It could have been a burlesque sight in the fifties. A black marquee proclaimed the designation of the bar in huge white letters rimmed with flashing lights. The glass double doors were framed on the right side by a small window displaying the latest in gothic fashion trends. Stripe and spiked collar wearing patrons pushed their way past her to the bouncers, paying the cover charge and heading into the dark.

Where's Doc?  He was supposed to meet me here. Juli scanned the faces of Jasper Avenue, searching for any sign of him.

The lights played on her strange clothes, accenting how uncomfortable she was in goth style. Her feet shifted in the huge boots creating an odd pattern in the grime of the city sidewalk. The warm July wind whistled around her skirt, and she put a hand on the front of it to hold it down.

Why am I doing this? I could go home, pretend I'd was caught while sneaking out. Yeah, perhaps that's what I'll do. Take off the strange clothes and makeup and go to bed. Things will go back to normal.

"Hey, beautiful," came a sultry deep voice behind her accompanied by a slight pinch at her rear.

Juli yelped and spun around, lashing out with a karate chop to the jugular, stopping herself just in time to see Doc's amused grin. "Dock! You dolt! I could have killed you!" Juli's face flushed as the patrons and bouncers looked in their direction for a moment, quickly turning back to their own business as Doc shot them all a glare. Juli felt her cheeks grow a bit hotter, and was thankful for the semi-darkness to hide them. Dolt? Who on earth uses that word anymore, besides tottering old fogies in nursing homes? Old habits died hard though. She'd been taught never to swear.

"I knew you'd make a top agent. You're always prepared to defend yourself. Shall we go in?" Doc pulled on a kevlar vest and a gas mask, indicating the door to New City.

"I still can't believe I'm doing this," Juli hissed as she walked to the bouncer, displaying ID and about to reach into her pockets for the cover charge.

Doc surprised her by handing over enough for two of them before she had a chance.

Well, it was only right. If she was going to disgrace her family's name for the sake of the SIS they ought to at least pay for expenses.

The bouncer ushered them in with a gruff wave of a very ape-like hand.  Doc crossed the space to the door with two long strides and pulled it open with a flourish, waiting expectantly for Juli walk through.

Juli watched, hesitating by the bouncer. This was it. The deciding moment. Doc would be disappointed but she could still back down and go home. She could go back to the life she had known since she was born: the daily chores, the weekly church, the boring classes, the dead end job. All of it was just waiting for her to turn around and whistle for a cab.

Would she really want to? Juli could just see herself, slumping down the hall of the school in her mind's eye. She always looked at the ground and rarely smiled. Same thing when it came to church. At work she smiled, but only because she had to in order to please her manager. How would she feel knowing she'd let something new and exciting, something finally different, just slip away? All her life she was always doing what other people expected of her. Juli was the very picture of the properly cowed and subdued good little girl.

Juli felt her fists clench as she thought of what it would be like to go back now. She thought she knew what life as an agent would be like, but she also remembered Doc telling her that whatever she thought didn't come anywhere near to the truth. It would be fast-paced, dangerous, a constant adventure of thrills and pain. She was over romanticizing it, but she didn't care. It sure seemed like a black and white comparison to her.

It all came down to that door. A few more people pushed past her into the throbbing sounds of the music and the strange darkness that was the interior of the bar. I can't stand here forever! Decide!

Once she walked through that door Juliana wouldn't exist anymore, but Juli would exist and thrive. The thought excited her. Her apprehensive smile turned into a huge grin as she looked into the eyes of the gas mask where she could see just a bit of her new friend. Doc's eyes met hers and he gave a nod, trying to encourage her. It worked. She took a deep breath, stood up tall, and stepped through into the dark.