2 Seven Years Later

It was time for Blake to give an inward groan that could be heard among the small party around him. However, he was not the only one to do so as many other members of Lumen Umbras were doing the same. A great gathering was being held in the station square of Lumen Umbras' central base of operations; a two hundred acre facility resting on the outer reaches of New York City, 40 miles out. The development of an announcement was to be made regarding the newest division of Lumen Umbras; Ace Splinter. The division that a fifteen year old Blake Mortiman was a part of. He was distracted by his personal yo-yo as the other announcements went on. However, it was just as he got bored with his own toy, he snapped back to reality.

"That is all I have to speak about for the general Lumen Umbras operatives. Ace Splinter operatives, please await in your dorms until your commander delivers your announcements. Everybody else, carry on with your duties," Director Glover spoke to everybody in the audience. A lot of cheers came from the vicinity and then everybody dispersed, agents of each division going to their respective assigned areas.

Blake threw on his black and yellow Miami baseball cap on the side of his head, slid through the crowd and went down the first set of marble stairs he could find. Hands in his pocket as he hobbled downward with a jazzy tune playing in his head. His bedroom was some time away but that didn't bother him. Most people would be holding conversations among small groups or minding their own business. Luckily for him once he returned to his bedroom, the door was already open with his roommates sleeping the day away. A short four foot six inch woman named Pan on the bottom bunk and a white haired woman by the name of Abigail Woods (usually called Abbi). Blake generally enjoyed their company as much as he hated interacting with people, which was a lot. His presence somehow woke up Abbi, who gave him a wary glance. She groggily sat up and swung her legs over the side.

"Hello, Blake. What's on your mind?" Abbi questioned him with a desire for an answer.

He stepped to the side of the room toward his closet, tipping off his hat to her. "I don't know, honestly; I mean I really do not want more people in our division. I know that they have to in order to keep the program operational but still," Blake said as he opened his locker while Abbi raised his eyebrow, not fully understanding. "I just don't really function around people. As long as they leave me alone, I won't care. I enjoy the time when it was just us, ya know? I'd rather not meet more new people." Abbi yawned, stretched her arms with her back arched as she sat up and responded to him. "Yeah, I guess. At the same time however, we are the first generation of Ace Splinter."

The young adult leapt out of bed from three feet, landing on her feet and hands with balance. There was a problem with Abbi, though. She was streak naked in a sense. Her curly white hair reflected the artificial lighting and hid her own fox ears well. A plump, maturing adult woman with a fox tail above her buttocks. Well, a tail ignited by flames but a tail nonetheless. Her womanly parts were covered in white fur, wrapping around the waist and chest.

Hearing a thump on the floor caused Blake to turn to his left and immediately regretting his mistake. "Agh! Why!? Please, put some clothes on!" He averted his eyes back to his locker, scrambling for something to cover the woman up with. All that could be heard were the sounds of racks, wooden echoes and a pitchy giggle.

"It is quite funny to see you this way," Abbi pointed out, enjoying the suffering of her roommate that she was solely responsible for. "It brings out the humble innocence you don't show off much." As if a whipping sound could be mistaken for a slap, Abbi jumped slightly at the sudden assault of an over-sized shirt hitting her in the face. The fox lady slightly stumbles back and uncovers her face, glancing at a half open locker but no bowl cut fifteen year old male in sight.

In the bathroom that these three roommates share, Blake rested his hat on the sink counter. His shirt and undergarments were sloppily tossed into the hamper. He turned on the shower, the intense heated universal element blasting onto his backside. His body was scorched by the hot temperature at first before his body relaxed to adjust to the hot water giving him comfort. Relief was all that came to him as his mindscape trailed off to a state of blankness. No worries or issues, peace and tranquility were the only two aspects that existed to him for the moment. Sadly he could not isolate himself in the warmth of the raining water beneficially piercing his body as the announcements for him and his fellow operatives was bound to occur shortly.

The tub knob was reversed back to its original position by Blake's hand. His body shivered from the condensed aftermath of a shower. A towel would hang around his shoulder after drying off and slipping on a grey shirt and blue sweatpants. Then, after brushing his teeth, fixing his bowl cut bang hair and tying his shoes, he was presentable.

He felt completely lazy. Who knows, it could be a good thing!

"How do I look?" Blake asked as he saw Abigail and Pan,the short red haired woman laying her head onto the fox's lap and their bodies covered with blankets. Abbi was casually stroking Pan's hair, playing with her panda ears as they both looked up to him. Abigail would speak first after laughing at first glance. "You look like a silly beach bum!"

Pan's laugh was stifled, reduced to a minor giggle. "Pan would have not spoken with such words. However Pan agrees that Blake does look silly."

Their response garnered a scowl out of him. "Real smooth sisters, real smooth," before he could continue, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Blake called out.

The door opened to a mature silver haired woman wearing a blue trench coat stepped into the room. "Blake Mortiman. Abigail Woods. Mei-Ling Qiang," she began to speak before hearing a small growl originate from the one called "Mei-Ling". "Oh, my apologies Miss Pan Qiang. I have been asked to recover every Ace Splinter operative in order to call agents for the announcements by Commander Johnson.".

"Hold on, who is she?" Abbi asked, patting Pan to calm her down. "Ah, we never had a proper encounter. My name is Irina Blavatsky. Descendant of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky," The blue tome book in her hand opened, a blue aura surging out of the tome. A series of cards were produced with her right hand above the book. Her fingers snapped, a card appearing in each person's range of capture. "These cards are capable of transportation around the complexity of the New York Alternate Lumen Umbras Facility. Be sure to never lose it," she spoke as all the female roommates gave Blake a hesitant glance.

"Okay, what's the catch?" Abigail spoke out about it. Blake looked at her and shook his head toward her. "There is none," he stated before Irina could say a word. "These cards actually work as a quick source of transportation. Watch this." Blake took the card in front of him, which mirrored to be green with his name etched onto it. Holding his arm high, a glowing light shined from the card before he spoke out the following words, "To the congregation hall, please!"

With those words spoken, Blake was gone.

The young Mortiman materialized at the congregation hall, groups of other agents materializing together. The stands would quickly fill up as the podium was being monitored and older, seasoned operatives were standing by the stage. Words would echo from the microphone as a testing stage. Blake sat by complete strangers on the lower rows. Abigail and Pan themselves were sitting side by side, a row above him to the east.

When all was prepared, a man sporting a red hat, white shirt and ripped faded jeans stepped up to the podium. Tapping the microphone, he proceeded to speak. "Good afternoon, fellow operatives. The announcements given to me from Agent Glover are to be going into effect immediately. First and foremost, I should properly introduce myself," he stated to the audience, most of them having no clue who he was. "My name is Hammond Johnson. Your Captain of Ace Splinter. The first announcement is that due to an overwhelming amount of budget made by donations and services over the course of the past few years, Ace Splinter shall be shut down and revamped as an intel group. Meaning all of you are fired."

The moment those last words escaped, an uproar of complaints happened. Blake out of all was taken over by pure shock. He felt empty inside and confused, scared for the first time in years. "However, if you all may please let me continue," Hammond added on for the agents to simmer down. "You all have been fired from Ace Splinter. Not Lumen Umbras as a whole. The excess budget has been used to create a new division going by the name of Venom. Ace Splinter was created for adolescents with talent, ability and skill. However over the years integration choices had to be made for Lumen Umbras to stay afloat. Because of this new raise in profit, we are able to step up and elevate the productivity in Lumen Umbras, ensuring humanity's advancements!"

A clap was heard. Then more as it chained throughout the entire underage body, whistles and chants and 'Venom!' echoing around the stands. Hammond raised his hand once more to stop the commotion for him to finish up. "Two more things and I promise that will be all. First off, as a result of this new division, all of you will be moving to the Southeast facilities we have. These locations are known to extend from the national capital all the way down to Orlando. Now the last thing. Everybody's items have already been moved to their assigned area down in the Southeast. Buses are waiting outside to travel you all there safely," Hammond finished those last words before stepping down and allowing the youngsters to speak as they please.

Murmurs and words about how this all happened flew around like wildfire among the entire Venom body. Blake himself personally felt tugged at. The New York Lumen Umbras base was his home. There were also rumors about other bases he overheard over the years; ranging form murder to abuse of multiple degrees in other bases. Especially in the Southeast! Looking up to find Abigail and Pan at their exact spot was to no avail. The two had seemingly vanished. Blake simply looked down in fear as he stood up and walked through the commotion going on with only one thing in mind: feeling alone once again.