Well, That Happened - RM

"We’re in, which way to the package, B?"

"Third hallway on your right"

The agents were in the progress of infiltrating a lab that's recently had some suspicious activities. Their target was shipment of something the lab was sending out to unknown buyers,

"The shipment's probably illegal, else they wouldn't have so much security. It’ll be near impossible to get in without being spotted… Bet ya wish we had our sniper now, huh?" The lookout joked over the comms, taking a jab at the leader who had a nasty argument with said sniper the week prior.

They had yet to make up, so the sniper wasn't with them.

"Shut it, Z! Now's not the time to be making fun. As you so eloquently put it, we've got no one watching our backs, we can't afford to be distracted! B, how far to the target?"

"About 2 yards North, A, just keep going straight."

Z jumped in, "I don't think A knows how to go straight B."

"Z! What did I just say?!"

"Not to joke around, but I was just stating the truth ma'am-"

"Z!"

"Ok, I get it, shutting up."

A, Q, & M continue towards the loading bay where the shipment was being loaded. Z trailed behind, watching for guards & lab employees.

Finally, the pack came upon a large door, locked by a keypad & retinal scanner.

"Q, hand me the decoder & contact replicas of the lab boss' eyes."

The tech specialist wasted no time handing the items to the commander. A quickly placed the contacts in her eyes & attaching the decoder to the keypad. It ran through hundreds of possible combinations before entering the right one, then, A looked into the scanners. After a minute, the screen flashed green, and the door slid open.

"Ok, let's be quick, if anyone realizes we're here, we're done for. Our enemies have an unknown tech that could bring down the Organization. In other words, don't screw up!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The pack splits up, setting about completing their designated tasks.

-----

Meanwhile, in another room, a man chuckles as they watch the agents move on the security feed. They open a drawer and pull out a strange-looking device...

-----

"Almost done, A, then all I need to do is unlock the door, and we can get the hell out of here," Q said from the computers. She was downloading files from the computer onto a thumb drive before uploading a virus to delete everything.

"Good work, Q." the commander praised the woman with multi-coloured hair, "M, how’s it going with the weapons?"

She stuck her head out from behind some boxes near the computers, "Still a lot to go A, Can you give me a hand?"

"Sure thing, where do you need me?"

The tall blond woman pointed to the stack near the door, "Those ones over there."

"Rodger that. Let's get a move on, people; we're pushing our luck as it is."

While A & M moved the crates behind the truck, Z watched through a window beside the door for anyone coming their way; so far, nothing. However, a knot was growing in his stomach.

"Hey team, I'm getting a bad feeling; maybe we should think about getting out of here soon."

"10-4 Z! We're moving as fast as we can, but the crates are heavy, so there won't be any road runner maneuvers. Q, we could use your help over here." A subtly questioning the shorter woman,

" She looks over to A, " I'm just waiting for the virus. Where do you need me?"

"Get those crates into the truck while we grab the last few stacks."

"No problem. Z, keep an ear on the computer. When it beeps, the virus is downloaded."

"Will do! The sooner we get that truck loaded, the better."

Q runs over & starts loading the truck, all but throwing the crates into the back, displaying a surprising amount of strength despite her short stature.

Several minutes & way too many crates later, the truck is loaded & everyone is grabbing their gear.

Before they can get into the truck, though, the door bursts open! A short man wearing a gas mask and aiming a weird-looking rifle at them walks in.

"Oh my, I must thank you so much! You've saved my team so much trouble packing all those crates up. There must be something I can offer for all your help, but what...?" The insane person briefly lowers the gun to think for a moment.

Q promptly turns on the surveillance feeds on her glasses so B can watch what's happening.

"Oh, I know, you can be the first human guinea pigs of my lab's chemical weapon." Not missing a beat, the scientist aims the rifle and pulls the trigger.

A canister is shot from the gun & lands in the middle of the team, releasing a blueish-green gas. The pack tries holding their breath & getting into the truck, but several shots hit the side of the truck.

The agents only now notice the armed guards standing in the rafters, guns trained on them.

Inevitably, they all breathe out, lungs burning to get new oxygen into their bodies, and consequentially, the unknown gas. Immediately, the agents feel woozy & eventually fall to the floor, the maniacal cackle of the scientist fading into silence.

<<-_-_-_->>

When they come too, it's nearly pitch-black, only a sliver of light coming from... somewhere, & no one could figure out what time is was or where they were. Most of their gear was gone, only a few small things were left; Q's glasses & lock pick, Z's knives and gun, A's first aid kit, and they all had their comms.

Not bad, considering they've woken up with less, but they wouldn't be able yo get out alone., even if they did know where they were.

A was the first to speak, "Everyone ok? Any injuries?"

"I'm good, minus a headache." Z answered,

"Same, though I think my tooth is chipped... Yup, the left canine's chipped." That was M

"Feels like my glasses some cracks, but other than that, I'm good."

"Good, everyone's alrigh-ACH!" A shouted in pain.

She had tried to get up, but her knee didn't extend & gave out under the weight.

"A!" The pack shouted.

"I'm... Those bastards busted my knee!" Her skilled medical hands shot to her knee, “They my dislocated kneecap... someone didn't wanted us escaping. Z, get over here!"

"Yes, ma'am, what do you need me to do?"

"You need to pop my kneecap back; I'll also need someone's belt. This is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch, and unless someone's got pain meds, I'll need something to muffle the noise." A quickly instructs her pack.

They promptly follow her instructions.

"Ok, Z, you're gonna need to brace the leg steady at 90-degrees. Then, standing on my right side, place your left hand where you feel the knee-cap, holding it like you're peeling a potato. With your right hand, stabilize the lower leg from behind & extend it while relocating the kneecap with the left."

Z gets into position without hesitation.

"Now, carefully extend my leg, guiding the kneecap back into place as you go; it'll likely take a couple tries to get it back inplace." A grips the belt in her mouth & relaxes her thigh muscles, allowing the man to do what he needed.

It took 3 tries & a lot of screaming, but Z managed to relocate A's kneecap with little problem, despite never trying on a live patient before.

"Nice job, Z. Now, someone grab the tension band from the first aid kit; I'll need a makeshift knee brace."

Several minutes & a lot of cursing later, A has a crudely tied knee brace supporting her leg.

"Great, now let's get out of hell hole and back to base."

Everyone nods & starts feeling around the dark space for a possible exit.

"I found a wall! It feels like some kind of large fencing materials, I might be able to climb it and get out." M called somewhere to the left of Z & A.

"Same over here!" That was Q, to the right.

"Both of you, try & climb up. If this is just a yard with a tent, you can escape & find help." A ordered, praying that their captors were just that stupid.

<-_-_-_-_->

They weren't that stupid; there was a roof made of the same material as the walls. They were not escaping from their prison alone.

"Hey, has anyone tried contacting B?" M asked, having no other ideas.

"I have," A answered weakly. "No reception."

"Same here," Z said,

"I'll try; my glasses have a stronger signal, so they might be able to connect."

"We've got nothing else to lose."

So Q tries calling B... *ring* "It's working!"

Several seconds pass, then... "Hello?"

"B! Thank the gods!"

"Q!? Q is that you?"

"Yes, it's me! I'm with the others; we're all ok, mostly... What happened, did you see what that lunatic did to us?"

"Oh gods, I was so worried... and no, the signal cut off right after they knocked you out. But now that your glasses are online, I can get a beat on your location."

There's some clicking in the background, and then suddenly, a small red light flashing on the glasses.

"...Ok, looks like you're in an abandoned shoe factory about 5 miles South of the lab. I got agents out looking for you guys so I'll see who's the closest and send them over."

"Thank god, help is on the way guys." Q looked to the others with glee.

"Hopefully, they have some pain killers. My leg is killing me!" A groaned as Z helped her sit up.

"No promises, A, In the meantime, just hang tight and stay on the line. I don't want to risk losing your signal again if you turn it off."

"Will do B!" With that, everyone was able to relax a bit, knowing that help would arrive.

After several moments of silence, B spoke up.

"So, what happened to your leg, A?"

"I don't know, I just woke up & the kneecap was dislocated. Z here pop it back and wrap it up."

Before anyone else can comment, a door opens to the left and footsteps start coming closer. Unsure about what was going to happen next, the team shifts closer together.

The steps louder as seconds tick by, & the ground beneath them begins to vibrate, like a miniature earthquake. None dared to breathe, hoping that whatever was going on would stop soon.

And suddenly, it did; the footsteps stopped.

Then, in a split second, whatever had been over them was ripped off, and bright lights blinded the team. After a few seconds, their eyes adjusted and the team could see that they were in a cage.

As they took in their surroundings, they got the feeling that something was off.

Suddenly, the team noticed that there was a man standing next to their cage, but he also towering over them like a skyscraper...

They'd been shrunk.

'Well, that explains my leg.' A thought to herself.

"Why, hello, my little pets~." A smooth voice chortled at them from behind.

All four of them whip around to the source of the voice. It was the man from before; The gas he shot at them must have been what shrunk them.

"Oh, don't be scared, I won't hurt you... too much. Only enough to get the Organization's attention, and bend them to my will. Especially now that I know that my chemical weapon works."

The miniature agents were shaking like leaves... usually, they'd put up a fight or backtalk their captors, but at this size, it was a risky idea.

Over the comms, B is talking to someone else, before turning his attention to them.

"There's an agent almost to your location, and a S.W.A.T. team inbound, E.T.A. 5 minutes. See if you guys can stall them."

They look between each other, Z nodded.

"- and once I shrink the entire Organization, I'll sell each of you off to the highest bidders on the black market. I'll make millions!"

"HEY! THIMBLE BRAIN! That's a great plan & all, but there's something you're forgetting; you don't know who all the agents in the Organization are, and there's no way you can figure it out! All records with the names are somewhere you'll never find them." Z shouted at the mountain of a man,

"I see one of you has the gall to challenge my authority. I guess you'll learn the hard way about not disobeying your Master." He nods to the man standing beside our cage.

Suddenly, the cage is picked up & set on a table.

The guard opens the cage door & reaches in for Z. The four agents quickly scramble back to avoid the giant hand, to no avail. The guard grabs Z by the leg & drags him out before closing the cage.

"So, little mouse, are you going to apologize to your master for insulting him, or do you want to end up like your friend?" The man's deep voice echoed in the air, rattling Z to his core.

Z looked "up" at his friends in the cage. They were frantically nodding their heads, not wanting any further injuries from this.

"Fine," he looked to the shorter man. "My apologies, Master. It had not been my intention to insult your brilliant mind. A simple slip of the tongue you see, from the fright of your power over us." The meaningless apology came quickly from experience; however, this was the first time been partly true.

The "Master" considered him before nodding to the man holding Z,

"Throw him back with his friends; we need to get going with this shipment. Otherwise, our supporters will be rather upset." The man walked away.

Z was literally thrown back into the cage before it was closed, locked and picked up by the guard. They went through a door that led to what looked like an office. "Master" darted about, looking for something in the many cabinets that lined the room.

"Ah-ha! This will make the perfect cage while we travel!"

He brandished a hollow geo ball with shapes cut out of its surface. The man opened the ball & gestured for the guard to place the team into the new enclosure.

The guard proceeded to open the cage, reach in, and seize them in a fist before placing them in the considerably smaller prison.

B whispered over the comms, "Don't worry, help's almost there!"

Unfortunately, that held little comfort as the ball was snapped shut and locked around them.

Seconds later, another guard rushed in, out of breath "Boss, there's an agent on site. He's probably here for his comrades. What do you want us to do?"

A malicious grin spread across his face, "let him come here. I have a little surprise for him~."

-_-_-_-Elsewhere-_-_-_-

'Gods, where are they! I swear, I don't go on one mission, and they get captured by some lunatic! Just my fricken luck!'

Neal was pissed; he just so happened to be the agent closest to his team's whereabouts, and, of course, Nate calls him to go in and rescue them. Even though he knows the sniper was still angry with Remi for the risk she'd taken on their last mission.

'Oh well, being angry won't get this done any faster. Hopefully, backup gets here soon.'

Neal trekked further into the abandoned factory as he serched for his team, when he hears footsteps approaching from ahead.

S quickly ducks into a nearby hallway.

"No point in hiding, agent; I know you're here. Come out with your hands behind your head!"

S sighs, placing his rifle down and stepping out, hands behind his head.

"You agents think you're so high & mighty, vanquishing evil... It makes life difficult for people like me."

"You mean psychopaths?"

That jab got him a punch in the gut.

S kneeled to the ground; arms clenched around his abdomen as the man chuckles.

"I see that you agents all have a similar sense of humour; unfortunately, that humour may very well get you killed one day."

"You kidding me? *cough* I could do this all-day."

"Quite the stubborn one, aren't you? No matter, if you're looking to get the snot beaten out of you, that's your choice. After all, you're far more durable than your friends." The scientist cackles

That got the sniper's attention, "What did you do? Where is my team?!" S growled.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve~?" The shorter man cooed, "Don't worry about them, you'll join them soon enough. For now, I'd be more worried about yourself."

At that, S felt the barrel of a gun on the back of his skull. "What do you want from me? I've got no money, no communications, & no information that would interest you."

"Oh~, but you do. You have names. I want your name & the names of your teammates. Give me that, & I'll let you all go. What do you say?"

"I'd say you're crazy to think I'd tell you any-!" the barrel of the gun pushes harder against his skull.

"Be very careful about what you say next young man. Otherwise, your brain will be scattered on the floor, & your team will become slaves to my testing."

S pauses, silently mulling over options, when a foolish & self-sacrificing idea comes to mind. "How about this? I give you information about myself; full name, age, height, rank, etc., in exchange for my team's freedom."

The scientist is surprised by the offer, "Hmm, that's quite the risk, boy. Are you sure you're willing to make that sacrifice? Are your teammates really that important to you? Surely there's some part of you that thinks that they wouldn't risk the same if things were reversed"

S doesn't think before answering, "I'm sure you're right, but I don't have anything to lose by giving you my information. Now, are you going to take the deal or not?"

The scientist is taken aback by the younger man's confidence & selflessness. He checks his watch to see what time he had left; 20 minutes to make all the deliveries.

"Very well, agent. You have yourself a deal. Give him a pen & paper."

The gun backs off and S was handed a pencil & notepad. He scribbled down his alias’ information onto the paper, first & last name, birthday & age, his height & weight, his ranking in the Organization and some other things. Hopefully he could stall long enough for B to have all those glitches fixed with his information.

After a bit, he hands the notepad back to the guard, who scans it over before giving it to the boss.

The scientist proceeds to enter in the information and wait for the data to load. After several minutes, he looks to the guard and nods his head.

Said guard reaches into a bag and pulls out an ornate-looking sphere.

"The hell? Is this a joke?! I said I wanted my comrades, not some fancy ball!"

"*tsk* my poor boy, look closer. This "ball" holds more than your eye can see, if-"

"I told you, release my team!" S growled through gritted teeth.

"Dear boy, I thought you were wiser than that. Oh well, Kurt, pass the item to this daft fool."

The guard- Kurt, merely nodded and tossed the ball into the air.

-_-_-_-_-Meanwhile-_-_-_-_-

'Oh shit, we're going to die!' Z thought in panic as he, Q, M, & A tumbled about within their confines of the tiny orb as it was thrown into the air.

The team had been listening to the banter between scientist & agent. They were stunned when S had offered up his own information in exchange for their freedom. Not his own, theirs'! A, Q & M were pissed that he was being a self-sacrificing bastard, compromising his own safety, especially after the argument. Z was merely silent.

Abruptly, everything started shifting as their prison was removed from the bag. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they quickly scanned their surroundings.

They were being held in the guard- Kurt's hand, and across the room kneeled S, several guns aimed at him.

"...Is this a joke? Where are my comrades?!" He was furious, sounding ready to rip the boss in two if they didn't give the sniper his team back.

"... look closer. This "ball" holds more than your eye can see, if-"

"I TOLD YOU, RELEASE MY TEAM!" S's voice rattles the miniature agents' bones.

He was beyond pissed.

"Umm guys, we might want to hold on to something, I'm getting that uneasy feeling again." Z mutters, grabbing the closest piece of metal.

The others followed suit, knowing Z's gut instinct was usually right.

Proven true when they were sent flying through the air. The constantly changing directions & gravity loosened their grip and left them to tumble about the small space.

After several seconds of continuous movement, things paused; the ball was suspended in the air, far above the ground, and above S, who was looking up in confusion.

Pushing past the fear, they call to larger agent, pleading for him to catch them!

No one was expecting what happened next.

Despite the odds, the sniper heard their cries for help! However, their relief quickly replaced with dread as the team descended towards the ground.

Colours blurred as the earth grew closer. With second remaning before impact, they braced themselves for the unavoidable pain. However, seconds after would have met their doom, there was nothing.

Z opened his eyes, noticing the world had stopped spinning. However, the sight that greeted him, he'd never forget.

"Hey, guys? You might want to look at this..."

The others sit up, taking a moment to get their bearings, before looking out of the ball. An enormous face with worried grey eyes looked down at them. They were silent...

"...He-hey... Is everyone alright?"

They were in Neal's hands.