Agent Zero

Kaliel stood with her twin and the other 10 new recruits brought to the huge, towering building standing high above them. She could barely contain her excitement! She was actually here, standing in front of her dream. The Universal Dimension Assassination League. Very very few know of its existence, those who do are lucky. The most prominent assassins in histories come from here.

“Welcome, new recruits! My name is Clay, and I will be your guide.” The man had on a simple black outfit that fit tight and had straps and daggers all over. He pulled a clipboard from seemingly thin air. “Now, before we begin, roll call. Kaliel Schmidt?”

Kaliel raised her hand “I’m here!” She smiled and put her hand down after he checked her name.

“Good. Jeju Schmidt?”

The girl next to Kaliel raised her hand “I’m here too!”

Clay nodded and asked, “you two related?”

“Twins” the two responded

Clay nodded again and fixed his glasses “Asmodeus Thiro?”

The boy next to Jeju raised his hand “sup”

“Luna Yara?”

A girl raised her hand “right here”

“Kaelin Bajin?”

The girl next to her bowed “present”

“Hiori Makuma?”

A girl behind Kaliel raised her hand quietly

“Jay Lurwa?”

A boy towards the end saluted “present”

“No need for that, boy. Lin Yakshin?”

A boy next to Jay bowed “right here”

“Jack Mogrov?”

The red head at the end popped up “when can I meet Agent Zero?!”

“Eager I see. You won’t see him for a bit. Jackson Tellis?”

Jack pouted and stomped his feet like a kid while the boy next to him fixed his hair while responding to Clay

“Lilly Fragre?”

A small girl gently raised her hand and smiled softly

“And finally, Fera Garender?”

The boy raised his hand.

Clay nodded and the clipboard disappeared from his hands “now that everyone is accounted for, allow me to give you a tour of HQ” he turned and led the group through the glass doors

“This is the front entrance. Here, you will find general information such as dorm rooms, training grounds, vacant dimensions and much more.”

“Dorm rooms?” Hiori asked quietly, receiving a nod from Clay

“Yes, dorm rooms. We have to separate into groups and each group gets a dorm. Each dorm has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living area.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad” Hiori said quietly as she played with her hair

“So, like, when we come back to report from dimensions, where do we pop up at?” Kaliel asked excitedly

Clay smiled at her excitement “this way” he led the group through a doorway that entered into a long hallway with many many glass doors. “Each assassin has their assigned gate. If they travel in pairs, they put a note on the door of the one they used. There are many more doors and some are shared.” He led them down the hall and through an open doorway

“Here is where you guys will be until you become an Agent or a Commander”

“What’s the difference?” Jack asked

“An Agent is more experienced. After a certain number of successful assassinations, you become an Agent. We have many Commanders but very few Agents”

“So, like, what about Agent Zero?” Jack questioned once again.

“Agent Zero is the founder of UDAL. He tries to keep a low profile. He has found so many dimensions and made many different discoveries.”

“How many dimensions has he found?” Jay asked, receiving a shrug from Clay.

“He’s always finding more so I am not entirely sure. Last I checked, it was towards the trillions.”

Before any of the recruits could respond, someone burst into the room, panting heavily “Clay, we have an issue”

Clay gave a look. “what kind of issue?”

“Lei. He’s been wounded and barely conscious. He asked for you directly”

“As he fucking should! I’m his older brother!” Clay went with the person, the recruits following closely.

When they got to the infirmary, Clay stopped in his tracks. On one of the beds, his brother was laying there, nurses and doctors trying to keep him conscious. His short, black hair was matted with dried blood and his white clothes stained dark red.

Clay managed to get the attention of one of the nurses.

“What the fuck happened.” He demanded.

The nurse shrugged. “he was barely conscious when he appeared. He hasn’t said anything other than for you to be here.”

Clay sighed and let them do their thing. He and the recruits waited outside the room.

“So, is your brother an Agent?” Fera asked to break the silence

Clay nodded “he is. He’s one of the best so whatever happened was not done by a human.”

“Is he up there with Agent Zero?” Jack asked, desperately wanting to know the mysterious Agent

“He is actually second best. Right under Zero.”

Before anyone could ask anything else, a man popped up in a black uniform like Clay’s but with more daggers and weapons. He had maroon hair that was slicked back and was covered in piercings and tattoos.

Clay immediately stood and bowed “Agent Zero! I was not expecting your arrival”

“No need for formalities, Clay. I heard what happened to Lei and came to make sure he was alright.” Zero said as he placed a hand on his shoulder “while I am here as a friend, I am also here as an Agent. And as such, I need to know what dimension he was sent to”

“You should know. You sent him”

“Clay, with as many dimensions and assassins the system has, I cannot keep up with it changing literally every second. If anything, I need his tracker”

Clay sighed but went to retrieve the device from his brother. When he returned, he handed the device to Zero, who nodded and pocketed the device.

“I’ll get back to you when I know what did this” the Agent said as he walked by the recruits and out of the infirmary wing.

Jack was amazed and excited. He had just seen his idol. In person.

Kaliel was smiling ear to ear. Agent Zero seemed interesting. And he was definitely attractive.

Clay sighed, bringing the two out of their thoughts.

“Is something wrong?” Kaliel asked

“Obviously. Zero never pops up like that. And even though we are indeed friends, I feel like he has something else in mind for Lei’s tracker” Clay ran a hand through his hair

“I’m sure whatever it is, will be fine” Kaliel offered a small smile

Clay simply nodded and waited for his brother

A few hours later, a nurse came out and informed Clay that his brother was okay and needed rest.

“Can I see him?” Clay asked, receiving a nod from the nurse, and was led into the room.

Clay sat in the chair next to the bed as his brother slowly opened his eyes. Clay smiled and gently held his hand “How are you feeling?”

“Like a fucking rock is on my chest. Everything hurts” Lei responded quietly

“Zero stopped by. He said he needed your tracker to find out what did this”

“I know exactly what did it.” Lei chuckled quietly “it was those forsaken thiwolves on Planet Ziron in Universe 21EI of Dimension 45XY.”

Clay quickly wrote this down. “I’ll get this to Zero asap”

Lei nodded as Clay left. Outside, the recruits stood at attention when Clay walked out. “Don’t bother with that. Anyone only ever does that in the presence of Agent Zero. Now, come with me, we have a field trip to take.”

The recruits eagerly followed him to the top floor and through a set of massive doors. Inside was a simple CEO office set up. Desk, holographic computer, file cabinets everywhere. To the left was a massive amount of screens that surveyed the entire building. To the right was a complete glass wall, showing the beautiful view of Dimension Zero. A man sat at the desk, typing away and looking through files.

“Can I help you, Clay?” the man asked

“I have information for Zero” Clay said politely

“He is currently out of the office. I can hold it until he gets back, if you’d like”

Clay shook his head “I’d like to deliver it personally.”

The man nodded and wrote down something on a small sticky note and handed it to Clay “That is where he is if it is of the upmost importance. Otherwise, he is set back at sundown”

Clay nodded and led the recruits out of the office and to a lower floor. “So, this is the recruits floor. Everything you need, is on this floor most likely. I will be the assigned Agent you report to, unless otherwise stated.”

“I thought we would be on our own. To prove ourselves to the top Agent” Jack said as Clay shook his head

“The only time you will need to prove yourself is when Agent Zero gets an understudy. That’s it. For now, these are your assigned groups: Kaliel, Jeju, and Asmodeus. Luna, Kaelin, and Hiori. Jay, Lin, and Jack. Jackson, Lilly, and Fera. Room numbers are on the door as well as your names. My room is at the end of the hall if you have any questions.”

Everyone separated to their rooms until sundown. Clay gathered everyone and led them back up to the top floor and into the room as before. This time, Zero was sitting on the desk facing the door but looking at something the other was showing him.

“Right, so even if that is the case, I cannot have it happen again. Especially to my top Agent.” Zero said

“I understand sir. But Lei is I high demand right now across many dimensions”

“He cannot and will not do anything right now. He is critical. The thiwolves are dealt with. Send out reports saying he is unavailable, but the next best is on the way”

The other man nodded and turned to do so as Zero hopped down from the desk “something you need, Clay?” He asked as he put his hands in his pocket

“I was going to tell you the thing that attacked Lei and where it was located.” Clay said quietly

Zero nodded “yes, well, it’s taken care of. Are these the new recruits?” He asked as he pointed to the group

Clay nodded and introduced them one by one. Zero nodded along until Clay stopped

“So, have they trained yet?” Zero asked, receiving a shake of the head from Clay

“I just showed them around today”

“Make sure they’re up bright and early tomorrow. I wanna see what they have to offer.” Zero nodded and left the room while yawning

Clay nodded and led the group back to their floor, telling them to be up at sunrise and meet him at the front entrance.