When she opened her eyes, she found herself against the wall of Curdun Cay. The massive complex stood before her upon the snowy landscape. However, she wasn't cold. Even with her lack of winter clothing. Looking up at the compound brought her a different coldness. She had never been imprisoned herself, but she was close.

"Alright, Eugene, what's my test today?"

"We need you to infiltrate Curdun Cay," he spoke behind her, causing her to turn around.

"Without being seen?" she asked.

"Well, you'll be shot if you're seen so… yeah, preferably."

"Alright then," she replied while turning around, "I guess I'm ready when you are."

Eugene then fizzled out of existence and her test began. Several DUP guards materialized throughout the complex, one of them being on the catwalk of the wall she stood beside. She looked up and had a clear view of the soldier. She flexed her hand and tossed a misty red bolt toward the guard. Unaware of the attack, the guard continued his duty looking out into the mountainous landscape. Jessica continued.

She had gotten to the main entrance a few meters away and listened. She heard two guards at the open gates. She then turned to face the first guard. With her fist glowing, she closed it and the guard fell flat on his back asleep. The two guards turned towards the commotion and Jessica pressed forward. She got to the two guards and placed a hand on the backs of each of their heads. A faint red mist left her hands before she retracted them. They immediately turned around with weapons drawn. However, they saw nothing. Jessica had rendered herself invisible to the two guards. They then looked at each other, thinking that the one tapped the other, before rushing up to the catwalk.

Jessica then snuck along the edge of the wall towards the main building. She didn't get very far until its next challenge presented itself. A guard appeared from behind a corner and looked towards her. In a panic, she threw a red beam at the guard, the force caused him to stumble and drop his weapon. Feeling low on energy, she ran up to him and put her hand to his forehead. For a few seconds, he struggled to pry her hand away, only to slump to the ground unconscious, his mental energy drained. She once again felt energized.

It was in sight. The main compound was a short sprint away. However, the main doors were locked, protected by a basic keypad. She stepped aside and watched as one guard approached the door. This was her chance.

Charging up her ability, she projected a snaking red trail towards the unsuspecting target. It latched onto his head and Jessica forced her eyes closed. When she opened them, her pupils were bright red, and her vision was not her own. She instead viewed what the agent did, and watched as he put in the code to the door: 03142016. The door slid upwards and the agent walked inside. The door immediately closed behind him. Jessica closed her eyes tight and opened them, restoring her vision.

She took a second to regain her composure, as the feat was an extreme toll on her powers, all the while repeating the number combination in her head. When her head cleared, she checked for any prying eyes before making a dash for the entrance. She quickly typed in the code and ducked inside. The door closed shut behind her. In front of her, she saw a training area.

"Okay… now what?" Jessica asked Eugene.

"You're test isn't over," a female voice called out.

"Augustine? What the hell Eugene? This isn't the test you told me about."

"I've been chasing you for quite some time, young lady."

"Eugene?"

Suddenly, the floor in front of her opened up and Jessica watched as Brooke Augustine emerged from an elevator. When it came to a stop, she stepped off and walked towards the confused conduit.

"Do you seriously expect me to fight her?!" Jessica called out.

"Now, the real test begins."

Augustine drew concrete onto her wrists and she lifted herself off the ground. She then pulled more concrete around her and created a field out of it that encompassed her. She hovered about two feet off the ground and hurled chunks of concrete towards Jessica. She ducked behind cover, barely avoiding the shrapnel. She then revealed herself and tossed a misty red grenade in her direction. It detonated and Augustine was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When it dissipated, Augustine could be seen struggling to keep herself awake.

Jessica took this time to fire several shots at her, many of them hitting. However, as she damaged her, she woke up. Her target in sight, Augustine launched a barrage of concrete shrapnel at the young conduit. She couldn't dodge as easily this time and she got smacked in the chest, falling onto her back as a result. On the ground, she held out her hands and a red shield erupted in front of her. Augustine's attacks bounced off helplessly.

The DUP leader then charged at Jessica. Once mere feet away, the concrete field transformed into long whips held by Augustine. Her feet once again came to the floor and she pulled her arms back and over her head. The heavy whips slammed onto the ground just as Jessica rolled out of the way. However, as she stood back up, her chest met one of the whips head on and she was tossed towards a platform, hitting the ground with a heavy thud before getting back up.

She looked at the gash on her shoulder just as a red mist left her body and trailed towards the wound, healing it. Just ahead of her, Augustine was charging again. She ran with her whips trailing behind before propelling herself into the air. Before she had a chance to strike, Jessica launched a red missile at her. The impact made her stumble and she was forced to change her whips back into the concrete field. She regained her composure and hovered just in front of Jessica.

She created a shield and shoved it forward, effectively creating a shockwave that threw Augustine back a few feet. Afterwards, Jessica pummeled the DUP leader with a burst of red, further disorienting her. Jessica then jumped at her and latched onto her. The sudden force was enough to break Augustine's concentration long enough to disrupt her concrete field. All the shrapnel fell to the floor followed by the pair. On the ground, Jessica threw her hands on both sides of her face and the red mist emanated from them.

She struggled, hurling small bits of stone at the younger conduit with her power. Many of them scraped her face and slammed against her shoulder, but Jessica held on. She felt her powers draining faster than her pain tolerance. But her determination paid off. Seconds later, Augustine was unconscious. Jessica hurried off her and brushed herself off. She looked at her handiwork before looking back at her environment. She had won. She was the hero. She smiled.

Then, she was thrown back into reality, and her smile disappeared. When she returned, she was greeted by Eugene, Alex, as well as several guards who held her at gunpoint. Alex walked up to Jessica with an open restraining device. The young conduit sighed as she held her hands out. Alex secured the device around her hands and the guards eased up. Alex motioned Jessica to follow her. For the past two months, Jessica has been training like the other conduits. However, she was also a prisoner, after helping Celia kidnap Ashton and Sebastian.

She followed Alex and her escort, all the while getting stared at by the other conduits. They eventually reached her prison cell. It was protected by a glass wall, allowing the guards to keep an eye on her at all times. When she was situated in her room, they closed up the cell and left. A few seconds later, Eugene walked up.

"Wanna' tell me why you put me up against Augustine?"

"It was Alex's idea. She wanted me to put in Augustine to see how you would react."

"Did I pass?" she asked sarcastically.

"I don't know. But if you ask me, I think that was the best you've ever done."

She nodded without looking at him, and Eugene took this as his cue to leave. However, as he turned around, she spoke to him again.

"Thank you… for letting me train. I know it must've been hard to convince them to give me a chance."

"You're welcome. I know what it's like to be forced to do something you don't want to," he replied before walking off. A few minutes later, she had another visitor.

"Found my roommate yet?" Jessica asked Sam as he approached her cell.

"No… not yet," he spoke, annoyed at the question.

"You know I can't help you," she replied while laying down on the bed in her cell.

"I know, I just wanted to talk."

"I'm not talking to you," she said coldly.

"This is about Celia."

"I'm not stupid!" she snapped.

"I need your help to find her."

"I told her, I can't help you. Do you honestly expect me to find her?"

"No, but she seems to have a knack for finding other conduits."

"You wanna' use me as bait?"

"She's not going to kill you."

"Yes she will! I'm a loose end to her! If you ask me, I think we're all better off not knowing."

"She's killing innocent people."

"Those 'innocent people'," she began while sitting back up, "Would kill people like us if they had the chance. If anything, she's saving innocent lives."

"You're agreeing with the person who threatened to kill you?" Sam challenged.

"I seem to remember saying that I wasn't talking to you," she said while laying back down.

"Jessica…"

She closed her eyes as a response, signaling that she was indeed done talking. Sam sighed and shook his head before leaving her presence. When he left, she opened her eyes. She looked at the restraining device on her hands and sighed.