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The Negaverse was still a new concept to one of its newest recruits. Lt. Kyanite was barely able to wrap her head around the fact that her cousin was dead, let alone that he was one of the leaders of a secret subculture of earth warriors destined to battle aliens to save the world when he had been alive. It sounded like the plot of a movie that she might rent on a rainy night, not a future career. And now, whether she liked it or not, Kyanite was part of that mission.

There was a part of her, a small part, that felt proud to be in the same organization that Eden had been, but another part of her felt only terror. Risk-taking had never been the teenager's style. Now, it was sort of her job.

Learning the ins and outs of the Negaverse was still an on-going process. Kyanite purposely avoided going out in the streets in her uniform on her own. It wasn't safe, and she was hardly ready. But at some point, Kyanite knew that she needed to become brave enough to venture out on her own, even if just for a little. In the company of other Negaverse agents, she felt strong. Alone? She was a blip waiting to be extinguished by the senshi at large -- fighters that she had been led to believe would sooner rip out her throat than leave her planet in peace.

Standing in the shadows of a narrow alleyway, Kyanite had done the unthinkable -- she was out of Negaspace in her uniform. Sure, it had only taken her weeks to do this, but she had done it. If only her knees would stop shaking. Her training had helped her confidence a little bit, but her personality was still crippling -- Renna did not take risks and was as high-strung as a kite. Becoming a vigilante for justice was simply not something she felt born to do.

Still, her job was to do as she was told, and soon, she would have her own energy quota and her own expectations. The training wheels would be coming off. And Kyanite still couldn't bring herself to walk down the streets of Destiny City in her uniform.

So, tonight was time for her to dip her toe in the pool -- she would stand here, in the shadows, in uniform, for thirty minutes. Then it would be back to business as usual.

Lt. Kyanite had been prepped briefly on how senshi auras felt. She was still getting used to it, like a child with braces freshly learning how to sense that there was food lodged in them. It was so new to her that she didn't even notice an Order aura in her vicinity. She was too busy staring at the boots on her feet and breathing heavily. That was, until she got slapped across the face.

"Ouch," she snapped, head clinking against the brick wall behind her as she tried to recoil. Vibrant purple eyes flashed open and focused on a white-bodiced girl clad in ribb -- holy crap, it was a senshi. A SENSHI.

Renna's head immediately began to do an 'I told you so' dance. She always avoided risks because she knew that terrible things could happen. And here she was, taking a risk, and guess what -- SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAD HAPPENED.

Letting out a surprised squeak, Renna sunk to her knees. She had no idea how to fight, beyond some simple lessons so far. Instead, she went to first thing that popped into her.

She tried to tackle Albali to the ground.

Kyanite had no battle plans beyond her initial tackle. It was the exact same logic that children used on the playground when frustrated. That was her battle prowess: slapfighting. When Albali pushed her off, Kyanite scuttled backwards, hopping back up into what she hoped was a fairly intimidating battle stance. The length of electrical cord that served as her weapon was looped through the ribbon at her waist. The girl frantically snatched it free, holding it in front of her as if it were a shield.

"Stay back," she snapped. "I am an agent of the Negaverse."

The girl might as well of put a sticker on her uniform that said: Hi, I'm new!

The fresh lieutenant still had her weapon at the ready. Granted, her "at the ready" wasn't exactly threatening, but Kyanite had decided to commit to the role she was playing, especially if it kept her safe. She knew enough about the senshi at that point to recognize the name Serenity. Her response was a snort, a contemptuous one she hoped. Truth be told, Kyanite was still not entirely educated on the background of the moon princess.

She was even less educated on why in the world a senshi would want to know her name. It just seemed like a trick. Clearly this girl would try to befriend her and then kill her at a moment's notice -- just like they had done to Eden.

The dark-skinned girl did not relax her position. "I am Lieutenant Kyanite of the Negaverse," she said stiffly. It occurred to her that repeating 'Negaverse' again was not exactly painting her as a battle-hardened warrior, whoops. "I am here to protect Earth." She paused. "From you... people. Space is your home; this is mine. If you would just go up there and stay, it would be fine." This was Kyanite's way of battling.

Despite the senshi's seemingly gentle facade, Kyanite did not drop her guard. She was overcareful as a civilian. It was only magnified as an agent of the Negaverse. Her electrical remained taut in her grip. She eyed Albali warily as the girl joked sarcastically with her, but softened when she described her own origins.

Kyanite's memory of her corruption was spotty. She could recall waiting to meet the boy with information on Eden, being whisked up to the roof, the conversation with Zinkenite, then -- a big, white splotch of nothing. From what she had learned from other agents, corruption was incredibly painful. It wasn't a memory that Kyanite missed. Still, she knew enough to know that her conversion wasn't exactly voluntary. "Not all of us volunteer," she countered. "Not all of us have much of a choice." She paused. It was plainly clear she was talking about herself. "I asked for the truth, and I was given power to defend Earth. I didn't know that was what I was asking for when I did. But I know that this is something that I was meant to do. Before, I couldn't protect Earth. Now, I can." Her words were clear, but they lacked confidence. Kyanite was too new to the Negaverse to be entirely clear on her convictions.

She was, however, interested to hear more about Princess Ares. "I know of her, yes," she said. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't actually met the parallel princess. Part of her Negaverse education had included an overview on the other aspects of the Chaos Army. She knew enough to know that the parallels fought on the same side, but weren't to be totally trusted. She also knew that any senshi who seemed susceptible to corruption was a target of that court. And here was a senshi who... wanted to be corrupted?

"You want this?" Kyanite thought aloud. "I mean, of course you do. You realize that we are fighting on the side of justice."

Her arms were getting sore from holding her electrical cord at a taut angle. Gradually, she eased them down, though her hands still formed fists on either end. "Then what is the problem?" Kyanite asked, confusion on her face. "If you want to join the Dark Mirrors, then I'm sure they'll take you. It is their mission." It had, in fact, been the main thing that had been stressed to her in her early Negaverse education.

A thought sparked in Kyanite's mind. "I could take you to her!" she said, a bit too quickly. "Well, not me. But I could go ask my superior to take you." Would this get her some Negaverse brownie points? The girl certainly hoped so.

Besides, Kyanite reeeeeally didn't want to fight.

Just as Kyanite had begun to taste the first whiff of burgeoning Nega-success, Albali took it away by sprinting off in another direction. The new lieutenant might have taken a moment to think about whether or not she should mention Albali's name to her superior, but there was imminent danger approaching -- and Kyanite was really not prepared for any danger. Without a goodbye of her own, the teenager sprinted off in the other direction, transformed back into regular old Renna as fast as she could, and then headed for the nearest well-lit area. Albali might not have tried to kill her, but she still would never trust a senshi.