Mentoring

[Likesn]

A few things I want to clarify before we get started:

 

• No, I haven't forgotten about "The Royal Cold", but I do have a writer's block when it comes to that story, so I can't tell if and when I'll continue it.
• Yes, some elements of this story will be influenced by the recent movie "Madam Web", but this is not a story about that movie or the characters in it. I just wanted to acknowledge my inspiration, so those elements won't seem too derivative. Seeing that movie made me want to write about a woman training a group of younger women to fight crime and stuff, but the elements inspired by that movie are relatively mild (at least the way I see it).
• Since this story isn't about the movie, please keep your opinions about that movie out of this thread. You're entitled to think whatever you like about it, but I want the focus of this thread to be my story and not other things.
• Unlike said movie, all characters in my story are adults (as will be further clarified in the story itself).
• CW: The first part contains mentions of gun violence and future parts might include mentions of physical violence.

 

With that out of the way, let the story begin:

 

Part 1 - Prolog:

 

They say you don't get to choose your family. Then again, maybe sometimes you do. Kate never knew her biological family. She was found as a baby and grew up in the foster system. It wasn't terrible, but she always felt different, like she didn't belong. The first time she really felt like a part of something bigger was when "Project Ghost" recruited her, at the age of 16. For five years they trained her, turning her into an expert burglar/assassin/soldier of fortune. And she was an exemplary student indeed, at the top of her class. Her first big mission was to break into the most secret laboratories of "Ultra-Corp" and steal their prized projects. The people who sent her into that mission, the ones who trained her for years, told her that they would be using those projects for good and she believed them. Why would they lie? After all, they were the ones who took in an orphan, a nobody, and turned her into someone special. They must be the good guys, right? She continued to believe that even after she found out exactly what she was stealing: Experimental projects in biology and technology meant to usher in a new generation of soldiers. Means to enhance people's strength, speed and reflexes. Equipment that would provide a clear advantage in battle. In the wrong hands, all those projects were extremely dangerous. Good thing she was delivering them to the right hands, or so she thought. When she returned from her successful mission, a good friend of her from years of training rushed out of the building towards her.

"Kate, run! Get the hell away from here!" he shouted.

Before Kate had a chance to realize what was going on, she saw him fall down. No gunshot was heard, but Kate knew that he was shot and killed, murdered by the very same people who trained him and her, possibly by the very same people they both spent years training with. She ran as fast and as far as she could. When she couldn't ran anymore, she hid at an abandoned warehouse. "Project Ghost" had just killed one of their own and she had to find out why. Upon closer inspection of the projects she stole, she found the means to infiltrate "Project Ghost" undetected, even by trained assassins like the people there. When she did, she found out the horrible truth: "Project Ghost" had a plan to sell those projects to the highest bidder, with most of those bidders being crime-lords, people working for global corporations or representatives of corrupt governments. She knew exactly what she had to do. It took her years to bring "Project Ghost" down. Years of being hunted down by the people she trusted for so long. She felt lonely, with no one aiding her in that fight, but it only made her more resilient. It would have been an impossible mission, especially for just one person, but with the help of the projects she stole from "Ultra-Corp" she could achieve things regular people, or even highly-trained assassins, couldn't. That is why she returned to "Ultra-Corp" and destroyed all their secret labs, preventing them from recreating those projects in a way that could be used against her. When she finally got to the people who ran "Project Ghost" and killed them it brought her no joy, but at least she knew her mission was done. She made sure "Project Ghost" would remain a ghost by methodically destroying all their infrastructure. When she was done, she found herself facing a dilemma: What to do with three teenage girls? Natalia, Madison and Camille were the latest Strays "Project Ghost" recruited and they had nowhere to go. By then, Kate was in her early 30's. She never wanted kids and always thought that when she finally finishes her mission she could just retire and live her life in peace. When she saw those girls, however, she realized that she had a new mission. She decided to take those girls in, train them and turn them into a group that could fight against crime and injustice, what she always imagined "Project Ghost" should have done. In the process, she discovered that those girls also changed her and as a group they became something more - a family.

TBC

I thought I'd write a longer part and even get to start the "interesting" stuff, but that's all the energy I have for now. Let me know what you think.

Edited February 19 by Likesn

[NickG1998]

I love the story so keep up with the wonderful work 

[jamesdear1]

lot of great back story, excited to see how it progresses

[Likesn]

Part 2 - Something's Off:

Seven years after Kate took the girls in, the city was definitely a safer place. In fact, crime has decreased so much that the girls often joked about how they would have nothing left to do soon.

"Next thing you know we're gonna be rescuing cats stuck on trees" Camille would tease.

"Oh gosh, I hope not" Madison would shudder. "I'm allergic".

"You realize she was just joking, right?" Natalia would clarify.

The dynamics between the three was pretty clear from the get go, as well as the individual character each of them had. Madison was the "good girl" type, sometimes even too much, or at least too much for the others. She always strived to be calm, composed and polite, even in the most intense situations. It was very surprising, considering the hardships she has been through, but to her that was the right way to act so she did her best to stick with it. She was also curious and always wanted to learn new things, though that might've had a lot to do with her will to be seen as an intelligent person. All three of them were bright, but the only one with possibly genius-level intelligence was Natalia. She was the first one to fully dig into the "Ultra-Corp" projects Kate used. When she wasn't busy training and later doing what she had trained for, Natalia spent many hours trying to better understand and even improve those projects. Camille, on the other hand, preferred to spend her time exercising. She was witty and always quick with a joke, sometimes being a little too blunt. It was no easy task balancing between those three and Kate struggled at first, but after a while it became easier and they all felt very comfortable with each other. When Kate first started sending the girls to missions she joined them, making sure they're safe. As the years passed and the girls became more confident and capable, Kate sent them to missions on their own, supervising from their "headquarters", which was the apartment they lived in.

"I'm not getting any younger and I damn sure don't want to go chasing criminals around forever" she told them. "One day, when you're older, I hope you find other people who would replace you when you feel like you've had enough".

"That's not gonna happen soon though" said Natalia. The girls were only in their 20's and "retirement" seemed very far away.

"Sure, but remember what I taught you - always have a backup plan" said Kate.

And so, after years of training followed by years of fighting against crime and injustice, finally came a time of relative peace. No major crime syndicates were operating in the city and the low-level criminals kept their heads down, knowing the threat they might be facing. Though Kate trained the girls fully, teaching them everything she learned during her time at "Project Ghost" and much more, her approach was different. The girls were taught not to kill or hurt anyone unless they had absolutely no other choice (meaning - unless their own lives were at immediate risk). Instead, they would often incapacitate their foes either by using pressure points or by hitting them with special darts, filled with tranquillizer. Their goal was for the police to catch the criminals with plenty of evidence around, while the criminals themselves were in no position to hurt anyone. As we've mentioned, it ended up working pretty well.

"Power. That's what it's all about" Camille said decisively one evening as the four of them were having dinner. She was having an argument with Madison about what will give one the best advantage over an opponent. "Let me tell you - if you're powerful enough you can defeat anyone".

"That is so brute" said Madison.

"I'm not just talking about physical force" said Camille. "Resources, weapons, technology, there are many ways to become more powerful than your opponent. Have enough power and no one will be able to stop you".

"Unless they can come up with a way to work around your strengths and hit you where you're weak" said Madison. "Everyone have weak points, even the most powerful people, and if you're smart enough you can exploit them. That's why brains is more important than force".

"You can't be serious" said Camille.

"I'm sure Kate would agree with me, right Kate?" Madison turned to the older woman, who up to that point preferred to focus on her chopsticks.

"Actually, there's something important you're both forgetting" Kate said after she finished swallowing her bite. "The ability to anticipate your opponent's next move is crucial if you want to overcome them. Bless you Natalia".

"Why did you... Hu Choo!" Natalia suddenly sneezed wetly into the crook of her arm.

"Bless you" said both Camille and Madison.

"No way you're expecting us to see the future" Camille told Kate.

"That's clairvoyance, not anticipation" Madison added.

"You knew I was going to sneeze before I did" said Natalia. "How did you do that"?

"A little wrinkle of your nose" Kate replied calmly. "It told me you were going to sneeze. There was nothing supernatural about it, Madison, just simple anticipation based on a quick observation and an assessment of the situation".

"Was that Dr. Seuss?" Camille joked and they all laughed.

"Seriously though - you need to be smart if you want to anticipate your opponent" Madison reignited the argument.

"Natalia, what do you think?" Kate asked.

"I think no one is talking about adaptability" Natalia replied. "Even if you're strong, smart and able to anticipate your opponent, you won't have an advantage all the time. Statistically, everyone's bound to get caught off guard at some point. The question is what you do when that happens. You need to adjust and fast".

"That's an excellent point" said Kate. "I'm both proud and disappointed I didn't think of it myself".

"Haa Choo!" Natalia sneezed again, this time only managing to bring her cupped hands to her face in time.

"Ew... Gross" she said, looking at her hands.

"I'll say. Got some pepper in your nose?" Camille asked.

"Do *sniffle* there isn't even a lot of pepper in our food" said Natalia.

"Yeah, because Madison wouldn't let us order anything too spicy" said Camille.

"He Choo!" before Madison had a chance to react to Camille's taunt, Natalia sneezed again.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Madison asked her sniffling friend.

"I'b fide" Natalia replied.

"You don't sound fine" said Kate. "Maybe should call it a night. Camille and Madison can take care of anything that might come up".

"But I'm OK, really" Natalia said and sniffled. "I don't need to call it a...... Haa Choo! dight".

"Kate's right, Natalia. You should go to bed" said Madison.

"If not for your own sake then for ours" Camille added.

TBC

[Likesn]

Hurray! The forum is back from its little downtime. Let's celebrate with another part.

Part 3 - Red Alert:

It took a little more convincing before Natalia finally agreed to go to bed. Later that evening, Madison and Camille were washing the dishes while Kate was looking at the screen of her massive computer system. That system was designed to monitor any potential criminal activity around the city and alert the girls should the need arise. It's been a while since they had any serious alerts though.

"Good thing we finally got Natalia to call it a night" said Madison. "She didn't look so good".

"Yeah, I'm going to keep my distance from her until she's over whatever she has" said Camille.

"She probably just needs to sleep it off" said Madison. "I guess if she had to be under the weather now might be the best time for that. After all, we haven't had to deal with anything big in a while".

"Why did you have to say that?!" Camille looked appalled. "Now you jinxed us".

"Oh please" Madison gave her a dismissive wave of her hand. "There is no such thing as"

"Hey girls - we've got an alert" Kate announced.

Camille gave Madison a piercing stare.

"That's weird" Kate said as she checked the alert. "It's a shipment alert".

"We haven't had one of those in a long time, but we do get them sometimes" said Madison. "That's not so weird".

"You don't understand" Kate told her. "The alert says there will be a shipment arriving at the harbor tonight, with one of the shipping containers being from a factory I thought no longer exists".

"If it's a shipment then that means it's not a local factory" Camille deduced. "Where is that factory"?

"Chechnya" Kate replied. "But this is not just any factory. Back in the day, they used to be manufacturing weapons for 'Project Ghost'. I put that factory on my list just in case, but I thought they had to shut down since I put their main client out of business".

"You didn't check?" Camille asked. "I thought you took the whole operation down".

"I did" said Kate. "I took down 'Project Ghost', but keep in mind that I did everything by myself. I had no means to fly all over the world and take down everyone who ever had business with 'Project Ghost'. Not to mention that after I finished that mission I had to take care of you three".

"For which we thank you" said Madison.

"I'm guessing you want us to head down to the docks and see what's inside that container" said Camille.

"No, I want you to put a tracker on it" said Kate. "We have no idea who the buyer is, but whoever they are they're not going to show up at the docks themselves. They would have that container delivered to them".

"You don't want to find out what's in it?" Madison asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good" said Kate. "It's more important that we find out who's doing business with that factory".

 

A few hours later, Camille and Madison went down to the docks. They found the place full of armed goons, so they hid and waited. When the ship arrived, the goons waited for all the containers to be taken off of it. Then, one of them made a phone call and shortly after that a truck arrived. While the goons were busy, Madison and Camille snuck by undetected and placed a tracker on the container.

"The truck had no logo on it?" Kate asked them the following morning.

"No, and the goons didn't seem like they were on anybody's permanent payroll either" Camille replied.

"So it was all made to look like a onetime job" Kate deduced. "Clever".

"The truck with the container is currently parking at a warehouse" Madison said as she checked the signal from the tracker.

"Surely this is not its final destination" said Kate. "I expect it to be on the move later today, probably tonight".

"Hea Choo! Good bordig" Natalia said as she came down from the second floor, were the girls' bedrooms were. "You two are up early".

"Natalia, it's almost 10:30" Madison said, concern clearly noticeable in her voice.

"Oh wow you're right. I did't dotice" Natalia said and sniffled.

"So much for sleeping it off I guess" said Camille.

"Ha A Choo! Sleepig what off?" Natalia asked.

"Whatever bug that has turned you into a snotty mess" Camille replied. "Stay away from me because I do not want to catch this".

"You should go back to your room Natalia" said Kate.

"Why? It's just sobe *sniffle sniffle* bordig sdiffles" said Natalia.

"No, it's more than that" said Madison. "Your nose is red and you're very pale. It's clear that you're sick".

"Hu Choo! What I really ab is hudgry" said Natalia.

"Let's make a deal - you go back to bed and I'll bring you breakfast, complete with tea and orange juice" Madison suggested.

"Fide" Natalia sniffled and shuffled her feet back to her bedroom.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Camille told Madison. "She's definitely contagious".

"Don't worry, I'll wear gloves and a mask. I'll be careful" said Madison.

"Her room must be full of germs. Why would you even go in there?" Camille asked.

"Because she's my friend, our friend, and she needs help" Madison replied.

"Well, don't expect me to help you blow your nose when you get sick" Camille said, but Madison was already busy making breakfast for Natalia.

 

"The good news is that you don't have a fever, at least for now" Madison said later as she looked at the thermometer she pulled out of Natalia's mouth. Natalia was in bed, surrounded by a pile of used tissues which kept growing every few minutes. Madison, wearing gloves and a mask, brought her breakfast like she promised. She also brought tea, orange juice, some pills and a thermometer. Getting Natalia to take the pills wasn't easy, because she kept insisting she didn't need them, but Madison eventually convinced her. As someone with a caring nature, Madison was a pretty great nurse in need. Since the girls practically never got sick, they didn't get to see that side of Madison very often. Secretly, Natalia was glad to have her friend taking care of her like that.

"So *sniffle* did I biss adythig idterestig last dight?" Natalia asked and gave her nose a gurgling blow.

"Not really" Madison replied. "Camille and I went down to the docks to put a tracker on some container from Chechnya".

"We rad out of cribe here so dow we're takig dowd cribidals frob other coudtries? Haa Choo!" Natalia sneezed into a tissue.

"Kate said the container came from a factory that used to work with 'Project Ghost', so we needed to find out who's buying from them" Madison explained.

"Are you serious?! That's He Choo! huge!" Natalia called and coughed. "I cad't believe I bissed that".

"You didn't miss anything" said Madison. "We don't even know who's the client yet. Hopefully we'll find out more tonight".

"Whed we follow the tracker add fidd the codtaider" said Natalia.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're not going anywhere until you get better" said Madison. "We can't risk you getting sicker by chasing criminals around at night. Camille and I will follow the container. You stay in bed and recover".

"Ha Ha Choo! This stidks" Natalia pouted.

TBC

[Likesn]

Part 4 - Complications:

Throughout the day, the weather has been shifting back and forth between strong winds without rain and outright downpour. Natalia thought that weather fitted the way she felt perfectly. She spent the day in bed, doing her best to get over her cold. Alas, her efforts didn't seem to be working. Madison would occasionally enter her room and take care of her, but Natalia's cold was still bad by the time the sun has set.

"Get some sleep now. Maybe you'll feel better tomorrow" Madison said before turning the lights off and leaving Natalia's bedroom.

"How is she?" Kate asked when Madison came down to the kitchen.

"Still pretty sick" Madison sighed and took off her mask and gloves.

"Well, we got bigger problems" said Camille.

"The signal from the tracker is off" said Kate. "Someone must've found it and disabled it".

"What? How did they know how to find it?" Asked Madison.

"My guess is that we're now dealing with professionals" Kate replied. "Whoever bought that container certainly knew how to check that it isn't tracked".

"So now we have to go to that warehouse where the signal last came from and hope that the truck is still there" said Camille. "Gear up. We better hurry".

A loud crackle of thunder was then heard from outside.

"Great" Camille sighed. "We need to gear up for heavy rain as well. Natalia is lucky that she can stay home".

 

Fortunately, the truck was still at the warehouse when Madison and Camille arrived. They hid behind a pile of crates just outside where the truck was and waited. Heavy rain poured down and the girls were soon drenched to the bone. Armed goons were once again present. Most of them were guarding the perimeter around the truck and some of them were patrolling around. The girls managed to sneak by the patrols when they arrived, but they had to be careful and not let a guard passing by detect them as they hid and waited.

"We're not being paid enough for this" they heard one of the goons complain to someone who seemed to be running the operation.

"Just do your job if you want to get paid at all" the other man said coldly. "Man, there were times when I worked with people who were fearless. Now I have to listen to a bunch of babies complain about a little rain".

"Hua Choo!" Camille and Madison nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard the sound of a loud sneeze right behind them. Fortunately, there was a massive thunder at the exact same moment, so the guards didn't hear the sneeze. The girls turned around quickly and saw Natalia standing behind them, sniffling.

"What the hell are you doing here Natalia?!" Camille whispered angrily.

"You'll catch your death in this rain" said Madison. "Why did you get out of bed"?

"I heard you talkig with Kate add I figured you'd deed all the help you cad get" Natalia said and sniffled again.

"Are you kidding me?! You nearly got us all caught with that sneeze" said Camille. "Is that your idea of helping"?

"Quiet! We can't be arguing right now" said Madison. "Let's focus on finding out who's the buyer and then we'll go back home before Natalia's cold gets worse".

"If they catch us or if I catch that cold I'll be the thing Natalia has to worry about" Camille muttered.

"We've got guests" a goon at the gate alerted the others.

"Finally" said the goon who complained about the rain.

The girls saw lights of a large vehicle approaching.

"Probably another truck" Madison turned to the others. She then noticed a little wiggle of Natalia's nose.

"Hold it!" she demanded, but quickly realized it was too late. Remembering Kate's lesson about anticipation, she sent her hand forward and grabbed Natalia's nose just in time.

"Humpch!" the sound of Natalia's sneeze was partially muffled by Madison's hand.

"Did you hear something?" the frustrated goon asked the one next to him.

"Never mind that" said the other man. "Tell the others to get the container ready to be moved".

As most of the goons went to handle the container, another truck entered the compound. It had a logo on it, but the girls were too far away to see.

"We need to get closer, see that logo and put a tracker on the new truck" said Madison.

"I cad't do that with you holdig by dose" said Natalia.

"You two stay here. I'll go" said Camille.

"Fine, but then we must get out of here" said Madison.

"No arguments there" said Camille.

The new truck parked and Camille started moving quickly and quietly, avoiding detection by hiding behind crates. Madison was so focused on Camille that she took her hand off Natalia's nose, forgetting about the sick girl standing next to her. Camille almost made it to the truck when Madison heard a sudden, sharp intake of breath. She turned around, but it was too late.

"Haaa Choo!" not only did Madison fail to muffle the sound of Natalia's sneeze, she also ended up with that sneeze hitting her face.

"Hey! Who's there?" one of the goons shouted. He lifted his rifle and quickly moved towards where Natalia and Madison were hiding.

"We've been made. Time to go" Madison alerted Camille on their communication system. "We'll rendezvous back at the house" she told her as she grabbed Natalia's hand. The two of them fled before the armed goon had a chance to find them.

Camille didn't get close enough to put a tracker on the truck, but she did get a brief look at the logo before she had to flee as well.

 

"It's a moving company" Kate told Camille the next morning. "Not an important one in itself, but it is owned by 'Caesar-Corp', so that's a lead".

"Well, at least we got something out of our efforts last night" said Camille.

"He Ishoo! Sobe of us got bore thad they asked for" Madison said and brought a tissue to her runny nose.

"I told you taking care of Natalia will get you sick as well" Camille said, not resisting the chance to gloat.

"Takig care of Datalia wasd't the reasod I got sick" said Madison. "It's the fact that she sdeezed id by face after I Ha Ashoo! got drenched id the raid that did be id" she gave her nose a wet blow.

"You're done being the nurse now" Kate told her. "Go to bed and rest".

"I Shoo! I could use a durse byself actually" said Madison.

"Don't count on me" said Camille. "I told you I won't help you if you get sick".

"You're dot a good friedd Cabille" Madison pouted.

"But I am a healthy one" said Camille. "Someone has to be, with the two of you sick".

"Unfortunately, she's not wrong" said Kate. "I'll take care of you and Natalia. Camille has a job of her own to do".

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Camille asked.

"I need you to meet the head of 'Caesar-Corp' and find out if he's our buyer" Kate replied. "His name is Julius Tucker".

"You want to send a young black woman to meet this rich old white man? Right, that'll end well" Camille huffed.

"I'm sure you'll win him over with your charming personality" Kate smiled. "Or would you rather stay here and take care of your sick friends"?

"Ha Ishoo!" sneezed Madison.

"*sigh* I'll go get ready" said Camille.

TBC