The following day at school, Nick couldn't concentrate at all during the lesson. He was still in too much pain from fighting Raven yesterday. He just wanted to go sleep again, or better yet, stay at home and rest. Luckily, it was his last class for the day. Maybe if he just rested for a second...

"Nick, please wake up and pay attention to the lesson. This material is gonna be on your test this Friday." Ms. Ericsson said, looking at the young man.

"Sorry, Ms. Ericsson," Nick replied, copying down the equation that was in the textbook: "x + 4 • 9 = 42. Solve for Raven-" Nick quickly erased Raven's name and wrote "Solve for x" instead. Focus, Nick. Try and focus, he thought as he started solving the equation. He suddenly tore off a piece of the paper and quickly scribbled something down before handing it to Raven.

The girl quickly turned her attention towards the whiteboard but not before looking at the piece of paper in front of her. She sighed softly and opened the parchment before chuckling softly at the words written on it: "Please give us back our files. I'll get you the treatment you need for your wounds." She picked up her pencil and scribbled a quick reply before handing him back the note.

Nick looked down the paper and read the reply: "No. Besides, you guys already have Project: Dino, or whatever the fuck your newest weapon is called."

He scribbled a quick reply and passed the note back: "It's called The Phoenix Protocol. And why do you even need our files anyway?"

"We want to be the best agency in town," Raven scribbled before sliding the piece of paper back to Nick.

He reached for the paper and accidentally brushed her hand as he pulled away quickly and blushed. He then cleared his throat and looked at the girl, flashing a soft smile in her direction.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class, and the school day. The students quickly packed their supplies and walked out of the room, ready for the weekend.

Raven looked at Nick and said, "I have to ask you something. Walk with me outside?" while heading towards the door.

"Looks like you're in a hurry to leave," Nick replied, following the 16 year old down the hallway. "So, what did you wanna ask me?"

"Nick... do you still have feelings for me? Even after what transpired over the apparent past two months we've fought?" She walked in-step with Nick all the way down to their street, which was a block away from the school.

He started to blush again and said, "I mean, considering we went on that date a couple months ago, yeah. Why are you asking me this?" It slowly started to come clear to him. "This is about yesterday... isn't it?"

The girl sighed. "Yes. It's about the incident yesterday. After I cracked the visor off of your helmet, why didn't you answer me when I was talking to you? I quite literally had to slap some sense into—"

"Raven, I know what happened. I was there, obviously. But... I was under an NDA. I wasn't allowed to discuss the secret agent stuff with anyone," Nick replied. "And— hang on. Raven... you still like me, don't you? Even after all this fighting going on between us?"

Now Raven was turning red. "Yes, Nick. I admit it. I still like y—"

Just then, a black van bearing the ISA insignia skidded in front of the two high-schoolers. ISA agents ambushed Nick and began to attack him without warning, forcing him to submit and fall to the floor. One of the agents quickly raided Nick's bag, grabbed Raven and ushered her into the van.

"No, Nick!! Wait, let me go!" The girl desperately tried to get away, but it was too late. The doors closed as the black and red van drove off, back towards the ISA's agency headquarters.

"Shouldn't we take him with us?" James questioned, looking at the driver. "He could be a valuable asset to our organization."

"No, let's leave him. The ASO has something far more worse for him," the driver stated.

"Sorry, what the fuck was that?!" Raven screamed at her comrades.

"Raven, we had no choice," James replied. "Miguel's orders."

"I don't give a shit if those were Miguel's orders," she hissed. "You could've concussed him!"

"We didn't hit him that hard!" Melissa said.

"I took his sandwich," James chuckled.

Melissa raised an eyebrow. "James, we were only supposed to ambush him. Not— you know what, never mind."

Meanwhile, Nick had called for medical help on his watch as a white and blue van bearing the ASO's logo parked in front of him. He started to slip into unconsciousness after the ambush.

Agents' Ricochet and Jet wasted no time in carrying him into the van before speeding off towards their own headquarters.

"This is Jet. We're heading back to HQ now. Prepare the phoenix," the agent said, looking at Nick.

After what seemed like an hour-long drive, the ASO agents quickly wheeled their injured comrade into the agency's operating room, where the medical team got to work, applying anesthesia and an IV drip before Nick could regain consciousness.

After sterilizing the injured boy's right arm, the lead surgeon made an incision and implanted the black and red microchip into Nick's wrist before connecting them to his nerve endings. He then stitched up the wound and cleaned up the other wounds and cuts with a dry cloth before throwing it into a nearby trash bin.

Nick could feel himself slowly slipping away; a forgotten agent lost inside of the monster he was slowly turning into. His memories started disappearing. He no longer had control of his mind. The last thing he could hear echoing through his subconscious was Raven's soft voice, questioning him: "Nick... do you still have feelings for me?" He was falling deeper and deeper into the darkness that was taking over his body; falling into another nightmare, one he knew he wouldn't be able to run away from:

The only source of light was that of a dimly lit lamp. Nick was staring at the corrupted version of himself in the mirror, just as before. But this time... He was the one trapped in the mirror with no way of escaping.

"You've failed, Agent Striker," the corrupted agent said, chuckling evilly. "You've failed to stop me. Just as I had told you before: you can never escape me. And now... The Phoenix will rise."

Nick banged on the glass as hard as he could, but he was unable to break it, even while using his escrima fighting sticks. For the third time in his life... he had lost. "You really think you're gonna win? Think about Raven; think about how much she means to me..." he said, watching as the corrupted agent looked over his shoulder.

"Raven Gonzales... hmm... I think I'll eliminate her first," the agent said, leaving Nick alone in the mirror as the lights started to flicker.

"No, don't!! You can't do this to me!!" Nick desperately tried to break the mirror and escape the darkness that had closed in on him. But it was too late. "Someone help me!"

His voice faded away, along with the mirror.

Now that the surgery and transformation were complete, the medical team wheeled Nick into the agency's recovery room as the other agents looked on.

He was dressed in the clothes that he had been wearing in his dream; a primarily black agent uniform with a dark red Phoenix replacing his hexagonal badge and white geometric "S." His face was covered by an all-black tactical mask with tinted lens.

Over at ISA HQ, Raven burst into the commander's room. "How dare you order an attack on him?!" She screamed. "We were just having a conversation!"

"Raven, calm down, right now," he replied. "What's done is done. We have to prepare for the worst now."

The girl scoffed. "What could possibly be worse than that?"

After what seemed like forever to him, Nick opened his eyes and looked around the room.

A red HUD display that was programmed within the microchip was projected onto his mask's lenses and displayed his vital signs: "Heart Rate: NORMAL. Blood Pressure: NORMAL."

Agent Striker, the ASO's elite agent, was gone, replaced by a soulless, emotionless cyborg hellbent on inflicting pain on his enemies.

After one year and 9 months of research, Agent Phoenix had risen at last.