Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

MAD had been inactive now for what seemed like an eternity. Well, maybe a matter of months, which is how it felt for HQ. Time could be such a weird concept when your whole life revolves around doing good for the benefit of others. After many time consuming battles and missions, HQ were now settled within the Toronto branch after a certain agent in training managed to destroy the main lab, heroically of course, he was trying to take down MAD so he could only receive half of the blame. Nevertheless they had started fresh and were laying low until they were definitely back in action again. This gave MAD plenty of time to become fresh on the scene again, which was exactly their intention now.

Penny’s heels clacked down the hallway as she headed towards the main operation room. It felt like forever since she’d been able to get out there and show off her worth as a MAD agent. Well, she’d definitely earned the title, she was relentless, ruthless if you will. But she’d now been beckoned with intentions of being sent on an assignment. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she placed her hand on a small scanner at the end of the hall, security purposes, MAD were not taking any chances at a sneak attack. Once the scanner approved of her identity, she made her way into the room, folding her arms and stopping just short of a tall chair. 

“How do you even walk in those?” Came a voice, clearly referring to her footwear. Penny looked down at her feet.

“They’re fashionable, you could learn a thing or two about fashion, besides its not like I wear them on miss-”

“SILENCE.” The figure slammed his fist down on the table, Penny flinched ever so slightly but just rolled her eyes. She’d grown accustomed to these sorts of responses. “I’ve had your progress reports from training. These results are..impressive I must admit. Now, down to business, you have a simple task: go undercover, infiltrate HQ and find me information on Inspector Claw. I’m sure someone with your ability should be able to do that, unless these results were a fluke.”

Penny rolled her eyes once again, “You don’t have to sound so condescending, I’m pretty capable of infiltrating HQ.”

“Well then, I should expect big things from you. You’ve trained enough for this.” The voice remarked, “Don’t make me regret assigning you this mission.” His voice ran cold.

“Cmon, I think my results in training speak for themselves, I can do this, no sweat! I’ll do my best to make you proud.” Penny said, although a small twinge of doubt settled at the back of her mind.

Before the voice could reply, MAD’s bumbling ginger scientist rushed into the room, panting and out of breath. “Sir! Sir it’s-”

The voice growled, “Von Slickstein what have I said about charging in?! I’m speaking with Penny, this had better be importa-”

“But sir, it’s the escaped experiment! We’ve found it.” The words rolled from his tongue with utter pride, happy to have done his best to help the situation. The figure smirked, tapping his fingers on the table, Penny knew what that meant.

“It seems your time has come. I'm sure you’re ready. Now go! There isn’t a second to waste!” The figure cackled darkly as Penny nodded, exiting the room.

Buildings stood row by row under the moonlit sky, a vision of a realistic city skyline, HQ were always so advanced with their holo technology, providing their agents with hands-on training simulations to give them a realistic experience. A dark haired boy ran across the rooftops with ease, as if this was a familiar experience for him. His name was Talon, and he happened to be the best of the best, well, in the world of agents in training that was. He leapt down off the final building and rolled to comfort his landing. Standing, he scanned the perimeter for any sign of MAD agents, alertness was key when being an agent. His feline companion, Brainless, was standing beside him, she let out a silent mew to alert him to the agents she saw lurking. Two MAD agents stood in a dimly lit alleyway, scoping out the area. Talon smiled and gently ruffled the tuft of hair on her head “Good girl, now to draw em in.” Talon brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled “Hey losers! Looking for someone?” He smirked as they quickly turned their attention towards him. Once they had spotted him, he made a run for it, rounding a corner and leaping over a large trash container. The MAD agents ran straight for him, designed to replicate their real stamina. Brainless tried to run after Talon, moving out of the way on his signal so that she didn’t get caught in the action. He never even broke a sweat, leaping and landing on top of the lid, closing it as the two agents came crashing into the container.

“Too easy.” He jumped down and dusted himself off, hearing the groans of the agents behind him. The two turned and started walking away to see if there were any other agents within the simulation. He looked back over his shoulder, noticing the MAD agents’ legs dangling out of the container, making him chuckle to himself. As he turned back, his chuckle soon faded. On the road in front of him was a heap of debris from a broken wall. Beneath the wall was a crumpled car, smoke spewing from the exhaust and flames erupting around it. He could hear faint cries and screams, or were those in his imagination? His blood ran cold, the colour drained from his face and his body became stiff.

A memory surfaced.

A very young Talon sobbed uncontrollably as he scrambled towards two lifeless forms in what appeared to be a wrecked car. His breath was shaky and his bottom lip quivered. He took hold of a woman’s shoulders and gently shook them, his tears dripping onto her cheeks as he stared desperately down at her. “Mom please… you gotta wake up you just gotta!” His breath made it hard for him to form the words he wanted to say. His mother’s body was limp in his touch, her once warm rosy cheeks were now cold to the touch. He turned to his father who was also completely unresponsive. He traced his finger along the stubble on his chin, the way he always so playfully had. “Dad?...Please…” He silently begged. Reality was soon hitting the boy right in the face. He brought his forehead down against his mother’s, sobbing just as much as he had been. It was all he could do. His grief was drawn short however when he heard the sound of van doors opening, his head shot up as he darted his eyes around the scene. A very different looking Claw laid limp in the seat in front of Talon, his eyes widened as he watched a figure grab hold of his almost lifeless body, dragging it from the wreck. “NO!” Talon yelled, his little voice hoarse from crying and screaming with fear. He reached his arm out to try and alert the figure of his presence but instantly retreated as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his injured limb. He winced and fell back against his lifeless parents, his eyes screwing shut as the noises around him became muffled and unclear. All he heard was the sound of van doors shutting and driving away. Then. Black.

Talon’s eyes shifted down to his arm, almost as though reliving the experience made the feelings return to his body. He clutched the arm and traced his thumb over a scar, one that left not only a physical reminder, but a mental reminder too. He was disrupted from his thoughts when he heard the purr of his feline companion at his side, clearly she had noticed his discomfort as she nuzzled against his leg. He sighed and leant down, gently stroking her soft grey fur, “I’m okay girl, honest, I think I’m just hungry, maybe skipping breakfast wasn’t wise huh?” As he started rambling, Brainless gulped and tugged at his leg, while he had been so lost in thought, a large group of MAD agents had surrounded them completely. 

“What? What is it?” He turned around and froze, his eyes wide. The MAD agents all held guns, ready to shoot at the trainee. As their fingers all pressed on the trigger, Brainless and Talon dived, covering their heads, but as they did, the simulation ended, bringing them back to the reality of the holo room. The built in score tracker spoke from the speaker

“Agent Talon, combat score-” After those words a large buzz came from the speaker to indicate that the session was a failure. Talon groaned and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing with defeat 

“Well that was a total fail…I’ll just reboot the holo training program before the Chief finds out.” He said with certainty. He walked over to the reboot button, ready to press it.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Came the voice of a female figure beside him. Talon jumped in surprise, realising the Chief had already bet him to it. He gulped nervously.

“Ah Chief Data! Didn’t see you there…I was just uh-” He sighed “Okay I may have failed the training session, I was doing so well but this headache came on and completely threw me off course and-” 

Chief Data just sighed, rolling her eyes before a smile tugged at her lips. She knew Talon was normally on top of his game, but distractions were inevitable sometimes. “That’s alright I’ll let it slide, besides, I could do with your assistance anyways.” Talon, confused, tilted his head whilst also holding it, just to make the headache story slightly more believable.

“Sure Chief anything, name it.” He smiled eagerly, he’d take any opportunity to forget what he’d just seen in the simulation. 

“That’s what I like to hear, we have a new recruit joining us today and I think it would be good for you to greet her and welcome her to our organisation.” Data explained as she exited the holo room, Talon following at her side. 

“Sure sure I can do that,” Talon nodded. As he walked he was abruptly stopped by a girl with red hair, who tackled him in a hug from behind. Talon would know those arms anywhere. He smiled and relaxed into her touch “hey Mal..” he snickered.

Mal playfully smiled and buried her face into the boy’s shoulder, content as she always was with him. “Hey stranger, don’t forget to meet me at lunch today, you promised to make up for all the extra training you did last week.” She giggled. Talon couldn’t help but chuckle too

“I know I know, I’ll be there don’t you worry.” He turned around to embrace her in a proper hug. Mal gave a content hum and kissed his cheek

“Good, that’s what I like to hear,” she smiled.

Chief Data cleared her throat, causing the two love birds to break from their embrace and blush awkwardly, “save it for later you two, come along Talon we can’t keep our new recruit waiting.”

Talon mouthed a quick apology before turning to his girlfriend, “see you later Mal,” he smiled at her before walking away with Chief Data, his mind now switching to thoughts of who this new agent might be. As the two enter the office, Data’s chair spins around revealing a deceivingly beautiful agent. Her hair is a fair shade of blonde, long and cascading down her back in the form of two space buns. She had a very pale complexion, with pure blue eyes, which now scanned over Talon. Their eyes met, Talon’s brown orbs slowly taking in every detail of her, from the curve of her smile, to the way her eyes sparkled at the sight of him. The girl seemed to follow him too, her eyes darting to his dimples which were now showing, a feature she was already growing to admire. Her cheeks began to flush slightly from the extensive eye contact, Talon immediately looked away after realising he’d been staring for longer than he should. Data walked to stand beside Penny

“I would like you to meet our agency’s newest recruit! This is Penelope," Data began.

“Although Penny is much preferred,” the girl responded, resting her chin on top of her hands. 

Data smiled, “She has a PHD in biological science, she’s a master in martial arts and has many other degrees in combat, and her test results from the HQ training system are through the roof! She will certainly be an asset to our organisation.”

“Pretty impressive right?” Penny acknowledged, gently batting her eyelashes in Talon’s direction. Talon awkwardly tugged at his shirt’s collar, nodding,

“Certainly, I’m Talon, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said, reaching his hand across the table to shake hers. Data observed as the two shook hands, confident in her decision to leave Penny in the hands of Talon.

“I see that this will be a brilliant partnership, you are in good hands Penny,” She said, nodding at Talon with approval. “As it is your first day here and you will most likely have many questions, I’m sure Talon wouldn’t mind giving you a tour of HQ and introducing you to your fellow colleagues.” Talon nodded 

“I’d be happy to show her around Chief,” He said as he looked at Penny who also seemed to nod with approval. Data clapped her hands

“Well then, the day is young, you’d best be going! Oh and Penny, don’t be afraid to ask anything at all, I’m sure Talon will do his very best to make you feel welcome.” Data added, before shooting Talon a glare, mainly to make sure he knew to make her feel welcome. Talon just nodded and smiled, Data returned the smile after and closed the door behind them as they left her office. 

Chapter Text

Talon and Penny made their way around HQ, looking everywhere from the main communal area to the janitor’s closet. Talon was well informed when it came to his knowledge of the workplace, this definitely wasn’t the first time he’d given someone a tour of HQ, he may as well have been their official tour guide by now. Penny seemed to take advantage of the unlimited questions she was allowed to ask, she wondered just how much information she could pry out of Talon, but she kept it simple to begin with. They approached a large room with glass automatic doors, it was filled with shelves upon shelves of books and agents sat at tables clearly engaging with them.

“Oh! Is this the library?” Penny asked, trying to make some attempt at conversation after they had fallen silent for a while. Talon raised an eyebrow, was she just being awkward or had she never seen a library before? He chuckled

“Yep, we have enough books in here to last an agent a lifetime, Chief Data appreciates her agents being up to date with their studies, you like reading?” He asked. Penny smiled, she did in fact love reading, well, she used to, now with evil duties she didn’t have much time for literature 

“I do actually, it used to be how I spent my free time, I always loved fantasy books, and science fiction of course,” she giggled, seeming really fond of the subject matter. Talon noticed this, admiring how passionate she seemed.

They continued their tour, although Penny hadn’t managed to get too much information from Talon yet, so she’d need to start digging deeper, but how to prompt the conversation? She scanned the corridor and found a sign for the women’s bathroom.

“What’s the code for the bathroom? I drank a couple sodas before I came here so uh- really gotta go-” She laughed awkwardly. Talon gave her a questioning look, why was she being so awkward about going to the bathroom? He tried to shake off the little unsettled thought in the back of his head 

“The code for the bathroom is 2086, I suppose while I’m at it I should give you the other important codes, seeing as you’ll need them.” Penny tried her hardest not to smirk as Talon told her everything, from the cafeteria to even the soda machine. Not quite as much information as she’d have hoped for but hey, it was a good enough start for her. After explaining, Talon checked the time “sheesh time flies huh? Are you hungry? I could eat right about now.”

Penny felt her complexion burn slightly red, was he asking her out already? She didn’t want to jump to conclusions but she’d been with her fair share of guys, food meant a date right?

“Uh Penny? Did you wanna get lunch?” He asked again. Penny’s heart dropped, she quickly removed herself from her thoughts and nodded

“Oh uh yeah for sure! I think I worked up an appetite from all that walking-” She smiled sheepishly. Great job, she thought to herself. 

“Well uh, c'mon then,” He laughed slightly before walking ahead. Perhaps she was just nervous on her first day on the job, nothing more than that, well, that’s what he tried to convince himself. Penny stood watching him go momentarily, shaking her head, she shouldn’t be feeling this way for a guy she just met, and no less a MAD agent. She knew better than that. She sighed and hurried along to keep up with him.

As they arrived at the cafeteria lunch was just being served and agents eagerly rushed in line to grab their favourite dishes. Talon looked around and spotted a free table "C'mon, we can sit over here.” The two walked to the table and sat down, Penny at his side. Mal approached Talon from behind and covered his eyes, giggling 

“Guess who,” she said playfully. Talon smiled and turned to face her before widening his eyes as she puckered her lips, leaning in. He gently pushed his finger to her lips and leant near her ear, whispering

“Sorry hun not right now, I’ve kinda got company. I’m showing the new recruit around,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes diverting to Penny’s direction, who wasn’t even paying attention. Mal glanced at the new recruit, her confused look seemed to soften. She walked around the table and sat opposite Talon, smiling at the blonde across from her 

“Name’s Mal! Can I just say I love your hair,” She admired, extending her hand out towards Penny. Penny raised a brow before smiling and shaking her hand 

“I’m Penny, your hair’s awesome too! I’ve always wanted to dye mine, red suits you.” She complimented. Talon looked back and forth between the two as they conversed, he enjoyed seeing the two get along, but something still didn’t sit right with him. Mal rested her head in her hands, already seeming comfortable with Penny as they talked

“So how are you finding it here? I hope Mr show off over here hasn’t tried to big himself up as HQ’s best trainee,” Mal giggled, flashing Talon a cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes and chuckled

“You don’t have to make me out to be some ego maniac to every person we meet,” he said.

Penny laughed, “No he’s been a wonderful tour guide, I have to admit there was a lot of information to process but I’m sure I’ll come to terms with it all.”

Mal leant closer across the table, giggling like a little school girl who’d just made her first best friend, “Okay now down to business, who’s your fave band? On three…one…two…-”

“Irony Maiden!” They both exclaimed in unison before giggling uncontrollably, “Jinx!” Talon observed with wide eyes, slightly startled by the sudden declaration. Was this girl talk? He’d never really had to engage with many girls other than Mal so this was certainly an interesting interaction for him.

“New girl I like ya already! You’re gonna fit right in, oh but just make sure you follow expectations, Chief Data can be real cranky if you don’t meet her standards. I mean she’s a great boss and all but, don’t get on her bad side. I got her a latte with extra milk the other day and she noticed! Like seriously I don’t know how she does it- but if she gets upset over something like coffee, you don’t wanna see her when you violate rules.” Mal explained, almost like she was giving a mini pep talk. 

“Noted, at least I know her coffee order now right?” Penny acknowledged and the two started giggling again.

Talon had been quiet for some time, just observing the two. He could see how much fun Mal was having, it was rare she got to converse with anyone so similar to her, but he just couldn’t shake the thought of something being off about Penny. She was shady, seemingly demanding about knowing the HQ security codes and being awkward in conversation. If he said something though, he knew Mal would call him paranoid, not to mention jealous.

But now the topic piqued his interest, comics. Mal was a huge fan of Marvel so she had already gone on to the topic of who was the best superhero, and how it was 100% Hulk. Talon had his own opinions, but getting into a debate with Mal was risky

“Well Mal here thinks hulk may be the best, but let’s face it, Iron Man is obviously the preferable choice.” He said as he tapped his fingers on the table, not opening up a debate, but enjoying teasing his girlfriend. Mal just playfully rolled her eyes and smirked at him.

“Iron Man is totally the coolest, I have a whole bunch of comics based on him! Not to mention I love the movies.” Penny giggled like an excited school girl who was talking to her crush. Why had she said that? She didn’t even like Iron Man, or Marvel! She was a DC fan all the way. Talon was already becoming a distraction from her main focus.

“This girl has good taste.” Talon said approvingly, Penny’s cheeks burning as she received the compliment.

Penny needed to move things along quickly, she was pleased to have actually connected with someone like Mal, she knew if she introduced her to her own friends they would adore her, but she needed to remind herself of what she was here for. Now what she needed to do was poke around for any information on Inspector Claw. “So…anything else I should know of? I mean I know HQ is home to the famous Inspector Claw correct? Though I’ve virtually heard nothing of him for such a while.” She subtly said, taking a sip from the soda at the side of her. Mal glanced at Talon briefly who seemed to just be in his own world again. Out of respect she always missed out the part that Talon was Claw’s nephew, it wasn’t her place and truthfully she’d never even met the man after six months of dating Talon. 

“Well I’m sure you’ve heard about his great escapades right? He’s a brilliant agent, it’s just tragic that..-” She stopped herself, out of respect she also never mentioned the accident unless Talon prompted it, “well that he can’t be here to welcome you to our organisation.” A silence fell over the room, Penny clearly wanted to know more, but she knew trying to dig up more information would get her caught out. Talon cleared his throat

“Anyhoo… HQ has the finest food, I hope you’re hungry Penny.” He smiled, relieved that Mal and Penny were also happy to change conversation.

“The chef is also his nana,” Mal chuckled, “So he kinda has a bias, but he’s not wrong, she’s so good at what she does.”

“What? Can’t I have a bias? It’s her famous lasagna today,” He smiled, glancing over to the kitchen area where Nana Claw was working hard. “Once you try nana’s food you’ll never go back.”

Penny smiled, watching his enthusiasm as he spoke, “Sounds wonderful,” she said admirably. But her heart sank slightly as she tried to engage with Talon, Mal maybe not so much, but Talon would definitely be hard to gain the trust of. Well she knew the facts straight, she was a MAD agent, but he didn’t know that yet, there were surely still ways she could gain his trust. But she’d have to be patient, a quality she seemingly lacked.

After lunch, Mal returned to her office and Talon and Penny continued their tour. If there was one thing Penny was sure of, it was that someway, somehow, she would get the information she needed. She just didn’t know when that would be. Yet, she still put on an optimistic facade as Talon showed her everything there was to see. 

Talon and Penny proceeded down the hallway, greeting agents as they walked past. Penny could feel herself growing rather impatient, when was she going to get into the crooks of HQ’s secrets? Perhaps this next stop on the tour would be helpful. “Well, this is the lab, I just need to ask that you put on a pair of safety goggles. Our professor has been cooking up some new experiments that could be harmful to the skin.” Talon said as he handed her a pair. A grin tugged at Penny’s lips

“Harmful to the skin? How…intriguing,” she said, trying to play off her eagerness subtly. She placed them on her face.

“Oh and uh, you may wanna tie back your hair even more, there’s a lot of it,” He chuckled, referring to the long strands cascading from her space buns. Penny felt her cheeks burn slightly,

“Good call-” she giggled shyly and grabbed another hair tie from her wrist, pinning back the strands of hair. Once she was fully sorted, they entered the lab.

Chapter Text

As Penny entered the laboratory she couldn’t believe her eyes. There were enough gadgets and gizmos in here to last an agent a lifetime. She gaped at the high definition tech and the shiny monitors. As much as she was evil, she sure had an eye for science. “This is incredible! You’re telling me HQ actually invented all of this?” She rubbed her eyes and gave an excited squeal before clearing her throat when she caught Talon sending her a surprised look. “I mean- it’s pretty neat I suppose-” Talon just laughed

“Well we’re definitely lucky here, the city funds a lot of our research into the latest tech..speaking of..” He trailed off and walked over to a counter with an invention that was clearly a work in progress. Penny walked around the room, trying her hardest to ignore the impulsive urge to touch everything

“You have everything! State of the art defences..bubble shields…x-ray goggles…-” she paused as she caught sight of Talon tinkering away at something. 

“So you like science huh?” Talon laughed whilst sticking his tongue out in concentration as he made some final adjustments to his project. Penny nodded and started walking over

“Sorry I just get giddy at the sight of tech…must be the neuro chemicals at play! I mean there’s oxytocin which is all about love and connection, dopamine which stimulates motivation and energy and then of course there’s serotonin for calmness and learning and-” she realised she was rambling once again and stopped herself, she couldn’t help but convert back to her old ways when she had all of this awesome tech before her. “Whoops there I go again, y'know people used to call me Penny the chatterbox whenever I talked about science.” She glanced over at Talon who was still tinkering away, she was certain he’d just tuned her out, “are you even listening?” she asked.

Talon activated his codex and added his new invention to the programming system. He tapped a small sensor on the screen and slid a pair of holo lenses onto his eyes. As he did, he turned to face Penny who seemed to have an unimpressed pout on her face. “Uh- yes?” he second guessed himself.

Penny raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, “Oh yeah? Well in that case what did I just ramble on about?”

Talon’s eyes widened as his lenses alerted him to a pair of earrings she was wearing, the monitor flashed red momentarily. “What the…-” he trailed off quietly. 

“Hello?” Penny questioned again, a little more urgently this time. She sighed and leant against an empty counter “forget it…” she muttered, staring down. Maybe Talon wasn’t all that interested, but why did she care so much?

Talon noticed her disappointment and smiled reassuringly, “Your topic, if my memory serves correctly, was on the positive neuro chemicals?” Penny’s face lit up, so he had listened, but why did that fact make her stomach flip and feel all queasy?

“Well what are they then?” She snickered and gave a smug smirk. Talon blinked a few times, what did she want from him here, a lecture? He sighed and shrugged it off

“You talked about Oxytocin which produces the feelings of love and connection, serotonin which produces satisfaction, and finally dopamine which applies to motivation and learning.” He crossed his arms with a proud smile tugging at his lips. Penny blinked a few times, shocked at how much he actually had taken in from her rambling, but she played off her amazement and yawned 

“Lucky guess…” she shrugged, before shifting her focus to his lenses “What exactly are those?” she asked curiously. Talon removed them from his eyes, about to explain their function when the Cuckoo clockmaker burst into the lab.

“Talon! Where have you been? The chief has asked me to find you and-” Cuckoo’s eyes trailed over to Penny, a face he was unfamiliar with. “Is this the new recruit?” He questioned, looking her over. Talon nodded and cleared his throat,

“Yeah this is Penny, I’m just giving her a tour of the facilities.” He said.

“Well that’s marvellous, the chief sent me over to inform you that when the tour ends you need to take the new recruit to the holo room for a training brief and then report back immediately.” Cuckoo said.

“Yeah will do, thanks CC,” Talon gave him a grateful smile as Cuckoo began to exit.

“No worries! Oh and Talon, before you leave, don’t forget to…clock her out!” he burst into laughter as he made his way out of the door. Talon just laughed at the joke, as bad as it was, forgetting all about Penny’s question, or at least, choosing to ignore it

“Shall we proceed?” He questioned. Penny gave a small nod and the two continued their tour.

Once they entered the holo room, Talon clicked a sensor on his codex to activate his training suit before handing Penny her own. “Sorry it’s not too fancy, you’ll have a more personally made kit when you officially start. Now there isn’t much to it when it comes to holo training. Our systems are designed to create realistic combat simulations against lifelike MAD agents. You can use the keypad on the wall to input different settings and difficulty levels. Just treat it like a real fight and give it your maximum effort.” He advised before handing her a sheet of paper “Here’s your training schedule, it gives you the times you will be training each day.” Penny skimmed over it briefly, every day? How did they not get bored? “Now since you’re a rookie, I’ll start this one off easy.” He teased and walked over to the keypad, adjusting the difficulty to easy, and soon the room adapted to the simulation Talon had selected.

As the simulation started, they were soon surrounded by a group of MAD agents, Penny tried to suppress a laugh upon recognising all of them, she was quite literally about to fight against her own colleagues. “Don’t sweat it, yeah? I mean this is your first simulation so you’re bound to be nerv-” Talon was cut off upon seeing Penny start to take down the MAD agents, her technique was incredible. She swung her leg round as the agents raced towards her, knocking them down like dominos. She ran ahead as two charged at her and dived through the middle of them, causing them to collide heads.

“Yeah you’re right, nerves.” She giggled jokingly as she dusted her hands off. Talon couldn’t help but laugh in response 

“You’ve got style! I like it.” Talon admired. He soon turned around to attend to some agents of his own. He knew their moves like the back of his hand, dodging every punch and delivering every other to the agents. 

Penny’s breath was taken, this was so exciting, fighting alongside someone hadn’t seemed like such a great idea to her, but somehow Talon made it fun. The two fought back to back as they took down agent after agent, each receiving the occasional: Nice! Good job! Awesome! From the other. Penny was too busy with the agents before her that she didn’t seem to notice a couple homing in from behind. “Penny! Duck!” he yelled. Penny’s eyes widened as she turned around and ducked immediately. Talon leant in and swiped his hands, slashing the agents with his codex and knocking them down. 

“That was amazing!” Penny fluttered her eyelashes at him as she looked at the tech in awe.

“Pretty neat right? The power of tech.” He smirked before noticing the last few agents gaining on them. “You trust me?” Penny was unsure how to respond, she was the villain deep down and yet he asked her if she trusted him? Maybe she was doing a better job than she thought.

“I suppose I’ll have to!” She yelled. Talon grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye

“Just spin okay? I’ll do the rest.” He said. Penny followed suit as the two started to spin hand in hand. As they built up momentum, Talon ordered Penny to lean forward, as she did, her legs started to lift from the ground. He hoisted her up and leant back himself to keep momentum, she was now spinning with only his hands to support her in the air. “Now extend your legs!” he yelled. Without hesitation, she did so, taking down the agents one by one with her legs as they tumbled and tripped over. Soon after, Talon placed her down and they stood atop a heap of very exhausted MAD agents.

Penny blinked momentarily before jumping excitedly “Did we just do that?! That was awesome! I’ve never seen that move before! What do they call it?”

“Backflip whip kick.” Talon chuckled, “Weird name, cool move.” He dusted himself off “Hey for a rookie you nailed it! I’ve never seen a trainee with such great leg extension. Penny felt her cheeks burn from the validation. Their victory becomes short lived, Talon’s eyes averted to the pile of agents, it had felt all too easy. Then it hit him “Penny? Did you scan above us?” He questioned. 

Penny gulped, she’d been too caught in the moment to even consider it, “I uh..I forgot?” She laughed nervously. Talon instinctively dived forwards, lunging towards Penny and landing on top of her as he shielded her from the now falling holo agents. They were soon smothered in a heap of agents, with Penny’s only protection being Talon. So much for a quick victory.

Chapter Text

After a few short moments, the holo agents began to fade and the training simulation ended. The room returned back to its standard look, as did Talon and Penny’s uniforms. Talon staggered up slightly, resting on the palms of his hands and groaning from the sudden impact of clashing with Penny. He looked down at her, their eyes meeting, she was squished beneath him, he hadn’t exactly gently landed on her. “Sorry about that- are you alright?” He asked, wanting to ensure he hadn’t hurt her, that wouldn’t exactly go down well with Chief Data. Penny was at a loss for words, she looked up and found her body stiffen. Was it embarrassment she felt? Or this dreaded feeling that had seemed to haunt her the entire day, the reality that she may be attracted to her enemy. Oh no. 

“O-oh yeah I’m uh- I’m fine, no need to worry-” she managed to finally say with tension built up in her voice. She could feel a nervous swelling in her throat as the sentence forced its way out her mouth. Or perhaps it was just the lack of air she was getting. Talon gave a sigh of relief as he stood up, offering her his hand to help her to her feet

“Good, I was worried I crushed you for a second,” he teased as they both laughed awkwardly. Penny couldn’t do much more than laugh, she was almost paralysed to the spot she was stood in. Was this how working with Talon would be for the next month? She couldn’t really say she minded if she was honest with herself. Talon walked back over to the monitor where the results were now displayed, “The score’s not bad for our first attempt, but we still failed from those agents above. Guess there’s a first time for everything, right?” Penny didn’t really give much of an answer, she just seemed to be running her fingers over a lump in her throat, it had gone rather dry from a few moments ago, “Gee you must be parched, I’ll go get us some water,” he offered. 

“That would be great-” Penny smiled wearily, “oh and if you wouldn’t mind, could you escort me to the locker room? I could do with freshening up-”

“You got it.” Talon said, and the two made their way out of the training room. The walk was silent, Talon seemed to be in thought, but Penny’s mind was spiralling. She was already letting down her guard by letting her feelings dictate her. Where had that gotten her in the past? She needed to focus, but Talon was making things painfully hard. Why couldn’t he have been moderately good looking, or better yet, repulsive, then she wouldn’t be fawning every time he complimented her or looked her way. As they reached the locker room, Talon left Penny’s side,

“I’ll go get us some water and meet you back here,” he smiled before turning the corner. Penny watched him leave, shaking her head and entering the locker room. Get it together.

As Talon entered the cafeteria, he spotted Mal stood beside one of the vending machines. She smirked playfully as he walked over,

“You aren’t escorting anyone else are you?” She questioned, looking around. Talon chuckled,

“Not unless it’s the invisible man.” He teased. Mal rolled her eyes at his remark before happily kissing his cheek. Talon made his way to the vending machine and grabbed a couple of bottles before sitting down at an empty table with Mal for a brief catchup. 

“So how’s the tour going? Is the new recruit finding things okay?” Mal questioned as she took a sip from a soda can. Talon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair 

“I think it’s going well? I dunno…-” He trailed off. Mal reached across and took his hand,

“Hey, what’s got you down?” She queried with concern. 

“I guess I just worry that I haven’t made her feel welcome enough, I mean she seems so awkward, don’t get me wrong we’ve talked and laughed but there’s just something at the back of my mind that doesn’t sit right…maybe I’m just a bad colleague-” he laughed pitifully at himself as he unscrewed his bottle cap. Mal’s grip on his hand tightened,

“Hey! I’m not having any of that talk, for starters Mr, the Talon I know knows he’s better than the average colleague,” she winked, "it's bound to seem awkward because she’s new, you’re trying to instruct a stranger on what they need to do, it’s not an easy task.” Mal began, almost turning their catchup into a little pep talk. “Look, just be yourself, she’s our age so you don’t have to pretend you’re some morbid, stern faced agent, just have fun, but also be responsible and follow Chief Data’s orders.” She added, earning a chuckle from him afterwards.

“Yeah I guess so…,” he sighed, “but there was just something else that didn’t sit right with me..” He activated his codex and clicked the sensor to activate his lenses. Mal gasped,

“Wow Tal those look epic! You finally finished them?” She asked as she admired his technical work. He nodded and swiped so that they now sat over his eyes

“I just wanna test something…” he muttered as he focused on her. The lenses did a thorough scan of her and came back clear. That’s odd, why didn’t they have the same response when he had previously scanned Penny?

“You know you could just take a pic of me instead, might last longer.” Mal joked, he realised he’d been staring off in thought while figuring out his little predicament. 

“Very funny..” he smirked playfully, “I’ll have to look into it later…walk with me?” He smiled as he got to his feet. She happily obliged and the two exited the cafeteria. The two parted, Mal had her own training to tend to and Penny had requested Talon get her a drink, and he’d been a little longer than he anticipated he would be. Talon entered the gym which was the opposite side of the locker room and smiled “Hey, I got your wa-” He looked in the corner of the room and noticed Penny hunched over with her arm raised towards her mouth as if she were communicating with someone. She yelped and quickly covered her arm, jumping around to meet Talon face to face. 

“Oh! Talon it’s just you- sorry I was just speaking with my Aunt- she was asking how my first day was going. You’re pretty stealthy, sneaking up on me and all that-” She laughed slightly. Talon raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and handing her the bottle. The two sat down on one of the benches and began to drink their water. After some silence, he finally spoke up

“I have to apologise for my attitude…I may have come across as a little awkward, maybe even professional at times but uh…I promise I’m not like that when you get to know me but-” He wasn’t used to being open with people other than Mal, but he was stumbling over his words. Penny just smiled,

“No need to apologise, I totally get it, we’re not exactly close, things will become less awkward with time,” she reassured him. They both laugh, the tension in the room thankfully easing. 

After recovering from the training simulation, Talon and Penny headed over to Chief Data’s office.

“I’ve shown Penny around every room she needs to know and the basics of the holo room,” Talon reported, leaving out the part where they failed.

“Well I think it’s safe to say that Penny is settling in rather well,” Chief Data remarked as she took a sip of her coffee, “congratulations on a successful day, I wish you the best of luck working for us, you are dismissed for the day.” Penny gave a small nod of gratitude before making her way out the room, smiling at Talon before she disappeared. Data waited until Penny was out of sight before her face became more serious, Talon knew that look all too well. “I think you’d better have a seat,” she began, nodding to the chair opposite her desk. Talon raised a brow in confusion before slowly sitting down. “This discussion must remain within these walls, understood?” She questioned. 

“You have my word.” Talon nodded.

“Very well then…I would like for you to keep a close eye on our new recruit and write me up a report each day. It seems as though MAD is finally active again, not as much as they once were mind you but we’ve received a fair amount of reports of recent crime waves in the city.” She leaned a little closer, lowering her voice, “Talon…we must be on high alert…which begs the question…have you seen anyone suspicious around the HQ grounds lately…perhaps any of the…trainees?” Talon gulped, he had been suspicious, suspicious of the girl they’d just been praising. After all, he didn’t exactly have enough evidence other than the issue with his holo lenses, but he thought better of himself than to spread misinformation.

“Nothing to report as of right now.” He said bluntly. 

“Well I trust that you will inform me if anything does crop up, for now, you are dismissed, thank you again for your help today.” Data smiled. Talon got up and left quickly having felt awkward after that last question. Mal was stood in the hallway with her jacket and handbag, smiling,

“Cmon workaholic, we’re off out tonight, my treat,” she giggled as he planted a kiss on her cheek. Talon smiled, although he wished they were elsewhere so he could plant one right on her lips, but HQ was strictly professional.

“Well I can’t turn down an offer like that can I?” He laughed, “I’ll go grab my things.”

Penny was secreted behind a wall, watching Mal and Talon become smaller in the distance. She smirked to herself, it seemed she was talking to someone, “Oh don’t worry, nobody suspected a thing…this plan is foolproof..there’s just one minor obstacle I need to avoid…” she whispered, glaring at Talon.