Midnight's Shadow stood amid the training area of the Pit. Today was the day that she would take her supposed "entrance exam" in order to gain entrance to GI Joe. She stood awkwardly among the crowd, unsure of where to go. Scarlett had left a short while ago to go and find Heavy Duty so that they could begin the testing. She cast her bright blue gaze around the room. She felt like everyone was staring at her. The dark haired woman shifted on her feet nervously, directing her gaze downward, as if the toes of her boots had suddenly become so fascinating. She brushed a stray lock of black hair behind her ear before crossing her arms over her chest.
Scarlett had come to collect her just a short while ago. She had led Midnight's Shadow down the maze of hallways and corridors that honeycombed their way through the solid rock. She had tried to remember the paths they took, trying to learn her way around the Pit, but in the end was unsuccessful. Upon entering the large training area, Scarlett had disappeared into the crowds, on a quest to find Heavy Duty.
Midnight's Shadow crossed her legs, keeping her gaze directed downward to avoid looking at the other soldiers that continued to pass by her. By not looking up, the dark haired woman didn't see someone making their way through the crowds towards her. When they neared, Midnight's Shadow felt their presence more than anything else. Her bright blue gaze shifted up until she looked directly into the masked face of Snakes Eyes.
"Hello," she said, feeling awkward under his gaze.
The black ninja nodded a greeting in response. He brought up his arms and crossed them over his broad chest.
"Did Scarlett or Heavy Duty send you to keep an eye on me?" she asked, cocking an elegant black eyebrow.
Snake Eyes shook his head.
Midnight's Shadow nodded slowly. She pursed her lips as she turned her head, looking back out over the crowd of soldiers moving between training stations. A silence ensued between the two of them. The dark haired woman felt as if she was going to explode with how uncomfortable and awkward the silence felt. She glanced sideways at the ninja, but, as usual, he seemed unaffected. Her blue gaze shifted back out to the crowd and felt a wave of relief when she saw Scarlett making her way towards them.
The red head smiled as she walked up to the two of them. "Keeping Shadow company?" she asked, her eyes locked on the black clad ninja. Snake Eyes merely nodded in response. Scarlett shifted her attention to Midnight's Shadow. "Ready to begin the test?"
The young woman nodded. "I guess so."
"Alright. Then follow me. I'll lead you to the first station." Scarlett gestured for her to follow, before turning around and walking into the crowd.
Midnight's Shadow hurried after, determined to keep pace. As she followed, the dark haired woman glanced over her shoulder. To her surprise, Snake Eyes wasn't following. He wasn't even standing where he had moments before. Her eyes skimmed the crowd, but found no trace of the ninja. He had simply melted into the throng of soldiers. She turned her attention forward once more, lengthening her stride to make up ground that had been lost while she had been looking behind her.
Her brow furrowed as she walked, her thoughts riveted upon the dark ninja. Why had he stood with her like that? He apparently hadn't done it to keep an eye on her. Or so he had said- in a manner of speaking. So why did he do that? It wasn't as if he did it to try to get to know her or anything like that.
She paused in her thoughts. How would he try to get to know her anyways? It wasn't as if he could ask questions. The man didn't talk. It worked both ways, too. How did anyone get to know him? The only questions you could ask and get an answer to were "yes" and "no" questions. Her gaze focused upon Scarlett ahead of her. Everyone that was a part of his team seemed completely at ease with him, friends even. Did they actually know anything about him? Or was it a sort of companionship born out of merely spending time together and the trust that they build when they entrust their lives in one another's hands? Midnight's Shadow wasn't entirely sure. Maybe she would ask Scarlett about it when she got the chance.
The two women emerged from the throng of soldiers until they stood before one of the stations. Midnight's Shadow immediately recognized it as one of the stations she had noticed the first time she stepped off of the elevator. It was the shooting range- designed to look like a miniature version of a dilapidated city. Standing at the forefront of the station was Heavy Duty, holding some sort of computer pad in his hand.
Scarlett walked straight up to a table next to a large monitor at the forefront of the station. Midnight's Shadow followed until she was close enough to see what lay upon the table- guns, in all different varieties. She looked up at the red head with a questioning expression.
Scarlett turned around to stand next to Heavy Duty and the monitor, a small controller in her hand. She nodded sideways at the table full of guns. "Pick what feels comfortable," she said very simply.
Midnight's Shadow looked back to the table. What felt comfortable? How was she supposed to know that? She took a few steps towards the table until she let her hands rest of the edge, her eyes skimming over each of them. Did she have experience with any of these guns? Midnight's Shadow remembered back to her escape- both from inside the terrorist facility and from the convoy. She had taken a pistol and used it with shocking familiarity. Could that have been the type of gun she used the most? The gun that she was comfortable with?
She was about to start to reach for the nearest pistol when a voice cut her off. "Wait a minute." Midnight's Shadow turned to see Heavy Duty take several steps toward her until he stood beside her next to the table. His hard brown gaze scanned the weapons briefly before he found what he was searching for. He reached over and picked up a large assault rifle. The British man turned to hand it to her, offering it. "Here. Try this one," he said. From the way he spoke, it didn't sound like a request.
Slowly, Midnight's Shadow reached out and took the large gun from him. Her blue gaze looked over the length of the gun as she adjusted her hold on it. She let one hand rest on the bottom of the front of the gun to support it while the other rested on the trigger. The back of the gun rested securely under her arm. Midnight's Shadow's brow furrowed. Something felt wrong about this. It felt awkward. Like she had never held this type of weapon before. Like it was completely unfamiliar to her.
Heavy Duty nodded slightly, a knowing gesture. He reached forward and took the gun from her, setting it back onto the table. "Well, one thing's for sure: you were never a soldier," he stated bluntly.
The dark haired woman looked at the British man questioningly. "What makes you say that?" she inquired.
The large man crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "Because, soldiers are trained to take apart, clean, and put back together those types of guns blindfolded. You don't even know how to hold it properly. So, reason dictates that you were never a soldier," Heavy explained.
Midnight's Shadow nodded her understanding. So, thanks to Heavy Duty, she now knew that she was never a soldier. But then, where did she learn to fight?
"Alright. Now that we have that out of the way, pick your weapon," Scarlett spoke up. She had picked up Heavy Duty's computer pad and tapped her finger a few times onto the smooth surface.
Midnight's Shadow nodded once again. Reaching down to the table once again, she wrapped her hand around the pistol that she had been eyeing moments before. Drawing it off the table, Midnight's Shadow looked to Scarlett and Heavy Duty for what to do next.
Scarlett tapped the screen of the pad a few more times before she tore her gaze away to look at Midnight's Shadow. "Okay. This is the urban combat center. This will test your accuracy with your gun, your reaction time, and your knowledge of combat tactics. Hologram soldiers will appear from anywhere inside this area. Your goal is to get kill shots on all of them. You will have one chance once they appear. You must be accurate and quick. Once they are shot, they will disappear. Any that you do not get a kill shot on will be marked as a hit. There will be twenty holograms in this simulation. Your end goal is to get all twenty killed. Understand?"
Midnight's Shadow nodded. She thought she could grasp the concept.
Scarlett gestured past her to the awaiting station. "Alright. Then take your place and we'll get started."
The dark haired woman walked past Scarlett, who offered a supportive smile, and Heavy Duty, who stood expressionless as he watched her. Midnight's Shadow's face contorted in concentration, readying herself. She half wondered if the past times where she had used a gun were just strokes of luck- luck that she had even hit her intended targets. She inwardly shook her head. No. That wasn't it. Holding and firing the pistol had felt familiar to her. It had felt comfortable in her hands- unlike the assault rifle had. She must have some sort of past experience with handling a pistol.
She took her place in the middle of the open area, surrounded on three sides by three buildings, each bearing an array of openings where an enemy could potential show itself and shoot at her. Her grip tightened on the pistol, her muscles tightening as she readied herself.
"Oh!" Midnight's Shadow looked over her shoulder at Scarlett. "By the way, the holograms do shoot back. It's only a minor electrical charge- nothing serious. If you get hit, we'll start the simulation over."
Midnight's Shadow nodded her understanding. Adjusting her feet into a ready stance, the dark haired woman directed her attention forward once more. Then, Scarlett hit a button on the controller, starting the timer and the simulation. Seeing movement directly in front of her, Midnight's Shadow brought up her pistol and fired her first round from the chamber and into the hologram.
For just over an hour, Scarlett and Heavy Duty tested her repeatedly at the urban combat center. Midnight's Shadow actually lost track of how many times she had gone through the simulation. According to Scarlett and Heavy Duty, they wanted to test her repeatedly to make sure that her scores were consistent. Apparently, Midnight's Shadow had done well on the course. Both of them seemed to be impressed with her scores. Her best run had been nineteen kills and one hit. Scarlett had said that was a very high score among previous tests. To be perfectly honest, Midnight's Shadow felt a little bashful upon hearing that. Heavy had said that her scores would be averaged and examined after she had completed each of her tests.
After the repeated testing on the urban combat simulator, Scarlett and Heavy Duty led her to array of different stations. Breaker made a brief appearance to test her familiarity with electronics and hacking. He had crafted some sort of program to test it. Midnight's Shadow took it several times, like the shooting test, to make sure she was consistent. According to Breaker, she had an above average familiarity with hacking. She was proficient but nowhere near the same level as the Moroccan was.
There were other tests, such as a cognitive and physical test. Apparently another part of the normal entrance exams was for the new potential recruit to be tested on their use of one of GI Joe's special attack subs. But seeing as how Midnight's Shadow appeared to not be a soldier, but a civilian- in a manner of speaking- they didn't deem it necessary for her to learn or test her. Besides, to Midnight's Shadow's understanding, if she did pass the tests, she would be only a temporary member of GI Joe. Once the terrorist threat has been neutralized, she would leave the Pit to reclaim her old life, now that the danger had passed. Midnight's Shadow wondered how long it would be before that happened. Or if with enough time, she would remember what her old life even was.
Now, after more than a few hours of tests, Scarlett was giving her a break. The red head had led her through the halls of the Pit until they arrived in a small rec room. It was filled with exercise equipment, a TV, shelves filled with movies, couches and chairs with pillows bearing the GI Joe emblem resting upon them, vending machines, and a gathering of cabinets with a coffee maker sitting on the counter. There was even a pool table. There were already a few soldiers in the rec room when they came in- working on exercise equipment or making a stop by the vending machines. Breaker was there as well, sitting on one of the couches, his laptop sitting in front of him on the coffee table and a bottle of water sitting beside it.
Midnight's Shadow looked over to Scarlett to see the red head digging in her pocket. When she drew out her hand, her fingers were wrapped around a few dollar bills. She handed her a few of them and stuffed the rest back into her pocket. "Here. You haven't had anything to eat since this morning." She nodded towards the vending machines. "Go ahead and get yourself something."
The dark haired woman gratefully took the money from Scarlett. "Thanks."
The red head smiled lightly. "No problem," she said. With that, she turned and headed over to the couches to sit beside Breaker.
Midnight's Shadow watched her for a moment before making her way over to the vending machines on the other side of the room. As she walked, the young woman glanced to her left to see inspirational posters mounted upon the wall. They were pictures of soldiers climbing a cargo net, climbing a mountain, or simply lifting weights. Below each of them were words like fortitude, strength, and tenacity. Midnight's Shadow smiled inwardly. She wondered if those posters ever did actually inspire anyone.
Within a few more steps, Midnight's Shadow stood before the vending machines. One was for snacks, the other for drinks. She inserted the dollar into the vending machine dedicated to snacks and looked at the wide array of choices, unsure of what to pick. She didn't know what any of them were, let alone if she liked them. She ran her fingers over the dollar bills clutched in her hand, unsure of what to choose. She wasn't entirely sure how long she stood there. This should be an easy decision, but yet it wasn't. She was merely picking out a snack and yet this was a more trying task than it should be. She began to feel frustration welling up inside of her.
She was just about to give up, to turn around and give Scarlett back her money back, when a hand reached past her. Glancing to the side in surprise, Midnight's Shadow found herself looking into the face of Heavy Duty. "I recommend the pretzels," he said. His fingers punched in the letter and number for the desired snack. Midnight's Shadow looked back to the machine as the metal rings began to spin until they released a small bag of pretzels. Heavy Duty leaned down, pushed back the flap, and drew out the bag. Turning back to the dark haired woman, he offered her the bag.
Midnight's Shadow smiled gratefully. "Thanks," she said, taking the bag from him. "I didn't realize that picking a snack would be so hard." She moved over to the next vending machine to pick a drink, Heavy Duty moving with her. She inserted another dollar bill into the vending machine. Her eyes once again skimmed over her choices before shifting to the British man beside her. "Any suggestions?"
"For you? I would say go for water as of now. Best to stay hydrated, right?" Heavy Duty smiled at her, breaking his normally stony expression. He clapped her on the shoulder and moved past her, going to join Breaker and Scarlett on the couch.
Midnight's Shadow watched him walk away for a moment, grateful for his help, before turning back to the vending machine. Punching in the correct number and letter, the vending machine released her desired bottle of water. Bending down, she retrieved it from the slot and walked over to join the others on the couch. She plopped down onto the couch on the other side of Breaker, while Scarlett and Heavy Duty had taken seats on the other side of the Moroccan. Her blue gaze passed over the screen of his laptop and was surprised to see a picture of her on one side of the screen. On the other side, the computer was rapidly flipping through pictures of other women, apparently scanning their faces.
Midnight's Shadow pointed to the screen. "What are you doing?" she asked.
Breaker tore his gaze away from his computer, looking at her as if he had just noticed she was sitting there. He pushed his glasses up a little farther onto the bridge of his nose. "I'm running an infinity scan," he told her very matter-of-factly.
The dark haired woman cocked her head slightly to the side in confusion. "What is that?"
"Through GI Joe's resources, we have access to any photograph on any server, anywhere in the world. Everyone gets photographed in some way at some point in time. Airports, public facilities, ATM machines," Breaker explained. "Through this, I'm confident that I can found out who you are."
Midnight's Shadow stiffened. "Really?"
"Really." She exhaled sharply, a slight smile creeping onto her lips. Breaker cocked an eyebrow at her reaction. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No. Just the opposite." She looked over at the Moroccan. "This is amazing. I thought I would have to wait for my memory to return- that is if it returned-before I could find out what my old life was. Now it seems, I won't have to. Thank you."
"Uhhh," Breaker looked back to his computer screen rather bashfully. "It will still take a while for it to come up with anything. As you can imagine, there are a lot of faces for it to sift through."
"But still. It's more hope than I had a minute ago. So, once again, thank you," she said, the grateful smile still on her lips.
Breaker nodded. "No problem."
A/N: Yay! Another chapter done! Lucky for you, this is now my priority story after I saw the new GI Joe movie (which btw was ten times better than the first one). I hope to get another chapter done tonight and post it tomorrow before I go to work. Fingers crossed! Please review!