It was not the first that Astrid had to pull an all-nighter as a superhero, and it certainly would not be the last. The thing was prodigies during this had no shortage of enemies and there were plenty of people and groups anti-prodigy sentiment going around during this time. Yet, none of those groups were capable of doing something like this at such a scale, were they?

“Nothing?” asked Astrid. “Nada. Zilch. Niente.”

“Astrid… you have to consider things from the perspective you tell us and your trainees to look at things,” said Dante as she let out a long sigh. “We went to the facility, and we told the guards that we were doing a hypothetical break in as you suggested.”

“It was impossible,” stated Dante as he ran his hand through his hair. “And we tried everything… even a really experienced thief could not pull off the heist. They would need access codes and masks… not to mention neodymium laser grid and the lasers inside the building. It’s impossible to get into.”

“Whoever is behind this must have been a part of the Myriads but kicked out for some reasons,” said Astrid. Her dark blue eyes looked up at them as she ran her hand over her face. “It is impossible to break into unless you already had access which means that my stepparents are hiding something from me and… by keeping whatever secret they are keeping from the public as well… they are endangering them.”

“Astrid… if we go digging,” said Dante. “We will be setting them up for a very hard time. Are you sure you want to do this? They were the people who raised you and taught you.”

“We have to,” said Astrid. “All the evidence points in that direction, and we have a duty to all prodigies and mundane people alike as heroes.”

“So… um… where do you want to start?” asked Dante as he looked at her.

“Dante… Drew… I want you to look at those security tapes again,” said Astrid with a sigh. “And let me know if you see anything odd or unusual. If this is what I think it is… then the signs will be pretty visual.”

“You’re thinking mind control,” said Dante.

“It’s a possibility,” said Astrid as she looked at them and then turned towards Matt. “Matt… you are incredible at research, so I want you to look up everything into their past. Follow any lead possible.”

“What will you be doing?” asked Drew.

“Following the other leads,” said Astrid. “What leads I don’t know yet but if this is what I think it is… being prodigy espionage than I think we are in for a much bigger plot, and I think I am going to have to go back into intelligence and espionage again.”

“Hang on a minute,” said Dante. “I thought you wanted out from the world of espionage and intelligence.”

“I never actually wanted to be a spy,” said Astrid.

“Then why?” asked Drew. “I mean, you started at fourteen… that cannot be legal.”

“Conscripted at first. Now, I can’t go back,” said Astrid.

“I’m confused. What do you mean?” asked Matt.

“It’s in my blood. I was trained since I was very young. Too many enemies to pull out of this completely. Take your pick,” said Astrid.

“So… there is no way out for you?” asked Dante.

“No. At least, not any time soon. There have been too many things that have happened in my life to go back to a civilian life,” said Astrid. “After the old director of Shadowscale left, and Nigel took over and things did not become so bad. You can’t really reverse it either and I would really appreciate it if you respected my choice. For now, I am not an official agent until I finish my training at Cathedral University.”

“We do,” said Dante. “Well… we should get going since we all have a lot to do.”

It was indeed going to be a big day tomorrow. She had asked some help from her partners at Cathedral. Jordan and Nikki were the best agents at the academy besides her. They were also her best friends.

“Hey… Alex said he was going to come by,” said Cameron as she saw her sister coming down the stairs. Her hair was done in a French braid, and she was wearing a small backpack. “He said something about wanting to talk to you. He’s coming home on Saturday.”

“Okay. I will be there,” said Astrid as she put her hands in the pocket of leather jacket and removed them as she kissed her forehead. “He’s been on assignment for six months in Malta, according to the director. I would not miss it for the world. See you this evening.”

They were sitting in a car outside of the house of an agent from Havoc. She had convinced Nigel to allow this operation to take place. Jordan was sitting outside on a bench pretending to read a newspaper. They were in the car watching the house. Astrid sipped a little bit of her hot cocoa.

“So… you believe your parents are hiding some deep dark secret about something that happened a long time ago?” asked Nikki. “Do you know how crazy that sounds?”

“It’s not completely crazy,” said Astrid. “Everyone has secrets and whenever I asked them about the League. They would use classic diversion tactics… straight up stonewalling me or changing the topic completely.”

The students got codenames, so if ever the communications devices were hacked into the agents’ identities and locations would be protected. They were all designated by Greek letters.

“So… Omega, who are the League?” asked Nikki as she offered her friend some skittles. “And why do you think that your parents seemed to be so touchy about them?”

“The League… is the Hero League,” said Astrid. “Next to the Myriads when they were active, they were the most prestigious hero organization out there. The three founding members of the League are also the other half of the Myriads.”

“I see… you did not answer the second part of the question though,” said Nikki.

“I… umm… don’t know,” said Astrid. “I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my stepparents have some deep dark secret that they are keeping from me. I did not want to believe it, but it is possible.”

Nikki nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Anything Alpha?” asked Astrid.

“Just a couple of children riding their bikes around the neighborhood,” said Jordan.

“Ah… so you don’t see that man crossing the street right now?” asked Astrid.

“Damn it,” said Jordan. “How could I have missed that?”

Astrid checked to see if her gun was loaded and then opened the side car door and they both stepped out of the car. Nikki ended up tackling the enemy agent to the ground.

“Nice move,” said Astrid as she let out an exasperated breath as she put the gun back in her belt and then turned to Jordan. “See… Alpha, I told you he would show for his money.”

“I don’t understand why the villain does not send the monetary transactions electronically?” asked Jordan. “Does he live in the dark ages?”

“I don’t think so,” said Nikki. “It would only make the cash transfers harder to track.”

“How did you track them?” asked Jordan.

“I trade in information, Jordan,” said Astrid. “I know certain secrets about people. I found a specifically interesting secret about the courier, and I threatened to tell his boss.”

“That is ruthless, Astrid,” said Nikki as she looked over her best friend. “Respect.”

Astrid smiled at her two partners. “Thanks. Now, we should probably get to questioning this guy about what he knows about who hired Havoc.”

“You want us to take him to campus for questioning?” asked Nikki. “You seem busy with your cousin coming over. We can handle things for a while.”

“Thanks,” said Astrid. “And Alpha… just ask Delta out on a date already.”

Alex arrived later that evening. Astrid was not in the mood for cooking, so they decided that they would go out at their favorite Italian restaurant.

“I want to help,” said Alex as Astrid looked at her cousin as he stood in her room. “Ben told me what you have been working on or he had his suspicions. There is no way you can handle this alone.”

“Alex…” said Astrid as she closed her laptop. “It has only been a month or two since your last assignment where you were put in an extremely dangerous situation.”

“Astrid… I am better,” said Alex. “I have been doing therapy sessions and the breathing exercise my therapist had suggested to me. I have less nightmares.”

“Still no. Alex you are younger than me,” said Astrid as she shook her head and crossed her hands. “And I am your older cousin and what I am involved in ten times more dangerous than our standard missions and I have read your psych evaluations. You are not ready. Al… I do not say this to belittle you. You are a great agent, but you are not ready for the world of chaos that prodigy and espionage bring together.”

“I understand,” said Alex.

“Listen, I know that you and I were raised for this life,” said Astrid. “But I want to protect you from the things I experienced in the field and if my stepparents were so intent on keeping whatever it is from me to protect me, then it must be extremely dangerous, and I don’t want you anywhere near it. Let’s just go get some dinner. I am starving.”

“What about a little investigating to help you?” asked Alex as they waited later that night for their orders to come in. “I would sneak in and out without anyone noticing.”

“We’re talking about Havoc here,” said Astrid. “You and I have both had experiences with them.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Alex as he grabbed a piece of bread from the basket. “It was… traumatic and the way they—”

“You don’t have to… I understand,” said Astrid. “I was tortured for digging and being undercover for six months in front of a kid. I would never expect you to recount that experience.”

“Thank you for understanding,” said Alex.

Astrid shrugged. “That is because I know exactly what it is like. The looks of pity and the way that people look at you as if you are going to break. Anyway, I am glad you came to visit.”

“I’ll be staying with Ben,” said Alex as he took a bite out of his salad. “So… I will be close by.”

“That’s good,” said Astrid. “I trust Ben so if push comes to shove, then I know he can move you to a safer location.”

“You are worried about me,” said Alex as he pointed at her after taking a bite of penne pasta. “You are the one chasing after an unknown villain and facing a terrorist organization.”

“So… it must be a Tuesday for me,” said Astrid, nonchalantly with a shrug. “I will be fine. I have gone and come back from worse missions and situations… and this is one of my own choosing which rarely happens.”

Throughout the entire conversation, they had finished with their dinner. Astrid was filling out the check and left a wad of cash at the table.

“Are you sure that you do not want my help?” asked Alex.

“The answer is still no,” said Astrid as she opened the car. “I don’t want you involved in this because I am worried about your safety… and I promised Jack that if I could not keep you out of the career, I would protect you within it and I want to keep that promise to her for however long I can.”

“Okay,” said Alex. “Just be careful out there.”

“I promise that I will be,” said Astrid. “Do you want me to drop you off at the bungalow that Ben is staying at? I have stayed there a couple of time.”

“You sure it won’t be a problem for you,” said Alex.

“Oh, come on… you are never a problem, Alex,” said Astrid as she took the next light. “It is not even that late.”

She had to go to headquarters tonight. When she had first joined Cathedral, she had been brought to the headquarters with a bag over her head. She had not seen the parking lot or any of the interior. She had also stayed in temporary room until they were assigned to housing units recently.

“I cannot believe the boss and the director of Shadowscale agreed to your assignment,” said Nikki as she took out two glasses and put the smoothie she had made in them. “Not that I am not grateful that you gave us a mission to do.”

“Seems to be getting us nowhere though,” said Astrid. “Did you get your schedule though?”

“Yeah…” said Nikki. “So did Jordan. He went to sleep a couple of hours ago. How was dinner?”

“Okay,” said Astrid hoarsely. “Alex wanted to help but I told him to stay out of it… not because I don’t trust him or believe in him… I do. But he had a recent experience with torture, and I know how long it can take to recover from something like that.”

“About that…” said Nikki. “Why did you not tell us during the wilderness training phase?”

“I guess I did not want you to look at me differently.”

“Sorry that I was harsh on you during the phase,” said Nikki.

“Nah… you have nothing to be sorry about,” said Astrid as she took another sip. “It was nothing that I had not done before. I did SAS selection and passed before I became an agent in Shadowscale. The process includes fitness and skills testing, the hills phase, the jungle phase, SERE training.”

“Survive, evade, resist, extract,” said Nikki. “My brother is in the military… in the SAS.”

“So… is mine,” said Astrid. “I think Joseph tested me and my brother’s unit by putting me in that unit. They are fiercely protective of me now.”

“Like a bunch of older brothers,” said Astrid with a light laugh. “That you did not ask for but are glad to have. Anyway, the training here was lame compared to what we endured through SAS selection.”

“How old were you?” asked Nikki.

“I was fourteen going on fifteen,” said Astrid. “I turned fifteen the day I finished selection two years ago.”

“Huh… teenage soldier, spy and hero,” said Nikki. “Not the ideal lifestyle.”

“Or the easiest,” Astrid added, quietly. “Despite the night terrors and trauma, I don’t regret it for a minute. Anyways, I should go to sleep. Also, thanks for the smoothie.”

Astrid laid down on her bed. It was two hours later that she fell asleep. It was later the next morning that she woke up but surprisingly the others had woken up too.

“Hungry?” asked Nikki.

“I’m starving, Springs,” said Astrid as she made herself coffee and poured it in the mug. “Our boss wants to see me.”

“You going to go see him?” asked Jordan.

“I have to… he is our headmaster and boss,” said Astrid as she took a sip of the coffee. “It’s not like I can say no to him…”

The campus was large and expansive. There was the main complex which included the education block. Then, there was the basic training compound and the medical unit. The last section of the campus included housing complex and the park. There were many other parts of the campus.

“Yesterday’s test mission went well,” said George as he placed his hands on the table. “Your team performance and your success in catching the low-level gosto show that this partnership can work for the better and it showed me that your mission is something that we can look into.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Astrid as she cleared her throat. “If I may, I would like keep this between me, Jordan and Nikki.”

“Request accepted,” said George. “And Astrid, please call me George. I heard you are friends with my brother Adrian or the Sergeant of the SAS.”

“He’s your brother?” asked Astrid, shocked. “I did not know that he had a brother.”

“Anyway, my brother has told me to make sure you get proper training,” said George as he looked at her. “And to make sure you do not get severely injured. I am concerned as well about you. If you feel that you are in too deep, I need to make sure that you will ask for help.”

“I promise that I will ask for help,” said Astrid. “And officially accepting the assignment.”

“No problem, Astrid,” said George. “Feel free to ask for any other help. As your boss and friend, I am here for you.”

The day went by as any other day. Astrid’s classes were all at higher and more advanced level along with two electives of her choosing. The thing about taking advanced classes is that it was a lot more challenging, but that did not mean that she did not have time to spend with her friend. However short that time may be.

“Are you going to stand there or…” asked Astrid as her friend as she stepped out of Advanced Coding and Computing. “Or are you going to stand there with no purpose, Akio?”

He blinked for two seconds. “Oh… what? It’s only that you seem close to the boss.”

“We’re not related if that is what you are wondering,” said Astrid as they walked across the education block. “If you must know, I trained with the SAS before I became an official agent for Shadowscale which was before I came here. The Sergeant is the brother of our boss and I have a good relationship with the Sergeant.”

“Oh,” said Akio. “I did not know.”

“SAS training is mandatory for anyone who wants to be a full-time agent,” said Astrid as she stopped in front of the door of their other class. “All I can say is that if I had not trained with the SAS, I would not have survived on most missions.”

“Why did you come back to train?” asked Akio.

“I’m only a teenager. I’m seventeen, Akio,” said Astrid. “And when I entered the field of espionage and intelligence I was only fourteen and I only received some of the proper training. To survive, I need all the proper training required before I officially join again.”

“Okay,” said Akio. “That I can understand.”

“We need to get to class,” said Astrid.

Advanced Calculus was one of the harder classes for her in the academy, but she loved a challenge. She tapped her pencil on the table, deep in thought. She liked the studying, but she also missed the action.

The class lasted for an hour before the teacher released them. Astrid had to get her medical checkup done before she officially started training.

“Nice to meet you, Astrid,” Dr. Flint, stated. “I have received your medical reports from your physician in the hospital. How have your classes been going?”

“Okay… I guess,” said Astrid. “I only just started.”

“Good, good,” said Dr. Flint as he flipped through the papers in the medical file. “It has come to my knowledge that you have a couple of old injuries and wounds and some recent ones as well. I just have a couple of questions to ask you. How do you feel?”

“Tired and a little bit hungry,” said Astrid.

“Understandable,” Dr. Flint stated, with a smile. “It is just that time of day. My next question is are your injuries causing you any discomfort or pain?”

“Not recently, no,” said Astrid.

“Okay,” said Dr. Flint as he finished writing down a couple of things and pulled some medications out of the cabinet. “Here are some pain medications if the bullet wound or marks of torture start hurting.”

“Um… thanks,” said Astrid.

Astrid finished her homework and then headed to the interrogation rooms on campus. The interrogators were still working away at the low-level criminal that they had acquired.

“Nothing?” asked Astrid.

“Nope,” said Jordan.

“Well… they are not doing it right,” said Astrid as she reached into the paper back and grabbed some popcorn. “They simply are lulling him to sleep.”

“Got a better suggestion?” asked Jordan.

“If I had the time, I could do it,” said Astrid as she took a sip of her juice. “We do not have time to do that.”

“Why not?” asked Jordan. “Also… isn’t it your birthday?”

“How did you know?” asked Astrid.

“We received each other’s files before we were paired with each other. By the way, you have a particularly thick confidential file,” said Jordan as he pulled something out of a paper bag. “I know you only asked for hot cocoa and dinner, but we are your best friends and couldn’t help ourselves.”

“Is that cake?” asked Astrid.

“What your file didn’t say is the kind of cake you like,” said Jordan as Astrid opened the plastic box . “So… we made our best guess using our investigative skills.”

“You guessed right,” said Astrid as she took a seat next to him as she dug into the white chocolate raspberry lava cake, it was one of her favorites. “Anything from our guest of honor in the interrogation room yet?”

“Nope,” said Jordan as he turned around to look at her. “He is currently giving us the silent treatment as much as we are giving it to him… but why did you not tell us it was your birthday?”

Astrid shrugged. “I never really celebrated even when I lived with my family. I always happen to be in dangerous situations, or I just did not want to celebrate it sometimes because it felt odd celebrating it without my father.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Astrid,” said Jordan as he took another sip of his apple cider. “And… what did you mean by dangerous situations?”

“Hmm… let’s see on my fifteenth birthday, I was training with the SAS during selection. My sixteenth, I was undercover within the very terrorist organization that I had betrayed… hoping that they would not recognize and retaliate,” said Astrid as she paused to take a breath. “They did. My seventeenth I spent being tortured by a terrorist organization.”

“Yeah… I can see what you mean now,” said Jordan as he gave her a quirky smile. “Well, Nikki and I wanted to make sure that you had a great birthday, so you had something to look forward to every year.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate you guys being here for me and making my birthday something that I can remember as a good day and not a bad one,” said Astrid.

“So… if our criminal is not going to talk, do we have a backup plan?” asked Nikki.

“Oh, Yee of such little faith,” said Astrid. “He’s not my only source. Nikki, Jordan… I would like you to say hi to my friend, Matt.”

“Hi Matt,” said Jordan.

“So… where are you on finding out the history on the Myriads?” asked Astrid.

“Making progress,” said Matt. “But… you were right, there are a lot of gaps in what is written down. The time frames have gaps and I feel like there are things missing.”

“Multiple hidden events and secrets…” said Astrid, quietly. “From me and from the people.”

“I will keep looking into it,” said Matt as he looked up from the books and documents. “Any progress on your end?”

“Depends on what you call progress,” said Nikki. “The low-level agent we were able to apprehend is not talking.”

“I think he’s ready to talk,” said Astrid.

“Guess I will talk to you later,” said Matt. “Be careful out there, Astrid.”

“Ready?” asked Astrid.

“Wait, you want us to interrogate him?” asked Jordan as he looked over at her. “Aren’t you best at directing the conversation and getting the man to reveal what he knows?”

“You are good too,” said Astrid. “And if I need to step in, I will, but you guys are pretty talented on your own.”

“Great,” said Jordan.

Nikki grabbed the file before entering the interrogation room after Jordan and Astrid stepped inside closing the door behind her. She leaned against the door and watched.