A/N: Hello everyone, I'm ChillyIce. You all consider this a pilot/test chapter to a new fic. If I get a good enough response I may continue (not to put any pressure on any of you). Title maybe subject to change.

Catalina Aozora hurried out of her car slamming the door to her red car a little too hard. "Sorry, Brad. I shouldn't have done that," she apologized to the vehicle. "But I'm very late." She ran as fast as she allowed herself in her heels. She couldn't afford to fall in the parking lot. She narrowed her dark brown eyes focusing on the walking symbol and 'forcing' it to stay that way. Just as she reached the crosswalk the light changed to a red hand forcing her to stop. Catalina tapped her foot in irritation. She couldn't be late today or any day for that manner. She, Catalina Aozora, was never late. She ran her fingers through her newly cut hair still a little uncomfortable with its shorter length.

The light changed and Catalina hurried across the crosswalk and into the large office building. She ran to the elevator and began to push the button frantically. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited impatiently. "Running late, I see," a calm honeyed male voice said behind her. She straightened at the sound of the voice looking into the elevator's doors to see a silhouette behind her reflection. Catalina couldn't believe that her employer was standing behind her and caught her coming in late. Catalina turned quickly to face the man. She straightened her dress suit trying to look presentable and not like she ran two blocks to get here. She looked up at him with embarrassment. His dark blue eyes looked down at her own dark ones.

"I'm so sorry for being late Mr. Masters. I thought I had set up my alarm and I guess I didn't," Catalina said quickly hoping the man wouldn't be upset.

"Catalina, in case you haven't noticed, the office isn't even open yet," Vlad said with a smirk. Catalina looked around and noticed that her employer was right. There was absolutely no one in the lobby. She blushed a little.

"Well, you're here. I'm supposed to beat you here," she grumbled to herself. "Not that it's a race, but I want to make sure everything is ready for you."

The man raised a single eyebrow at her as the elevator dinged. "You make me sound like I'm helpless," the man said as the two entered the elevator.

"Weeellll, I'm not the one who said it," Catalina quipped. The man gave her a look of mock hurt putting a hand to his chest. "Anywho, you have a lot on your schedule today," the woman said looking at her tablet. She quickly entered into her calendar app which was held more of the man's obligations than her own which wasn't surprising since she became his personal assistant six months ago. "So you have a meeting with Vladco's board of directors. After that you need to meet with George down in the aeronautics department and speak to him about his latest project. Then of course your lunch meeting." Catalina looked up at her employer waiting for a response. The older man was staring intently at his reflection. "Mr. Masters, did your reunion go well? You seem upset," Catalina asked concerned.

The man gave his charming smile, "Of course it went well. I enjoyed meeting with my former classmates." Catalina caught the slight downturn of his smile when he mentioned his classmates.

"Bzzz, wrong answer," Catalina said jokingly, "I've been around you long enough to know that that's a lie. But it's okay, you don't have to tell me. I hope it doesn't interfere with your work." She could tell that the man was frowning at her lack of respect, but in all honestly she really looked up to the man and was only trying to lighten the mood.

"You underestimate me, Catalina," Vlad said as the doors to the elevator opened.

"I'll give you that. You are good at what you do," Catalina stated as she exited the elevator. "If you give me a moment I'll get your tea."

"There's no need for that, Catalina. I do need you to file some of claims though. They're in my office," Vlad led the way to his office. Catalina always loved Vlad's office; it was so neat and orderly. The warmth of the wooden furniture match perfectly with coolness of the green walls. "Ah here it is," the man said holding out a blue folder.

Catalina took it, "Thank you. I'll get on this right away, Sir." She walked to her desk calmly. She went right to work on sorting the papers that Vlad had handed her. While she was working on that, her coworkers were filling the office slowly. She sat at her desk as soon as she finished glad to be off her feet.

The ringing of the phone on her desk jarred her awake. She just hated that sound. Catalina picked up the phone quickly. "Hello, this is Vladimir Masters' office, Catalina speaking. How may I help you?" Catalina greeted spinning in her chair slightly.

"I'm Agent Q from the GIW. We are seeking assistance in our latest development in renewable energy. We would like to speak to Mr. Masters to arrange a date for a meeting," the male voice on the other line stated.

"Of course, let me look at his schedule," the woman drawled leaning her head to one side to hold the phone while she pulled out her tablet. "How much time would you be needing for this appointment?" she asked as she scrolled through the calendar.

"A day at least," the man stated on the other side. Catalina frowned at this; Vlad was a very busy man.

"If you give me a moment, I'll speak to him about when you can meet. Just give me your name and number and I'll get back to you." Jotting down the agent's information, Catalina hung up and searched for her employer. She knocked on his office door before letting herself in.

"Sir, Agent Q from the GIW wanted to meet with you in their facility. He wanted assistance on a project there. Of course, we need to have information on the project and whether or not you are willing to send some of our scientists there," Catalina stated.

"Sounds like a perfect job for you," Vlad stated looking up from his computer.

"Me?" the woman asked, "Are you sure you don't want to see for yourself?"

The man smiled, "I trust you to keep me informed. Besides I have too much work here to do to visit them anytime soon."

"Of course, Mr. Masters. I'll get right on it," Catalina said, "I'll be sure to call you every couple of hours for an update."

"I'm not helpless, Catalina," Vlad stated as she exited the room.

"I'm not saying that, Mr. Masters."

DP~DP~DP

Catalina huffed in annoyance at the blindfold tied across her eyes. "Why is this necessary again?" she asked the agent that she knew was sitting across from her.

"We can't have anyone know the location of this super secret facility," the agent's voice could be heard over the beating of the helicopter.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were kidnapping me," Catalina said smugly. The helicopter blades slowed and their noise died with them.

"I ensure you Ms. Aozora that we have the best intentions," the agent said as he guided the blind woman out of the vehicle. Catalina knew they entered a building when the dry heat changed to cool crisp air. The man led the woman around for about ten minutes before he stopped suddenly. "Here were are," the agent said as the blindfold was removed.

Catalina blinked a couple of times to clear her blurred vision. She looked at the blank white-tiled walls of the hallway she was deposited in. She turned to the Asian agent next to her. He was taller than her which wasn't surprising considering she was only five foot three. "Put on this lab coat to protect that lovely dress you're wearing," the man said in what he must have thought was a flirtatious voice. Catalina internally scoffed, but took it from the man. She put it on covering her favorite white dress. "What it is that you wanted us to help you with?" Catalina asked ready to get a move on with this appointment.

"Right this way," the man led. " As I stated on the phone, we are working on a method of limitless energy. We have been able to tap into an alternate world. This world has limitless free energy from our measurements. All we need is a handful of your scientist to hurry the calculations along."

The man turned to his right and swiped his card into the lock. The door swung open and the two enter the lab. The white walls of the hallway contrasted greatly with the grey walls of the lab. Silver tables lined the walls. But the main attraction was a large metal cylinder against the wall. "Is that?" Catalina asked pointing to the portal like machine.

"Yes, it's not activated yet, but once it is we will be able to harness the energy," Agent Q continued.

"Fascinating," Catalina breathed stepping forward to touch the cool metal. "I think you may have a partner, Agent," she stated running her hand along the opening. A bell interrupted her inspection.

"Lunch time, everyone," a man called out and Catalina could hear the other agents leave. She told herself that she should leave as well. But why would she waste time eating when she could get a closer look at this piece of machinery. Looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching, she entered into the inactive portal. Her short heeled boots clicked on the metal flooring which drowned the sound of mechanical whirling.

"This is so cool," she whispered. "But I should be leaving," she stated turning to leave. A painful electrical shock ran through her body making Catalina fall to her knees. A cold chill started in the center of her chest. Catalina grabbed her front at this uncomfortable feeling. As quickly as the chill came, a burning sensation following. She felt as though she was on fire with her heart being it's epicenter. Catalina screamed, but couldn't hear it over the erratic beating of her heart. She couldn't breathe. Each breath burned her lungs. The chill returned only touching her skin causing goosebumps along her arms. Catalina could feel herself loosing control over her muscles. She fell flat on the ground and her body twitched uncontrollably. Catalina could feel fear grip her heart. She rolled on her back and her back arched. She could faintly hear sparks. The corners of her vision dimmed and sent her into darkness.

DP~DP~DP

Catalina groaned in pain. "Are you waking up now?" a female voice said.

"Let me sleep, Amelia," Catalina complained to her friend without opening her eyes. Catalina could practically see Amelia roll her eyes. "Wake me up in another hour."

"I guess I'll just tell Mr. Masters to come later," Amelia responded without missing a beat. Catalina opened her eyes quickly not wanting her boss to know that she was not up yet. Amelia's laughter banged against Catalina's already aching head. Catalina narrowed her eyes on the blonde that was sitting beside her bed, Mr. Masters nowhere in sight.

"That's not funny," Catalina grumbled as she narrowed her eyes at her friend. Amelia worked in the accounting department. When Catalina was hired, the two had become instant friends.

Amelia wiped at her blue eyes, "I don't know what to say." Catalina blushed. Amelia's laughter slowed and stopped. "You're very lucky to have survive that explosion."

"Explosion?" Catalina repeated.

"The entire facility exploded. There hasn't been any other survivors. Most have died from their wounds. The doctors didn't even believe that you'll make it," Amelia said turning her gaze downwards.

"Oh, I didn't know what it was that serious," Catalina sighed. A knock on the door drew both women's attention. The door opened slowly revealing Vlad Masters entering the room. He walked in with confidence.

"Catalina, you seem to be doing well. Amelia," Vlad greeted.

"I need to be heading off now," Amelia said waving at Catalina as she left. The door closed behind the blonde woman quickly.

"Considering how calm you are I image you didn't notice your hair," Vlad said with a grin.

Catalina's eyes widened. "What's wrong with my hair?" she asked starting to reach upward to her head. Vlad reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a hand mirror before handing it to his assistant. Catalina took it. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Besides some minor cuts and bruises, her light olive face was relatively unharmed. Her hair however had her blinking a couple times. The longer strands that framed her face and her asymmetrical bangs were completely white while the rest of her short hair retained their black color. Catalina was proud of her hair and to see it mutilated almost made her want to scream. "I'm too young to have white hair," she rose her voice narrowing her dark eyes at her reflection.

Vlad cleared his throat. "It looks good on you," Catalina grumbled looking at the man. The man gave her an unreadable look. Catalina tightened her hold on the mirror. She glared at her reflection wondering if she could dye her hair back to her natural color when the mirror fell from her hand as if it wasn't there.