Over the next two weeks we planned out how to tell the others about Loki and me. It was going well but Thor wasn't so sure what would happen. He was just as anxious as I was about telling, knowing that they would be mad with him keeping this secret. They had to understand why he didn't tell them.

Right now I was in my office at the NY headquarters for the BSAA. I was in charge of all five of the New York BSAA bases. We had to split the New York base into five parts. The five boroughs—the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island each have a BSAA base. There were also laws in place that said if New York was under a bio-terrorist threat or attack I was to take control of N.Y.P.D, SHIELD and other emergency personnel which included the avengers.

The room was nothing much, clean white walls, cream carpeted floor, a large cabinet for files lined up on the wall and a large black cherry-wood desk. My desk was bare except the laptop, a small pile of documents, and a picture frame with a picture of the STARS team. I also had seven golden plaques on the wall for the stars members who died.

I was dressed in a purple spaghetti strap shirt under a black leather jacket with my hair down, black jeans with my ID on my belt and red flats with a small heel. I was sitting in the chair behind the desk cataloguing reports from the captains of SOU teams I had assigned missions to a couple of weeks ago. The Eagle, Shark and Cobra teams just gotten back and the captains had given me their reports.

I heard knock at my office door. Now this is when I get annoyed, no one is supposed to bother me when I was in my office. Unless it was a matter of importance or the training of the new recruits or fleshies as well call them. ''Come on in '' I said. Parker Luciani walked into my office. He was Caucasian, British-Italian with shoulder length black hair. He has chocolate-brown eyes and was dressed in a black-blue shirt under a green BSAA jacket and blue jeans with sneakers. He had a smirk on his face and two coffees in his hands.

'' What the hell Luciani? '' I demanded not even looking up, annoyed that I was interrupted from my paperwork. This paperwork is holding me up and I wanted to get back in the field as soon as possible. He flinched at the tone my voice took, then realized that I had just gotten annoyed by his interrupting me. '' I knew that you would act this way, so I brought a peace-offering '' He said placing the caramel blended ice coffee in front of me.

I took a sip of it, smiling. Parker knows just how to not get me mad or quell my anger. He must have gotten help from Loki. '' What is it Parker? '' I asked putting the coffee down. '' I think that the fleshies are ready for their last test '' Parker stated serious. I looked at him and said '' are you sure? I can't lose any of my men ''. He nodded, I smirked. '' All right. Are they still in the training area or did you give them the rest of the day off? '' I asked. '' Their still in the training area '' Parker told me.

Parker and I walked to the training area. I had changed into my mission outfit. The mechanical door opened and we walked into the training area. The training area is a large and enclosed training ground. The training ground was a lot different from where the fleshies which was what we called the recruits had practiced for the past few months. The room looked like a cross between an arena and a laboratory or something. It was somehow dark with only a few lights on—mostly only on the part where the soldiers will sit and up on the balconies where several armed soldiers were posted.

The room looked sterile and the middle part of the room is surrounded by thick glass that separated it from the rest of the room. The darkness of the room covered whatever it was beyond the thick glass. The room definitely gave a serious and dangerous feel to those who were in it. Everyone looked at us. I looked at the team of fleshies who immediately saluted, me as a superior officer. I saluted back. "At ease gentlemen," I commanded, making the soldiers sit down in unison. I looked at Parker and waited for him to start his briefing.

'' Now you know why Captain Stark is here '' Parker told them. I stepped up to address the group of trainees. '' Parker tells me you are ready for your last test. I'm inclined to agree with him '' I said looking them in the eye.

'' Gentlemen, your last test is all about survival. Now when I say survival, it is not just shooting at creatures until they drop dead like what you did in your earlier trainings because real survival is being alive after experiencing the worst kinds of situations on the battlefield like limited ammunition and first aid and various monsters attacking you on all sides. You might be good at shooting targets here in the HQ but if you don't use your brains once you are already on the field… I'm sorry but you won't get very far. So, today's training is not just eliminating B.O.W.s because today we will be putting to the test the knowledge and skills that you have acquired and honed during your trainings and how well you use them to your advantage and your survival '' I said seriously.

"Parker, if you could please…" I commanded, signaling the male instructor to push the switch on the wall. When Parker pushed the switch, the rest of the lights switched on revealing the middle part of the training room.

I continued my briefing while making my way to the glass barriers, "You will be fighting for your survival down there in the pit—eliminating B.O.W.s that will be released through those electronic doors using only the items or weapons that we will be providing you with."

"But, don't worry, if any of you screws up, our snipers will be taking care of those creatures that are too close for comfort," added Parker, seeing the anxious and dread look in the faces of some soldiers. "Also, for this exercise, you will be working in teams and we will be rating your team as well as your individual performances," I stated, making my way near the front row of soldiers, looking at them and making sure that they take the exercise seriously.

"So make sure that you do your best down there…" I uttered. "Anyway, let's begin shall we?" I declared as I headed back towards Parker. Parker handed me some equipment to use in the demonstration and gave me other items as well. While the two instructors were busy preparing, the soldiers were also busy sharing their thoughts with one another. Parker was now trying to help me put on my headset while I was putting my hair up in a ponytail. Once done, Parker lightly patted my back giving me the signal that I'm ready to go. I then made my way down to the pit through a secured entrance.

As I was making my way to the center of the pit, Parker allowed the soldiers to get a better view of the pit by letting them stand behind the glass barriers. "Ready Mandy?" inquired Parker through his headset, looking at the woman at the center of the pit. "Let me check with my boys up on the balconies first," I uttered looking up at the armed B.S.A.A. soldiers. "You already up their boys?" "Roger, snipers are ready Ms. Stark," came an answer through the communication line. "Then I guess its show time, Parker."

The loud sound of the alarm started echoing through the room while red flashes of light filled the venue. Then the lights started to switch off one by one. The trainees were startled and some were trying their best not to panic while I just stood there with my drawn weapon at the middle of the pit waiting for the metal doors to open and release god knows what.

After several seconds the alarm stopped and the red flashing lights were gone. The only lights that were switched on were the ones focused on the pit and everything else in the room was black.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Then, the electronic door opened releasing some white smoke in the process. Afterwards, a distressed moan was heard and a sloppy and eerie sound like something being dragged was heard. A step, then another step made by something coming out from the electronic door and into the pit.

It was an infected— a zombie. It was dragging one of its legs and it walked slowly and mindlessly in the pit.

The trainees watched in silence as the infected mindlessly made its way closer to me. Some of the trainees thought that this was too easy as an exercise. Then, suddenly the infected stopped when it saw the living being. It just stood there motionless for several seconds then, without warning it moaned loudly and ran towards me. I just stood there while the creature quickly made its way to me. As the infected got really close to me it leaped towards me and even before it had the chance to maul me, a gunshot echoed throughout the room.

I had shot it dead in its head—a perfect headshot. The zombie's head was gone and it collapsed on the floor.

Afterwards, several moans were heard and a horde of zombies ran out of the metal door towards me. I started moving and immediately shot the incoming zombies on their legs to stop them then performed a roundhouse kick that sent the creatures flying away, killing them instantly. Subsequently, another large group of zombies were coming out and were quickly making its way to me when a mechanical hiss was heard. The other electronic door opened and out came a kennel of Cerberus.

The zombie dogs were running fast towards me, so, I turned quickly and ran back towards the incoming horde of zombies. The zombies tried attacking me but I was able to dodge and ran past them. When I was at a distance, I fired some shots at the creatures buying myself some time until I unpinned a grenade and threw it at the zombies and the dogs that were chasing after me. The explosion caused massive damage which instantly killed the zombies and the kennel of zombie dogs. I then approached a crawling zombie whose missing its lower half of the body and crashed its head with my boots.

Just when the trainees thought that it was over, a reptilian creature with huge razor claws came running out the metallic doors and leaped towards me at a fast rate. The Hunter swung its sharp large claws at me but I was able to dodge it and roll away safely. Then, two more Hunters came out and dashed towards me as well. This time, I changed my Handgun to a Sub-Machine Gun and started shooting at the creatures' faces and underbellies which caused the hunters to collapse dead on the floor. The other Hunter however, was able to sneak behind me and swung its claws at me. I barely dodged the attack.

I fell on the ground and dropped my gun near the creature in the process. I then quickly drew my knife and threw it at the creature's eye—Bull's eye. The fearless creature writhed in pain and I saw this as an opportunity. I drew my hand gun and barraged the hunter's belly with bullets until it bled and died.

Things were not yet over because a group of pincers and oozes came out of the metal doors and started running after me. I quickly stood up and retrieved my knife and Sub-Machine Gun. I then started running around the pit gathering the creatures in the process. Afterwards, I started shooting at their legs and arms then performed mêlée attacks to kill them. This continued for some time however, the creatures just kept coming and I started getting tired. If this continued I won't have enough ammo and strength to deal with the rest of the creatures.

Then, I saw something different from the group. There was a large lump of flesh with residual arms and legs running around with the group. I recognized that monster and knew how that can help me to my advantage. It was a Chunk. I than started shooting at the Chunk and the more damage it took the bigger it became until finally it stopped moving for a second then exploded. The large explosion killed and knocked down the rest of the oozes and pincers. Fortunately, I was not caught in the explosion.

I then approached the creatures that were still moving and finished them off one by one by either crushing their heads with my boots or stabbing them with my combat knife. When everything was done, I wiped my combat knife on my pants and placed it back in its sheath.

The metallic doors closed. The lights switched on. The demonstration was over. "Good work Mandy!" praised Parker through the communication line. "That's it? No black tentacle beings or tyrants?" I joked tired, making my way out of the pit. "Come on Stark, leave some for the little boys eh?" answered Parker, opening the secured door and letting me in. Once I entered, the soldiers started clapping and cheering.

"Come on guys," I pleaded, "for sure you can do the same thing down there once it is your group's turn." "Okay, so go back to your places everyone because I will be announcing the group assignments for this exercise," declared Parker while looking at his list. While the trainees went back to their seats, they couldn't seem to stop talking about what they just saw in the pit and how I single-handedly killed all those creatures.

While Parker announced the groupings, I untied my hair then returned my weapons and leaned on the glass barrier to rest. I noticed that several men wearing white protective clothes were down in the pit cleaning the carnage that I had just left. I then started wondering how many of those creatures were still hidden away—locked up in cages until they were going to be used and disposed of during the trainings. The idea seemed immoral especially for the case of the zombies who were once human beings but, this was the best way to prepare the soldiers with what they will be dealing with out there. The more familiarized the soldiers were to such creatures the lesser they will fear them. Well, that was the idea. However, for me, no matter how familiar I was with the kinds of creatures and evil out there, there was just one thing that I feared the most…

"Mandy!" called Parker. My attention then switched to the man who called out my name. "Yes?" "Would you like to give some tips or reminders first before the boys go down in the pit?" asked the male agent.

I walked towards the trainees. "Well, just remember the following and you'll be fine: first, be aware of your surroundings, use it to your advantage and always make sure to have an exit point. Second, shoot the creatures at their weak points, not only will this save time and ammo, it will definitely save your life. Third, use your items wisely, if you can kill something without depleting a lot of ammo then do it—use your combat knife, do mêlée attacks or use something else to inflict damage. And most importantly don't panic…"

"Parker? I addressed, waiting for the man to say something.

"Okay, so the first group that will go down to the pit will be the green team, followed by the red team, then the yellow team, followed by orange team, then the purple team, and last will be the blue team. Please remember that you and your team's performances will be graded and points deducted when the snipers save your asses. Then at the end, we'll be announcing which team performed the best. If you have no questions… then, let's begin!" declared the male B.S.A.A. agent, handing a copy of the list of trainees to me.

The training exercise lasted for several hours. Everyone was tired and hungry by the time they finished. Some of the trainees were resting on their seats while the others were already lying down on the floor in exhaustion. Several of the trainees finished the exercise unharmed while there were some who sustained some minor injuries.

"Okay boys, we're done tallying your scores," I announced, causing the tired trainees to sit properly and go back to their seats. "Despite some minor setbacks, everybody actually performed better than what we had expected. So, congratulations everyone. You passed ". The soldiers clapped and cheered upon hearing the good news.

'' Now each of your teams are to choose a team name and captain. They will report to me on Saturday '' I told them. '' Yes Ma'am '' the trainees said in unison. They walked out after we did. I packed up my stuff, heading home for the day. Walking into stark tower I had a smile on my face. The recruits had passed their last test and will be in the field soon. I had confidence that they would be able to work together in real bio-terrorist conditions. I knew that there was one thing I hated. Albert Wesker. If he ever comes back from the dead I'll kill him again.