The Initiative

Chapter 2: Introducing The Initiative.

A/N: This Chapter gets pretty shippy.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
--Arthur C. Clarke

***

[Scene: Quick and Johnny's room. Quick and Johnny are unpacking and Tasha is sitting in a chair at a desk and Nikki's sitting on the desk.]

Tasha: (Whispering to Nikki) Your right.

Nikki: (Whispering back) What about?

Tasha: (Whispering) Johnny. He is hot.

Nikki: (Whispering) I told you.

Tasha: (Whispering) I can't wait to see him in a tux.

Quick: (Overhearing Tasha's last statement) See who in a tux?

Tasha: (Opens her to reply)

Nikki: (Quickly) No one! No one…you know..

Tasha: Oh please…Nikki …

Nikki: (grabs a notepad and smacks Tasha on the back of the head with it.) Oh shut up…(Glares at Tasha)

(Tasha glares back)

(Johnny and Quick decide it's definitely better not to ask and go back to unpacking)

Quick: (Whispering to Johnny) She is cute…

Johnny: (Whispering) I told you.

Quick: (Whispering) But she does have an…explosive personality…

Johnny: (Whispering) You can say that again.

Nikki: Say what again?

Quick: That…

Johnny: That these rooms are better than the ones in Hong Kong…

Nikki: (not believing him) Uh-huh.

Quick: (Rolls eyes) Actually we were...(Gets cut off by the pillow that hit him in the face.)

Tasha: You two are a lot alike (Referring to Nikki and Johnny)

Quick: Your right, they are.

Nikki/Johnny: Oh shut up…(Glaring at Tasha/Quick)

(Tasha and Quick laugh)

[Scene: The Initiative. Tasha, Nikki, Quick, and Johnny are walking down a corridor.]

Johnny: Where are we headed now?

Tasha: To Captain Morathi's office. He'll want to know you two made here in one piece.

(They come to a door and stop and Tasha presses a button on the panel beside the door and it slides open. They step in and see an aged african-american man sitting behind a desk doing some work on a computer.)

Captain Morathi: Commander Dexter, Commander Franco, are these the transfers?

Tasha: Yes sir. Commander Williams and Lt. Commander Loh.

Captain Morathi: Very good. (He turns to the two men.) How do like our base so far?

Quick: Well...It's different.

Captain Morathi: They met Kyra, didn't they?

Nikki: And Faith…

Captain Morathi: (turning back to Quick and Johnny) Don't worry, not everybody here is like them.

Johnny: Yes sir.

[Cut to back in the corridor.]

Nikki: The Captain is right though, not everyone here is like Kyra.

Tasha: Nobody here even comes close to Kyra's level of insanity, not even Nikki.

Nikki: What's that supposed to mean!?

Tasha: Nothing…

(Nikki glares at Tasha)

Quick: Whoa..who are they?

(Nikki and Tasha look up to see two women, twins, who both have mid-back length light brown hair in two braids, and blue eyes.)

Tasha: Breanna and Bridgett. They work with the medical staff and also act as councilors.

Quick: I'm definitely going to like it here.

Nikki: (Sarcastically) Oh yay, another Ron…

Johnny: Whose…

(A man with fair skin and red hair walks up next to Nikki and puts an arm around her shoulders.)

Ron: I knew it.(Becoming melodramatic) You couldn't stand to be away from could you Nikki? To make up for the emptiness you must have felt you must have had to talk about me constantly!

Nikki: If you don't move your arm from my shoulders, I'll remove it from yours.

Ron: (Quickly moves his arm and turns to Tasha) So Tasha how about Dinner?

Tasha: How about no?

Ron: Humph! Fine. There are plenty of women around here who would be glad to have me around. (Turns on his heel and walks off in a huff)

Nikki: Nevermind…No one can be as bad as Ron…

Johnny: No…Not even Quick is that bad…

Quick: Hey!

(faint cackling can be heard from down the hall, and it gets progressively louder.)

Tasha/Nikki: Oh no…

Johnny: What?

Tasha/Nikki: Kyra…

(Kyra can be seen running down the hall)

Quick: Tell me there's a way to deal with her that we just don't know yet.

Tasha: If there is we haven't figured it out yet…

(Kyra comes to a stop in front of Quick and goes into the Crane position)

Kyra: I go Kung Fu on your ass! ( she promptly runs off again)

Quick: Huh…?

Tasha: Don't ask…

Quick: That sounds like very good advice…

Nikki: Anyways, let's head down to the armory first.

Tasha: Right.

[Scene: Armory. Faith has headphones on and is singing along to Smashing Pumpkins 'Bullet with butterfly wings' and dancing around the room. There are other various field agents around doing various things including giving Faith weird looks. Tasha, Nikki, Quick and Johnny walk in.]

Tasha: Just your basic armory. The gun locker is over there, the personal communicators are in the locker next to it, and the other lockers hold other various weapons.

Quick: I assume those doors in back lead to the simulation rooms for the trainees?

Nikki: Yep.

Johnny: (looking at Faith) Does she do that a lot?

Nikki: pretty much, yeah.

Faith: (singing) The world is a vampire sent to drain Secret destroyers hold you up to the flames and what do I get for my pain betrayed desires and a piece of the game even though I know I suppose ill show all my cool and cold like old job despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage.

Tasha: Let's head down to Optech…

(They nodded in agreement)

[Scene: Optech. Sarah is glaring at the back of a short, fat man who is seated a couple stations away. People are slowly edging away from her. Nikki, Tasha, Johnny and Quick enter.]

Johnny: What's with everybody? (He notices people inching in different directions)

Tasha: I don't know…

(A girl with sandy blonde hair carrying some disks walks over to them.)

Nikki: Paige, what's with everybody?

Paige: Hollace was being an ass again and well…(She points to an extremely pissed looking Sarah.)

Tasha: Ah…Paige, these are the transfers Johnny Loh and Quick Williams. Guys this is Paige O'Brian.

Sarah: (Muttering herself) Someday I swear I'm gonna kill him. I'm just gonna wring his fat little neck…

Nikki: I don't think he's pissed her off that much before…what did he say to her?

Paige: We don't know…but it might have something to do with the fact that he just got promoted…

Tasha: He was probably just rubbing the fact he got promoted over her in her face…typical Hollace...

(Sarah stands up and heads for the exit)

Sarah: I'm going on break.

(Sarah leaves)

[Scene: Another hallway. Tasha, Nikki, Quick and Johnny are headed to the medical facilities.]

Tasha: (thoughtful) You know Nikki was saying how someone would look good in a tux...

Nikki: UGH! You know what that's it…Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. FIRE----

Jonhhy: Whoa! (He grabs her arms and pins them behind her back so she can't finish the spell) Calm down...

Nikki: Let me GO! I'll visit her in the hospital LATER!!!!!!!

Johnny: Calm down. Deep breaths.

(Nikki takes a couple deep breaths and starts to calm down)

Quick: Now isn't that cute. (Johnny is still holding Nikki back)

(Nikki and Johnny simultaneously glare at him. Johnny let's go of Nikki's arms and advances on Quick.)

Nikki: Holy wind, wind which flows gently across the land let all things be filled with your pure breath. VAN—

Johnny: Stop. I'm gonna kick Quick's ass myself, he's my partner…

(Nikki stops somewhat disappointed)

Nikki: Fine…

Tasha: At least we're near the doctors…

(Johnny proceeds to kick Quick's ass)

[Later in the Medical Facilities Alenara is finishes patching up Quick with a dermal regenerator.]

Alenara: What happened again?

Tasha: He pissed his partner off.

Alenara: I should have guessed.

Quick: That happens a lot here?

Alenara: Oh yeah. Especially with people like Ron, Kyra, and Mr. Waddles here. We get lots of that around here. In fact they're the main reasons we have Breanna and Bridgett here acting as counselors.

Johnny: Mr. Waddles?

Nikki: Hollace, from Optech.

Johnny: Oh, the one who pissed off…Sarah?

Tasha: Yep.

Alenara: What did he do this time?

Nikki: He got promoted, we figure he rubbed it in her face.

Alenara: (gets a dark look on her face) The penguin must die….

Tasha: She doesn't like Hollace much…

Quick: I can see…

Nikki: She'll use just about any reason to get mad at him.

Tasha: There's only one person she probably hates more…

Johnny: Who's that?

Tasha/Nikki: Walt.

Alenara: Don't say that name! (There's a crack from the dermal regenerator in her hand. She immediately calms down and looks at the regenerator in her hand) Oh dear…

Nikki: Alenara, we'll talk to you later…We have to go finish our tour…

Alenara: Oh of course, bye.

T/N/J/Q: Bye! (They leave)

[Scene: Back in the hallway]

Quick: She's a scary person…

Tasha: Tell me about it…

Nikki: She seems really sweet from a distance…but then you meet her…

Tasha: Why don't we head to the rec room before we head to the Research lab?

(They all nod)

[A little later they come to a door and Nikki presses the button on the side of the door and it slides open to reveal a huge rec room with a large track, three large swimming pools, a couple doors in back leading to simulation rooms, some mats for practice with hand-to-hand combat, bleachers, a mini-café, a shooting range, a door on the left hand wall leading to a large ice rink, two climbing walls, one for beginners and one for the more advanced climbers, some punching bags, two rings for boxers, kick boxers, and wrestlers, and a room for board games and card games.]

Johnny: (in awe) This is huge…

Nikki: You didn't have one in Hong Kong?

Quick: We did…but it wasn't this big…

Tasha: Makes sense. Hong Kong is just a small branch of The Initiative and relatively new too. We have one of the oldest established and largest branches. Naturally everything is bigger.

Nikki: (sarcastically) Tasha, the wealth of information.

(Tasha rolls her eyes)

Nikki: Anyways, while we're here why don't we get something to eat?

Johnny: Sounds good.

(They go in and towards the mini café and sit down at and open table and pick up the menus)

(A random waiter guy comes and fills their cups with ice water)

Quick: Is there anything we should know about the food here?

Tasha: huh?

Johnny: In Hong Kong there are some dishes that you shouldn't order if you don't enjoy puking your guts out in the middle of the night. But newcomers don't find out about it unless they ask.

Nikki: Ah. No, everything here is actually really good. Hana and Mitch are great cooks.

Quick: Two cooks? The one in Hong Kong got busier then this and they only had one…

Johnny: Not much busier though, considering the food though. Most people just used the replicators in their rooms…

Tasha: Both of them are agents. They take shifts. They both love to cook so the higher ups never had to hire a full time cook.

Johnny: I see.

(Val walks up to them in a waitressing uniform)

Val: Hey!

Nikki: Val? I didn't know you waitressed…

Val: (snapping her gum) I don't. But I had nothing to do so Mitch said he was short a waitress cause she was on a case, and here I am!

Tasha: Great…(Val snaps her gum again) Do you have to do that?

Val: Does it annoy you Tasha?

Tasha: Yes.

Val: (snaps her gum again) Then yes.

Tasha: Whatever. I'll have a Caesar Salad.

Val: How boring. (Snaps her gum and writes it down)

Quick: I'll have a Cheeseburger.

Nikki: I'll have some Ravioli.

Johnny: I'll have a slice of Pepperoni Pizza.

Val: OK that will be out in a minute. (she walks away)

Johnny: Are there any other crazy people here we should watch out other than who we've already met?

Tasha: It's always good to avoid the trainees…they get scarier all the time…

Nikki: Mariah is some one you want to avoid if she's in a bad mood…

Tasha: And Ashley is very loud.

Nikki: And Isabella is just weird…

Tasha: And Kyra is unavoidable, just warning you on that one, and you have to be very careful of Nikki, she's easy to piss off, but you've seen that already.

Nikki: Hey!

Tasha: See?

Nikki: Whatever. What about you Johnny? You did quite a number there on Quick.

Johnny: That was probably nothing compared to some of the things you've probably done to some of the personnel here.

Nikki: Let's not talk about that…

(Val comes out with their food)

Val: Eat up.

[Scene: The Research Lab. Nikki, Tasha, Johnny, and Quick walk in.]

Tasha: There's not much to show here. Uhm…the supermodel over there is Isabella.

(She indicates a woman standing over a microscope with long brown hair and a perfect figure.)

Quick: If you'll excuse me…

Nikki: (Putting an arm in front of him) I wouldn't recommend it. She has the perfect body, but her personality is a lot like Kyra's…just not as hyperactive all the time…

Quick: Ah…

Tasha: Anyways, that's Andy, Nadine's over there, and Ron usually works here but he must be terrorizing people at the moment…(She points to every one respectively) Nadine is the head scientist here.

(Johnny and Quick nod in response)

Nikki: Wow...I didn't realize it was this late…(Looking at watch) We better head back to our rooms…we have to get up early tomarrow…

Tasha: When don't we. (Nikki gives her a look) But she's right. The only things left are the instruction rooms and classrooms for the trainees but that doesn't matter for you guys.

Nikki: We should probably walk you guys to your room unless you think you can make it there on your own.

(Quick and Johnny look at each other)

Quick/Johnny: You should probably walk us there.

Nikki: Thought so.

(They exit the room)

Nikki: So what do you think of our branch here? Besides the people…

Johnny: It's incredible/

Quick: (Muttering) That's not all you think is incredible.

Johnny: What?

Quick: Nothing.

(A familiar cackling can be heard and Kyra comes running down the hall waving a gun in the air. She runs past the four without stopping.)

Nikki: Hey Tash…Wasn't that your gun?

Tasha: Why that…! I'm gonna kill her! (Tasha runs after Kyra)

Nikki: (sighs) Come on. Tasha can deal with Kyra on her own.

(Quick and Johnny nod.)

[Cut to in front of Johnny and Quick's room.]

Quick: Thanks for the tour.

Nikki: No problem.

Quick: G'Night. (He presses the entrance button and the door opens and he goes in the room, he closes the door without bothering to wait for Johnny.)

Nikki: It's been quite a day, huh?

Johnny: Your telling me. What was Tasha talking about with the tuxedo thing anyways?

Nikki: (Blushing) Uhm…uh…well…

Johnny: You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

Nikki: (Relaxing) OK. I don't know what got into Tasha today. And I'm not usually so...explosive…well, wait nevermind, I am. (She smiles)

Johnny: (Laughs)

Nikki: So what's it like in China? (She leans against the doorframe on the opposite side from Johnny)

Johnny: Well…The people are less…crazy and explosive for one thing. And the demon attacks aren't very frequent…

Nikki: I guess Hong Kong isn't very high on their to do list is it.

Johnny: Guess not.

Nikki: What about Quick, he seems like quite the player…

Johnny: Oh yeah, he's a real skirt chaser. (He moves a little closer to Nikki)

Nikki: Tons of girlfriends that haven't lasted long? (Moving closer too)

Johnny: Yep that's Quick.

Nikki: And what about you? Are you a player like Quick?

Johnny: I'd like to think I'm not that bad.

(By now Nikki and Johnny are standing really close together.)

Johnny: What about you? I bet the guys are fighting each other to go out with you.

Nikki: Hardly.

Johnny: That's surprising…(He puts his hands on her waist)

Nikki: Not really…(She wraps her arms around his neck and starts to pull Johnny closer) I…(She gets cut off by Johnny's lips)

Tasha: I swear someday I'm gonna kill that woman…

(Nikki and Johnny jump apart really quickly and are beet red.)

Tasha: (Looking at the scene in front of her and realizing what she probably just broke up. She grins evilly) Did I interrupt something?

Nikki/Johnny: No…

Nikki: (Clearly embarrassed) Nothing at all…

Tasha: OK, as long as I didn't interrupt anything. (She heads over to the room she shares with Nikki) Night Johnny. (She goes inside)

Johnny: Night Tasha.

Nikki: She's quite a character…

Johnny: Yep.

Nikki: Anyways, I guess we had better go to bed.

Johnny: Yep. Night Nikki.

Nikki: Night Johnny. (She's about to turn to go when on second thought she moves to hug Johnny)

(While they're hugging Nikki looks up to say something their lips accidentally meet for half a second before they quickly break apart blushing.)

Nikki: uh...Sleep well…

Johnny: Yeah… you too…

(Nikki slowly turns around before going to her room. She turns around before she opens the door and gives a half smile.)

Nikki: See you tomarrow.

Johnny: Yeah, maybe we can get lunch again.

Nikki: Sure…(She opens her door and goes inside)

(Johnny smiles to himself before going inside his room)

[Inside Nikki and Tasha's room.]

Tasha: I saw that.

Nikki: Saw what?

Tasha: You kissed him.

Nikki: I did not…

Tasha: When's the wedding?

Nikki: Would you stop it? We're not getting married. (She goes over to her dresser to get out her pajamas)

Tasha: But you like him.

Nikki: Maybe a little…

Tasha: Oh come on, if I had walked up just a couple seconds later things between you two would have been pretty passionate.

Nikki: (Going into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth) Oh would you just drop it?

Tasha: No.

Nikki: Ugh. (The bathroom door slides shut.)