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Today, I walk into the training room to see Agent Barton with a medic, and a dog at his feet.
"No one is allergic to dogs, right?" Agent Barton asks as he pets the dog.
One male trainee raises their hand and asks, "If we're allergic, do we get to skip training?"
"No. And, you're not allergic, nice try."
A girl with black hair speaks up from beside me, "Sir, how do you know that?"
"Well, for starters, he wouldn't have worn a shirt last lesson saying he loved dogs."
Silence follows his admission, so he continues, "Good.. this is Lucky. He's going to be joining us for training today because I didn't want to pay for a dog sitter. Any questions?"
"Are we training with the dog?" I ask, surprised.
"No, no- we're going to training in another room today. Your groups are going to be placed in a simulation room that should test your abilities as a team. From the results, you should know what to work and improve on," Clint says as he leads us into another room with us following.
"I have Dr. Catherine here in case any injuries occur in the simulations, and I will just be watching from afar."
"Go ahead and pick a weapon and then pair with your group for the simulation," Agent Barton says.
I approach a table with a vast array of weapons and grab a dagger, and a CZ 75 SP-01 tactical gun. Next to me, Diego grabs a typical handgun and Luke grabs some leather gloves near other protective gear.
Luke, Agent Garcia, and I all approach the simulation room.
As soon as we all enter, the room magically turns into a battlefield and we all immediately take defensive positions.
We stand in silence for a few moments before we realize there aren't any enemies, and relax.
"What is Agent Barton thinking? This can't be useful, why doesn't he have us train with a real challenge?" I ask, disappointed at the lack of people to fight.
"Wait- do you hear that?" Luke asks. I concentrate and it sounds like there's a ticking sound.
"Guys, look up," Agent Garcia says as I look. In the sky, there is a 30-minute countdown, and an arrow facing to the right.
"Great," I say sarcastically, not a fan of countdowns.
"It's probably just a countdown to the end of the simulation, Anastasia," Luke says.
"Or a bomb," I remark.
"Let's hope it's the first," Diego comments as we begin following the direction present in the sky.
We walk in awkward silence until I come to a realization and stop. Luke and Diego look back at me as I say, "Agent Barton said we can get hurt in these simulations. If there is a bomb, we could die."
"There can't be a bomb, they wouldn't put us in that much danger," Luke says as I raise my eyebrows in response.
I look at Agent Garcia for his opinion, but he stays silent. He looks very conflicted, but I can't think of a reason why.
15 minutes later...
We approach what looks like a torn-up abandoned facility and go inside. Inside is a pipe bomb in the middle of the room with a countdown of 15 minutes, and men with guns all around it.
I quickly take out my gun and begin fighting them as I ask, "Please, tell me someone knows how to diffuse that bomb!"
"I don't, sorry!" Luke shouts as he begins attacking and taking down a few agents.
I look towards Garcia for help to see he's hyperventilating. "Diego! Can you defuse the bomb?"
"I know how, but I can't!" He shouts as he takes out his gun and begins fighting.
"Why the hell not?!" Luke shouts as he struggles with his target. I help him out and shoot his target in the leg as he sends me a look of gratitude before getting back to action.
"My twin sister, she was my partner in the force and she died trying to save a suicide bomber. I haven't touched a bomb since, I might make it worse!" Diego admits as more men barge in.
"I might be able to defuse it, but I need help. Diego, cover me," I say as I run towards the bomb, fighting some of the targets on the way.
"On it!" he says as he runs towards me.
I throw my dagger at an enemy, accidentally almost grazing Luke's head.
"Sorry!" I apologize, wincing. Because I'm not used to being on a team, I'm also not used to other people that aren't my enemy, so I'm not accustomed to avoiding them. Seeing Luke overwhelmed with the number of enemies, I shout, "Luke, catch!"
I throw him my gun as I turn back to the bomb and Diego begins instructing me.
"What? I don't know how to use a gun, Anastasia!" Luke shouts, struggling with the gun in his hand.
"Figure it out!" I yell as I try to concentrate on the ticking bomb in front of me.
With 3 minutes left on the timer, I think I've almost finished with the bomb before even more men barge in, and I start shooting with an extra gun I keep on my utility belt.
"I can't do it, Diego! I stop shooting and I'm going to get shot!" I yell as I move away from the bomb.
"I've got your back, you can do it!" Diego shouts, still near the bomb.
I turn around to go back to the bomb when I get shot in the shoulder and I groan in pain.
"Anastasia!" Luke shouts in worry as he hears the bullet hitting my flesh and my resounding groan.
"I'm fine, but I can't diffuse that bomb! I know you're scared, but you have to do this Diego," I tell him as I start shooting with my opposite hand.
"We'll have you covered, you can do this!" Luke shouts in encouragement as he goes back to back with me, covering Diego.
He hesitantly starts working on finishing diffusing the bomb as the ticking gets louder and the countdown starts flashing red.
I continue fighting the men as I ignore the throbbing pain in my shoulder. I look back and see the countdown at 1 minute, "Tell me you're almost finished!" I shout in panic.
"Don't rush me!"
"Ohh, I'm sorry! it's not like my life is literally in your hands!" I sarcastically shout.
"The bomb is just a test, it can't be real," Luke says.
"It looks pretty real to me!" I shout as my paranoia kicks in as the bomb reads 30 seconds.
All of a sudden the ticking stops and the agents disappear. I look at Diego in immense relief before I see a tear stream down from his eye.
He shakes his head in hysteria as he says, "I did it wrong, we're all going to die. I'm so sorry."
Luke and I slowly approach him as I tap him on the shoulder, attempting to get him out of the trance. "No, you did it, Diego, the bomb's diffused."
He keeps shaking his head and starts mumbling under his breath as Luke gives it a try, "It's okay, Diego. You're going to be okay."
"No," he says softly before continuing, "How can I be okay when it's my fault my twin sister is dead?"
"Unless you made that bomb, there is no way that is your fault Diego," I say, trying to calm him down.
"She wasn't even supposed to come to work that day. I asked her to because I wanted help, but the situation escalated so quickly. It should've been me, not her," he says as more tears stream down his face.
"Hey man, don't think that way. What was your sister's name?" Luke asks.
"Maya."
"Maya wouldn't want you to think like that Diego. She'd be so proud of you for diffusing that bomb, you were brave," I say.
He gives a small chuckle and wipes the tears from my eyes, "She'd probably tell me I need to get up off my ass and stop crying over her. I just miss her so much."
"It's okay to miss her, Diego. But, she'd want you to be happy, right?"
He nods his head as he stops crying and gets out of his trance.
All of a sudden, the simulation ends and we're back in the training room. I look around to see the other agents look almost, or more traumatized as us, and I look towards Agent Barton, "I know that was difficult, but that's the truth of S.H.I.E.L.D. The missions we put you on, won't be easy, and if you want to succeed, you need to depend on each other."
I look at him in rage as I see his calm face and I slap him. Gasps ring out throughout the room as Luke holds me back and Clint holds his face.
"You bastard! You had no right to do that to us! We could've died!" I shout at him.
He rubs his face as he responds, "I guess I deserve that but listen," he says as he faces the room full of agents.
"I didn't make the simulations, they were custom made to your skills and abilities once you stepped in. Everything you faced in there was fake; the only thing that could've caused harm to you were the bullets in the guns, and they're even fake. S.H.I.E.L.D. tech made them to cause pain equal to a bullet, but they're as harmless as an ICER. The pain should wear off in a few hours, and Dr. Catherine can clean you up if you have any cuts."
I relax in Luke's grip as I slightly soften my gaze, "That doesn't mean I forgive you."
"I know. You know, you're a lot like your sister."
"I'm not my sister," I reply.
"I know, Nat would've punched me for that," he admits.
"I can punch you if you'd like?" I say with a sickly sweet smile.
He winces, "No, thanks. You know my face is really starting to hurt now, let's get me some ice, Lucky," he says as he starts walking away, his dog tailing him.
I roll my eyes as I look back at Luke who releases me from his grasp and I raise my eyebrows.
"Don't look at me! You're the one who punched our instructor, I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt!"
I nod my head, "Uh, huh. Sure, Luke."
I look towards Diego, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, that was just really stressful," he admits.
"You're telling me! I almost shot myself trying to use that gun," Luke says, looking towards me.
"Learn then, I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will teach you."
"Only if you practice throwing your knife away from my head," Luke says.
We all three chuckle before we sigh, "We have to eat now?" I ask, dreading S.H.I.E.L.D's cafeteria food.
"We diffused a bomb together. Lunch is on me, wherever you want," Diego says as Luke and I share a glance.
"Pizza!" We both say.
"Pizza sounds good, I'm starving," Diego says as we leave the room.