creepiest place on earth.

Chris and Paul gestured for me to follow them into the elevator, and after a short second of hesitation, I oblieged. "Now, just a little warning, this elevator goes a little-" but I never figured out what the elevator did because suddenly, we were shooting downwards at speeds that should have been impossible. My long god-forsaken red hair was swirling around my face. My stomach felt like it was in my mouth, but somehow I managed to scream bloody murder. I'm plunging to my death. I thought breathlessly. But just as suddenly as the elevator had started, it stopped. The door slid open and I felt my feet giving out under me. I swayed backwards, dropping down toward the floor, but unable to catch myself.

However, a strong arm wrapped gently around my waist catching me before I could crack my skull on the floor. Completely disoriented, I looked up into the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. They were the perfect mix of blue and green, framed by long dark lashes a girl would kill for. Upon further inspection, I noticed the person holding me also had a mess of dark hair, toned tan skin and a devilishly handsome smirk. I felt weak again, but for a completely different reason this time. "Nice of you to drop in," the person said, in a smooth low voice. It was just like those movies you see where the girl finds herself in the arms of a gorgeous stranger by complete chance and they fall in love instantly and then live happily ever after with ten kids.

Except a second later the moment was ruined when a whiny female voice said, "James, that's so cliche, really?" The boy turned his head, looking at someone to the left. I tilted my head so I could see who he was looking at and my heart dropped. The girl that must have spoken was probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Her skin was pale, kind of like mine, but her's was, I don't know, colder somehow. Her long hair, was about the same length as mine, but her's was a delicate shade of light blonde to my orangey-red and straight where mine curled. Her eyes were pure crystal blue. She was thin with long legs and a willowy build. I was immediately jealous of her. The boy, apparently James, lifted me upright, but didn't let go. "Ignore Kara, she's just jealous." He said with a wink. I felt my cheeks turn red, and turned my face away. Was he flirting with me? I heard the Kara girl hiss in disgust and turned just in time to see her storm off down the hall.

"T-thanks..for catching me." I muttered, so beyond embarrassed it wasn't even funny. I kept my head down, half hoping he would just forget I was there. He didn't. In fact, he ducked his head so he was in my line of sight again. "Anytime. So, what's your name?" he asked, the smirk returning. "S-saphira," I stuttered, feeling even more embarrassed. His whole face lit up, "Oh, so you're the girl Marc's been waiting for." he said. I looked up confused. Chris cleared his throat, "Marc Ramon. Mr. Ramon." he clarified. I nodded, feeling like an idiot, but James just grinned and said, "Excellent, I'll walk you to the conference room, I'm headed there anyway." I nodded my thanks, still hyper aware of his arm around my waist. It was getting really hard to think with him still touching me, even if he was just trying to be helpful, so I descreetly, turned away from quite possibly the most gorgeous boy on the face of the earth to get my messenger bag. Paul handed it to me with a smile and informed me that he and Chris would take my suitcase to my room. "Thanks," I said. When I turned back, James held out his arm, "This way to the conference room." he said gallantly. I smiled my thanks, and walked beside the most stunning boy I'd ever seen to the conference room. We made idle chatter on the way. He asked where I was from and I discovered that he had been living here (he called it the 'Den') for the last couple weeks.

We arrived at the conference room a couple minutes later, since it was only a short distance away. James pushed the door open and led me inside. The room was mint green with a white carpet and a large dark brown oval table with thirteen chairs. Eleven of them were full. Ten of the chairs were filled with teenagers all around my age. I noticed the Kara girl glaring daggers at me. The eleventh chair held a handsome middle aged man with blonde hair and a short beard. He wore a pressed button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and tan khaki pants. He smiled when we walked in. "Jameson," he said nodding to the boy next to me, "I see you've found our final team member." His gray eyes twinkled at me. I gave a small smile, praying that I would finally figure out what this was all about. "Please take a seat you two, and I'll get started." Marc said politely, gesturing to the two open seats. An African American boy with the strangest pale green eyes pulled out the chair next to himself for me. "Thank you," I said, blushing (again) and sinking into it gratefully. James slumped into the chair next to me and the lights in the room dimmed.

A projector screen flickered into existance. We all watched as Marc clicked though several slides. He reminded me comically of the teachers at my school with their nerdy little slides. "Alright. So some of you know why you're here. Others don't. Today I'm going to explain everything completely and answer any questions you might have. Sound good?" Various head bobs around the room spurred him on. "Okay, let's jump right to it then. I gathered all you here to make a elite team of fighters." he said simply. There were a couple gasps around the room and someone burst out laughing. "I know it sounds far fetched, alright? I get it, but listen. I am a very wealthy man. I have resources. And I picked you all individually for certain skills you possess and potentials that you have. I have gone over and over the possible candidates for years. And it finally came down to you 12. Now as I'm sure all of you know, you will be staying a couple days- that's why you have suitcases and rooms. Over the next couple days, you will be training, getting a feel for what this team will be like. After that you are free to go... If you want. If not, you can stay here and be part of this team. You can have anything you want- like I said, my resources are endless. But there is a catch. To join this team is to leave everything from your previous life behind. You can't go back once you've signed up. So please make your decisions wisely... Now I know that was a quick explanation, but does anyone have questions?" Everyone was silent for a second taking in what this man was saying. And I know I wasn't the only one wondering if we could trust him. Finally someone raised their hand, Marc jumped to answer the question. "You said we are going to be fighters, right? Well what are we going to fight?" a boy asked. Marc hit some button on his slide show presentation, "There are a couple definate targets I have in mind right now, but we will, essentially, use this team to handle things that the government can't or won't handle." he answered. I nodded my head thoughtfully, not really sure how he thought 12 teenagers were going to take on things that government militias couldn't. "So, Mr. Ramon. You said you could give us anything. Can you give me the ability to fly?" some girl asked sarcastically. A couple people laughed, me included. Marc grinned a slow, excited grin that slightly unnerved me. "Actually, Miss Mercedes, I can." he said coolly to the girl. We stopped laughing. "Like I said before, kids, I have many resources. I have scientists that have been working on experiments like this since before any of you were born. All I'm asking for is a chance. For you to give your all in your training and I'll give you anything..." he said solemnly, "But please keep in mind: while I will do everything in my power to protect you on your missions, I can't make any promises that you will all return safe and sound. You will get hurt. You will go through such physical and emotional pain that sometimes you won't want to be part of this team anymore." The way he was talking, it sounded like he was speaking from experience. I leaned forward intently, and noticed others doing the same, "But it is worth it." he said heavily. And with that the lights flipped back on.

Marc clapped his hands together cheerfully, all previous somberness gone, "Alright then! Off to dinner. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join you, but please keep in mind that training begins at six o'clock sharp tomorrow. Please don't be late. Sleep well!" and with that he left the room. We were all silent, Marc's previous lecture replaying in our heads. It was a major choice. I could stay with the Cantwells, continue on with the life I'd always known. Or I could start over new here, and according to Mr. Ramon have anything I wanted. However I could also lose my life.

Ms. Black had been right; this truly was the chance of a lifetime... but did I want to take it?