Calibrate

Her fingers slid on the hangar. Blue eyes staring out. She just... gazed... toward the passing by images of the metro train.

There were some other people in the same train as her, but she paid them no mind. It had taken her 45 minutes to make it to the metro, and the ride itself was more or less thirty minutes itself. She hated trains. So slow, boring, and most of the time, it gave her a headache. In fact, she could feel one coming now.

Her hand found her head, as her eyes closed shut. For now, all she felt was darkness, and the low rumblings of the train below her. It made such a calming noise, the rumbles did. Every now and then, the windows of the train would brighten up, thanks to the morning sun, and shine light in her face. But she kept her eyes shut regardless. If she just didn't think about it, then the headache would subside. Of course, this was merely speculation, but it was all she had.

Just keep her eyes closed... and the pain would subside... just eyes closed... pain gone...

Eyes closed...

Pain gone...

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a cold, indifferent, yet strong voice called.

Slowly, but surely, her eyes opened. She was no longer on the metro train. In fact, she was no longer on Earth. The area she was in, it was as big as a metro train, but a bit more futuristic. The vehicle was pentagonal in shape, and moved along at such extreme speeds. Maria's blue eyes stared forward, and examined the blue planet gazing back. Earth...

Her eyes moved downward. Gone was the blue vest, the white shirt, the blue skirt, the blue boots... Here was this blue and white blouse, and light blue sandals, like the ones she used to wear. Gazing up, she noticed the ceiling had moved away. She was shorter... younger perhaps.

"Maria?" the voice called again, "Are you listening?"

His footsteps echoed against the metal flooring, before a small, hedgehog being came into view. His red eyes gazed beyond the window, and off toward the planet before them. Arms crossed, as usual, he let out a held in sigh.

"I can't wait to go there, Maria." he whispered to her, "It's so big and beautiful..." he looked to her, "Can't you see it?"

She didn't answer him. She just... stared...

"Awestruck, it seems," he murmured, "you're so silly, Maria..."

A smile came to his lips. She loved that smile.

"Shadow..." she called, eyes closing once more.

The darkness' cold embrace was too much for her to handle. She could still hear the rumbling of the train though, as well as the feel of sunlight on her face. Her eyes opened up...

"Hey miss," a voice, called out, "are you okay?"

Said voice laid a hand along the agent's shoulder, causing her latent G.U.N. training to kick in. Feeling intimidated by her assailant, Maria quickly spun around. Grabbing him by his hand, she spun him while keeping her grip tight. With a boot to the back, she kicked him to the ground, as well as withdrawing her pistol. She slammed the barrel to the now frighten man's head, and laid her finger on the trigger.

Silence...

As angry as her face was, Maria had no idea why she had done such a thing. The finger she held on her trigger began to waver, and she took in the face of her victim. He looked frightened, especially since there was a cold gun to his head. Maria felt a twitch in her eye, as she pulled back her gun. Grip releasing, she moved her blue eyes around. Everyone else in the metro train had grown silent. They gazed at her, fear in their eyes, probably because of her random flip out, and the gun in her hand. She could've told them she worked for G.U.N. and perhaps they would have accepted this. But she didn't care. The train came to a stop, and the doors opened. Without a word, Maria put away her gun, while at the same time stepping off the train to the platform that awaited her. The doors slid open moments later, and the train moved off.

The G.U.N. agent shook her head. Why had she done such a thing? She couldn't explain it. Who was Shadow? Why did she know his name? And Ark? Was she on the Ark? That place was shut down years ago...

And the sad fact was, that was just another of her many random visions. She always had these. Images, dreams, of this hedgehog named Shadow, and staying aboard the Ark. But, from as far as she could remember, she had never stepped foot on the Ark. Right? Right? Fortunately, she had something to get rid of these apparitions.

Hand moving into her vest, she withdrew a small silver casing. Her finger slid across the edge of the case, and caused its topside to open up. Inside, were a series of pills. Taking one, Maria placed it into her mouth, and swallowed it whole. Moments later, the headache subsided, and hopefully too, the images she saw.

Gazing up, she realized she had taken the wrong stop. But... there was no way she was going to wait for the next metro system. So, she'd have to walk. A rub of her head sent her on her way. Stepping down the stairs of the platform, she came to Empire City's streets. The G.U.N. base in this area was a fair ways away, and if she wanted to get there on time, she'd need to drive. But the taxis in Empire City always smelt weird, and honestly, she hated them. In fact, she hates the buses too... Its easier to say, Maria hates a lot of things in the city.

So she'd have to run. That was the only way she'd arrive on time, less she be late, and Commander Taylor hates late people. Gazing to the opposite side of the street, she analyzed the alleyway inside. It was cut off by a building, but it had quite a few places for her to climb. Perfect.

Eyes moved left. The road was empty. Eyes moved right. The road was empty. She closed her eyes, and began to focus.

There were a lot of things different about Maria Robotnik. Compared to other agents, she was smarter, faster, and stronger. Honestly, she never questioned it. She always attributed it to her G.U.N. training. But in reality, Maria was better for a completely different reason.

Her blue eyes changed red.

Glaring to the alleyway, she took a runner's pose. And dashed off. She moved fast, way to fast for most to see. Coming to a dumpster in the alleyway, she leaped onto it. Using it as a variable trampoline, she propelled herself off, and onto a cat walk that was attached to the building before her. Her leap was powerful, as she left a sizable dent on the dumpsters top. Latching onto the catwalk, she pulled herself back, and leaped up again, clearing quite a few yards in one leap alone. Her hand slammed onto the building's roof, and she pulled herself up. Laying her hand over her eyes, she used her enhanced eyesight to comb over the buildings before her.

Every smell, every sound, every image, in the city, she could feel. The slight rumbles of cars, the noise of horns in the distance, the smell of gas and pollution, they all came to her. It must have been by pure premonition, as she could tell the exact movements she needed to make. A step here, a movement there, and she'd be at the base in time.

Her hands fell to the ground, and she started off. Speed, that was something she had mastered. Foot moving before foot, she came to the edge of the building, and leaped off. The cars under her toes, she already knew they'd be there. One of them, a bus. With a dainty stepping, she landed on the vehicle, only to leap off once again. Another hop sent her onto the building before her. She tucked and rolled, only to continue her running. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she noticed the very metro train she was on before. Had she stayed aboard, she'd probably be there right now.

Coming to a stop, she once again took the time to analyze her position. She stood right above Blaze Street, meaning the G.U.N. base couldn't have been that far off. If she ran for it, she'd arrive at the base, but... the traffic was... horrible. Blue eyes moving toward the highway, she shook her head at the poor excuse of vehicle safety. She could hear the noises of people yelling obscenities at one another. A smile came to her lips. As much as she hated the city's metro system, she did enjoy the colorful people it owned.

Would they noticed if she dashed by at insane speeds? Probably, but it wouldn't have been a first. The Blue Blur, they called her, because that's the only thing they noticed when she passed by.

Tightening the shoelaces on her feet, she shot forward her eyes. As bad as traffic was, she always enjoyed running pass it. The thing was, she almost always got loss in the feeling of dodging cars. It was one of the few solaces she got when alone.

Once again, her blue eyes turned red. Taking another runner's pose, she gained an explosion of potential energy. A second later, she dashed off at incredible speeds. Cars beeped horns as she dashed by, a blue streak the only thing many could see of her. Zooming up the highway, she moved pass cars, eventually coming to a great red bridge. The traffic she envisioned had appeared before her, and she slowly started decreasing in speed. Red eyes shooting forward, she began mumbling under her breath at the sight of cars. She couldn't stand the gas spewing vehicles. They were all slow to her, and almost entirely lacked her need for speed.

Kicking up her speed, he dashed toward the congested roads. Her foot met the back-end of a car, and she once again leaped forward. In a spin, she gazed down toward the sea of cars she wouldn't have to deal with. Could they see her, though? She had to wonder that. Landing back on the road, she took in a deep breath, before dashing off.

Maria had been told time and time again to not use her meta human abilities in public. To G.U.N. her showing of her strength was a threat to national security, whatever that means. She could care less though. To her, the use of her powers was one of the few times she felt... alive...

And yet, even it had to come to a stop.

Her footsteps began to waver in speed, and her red eyes returned to the serene blue of norm. The pavement had become exceptionally clean, as it seemed to gleam a white hue. Her blue eyes gazed upon the massive building before her, and her eyes seemed to analyze it closely. It was huge, the front end arched like a castle, and it had a nice and pristine fountain in the front. It was G.U.N.'s Empire City base.

With a slight mumble, Maria stepped in. Her hands found their way into the pockets, and she moved off toward the shining white building without a word. Stepping inside the building, the ground quickly changed from shining white pavement, to reflective marble. In the center of the great floor, the G.U.N. symbol. Maria glared at her reflection in the marble flooring. Growing a bit apprehensive, she patted down her skirt, just to ruin any wavering eyes.

"Maria!" a young chipper voice called.

She recognized that voice. She loved it in fact.

"Abraham?" she called back.

He ran from a hallway toward her. Dressed in G.U.N. soldier clothing, he grabbed the woman before him in a loving embrace.

Soldier Abraham Tower, Maria's adoptive younger brother. For as long as she could remember, she has known this young man. He was four years younger than her, but he appeared to be older. If one didn't look at his face, the first thing they would notice about him was his grey hair. Even though he was at the young age of twenty, his hair had already become so aged. It was always like that. Even when he was eight, he had that grey hair.

The next thing they'd notice about Abraham, was his eyes. One was green, the other brown. Heterochromia was rare in humans, and Abraham was lucky to have it. He loved his different colored eyes. To him, it was something that distinguished him.

"I'm happy you showed up, Maria!" he said, smiling.

"Hey, hey, hey," she responded, giving a smile, "how could I miss my brother's first day of training?"

"I'm happy you kept your promise." he answered.

"Just don't think to hard on it," she commented, "when I first started out at G.U.N. I was a few years younger than you!"

"When you started working at G.U.N. it was still the fifties." he retorted, as if the nineteen fifties was a long ways away.

"Hey you little brat," she playfully scolded, "it hasn't been that long!"

"Yeah right," he annoyingly teased, "face it Maria! You're an old lady!"

"Why you little brat!"

With a quick movement, she grabbed the young man in a sleeper hold. He tried to break free, but Maria's grip was just too strong.

"Are you gonna take it back now?" she said, giving a devilish smile.

"Never!" he yelled back.

Her grip grew, while his shaking increased. Despite how violent it looked to all that passed, the man and woman were playfully giggling with one another, as they shared a brief moment of family love. But of course, all good things must come to an end.

"Agent Maria!" a voice called, ending their moment.

"Agent Maria here." she answered, spinning around.

Before her, a tall, burly fellow. Eyes filled with age, he flicked a few strands of brown hair from his face, before saying,

"Good to see you this morning..."

"Supervisor Chalmers." she responded, "Good to see you too."

"I hope you're prepared for your mission."

"Mission?" Abraham said from behind, his voice sounding saddened, "Maria, you have a mission today?"

Turning to him, she gave a slight shrug.

"Sorry, Abraham," she responded, "duty calls."

"I understand," he responded, "I'll just try my hardest at practice today."

"You better," she said, her voice threatening, "I don't wanna have to come back and punish you for failing."

"Yeah, yeah!" he responded.

With a brief hug and wave, the young man made his way down a hall toward the training areas. Maria crossed her arms at the sight. It felt nice to watch her brother act so happy. But, she had work of her own to attend to. Turning back to Supervisor Chalmers, she gave a salute. The Supervisor nodded, shifted his glare toward another hall, and made his way down. Maria took in a deep breath. Moving her eyes forward, she began following him.

The halls in G.U.N. bases were always long and boring. Most of the time, they were crowded with soldiers and other agents, all running to do their various works. But today, it was oddly empty. It felt... familiar, strangely enough. The young woman couldn't quite put her finger on it as time went on and on. The hallway, why did she feel like she had been here before?

Opening and closing her eyes, she did it again.

The windows... no longer did they show the city of Empire, but... instead it showed space. Stars and darkness peppered the area outside, and Maria found herself stopping to look at it. Coming from the edge, she saw a comet streak across the sky, far far away. Her finger fell atop the clean pristine glass of the window.

Amongst the stars, the rows of towers that belonged to Space Colony Ark.

Space...

Colony...

Ark...

This hallway was always silent, and Maria could never tell why. She loved it. Its silence, its cold air, the great view of space from the window. It was one of the few places she could be alone. Not even her best friend knew of this place. Everyone needs time alone... even her...

"Maria?" Chalmer's voice called.

She dragged her hand across her eyes, causing the hallway of the G.U.N. base to return. With a mighty groan, she shook her head.

"Sorry, Supervisor," she murmured, "I'm having those visions again..."

The supervisor crossed his arms.

"The ones of Ark?" he questioned.

"Yeah..." moving her hand into her vest, she once again withdrew the silver casing that housed her pills, "I don't get it... why do I keep having visions of that place?"

Popping a pill, she swallowed it.

"I've never been there..." she commented.

"You've had those visions for as long as I can remember." he murmured, rubbing his head, "Just keep taking those pills... they should subside soon..."

"Yeah, but... they've been growing in intensity." she said.

"How so?"

"I had a nightmare of it last night, then on the train, I had another one... Maybe these pills aren't doing it, these visions are driving me insane."

The Supervisor crossed his arms. Giving a slight nod, he took into consideration her proposition.

"Is it going to affect your skills?"

"Doubt it." she answered, giving a smirk, "I'm going insane, not going lame!"

"Uh-huh, yeah... maybe you should go under mental evaluation upon completion of your mission."

"Again? That would be like, what, the twelfth time this month?"

"If its necessary..."

Finishing the conversation with a cut of his hand, the Supervisor continued down the hall, Maria following closely. Still, the thoughts of Ark floated around her mind. For as long as she could remember, they've been plaguing her, like a disease she's had. A disease... a disease... NIDS...

What?

"Maria," Chalmer's called, "We're here..."

She nodded. The door before them opened up wide with a sliding click, and revealed a small circular room. The room had many machinery moving about, and all of it circled around one small disk like platform. Maria groaned.

"No! Not the teleporter!" she yelled.

"Hurry up Maria, I'll get things situated for you..."

"Do I have too?" she questioned, raising her shoulders.

"Yes, Maria, now hurry up!"

Once again, she groaned, but moved to the circular disk nonetheless. Stepping in the center, she laid her fists on her hips while giving a greatly annoyed face. The Supervisor moved over to a command console at the side, and began clicking away at various buttons. The various buttons he clicked gave appropriate shines and beeps, as the machine before him started to move in place. The many mechanical hands of the mechanical room started to poke and prod Maria, much to her ire. She swatted at them, and gave a few hard punches, but it was all for not. The disk she stood on started to shine a vibrant array of colors, and these colors started to surround her. Maria's face grew flustered at the sight, as she let out a series of groans. The teleporter... oh how she hated it! She could already feel the stinging burns, as well as the various headaches they give her. Closing her eyes, she just waited for it all to go by.

"Maria!" that cold indifferent voice from before called, "Look what I can do!"

"What are you going on about now, Shadow?" she said back, almost unconsciously.

"I call it, Chaos Control! Professor Gerald handed me this green rock, see! He says it's called a Chaos Emerald! If I focus I can-!"

"Ack! Where'd you go!?"

"Here I am!"

"How'd you do that!? You just shined bright and-"

"See!? That's Chaos Control! Professor Gerald says I can do more but... I need more training... what's training?"

"You're hopeless Shadow! Here, I'll tell you on the way there..."

She felt that burning again. Even now, though the teleporter hadn't sent her away yet, she could feel the headaches coming along. Just hurry it up, she wanted to say, though she kept those words to herself. Shadow wasn't scared when he teleported, and he never mentioned how it felt.

Wait... who's Shadow, again?

Eyes opening, she glared at the colors before her. It grew greater, and greater, and before she knew it, she was gone.

The room grew deathly silent with her disappearance, and the teleporting machine came to a silent close. Supervisor Chalmers wiped the sweat from his brow. This room always got hot when the teleporter was used.

But that's not why he was sweating...

Lifting a radio, he clicked a button on it. The machine buzzed for a few seconds, before the static in it faded away.

"Commander Taylor," he murmured, "we have a problem... Maria's memories... the pills aren't working..."