Agent Raven of S.H.I.E.L.D. (COMPLETE)

Icebreakers

I woke up at 5 AM to go and do my personal strength training for the day. Natasha is always baffled that I would choose to get up so early, but it was in my blood. Back before SHIELD, I woke up with the sun, as did my whole family. There were things to do and places to be at, and what better time to do so than before everyone else.

By 6, I had showered and changed into my regular suit. Natasha wouldn't be up for another hour or so, if she was even in the building right now. I knew she felt most at ease in the field, and hated sitting around waiting for a mission. Sometimes she would take small, simple missions just to keep her busy. Other times, she volunteered to tag politicians, or sit in at the White House. Whatever kept her moving, really. People thought it was because she hated being bored. I had a feeling there was a better reason.

For the next hour and a half, I ended up wandering around the Field department, with a bagel in one hand and a smoothie in the other. There had been no chance to check out the weight rooms or the gyms, until now. I wanted to capitalize on the opportunity.

They were nice, but a little more beat up than the training rooms in Espionage. A lot more people came through here to train, and their line of work was a little less clean cut. I saw Smith inside one of the weight rooms, with Levi and Bryan. He glared at me when he saw me watching, but I continued to stare, and he broke under the pressure first. Smith didn't scare me.

I was in the Point Hub when a text came through the SHIELD program on my phone. Doug had sent a mass message to the whole unit: 'One hour training in Gym 3, 15 minutes'. 

That sounded like fun.

Running to grab shorts and a t-shirt, I made sure to grab a gatorade before I walked through the gym. Difference number 3: the gyms smelled much worse. Apparently, odor control wasn't a thing here. I set my stuff down along the wall, and waited for Doug to call training to order. 

I wasn't the first one there. People came trickling in behind me too, but everyone was just kind of waiting for someone to take initiative. I leaned over to Tate, who was standing next to me. "Should I expect anything to happen?"

She shrugged. "How much do you remember from Academy training?"

"Bits and pieces," I answered, thinking back to the semesters I spent on campus. Most of my training had been done here, on site with Natasha, but I had put some time in at the Academy, as per requirements.

"Think of that, but more specific to the team," she explained, right as Doug walked in. "You'll see."

I nodded, running through the exercises I had picked up from the Field training courses. I had focused on Espionage at the time, but Natasha had put me through some gen ed Field classes, to 'round out my training'. Personally, I was confident that Romanoff training was as good as it got.

Everyone organized themselves onto a tape line on the ground. It was right then that I realized no one else was wearing ankle or wrist braces. Crap. Not good. 

"Attention!" Doug called, and everyone straightened up silently.

Yep, just like the Academy.

"Raven," he called, and I made eye contact with him. "Tradition with me is that every time we pick up a new agent, we indoctrinate them into the unit. I hope you like team-building exercises."

"You don't have a choice," Levi commented, causing a few others to chuckle. Okay, so it was more casual that the Academy, but in the same style. 

Doug zipped his lips shut in Levi's direction. Pointing over to the rock wall, he continued. "First up is the rock wall. We have a record for the term, I won't tell you who holds it, though. You ready, or do you need to warm up first?"