"Come in."
After uttering these words, the door opens and a woman resembling Alice Eve enters, but a little more mature. 'It's incredible how much I worried at first about losing my memory and forgetting everything related to the possible history of this universe, and how I wrote everything down on papyrus so as not to forget anything. It was lucky that not only my body remains at its peak, but also my mind. I wonder what happened to those papyrus scrolls.'
"Boss." O's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
"I'm sorry, O. One problem with reaching my age is that you can't stop remembering the past. By the way, it will soon be 100 years since you started working with us, won't it?" 'Luckily, one of the first things I thought of was to copy and improve the Infinity Formula, among other things, otherwise I would be very lonely.'
"Yes, in a couple of months, but I don't think it's right to mention such things to a lady." She says, a little annoyed.
A small smile appears on my face as I say. "Oh, and you'll be celebrating your 100 years with someone, perhaps an agent who is also turning 100 with us, such as Agent K."
"The Men in Black rules do not allow relationships between colleagues, boss." she says in a serious tone.
"As your boss, I'll tell you that I don't remember that rule, and as your superior, I recommend that you make the most of your time. Even with all the technology and supernatural things at our disposal, we don't know if today will be the last day we see a person. Agent K and Agent Jay themselves have died, and we've had to resurrect them with cloning technology and soul transplants a couple of times." After hearing this, O lets out a sigh, but even without reading his mind, I know what he's thinking. "You know, in the past, I've officiated a few weddings. I'm just mentioning it as a matter of general interest."
"Boss, we have work to do." He says as a series of holograms begin to project from his wristwatch, showing several individuals along with a series of data about them. "Today's exam is a bit special because, although there are fewer candidates than usual, they were all recommended by a member of a Council organisation. Two are from the Men in Black, one is from Control, and another was recommended by two Council seats. As is tradition, the tests for civilians will be supervised by the Men in Black."
I look at my pocket watch and see that it is 12:05. "Let's take roll call before we go to see the exam."
"Okay, the first of the MIB candidates is Darrell James Edwards III, born in 1965, a New York police officer who assisted Agent K in an investigation, which earned him a nomination for his reflexes, physical agility and quick thinking."
I sit back calmly as I slowly recall the plot of the first film. 'So the cockroaches are going to come and bother us soon, eh?'
"The second MIB candidate is Natalia Alianovna Romanova, also known as Black Widow. According to a 1928 account, a fire in Stalingrad destroyed the building where Natasha and her mother lived. Just before dying in the fire, her mother threw her out the window to a Russian soldier below, making her the last survivor of the Romanoffs. The soldier's name was Ivan Petrovich, and he cared for her until she joined the KGB as a spy and worked alongside Alexei Shostakov, Melina Vostokoff, and Yelena Belova. She was later trained by the Red Room alongside Yelena as part of the Black Widow Operations Programme to become the ultimate spy. She sought to defect to S.H.I.E.L.D. from the Soviet Union, but she had a recommendation from Agent Jay, so we gave her a hand."
As I listen to Natasha's story, I realise a few things. 'Originally, her defection took place in the 1960s, but now it happens in the 1990s. Also, her association with Alexei and Melina is like in the MCU. It's also very curious how K's former partner has now shown interest in mentoring someone. How many years have passed since he was a DEA agent? I seem to remember that he joined the MIB in 1982.' As I immersed myself in my thoughts, O moved on to the next candidate.
"The Control candidate is in a rather unusual situation. Felicia Hardy, age 18, daughter of master thief Walter Hardy, who was presumed dead 10 years ago but was actually recruited by Control and worked for us until he died 7 months ago. Felicia has clashed with agents of the Council from various organisations and departments on several occasions. Although she appears to be greedy, she seems to steal more for pleasure than for money, and her memories have been erased after each case. She was originally recommended at the age of 12 by her father, when she clashed with him during a robbery and discovered that he was still alive. Walter Hardy's former partner is willing to take Felicia under her wing and become her mentor. This recommendation has been approved by you as the director of Control, a position that currently takes up a lot of your time away from your duties as leader of the Council and those two projects you have passed on to me." O pauses after giving me that little hint.
"I agree that Control has taken up a lot of my time. I have been its director since it was founded during the Cold War, as I do with all of them until I find a successor, as I did with Zed and the MIB. Although Control is quite young compared to other organisations and many departments barely have five members, such as the Warehouse and the Library, others, such as Contact, already have quite a few members. So ideally, we should start looking for a director for Control, one who is qualified to sit at the Council table as director of Control, especially with those two projects we have underway. The problem is finding the right person." I sighed wearily. 'Forming an organisation, recruiting staff, training them and also finding the right director for it is very difficult. It's almost always luck rather than anything else.'
"As for Miss Hardy, a recommendation made when the candidate is still young is not unusual, nor is it unusual for the individual making the recommendation to die and their partner to take over, or even for them to have been involved in one or more cases related to the Council, but for them to also be related to a Control agent is almost unique. However, I believe that Miss Hardy's moral compass points in the right direction, so don't worry. Walter was the same at first, but in the end he changed because he may be a thief, but he's not the kind of person who turns around and walks away when people ask for help, and I think his daughter is more like him than you think."
After a sigh, O says in a tired voice, "I hope you're right about both things."
I nod to O as I smile at her and gesture for her to continue.
"The last candidate is unique. She has two recommendations from members of the Council, one of them being you, and the other being the Ancient One of Kamar-Taj. Jean Grey, 20 years old. A natural metahuman with the X gene, as well as champion of the conceptual deity and cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force, goddess of life, destruction, and resurrection. Original power level 4, but as the champion of the Phoenix Force, her level rises to 6 with the potential to be a 10. Her recommendation came after the conflict with the Shi'ar Empire six months ago, in which several intergalactic agreements were broken, and you yourself stopped it under threat of intergalactic war. After this, we manipulated the memories of all those involved so that they would remember the Shi'ar, but not our participation, all under Project Awakening. During the memory modification, it was discovered that when Charles Xavier sealed the Phoenix Force, he not only sealed the Phoenix but also the 9-year-old Jean Grey herself. After this, Xavier created a psychic replica of Jean, causing the psychic clone, who does not have proper access to her powers, and the original 9-year-old Jean, with all the power of the Phoenix, to inhabit Jean's body."
I quickly notice that O is trembling. "You mustn't worry. The Ancient One and I have designed a training programme that should solve the problem. You should trust us more."
"If you say so, I'll believe you." she says as I watch her slowly relax.
I take out my watch and check the time. O imitates me and looks at her wristwatch. "12:25, it's almost time."
"Sir, if you would be so kind, please accompany me. I will guide you to the exam observation room." She gives me a slight bow of respect and gestures for me to follow her.
"Let's go." I get up and follow her out of my office, down the corridor and to the lift. After pressing the button for the first floor, the lift begins to ascend.