In a recovery room we see Carolina, with a cast over her left arm laying in one bed and Ash in another. Suddenly Carolina sits up and yells. "David!"
"Carolina's awake, restrain her!" A medic yells and he runs over to her, only to get upper cutted. She then punches the other medic.
Agent One is leaning against a nearby wall and she hears Carolina's awake and she runs down a hallway.
"Stop moving, Agent Carolina, ma'am, please!" A medic yells.
One stops in the entrance of a room where everyone else is at.
"Hey, she's awake!" One yells to everyone else.
Everyone gets up and follows after One. "What about Major Ash?" C4 asks as she's in the back.
A few minutes later.
Everyone's gathered around Carolina and Ash, who's still unconscious. Some of the Agent's have singed Carolina's cast. Raymond is on his phone and C4 is twirling a weird knife in her hand. While she spins pin of a grenade is in the other hand.
"Where is he?" Carolina asks. "David. Washington. Agent Washington."
"Agent Carolina, we only found you and Major Ash, what happened?" West asks.
"Yeah, I kinda want to know what the hell happened to Major Ash." C4 points her knife at her unconscious father.
"It was a tactical take-down." Carolina states. Raymond walks off to look for a charger. "They knew exactly what they were doing and how to get close undetected."
A metal screeching is heard behind the group and everyone looks to see Raymond moving a table, so he can charge his phone. Raymond notices. "Oh, my bad, does anyone have a phone charger?"
"I have the cable but I don't have that end thingy." Raymond informs. "The butt, well, what do you guys call it? I call it a butt."
One slides over to Raymond. "Hey, you're a butt."
"They were fast and they had special armor." Carolina says. "It was unlike anything I've ever seen."
"What do you suggest we do?" Axel asks.
"Well, before we continue, Beta." Carolina looks over to Ash.
A small red figure appears on Ash's chest and salutes. It's an A.I. that looks like he's wearing Minnesota's armor.
"Beta, reporting for duty captain!" The Red A.I. sounds like a younger Ash.
"Major." Carolina says.
Beta waves his hands. "Yeah, Yeah, whatever. Same thing."
"Beta." Carolina says in a threatening tone.
"OK, Ok! What do ya need?"
"Do you mind waking Ash up?"
Beta looks to Ash's helmet and back to Carolina. Then back to Ash then back to Carolina. He brings a hand up to the side of his helmet. "You want me to wake the crazy person up?" He whispers.
"Can you just wake my dad up you stupid A.I.!" C4 yells.
"Hey!" Beta points at her. "Firstly, I'm not stupid, I'm literally a copy of your dads brain, and secondly, can you asks nicely. Also, I'm the cooler version of Ash."
"Beta, can you please wake him up." Carolina asks.
Beta sighs. "I guess so." Beta snaps his fingers.
An electro shock goes through Ash's armor, making his robotic body parks spark a little. After a couple seconds the shock dies down and Beta flashes onto a table between the two beds.
Ash sits up and laughs. "I FEEL GREAT!" He then punches his fist into his palm. "And I'm ready for round two." He looks around and sees everyone. "Why's everyone looking at?"
"He never changes." C4 mutters.
"'Thank you, Beta'." The A.I. does a mocking voice. "You're welcome everyone."
"Now lets get back on track."
A little while later
Carolina picks up a tablet. "Let's see what I'm working with." She sits at a desk with Ash spinning in a chair nearby. "First off, Axel. Former Class Cooperative. Current AOD, golden boy and weapons expert. Ash's favorite of everyone."
"Weee!" Ash flies past Carolina in a chair with wheels and he laughs.
"He's got a wife and kid at home, along with a couple of Boy Scout merit badges. That's just my guess." She moves down the list. "West. What's a team of lovable misfits without it's father figure. He's your tactical lead and your emotional security blanket. He's also East's actual father. A bit on the nose, if you ask me."
A loud crash goes off on the side and a chair rolls behind Carolina. "Ow." Ash is heard in the background.
"Dumbass." Beta is also heard.
Carolina continues. "Speaking of East, if you told me she was an 18 year old with daddy issues, I'd believe it. She's a rebellious, competitive punk with a nifty little power that gives her super speed and incredibly high marks."
Ash walks past Carolina, Beta is sitting on the top of his helmet.
"But not as high as One, headstrong and impulsive. She could be the next leader of Shatter Squad if she can learn to work on a team."
We see C4 walk into a training room, putting bullet into a weird looking revolver.
"Then you have C4." Carolina says. "The youngest of Shatter squad at the age of 17."
C4 flips the revolver close and twirls her weird knife in her hand.
"The eccentric daughter of Ash and Dr. Grey."
A bunch of robots come out from a door and runs towards C4. Cr chuckles.
"She's chaotic and unpredictable."
C4 throws a knife forward as she runs towards the robots. The knife hits a robot in the face, then the knife explodes.
"Along with that she's very, very, very smart. Graduated college with a masters degree in weapons development at the age of fifteen."
C4 flips into the air as bullets fly towards her. She fires a few rounds from her revolver and as they exit the barrel they glow orange. When the bullets hit a robot they catch on fire."
"She's developed her own weaponry and maintains Shatter Squads weapons."
C4 lands on the ground in front of a robot and swiftly pulls out an explosive knife and lodges it's face. Then she ducks down as a fist flies above her and she fires a few rounds into a robot's gut as an explosion goes off behind her.
"She would be number one in the squad if she wasn't such a trouble maker. Guess Like Father, Like Daughter."
C4 backflips away from a group of robots. A metal tink if heard and the robots look down to see a grenade on the ground in the middle of them.
C4 holds up a finger gun and pretends to shoot the grenade and it explodes. "She laughs as robot parts fall around her.
"Though she's compared to her father a lot, and she hates it. It practically alienated her from her own father. But she's a lot like him, in many ways.
C4 then throws a knife to her side and it blows up the last robot.
"Just don't piss her off."
Back with Carolina and Ash. Ash is juggling grenades and one lands on his head, making all the other grenades fall to the ground.
"And Raymond, hectic guy would be an understatement. This kid makes Guy Fieri look like an amateur cook with a wacky wardrobe in place of an actual personality. He's also the newest to the team and desperate to fit in.
"Wait, what?" Raymond asks.
"Can you not mention the embarrassing stuff!?" C4 shouts in embarrassment.
East speaks up. "Well, it's one thing to read up on our files. It's another to see us in action."
"Yeah, we're good." One says.
"We're the best!" C4 adds.
"This is going to take more than just willpower and plucky attitude." Carolina informs.
"We'll head back to Falcon Base." West says. "See if we can gather any intel." He looks at Raymond. "Hey, rookie, gear up." But Raymond's nowhere to be seen. "Where's Raymond?"
Raymond off to the side sitting at a computer, charging his phone. "Oh, my phone is juicing up, it's at 25%. If I could just get it to 30, we can head out."
Everyone stares at him. Then West pulls out a pistol and shoots the computer, making it exploded; Raymond yelps.
"AWESOME!" C4 and Ash yells together.
West puts his pistol back in its holster. "Looks like 30% to me, gear up." He walks off.
.
.
.
.
C4 is at a weapons range and she's swiftly shooting up targets that pop up. She flips a magazine up into the air and she reloads her pistol and holds it upside down. The magazine falls in and she flips the gin into the air and catches it. She pulls the slide back and continues to take down targets.
After a couple seconds a buzzer is head and C4 swiftly sets down the pistol and looks to a score board. The board is changing numbers and it brings up her score.
4,200.
C4 is moves up to fourth place on the board.
1: Ash 5,200
2: One 5,000
3: Axel 4,530
4: C4 4,200.
"FUCK!" C4 slams her hands on the table in anger. "Come on, C4."
C4 growls and she exits the gun range and Ash walks past her. "Hey, Da- Major Ash."
Ash turns around. "Yes, Agent C4?"
"I- Uh... Want to go get some lunch?" C4 says in a hopeful tone.
"Sorry, I can't gotta do some maintenance on Beta and shouldn't you be training?"
"I thought I could take a break and spend time with you."
Ash turns around. "There's no time for breaks. With what's going on, we need to double the training." He walks off. "I got the training room set up for you, better double time it."
C4 watches her father walk off. "I'm not like you, dad, I didn't grow up in the military." She turns around and walks away.
With Ash.
Beta pops onto Ash's shoulder. "You really should spend some time with her, she's your daughter."
"She's fine." Ash says. "She's tough, like me and her mother."
"But she's just a kid."
"So was I when I entered Project Freelancer and I turned out fine... ish."
"But she's not you, she's just a kid who's been an outcast since she was born. Too smart to make friend her age. Was younger than anyone in her class. And now she's her, trying to get close to you."
"Maybe then she should have just stayed home with her mother." Ash enters his room. It's full of computer equipment and an entire wall is full of weapons.
"Ash... why are you scared to get close to Cal?" Beta flashes onto the computer table
Ash stiffens a little. "That's not her name, it's Callie. Never say Cal." Ash sits down and starts to type away on the keyboard.
"Why, is it because that's your dead sister's name! You named your daughter after her. Are you afraid that you'll get close and she'll end up dying like her!"
"Beta... shut up." Ash warns.
"What?! You know I'm right!" Beta yells. "You can't push her away, you'll regret it!"
"Beta, I'm giving you one last warning."
"You need to go out there and be the father she needs! And you won't have to watch her die as Cal did."
"Xi! Shut up!" Ash yells and he goes quiet.
"You still think about your old A.I.?" Beta asks. "Ash, she's been dead for years. It's time to let go."
"Beta, Log Off."
"...Complying." Beta disappears.
Ash sigh and he leans back in his chair and looks up to the ceiling. "Fuck me."
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03-04-2023
1958 words
