Chapter #01
Strange Introductions
There
is always a defining moment in everyone’s life. That one moment where you need
to prove that you are truly worth something. One man stands before his fate
trying to uncover what he is truly made of. Is it possible for him to truly
prove his worth? Is there anything standing in his way to truly become the man
he was meant to be? His dreams are finally coming true, but now he has to pull
it together or else he might end up letting this chance pass by.
“Oooh god, why did I decide to do this?”
Isaac said out loud while staring over the railing while trying to keep his
stomach together so that he doesn’t lose his breakfast. “Don’t know what fascinates me the most, the fact that you managed to
hold it in this long, or avoided anyone figuring it out in the evaluation!”
James stated while holding on to his friend who might have contemplated to jump
overboard so that he could feel something again in his stomach. “Dooon’t even
think about it! You wanted to grab the opportunity so you are going to live
with it!”
“Well,
pardon me for not knowing I could seasick this easily! At least it can’t get
any worst than this!” James patted his
friend on the back with a grin on his face while noticing someone wildly waving
over to them. “You two! Time to get inside! NOW!” Isaac finally turned away
from the railing while holding his stomach. “What’s going on?” he wondered as
suddenly the floor under their feet started to shake like crazy. “Oh why did I
open my mouth?” Isaac murmured as he noticed that the aircraft carrier they
were on suddenly started growing turbines that were coming out of the water. “I
guess I should have told you about that!” James said while laughing s he was
helping Isaac hold his footing, as he was trying to keep himself from throwing
up. “This is much worse, oh lord, this is my nightmare!” Isaac kept murmuring
to himself as they were pushed into the ship by one of the crewmembers outside
bringing everyone inside.
“So
here we are!” James said laughing as he realized that Isaac didn’t catch
himself after being shoved inside and was now on his knees. “That bad huh?”
Isaac with his face towards the floor simply nodded as James helped him up and
then just randomly slapped him in the face. “The hell was that for?” Isaac
shouted trying to check if his jaw was still intact. “A sign for you to get
yourself together! You wanted this to happen so pull yourself together! You
wanted to step out of the boring ol’ office and here you are!”
“Yeah,
I mean, I always wanted to work in a flying hunk of death trap! What dreams to
have!” Isaac’s sarcastic reaction got him another slap in the face with James
laughing as he continued down the hallway. “You were seeking some more
excitement in your life, well, welcome to my world!” James said as he waved
Isaac to follow him. “Does your world always involve some slapping this early
in the morning?” Isaac asked only for James to instantly reacted with: “Depends
on the morning!” he said with his laugh is echoing down the hall and Isaac
shaking his head.
“Alright,
first off we need to get you into a uniform!” which confused Isaac a little as
he assumed suits is the classic uniform for an agent. “When you are on a
Helicarrier you have to wear a uniform, directors orders!” Those words left
Isaac behind quite confused, but he doesn’t have a high enough clearance level
to even question that fact. “You got your assignment and everything, right?”
Isaac nodded while pulling out a piece of paper. “Got it right here. Seems I
was assigned to...work in...wait an archive? Looky there, from one desk job to
another...” Isaac said while sighing away as he was still having a hard time
keeping his balance with the entire place still slightly shaking. “Look at it
this way, you need to start somewhere my friend!” James said as he noticed
Isaac was walking a bit slowly behind him. His stomach felt a bit shaken up as
he realized that they are flying further up into the air. “You know when that
weird movie kept calling that giant bird “as big as a battleship”? I don’t
think they thought someone would take it literally!” James laughed as he tried
to figure out what exactly the name of the film was before Isaac threw in “Man
I really need to re-watch The Giant Claw again.” While Isaac was reminiscing
about a movie he watched not too long ago, James simply shook his head at his
friend’s fascination with film. “The guy is on a flying aircraft carrier and
all he can do is make a reference to an old black-and-white film! I remember
you forcing me to watch that thing!” While they kept walking down the halls
with various agents passing by them, Isaac simply responded with an “I thought
you enjoyed it, Karin certainly seemed to be having fun!” James turned around
giving a look that made one thing quite clear, she did not enjoy it. “You are lucky
my wife is a very patient woman, but...” He hesitated for a second before
confessing that “...Yeah she actually enjoyed how bad it was!”
“Then
I did my job!” Isaac said proudly as someone walked past him staring as if he
was trying to figure out what kind of people are on this ship.
“Congratulations, well now it is time for you to finally get in uniform. We are
here!” he said as he lead Isaac towards his locker with his uniform he got
fitted for and it was strange seeing it in front of him. He always worked at
the offices at headquarters and wore a suit almost every single day, so this
was an interesting change. Actually, he realized that in both cases everyone is
wearing the same thing so in the end it was not that different after all. He
started sensing a running theme of unity here, but a job is a job.
“I
wanted to ask you, how is Karin doing? I haven’t seen her in a while!” Isaac
thought that maybe starting some small talk would make the awkwardness of two
men changing in the same room a bit less awkward. “She just started her new job
so we’ll see if this one will stick!” James answered while sticking a new
picture of his wife on the inside of his locker door, which was already filled
to the brim making it difficult to find another spot. “A slight obsession
there?” Isaac asked him only for James to respond with “Coming from the guy who
was in a tent outside a movie theater last week!” which managed to quiet down
Isaac. “Fine, we all have our own little obsessions!” Both of them simply laughed as they finally
got their uniforms on.
“Alright,
I was assigned to bring you to the archive and then I am going to head out as
well. So, follow me!” James said as they continued walking through the
corridors. On their way, Isaac was fascinated what different type of people or
rooms could be found in this place. While it did look massive from the outside,
but once you set foot into this behemoth you truly realize what you have become
a part of. Sitting at his office at one of the many headquarters you feel like a
typical office drone for every other company, but once you set foot in this you
realize that there was more to this entire organization than one thought at
first. He would certainly enjoy it much more if the entire place wasn’t
constantly shaking slightly making him nauseous about being on board of this
place.
“Well,
we are finally here! Welcome to the Archive!” James said as he knocked on the
door that was well hidden deep within the corridors of this place. After
someone from within the office asked them to enter, they walked into a massive
room that was filled with what seemed to be filled to the brim with a variety
of records and documents. A short chill of terror went down his spine as he
wondered if he would have to sort all of these documents. In the middle of the
room there was a desk that had stacks of documents piling up. “Someone here?”
James asked while trying to look around that massive pile. “Of course, coming!
Coming! Don’t worry!!” echoed from one side of the room as suddenly someone
holding a stack of documents, which were promptly just placed on the table that
was already exploding due to the amount of papers.
“How
can I help you?” asked a young lady with a bright smile on her face. “I am
delivering a new transfer to your department. Let me introduce an old friend of
mine, this guy right here is Isaac and he will be helping you guys out here. I
leave him in your care!” James aid as he quickly waved goodbye as he left the
room with a grin on his face as if he had just fed him to some lions. As Isaac
turned around he realized the bright grin on the face of the lady in front of him.
“Isaac, right? From this day forward I will be your, Supervising Officer, here!
You can call me Madam SO from this day for...” but before she could finish her
sentence another person appeared and bonked her on the head before she could
finish. “Don’t mind her! She has been waiting to make someone her subordinate
for a while even if she is one herself.” A lady smoking scolded the younger
girl from before as she then paid attention once again to Isaac, who felt
slightly left behind by James without any true warning. “The name is Kate
Lorain, I am going to be your actual SO while you are here so if you have any
questions please ask them now!” she said with a stern voice, which ended up
catching Isaac off guard as he hadn’t really thought of anything to ask as soon
as he arrived. “Alright, time’s up!” Wait what? That was just a few seconds, no
one can think up a question at that speed! “This little monster here is Sarah...”
before she could finish Sarah shouted out “Classified! My last name shall be
the biggest mystery you must solve to prove you are allowed to work here!”
Isaac felt as if he had truly stepped on a landmine that wasn’t far off from
exploding if he just said a single word at the moment.
“Naveen,
her last name is Naveen!” someone suddenly said as another person appeared from
behind the stacks of papers that were shielding him from anyone noticing him in
the room. “Come on Nathan! Where is the fun in that?” Sarah shouted annoyed as
she stormed off back to wherever she had first appeared from. “She will cool
down in a sec! Hey, the names Nathan Lord!” Isaac greeted his stretched hand
and smiled thinking that just maybe he had found one person that won’t force
him to walk on eggshells while working here. “Enough of the formalities! We
have an introduction tradition here and Isaac, you’re new here!” Kate said with
a gigantic grin on her face. Damn you James, you picked this place on purpose,
didn’t you?
“Alright
newbie, here is the rule. I am going to ask you questions about you, if I don’t
like the answer, well....you’ll find out!” Oh, I am royally screwed aren’t I?
“Alright, first question....what did you do before you got here?” That’s the
first question? I thought she was going to ask something much worse. “Up until
now I worked in the PR department so...” Suddenly, Kate splashed him with a cup
of water and just added a “Don’t care! What did you do before you got on
board?” she asked as she stared into his soul with an intensity that felt like
he was a touch away of turning to ice. “I...I met up my friend James who guided
me on board!” Here comes the water! Wait, she actually looked a bit satisfied
with that answer. “Alright, where do you know James from?” I thought this was
about me? “I knew him before he joined the academy. We went to the same high
school together, but while I went to a local university he decided to join the
academy. We stayed in contact and ironically I somehow ended up working for...”
There was the missing water splash from before. “Whatever, most important
question now. If you don’t give me an answer I want to hear, I will zap you!”
she said as she pulled out a Taser, which she then gave to Sarah, who suddenly
had a sinister look in her eyes. “O..kay what is it?” Isaac asked while knowing
that no matter what he will say, he will probably get to learn much about
electricity than he ever truly wanted to. “Is...” Wait a minute! I am
completely soaked. “your friend, James,...” If I get hit by the Taser I am
doomed! “...seeing anyone?” Kate asked while slightly blushing. “Wait, do you
have a crush on James?” Isaac asked confused about the matter only for him to
land another glass of water in the face. “I am asking for a friend!” the strong-willed lady in front of
him said as if she worked by the logic of a high school girl. While he just met
her, that stern personality seemed to have disappeared as soon as she asked
about James. “I hate to break it to you, but...he is married!” he said without
thinking of the ramifications of him revealing that fact to someone who seems
to have a crush. “Damnit, I knew it!” she said while slowly walking away that
made Isaac sigh in relief as if he had avoided the trouble of getting zapped to
death. “Oh, Sarah he is all yours!” she said before walking to her office that
was just a desk in the corner of the room leaving a demonic Sarah in control of
Isaac’s life. “Well, well...looks like I am not your SO, but you are under my
control!” she said while her grin kept growing on her face. “Is this necessary?
I mean, we are all civilized here, aren’t we?” he asked while trying to slowly
backing away from her, but luckily to him Nathan intervened and grabbed her
before something could happen. “The show is over, time to get back to work!” he
said as he took the Taser out of her hands and threw a mop towards Isaac.
“First
day on the job, could you mop up the mess Kate made and don’t worry, she
splashes everyone with water on their first day. You were the unlucky bastard
who actually knows James, she had a crush on him ever since they both were
together in the academy.” Isaac was confused, as James never told him much
about his time at the academy. To him it was just an obscure time in the life
of his friend that was never truly talked about. Was there something that
happened between them that made him try to forget this time? “Do you remember
where you changed?” to which Isaac simply nodded. “When you are done just head
over there, you should have a fresh uniform ready for you! When you are done
just come back here and I’ll give you something to do!” Nathan said with a
smile before disappearing behind the pile of papers. While mopping the floor
Isaac was wondering what else was heading his way after starting the day off
with getting water splashed on his face and being seasick. Oh crap, just thinking
about that fact he felt the shaking of the Helicarrier once more and felt a slight
movement in his stomach. Somehow he missed the distraction from before again,
but he knew he would get use to it. Now he isn’t just an employee at a random
office, for the first time he actually felt like he was actually part of
S.H.I.E.L.D. and not just a usual office drone.
All Rights to any fictional characters, organizations or anything created by Marvel Entertainment, LLC belong to their rightful owner. This is a fan-made work of fiction and is written in tribute to the show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.".