Chapter 2: The First Steps

Part 1 of 2: Training For A Better Tomorrow

October 4th, 2015

Slumber came far more easily than anyone expected. Despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding their current predicament, including a school massacre, being recruited by a government agency, and now being forced to sleep in the tight confines of a hastily prepared bedroom, dreams and bliss filled each of the girls' minds. Although, Tara herself was quite confident that General Wilson had slipped something into the donuts that were served as a makeshift dinner. But for now, she was contempt, as her dreams consisted of her bright future, and not nightmares of the horrific incidents she had recently faced. And that seemed like it would last for a very long time.

Suddenly, alarm bells sounded in the room, startling everyone from their slumber. Tara's eyes shot open, as she groggily managed to hoist herself to her elbows.

"Rise and shine, ladies," AJ's voice called out from the doorway. "Time to start the training."

"Jesus fucking Christ, what time is it?" said Dash rubbing her eyes.

"Just past three," AJ replied.

"Three what?" asked Pinky, who seemed to be relatively happy despite waking up so early that her voice had not yet risen to its higher pitch, making Pinky sound far more mature than she actually was. She yawned. "Like, is it something cute, like three puppies, or something scary, like three vampires, or is it-"

"More like three a.m.," said AJ, crossing her arms.

"3 A.M.?" said Rachel, sounding like it was the worst news she had ever heard. "Oh no, I simply cannot wake up this early! I need beauty sleep."

"Does that include sleeping around with guys, too? Cuz that would sure explain a lot," chimed in Dash, who snickered at her own joke. Rachel growled at her.

"Well, I guess that would involve men being attracted to me, something you obviously have never experienced," Rachel jabbed back, priding herself on her clever response. Dash pointed angrily at her.

"Hey, don't piss me off when I wake up," snarled Dash. "I'm just as annoyed and cranky as you are. Speaking of which," Dash turned towards AJ. "Why do we have to get up so fucking early?"

"You girls are grossly underprepared for what lies ahead," said AJ. "It takes years of training to reach the experience and skill of a soldier. But we don't really have a lot a time, because we got ourselves a threat right on top of us. So we gotta speed train you."

AJ briefly walked out of the room, and when she returned, she was holding a pile of clothes, which she tossed onto a pile in the center of the room. "Change into these, and then meet me outside in a minute."

AJ walked out of the room as, one by one, the girls finally got out of their beads, and grabbed the articles of clothing. Tara picked up some clothes, and noticed something was off about the clothes she was told to wear. Unless she was mistaken, the only things to wear were white tank tops and some very small gray shorts. While they seemed like normal exercise outfits, Tara noted that it was early October, and the clothes would not provide nearly sufficient warmth for the autumn weather. Nevertheless, each of the girls found their own respective to change in. Rachel was complaining to herself in the corner.

"I can't believe they expect me to wear this bloody thing…" she muttered to herself. She believed that woman of her standards should never be forced to wear such unflattering clothes. They had not taken along any possessions with them, which left Rachel without any of her makeup, or an assortment of proper attire. In fact, none of the girls had really been prepared for this. As far as they could tell, the only clothes they would be able to wear would be whatever they were supplied with on that day. And this thought worried Rachel greatly, much more than any true threat of danger.

The girls quickly finished changing and walked out of the room. AJ was standing there, calmly waiting for them. She beckoned them to follow her down a corridor towards an unknown location. Tara had not really seen much of their new home since she had arrived. She had seen only the room she had arrived in and her sleeping quarters, which led her to wonder how big the underground base could possibly be. AJ led them further down the halls, taking occasional turns, and passing several doorways along the way. Rachel uncomfortably adjusted her clothes.

"Is there really nothing else that we could wear, AJ? It's just that these clothes aren't quite…comfortable for me," Rachel spoke. She once again squirmed around in her shirt, which appeared to be too small for her. Dash snickered to herself.

"Yeah, when you get giant-ass breast implants, you're gonna have a hard time fitting into normal shirts," Dash muttered under her breath. While Rachel was a few feet ahead of her, and didn't hear the remark, Tara heard the comment clearly.

"Hey, leave her alone, Dash," said Tara quietly, trying not to attract the attention of the others.

"Hey, Spark, why don't you mind your own fucking business for once, huh?" Dash said. Tara was puzzled.

"Spark?" Tara questioned.

"Yeah," said Dash, shrugging. "That's my new nickname for you. Came up with it last night. I'm quite proud of it."

"But, why Spark?" asked Tara.

"Simple. You remind of lightning. Really loud and annoying." said Dash simply, ignoring the glare she was receiving.

"That doesn't even make sense," said Tara, very annoyed. "Lightning itself is silent. Thunder, which I'm sure you are poorly trying to refer to, is the sound of the sound barrier breaking. You could have gone with 'Shockwave' or 'Charge', or better yet, just call me by my actual name." Dash simply shrugged of Tara's comments, and grinned.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stick with Spark. Just feels right. Plus, it also sounds like something you'd name a dog, which makes perfect sense, since you like following orders so much. Woof woof, motherfucker," Dash stated. Tara felt like slapping Dash in the face. She hoped her rational side would allow her to keep calm. She promptly decided to ignore Dash, who continued to grin to herself.

"Now all I gotta do is come up with new names for everyone else. Pinky's and AJ are pretty much covered, but I need to think of something for Fiona and Rachel." Dash continued on as if Tara was still holding on to every word. Before they knew it, AJ had opened a door, and the girls were stunned at the sight before them. They were staring at an incredibly large gym area, which seemed to be stocked with more equipment in one room than Tara had ever seen at any of her private schools. In the center of the room was an entire track, which fit an entire swimming pool inside its center. Along the side of the track was enough exercise equipment to fill an entire gymnasium. A firing range was set in the corner, which Pinky nearly drooled over. A large set of weapons were laid out by the firing range. Pinky tried to run over to them, but AJ halted her in her tracks. Fiona asked the question that was settling on everyone's mind.

"How did you get all of this?" Fiona asked shyly, looking around the massive room.

"Government funding can sure do wonders, cant it?" replied AJ, who was admiring the room. She turned to face the girls, a more serious look on her face. Now, I'm going to be honest with y'all. I'm not entirely sure what level of shape each of you is in, so I'm just gonna make you run some simple drills. Ya ready." The girls nodded in response. "Good, now sprint around that track about 40 times."

Dead silence filled the room, as the girls gaped at AJ, who was looking confused, clearly unaware of the difficulty of the task.

"F-forty times?" asked Fiona in disbelief.

AJ considered her disbelief, and then added, "Better make it fifty times." The girls groaned in despair, except of Dash, who seemed to be too busy scratching leg to care.

"Hey, times a wastin'! Get to it!" yelled AJ, acting like a drill sergeant rather than a teenage girl. Begrudgingly, the girls started their lengthy run around the track. "AND SPRINT, LADIES! WE GOT TO GET YOU IN SHAPE!"

Tara had never considered herself out of shape. She had always eaten healthy, even when she was presented the opportunity to lose herself in the sweet store located on campus. She occasionally worked out at the gym, but these were infrequent, as she needed more time to read. But she always thought she could physically outperform most of her peers. Which is why she felt particularly embarrassed when after simply 7 laps, she had to stop in her tracks. She was panting heavily, resting her hands on her knees. She tried to catch her breath, but her chest refused to expand. She fell to her knees, now coughing, and tried to rest. She looked around her, and noticed that the others were not doing any better than she was. Rachel was lying on the ground, her breaths raspy, as she desperately struggled to take deep breaths. The tightness of her shirt wasn't helping either, as she felt it restricted her chest. Tara glanced behind her, and saw that Fiona was sitting on the ground, resting her head on her hands. She was gasping for air, and her body shuddered with each breath. As Tara looked around for the others, Dash zoomed past her in a full sprint.

"Come on, pussies! This is no time for fucking siesta bowl!" yelled Dash as she continued her way around the track. Tara had no idea of which lap Dash was on, but it was far more than Tara had been able to accomplish. Dash also didn't even appear to be tired at all. As Tara looked closer, she even noticed that Dash didn't appear to be sweating, either. Tara had no idea what workout routine Dash used, but whatever it was, it was clearly working. Pinky also ran passed Tara, trying to catch up to Dash, which seemed to be hopeless. Even Pinky's boundless energy was running out. She was working a hard sweat, and her pace was noticeably slowing, but she continued to run regardless.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang throughout the chamber. As AJ rolled her eyes at the girls' lackluster fitness level, she decided to give them proper motivation. She had walked to the walls near the firing range, and swiped a handgun off of the wall. She began taking potshots at Rachel's legs, which made Rachel jump up in shock.

"As I recall, I didn't tell y'all to be lyin' down!" AJ shouted, and began to shoot in Fiona's direction. Fiona immediately took the hint, and started moving down the track at a rapid pace. AJ continued to shoot at her, narrowly missing shooting her feet. Dash ran past Tara once again, this time taking the opportunity to smack Tara on the back of the head. Tara yelped and rubbed the back of her head. A gunshot rang close by her, startling her to her feet. Dash had already run far ahead of her, avoiding the shots, and Tara started to run after her.

"Come on, Tara! Ya got a long ways to go!" shouted AJ, who continued to take potshots at her friends' expense. The next two hours consisted of Tara, Fiona, and Rachel taking brief periods of rest, which were separated by long segments of jogging and being shot at. Sometime along the way, Pinky had used up the vast majority of her energy, and she had finally taken a rest, kneeling by the side of the track and coughing heavily. Fiona passed by Pinky, and slowed down from her jog, feeling concerned for Pinky's well-being. Every time Fiona had ever seen her on campus, Pinky was always merry. So, seeing Pinky in a pained state was actually quite jarring for the shy girl.

"Uh, Pinky, are you alright?" asked Fiona through her own heavy breathing. Pinky coughed some more, and then looked up at Fiona, trying her best to smile through the pain in her chest.

"Yeah, I'm cool," she managed to breathe out. "It's just (pant) I never (pant) felt tired before. (pant) It feels cra-(pant)-zy."

"You've never felt tired before?" Fiona asked in disbelief.

"Nope," Pinky shrugged. "Not really, except before sleep. (pant) But I never felt tired in the middle of the day before." Fiona nearly jumped out of her skin as gunshots rang around her, and she took off down the track again.

"Keep moving, you two!" shouted AJ. Pinky groaned.

"Pleeeeeeeease!" Pinky yelled back, doubtingly. "There's no way you could hit me with that. (pant) If you're trying to scare me, you better (pant) get a higher caliber gun." AJ looked at the gun in her hand, and then back to Pinky, who was on the opposite side of the track from her.

"Just fucking move, Blondy!" came Dash, who, having easily completed her laps, was now leaning on a wall next to AJ and watching the others struggle around the track. She occasionally tried to talk to AJ, but found most of her comments didn't seem to get through to the southern blonde. AJ didn't respond to any of Dash's questions, such as what music AJ listened to, or what assignments AJ was given in the past, or what her sex life was like. AJ simply shrugged off the questions, opting to watch the ladies fight their way around the track.

At approximately 6:15 AM, Rachel's legs finally gave up on her. She collapsed to the ground, unable to move. Her head was spinning, and she was unable to see anything clearly. She was fairly certain that she was going to vomit. Her legs had gone numb, and pain rushed in and out of her chest with every breath. She thought she was going to die, as she felt herself being hoisted off the ground by an unknown person. Suddenly she was tossed in the air, and landed in the pool in the center of the track. Instinct kicked in, and she grabbed on to the side of the pool, holding herself above the cold water. She gasped for a breath, and looked up at the laughing rainbow-haired girl who had unkindly tossed her in the pool.

"Sorry," laughed Dash. "You looked like you needed some water. Haha…"

When Rachel had collapsed, Dash had decided to get payback for their earlier disagreement. It only seemed reasonable to her. Rachel needed to understand not to insult the most talented, athletic, charming, and just plain awesome member of their little dysfunctional team. Or at least, that was how Dash understood things.

"Fu…fuck you…" Rachel managed to mutter between her gasps. Dash chuckled.

"Right back at you, implants," said Dash walking away from the pool. Meanwhile, Pinky had just finished, and slowly worked her way over to the firing range. Fiona was lying on the ground in great pain, and Tara walked up beside her before collapsing.

"Hey, Tara," said Fiona. "Are you, you know, okay? You don't look too well…" Fiona coughed hard, expelling the excess phlegm that was building in her throat. While Tara felt like death, she could clearly see Fiona was much worse. Tara was unsure what shape Fiona kept herself in. She wasn't fat, by any means. Fiona had a naturally slim figure, which she attributed to the fact that she had practically no appetite, and she never left the confines of her room. Fiona had sometimes wished that she stayed in a more fit condition, but the boys she met never seemed to mind. They had always called her angelic, a woman of the highest beauty who must be treated with great respect. But unlike many girls in her school, romance was not a focal point of her life, causing many young hearts to be broken back in the day. Fiona was now thinking of these times, and this concerned her for a completely irrational reason.

Maybe she was dying. Maybe her life was flashing before her eyes, and she was having a heart attack right there on the spot. The rational side of her brain told her otherwise, but she couldn't listen to that part of her brain right now, for she was fairly certain that she was having a heart attack, and that was far more important.

"I'm (pant) fine," Tara said, while looking around the room. She saw Rachel staggering her way to AJ, who was now talking to some woman Tara hadn't seen before. Rachel herself was shivering as she slowly walked across the large chamber, while taking the time to wrap her arms around her chest. It served her two purposes. First of all, the chamber was air-conditioned to keep its inhabitants cool during exercise. Unfortunately, the pool was not pre-heated, and the cold air now blew across her skin, sending shivers down her sides. The warmth from her arms was miniscule, but she gladly accepted it. Her second purpose was more for semantics. She knew well enough what happened when white clothing got wet, so she kept her arms right up against her breasts, so as not to expose herself to her peers. She eventually reached AJ, who was now in deep conversation with a woman, while Dash casually lied on the floor.

"C-Can I get a t-towel… and a new shirt?" stuttered out Rachel, quickly adding on to her question.

"Sure, we'll see what we can do," said AJ, looking between the woman and Rachel. "Oh, Rachel, I'd like you to meet the Assistant Chairman to General Wilson. Mrs. Celestia, this is Rachel Germain, one of the new recruits for P.O.N.Y." Rachel looked at the tall, gorgeous woman standing before her. She wasn't wearing a military uniform, but instead a black, turtleneck sweater and jeans. She almost looked like a completely normal person, if not for her face. She was absolutely stunning, one of the most beautiful women Rachel had ever seen. Her deep blue eyes seemed to penetrate through Rachel, and her long blonde hair nearly fell past her waist. But instead of looking intimidating, her face carried an unmistakable kindness to it. She smiled and held out her hand to Rachel.

"Pleasure to meet you," Celestia said. Rachel shook her head.

"Likewise. But if you don't mind, I'll, uh, keep my hands where they are for now," said Rachel, embarrassed by her situation. Celestia nodded in understanding.

"Girls, get over here! There's someone I want y'all to meet!" AJ called out. Pinky skipped happily to AJ, her strength restored, as Tara and Fiona struggled to their feet, before beginning a slow and painful walk to the others. Someone wearing a suit walked through the door carrying a towel and a new white shirt. Rachel quickly snatched the towel, and wrapped it tightly around her body. Tara and Fiona arrived as AJ introduced Celestia to everyone.

"I'm glad to be meeting you all here today," Celestia started, her face growing more serious. "You are all incredibly brave from surviving the attack, yesterday. Unfortunately, bravery isn't going to stop a bullet traveling through your skull, or a blade going through your chest. I'm going to be taking care of you here; making sure each and every one of you is prepped and ready for the task ahead. We have a long road ahead of us. I will be watching AJ teach you the basics combat training. After that, I will keep track of your status from behind the scenes."

"Wait," said Tara. Her muscles ached with every movement, and she had yet to fully recover her breath. "You mean we're not getting a break, or anything?" Rachel had decided at this point to change her shirt, so she briefly walked to the corner and replaced her top while no one was looking.

"No time for breaks," said AJ, now walking towards the fire range. "We got to keep you girls learning. Come along now."

Celestia sat along a chair next to the wall as the girls were lead to the firing range. AJ was disappointed with the stamina of her new partners. She hoped that over the next few tests, they would show that they held great potential. But she knew that she would face trouble. For starters, AJ knew that the firing range would prove difficult for most of them. As far as she knew, Pinky was the only one who had fired a gun before. After equipping themselves with the proper gear, AJ handed them each a weapon one at a time, allowing each of them to fire off a few shots at targets suspended from the ceiling. Dash was stunned by her first shot, but suddenly grew to like the feeling of a weapon in her hands, as she shouted profanities into the wind.

"Fuck yeah, this bitch has got some fucking kick to it!" she shouted as she unloaded more shots into her target. The girls were amazed by the increasing bloodlust Dash was demonstrating, especially AJ, who started to become uneasy by watching Dash fire, as if she were suddenly going to lose her mind and fire upon the rest of them.

"BOOM! BLAM! TAKE THAT, COCKSUCKERS! WHOO! I LIKE THIS SHIT!"

Click

Dash continued to pull the trigger despite the empty ammo clip, hoping for more rounds to suddenly appear within her gun. Next, Rachel was given a gun, and attempted to fire a shot.

BANG

The gun snapped back in Rachel's hand, causing her to drop the gun and begin rubbing her hand soothingly.

"Shit…" she said while rubbing her wound. "That really hurts." She didn't even bother picking up the gun, walking back to the others. AJ rolled her eyes, and Dash slapped Rachel on the arm.

"Jesus Christ, one fucking shot? You're pathetic…" Dash said, as AJ picked up the gun and handed it to Fiona. Fiona shook her head in response.

"Oh no," she said, trying to give the gun back to AJ. "There's no way I'm ever using one of those." Fiona's comment dumbfounded everyone. "What? I don't believe in the killing of others."

"What?" said Tara. "So, you are not going to participate in any of our assignments at all?"

"I will." Said Fiona, trying to turn away from the attention she was receiving. "I just won't kill anything."

"Fiona, honey, I don't think there's any way to avoid doing that," said AJ, rubbing her temples.

"I'm surprised all of you are going to try to kill people. Actual human beings. That's just crazy," said Fiona in defense. Tara had never actually thought about that. She was supposed to fight terrorists and bring them to justice. But she was not aware by what means she would have to do this. If she was going to learn how to fire a gun, that probably meant she would have to shoot people. Of course they would only be shooting the bad guys, the fact that they were still human beings made her feel incredibly nervous and uncomfortable. It didn't help that AJ had now place a gun in Tara's hand, and told her to fire at the target. Tara nervously raised her gun.

Okay, Tara thought. It's just a cardboard cutout. All you've got to do is hit it. Show the others that you belong to be here.

Tara took a deep breath and refocused her aim at the cardboard. Only now, the cardboard was gone, and had been replaced. It was an actual man standing there. Tara recognized him as one of the terrorists who attacked her class. He was staring directly at her, never breaking eye contact. She felt rage flow through her. All she wanted to do was put a bullet through this man's skull. She couldn't control this feeling. It was just filling her to the brim. She prepared to shoot at the man.

A man who probably had a wife and kids. A man who probably had his own life, who was just swept up into this without his control. A man that she would have to kill without mercy, and separate from this world, forever. She couldn't do it. She hated this man, despised this man, but she couldn't fire on him. She couldn't kill this man, or anyone for that matter. He raised his gun at her. She felt her muscles tense up. She couldn't breathe. He was still staring at her as he readied his weapon. She needed to pull the trigger, but her body wouldn't respond to her. He stared her down, now ready to strike. Tara closed her eyes.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

"Hahahahaha! Nice shot, dipshit!" Dash called out to Tara. She opened her eyes. The man was gone, a cardboard cutout of a soldier in his place. Tara had unloaded her clip into the wall around the cardboard, completely missing the target with every shot. Dash was still laughing at her, while AJ hung her head disappointment. Suddenly, Pinky yanked the gun out of Tara's hand, reloaded it, and took aim.

"Yes," she said, taking aim at the cardboard head. "Now it's my turn. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" she shouted as she unloaded her clip rapidly into the cardboard, every shot striking the target between its eyes. Once she was finished, she merrily skipped back to the group, the members of which were staring at her as if she'd grown a second head. Next, they moved on to hand-to-hand combat, which further led AJ down her road of disappointment. She learned almost all she needed by her first test. It was actually a quite simplistic task.

"Punch me in the face," AJ had ordered. "I want to see how hard you hit." While most girls seemed shocked that AJ was giving them permission to hit her, Dash walked right up to AJ and readied her fist.

"Alright, if you really want it so badly…" Dash said as she quickly let out a right hook towards AJ's head. Suddenly, her arm was grabbed roughly, and before she knew it, AJ had planted her face down on her stomach, with her own arm being twisted behind her back at a sharp angle.

"Don't get so cocky, Dawson." AJ said, releasing her tight grip. Dash stood up, holding her arm and rotating it around her shoulder. AJ heard her mutter some profanities under her breath, as she moved down the line of recruits and tested their abilities. Tara attempted a simple jab, but was easily blocked, and AJ was able to shove Tara to the ground. Rachel attempted to kick AJ in the head, which showed AJ an excellent display of flexibility, but utterly failed in the concept of a successful attack. A simple sweep to the opposite leg took Rachel down easily. Pinky attempted to tackle AJ to the ground, but her momentum was redirected and she was sent hurdling to the earth. When AJ reached Fiona, the shy girl simply shook her head.

"No," she simply said. AJ groaned.

"Come on, Fiona. Try to hit me," AJ said.

"No way. You'll just end up blocking it and hurting me," said Fiona, defensively. "Or what if I hit you by accident? I don't want to hurt you."

"Fiona, hit me. That's an order," said AJ. Fiona remained silent. AJ shut her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Look, you won't actually-"

Smack

Fiona quickly shot out a fist, striking AJ square in the jaw. AJ stumbled back from the hit while clutching her jaw tightly. Fiona cupped her hands over her own mouth, and with a feeling of shame and embarrassment, began immediately apologizing for her actions.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she began, now struggling to find her own words. "I-I just… I mean I didn't want to… You just… Oh, I'm really really really sorry."

"Don't be," said AJ, rubbing her wound. "That was a… nice shot."

After Fiona calmed down and AJ's jaw felt better, the training continued, as the group learned the basics of martial arts, infiltration techniques, disguise, behavior, strategy, and immediate battle tactics. Over the next few hours and various tests, AJ mentally noted different things about the girls. Not only did Fiona have a devastating sucker punch, but she also was able to quickly notice patterns in the behavior of people she met, something she gained from constantly studying animals. Pinky was excellent with guns, but when faced with situations requiring tight focus or close range, she had difficulty completing tasks. Rachel was highly flexible (thanks to many years of yoga therapy), and she also had an eye for detection and blending into one's environment. Her immense fashion expertise meant that she could properly dress herself to seamlessly blend in with her environment, although as AJ also noticed, she would much rather stand out then blend in with the crowd. Dash was the most physically superior, with seemingly limitless stamina and speed, but lacked patience and forethought. She would often rush ahead without thinking, her strategy mainly being fighting hard and fighting fast. Tara was the exact opposite, coming up with great long term strategies and plans, but being unable to fully act them out. Her less than special physical abilities were quite obvious to everyone, but they also knew that Tara's mental strength greatly surpassed her physical strength. Unfortunately, this left AJ with a mind that she still couldn't use to any useful extent.

After reviewing the situation, AJ knew she was stuck with half-soldiers. She ordered the girls to run more laps around the track. After many groans and complaints, she eventually told them it was to "ensure the accuracy of her tests". However, it was simply a ruse for AJ to buy herself some time for thought. While AJ was mulling over how she could put the girls' talents to good use, Rachel was talking to Tara, as they ran along the track.

"How do you put up with her?" Rachel asked while eyeing Dash from across the room. Dash had finished another lap at top speed, showing no signs of fatigue.

"What do you mean?" responded Tara. "I don't even speak to Dash."

"Yes, but she speaks to you, and I assume she is no less of a gormless twat. How do you filter her out?" Rachel asked. Meanwhile, Dash had spotted Rachel and Tara talking, and raced over to hear their conversation.

"I…can't really," Tara admitted. "You just have to try to ignore her. Don't let her get under your skin. "Dash raced ever closer to the girls, now within earshot of their talks.

"I'm trying…"Rachel growled. "But she just won't let me be. It's like that bitch trying to piss everyone off on purpose…"

"HEY! Are you guys talking about me?!" Dash shouted from behind them. They turned around, and while Tara was slightly flustered, Rachel was just angry.

"What was your first clue?" Rachel responded, sarcastically. "Was it the fact that you keep pissing us off, or did the word 'bitch' suddenly activate a command in your brain like bloody sleeper agent?" Rachel stopped in her tracks, while Dash slowed down to a walk.

"I don't like it when people talk about me behind my back," said Dash. Fiona and Pinky took notice, and started to move towards the other girls.

"Oh, like you haven't said shit behind other peoples' backs."

"Rachel," said Tara sternly. "Don't egg her on."

"Stay out of this, Spark," said Dash, who was now approaching Rachel. She pointed sternly at her. "When I say shit to people, I say it to their face. That's called fucking respect. Something you clearly can't understand."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Rachel, her voice growing louder.

"You think your fucking perfect, like your better than everyone else," Dash said, who was now standing directly in front of Rachel, glaring sharply at her. Dash started to speak in a horrible British accent as she started to mock Rachel. "Oh, look at me. I'm Rachel fucking Germain. I feel horrible about myself as a person, so I put on ridiculous outfits to make people forget that I look like the elephant man on the inside. It really helps when I use my sexy foreign accent, fake words, and giant tit implants to suck the cock of every man in the whole wide fucking world!" Dash stopped and sneered hard. "Face it, the only way you can feel like more than an empty pile of shit is by bringing everyone else down." Rachel took an advancing step forward, now staring directly into Dash's eyes.

"Maybe I'll bring you down, you selfish bitch!" Rachel challenged.

"I'd like to see you fucking try!" Dash shouted, now readying herself to fight.

By this point, Tara had wrapped her arms around Rachel and was separating the arguing pair to avoid a brawl. Pinky had grabbed Dash and was doing the same. Words and profanities flew back and forth between the pair, some of which Tara had never known to have existed. AJ took notice of the fight, and quickly ran over to break it up permanently.

"Calm down, you two!" she shouted as she reached the girls struggling to get their hands on one another. "Okay. I can see that tensions are running high over here. You're both tired from the work, I get that. But you two are going to have to get along. We are supposed to be a team!" AJ took a deep breath. "We're gonna take a break now. Maybe if ya get some food y'all will calm down a little."

Rachel and Dash calmed down, but were still glaring at each other, looking like predators ready to pounce. AJ looked at her so-called "team". Unless a miracle happened, it seemed that they would never be able to accomplish anything.

__________

"I just can't believe her," said Rachel, as she was walking down the streets of Philadelphia. They had left the base to go to the city above them in search for food. They had enough money to buy things, so it wasn't a matter of what they ate. It was more of a matter of who ate what. Rachel and Dash refused to speak with each other, and if they were left alone, Tara was quite sure that they would rip each other's' throats out. So they decided to split up, which now left Tara and AJ stuck listening to Rachel complain, as they walked through the city.

"I can't believe she says that I only put others down. That's a load of bollocks…" Rachel was half-talking to herself, but still wanted to hear confirmation from the others. "…right?"

"Oh yeah," said Tara without thinking. "You're super nice." Rachel sighed and smiled.

"Of course. I always try my best to help people. Like, there was this one time…" Rachel told a story about her good deeds, but AJ and Tara weren't listening, instead having their own private conversation.

"By the way, Tara," said AJ. "I know this may sound weird, but thanks for all the help with the homework. The last thing I needed was to fail a class that I'm not really supposed to be taking."

"No problem," said Tara, happy to help. But this brought a question to her mind. "So wait, you actually needed help with that? It wasn't just some undercover scheme or anything?"

"Nope," said AJ simply. "I'm just really bad at schoolwork. Never really had to do much of it. As I told ya, most of my behavior was no lie."

"Does that mean you actually named your hat 'Winola'?" asked Tara. AJ's smiling face went blank. She stared straight ahead of her for a long moment. When she was done thinking, she sighed and glared back at Tara, who was starting to laugh.

"I really hate you sometimes, you know that?" said AJ to a now laughing Tara. It was the first time Tara had laughed since the shooting, and it was the same joke as before, but Tara still found it hysterical. Rachel had noticed Tara's laughs and realized that neither of them had been listening to her. She turned to the girls.

"Hey," Rachel started. "I'm trying to give myself self-confidence here. The least you could do is listen. What's so bloody funny anyway?"

"Oh, nothing," Tara managed to say through her giggles. She paused for a moment, before adding, "Hey, Rachel, did you know that AJ named her hat?"

__________

"She's a bitch," said Dash walking down the street. Pinky bounced cheerily alongside her, while Fiona slowly trudged behind them. Fiona didn't like Dash, at least not yet. She hadn't really gotten a chance to speak with her in person, but she had heard Tara talking about their multiple run-ins. Now, listening to the girl talk about someone else in a negative manner, Fiona could see why Tara found Dash less than charming. As for Pinky, Fiona had once been trapped by the blonde girl for an hour, when she was stopped on campus and asked to buy sweets. Fiona made the simple mistake of asking for what type of sweets Pinky sold, and before she knew it, sixty minutes flew by as Pinky rambled on about different types of sugars, the properties of anti-matter, and the current crisis in the Middle East. Rumors had flown around school that Pinky was a heavy cocaine addict, and that "candy" was a code word for drugs. By watching the way Pinky bounced about with the combined energy of fifteen six-year olds with ADHD, Fiona honestly wouldn't be surprised if the rumors were true.

"I mean, I get that I can be a little bitchy sometimes," continued Dash, who assumed that everyone was listening to her. "But I never say mean shit about someone when they can't defend themselves, unlike that stupid whore…"

Right, thought Fiona. You certainly don't say anything behind others' backs.

Fiona was shocked that she even thought something like that. She didn't usually think harshly about others. But she almost saw Dash as a bully, and she had never been kind to the cruel ways of others, especially after some of the things done to her in her childhood.

"Yeah!" shouted Pinky enthusiastically. She paused. "Wait, who are we talking about?"

"Germain," said Dash with a sneer. Even when Dash was thinking of her, she was incredibly angry. It didn't help that she hadn't eaten anything, and she'd been awake since three o'clock.

"Ohhhh. But I thought we liked her?" Pinky asked, sincerely.

"Forget it," said Dash, annoyed by her friend's lack of focus. She kept looking around her, her eyes scanning every corner. "Where are the fucking hot dog stands? This is supposed to be a city."

"You're thinking of New York," said Fiona, timidly. She didn't know exactly how to say what she wanted to Dash, but she knew not to anger the rainbow-haired girl, especially now. "This is Philadelphia. There aren't vendors on the street."

"Really? Fuck. Okay then, we're stopping at the first place we find. I don't care if the food tastes like shit; I'm fucking hungry," said Dash, holding her growling stomach. She was having a bad day. She was tired, annoyed, and extremely hungry. She was just hoping that her day would get better, before anything else bad came her way.

__________

AJ had recommended a restaurant close by to their base of operations. After the girls took their order and the waitress left them, Rachel asked a question she had been concerning herself with all day.

"So, are you going to make us wear, like, whatever there is, or do we have some kind of influence over what we will be dressing in?" asked Rachel pointing at her clothes. AJ laughed.

"Rachel, the last thing you should be worried about is what you wear," AJ half-joked. Rachel took the comment with slight offense.

"Hey, I am a woman of fashion," Rachel remarked with a high sense of superiority. "And you dragged us to a bloody base in the middle of Pennsylvania-"

"Philadelphia," Tara corrected. "Pennsylvania is a state."

"Sorry," Rachel corrected her mistake and continued. "We didn't bring anything with us. All of my gowns are still back at the college. And I bet our base doesn't have any shops in it."

"Speaking of which," Interrupted Tara. "Does the base have a name, or anything?" AJ was puzzled by the remark.

"What are ya goin' on about?" the southern girl asked.

"Well," explained Tara. "In every spy book I've read, they always have some secret base with a cheesy name. But our base doesn't have a name."

"Should we really be having this talk here?" said Rachel. They looked around the restaurant, seeing a dozen people eating around them, enjoying good cuisine.

"First of all, I don't think anyone here is focusing on us right now," commented AJ, looking around to see people directing their attention to the meals before them. She turned to Tara. "And second of all, no, we don't need a name for the base."

"Why not?" said Tara, now smirking at her friend. "You named your hat, so why not the base? OW!" Tara yelped as AJ punched her hard in her shoulder, close to her stitches. Tara rubbed her shoulder, ignoring the stinging feeling running through her arm. Meanwhile, Rachel started to snicker.

"I still can't believe you named your hat…" Rachel said through her laughs.

"Ya know, I can take us back to the base and make ya run more laps, if ya really want to," AJ egged on. Rachel and Tara became silent. They sat completely still, no longer acting out, as AJ grinned one of the largest grins Tara had ever seen.

"That's more like it," she said, adjusting her hat to make herself more comfortable. Before long, the waitress had shown up carrying a tray of food. Tara knew how to eat healthy. She knew how to pick light, filling choices that gave her a boost of energy and strengthen her muscles. But she hadn't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours, and she was so hungry that her stomach had become loud enough to scare away a family of deer. So, she ordered the biggest burger they had on the menu, all of the toppings included, and a side of fries. Rachel had decided to be lady like, and ordered a chicken salad. But when she caught a whiff of the large beef patty, her mouth watered uncontrollably. Even AJ, who had actually eaten within the past five hours, was starting to crave a bite of Tara's giant burger. Tara noticed the girls eyeing her lunch, and quickly pulled the plate away from them. Rachel began pleading with her friend.

"Come on, Tara," Rachel said, never taking her eyes off of the sandwich. "Let's be reasonable here. That thing is freaking massive."

"You're not getting a bite," Tara said sternly, wrapping her arms around the plate defensively.

"Please. Just one teensy, tiny, little nibble," Rachel pleaded.

"No way," said Tara. "You could've ordered this for yourself, but you didn't. You have your lunch, I have mine."

"That's not a lunch," Rachel said, pointing at the imposing patty. "That's a goddamn buffet!

"Well, I'm really hungry."

"I'm really hungry."

"Then eat your salad," said Tara, gesturing to Rachel's untouched meal.

"I'm not going to eat a salad when I see that thing being eaten in front of me," claimed Rachel.

"Well, you were the one who decided to be 'lady-like' when getting food," stated Tara accusingly.

"And now you can be lady-like by offering a bite of food to your starving friends," said Rachel. Tara stared at her.

"You don't hear AJ complaining," Tara gestured to her friend who was calmly sitting next to her, avoiding the confrontation.

"Mhm, hmm," came AJ's reply. Rachel and Tara never broke eye contact with each other.

"That's because AJ ate," replied Rachel. "I'm starving."

"Look," said Tara, trying to be rational. "We are both hungry, and both want the burger. I'm sure there is some way to work this out."

"I just want a bite," said Rachel defensively.

"No you don't," stated Tara. "You would eat a small sample of my food, and then your brain would start automatically craving more of it. You'll keep taking bites until you eat the whole burger."

"So what do we do?" asked Rachel, eagerly.

"Simple. The person who buys the food, eats the food. And we each used our own money to buy things," Tara said factually. Realization was dawning on Rachel, who was trying to understand what Tara was saying.

"So what you're saying is…"

"You're. Not. Getting. A. Bite," Tara said, punctuating each word to make sure Rachel got the message. "That's final." Rachel slammed her head on the table and groaned.

"Fine," she said in defeat, looking back up at Tara. "I'll just sit here and be a proper woman while you stuff your face with that rancid beef. Oh, and by the way, AJ's been stealing your fries this entire time." Tara looked over at her southern friend, who, sure enough, was calmly holding a pile of fries in one hand, while taking one and putting it in her mouth with the other.

"AJ!" yelled Tara, trying to swipe the fries out of her friend's hands. AJ easily moved her hand out, away from Tara's reach. Rachel was snickering to herself, watching Tara futilely try to regain possession of her food. Eventually, Tara gave up; trying to be content with half of the fries she had prior. She took another sniff of the burger. It smelled heavenly. A rich concoction of seasoning properly added to the patty, allowing for the ultimate seal of flavor. The cheese was melted and draped over the patty, still sizzling from the heat of the grill. The perfect balance of lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon, mushrooms and pickles topped the burger, with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise drizzled over the perfect mound of food before Tara's eyes. All of this was held together by a sesame seed bun, which Tara happily grabbed onto. The burger was larger than her hands, which made examining it a slight challenge, as Tara tried to find the perfect angle at which to bite into her meal.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

The girls felt the ground hake beneath them, as an explosion rang out from a few blocks away. The girls were shocked, unsure of what to do, until AJ drew their attention.

"Come on," she said, fixing her hat. "Let's see what that was." She got up from the table, and made her way towards the door. Rachel and Tara looked at each other, startled. "What are y'all waiting for?! Hurry up!" AJ called out to the girls at the table. Regretfully, Tara put down her burger as she and Rachel ran out the door to join AJ. But before the door fully closed, Rachel ran back into the restaurant. She sprinted back to the table, picked up Tara's burger, and took a large bite of it. As the flavor set in, she moaned.

Oh God, that's good, she thought. She put down the burger, and sprinted back outside to catch up with the others.

__________

Two blocks over, somewhat of a crisis had been worked up over at the Johnson-Johnson United Bank. Hostages were being held inside by a group of three armed men. Susan Driefer was in the unfortunate circumstance of being one of these hostages. Her day had started out as usual. She had woken up to car horns blaring outside of her apartment. She ate a piece of toast for breakfast, and then headed to her work at a retail store, selling old shoes. But today, she needed to open a new account, for her last one was recently broken into, leaving her robbed blind. It wasn't as if she had much money in the first place, but it was still devastating. Of course, her luck would have it that three homicidal maniacs happened to stroll into the bank, and were now terrorizing everybody around her. She looked around at the three men. The first was short and stocky, walking around and pointing his shotgun at the ten hostages. His head was bald, and the lights of the bank reflected off of his scalp. The second man was standing by the doorway, his long main of black hair flowing past his shoulders. He was holding open the door with his shoulder, holding a grenade launcher and shooting at random cars outside of the building. Occasionally, he would scratch his chin, which was hidden under a thick beard. The last man terrified her. The other two men were wearing normal clothes, while this man was wearing an all-white suit, with a black button shirt and a white tie. On the back of his suit-jacket, a black dragon was imprinted. A white fedora was placed atop his head. But his face scared her the most. His entire face was painted yellow, with his neck and ears covered with black make-up. He had black circles covering his eyes, and appeared to be wearing black lipstick. Black lines were drawn over his cheeks, transforming the entire image into that of a crude smiley face. He laughed every time the grenade launcher fired, as he twirled a revolver around his finger, which happened to be on his left hand. The bald man turned to him.

"Uh, Discord?" he questioned the laughing man. "Aren't we supposed to, you know, be hunting for those girls?" Discord laughed again.

"Probably," he admitted, but he didn't seem to truly care. "But we can wait to do that. There's always time for causing extreme acts of violence." Discord walked over to the bearded man. "Any signs of police yet, Oh Clyde, my buddy, my pal?"

"No one yet," said Clyde. "Though I'm sure they're hearing the results of this bad boy." He fired another round, blowing up a car parked across the street. "I'll be ready for them."

"You're sick," said another woman, disgusted with what the men were doing. Discord paused, then walked towards the girl, and knelt down beside her.

"No, you're the sick ones," stated Discord matter-of-factly. He pointed the revolver towards her head, and then spun the chamber on the gun. "All of you people here don't appreciate the true nature of your lives. You all like to live in your boring homes, while you decide to waste your lives fucking a bunch of meaningless pricks. I choose to appreciate what life is truly about: Uncertainty, randomness, pure unadulterated chance. And now, you're going to appreciate it, too."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" questioned the woman. Discord ignored her, instead thinking of a difficult question.

"Okay, here's how this is going to work," he said, keeping his gun trained on her. "I'm going to ask you a question. Get it wrong, and I shoot you. Got it?" The girl was struggling to figure out what the lunatic was talking about.

"In that new musical, Living a Spectacular Life, who is the man that Samantha goes to see regarding her love affair?" asked Discord. The girl was baffled, unable to understand the meaning of her current predicament. She couldn't think properly, everything confused her so much.

"I… I don't-"

"Whoops, time's up!" shouted Discord, before he immediately shot her three times in the chest, laughing manically as he did other hostages screamed, as a sense of shock spread over the occupants of the bank.

"What was that for?" nervously asked Susan. Discord sighed, and then walked over to her.

"You wouldn't understand," he said, almost somberly. "When I was young, I learned that society likes to keep itself firmly in check, never straying too far into abnormality. People think that order is necessary for the world to function. But it isn't order that created the world. It was The Chaos Theory. The chance that absolutely anything could happen at any time. It's beautiful. But people just don't understand." He took a deep breath, and then slapped Susan across the face. "So, if I gotta murder someone because they haven't watched my favorite fucking Broadway show, just to make a fucking point about not fucking acting like everyone wants, DON'T FUCKING QUESTION IT!"

"But Discord," Lloyd spoke up. "I've seen Living a Spectacular Life. Ain't no nobody is named 'Samantha' in it."

"I know," Discord said calmly. "Never actually saw any musicals. Not a Broadway fan. Still, can't help but smile at life, right?"

__________

As Tara was running down the street, she took out her cell phone. It was taken away from her when they first arrived at their base, but Celestia had kindly given it back to her an hour ago, claiming that they needed to make it untraceable to outside sources. She took out her phone and called one of the only people she had on her contacts list that wasn't family or school related.

__________

Fiona was having a miserable time. It wasn't enough that she had to listen to Dash constantly talking about how great of an athlete she was. She also had to keep Pinky in line, and stop her from running away towards the first distraction she saw. Fiona was simply glad that she was sitting at a pizza place, enjoying the brief break she got from the chaos of her new "friends". Dash had ordered two pies, topped with a variety of meats and veggies. As Fiona casually finished one slice, she noticed that Dash and Pinky had eaten five slices each, with little sign of ceasing. She sighed, and sat quietly as Dash continued to talk about her achievements to the blonde girl.

Bzzzzzzttt

Fiona took her phone out of her pocket, and, seeing that Tara was calling her, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Fiona! You guys need to get over here fast!" Tara shouted from over the phone. Fiona grew concerned.

"Tara, is something wrong? Are you okay?" Fiona asked.

"I'm fine for now," said Tara "But you got to here. It sounds like something big is going on."

"Where are you?" asked Fiona, worriedly.

"I'm not sure," admitted Tara. "But don't worry; I'm sure that you'll figure it out." Tara hung up the phone, and Fiona immediately stood up from her table, and ran outside. Curious, Dash and Pinky ran after her.

"Fiona," said Pinky opening the door. "Where are you-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM

Oh, thought Fiona. That's what the problem is.

__________

When Tara, AJ, and Rachel arrived at the bank, several police cars were already surrounding the building. A cop halted the girls' approach.

"FREEZE! DO NOT GET ANY CLOSER!" he shouted. "This is a dangerous zo-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM

A car exploded nearby, causing the girls to be knocked back by the force. The cop was blown to his feet. Meanwhile, Discord stood in front of the door to the bank, holding Susan in front of him as a human shield.

"Please!" he shouted, pretending to beg for his life. "Don't shoot! It would be a tragedy if someone had to get hurt here."

"Put the hostage down and put your hands in the air!" shouted a police sergeant over a megaphone. There were at least twenty cops around the building, all pointing their guns at Discord. No one was willing to take the shot. Discord turned his head to his men inside the building.

"Lloyd," he said. "Let the hostages go." The bald man, Lloyd, forced the hostages to their feet. He motioned them towards the door, and one by one, the hostages slowly filed out of the building. Meanwhile, Clyde pulled a detonator out of his pocket, and flicked several switches the switches on the device.

Beep

Tara heard a small noise coming from her right. She turned; now looking at the building located next to her, but could not find any source to the noise.

Beep

The noise came again, but this time, Tara saw the source for the noise. A small, silver, circular object was stuck to the side of the building. It had a small red bulb on top of it that flashed whenever it beeped. Tara picked up the object.

Beep Beep Beep

"Hey AJ, do you know what this is?" asked Tara as she showed AJ the small object. The cops had also noticed beeping coming from around them. The hostages, who were standing behind the cops, also took notice. AJ took one glance at the object, and her eyes went wide.

BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeep

Quickly, AJ snatched the object out of Tara's hand, and threw it as far away as she could. She grabbed her two friends, and pushed them around the corner of the street.

"Get down!" she shouted as she pressed her friends against the wall. The police looked around for the source of the beeping, but they couldn't see them anywhere. But one cop suddenly took notice of a small object stuck to one of the hostage's back. Without warning, Discord pushed Susan into the crowd, and took cover.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

To Be Continued...