Hearts Disguised

Chapter 23

Taking Names

With her first mission a success, Cinder knew that she was ready for harder ones. Unfortunately, she also knew that she couldn't push this girl too hard too fast or else she would get relapses of what was actually happening. She shaped her up to be this way and she couldn't lose everything she worked for because of one small mistake.

At her company, everyone was hard at work. Most of them were tying up any loose ends that may come up, some of them were working on their information for their agents to get back into the field, and a small handful of them were working on Cinder's request. It was hard to make it successful since this kind of thing didn't actually exist. This required them to experiment time and time again with little results. Cinder tried to remain patient with them, but it was just too hard for her. Yang was on the verge of becoming her first true success, but because of who she was as a person, there was something holding her back. This treatment would eliminate that restraint.

Back with Yang, her training was slowly getting better. Neo was still a huge roadblock for her so that kept her motivated in getting stronger. At the end of every week, Yang would get a new assignment from Cinder. For everyone else, they thought this was a little strange since missions always came straight from Floor 10. Yang didn't mind. She just headed up to Cinder's floor without question. Every time she went up there, Cinder reminded her of her goal and etched that saying into her head.

This method was definitely working since Yang always finished it to the letter without any problems. With Cinder on the sideline, she got to witness the cause of Yang's actions. People were dropping like flies everywhere, the news people were so confused, and the authorities had no chance of stopping her. Everything was working out in her favor. Then finally, one day came around that brightened Cinder's face.

"Ms. Fall, I believe we've cracked the code." She smiled and turned her chair.

"Well, let's check it out." She exited her room and followed her science staff to their quarters. Once there, they explained the formula and the effects. Obviously, they couldn't give her real life results until they actually tested it out. That's when Cinder had the idea that would change things around there. "Prep the formula. Tomorrow morning, we'll commence testing."

"Of course."

…

When the next morning, Cinder waited on the training floor of the building for Yang to arrive. Once she did, Cinder asked her to follow her and Yang did so without questions. It was a little hard for her though since she was going into a new area of the building. When they arrived in the science of the building, Cinder walked over to the scientists and checked with them once more.

"How's everything looking?"

"We are good to go, Ms. Fall."

"Perfect. Yang, if you would be so kind as to head over to the table." Yang looked across the room and saw a table. They were restraints where her arms and legs would go and immediately questioned this whole thing.

"What's going on?"

"Don't worry about it. I promise everything will be fine." Yang looked at the table and then at Cinder before walking over to it. She lay on the table as the scientists strapped her in. Once she was in, it raised her to where her body was upright. Yang checked the restraints and noticed that they were nearly impossible to get out of. This went on for a bit longer until Cinder walked up to her and lifted her chin up. "This is the power that you've been waited for. Take it and save this world." Yang's eyes shot wide open as Cinder disappeared into the darkness of the room while another scientist came out with a syringe gun.

"Doctor, we are ready to begin trials." He nodded his head and turned towards Yang. At this moment, Yang was starting to get a little tense. Already, things were getting weirder than she first anticipated. The doctor rubbed her arm with some alcohol and then proceeded with the test. He jammed the gun into her arm and Yang immediately felt the effects as the liquid entered her body as a tremendous rate.

Meanwhile, the doctors monitoring Yang's body were in constant fluster. The effects were nothing like they were expecting. Her heart rate was going off the chart. They looked at her and saw that she was nearly going insane. Her body was out of control as she tried to escape the restraints. It was a little difficult to tell, but the veins in her arms were popping out as if she was some kind of power lifter. Her eyes turned red like that one time against Neo. No one knew what was happening. The only person who was enjoying this was Cinder. She got out from behind their desk and walked towards Yang.

"You've done it." The scientists were so confused. Everything they were examining told them that they had failed.

Yang's struggling went on for another minute or so when something suddenly shifted in the other direction. Her body suddenly returned to normal as she went limp. The whole room went silent as Cinder walked up to Yang and brought her head up. When she did, Yang's eyes were bright red and she could easily tell that there was something different about this girl.

"What is your name?"

"Yang Xiao Long."

"What is your purpose?"

"To save this world."

"Do you have any ties to this world?"

"Only one… My little sister."

"Whom do you serve?"

"Cinder." At that moment, Cinder smiled and turned around. She headed back to the elevator when the scientists tried calling out to her. She didn't really acknowledge them. She just said to finish up their examinations and send her up to her office. After that, she disappeared from sight. With Cinder gone, they continued with their work. They monitored her heart rate, muscle capacity at a cellular level, and noticed so many abnormal things that they were expecting.

After their check-up was complete, Yang slowly walked to the elevator and returned to Cinder's side. When she arrived, she knelt down in front of her desk and waited for any kind of order. As she waited, Cinder was sitting on her chair and staring out into the city. She couldn't believe so many of her plans were finally playing to her liking. The last piece was the rogue agent, and this was what Yang was for. She spun her chair around and got up.

"How do you feel?"

"I don't believe that is a question that needs to be answered. I'm here so that automatically tells you the answer."

"Hm, I like that answer. Anyway, I have something special in store for you, but I need to make sure that you're truly up for it." She reached behind her and grabbed the pile of files on her desk. "These are your next assignments. They will let me know if you're ready to be the face of this company."

"I'm ready, Cinder. I can promise you that." She suddenly tossed the files on the ground and let Yang rummage through them.

"Then prove it. I expect these to be completed by the end of the night." Yang opened up all of the files and scanned everything as quickly as she could. There were a total of four targets she needed to get to and they were all spread out in the city. However, she didn't let this discourage her. She remembered their information and left the room without another word.

After she left, Cinder returned to her chair and looked out towards the city. So far, Yang was more obedient than before. She looked a lot stronger too so that made her feel better.

Knock, knock. "Excuse me, Cinder, are you in?"

"Yes I am. Come in, Neo." Neo walked into the room and stood right in front of her desk. "Did you happen to see Yang on your way up?"

"No. Should I have?"

"No, it's not of much importance at the moment. But when you do see, you'll be quite surprised. Anyway, I called you up for a something important."

"Of course. I'll do anything you ask."

"You know the rogue agent is out there right." Neo nodded her head. "And you know that they are stopping progress in my plan, right?" She nodded again. "Well, I initially was going to give you this mission, but I decided to tweak it a bit. Track them down and report their behaviors as best you can. Leave everything else to me."

"Of course." After that, Neo left in silence.

At this point in time, there was nothing to complain about. Everything was working in her favor. Neo was her stronger accomplice and Yang was shaping to be everything she hoped she would be. All Cinder had to do was sit back and watch her plan roll along with no stops along the way.

"Play time's over, Blake. You made a big mistake leaving me because now, I'm coming for you."

End of Chapter 23