2008

Canada, Appalachian Mountains

HYDRA Preparatory Academy

 

On the walk back to campus no one spoke. I could tell that Candice and the other grunt didn't like the fact I had killed their friend. But neither dared to voice their dissatisfaction while we were still alone in the woods.

I wondered if I should say something to them, but decided to stay silent. At the end of the day, they were Grunts. They were being trained to be fodder for the leadership, why should I feel sad for something that was probably going to happen in the future anyway.

John greeted us as we made our way back to the training field.

"Congratulation to the three teams that passed the test."

Looking around I saw looks of panic and fear on the faces of the students who didn't get a kill. I didn't know what happened to you when you failed a test but could make an educated guess that it wasn't a free plane ride home.

" Cadet Rumlow, Cadet Hale, and Cadet Von Strucker. Come forward."

Me, Ruby, and Werner stepped up to John, who looked at each of us with praise in his eyes.

"Cadet Von Strucker, Third place with one confirmed kill. " John announced.

Werner showed a discontented frown on his face.

"Cadet Hale, Second place with two confirmed kills."

Ruby showed no outward emotions, but I could feel her glaring at me out of the corner of her eye.

"Cadet Rumlow, First place with three confirmed kills..and one casualty."

Candice and the grunt behind me stiffened a little when they heard how their friend's death was so casually thrown away.

" Each of you has shown great leadership and decision-making ability. I'm proud to call you the future generation." John gave us all a wide smile.

"You three have earned a free pass from classes tomorrow. Get some rest." John dismissed us.

While the rest of the students started shuffling out of the field, I grabbed the hand of the blonde girl next to me, who was trying to slink away.

She glared at me in agitation but I just gave her a sly smile back.

"You said five months, right?"

**********

Lying down on my bed in my dorm, I let out an exhausted sigh as I reviewed my actions in the test.

While searching for them in the forest was a bitch to deal with, the captives themselves weren't much of a problem for me.

Maybe that would change if I had to go at them hand-to-hand?

I doubted it. I was getting good. Good enough that normal people are easy for me to deal with.

A self-satisfying smile came to my face, before remembering I was in the same universe as Aliens, demigods, raging monsters, wizards, billionaires, and fossilized super soldiers that could easily kill me with just a stare.

Another sigh escaped my lips. Yeah, no getting complacent. This was just another stepping stone on my path to true power.

Max let out a small bark as a knock came to my door.

Getting up I opened it to see Ruby standing there. Her arms were folded and a scowl was on her face, but I could see the nervousness in the girl's green eyes.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

Ruby stood there scowling for a moment before turning her head and softly saying, "Werner and I want to celebrate passing the test."

I stared confusedly at the girl for a second.

"Ok?"

She let out an exasperated sigh and turned her head to face me.

"Do you want to come?" She asked.

I Instinctually was about to reject the girl's offer, but I stopped myself.

I thought it over and I noticed I haven't socialized much with any students or anyone for that matter since coming to this universe. Most of my time was spent training.

"Sure," I said and closed my dorm room door as we left.

************

The common room for the Leadership dorm was designed to look like a high-class living room. A fireplace lined the wall and four soft red couches faced each other in the middle of the room. The only real entertainment in the room was the old pool table that was set off in the corner.

Werner, Ruby, and I were playing a game of pool, each recounting their own experience in the test.

"So you just shot through him?" Ruby asked me, a slightly impressed look on her face.

I took a swig from my glass of apple juice. We were still only 13 so that's the best we found.

"Yep. The guy made a stupid mistake, so he paid for it." I stated coldly.

Werner gave me a scrutinizing look. The guy had been complaining about his loss all night and I got the impression he didn't like being shown up. Especially from someone of 'lower blood' like myself.

"I didn't know you were so...savage," Werner said, speaking the last word like he was disgusted with it.

I just gave a predatory smile to the boy's jab and bent down to take my shot with the pool cue.

"Brock Rumlow!!"

An angry voice called out my name.

"Which one of you is Brock Rumlow?!"

We all turned to see three grunt students barge into the common room, heading straight toward where we were.

I was surprised to recognize the two following behind the big idiot screaming my name. They were the two remaining grunts from my squad.

"That's him, black hair." Candice pointed me out.

The big idiot locked his eyes on me and started marching my way.

"You slimy fucking weasel!! You killed my fucking brother!! You were on the same fucking team!!!"

The boy made it in front of me and reached out to grab my collar.

"I'll fuckin k-"

He stopped as I swung the pool cue into his head, breaking it. The boy's legs stumbled before falling completely to the floor.

"Brock?!" Ruby called out next to me.

I looked over and could tell the girl wasn't upset at the show of violence but at the blatant disregard of her mother's rule of no fighting.

"What?" I asked, shrugging my shoulder and giving her my best roguish smile, " I thought this was a party?"

**********

A/N: Hey guys! Another time skip next chapter as we finish out the Academy arc. Let me know what you think of the story so far!