"so angsty… in a shakespeare's twelfth night sort of way "

Silence filled the baby blue Mustang as empty fields passed in a blur. Well, not complete silence as the radio was tuned in to a rock music station that sounded through the car at a low volume. Simon leaned his head against the cool glass of the passenger's side window, staring out. His eyes never focusing on anything since he wasn't really looking.

Lorraine sat in the driver's seat, staring straight ahead. Their conversation had been minimal since they left Vegas to head toward New York City, which for Simon was both preferred and excruciating. The Londoner wasn't a particularly loquacious person, but not speaking to anyone for a majority of the last twenty-four hours was grating on his nerves. Especially since he was so used to being surrounded by his peers at all hours.

The older Broughton woman was adamant that her daughter was being taken to New York City. When Simon asked her why, she refused to answer, only giving vague explanations instead. However, Simon knew better. People frequently underestimated him, not in terms of physical ability as Andi often was, but in terms of his intelligence.

He knew more than Lorraine realized. He knew about her commitment issues when it came to which agency she would stick with and which she would betray. He knew all about Abaddon, her daughter's former friend and now, nemesis. And, he knew all about Ouroboros. To be fair, he was one of the most knowledgeable about the secretive intelligence organization than any other non-member on the planet. Most people who knew about the organization could not gather concrete proof of its existence, leading to conspiracy theories galore. However, Simon was one of the few with the means to believe in its true existence, thanks to King's Dominion.

The brunet boy sighed as he thought about Saya and the rest leaving Vegas without him, under the impression that he and Andi would be shortly behind them. Only, they wouldn't be. Instead, he was on this impromptu road trip, cross-country with his best friend's mother who just happened to be a deadly assassin and spy.

He couldn't properly imagine anyone else's reactions to their missing-in-action status aside from Saya though. She would be undoubtedly worried, but he knew that she would rationalize possible excuses as she tried to push that concern aside. The rest though, Willie and Billy just weren't as close with them. He pictured them being vaguely worried, but nothing more. Simon almost let out a sarcastic laugh as he thought of Marcus and Maria. They would surely be too wrapped up in each other.

Maria.

Simon had tried to push aside his thoughts on the Latina beauty for the last day, as he was more consumed by thinking of his missing friend. However, he was hurt. In the last week, he felt exponentially closer to Maria. Since they knew each other, they always made flirty comments, but more recently, they actually started to form a secretive friendship. He knew that on his side of things, his feelings were always more than just friendly, but he always held back. Although her relationship with Chico was abusive, he would never put her in an awkward—or even dangerous—position by pursuing her outright romantically. But, when he helped her find an out, when he gave her that passport so she could finally escape the hold of Soto Vatos, he thought she maybe reciprocated his crush.

God, he felt stupid admitting that. But, yes. He had a crush on her. Obviously, he had misread things and she didn't actually feel that way about him.

His sore feelings about his unrequited crush were not the reason for his frustration toward her though. It was that if she chose someone else, why did it have to be Marcus?

Maria knew that Andi had strong feelings about Marcus. Hell, everyone but Andi and Marcus knew exactly what the two thought of each other. But, she pursued the Arguello boy anyway. It was the betrayal of her and Andi's friendship that frustrated him to no end. With Marcus, he felt anger, but with Maria, he felt disappointment.

He sighed deeply again, this time catching Lorraine's attention.

"Are you going to sigh with teenage angst for this entire trip? If so, I'm going to turn the music up," she said, breaking her unnerving silent streak.

The London boy rolled his eyes, sitting up straight in his seat. He turned to the blonde woman, his deadpanned expression looking at her angular profile, and let out a loud, exaggerated sigh once more.

Her jaw clenched in annoyance at his childish rebuttal. Glancing at him briefly with steely eyes, she quickly moved her eyes back to the road. "What could possibly be plaguing you? What? Is it the overwhelming amount of relationship drama you and Andrea have found yourselves tangled up in?" His eyes narrowed at her. How would she know?

He didn't realize he muttered his thoughts aloud until she let out a mocking laugh. "You think just because I haven't seen my daughter in a while that I haven't been keeping tabs on her? I know all about the turmoil in your little clique right now. So angsty… in a Shakespeare's Twelfth Night sort of way."

"I'm glad you find enjoyment in your daughter's emotional pain," he sassed back at the woman, noticing the small smirk that began to tug at her painted lips.

The smirk dropped from her face at his remark. "Andrea should've known better than to get so attached anyway. It's her own fault. She was at King's to learn how to protect herself, not find a boyfriend… or friends for that matter." The blonde gave Simon a disdainful look.

Simon couldn't take it anymore, the words rushing out of him as if a dam had broken. "You don't know, Andi," he snapped. "She might be your daughter by blood, but you know nothing about her. You might've only left her at King's a few years ago, but you emotionally abandoned her long before that. She was broken and you were nowhere to be found. You couldn't be bothered to comfort her or hug her or even have a fucking conversation with her! You weren't there to help her, but I was. So don't pretend like you have any right to make snarky comments about her life, especially about the people who were there for her when you weren't!"

He did not realize how progressively closer he got to the woman in his moment of ire, how he was practically yelling in her face. When the last words tumbled from his mouth, he took a deep breath and settled back into his seat, avoiding looking in Lorraine's direction.

Lorraine refrained from responding to his rant, too prideful to accept that he was right and too stubborn to allow it to spiral into an argument. So, the car soon shifted back into an uneasy silence, the only sound being A Flock of Seagulls playing in the background.

Unfortunately, they still had approximately thirteen—now awkward—hours left of their drive. Oh, joy.

Andi stood on the crowded sidewalk outside of a towering, glass building. The skyscraper before her did not stand out among the rest of the imposing skyline. However, the fact that Abaddon had led her to it immediately after they disembarked from the airport signified its importance.

Andi knew in her gut that this was the Ouroboros headquarters, although, she never knew exactly how they managed to go undetected all these years. Now, she was finally getting her answers.

Abaddon led her into the lobby. It was rather vacant; minimalistic yet expensive in its design. The walls, the floor, the front desk—they were all made with some kind of polished, black stone. At the center of the stone wall, behind the security counter, there was a huge golden inlay depicting an intricate tree.

Her former friend didn't say a word as he approached the counter and pulled a card from his pocket. It wasn't a key card, nor was it anything similar from what she could tell. There was no magnetic strip of it, indicating that it needed to be swiped for access to places that only allowed individuals holding secret clearances. It was a plain, black card that no one would look twice at, yet here it held significance. The man behind the counter—obviously, security based on his crisply ironed, black suit and almost undetectable earpiece—grabbed the card and handed it to the woman beside him. She was a stark contrast to him, dressed in clean, white business attire. The receptionist smiled at Andi and Abaddon with a grin so wide, the blonde girl could only imagine it was painful. She held the card under some sort of reader that Andi didn't recognize.

Just as quickly as she held it under the scanner, she pulled it back, holding the card for Abaddon to grab. "Welcome back to The World Tree Foundation, Erik. Mr. Brandt has been waiting anxiously for your return."

Andi's eyes stayed on the card as Abaddon went to put it away. It was no longer a plain black color. Instead, a golden circle shined from the glossy surface, not just any circle though—a serpent eating its own tail—an Ouroboros, after which the agency was named.

They stepped away from the counter and entered the elevator. As the doors closed, Abaddon lifted a panel and exposed a biometric scanner over the buttons. Placing his right hand over the glass, it took only a few seconds for the scan to complete. He closed the panel and pressed the button for the top floor.

Andi gazed at him warily. Typically, he never shut up. In fact, Abaddon loved to watch her squirm in discomfort, so she was shocked he wasn't doing everything in his power to make her afraid. She was completely out of her comfort zone. She was in an unfamiliar city, in a building surrounded by people who had helped to make her life a living hell since she was practically born. And now, she was trapped in an elevator with the same person who tortured her for days. The same person whom she desperately wanted to kill in an agonizingly slow fashion.

The light ding of the elevator arriving at the top floor was ironically mundane for the situation she found herself in, almost laughably so. They stepped out and she once again followed the lead of the tall teen beside her. He walked to the end of the hall and stopped before a woman sitting at her desk.

She glanced up at him, her scowl a blatant contrast to the peppy receptionist on the ground floor.

"Mr. Brandt is busy, Abaddon," she stated coldly. Andi took note of how she referred to him. The receptionist had called him Erik, which was the name he once used with the blonde girl years ago. This woman, however, had some knowledge of who he really was.

"He's expecting me," Abaddon said, a hint of irritation tinging his tone.

She picked up a phone and dialed a number. "Abaddon is here for you." Soon after, she hung up and waved him on, her scowl still firmly in place.

There was a slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes as they narrowed in amusement, mocking the woman's prior dismissal. Andi remained silent, merely taking in everything she could from every exchange. At this point, she was simply a sponge attempting to soak up every new piece of information she could gather.

Abaddon knocked on the office door politely. Although, Andi knew there was nothing polite about him and that this was all mere protocol he had to follow.

"Come in," a pleasant-sounding voice called out. The tall boy entered with the blonde girl just behind him.

There were three people in the room. A large man with dark skin and a piercing gaze, taking in the two new additions with the intensity of any bird of prey. His legs were crossed neatly, his suit pristine. Everything about him alerted Andi to what he was capable of, and that was pretty much anything. The next was an older woman. She had been speaking when they entered, yet was not the one who invited them in. That had been a male voice. If Andi heard correctly, the woman had a thick Spanish accent, almost reminiscent of Maria's. Her wrinkled hands were clasped delicately in her lap, but her eyes were hard much like the first gentleman. Others would underestimate her on her age and stature alone, but Andi was used to being underestimated. She knew not to be fooled by appearances alone.

Lastly, was the man behind the desk. "Ah, welcome Abaddon. I see you've succeeded in bringing Andrea here for us," he greeted excitedly in his audible German accent. This was the man who invited them in. He stood up and the two others did as well. "I will speak with you more on the matter later," he told them. "I must first speak with Miss Broughton here."

The two nodded and stood to leave, eyeing the blonde girl one final time as they left.

"You," he gestured to Andi, "Sit, please!" the man Andi assumed was Mr. Brandt encouraged. He was a rather unassuming man and spoke pleasantly to the two of them as they took the previously occupied seats. He was not at all what the blonde had been expecting for the head of such a secretive and dangerous agency, but it came across fake. As if it was some grand act he was putting on.

First, he addressed Abaddon. "Abaddon, thank you once again for bringing Andi here safely. Your loyalty is appreciated." Despite the kind words, there was a hidden edge to them. As if the man had not been expecting her safe delivery to them. Abaddon smiled accepting the praise regardless, although his eyes glinted with that familiar madness to which Andi was accustomed. "However, I do need to speak with our guest privately, so if you will, Hermes is waiting for you to report back." The smile the crazed teenager wore disappeared at the man's dismissal.

Begrudgingly, the tall teen stood. "Of course, Odin," he replied stiffly, before walking out the door.

"Odin," Andi whispered quietly to herself, catching Mr. Brandt's attention.

He smiled at her. Although after witnessing the tense exchange between him and Abaddon, it seemed less kind and more like the cat that just ate the canary. Abaddon bowed out so easily and without as much as a snarky comment. The boy who caused her such pain in the past, who had held such power over her, was reduced to nothing more than a dog being shooed away by its master.

"That is my moniker amongst the agency. The world knows me as Hermann Brandt, CEO of The World Tree Foundation, a philanthropic organization that spans the globe offering a variety of outreach programs and aid. However, Odin is what I am referred to within the intelligence community."

"So The World Tree Foundation and Ouroboros are—," she started, putting the pieces together.

He nodded. "One in the same, correct. Ouroboros started small. It grew from the ideals of the disenfranchised who wished to impact the world on a larger scale, to be engineers of change. Over centuries, it grew into the independent intelligence agency that it is today. Now, we are the ones pulling the strings. When things go south, we are the ones correcting it, by any means necessary.

"Some suspect we are here, like big brother watching over in omnipresence. We've even been referred to by other names throughout history, such as the Illuminati. However, no one has managed to pin us down. We have many friends in high places and our alliances are mutually beneficial."

Andi let out a scoff, "So, you're like HYDRA, from the Marvel comics." God, who knew when Simon had her read those comics that she'd actually be applying them to her real life.

"I don't really know what you're referring to, but I suppose?" he answered although it seemed more like a question. He took a sip of the brandy that sat in a glass on his desk. "Our ambassadors are stationed across the globe, surrounded by the best operatives and insurgents possible. Your mother was one of them before she defected, which led to your unfortunate first run-in with our agency.

"Years ago, when you first met Abaddon, that was meant to be our first attempt at retrieving you. Unfortunately, Abaddon went off-script…"

"Unfortunately went off-script?" Andi snapped, cutting him off. "He killed my caretaker and then tortured me for days!"

Odin nodded, "It was never meant to happen like that. Abaddon took many liberties with his solo mission. Nothing that happened was acceptable, nor was it what we planned. His mission was only to retrieve you and bring you here as he did this time in Vegas. After your incident, he was pulled from the field and made to undergo a rigorous training regime before being allowed back. He was only recently cleared to return to fieldwork. The death of your caretaker was an unfortunate casualty of our negligence while dealing with other matters at the time, and I do sincerely apologize."

Apology not accepted, Andi thought. She bit her tongue though. She had become privy to an insane amount of information about Ouroboros and Odin in a short period. She knew this could only lead to a few outcomes, one of them being her death, so she had to remain cautious.

"I had hoped to offer you a deal though, if you are willing to consider it," Odin proposed. Andi narrowed her eyes slightly, before nodding. She knew they targeted her all these years because of her mother. However, she never understood why they didn't just kill her. A bullet to the head would be much simpler than tracking her down and bringing her all this way.

"I'm listening."

Odin smiled brightly at her, "Excellent. As you know, your mother's desertion of our agency has put her in a peculiar position. She cannot be and allowed to live with the wealth of knowledge she has, yet she cannot be trusted to return to our agency and continue her work. But, perhaps I could manage to forgive her indiscretion if you agree to my two terms. One, you must join Ouroboros in her place. You will retain your freedom to come and go as you please as long as you're available to assist on missions as needed." Andi considered this for a moment before gesturing for him to continue with his second term.

"Secondly, when you leave here, you will return to King's Dominion with a small selection of young operatives we wish to receive more in-depth training. I, as well as the rest of the high council, have heard of your school's prestige thanks to our contacts within the Guild and although we do not doubt the whispers, we'd prefer it if they had your guidance in adjusting to their new accommodations."

Andi gulped, thinking everything over. She could save her mother's life and all she would have to do is utilize the skills she's been acquiring over the last few years. Well, that and play glorified tour guide to a few Ouroboros legacies—or would they be Rats? It seemed like a small price to pay, but she couldn't help but feel like she was signing her soul over to the devil. Realistically, there was no denying this offer. So, if she was going to accept, then she really wanted to make it worth it.

"Fine, I'll join your super-secret assassin club, but I have a condition of my own. You said it in so many words yourself. You like alliances that are mutually beneficial. If you want an alliance with me, I only ask for one thing in addition to the terms already discussed." Odin gave no indication of irritation at her request; he only waited for her to continue. "It seems to me that you have a problem with a mad dog in your midst. Abaddon might have seemed like a solid investment years ago, but he fucked up. And even now, after years of additional training, you still can't trust him to not fuck up again. You were shocked that I got here in one piece." He looked about to object, but Andi didn't let him. This was a gamble she hoped would pay off. "You don't have to deny it, I already know. That's why I'm offering to take care of your little problem. I get justice and you can get rid of a headache. You want me to join you, I get to put him down.

"I want to kill Abaddon."

That's the end of part one!

It's a week late but when have I ever been on time, let's be honest.

So this is really, in my opinion, giving you an insight into how fucked up Andi's life is. She really determined that saving her mother's life wasn't enough incentive for her to join Ouroboros, so she negotiated her contract. And can we blame her?

We also got to see that Lorraine has learned little from the years separated from her daughter. She is very much the mother that should have never been a mother and Simon called her ass out on it. Thank you, Simon.

Part two will pick up after the slight time jump between episodes five and six. Andi will be returning to King's with some new friends by her side. They will be introduced in the next part, but won't become a part of the main storyline until part three. This story will be compromised of three parts I think. Part two will finish off the show and part three will be a mash-up of the graphic novels and Andi's original storyline.

Part two will probably start back up at the beginning of March-ish. Between now and then, I'll be prewriting.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know!