The Gift of Fear by Gavin DeBecker was a mandatory reading for one of my classes and it was an informative book. I've used ideas from it in this chapter (even named their class after it) and in a few future chapters.

Year Three: The Gift of Fear and Intuition

Common Lecture Hall - 13:58 PM

Every cadet, no matter the program, have to take the half-credit course called The Gift of Fear. The course changes annually, so upper years couldn't tell the current third-years any information to save them. It starts close to the end of the first year and is mandatory to graduate. It's not determined by a numerical grade or even a pass or fail. At the end, close to the end of the year, each cadet must go through a psychological evaluation, seeing if they're ready to be field agents or even SHIELD agents. It's the true test, resulting in many students packing their bags and leaving at the end of the semester.

Cadets could get away with not attending any classes or doing the assigned readings, but it will bite them if they make it to graduation. Alumni have said that The Gift of Fear is the class that truly prepared them for being in the line of fire.

There was no syllabus or assigned prof at the beginning of the year when their timetables were distributed. Even when they sat in class and saw their online site for the course, everyone was on the same blank page.

In the middle of the room, James sits between Keith and Daniel who are both doing their best to ignore him. Even Merida and Victoria try their hardest from the row behind them. They regret coming in late since these were the only two adjacent seats available. If they came even a bit earlier, they could've conquered the back with Angela, Xavier, Ashton, Brody, and Orchid, who seem like they're having the time to their lives against the wall.

It's the one class they all share. It has to mean something.

-o-

"Our RA said that their year had to watch compilation videos of freaky things," Angela whispers to her friends. "Stuff more scarring than birth videos and was in the room when all my brothers were born."

Orchid snorts a laugh. "Those ain't even scary. I've delivered so many animals."

"My SO said that one year, they went cage diving," Ashton adds.

Brody gasps excitedly. "Do you think we could do that this year? I've been cage diving many times before and it's so much fun."

"Watch them make us do it without the cages," Xavier says.

Brody pumps his fists. "That's even better!"

They continue theorizing about what their Gift of Fear experience will entail, remembering more stories they've heard over the years. Some of them got mixed with Camp SHIELD horrors which will never top Xavier and James's recent experience.

The class becomes pin-drop silent as the prof, Agent Cynthia Iyu, walks in front and centre. Seeing her as the prof doesn't give any indication of the course's criteria since she didn't bring anything or log into the computer at the front. She gives the class a brief look, eyes landing on her subordinates whose jaws have dropped.

"Oh, come on!" Merida yells.

"She did this on purpose," Victoria adds. Some of their classmates laugh at them.

"Shut up, Cadets Barton and Kovanova." Agent Iyu looks up at the class. "Hello, Cadets, and welcome to The Gift of Fear."

Agent Iyu takes a moment and pulls out a stack of papers from the inside of the desk that she brought here in advance. She gives half to the end of the row of students on one side, and the other half to the other side to distribute them.

"You've been cadets for at least two years now," Agent Iyu starts as the syllabuses make their way around. "Maybe more if you went to a military school or program before your time here. Either way, you've been learning to strategize, working in your new knowledge with what you already knew. That will save you in the long-run because your intuition will save you with more competence in what to do. It's solving a timed puzzle with logic, regardless of your program."

Daniel glances at James when he taps his arm with a pencil. He looks over at James pointing at the syllabus. Daniel pulls out his syllabus and sees James pointing to the psychological evaluations. Daniel skims the paragraph, seeing that it's mandatory for everyone, no exceptions, and that he has to schedule it for a time that suits him. All Daniel knows is he's booking the last possible appointment.

"Sci-Tech might be thinking I'm talking nonsense," Agent Iyu continues, "but even those sworn to scientific ideals will tell you they rely on intuition because it tells you what's worth looking at. Communications will tell you that your intuition is off, that you're overthinking and confusing it for something else. It's time for them to understand that your interpretation of intuition is never wrong. Not everything you predict will happen but you'll never get a feeling if it isn't responding to something. If there was no hazard, then you'll lose nothing."

She's roasting you, Merida scribbles on Victoria's syllabus.

Victoria narrows her eyes as she writes underneath, you're next. She'll go harder on you. She adds a doodle of a heart with a knife through it.

"Intuition will save your life," Agent Iyu says, walking across the front of the class. "Operations kids, take notes. Intuition will tell you something's wrong but it's really your fear that will give you courage and purpose to act on it. It tells you what to do and how, which is more beneficial with the skills you've learned here. When in imminent risk, intuition forgets logic and presents pure fear, so it's better if your skills are indoctrinated in you so they're natural."

The Operations kids sit in the back and think about how they're not cage diving this year.

-o-

"If you feel fear, listen, don't construe it, and find out why," Agent Iyu concludes. "Class dismissed."

Tension in the class fades as cadets start making their things and the chatting volume increases as they make their ways out. It took them a second to start that since they were so entranced with Agent Iyu's lecture on fear and intuition that they were unaware of how much time passed. It was then they learned there were no textbooks or notes for this class. They just had to sit down and listen. Whether they paid attention was on them.

"How the fuck did she talk about fear for 90 minutes?" James mutters, unaware of when he started slumping in his seat. He turns around to face Merida and Victoria. "God, she's your SO. I'm so sorry."

"Don't remind us," Merida says as she and Victoria run out before Agent Iyu could call them to chat.

"I don't know what's scarier, this class or Sci-Ops," Daniel mutters.

"Sci-Ops, for sure," Keith states with full confidence. "Running into the line of fire versus thinking and analyzing running into fire."

Daniel isn't sure he agrees but goes with it.

-o-

One Year Ago - Asgard

Sigyn misses Asgard but she wouldn't dare say. All possible contact she has with Midgard has been obliterated. Even when she lights up her hands, she turns them off herself. Nobody could be in the room but she would still feel like eyes are watching her. She won't dare break an already crumbling trust, especially with her cousin who has already teetered into an unstable and unpredictable madness nobody could understand or remediate.

"I worry for you, my child."

Sigyn looks up from where she's sitting in her father's cell and sees Loki standing above him. His face is soft and his eyes are glassy with pity.

"Why?" Sigyn asks. "Nobody else is. They think it's better this way."

"But you're listening to them and the rule they support because Apollo, who isn't thinking straight, enforced?"

Sigyn nods, looking down. Her heart swells the more she thinks about it which is why she tries to push it to the back of her mind.

"Why?" Loki whispers.

"Because you're wrong." Sigyn looks up at him and a single tear rolls down her cheek. "My cousin didn't enforce it. His fear manipulated him into doing so and I'm much more terrified of its power over him than him."