Part of Amy would miss the Freedom Fighters. The years that she'd spent fighting alongside her friends, saving the world, and then doing it all over again were more meaningful than she could express. But, looking inward, she knew this was something...
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When Rouge had asked for Shadow's help with a training exercise for the cadets, he expected something routine: a simulation in the Training Pavilion, a mock debrief, maybe even a combat demonstration. What he didn't expect was being dragged away from H.Q. first thing in the morning, bribed with a cup of coffee from his favorite café, and then unceremoniously shoved into the passenger seat of Rouge's convertible as she drove him to the Central City Convention Center. Only then did she inform him that he would be participating in a G.U.N.-sponsored espionage simulation, one that required him, and a handful of other agents, to play designated "roles" for the cadets to test their skills against.
"You're gonna have to drop the brooding dark prince act," Rouge had said, glancing at him with a smirk. "The cadets need to see you as a regular target, not their Commander or they're going to be too intimidated to actually try." She'd turned towards him, "So, do me a favor: smile and give me your best look of nonchalance."
He mulled over whether it was worth telling her that he was more annoyed at how much work was going to be sitting on his desk for missing a day rather than having to help train the Wing. Honestly, he preferred any opportunity to train the cadets over writing a hundred reports for every little activity he did during his assignments. At that thought, the urge to slam his head against the dashboard was overwhelming and he decided to just use this as an excuse to avoid the paperwork, if only for a day. Rouge had taken his silent contemplation as retraction and offered to sweeten the arrangement with a promise of a meal at The Ciphered Cellar.
"Ever the schemer." He'd replied, clearly amused and accepting of the day's plans. After all, even he could use a brush up on his acting skills.
They spent the rest of the drive going over rules of engagement for the training. The cadets had received their own outlines in red envelopes the day before and the other participating agents actually got to read their emails, so he was the only one out of the loop. All and all, it was pretty straight forward: the classic game, capture the flag. The GUN agents would be attending a "summit" and given a book-bag or purse filled with an assortment of documents and items. Unbeknownst to the agents, one of the items would be the key to the cadet's passing the exam. It was up to each team's Mission Control Operator to be able to do enough research on the target to identify the key item and then relay it to their teammates.
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Rouge had provided Shadow with a brief character synopsis, just a few bullet points outlining the persona he was meant to adopt. It was different enough from his usual demeanor that it would help the cadets see him as someone else, yet somehow it didn't completely rewrite his personality. As he skimmed the notes, he also took count of the contents of the bag he'd slung over his shoulder. A folder, a USB drive, some folded documents, and something like an employee ID card. Confident he'd absorbed all he needed, he entered the convention center with Rouge, and took the opportunity to take in their surroundings.
