Long Chapter :) Hope you all like it. Dont own glee. :(

Chapter 2: First Impressions Can't Be Remade

"This is insane." The raven haired beauty with shimmering cerulean eyes piped up quietly as they rushed down the stone hallway that the head of operations was rushing down. They had twisted and turned, curved and went up and down, but never left the single solitary hallway. It truly was a labyrinth, and it seemed as if this route was to confuse them so they couldn't make it back on their own. They had to be a more direct way to get to the room that they were destined for.

` "I can't help feeling that we're being led to the slaughter." The Irish charmer cheeked; a twinkle in his eyes that could melt even the stoniest of hearts into a puddle of butter.

"Well we did sign a waiver." The nerdy graceful Asian with the glasses added, his brilliantly white teeth catching the light and glistening. Kurt narrowed his eyes; did everyone here have to be perfect? He was slowly beginning to wonder why he was brought onto the base for the tests. Was he just a decoy, or filler? Blaine seemed to see something in him, but he still wasn't sure how that could ever be true.

It had been a shock to the young brunette when he had received such attention from the dashing older male at a bar, and once their whirlwind romance started he had even more questions than before. Kurt shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

The hallways were narrow, and made of cement; there were no pictures hung, or decorations of any kind. This was obviously a very work oriented job, and was without doubt a military run base. The building alone had much mystery to it. On the outside it looked like your average government building, the sort that would have desks, and paperwork inside its walls. The sort you could expect to hold citations and funding grants. There was no way any civilian would be able to tell that there was a secret and extensive base, 85 floors deep, hiding just beneath the outer core. There were a few floors above the entrance, and they did have people working at desks, as one would expect. It was the perfect front for their operation.

When they had gotten in the elevator, no one believed that there could actually be 85 floors underground. It was preposterous. It was something out of a fiction novel. But it was real, it was true, and Kurt was standing miles beneath the surface of the world he once knew.

The hallway was dimly lit by hanging lights that were military grade bulbs. The glimmering light shimmered and could be seen in the surface of the cement; it gave the affect of more lights than there actually were.

"This can't be a very effective use of time." The blonde boy who had argued with Rachel in the elevator breathed as he glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the path that they had taken to get here. It was darker behind them, as if the lights were turning on through the sections they were in, like they were motion sensors. Kurt hadn't noticed that yet, but when he looked further in the distance ahead of them, there was nothing but darkness.

"Creepy" Kurt shivered. He jumped when fingers laced through his and squeezed gently.

"I have a panda night-light at home. That would help us here." Kurt's head jerked up and he saw the kind yet distant face of the blonde girl from before. "I was scared too." She added as she wrinkled her nose and moved her lips from side to side. Kurt's body relaxed and his face broke into a small smile.

"Me too." Kurt lied. He wasn't really scared, more disturbed, but he could play along. Kurt had seen truly scary things in his short time on earth, more than most elderly, but again, he would not tell her that. Reconnaissance work had a way of breaking people by desensitizing them.

They walked for a couple more minutes in silence, hand in hand. It did feel nice, Kurt couldn't lie. They passed the occasional picture of an old man in military gear with dates beneath the face, date of birth… date of death. It was slightly chilling to be surrounded by pictures of dead people, but it was a military base, it was to be expected. Once the portraits got more frequent, Kurt felt Brittany shift and walk closer beside him. He felt her warmth, and it was comforting.

"Is it just me or… is it getting chilly in here?" The Irish boy's sing-song voice drifted past his ears and he agreed with a slight nod. Kurt felt the frosty draft that was wafting past them.

"It seems to be coming from ahead of us." The handsome Asian with glasses theorized as he licked his finger and held it out in front of his chest. Brittany cocked her head and giggled quietly. Kurt shook his head.

"Yes, most definitely from ahead." He nodded with certainly.

"Yes." The Head of Operations barked suddenly, causing them all to jump out of their skins and float somewhere above their bodies. No one knew she had been listening, or that she could even hear them. She was so far ahead, and they were talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Has she heard everything we've been saying?" Damian posed quietly, raising a dark eyebrow and somehow managing to look even more debonair. He seemed like an Irish warrior who had stepped out of a time capsule after saving his people from invaders.

"Yes, she can and she has, you little leprechaun." The Head of Operation's voice was gruff, but didn't seem as nasty as before. Although, she was suddenly before them, causing a collective back up of a couple steps, everyone except Brittany of course, who smiled gently and twisted her torso back and forth as she played with her skirt. The director's face sobered and a crooked grin appeared; it seemed the expression one might see before death, when visited by the grim reaper.

"Do you think it's funny…?" She paused and glanced down at the name badge, before cocking a brow. She must have seen the cat head, Kurt thought. "Brittany." She added, her eyes flickering back to gaze at the innocent child-like girl who was still holding onto Kurt's hand. Brittany nodded, and Kurt could have sworn he saw a forked tongue jet out of the corner of her thin lips, which were knit tightly together. Her nostrils flared and it appeared as she could breathe fire.

Hurriedly, Kurt pulled his new friend back towards the group.

"No!" He burst out, pulling the blonde close to him, doing his best to protect her. The Head of Operations blinked back confusion and her mouth slowly fell opened. There were whispers behind him and people gasping, but Kurt blocked it out as best as he could. "Please don't hurt her, I don't think…" He paused, and looked over at the smiling girl, "I don't think she's all there, if you know what I mean." He shifted his weight and chewed at his bottom lip. Why did he always do this? He always managed to get in trouble for standing up against adversity; of course it had to be on his first day to top it off, perfect, he thought.

The Head grinned widely, each and every tooth exposed down to the gum; there was a deranged look glimmering in her eyes and she stepped forward.

"Not all there, eh?" She demanded, her face inches from his own, and he could smell the scent of her morning protein shake lingering in her breath. "Brittany Pearce is one of the most ingenious minds of our generation. She graduated top of her class from Harvard at the age of 15, do you really think she could do that while not being all there?" She breathed fire as she asked, her eyes never quite losing their flame. Apparently she did not like being challenged; Kurt would bookmark that for later reference.

"I'm so sorry." He cast sideways at Brittany, who didn't seem to be paying attention anymore, but she also wasn't offended. Kurt wasn't even sure she had heard his remark about her intelligence.

It was suddenly darker in the hallway, and Kurt could hear seem the lights above them flicker off; at least the confrontation is over, he determined weakly.

"Oh, come on, Sue, that's not fair. You can't attack them yet?" A confident, familiar voice interjected with a laugh. Suddenly a blinding florescent light burst around them, completely surrounding them and Kurt felt himself being pulled forward by a force greater than himself. The light faded out and they were left in a wide opened room that was airy and opened, with a view of the outside world, but it was no world that Kurt was familiar with; it was foreign and wild, like a rainforest.

"What-" He started, but when he caught sight of the person who had spoken to them in the hallway, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.

"Blaine…" He faltered quietly. The dauntless hero that had ravaged him just hours before was standing before him, looking more powerful than ever, garbed in military chic. He turned to look at the person who spoke and Kurt could practically see his heart jump out of his chest, but his expression merely flickered for a moment before his unflappable smile returned. He looked away from Kurt and didn't acknowledge the familiarity, and although it stung slightly, he knew the reasons that Blaine had ignored him.

"So these are them, eh? The new recruits?" The man stood tall, and unafraid next to the glowering Head of Operations.

"If you weren't so damn good at your job id-" She started darkly,

"Hmh? What was that, Sue?" Blaine inquired, turning his gaze on her, unabashed. "Did you say something?" She didn't reply, but finally straightened and nodded towards the group, who was watching the banter back and forth, as if watching a ping-pong match, with wide staring eyes.

"Yes." The Head of Operations returned, her feathers still obviously ruffled. It was obvious she wasn't fond of Blaine. He nodded warmly and slowly walked down the line, observing everyone, just as Sue had done earlier, but this was much less aggressive than before.

"Perfect. Hey everyone." He started with an air of ease in his voice; Blaine Anderson was so obviously perfect that is was painful. "I'm Captain Blaine Anderson, and ill lead squadron 1, if you make it through all of your tests, many of you will likely become a part of my team." He flashed a grin, and Kurt's heart felt like it was attempting escape but got caught in his throat; he could feel it pounding there, and he swallowed hard. "Your first test begins now, I'll introduce you to a few people that you will likely meet on one of your tests" He glanced over his shoulder to view the small group that was walking towards them. They had entered through a door on the far left, and were garbed in full on military gear, guns and all; Kurt heard one of the people down the line gulp, and others whispering about the guns, and if they were truly necessary. "Now," Blaine continued, "Just because you meet them here, and they are friendly towards you, does not mean that they will be so during your test." He smiled softly, as if remembering something from long ago.

There was movement behind them, and Kurt turned to catch a glimpse of the back of the Head of Operations who disappeared through the door where they had entered moments prior; Kurt couldn't say he was sad to see her go, he felt much more calm and confident with Blaine in charge.

A shot up into the air suddenly, and everyone glanced down the line to see who was bold enough to ask a question when Blaine was still debriefing them. Kurt wasn't surprised when he saw Rachel, the bossy girl from the elevator; he rolled his eyes and suppressed a sigh. Blaine seemed to ignore her because he started again, "That is why it is vitally important to trust only those on your own team, because they are people you know to be safe."

"Sir?" She interrupted, a look of complete unashamed blatancy. Once again, Blaine ignored her bad-mannered interjection and continued to speak to the group as a whole.

"We'll begin directly after I introduce the last person, and then you are on your own, you may choose to work as a team, or separately, the choice is wholly up to you."

"Sir, I don't think you saw me, but I have a have a question." Rachel announced as she broke formation and headed towards where Blaine stood addressing the squad. Blaine swiveled on his heel and turned to face her, ever so slowly; Kurt had never seen him look mad, and now was not an exception. He still didn't look angry, even with the most annoying person in the room being as annoying as she possibly could, but there was something behind those golden eyes that was not happiness.

"Now is not the time for a question, Ms, Berry is it?" He asked, his eyes flickering down to catch a glimpse of the name tag that was carefully placed across the front of her sweater, with words that looked as if they had taken hours to write, spelling out the name Rachel Berry; Kurt also noticed she had stuck a golden star at the end of her name. She nodded fervently to the inquiry of her name and a plastic smile appeared splayed across her face; she looked undeterred.

"How can we be expected to perform our best, without being given any information?" she paused before adding, "Sir" a little less enthusiastically, a lot more sarcastically. Rachel obviously saw the fact that Blaine was only a couple years older and her commanding officer as a personal insult.

"You have been given all the information you need to succeed, and if you fail, that is no fault of mine." Blaine's voice was flat, but the lack of emotion almost made the words cut even more sharply and bury deeper. Rachel's prideful expression deflated and her mouth gaped opened like a fish; it only took her a moment to pull herself back together and for her nose to return to its home high above them all. She had a look of determination burning behind her chocolate eyes as she stopped back into place and crossed her arms; she obviously thought she could get away with her outburst because of her brain, or talent, or whatever it was that brought her here, but it was becoming evident to Kurt that none of that mattered. What did matter was performing and showing that you could get the job done no matter what.

"Here they are now." Blaine's voice shook Kurt out of his head, and he turned his attention to his commanding officer. There were people beside him now, quite a few, by Kurt's quick approximate, there were about ten of them, and they all looked like they belonged here. They were dressed in a navy blue cargo pant with plenty of pockets, and plain black tank tops that clung to their various body sizes, suiting each of them perfectly.

"These are our agents, all specializing in different fields to make a complete unit. If chosen you'll be on a team with them, this is my specific team, squadron 1" Blaine said with a smile as he placed a strong hand on the shoulder of a handsome, gruff looking soldier, Kurt couldn't help but notice his mohawk which made him look very badass.

"Best team there is, Anderson." The man said with a cheeky grin, and a swag in his stance. Blaine laughed and shook his head with a slight roll of the eyes; it was obvious he was trying to be impartial.

"Yeah, we don't even try and we wipe the floor with their asses." The woman who stood beside the mohawked guy added, resting her arm on her comrade's shoulder and leaning back "We can't be beat." She was beautiful with tanned skin and ebony hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"Lopez, let's try a little humility…" Blaine reproached lightly, but the smile in his eyes showed he didn't truly mind. Then aside he said, "Although if you get onto any other team other than squadron 1, better get used to losing." He said it loud enough for everyone to hear, so it was obviously a joke, but the mohawked guy fist-bumped him.

"Alright, let's get going, I aint got all day, curls" he cheeked, a glimmer in his eyes as he looked over at their commanding officer. Blaine knit his brows together in an attempt to look as serious as the head of operations had earlier, but he ended up laughing.

"Sorry guys, were all close, that's an important thing you need to take away from all of this" Blaine started as he returned to pacing up and down the line before the cadets. "If you're chosen to be on a squad, your partners will become your family, it's inevitable. Everyone on your squad cares about your safety, and the main priority is to come back from a mission with every member intact. The government will tell you something different." The beautiful boy with ebony curls lowered his voice as he spoke, "They will tell you the most important thing about a mission, is success, which is…" He paused, running his delicate pink tongue along his full lips, "partially true. Success is important, but at what costs?" He walked back to stand beside his team and put an arm around a kind looking young woman with gorgeous chocolate skin that was flawless and Kurt instantly knew they would be best friends; she obviously knew her products well, skin that flawless was not natural.

"Isn't that right, 'Cedes." He asked as he flashed her a tender smile; it was obvious that they had been through many a mission together.

"That's right, mop-top" She waved warmly and pulled at the clearance badge that hung on her belt loop. "Chief medical officer, Mercedes Jones." She explained, her natural charm and ease flowing out and making everyone feel completely comfortable around her. Kurt figured that was good thing, because if this job was half as dangerous as everyone made it out to be, they'd be spending a lot of time with Mercedes Jones. "As you can guess, what Blaine is getting at is team safety. That is my main priority. I don't care about the mission, I care that we all make it out of the mission unscathed." Blaine nodded fervently and moved down the line. He motioned for the next person to speak and introduce himself. It was as if everyone was turning their head as a collective to catch sight of the next person.

As chilling as this experience had been, this was where they all belonged, meeting the people that are on the same level as them, not some terrifying woman who wanted to crush them.

The next person was a lean, tall and he gave off the laid back vibe of someone who was very urban. He had long dreads that he had pulled back and laced around in a loose braid. He gave a half wave and a casual smile

"Name's Samuel, I'm the tracker. You get lost, I'll find you, no matter where, no matter what, no matter how." He was obviously a man of few words, so the next person stepped forward and waved excitedly; she had the same kind and caring nature that Mercedes had, and they found out her name was Tina and she was also a medical officer under Ms. Jones. Then Blaine pushed an intense looking redhead forward, with great hesitation. It was obvious she wasn't one for groups, or people in general, Kurt hadn't decided which it was yet. Her name was Marissa and that's all she said before scowling and studying each of them with hawk like precision. Blaine explained that she was their weapons girl. Apparently she was trained in nearly every style of martial arts and fighting style known to man, and was the only person on base who could kill you using only her thumbs.

It was obviously watching Blaine introduce his team that he was proud of each and every one of them; it was in his eyes when they shimmered.

"Hey, don't forget about me." A voice piped in as a man in a wheelchair slid into the scene; he wore thick black rimmed glasses and had chestnut hues in his hair which he had hanging across his forehead. He wore a bright smile which took up a fair amount of his face. He seemed easy to get along with.

"How could we." Blaine asked placing a hand on his friends shoulder.

"This is Artie Abrams, and a finer strategic officer you'll never find. Go ahead, search the planet, I dare ya." Artie laughed and merely shrugged. Kurt wondered if everyone else was thinking what he was thinking. He couldn't help but stare at the wheel chair and conclude that some of the people in this room would be injured just as badly, if not worse, if they chose to work here.

"You've already met these two" Blaine said shaking his head at the two badass looking members of the team, the mohawked guy and the girl with olive skin and ebony hair.

"Noah Puckerman—"

"You call me anything but Puck and ill pound your face in, and that was your nicest and only warning" The mohawked guy assured as he punched his right hand into his opened palm and gave a menacing look. Blaine rubbed his temple slowly and closed his eyes. These two were obviously the most trouble on the team.

"…as I was saying, Noah Puckerman and Santana Lopez, our best pilots, these two can fly their way out of any peril, and they have proved it multiple times on every mission."

"Aww, shucks, Curls, and we were beginning to think you didn't like us…" The girl who had been introduced as Santana sassed as she cocked a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. Blaine ignored her and began to move on when he saw her making eyes and raising her brows at the Brittany, who squirmed under her gaze.

"And this is my second in command, Finn Hudson, the best guy you could hope to have on your team. He's saved each and every one of the members on our team more than once. He's the reason many of us are alive." The tallest guy in the room shrugged awkwardly and shuffled his feet. He obviously didn't like all the attention.

"I didn't do it for you to embarrass me in front of everyone…" He mumbled as he ran a hand through his mahogany hair, which he kept short. He waved to the group and then urged Blaine to move on quickly. Blaine merely smiled and obliged.

"That should be all the information you need at the present. Now you know them… and have a wealth of useful information if you so chose to use it." He stood up straight as he spoke; Kurt figured this was the important part.

"And now, all you have to do is go through those double-doors at the far end of the room. You can have a few moments to strategize, decide if you want to join a team or fly it solo. As I said before, your role is completely up to you. Do what you think will suit you best and work to your advantage." The members of squadron 1 began to file out, but Blaine stayed behind, wearing a kind, assuring smile. "Just do your best, and honestly, if you want my advice, go with your gut, it doesn't often stray off the correct path." He gave one final wave before briskly walking after his group and throwing an arm around Puck and disappearing through a set of doors just to the right of the one that they had been instructed to enter through.

It didn't take long for people to size up the competition and decide where they wanted to be; people are funny like that, it's easy for them to make snap decisions based on little to no prior information. It was also funny to see how things worked out. Rachel wanted to be a leader, but no one wanted her on their team, so she stood separate. Then Kurt pulled Brittany aside and Sam, the cute blonde from the elevator asked if he could join. The girl with the orange hair was holding hands with the debonair Irishman and they both eyed Kurt's growing team and rushed over.

"Can we join?" The ginger, who quickly introduced herself as Hannah, asked nervously, "This whole idea of a test thing… freaks me out, and I want as many brains as I can so I can pass." She admitted as she pulled her friend closer into the circle.

"Yeah, we both knew right away that we'd rather work in a team, many hands and such" The handsome boy with the enchanting accent added to his friends plight. Kurt smiled kindly at the team and nodded fervently.

"We all feel the same way, if we make it we will be on a team, so no matter what were going to need to learn how to work as one." The boy smiled and nodded appreciatively at Kurt's words before adding quickly,

"I'm Damian, by the way, don't know if I said before, Damian Mcginty." They all shook hands with him and he fell into ranks beside his friend. It was obvious to see what the main consensus was, as the other girls from the elevator; the blonde who had been scared, Kurt thought he heard her introduce herself as Quinn to the other team before joining them, and the ebony haired girl with blue eyes, joined as well. There were two large teams, Kurt's and then the other group with the people he hadn't studied in the elevator, and one stand alone, the bossy girl who had sassed off to Blaine. As they all headed for the door that their leader had directed, there was a quiet hush over them all, and Kurt couldn't help feeling that something bad was waiting for them on the other side.

They all steadied themselves as they waited before the door, but Kurt's attention was drawn away from their fate as he heard a noise behind him and turned.

"Hmh?" He asked as the handsome nerd from the elevator was rushing over to them, it was almost as if he had gone somewhere else and was just now coming back.

"Hi." He whispered to Kurt and fell in beside him. "Mind if I join you?" He asked in an undertone. Kurt cocked his head and glanced over at his team who didn't seem to mind.

"Sure…" He started but was cut off by the sound of depressurizing air, as the door crept opened slowly.

"Oh God." He heard Hannah breathe and press herself closer against Damian.

"Oh God is right, this is highly advanced technology, we shouldn't be this far along… for another 20 or so years." The nerd, who had just arrived, mused as he stepped forward and disappeared through the wall of cool mist that was slowly creeping out around them. A couple of the girls gasped as he disappeared completely, but seconds later he reemerged, a smile plastered across his face, "Well are you coming or not?" He asked as he pressed up on the bridge of his glasses with two fingers, hastily setting them back in place.

Kurt nodded and surged forward, the rest of his team following behind closely; it was definitely a safety in numbers type of feel. As Kurt forged through the thick fog that seemed to cling to their bodies, and slow them down, he couldn't help but feel like this was going to be a test unlike anything any of them had ever encountered before. Some things were going to be tested alright, but Kurt felt the thick weight of disaster, and the chill of foreshadowing crept down his spine, it was then that he knew there were no guarantees in a place like this; some of them would not make it out of this alive.