{Eve}

  "Hey, get back here!" I said as I ran after Zoey. Since she was transformed as a cub she was a lot faster than me because I didn't get a chance to transform as I ran after her.

  She giggled. "Mama run! This is fun!"

  When I paused to catch my breath I transformed into a lioness. "Okay, you want to run then let's run! Besides, it'll hopefully tire you out enough to take a nap finally. Good thing I have the day off today."

  Zoey giggled again. "Fun! Fun! Let's go! Let's run! This is fun!"

  I was running after her down the hallways of the house, well it's more like a mansion that we live in. Levi insisted that we stay at the mansion he lived in after we got married and I wasn't about to change his setup considering I'd be gone a lot because of my job anyway. When I first moved there Levi made a request to the Elders that he can hire mostly Agents to be the house staff and it was granted.

  So the nanny who helps take care of Zoey when I'm away is an Agent. The chef and his staff are Agents. Levi's new PA is also an Agent. So yeah there are Agents around us 24/7. So everyone knows what's going on and to not freak out if they see a lion cub walking around. Although there are a couple of Agents that fawn over Zoey when she's transformed into a lion cub and she loves the attention.

  Zoey took me by surprise and jumped over the balcony over a set of stairs and landed on her feet and ran off. So I jumped off the balcony and ran after her.

  She ran around into the garden behind the mansion and back into the mansion again. She went up and down the stairs several times. She just kept running. I wasn't getting tired or anything, but she had to settle down and take a nap somehow. I always worry if she's getting enough sleep through the night because of how much energy she has. Then I got an idea.

  I started to herd her towards Levi's office because I knew he was home today. Levi somehow is able to get Zoey to calm down a lot easier than I can. She always wants to do things that keep her from sleeping when I'm around. I wonder if it's because I'm gone a lot?

  When I got Zoey towards the door to Levi's office thankfully it was open. Levi was on a phone call and before Zoey could jump into his lab I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and picked her up.

  Levi looked at us and smiled.

  "Yes sir, we can look at the contract again tomorrow. Alright then I'll talk to you later… Yes goodbye!" Levi said. He hung up the phone and stood up. "Hey there! Looks like someone has way too much energy today again!"

  I put Zoey down and she transformed back into a human and jumped into Levi's arms. "Daddy!"

  "Hey little one! Are you giving mommy a hard time?" Levi chuckled.

  Zoey shook her head. "Nuh-uh, I ran with Mommy! Mommy's fun!"

  Levi snorted. "Well at least one of us gets to be the fun parent. You like spending time with Mommy don't you?"

  She nodded. "Yes, because she leaves a lot."

  Hearing Zoey say that kind of broke my heart. I had my answer of why she's always so hyper around me but there's nothing I can do about it. I transformed back into a human and sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to me. "Come here Zoey."

  Zoey did as she was told I sat her down on my lap. "Listen, I think it's time we had this conversation. I leave because I have to work."

  She frowned. "But Daddy works! He stays home."

  I nodded. "I know. It's just his job allows him to work from home. My job doesn't. And no, I can't quit my job. I'm sorry honey."

  "I don't want to take a nap everyday!" Zoey whined. "Naps are stupid!"

  Levi burst into laughter and I glared at him. "That's not funny and it's not helping either!"

  Levi regained his composure. "I'm sorry dear. I just never thought I'd see the day when a three year old would talk about how bad naps are."

  "But it's true!" Zoey protested. "Even when I go to that one place Daddy drops me off at the other kids there agree with me."

  I know where Levi drops Zoey off when he has to go into the office. He drops her off at the same daycare that's inside the orphanage that I grew up in. Another arrangement that Elders have worked out with us in order keep people from being surprised about seeing a lion cub walking around. Mostly because even though she has earrings that are supposed to help her control her powers she still doesn't quite know how to control them yet.

  "Oh really?" I said.

  Zoey nodded. "They're always crying wondering when their Mommy's and Daddy's are coming back. When they do come back they get really excited about it. Tommy and Clairia can do some really cool stuff."

  "And what can they do?" Levi asked.

  "Tommy turns into something called a bat and Clairia can play with something called electricity in her hands," Zoey answered.

  "I see," I said.

  "Alright Zoey, I know you think naps are dumb but it really helps you store up more energy so you can run more later," Levi said.

  Zoey tilted her head. "Really?"

  Levi nodded. "Yup. Even Mommy and Daddy take a nap sometimes because every human needs a little extra sleep."

  "Okay, I'll sleep," She looked at me. "But can Mommy sleep with me? Please?"

  She gave me those cute little puppy dog eyes and how could I say no to that? So I nodded. "Sure Mommy will sleep with you until you fall asleep."

  "Yay!" Zoey cheered.

  Levi and I took Zoey to her room and I slid underneath the covers next to her. She snuggled up to me and surprisingly it didn't take her long to fall asleep.

  "Honestly, I think you should take a nap too," Levi said. "I've often taken a nap beside Zoey but I can't sleep in a child sized bed all night so I got another bed next to hers."

  He pointed behind him and there was a regular adult sized bed next to Zoey's. I got out of Zoey's bed and sat down on the adult sized bed. I looked at Levi. "You really think I should take a nap too huh? Sure, I'll take a nap if you take one with me. We'll nap together like one big happy relaxed family."

  Levi chuckled and then yawned, "You know what? That sounds like a good idea."

  Levi took off his suit jacket and his shoes and laid down on the bed next to me. Soon after that I drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  "Annnd time!" Trainer Michael shouted.

  That was after I finished running around a football length track transformed as Lioness. I stopped in front of him and transformed back into a human. "What was my time?"

  He sighed, "One minute. I know you can go faster than that. Heck there are normal humans who could probably run circles around you!"

  I hung my head. "That's not good. Before I had to worry about controlling my Demon Power and stuff like that. Now I have to worry about controlling this? Although this is an easy power to control, but still."

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  Trainer Michael laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day where the overachiever get upset about not being able to achieve something."

  I sighed, "So what's the expected time for someone who has this ability to do?"

  "Under thirty seconds at least," He said.

  My jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

  He nodded. "Yup! I've trained Agents with this ability to run under fifteen seconds before! And you saved the world by destroying a meteorite with your Demon Power so you'll get up to speed in no time at all! Pun intended."

  I groaned. "Okay."

  "Okay let's do this again and then we'll focus on your other powers," Trainer Michael said.

  We trained for another six hours and then called it a day. How long the training was didn't surprise me. Trainer Michael had been pushing me even when I was off work because of Zoey. When I was off work we would train every other day. Of course Levi complained about it but Trainer Michael pushed me even harder. He said he didn't want to take a chance on me becoming lazy. As if that would ever happen. I'd never want to be lazy because I want to keep excelling at my job 100%.

  ***

  {Triple X}

  When I heard George had been placed in a water tank during evaluations that scared me. Auntie 21 gave some bullshit excuse about because he's an Agent that came from the outside he takes longer to heal. I don't buy that excuse, not one little bit.

  To me if the Elders felt the need to put an Agent in a water tank it only means one thing… They're testing on them again.

  "I don't get it," Branden said as we sat in the waiting room at the hospital. "Didn't he already pass being a Lab Rat?"

  I nodded. "He did. I think it means they're looking for something. I have no idea what they're looking for."

  I figured after I visit with George I'm going to have a meeting with Elder Lewis and see what he can tell me. But before I could even get to doing that Elder Lewis came walking down the hallway towards us. Speak of the Devil and he will appear!

  "Ah yes, I need to speak with both of you, follow me," Elder Lewis said.

  Branden looked like he was going to protest but he kept his mouth shut. He probably wanted to visit with George as much as I did. Elder Lewis led us into a nearby office and we entered.

  When he sat behind the desk he looked at us. "Close the door and take a seat."

  We did as we were told.

  "Before you say anything, yes Agent 722 is still in the water tank," Elder Lewis said.

  "But why?" Branden asked.

  "True the water tank helps an Agent who used to be an outsider heal faster but we've started a new program. But we're only able to test on Agents that have a certain genetic mutation. And we're only testing on Agents, no one else is included in the mix and that includes Congregation Leaders and Boot Camp Instructors," Elder Lewis said. "We're looking for Agents to become the next Agent 36."

  My eyes went wide. "You mean you want George to be able to handle Demon Power?"

  Elder Lewis shook his head. "Oh no, that power is so rare now that no Agent has had the ability to take it. So we're going with the next best thing which would be Stunning Powers. The name of ability is pretty much self explanatory. If Agent 722's genetic abnormality takes the power then he'll get extra training. Depending on how well he does with the ability he'll get picked for another job."

  "You mean he'll get trained to be an Enforcer?" I asked. "Will he be moved from the congregation then?"

  Elder Lewis shook his head again. "Nope. He'll stay right where he is. His trainer will come to him. He might not like killing people for a job but he'll get used to it, just like Agent 36 did. But right now it's just a waiting game. He'll go back to being a regular Agent after the two day run this weekend and he'll be assigned his cover job. Don't worry he'll know what's going when he wakes up and he knows he'll have to cooperate or…" He stood up. "Now I'll give you guys some time to process things before you go visit with Agent 722. Have a good day."

  Without another word he left the room.

  ***

  "I don't get it. Why do things always have to be harder for Agents? Every other job that the Organization has isn't that hard. But for Agents?" Branden said as we walked down the hallway to George's room.

  We saw him lying on the hospital bed and he looked like he was asleep. He slowly opened his eyes and when he saw us he smiled. "Hey guys."

  Branden and I reached over and kissed him one after the other.

  "So how are you feeling?" I asked after I grabbed a chair and sat down by his bedside.

  "Better now that I'm out of the water tank," George said. "Being in that tank makes me feel very disoriented! I don't know which way is up or down in there!"

  I shuddered because even though I was raised to become a leader I was tested on just like everyone else is and being in a water tank is no joke.

  Without warning George looked like he was going to puke and he grabbed the trash can next to his bed. Sure enough, he threw up in it. Branden gave him a look of sympathy. "Poor thing."

  I looked at the buzzer to summon a nurse and pressed it. "Yes?"

  "Uh, your patient is throwing up," I said.

  "Okay then, we'll be there in a moment," a voice said and the intercom clicked off.

  It didn't take long for a nurse to enter the room. I got out of the way so the nurse could do her job. "Alright Mr. Harriman, we're going to give you something for the nausea. Just a moment."

  She left the room and came back with a tray that had a needle on it. She waited patiently for George to stop throwing up when she had him sit up after taking the trash can away. After she gave him a shot she had him lay back. "The medicine should kick in soon so just lay back and close your eyes. If you need to barf again there's a small bucket sitting next to you."

  George closed his eyes and groaned. "Thanks."

  "So, when did the doctor say you'd be able to come home?" Branden asked.

  George shook his head. "I don't know. He was only there for a moment when they pulled me out of the tank and then he left."

  "I see," Branden said. He looked at the time on his phone and sighed, "Well I have to go into work soon so I can't stay long unfortunately."

  "That's okay," George said. "I'll be fine and then hopefully I can go home soon."

  A half hour later Branden had to leave for work and I stayed longer. Visiting hours were almost over when the doctor finally showed up. Surprise, surprise George's doctor was none other than Uncle 42 himself!

  My jaw dropped. "Uncle 42! I thought you would've retired by now!"

  Uncle 42 snorted. "Yes, I'm old I get it and how could I retire after making another breakthrough with Agent 36? She finally managed to tap into her Demon Power after all these years! Then after discovering that Stunning Power is just as strong Demon Power that's when I began to look for who could withstand that ability. There have been a few candidates and no I'm not saying which ones."

  He glanced at George and then gave me a look that told me that George was probably one of those candidates. He looked at his watch and smiled. "Oh would you look at that! Visiting hours are over which is good because I need to talk to my patient in private. Have a goodnight Leader Triple X."

  "Alright then," I said. I leaned over and kissed George on the cheek and after I did that I gave Uncle 42 a rather dirty look before I left the room.

  ***

  {George}

  Once Triple X left the room I looked at Uncle 42 and gulped.

  Uncle 42 gave me an evil smile. "I think things are going rather smoothly with your testing don't you think? Let me see your hands."

  I did as I was told and Uncle 42 grinned. "Perfect! You have black dots on your hands meaning you're developing a new ability and your genetic abnormality is taking hold. Excellent!"

  "So what does that mean?" I asked.

  "It means that we'll keep you here for a couple of days for observation. And I'm not sure that you'll be able to do the two day run in this state," Uncle 42 shook his head. "I want to make sure that the ability I attached to your powers takes hold completely first. You might pose a danger to the other Agents on that run if that doesn't happen. I think if everything goes as planned you'll be just as strong as Agent 36 is. Or at least that's what I hope considering you came from the outside."

  "But why? Agent 36 was born with her powers, I wasn't born with mine," I said. "Why was I picked?"

  Uncle 42 took a seat in one of the chairs by my bedside. "Every Agent has a specific genetic abnormality that determines when they're going to develop abilities and sometimes it determines what type of ability they'll develop. Your genetic abnormality has made it so that you've developed magnetic abilities, animal changing abilities, and elemental abilities like being able to use the elements of wind and fire.

  "I have been using the blood samples of Agents to see if I could attach any more abilities to them and it turns out that I can! I do the same thing with every woman who has a child through artificial insemination.

  "Agent 36's mother got pregnant by artificial means at a very young age like right after she turned eighteen young. She graduated boot camp at the top of her class right along with Agent 36's father. They ordered to be married after I figured out Agent 36's father had Demon Power and her mother had Stunning Power.

  "From the looks of it you'll be developing Stunning Powers very soon."

  He laughed a wicked laugh. "You look scared. Relax, you have nothing to fear…"

  I gulped. "H-how can you be so sure of that?"

  "I've been doing this for a long time and I know when things are going to go south my little Agent," He said. "And from the looks of it things are going to go north for you. So get some rest and you'll be able to go home in a couple of days, okay?"

  After that he stood up and left the room. Once he left the room I was alone with my thoughts finally and the thoughts just kept running through my head. I have the genetic abnormality that could cause me to be the next Agent 36? Should I be scared about this or excited? I know I wanted to be like Eve but being exactly like Eve? Rising up to her spot and being treated as an equal to her so soon? Is this a good thing? Will I be able to handle the same type of pressure Eve's dealt with her whole life?

  Little did I know I had nothing to be afraid of in the process of developing my Stunning Powers. But what I will be afraid of is the fact that Uncle 42 will want something more from Eve and not just children. He'll want Eve to be the greatest super soldier he's ever created. But he'll go about doing that in the most sinister way anyone could ever imagine.