"...and he seemed really angry with the Captain of the Believer," Raven told Ghost. "Yeah," he said, "It gets really hard for a lot of coppertops when they're told that everything they've ever known is a lie."

"What's a coppertop? I heard a lot of people using that term to describe Beast Boy and Rob. What's it mean?"

"It's usually used to describe someone who's naïve to the truth. You and Victor seem to be handling it pretty well," he said. "Yeah," she murmured.

"What?" he asked. "I just feel so small and young compared to everyone else."

Ghost grinned. "I'm only 25, actually. Niobe's about 35 and Sparky's somewhere around 24. We usually just ignore him." They laughed.

"God, I gotta tell you, it's great to have someone around to talk to. I used to do that with Trin after sparring. She'd usually hand my ass to me on a silver platter, though."

They walked to the Core.

Sparks was tracking something on his monitor. "What's up, Sparky?" Ghost asked. "I'm monitoring some weird-ass Sentinel activity."

"You can stop doing that until the Machines get pissed at us again. For now, we need to talk with the Merovingian," ordered Niobe, impassively bossing the Operator around.

"What are we doing again, Captain?" Sparks asked.

"Jesus Christ, Sparky," Ghost laughed, "you already forgot? I heard her tell you when we came in. We're locating Agent Brown. He's a valuable ally to have in the Matrix."

"What about that Carter guy that Marster's crew found?" Sparks asked. "Well," Niobe fumed, "I don't think we can trust him."

"But we can trust an Agent that was exiled because of Neo?" Ghost asked.

"Who's the Captain?" she asked. It was a routine.

"You," they both answered.

"Who is right?"

"You."

"Who are you going to listen to even though I might make a mistake once in a lifetime?"

"Deadbolt!" Sparks shouted out. "Because when he finds out that you made a mistake, he'll use it as an excuse to kick you from your Captaincy, my captain."

Ghost shook his head. "Raven, contact Zion Command and let them know we'll be needing a new operator," he ordered.

Niobe lifted Sparks out of the chair by his neck. "Don't ever say anything like that again, Sparks, or I will kill you. And I'll enjoy it. Oh, so much." She smiled sadistically.

Raven's eyes widened. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Rae," she told the girl. "You aren't a smart-talking asshole, like this one." She made a violent gesture and Sparks covered himself, slightly frightened.

"Plug us in before she feeds you to the power plant recycling system," Ghost smirked. Sparks made a weak, fake chuckle before jacking Niobe, Ghost and Raven into the Construct.

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"I won't!"

"Do it. Come on, now!"

"I blatantly refuse, Sparks. Give them to me, now! That's an order!"

"Say please!"

Sparks was getting revenge on Niobe, allowing her access to her favorite weapons. Apparently, the Operator had developed a sense of morals and wanted the Captain to ask please.

"Fuck you."

She entered the Matrix unarmed.

"Sparks, can I please have Niobe's weapons?" Ghost asked. "Thank you, Ghost," said the Operator. Two pistols fell onto the ground and Ghost picked them up.

The other two jacked in as well. "Here you are, Captain," said Ghost as he handed her the double S9000s Pistols.

"Let's go. Raven, can you hold these?" Niobe asked while brandishing two Skorpion submachine guns.

"What, you want me to shoot people?" asked the girl.

"...Maybe," was the answer. Death was a whole new experience for Raven. She doubted she could take the life of a human being. 'But what about the double-bladed sword you've got on your back?' asked an evil little voice inside her head.

Her father's voice. Trigon.

"No," she shook her head.

'Trigon,' Ghost had said during their training, 'was an illusion made to control your emotions from causing two systemic anomalies.'

'Which means what?' she had asked.

'You would have been like him. Like Neo. This means there would have been a negative of you to balance the equation. Can you think of anyone who fits that description?' he asked.

'No,' she quickly answered, but she knew who her opposite was. The real question was, would he be waiting to stop her in the Matrix? Was he real?