Carter watched as TK walked away, a glare on her face. "She's not too bad," Iniko said, watching her go."
"You didn't go on a mission with her."
(Time skip to the next day?)
TK climbed back into her car and drove to her apartment. Her apartment was small but full of various knickknacks and clutter. Succulents and other easy to manage plants lined every flat surface, and tapestries hung from every wall. She had superhero bobble heads lined up against her stove top, which she never used. Her dog hurried to greet her, jumping on her and licking her face.
"Aww, hi puppy," she greeted in a baby voice, "hi baby Evangeline!" Her 160lb mastiff wagged its tail as though to excitedly agree that yes, she was a puppy.
TK headed over to her couch, sitting down on the floor and using the couch as a back rest. She grabbed her laptop. First she searched for Iniko in all social media. He seemed like a normal guy. She couldn't find Carter, but then again, she didn't even know the girl's first name. She then searched the databases she had clearance for for any hint about Kai. Everything came up blank or completely unrelated. She sighed, closing her laptop.
Carter and Iniko arrived back at their apartment. As she got of her motorbike, she spotted her nephew. "Leo!" She yelled as he ran up and hugged her. "Hey buddy."
"Hey, Auntie Robin!" Leo giggled. "Can we go see Rocko?"
"Of course. He's just inside." Iniko unlocked the house, and as soon as the door opened Carter's dachshund Rocko ran up to them. As Leo started to play with the dog, Carter greeted her brother Alex.
~~
Heavy breathing filled the gym at T.I.D.A.L. headquarters as Carter trained. Her dark red hair was tied in a braid to keep it out of her face, and her green eyes were furrowed with concentration. She hit the punching bag a couple more times and then decided to take a breather, her muscles aching ever so slightly.
TK woke up early the next morning, still leaning against the couch. She glanced at her phone. It was five, so she had plenty of time to go for a run before she headed to the gym. Kissing the tip of her dog's nose, she pushed herself to her feet and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and grimaced. God, she hated her appearance so much. Hopefully running and exercising would make her feel at least a bit more comfortable in this stocky body of hers.
Slipping her headphones in, she headed out, running down the street. She ran 20 miles before she realized it was almost 6:15 and she needed to head to the gym. She ran at full speed back to her apartment, climbed into her car, and headed to headquarters. She walked into the gym, spotting Carter across the room. She squared her shoulders, readying herself. She didn't come here to actually fight. She wanted to talk, and then she wanted to prove that she was a better fighter through a friendly spar. She just needed to make sure they were friendly, first.
"Hey," she greeted, walking over.
"Hey," Carter replied absentmindedly, her mind still lost in training. She took a big swig from her water bottle, taking her earphones out while she took a break. After a few moments, she put them back in, ready to continue training. She barely noticed TK during this, her focus elsewhere.
"How long have you been training?" TK blurted, hoping to force her to pay attention. She was half ready to give up and go train on her own, but she really wanted to spar.
Carter didn't hear, caught up in her training. Sometimes she could start training and hours would pass before she realised she had stuff to do.
TK gritted her teeth. Control your anger, she thought, clenching her fists. She took a calming breath, raising her voice to a near yell. "Carter! Do you wanna spar?"
Carter heard a yell over her music, and took her earphones out as she looked around. When she spotted TK, she frowned. "What do you want?"
God she's rude, she thought irritably. She forced a smile. "I remember you bragged –um, told me you know a lot about fighting. I'd love to spar you. If you want."
"I don't spar with people anymore," Carter replied simply, going back to her training. She hit the punching bag a few more times, a new found irritation for it in her feet and fists.
"Seems like you'd get out of practice that way," TK remarked. "C'mon. What made you stop?"
"I don't spar with people. I don't need to. High clearance agents get to train with a program." She glared. "But you have to have 10 years in the agency."
She made a face. "You've only been here for seven years, sis. Sounds like you're not there yet."
"You seem to forget that I have one of the highest clearances in the agency. They made an exception. I don't expect you to understand."
"So it doesn't take 10 years," TK laughed, refusing to get angry. "I'm already much further than most agents after a few months. Give me two years and I'll match your clearance. But for now…I would do literally anything to spar you. It'd be so much fun."
"You won't be allowed to do it after two years. And no, you won't be able to match my clearance. My clearance is the highest - and it's for people that are the best in their fields. You don't do tech, so you won't be able to overtake me in that area. And you won't be able to get higher than Iniko or Taylor. So don't bother."
"Oh, so you've got me all figured out!" TK said with a dangerous smile. "God, you're so fucking clever. I wish I were you. You're the best there is! Wow. Like it's not your brother's company and his arms dealing that's gotten you this far." She shrugged lightly. "I asked you politely to spar, and all you do is insult me. It doesn't take much to realize how you got where you are today. Congrats on your achievements, they mean nothing."
"You think they mean nothing because you have no idea of their true weight. Unlike you, I know my skills and practice them. I don't like people like you. You think that you know everything even though you don't. You are inexperienced. You don't know anything."
"TIDAL doesn't hire people who don't know anything," TK snorted, rolling her eyes. "You realize an insult to me is an insult to your precious agency, right? Clearly I'm damn good at my job because here I am. Also, I practice my skills constantly. As in, since I was four years old and realized I hated…hated being weak." In her anger she'd almost revealed much more than she planned. She'd caught herself in time.
"Oh, poor wittle trainee hates feeling weak. And an insult to you is not an insult to T.I.D.A.L. You are a trainee. The mission you went on last night was the mission that makes sure you'll be good on a proper mission. You haven't gone through the ceremony. And guess what? You failed last night."
TK paused, her anger dissipating as she began to chuckle. "I'm not…I'm not a trainee," she said around laughs. "I was trained by Agent Chase. My training was cut short when she was killed, so they decided to let me go through the ceremony early. Get your facts straight." She kept laughing, but her anger was returning quickly. "And what makes you think I failed anything last night?"
"You're still a trainee in the eyes in the agency until you go through the official ceremony at the end of the year. They don't do exceptions for the ceremony for safety reasons. And you failed because you messed up the mission. I was only able to complete it when I abandoned you. And, where the agency is concerned, it means that you failed."
TK rolled her eyes. "The official ceremony is just for show. You clearly didn't know Agent Chase." She hadn't heard any feedback from their mission yet, but since she was given false information, she doubted that she failed it. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you. You take on a snobby attitude every time I see you. Can't we just talk without you acting like a high school cheerleader?"
(boop)
(sorry i might have to let this die since i'm going to be really busy over the next month or so)
(oh alright rip. thanks for the fun RP while it lasted! i hope you have a good/fun/productive month!)
(also i would prefer you didn't reboot this as i'm turning this idea into a story
i was going to before i started this and used this to develop carter a bit more
its not using tk, and its going to follow a very different storyline)
(k)
(hey so even tho this died, im glad i did it cause i know how carter thinks now! and ive finally been able to get into the right mindset and right the first chapter!)
