"Here's the plan," Director Fury said, pressing a button on the dash. An image of a skyscraper-like building appeared. "This is a simulation. We've got civilians trapped on the upper levels, and the building's got weak foundations, so you've got a limited amount of time before it comes down on you."

"Doesn't sound too tough," Agent Venom said, cracking his knuckles. "Go in, save some civs. Seems easy enough."

"It never is that easy," Predator replied. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D., not Looney Toons." Squirrel Girl gave him a fist bump for that.

"I might have forgotten to mention that there's soldiers in the lower levels. Also, stealth is of utmost importance, so try to make it through without any enemy causalities," Fury said. "Here are the teams: Team 1 is Agent Venom, Triton, Squirrel Girl, Predator, and Power Man, and Team 2 is Cloak, Dagger, Iron Fist, Iron Spider, and Rhino. The team to evacuate the most civilians before time's up wins."

"Sounds good to me," Predator replied.

"You've got half an hour to come up with a plan," Fury said, interrupting Predator, "so get to it."

"Yes, sir!" Predator replied as the two teams withdrew from the room.

-Meanwhile-

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Spider-Man said, observing events from the observation deck.

"What do you mean?" White Tiger asked. "I think we can trust Predator and Agent Venom to not tear each other apart."

"That's only half of what I'm worried about," Spider-Man replied. "I'm worried about Squirrel Girl and Predator together. The last time they were together, it didn't go very well at all."

"Fury told me about that," White Tiger replied. "I think he's just trying to see how they work in a more normal situation. Well, normal as it gets for us, anyways."


-Meanwhile-

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Power Man began. "We climb up the building, and avoid the soldiers that way."

"That's a bad idea," Predator replied. "For one thing, you're afraid of heights. Two, we're not Spider-Man."

"I'm pretty close, though," Agent Venom protested.

"Whatever," Predator replied eloquently. "I've done stuff like this, before. Power Man, Triton, Doreen- I mean, Squirrel Girl, you three stick to going up the stairs. Take out any soldiers in your way. Agent Venom and I will take the scenic route outside, come down the stairs, and meet you in the middle, where the hostages are. Knowing Fury, we'll have soldiers on the outside, too, so don't think we'll have it easy."

"Alright," said Agent Venom. "Let's get to work!"

The holographic room dropped Agent Venom and Predator on the rooftop of the simulated building. The other members of their unit being dropped to the bottom floor. "Is everyone in position?" Fury asked everyone over the speakers. Everyone running the training mission signaled thumbs up, letting Fury know that they were ready to commence the operation. "Good. Your 30 minutes start… Now!" Fury ordered as the clock in the observation room began counting down.

"We should go through the window," Venom began, causing Predator to look at his partner. "If we take that route, we could take them by surprise, and take them down easy." he finished, punching his fist into his palm for extra emphasis.

"That's a terrible idea," Predator deadpanned as he pulled up a holographic display of the building from his right gauntlet.

"Why, dude?" Venom asked. "It's a perfect plan of execution." he argued.

"The problem is that if we rappel down the side, we would have to break the windows getting in, and the sound of breaking glass would draw a lot of attention, thus jeopardizing the hostages, our teammates and this whole operation." Predator quickly lectured, which earned a face palm from Venom.

"You could have just said that breaking glass would have just make noise," Venom commented.

"Well, it never hurts to know exactly what the consequences of those actions are. That way, you won't make a similar mistake again," Predator said before pausing to take a breath. "Now, if we are finished here, I suggest simply taking the stairs, so let's to work." Predator said as he cracked his knuckles. "After all, the door's 10 feet away from your back."

Before either of them could open the door, it opened and a lone gunman walked out to the door. His response upon seeing them was to try and reach for his radio, but Venom wouldn't have that. Within the course of two seconds, his hand stretched to where the guard was standing and snapped the radio in half. Only confused for a second, the guard raised his weapon, and was met with several bullets striking him in his chest.

Venom turned towards Predator to see his gauntlet submachine gun smoking slightly. "What did you do that for?" Venom asked as they quickly moved up to the now open rooftop door.

"What are you talking about?" Predator asked as he quickly entered the building and took up a defensive position at the next door.

"Fury said that we weren't supposed to have any enemy casualties, and I'm no army dude, but that guy looks a lot like a casualty to me," Agent Venom replied.

"Those bullets are meant to cause discomfort," Predator replied. "He'll be out for a few minutes."

"And when he comes to, we'll be long gone," Agent Venom said.

Predator nodded, and the two quickly made their way down the staircase. The building began to rumble slightly. "25 minutes remaining!" Fury's voice rang out.

"All the time in the world," Agent Venom replied.

Predator's radio buzzed. "Hey, are you guys okay? We're getting close to where the hostages are," Squirrel Girl said.

"We are doing okay, but please maintain radio silence at all times," Predator replied politely. He put the radio back on his belt, and was promptly under fire from a man wielding a strange weapon firing pulses of sound. Predator and Venom dodged out of the way, and the errant sound pulse shattered the door behind them.

"Let's go that way," Agent Venom said, dashing toward the door.

"Venom, don't!" Predator tried to warn, but before he could do anything, the sound weapon hit him in the back, causing him to buckle to the ground. With an exasperated groan, Predator dashed in, grabbed Venom, and ran through the shattered door. "Fury certainly knew what he was doing," he mused.

"No kidding," Agent Venom replied. "The symbiote hates sound pulses, and I don't blame it. So, any idea where we are?"

Predator called up a holographic display of the building. "We're here," he said, pointing to the room where they were, which was still some ways away from the hostages. "We can't go that way because that guy's got us pinned down in here. No doubt, he's alerted his friends to our presence, so we can go with your plan and go through the windows."

"I told you," Agent Venom replied, webbing the doorway shut before sprinting to and breaking the window. "Let's get going!" He said.

The building rumbled again. "20 minutes remaining!" Fury's voice rang out.

Predator went out the window and began descending the building, using the strength of the Predator armor suit to keep himself from descending uncontrollably. As he had predicted, there were villains in jetpacks flying around. "Fly off, pigeons, 'fore I pluck ya!" Agent Venom told them.

"This isn't Darksiders, 'Ulthane'," Predator sarcastically replied as he went lower and lower on the building. The display on his glove showed that there were several guards around the hostages, but those would be taken care of easily. "Get your butt down here!" He shouted to Agent Venom.

"See ya, dudes!" Agent Venom replied as he jumped down, using a webline to go through the window Predator indicated. "So, what now?" He asked Predator.

"We're gonna need to disable the guards and retrieve the hostages," Predator replied. He handed a gun-like device to Agent Venom. "You can incorporate machines into your armor, right? Incorporate that Taser."

"Oh, yeah," Agent Venom said happily as the symbiote absorbed the device. "Electrowebs, here I come!"

Predator rolled his eyes, and the two made their way to the hostage room. By the time they got to the door, there were only five minutes left. "GO GO GO GO!" Predator shouted. Venom pushed the door to the side, and used his new Electrowebs to shock the guards. He picked up some hostages, as did Predator.

Predator picked up his radio. "I've got the hostages! Let's get out of here!" He said.

"What about the other hostages?" Triton asked.

"We've got them. Now, let's get out of here. Not all of us have impenetrable skin," Rhino replied. The three groups either exited out the door (almost everyone) or through a third-story window (Rhino, Venom, and Predator).

"Well done," Squirrel Girl said to Predator.

"Not bad," Director Fury said. "Team 2, you rescued the least number of hostages, 6, but you managed to avoid the soldiers. Team 1, you rescued 10 hostages, but you frequently encountered soldiers, especially you, Agent Venom and Predator. As far as I'm concerned, Team 2 is the winner."

"WHAT?!" Team 1 asked, shocked.

"You heard me. The objective was stealth, and Team 2 held onto their stealth the longest. Obviously, Predator and Agent Venom need to work on their stealth skills, so they can be subtler than a prison riot," Fury replied, sneaking in a jab at the end.

Predator groaned and rolled his eyes. "Well, I thought you did great," Squirrel Girl said.

"Thanks, Doreen," Predator replied as he walked out of the room.


-Meanwhile-

"I think they did well," White Tiger said.

Spider-Man nodded. "They do need to work on their stealth, though," he replied. "Is it just me, or did Fury crack a joke at the end of that remark?" He asked.

"He definitely did," White Tiger replied. "I'm jealous of Predator. At least he's out in the field. I wish I was out in the field."

"As of tomorrow, you will be," Doc Connors replied. "Whatever Kraven injected you with, the aftereffects seem to have worn off. Get a good night's sleep," the doctor advised.

"I've got a lot to do tomorrow," White Tiger replied, happy that her recovery time was done.

"I'll make sure she doesn't overexert herself," Spider-Man said.

"Good," Doc Connors said, turning around and exiting the room.

Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread