{Eve}

  After the mission was for whatever the reason I got called into Elder Lewis's office to talk about something. I had no idea that objecting to being team leader would land me in trouble but it did.

  "I'm pretty sure you're wondering why I called you in here today?" Elder Lewis said.

  I nodded.

  "Remember when I appointed you as the leader of your group?" Elder Lewis asked. "Do you remember what you said to me?"

  I nodded. "That I'm not fit for the job. I'm good at following! Not leading and I still believe that."

  "And you also objected to Agent 72's Agent ID being changed," Elder Lewis said.

  I grit my teeth. "Because I think it's a stupid reason to change someone's Agent ID but I guess whatever floats the Council's boat. And another thing, why do you keep calling us by our titles all the time? It's annoying! You can call me by my real name, yeah know!"

  I paused when I realized that I had just had a smartmouth to my Boss. My eyes went wide. I wanted to fix my mistake but since it was my true feelings at the moment I decided against it.

  Elder Lewis gave me an evil smirk. "Well, since you can have a smart mouth towards me, that's another reason to discipline you today. I figured I'd wait until after the mission so you'd have time to heal during your time off."

  He stood up from his chair. "Follow me."

  I sighed as I followed Elder Lewis to my punishment.

  ***

  {Levi}

  When Eve finally returned home from her mission she didn't look happy and there was blood on her shirt.

  My eyes went wide. "What happened to you!"

  "I'm fine. That's what I get for having a smartmouth towards my Boss," Eve growled.

  I gasped. "What! Okay I understand the need to check a subordinate in check, but exactly how did he discipline you? Because that looks like your shirt is soaked in blood! Isn't that going a bit too far?"

  She snorted. "Oh please, this type of discipline is a walk in the park for me. I've had worse. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I mouthed off to a superior."

  "That doesn't matter, he couldn't just give you a suspension or probation or something like that?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "Nope. Suspension or probation would be a slap on the wrist for an Agent of my status. Like I said, this discipline is a walk in the park for me. It could've been worse."

  My jaw dropped. "Worse! How bad is worse- you know what, don't answer that question. Come on!"

  I grabbed her hand and marched her to the bathroom that's connected to our room and told her to take off her shirt. I was shocked when I saw whip lashes all over her back.

  I composed myself the best I could as I said, "Exactly what type of punishment is worse than this?"

  She turned around and looked at me. "I can list a few. Try being almost drowned/waterboarded, being branded, being cut, having bones broken-"

  "Okay that's enough. Jeez, your job is cruel! I'm glad I'm not an Agent," I said.

  "Well at least you had a choice as to where you wanted to work," Eve snapped.

  "Yeah I did. And I'm glad that I made the right choice," I said.

  Eve grit her teeth. "Good for you. That's nice to know. Whatever you do, don't take having a choice for granted. Because people like me don't get choices. My job was decided for me from the very moment I was born! I didn't get a choice in deciding who I wanted to marry that was decided for me! You're just lucky that I fell for you because if I didn't this marriage wouldn't be as happy as it is now. Even getting pregnant with Zoey was decided for me! And the moment I try to object this is what happens!"

  I was going to say something when she continued, "You know what, I need to take a shower and I'm tired. So could you please get out of the bathroom so I can take care of things? You can discipline me for snapping at you later!"

  My jaw dropped. "Why the hell would I discipline you for voicing your own feelings? Eve I-"

  "Please, just get out?" Eve asked me with a pleading look.

  I sighed, "Okay, I'm going. I'll leave you a fresh change of pajamas for you to settle into when you're done."

  "Thanks," Eve said.

  After she said that, I left the room.

  ***

  The next day after I had that argument with Eve I called Ms. Terra because I had some questions about what Eve said. Since I couldn't make it into her office I decided to facetime her instead.

  When I told Ms. Terra about what Eve said she nodded. "Yup. It's true for the most part and it depends on your rank as well. Eve is a high value Agent so she didn't really have much of a choice. And she's right, her job was decided for her the very moment she was born. At first the only thing that wasn't decided for her was who she was going to marry. But seeing that I tried to block her becoming an Enforcer by getting her married to you, that choice was taken away from her.

  "I didn't have a choice on my first marriage. But now I have a choice on my second and it's mostly because of my rank within the Organization. From what I hear of, your brother George is a new Agent so if he were to get into some kind of trouble they might be more lenient on him. But with the new team of Super Agents that he's on he might be held to the same standards as Eve.

  "I also heard that George is dating a congregation leader so that might help in the long run. However, if things turn serious between them the Council might just order them to get married whether they want to or not. It's interesting but the Council does allow for same sex marriage. As long as their orders are being followed then it's all good.

  "So what type of discipline did Eve get?"

  "It looked like she got whipped," I said.

  "I see, what did she do to warrant that type of punishment?" Ms. Terra asked.

  "Apparently she had a smartmouth towards her Boss," I said.

  Ms. Terra's eyes went wide. "Really? Eve hardly ever does anything like that! I wonder what would cause her to do that? It had to have been a good reason. And knowing her she didn't bother to beg for forgiveness because that was probably her honest feelings about things. It must've been pretty bad for her to get flogged like that."

  "And you're okay with this type of punishment? I still think it's going too far!" I said.

  Ms. Terra shrugged. "Tis what happens when you work for the Organization."

  Before I could say anything else I heard Eve howling in pain.

  "I should probably go check on Eve," I said.

  "Oh that's right, I heard that nutcase Uncle 42 decided to start testing on her again. Yeah you should go help her. Goodbye," Ms. Terra said.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  I quickly hung up the phone and ran upstairs only to find Eve in the fetal position howling in pain on the floor. I remember the doctor's instructions that if she was howling in pain like this no amount of pain medicine can help her because it's a side effect from her new abilities that she's gained. I can do one of two things for this. I can have sex with her or depending on how bad it is, I can taser her. I decided to taser her. I quickly found the taser and pulled the trigger. It hit Eve on her shin and after a couple of seconds of tasering her she calmed down.

  I gently removed the prongs from Eve's shin and the wounds quickly healed. I held her in my arms. "Eve, dear, open your eyes please."

  Eve slowly opened her eyes and groaned. "What happened?"

  "You were having trouble with your powers again," I said. I picked her up and placed her gently down on the bed. "You know you can express your feelings with me right? I'm here for you. Just lean on me if you need to, okay?"

  Eve looked away. "The thing about that is, it's kind of embarrassing for me to talk about how I feel and most of the time I don't say anything because I don't feel like dealing with the discipline that comes after."

  "Well, from here on out you tell me exactly what you're thinking," I said.

  Eve hesitated. "Even if it hurts your feelings?"

  I nodded. "Even if it hurts my feelings. Because if there's a problem with our relationship I won't know what it is and how to fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong."

  "And you're sure you won't discipline me for it later?" She asked.

  "I won't discipline you for it later. However, if I get upset and walk away it's because I'm not trying to say something I don't mean or regret because it's in the heat of the moment," I said.

  "I see," Eve said. "I'll… Try to do that at least with you."

  I smiled. "Sounds good to me!"

  ***

  {Eve}

  The couple of days later my powers started to act up more and I found myself back at the hospital. For whatever the reason the rest of my teammates wound up in the hospital too.

  I had woken up in cold sweat and grabbed the nearby trashcan and puked into it.

  "Eww that's nasty! Mommy's throwing up in a trashcan! Couldn't she have a bucket instead?" I heard Zoey say.

  Levi choked. "While it would be nice to puke in something better than a trash can, sometimes you can't hold your throw up in long enough to get to something better than a trash can. Remember the last time you got sick?"

  "Oh yeah, that's right! I puked on the ground in front of me because I couldn't hold it in long enough to bring out a bucket," Zoey said.

  I threw up again. Right when I thought it was going to end I took a breath and let it out. "Uh guys? Could you not talk about what I should throw up in while I'm in the process of throwing up?"

  I looked up to see Zoey giving me a sheepish smile. "Sorry Mommy, I hate when you're sick."

  I smiled. "It's okay. Being sick isn't fun at all-"

  "Well how are we feeling today Agent 36?" I heard someone say. I looked in the doorway to Uncle 42 standing there giving me a smug look. I muttered underneath my breath, "Yay the nutcase is here!"

  "I'm sorry, what was that?" Uncle 42 said.

  I shook my head. "It's nothing."

  Uncle 42 rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am well aware of my nickname, thank you very much."

  I wanted to say something but I didn't because I started throwing up in the trash can again.

  Uncle 42 sighed, "Yeah, I'll have one of the nurses get you some medicine to help with the vomiting and I'll be back to check your vitals after that."

  Shortly after he said that he left. Zoey looked at the doorway and frowned.

  I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong Zoey?"

  "That guys creepy, I don't like him!" She said.

  I snorted. "Nobody likes him around here."

  "Oh," She said.

  A nurse came into the room with a tray and the tray had a needle on it. When I gave the needle a wary look the nurse chuckled. "What's the matter? Afraid of needles Agent 36?"

  I shook my head. "It's not the needle. It's what's inside the needle that is what I'm wary of."

  The nurse nodded. "Makes sense."

  She gave me the shot and I immediately felt relief from the nausea. The nurse then did something that I thought was a little weird. She walked over to the trash can that was sitting next to me and sniffed it. She gagged. "Eww, yeah that sample is going to Uncle 42."

  "Huh? Why?" I said.

  The nurse rolled her eyes. "Why do you think? It'll help him discern how your powers are coming along."

  "She's exactly right, please put that in my lab and I'll get to it later," Uncle 42 said as he entered the room.

  The nurse left and Uncles 42 looked at Levi and Zoey and said, "Do you guys mind stepping out so I can speak to Agent 36 in private?"

  Levi nodded and picked Zoey up and left the room.

  Uncle 42 turned his attention back to me. "I see you're developing more powers at a faster rate than I anticipated. As a matter of fact, all of your teammates are developing new abilities faster than expected! That's exactly why everyone's at the hospital.

  "The Council is currently looking into building a state of the art facility so that you guys can discover and train with your new abilities. Because the ones we have now aren't going to cut it anymore. For the moment your job will mostly be working on training your powers.

  "And yes, you'll still go on missions but not as much in the coming years. From what I know of the Council will only call in the big guns if they feel it's absolutely necessary."

  I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, me and my team are the big guns?"

  "Yep," Uncle 42 said. Didn't say anything else but he checked my vitals and left the room. He came back a moment later with a tray of food. "You're going to need to eat something with the medicine you were just given and I'll tell your family to come back into the room now that I've had a little talk with you."

  On the tray was a nice size helping of scrambled eggs with cheese on them and next that was steak, sausage and some bacon. Till this day I still find it amusing that Agents can't eat any sort of vegetables whatsoever. We can eat fruit but vegetables are a no go.

  "I was wondering, why can't Agents have vegetables?" I asked.

  Uncle 42 smiled. "I was wondering when someone was going to ask me that question. Well an Agent burns through a lot more calories than a normal human would and vegetables don't add much by way of calories. Why do you think normal humans eat more vegetables in order to lose weight? The other reason is that if an Agent eats a vegetable it doesn't do anything for their health good or bad. One more reason is that vegetables can make an Agent sick."

  That last reason had me raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? A vegetable can make an Agent sick? Like how sick are we talking here?"

  "Sick enough for it to just be the stomach flu. Of course either way Agents are pretty much indestructible. Even if they get knocked down they get right back up. I'm pretty sure an Agent wouldn't want to be constantly running to the bathroom because they had carrots for lunch," Uncle 42 said.

  I snickered at that thought.

  Uncle 42 chuckled. "Yeah it is kind of funny when you think about it. But either way, make sure you eat your food and I shall take my leave."

  With that, Uncle 42 left the room.

  ***

  {Levi}

  The next day Eve was still in the hospital and when she started howling in pain Zoey and I had to wait outside in the waiting. I was pacing the waiting room a bit when I saw George's two boyfriends Triple X and Branden walk in and they had George's son named Junior with them.

  Zoey eyes lit up when she saw Junior and Junior practically ran to her and hugged her the moment Branden put him down.

  "Zoey!" Junior said.

  "Junior!" Zoey said. "Good to see you again. At least I have a friend to play with."

  Junior nodded. "I agree. Being in the hospital with just the adults is boring."

  Branden snickered. "Alright you two you can go play with the toys over there."

  He pointed to a section in the waiting that had children's toys for them to play with. They went over there and picked out a couple of things to keep themselves occupied.

  I was going to say something when Eve let out a loud scream.

  I panicked. "Eve!"

  Just as I was going to race down the hallway to her room Triple X put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. "I know that look when I see it. Branden and I have been dealing with this same issue with George. It seems the whole entire team of Super Agents are in the hospital because they're developing powers at an alarming rate. From what I know of the Council is looking to build a state of the art training for the Super Agents to discover their new abilities with."

  I took a breath and let it out. "I can't help but panic when I hear Eve scream like that. I guess it's just a knee jerk reaction."

  Triple X nodded. "Same here-"

  He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when a message went off over the intercom. "Would the Emergency Instructors Team please report to the receptionist desk at Ward C? Again would the Emergency Instructors Team please report to the receptionist desk at Ward C? That is all."

  Branden sighed, "Oh crap, that means I have to get going and I just got off work too!"

  Triple X nodded. "Yeah well that's what happens when you're a Class A Instructor."

  Branden stood up from his seat and went over to Triple X and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Well, duty calls. I'll see you later."

  Once Branden left the room Junior looked up. "Mr. Branden had to go somewhere?"

  "Yeah, he had to go back to work. He probably won't be back home until later," Triple X said.

  Junior shrugged. "Okay Mr. Triple."

  Triple X looked at me. "Come on, let's have a seat. I'm sure the doctor will come back and give us word on what's happening soon."

  Even though I did as Triple X suggested I couldn't help but worry about Eve. There are only two people that are the most important people in my life and that's Eve and my daughter Zoey. I'll do whatever I can to protect Zoey but at the same time I feel so helpless knowing that until she's home I can't really protect Eve.