Summary
: What happens when a new agent joins the Chimera Squad, and as luck would have it, one that used to be a Reaper? With a new target to tease, an uneasy relation builds up between him and Torque.
Do have fun.
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A young teenager was darting through a forest, his shoes kicking up dirt as he was barrelling through bushes, not having a moment to catch his breath. A loud hiss behind him, a cruel reminder of the reason he was running, getting closer and closer. With adrenaline being pumped into his veins, he did not care how much his lungs and legs were burning. He simply kept going, choosing paths that were easy enough to navigate through for him, but less so for his pursuers.
He never thought that exploring the woods and running around with his friend would ever help save his life. The area was well-known to him, and with the situation becoming more and more dire he knew there was only one way he was getting out of it.
His thoughts were pulled back into focus when a loud crack pierced the silence of the woods, a bright green plasma shot flying just above him. It smacked against a large tree, a hole cleanly blasted into its side. A warning shot or a miss? It didn't matter, he only made sure that every fiber of his being was focused on running as quickly as possible. A single shot decimated the target it did hit and he did not wish to see what effect that would have on his body.
However, the teenager was just that, not a trained soldier. His stamina was running out and the hisses, with occasional orders to stop in English, were only growing louder. But then, he saw his goal - a waterfall formed by a local lake. The memory of his friend joking about the price of the bet to jump down off it flooded his mind. The teen thought how he should collect that debt sometime, as he ran to the water and then... down. No more running and a moment of peace as his body flew through the air, the water approaching fast with every second, as more green lights lit up the night sky just above him.
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David, callsign 'Safeguard', woke up on the train on the way to City 31, the terrain outside the window he was leaning against just a moment ago passing by at an absurd speed. Much could be said about ADVENT, but they did know how to set up great rail transport. They might have been used for rather... nefarious purposes during the war and before, but a new coat of paint, some seats and you had a ready-to-go train network.
He shook his head to fully awaken from the recurring dream and checked his phone, to see the time and how far away he was from the city. Luckily for him, there wasn't much distance left to his destination.
"Huh, it seems like I might have napped longer than I expected..." He quietly said to himself and wondered what he could do to make the time fly by faster. He unlocked the device, once more opening the document of agent files he was given to read over.
Most
of the squad he'd be joining soon seemed to be decent folk. A couple of veterans from the war, some other humans with experience in the field, hybrids which he got used to from his contact with Skirmishers ...and then there were the aliens. But, he was willing to give them a chance. Just like he did with other factions during the war. As long as someone could pull their own weight and had good intentions, he'd be able to put up with them. He only hoped he could do the same with Vipers.
After the war ended, he kept his contact with aliens, even the friendly ones to a minimum. Most of the Reapers did, and with the Lost and Chryssalids still popping up in unexpected places, there was plenty of work to do for someone with a gun. He had deployed in a joint operation with X-Com during the war once, and was impressed with their skill and efficiency during a sabotage mission, but was surprised to hear back from them after this long. He realized his old friends must have put a recommendation about him to X-Com. His willingness to work with the others, something some Reapers outright refused, made him a good candidate for joining the Chimera Squad.
He wasn't going to pretend that he was the only human with some scars from the war. Almost everyone was affected, be it soldiers or civilians that had their family members taken or killed... or tested on. But being chased by a squad of Vipers at a young age, thinking your parents had been killed and joining a group of people that hate the ex-invaders... It was hard for that mindset not to rub off on the personality. It certainly did not help that Vipers happen to be great hunters, as much as he hated to admit it. Great sense of smell, being able to feel vibrations on the ground, a tongue that can simply catch you from afar and snag you in a second... Was he afraid of them? Maybe just a little, but he'd sooner be dead than admit that to someone. Who wouldn't be freaked out by an alien that was essentially a killing machine?
The thought of working with one did not fill him with joy, that's for sure. But, he figured, as long as they weren't a burden, and were at least respectful... maybe it wouldn't be as bad. As long as he had the thing in his vision at all times.
Of course, it wasn't the only alien kind in the Chimera Squad. It was a big poster team of humans, hybrids, and aliens working together, after all. Mutons he did not mind much. They were predictable, loud, easy to see coming and out of all the species, one of the more normal ones. Unlike Sectoids, which had their psionic abilities. Thankfully, there was a requirement for them to wear nullifiers in public areas, and the ones that didn't have one... All it took to resist was willpower. Of that, Safeguard had plenty as he found out during the war when one of them tried mind-controlling him, only to earn a bullet in the skull.
Both the Muton and the Sectoid in the squad he expected to get along just fine. Both of them had been working with X-Com for a while, and most importantly, they did it out of their own will. Axiom peacefully surrendered when the Elders lost the war and then helped with preventing both human and alien casualties. Verge aided X-Com even during the war, solidifying the fact that he wanted to help. He couldn't say the same about Torque, the snake in the team. Everything in her file was about conflict. First ADVENT, then being captured, then prison. And the only reason she chose to cooperate was that she was bored. No change of heart, no empathy for the side she used to murder. If it wasn't for Colonel Jane Kelly, he doubted the Viper would have a place in the squad in the first place. But, if she was good enough to impress the higher-ups at X-Com, that meant she was good enough to... tolerate. He wouldn't allow her to be the reason for him being kicked out of the Chimera Squad, he was sure of that.
As for the city? If one would believe ads trying to get people to move there, then it was the city of the future - the industry was being pushed forward by countless androids that did the heavy lifting, lots of gene therapy clinics and most importantly - its population was made of human, hybrids and aliens, all living in harmony. The reality was not as pretty, and everyone knew it.
The new mayor, a reasonable hybrid lady. A step forward for everyone, only to be assassinated not long after. That combined with the increased activity from various gangs that have resurfaced... And that was without the regular uneasy mix of the population even mentioned. If one came to City 31, they were going to get into trouble sooner or later. But with his history of a Reaper, he was used to it.
His recruitment into the Chimera Squad wasn't only because of his experience, which he had plenty of. He had no previous connections with the rest of the agents, and that was a big reason for him being picked. People were starting to get paranoid, some were throwing ideas such as the whole mess being X-Com's fault. The accusation came from the fact that just when Chimera Squad got into the city, everything seemingly got only worse. The agency needed manpower to be successful, and another alien or hybrid could make everything even more of a mess. So, the director went with a safe choice that was bound to be useful to the team, and at the same time, wouldn't raise further suspicion.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud honk of the train, as they approached the station. David hid his phone, stretched out, and grabbed his bag, ready to start a new chapter in his life.
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"Safeguard! Welcome to the team," Whisper greeted David as he entered the field office. The place did not look very impressive, certainly not something he expected out of a special force. But compared to where he lived at times? At the very least that building had a ceiling.
"Thanks, Whisper," the two men shook their hands, "I assume this location wasn't what you asked for?"
