Raven, Part 1

After Iona left, I turned back to my new military. They were far from a disciplined army, but I had time to help them learn. I already had my eye on a few members of the trainees. I had recruited from the Guards and some of the girls. Many of them were in combat units when they were captured or had a strong magic presence. If they were willing to learn, I was willing to teach. Skeeter was reunited with his daughter and wanted to retire. I happily accepted but asked him to be the temporary representative for military training. He agreed and created the training regiment. He would join me in a few days after spending some time away.

The training was divided into weapon skills, magic development, and agility. I needed any member of my team to be fast, so all fighters were required to complete an extensive obstacle course. I couldn't expect everyone to be proficient in swords, so I allowed people to pick their preferred weapon. We had stolen different weapons: firearms, melee weapons, bows, and staves. However, they would still need to be in magic and close combat. The Preservers had a wide variety of combat troops. We would need to be adaptable to all situations.

My goal for today was to complete the group I was calling The Council, a group of representatives who would bring the concerns of their people to a meeting and take back vital information. Iona was now in charge of the non-combatants; I will call them the Removed, playing off The Preserver's word for killing anomalies. Skeeter would be in charge of military training; no fancy name was needed. Kreli would be our distributor, keeping things organized and ensuring all the groups received what they needed. Edmund was in charge of the farm and, eventually, the food synthesizer... once we figured out how to get one to work.

The only thing left was the person in charge of the active military members, The Multiverse Defense Force. Sasha asked if either of us should be in command, but I want the leader to be someone who stays behind and can answer distress calls when needed. It wouldn't work well with Sasha and me out in the field. I needed someone to direct people to various worlds and put out metaphorical fires. 

I watched over the group at one girl in particular. She had shoulder-length black hair and dark brown eyes. She didn't look older than fifteen or sixteen but had a striking beauty to her appearance. However, she kept her face and body hidden under a long hooded cloak. I noticed her sitting with the other girls yesterday. She was purposely suppressing her magic, but I could tell she was strong. She told me she wasn't interested in joining the MDF but was here anyway.

Once the girl thought no one was watching, she unleashed a powerful antimatter attack at the dummy nearby. It left the training ground at an alarming speed. Anyone without keen senses would have thought the dummy had just disappeared. A little of my magic was on each dummy for situations like this. I teleported to it and brought the dummy back. I stood in front of the girl with the dummy in my arm. Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to her aloof expression.

"Hello, you are Raven, right?"

"Yeah."

"Nice spell. Does it require any words or a trigger?"

"I don't know."

"Fair enough. How about a duel, then?"

"No."

"If you land one attack on me, you can have anything you want."

"No."

I smile. I enjoy having a powerful sorceress in the group who isn't desperate for my attention. A small group of the new trainees had been calling out to me this entire time, trying to get me to watch their moves. I kept my eyes on the girl whose facial expression hadn't changed, but her eyes hadn't left mine either. I could feel her getting ready to launch another attack. Some of the more powerful and astute magic users had started to back away, pulling the others around them away. Soon, the other trainees created a large circle around us, watching with great excitement.

"Just land one attack. Can you do it?"

Suddenly, the girl disappeared. Her magic concealment was impressive, and I could tell she portaled herself. That's what I was waiting for. Sasha and I needed someone who could more accurately use portals. This girl was the one. She appeared behind me and unleashed her attack. She was silent, fast, and brutal. The blast put a hole straight through the center of my chest.

With a puff of smoke, the clone I had left behind disappeared. I teleport back and lift my sword to Raven's chin. I looked into her eyes, void of emotion, even more so than usual. I feel a presence above me. I smirk as another powerful energy beam erupts from Raven's hand. I took a page from the Bandit King's book and created a shield around me. The force of the attack caused me to strain and fall to one knee to hold it back. A portal opens inside my shield, and Raven holds her hand up, readying another attack.

"I win."

"Don't let your guard down."

I was behind her in a flash, but she quickly reacted. She grabbed two knives from under her cloak and swung them backward. I block her wrist on one side and push away the knife on the other. She jumped forward and spun around, throwing both knives in the process. I noticed they were infused with magic; dodging was my only option. I leaped out of the way and drew a sword.

In the confusion, I lost sight of her. Suddenly, a shadow with two new knives appeared next to me. This time, she doesn't hesitate and swings at my throat. I managed to prevent a fatal blow, but she still cut my skin. I sheathe my sword and extend my hand for a handshake.

"Welcome to Sanctuary. I want you to be in charge of a new project. I'm calling it the Multiverse Defense Force. You will work directly with my AI supercomputer, Al, to find timelines that need correcting and create portals for our teams."

"I thought if I won, I got anything I wanted."

"Correct, you may ask for anything."

"I don't want to be your puppet."

"That's easy, you won't be. Are you sure that's what you want your wish to be?"

Raven pauses and puts her hands in her cloak. She looks at my still outstretched hand. Her eyes squint, and her gaze becomes sharp. I am impressed with how intimidating the young and small girl looks. I keep my stance firm and my posture straight. I meet her killer gaze with my friendly one. I have a lot of practice with Sasha's murderous look; this is nothing compared to hers. Raven relaxes and takes my hand with a solid grip. 

"Al is inside your house, right? I want the house."

I smile wider and return her shake. "Deal"