Sorry about the long wait for the next chapter. As always feel free to leave feedback, qestions or comments
Mrs. Whitman yardstick fell into place of her tight grip, her eyes glued onto the mounted clock in Kaz... her's temporary…. Office. She then noticed the loose hair dangling above her eyes. Without missing a beat she moved it back in place. "Perfection," she said to herself as she then straightened out her victorian era dress.
She then looked back at the clock. "So little time has changed. So many things have." she then looked out the window, forcefully prying her eyes away from the clock. "All these agents in need of proper training," her eyes now looking down at her pocket watch, precise to the second.
She turned her head as she heard quick steps rushing to her office doors. Suddenly her doors were burst through by agents Xero and Zero.
Mrs. Whitman didn't turn to them as she asked, "you two are late," she said sternly.
"Sorry," Xero explained, "We were out for dinner-"
"Breadsticks," Zero said under his breath.
"And we weren't expecting your impromptu meeting," Xero finished.
"You two are Modifyer agents." Suddenly with lightning-like reflexes, she smacked the duo with the yardstick on the upper arms.
They both reacted felt a flash of pain as the yardstick struck their nerves. While not the worst pain either one of them have ever experienced, it was one they would like to avoid.
For a moment Xero thought she saw a flash of yellow in her partner's eyes.
Expect the unexpected," she said coldly.
Mrs. Whitman then looked over the duo. "Agent Xero, is that proper dress attire for any mission of any kind? You have to prevent the forces of evil, not take it out to dinner," she asked looking her up and down.
"You are wearing a victorian era dress," Zero reminded her.
His fact was rewarded with another smack for her yardstick, another bolt of pain, and more frustration and even anger across his face.
"You youth have no sense of style," she said coldly. "Besides, my mission days are behind me," she said moving another silver hair back in place.
She finally took a seat behind Katz desk and rummaged through some documents. "What can you tell me about former agent Zack Madoff? Why did he and several others turn against our organization," she said without looking up at the duo.
They looked at her unsure. But Xero knew. She remembered his jealousy. She remembered the furious fire in his eyes when she told him she and Zero were together.
A lie... but one she used to stop his advances onto her.
Xero turned to her partner and wondered if all the beatings Zack had inflicted onto him could have been avoided if she hadn't lied. If his enemy could have been avoided. Does he even know about the lie she asked herself?
Zero finally spoke up. "Zack had a bit of a reputation around here. Nothing ever confirmed, just a bunch of he says she says," zero said trying to explain her first question. "The cleanup crew from our last mission reported that Zack had died in our last strike to the power generator was unfortunately fatal," he said solemnly.
She looked at him skeptically. "Then that means you saw the body. Correct?"
"No," Zero said cautiously, "but the cleanup crew reported finding a charred body."
Mrs. Whitman wrote down some unforeseen notes. "And how was he able to impersonate mayor Warheart?"
Zero was silent for a moment, unsure what ort how to say it.
Xero finally spoke up. "Zack stole an experimental morphing belt."
"Where did he get that?" Mrs. Whitman pressed on.
Xero quickly thought of a lie. "He-"
Xero was cut off as Mrs. Whitman struck her with the yardstick again; for a moment Zero looked not at her, but at the spot she was struck, and what Xero thought was a yellow flash reappeared in his eyes.
"Agent Zero, how did he get this belt."
Zero looked down, already knowing the answer, sweat starting to run down his face.
"Look at me," Mrs. Whitman yelled using her yardstick to lift his chin up to her. "How did he get the belt?"
Zero mumbled something.
"How did he get the belt!" she pressed.
"Mrs. Whitman," Xero interrupted, "you need to understand -"
Xero was again silenced with a strike from her yardstick. "I did not ask you agent Xero, but obviously your partner is too cowardly or dumb to answer." Mrs. Whitman finally stepped back from the duo, back to the comforts of her desk and continued to look through her files. "But since you are eager to talk," she said addressing Xero, "my files say you saved your partner from your dam mission.
"Yes, what happened was-"
She was again cut off. "I have the report in front of me. What I want to know is why did you let Vein escape?"
Xero was taken back for a moment. "My partner was shot and thrown over a dam. Its a miracle he survived."
"Indeed. So why did you risk the mission for a slim miracle?"
Xero was taken back from her cold comment. "He's my partner."
"He knows the risks," she said eyeing Xero's partner.
Zero finally spoke, "the situation got complicated, but we were able to save the mayor before any lasting damage could be inflicted."
Well, it looks like you learned how to talk," Mrs. Whitman said coldly, "unfortunately it does not appear you know how to swim."
The duo looked at one another, frustration across both of their faces. Zero was still sweating profusely.
"Understand agents," Mrs. Whitman continued, "I run my district like a well-tuned clock. If one gear is bent or broken, it must be replaced or removed. You two seem to believe yourselves to be an exception to the rules. I can assure you, I am nothing like Katz. Katz considers you two to be some of his best. I have seen better. You two are dismissed."
The duo slowly got up to leave, neither one of them trying to rush to the door.
"One last thing," Mrs. Whitman said before they could leave through the door. "Next time I ask either one of you two a question, answer it."
The duo slowly walked through the halls towards the Modi-pod in a zombie-like state, their joyful deminers soured by Mrs. Whitman. The pod zoomed under the city like lightning, a form of transportation unknown to the common citizen, but known by the Modifyer's.
Xero looked at Zero, sweat still rolling off his face, Mrs. Whitman's bitter words still fresh in both of their minds.
"Final stop," the conductor announced over the comms.
The duo slowly left the pod, and like before in a zombie-like state, their time in the pod excruciatingly long and silent.
They walked through the empty streets towards the Modi-mobile that would eventually take them home.
Xero suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Zero, let's stop and sit for a moment," she said eying a nearby bench.
He just shooked his head in agreement, slumping onto the bench like a wet noodle, his skin a pale ash gray.
"Are you alright," she asked concern spread across her face.
"Never better," he said struggling to sit up. "Mr. Whitman's 'lecture' just really bummed me out," he said, trying to put a smile on his face.
"You know she's wrong," Xero finally said taking a seat right beside him. "You're not at fault over the morph belt incident. You had good intentions and Zack perverted it by trying to hurt people."
Zero looked at her with sad, red, teary eyes. "What if my intentions ever change?" he finally asked.
"What do you mean," she asked confused by his question.
"it's just… what difference do my intentions hold They can always change to justify anything!" he said finally breaking down. "Vein was able to persuade Zack and a group of others to change 'intentions'." He was silent for a moment as he considered an unspeakable idea. "What if one day I cause more harm than good to people?"
Xero looked at him with heard unflinching eyes. She turned his head to her, unwilling to speak until he finally looked her in the eyes. "Zero... Zack chose to leave, his worst emotions got the best of him and he sold out on an organization he wasn't even devoted too. You are nothing like him. You are a good person, no matter what life throws at you. You are a good person, even if Mrs. Whitman doesn't see it."
A warm smile finally crossed his face, yet his eyes looking heavy. "Thank you Xero," he said his head starting to sway in her hands. "I-I… think ...l… need some… sleep", he finally said.
Suddenly Zero fell forward.
Xero quickly caught hold of him before he could fall off the bench. "Zero," she said shaking him gently by the shoulders, "Now is not the time to sleep, we need to go home."
He didn't respond.
"Zero..." she said shaking him harder, "Zero… Zero!" she continued to shake him to no effect, checking and finding a weak pulse.
Without thinking twice she opened up his shirt, his shoulder, the one with the bite marks, was a sickly dark blue almost black color; like an infection all across his body.
Xero could feel her heart racing, her own breathing becoming labored as she fell to her knees, her partner still in her hands. "... oh god."
