[DPA Station Seven, Austin, Texas (April 2023)]
The training room felt way too big for one person.
Maria Ortega stood near the center of it, with her arms folded tightly across her chest, as if that might keep her nerves from spilling out onto the concrete floor below.
The Austin DPA station, also known as Station Seven, had clearly invested more in this place than Station Nine had with its own training facilities. Especially considering how much damage it looked like these rooms could handle. The polished concrete floor stretched wide beneath her shoes, marked with faint scorch lines, rough claw marks, and chalk circles that hinted at past exercises. Some controlled, others…less so. All while the overhead lights hummed softly, casting a sterile glow that did nothing to calm her racing thoughts.
The place smelled like an oddly pleasant mix of ozone and metal.
Like power.
Maria exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders while also shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Today was her first official day of training. And she wanted to make sure that she didn't screw it up.
She had arrived early in the morning, alongside Sam and Alex. Too early, probably, considering the fact that she had been waiting on her new instructor for the better part of twenty minutes by now. But even with all of that, waiting in her temporarily assigned housing had been worse. Apparently, the raven-haired woman had been a lot more anxious about this than she originally thought. And the fact that she barely got any sleep certainly didn't help things either.
That being said, Maria was still very much excited to see how things were going to play out for her.
The raven-haired teen's fingers twitched unconsciously, brushing against the small elastic bracelet on her wrist. And to make matters even more annoying, her companions were equally as excited as she was. Most were quiet right now, their presence a low, steady warmth at the edge of her awareness. But a few of them seemed like they were ready to force themselves out of her body at any moment.
One, however, stirred restlessly.
'Easy…' She thought, directing the thought inward. 'Not yet. You'll get your chance to come out soon.'
Attuma never really slept. If anything, he was raring to go at any given moment. This adolescent phase of his was starting to become more trouble than it was worth.
Just then, before she could scold her companion even further, a sharp metallic clang echoed from the far side of the room as the door slid open. Maria straightened immediately, dropping her arms to her sides and snapping into something resembling a professional stance.
Footsteps followed. Unhurried, almost lazy.
That alone threw her off.
When she'd been told she'd be training directly under the Chief Agent of the Austin station, Maria had built up a very specific image in her head. Someone rigid. Severe. The kind of person who could freeze a room with a look and dismantle you with a sentence.
But the man who walked in was…not that.
Quite the opposite, actually…
He strolled in like he had nowhere urgent to be, with one hand tucked into the pocket of his worn jacket, while the other held up a half-empty cup of tea close to his face. His shoulder-length blond hair was slightly messy, like he hadn't bothered checking it in the mirror. And his posture was loose, almost too loose for someone of his position. He was tall, just a little over six feet by the looks of it, and built solidly, with the kind of strength that came from experience rather than show.
His face was plain, almost forgettable at first glance. At least, that was until he smiled and the metal flashed from inside his mouth.
Not a glint.
Not a hint.
A full set of metal teeth that caught under the overhead lights, turning his casual grin into something bold and unmistakable.
Maria blinked in surprise. 'They really were telling the truth.'
Sam and Alex had told the young woman a bit about their father before coming here, mainly about some of his past exploits and the rather odd appearance that he possessed. From what she was told, all of the man's teeth had gotten knocked out by an Iznana operative back when he was still a fresh agent. An event that left him desperately in need of a new set of specially made tungsten teeth that gleamed in sharp contrast to the otherwise unremarkable ease of his expression.
"I'm guessing that you're Maria Ortega?" The Chief Agent asked. His voice was easy, like they were meeting at a café instead of a high-security training facility.
"Yes, sir." The young woman replied immediately.
The man waved a hand at that, dismissing the formality in favor of something more casual. "Let's not do the whole 'sir' thing unless someone's actively dying, alright? Anyways…it's nice to finally meet you, I'm Alexander Conley. I kinda run things around here."
He stepped closer and offered his hand. Maria hesitated for half a second, taking the time to process the name, the demeanor, and the teeth. Then she shook it.
His grip was firm but not overpowering.
"You settling in alright?" He asked.
"Yes." The raven-haired teen said. "Everything has gone smoothly so far. Your son and daughter were very accommodating."
"Good to hear it! Always a plus when nothing explodes on arrival. Sorry for not coming to see you at the house last night. I got swamped with paperwork and ended up just falling asleep in my office."
Maria wasn't sure if that was a joke. She decided not to laugh.
Now that she thought about it, the guy reminded her a lot of Ethan MacNamara. The two of them had the same careless vibe to them. Something that completely contrasted the obvious strength and experience that they both possessed.
Chief Alexander took a sip of his tea while studying the young woman over the rim. His gaze was sharper than the rest of him suggested, quick and assessing. It made Maria straighten a little more.
"So…." The elder 'beast magic' user then said, lowering the cup. "You nervous?"
"A little…" She admitted.
"Good." He replied.
She blinked again. "Good?"
"If you weren't nervous, I'd be worried." He replied. "Means you either don't understand what you're doing here, or you think you've already mastered your skills. Both are pretty bad options."
Maria let out a small breath. "I definitely haven't mastered anything yet."
"Excellent. Then we can actually get somewhere."
The man set the cup of tea down on a nearby console and clapped his hands once, the sound echoing slightly in the room.
"Alright! Let's talk about what the next month is going to look like for you."
Maria focused, pushing the last of her nerves down into something sharper. Concentration, or maybe even anticipation.
"For the first week…" Chief Alexander began, pacing slowly as he spoke. "We're going to work on your physical conditioning."
Maria's stomach sank slightly.
The Chief Agent noticed. Because of course he did.
"Yeah…" He said, a faint grin tugging at his mouth, metal flashing again. "That reaction tells me everything I need to know."
"It's…not exactly my strongest area." Maria admitted.
"Most of our kind say that." He replied. "The average 'beast magic' user relies too much on their companions to do most of the heavy lifting. Problem is, if something disrupts that bond, or you're caught off guard, you're barely more than just a normal human in a very dangerous situation."
Maria nodded. She'd heard that before, but it didn't make it any less true.
"Don't worry, though, we'll fix that." He said simply. "You don't need to be the strongest person in the room. You just need to not be the weakest."
She could work with that.
"Second and third weeks…" He continued. "We focus on your cryptids. Strengthening bonds, improving control, and expanding what you can actually do with them. That kind of thing."
Now the young woman's attention sharpened fully.
"That's…exactly what I was hoping for." Maria said in response.
"I figured." Chief Alexander replied. "Anyways…Chief Chandler told me that you're a dragon-type user like me."
Maria felt a flicker of pride and tension at hearing that. Even though she'll never admit it out loud, it was nice to know that she was a part of a very exclusive class of sorcerers.
"Yes."
He studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Good. We'll be spending some extra time on that. Dragon-types are…complicated. As I'm sure you already know."
"That's one way to put it…" Maria muttered.
He huffed a quiet laugh. "You'll learn."
Her body warmed slightly, as if her companions were in agreement. Or were still as impatient as they were a minute ago.
"And the final week…" Alexander went on. "We take you out into the field. Controlled hunts. Real scenarios. Nothing too serious, depending on whatever happens to pop up around here."
Maria's pulse quickened. She wasn't used to normal cryptid hunts since she was a member of her station's APS. In fact, the only real cryptid hunt she had been on ever since joining the DPA was that one time when the ghoul appeared.
"You won't be with me for those." The Chief Agent added. "You'll be working with Samuel and Alexandra. And maybe a couple of my other nieces and nephews if they're available. More than likely, Dora and Diego are going to be the ones joining you three since they're still pretty green themselves."
Maria raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't question it. She was under the impression that she was going to be doing the same kind of training that she was used to back in Charlotte. But if the man before her said that it was necessary, then she had no reason to argue with it.
"Any problems with that?" He asked with a slight smirk on his lips.
"No, sir." She said. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Good answer."
He stopped pacing and faced her fully.
"Well, that's the plan. It'll be tough, and I'm not going to go easy on you either. You're here because your bosses think you've got potential. My job is to find out if they're right."
Maria met his gaze. "I won't waste the opportunity."
For a moment, the laid-back mask slipped, just a fraction. And something more focused, more intense, flickered behind the Chief Agent's grey eyes.
Then it was gone, replaced by that same easy demeanor.
"Yeah." He said. "I don't think you will."
A brief silence settled between them. Then Maria hesitated before speaking again. She asked the question that had been sitting at the front of her mind since she arrived.
"Sir-uh, Chief Conley…there's one thing I was hoping for, specifically."
He tilted his head. "Shoot."
"It's about dragon-types." She said. "I know you're the only other one in the country. And I want to learn everything I can. Control, communication…anything you're willing to teach. It's become a bit more difficult to control mine over the last few months. And I'd like to find a way to work around that before it becomes a problem."
For the first time, the Chief Agent's expression shifted into something more serious—more deliberate.
"Yeah, I expected something like that. Dragon-types aren't like other bonds." He said. "They don't listen to our commands like others do. They don't obey the same way."
"I know." Maria said quietly.
"Do you?" He asked, not unkindly. "Do you really?"
She thought of the presence coiled in the back of her mind. Restless. Powerful. Never fully still.
"Not as much as I'd like to." She then said.
He watched her for a second longer, then nodded.
"Alright." He said. "We'll work on it."
Something in her chest loosened at that.
"Fair warning, though." The man added, a faint grin returning. "It's not just about controlling them. Half the time, it's about convincing them you're worth listening to. Take it from me, dragons are a prideful type of beast. And they only obey you when you've proven your worth."
Maria almost smiled. "I've noticed."
"Good. Then you're already ahead of most."
The elder 'beast magic' user then grabbed his tea again and gestured toward the door.
"Come on. I'll show you around. You'll need to know where everything is before we start trying to break you in this afternoon."
Maria followed, falling into step beside him.
"Break me?" She repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Figuratively speaking, of course." He laughed. "Well…mostly."
She glanced at him.
He took another sip of his tea, completely unfazed.
"…Mostly?" she echoed.
Chief Conley flashed that metallic grin again. "You'll be fine."
Maria wasn't entirely convinced. But as they stepped out into the corridors of the Austin station, past the reinforced doors, humming lights, and agents moving with quiet purpose, the young woman felt something else rising alongside the nerves.
Excitement.
This was it.
A full month to get stronger. To improve. To understand her cryptids. All of them, especially the one that mattered most.
She flexed her fingers slightly, feeling the faint pulse of power beneath her skin.
'I'm not wasting this.' She thought.
Not a single second of it.
-(o)-
Character Profile: Alexander
Name: Alexander Lane Conley
Alias: Metal Mouth Alex, Mr. Cool
Gender: Male
Age: 46
Birthday: January 25th
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America
Height: 73in
Weight: 183lbs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Grey
Race: White
Magic: Beast (Draco)
Occupation: DPA Chief Agent, United States Air Force (Former)
Stat Chart: A(+)
-Physical Strength - 3
-Intelligence - 3
-Magic Amount - 5
-Magical Control - 5
-Magic Sensing - 5+
-Special - [Redacted]
Fun Fact:
-Favorite food is steak.
-Favorite sport is football.
-Alma Mater: Texas A&M University (BS)
-Once licked a swingset when he was a child and fell sick for a week.