Natalie's POV
Wait. What does she mean my parents are alive? They're dead. I should know. They were caught in the explosion, there's no way they would have survived.
" Let me see!" I exclaimed and looked at the computer. The page I was looking at was very crappy, with a lot of blocks over the most important parts of information. Damnit. I snatched the computer from Tessie and pulled up a new window. I typed in lots of codes but Shield kept blocking them.
" Whoa. That's the newest technology! The automatic blocking codes system. It's almost impossible to hack if you don't know how." My heart sank. Was I destined never to know about my parents? " Luckily, I think I know just how to hack into it." Tessie said. " Wait here." She walked out of the room like she had all the time to spare, when actually she knew that we didn't. She returned shortly with a few wires, a few pieces of metal and some other junk.
" We'll just need to code this and it should be able to make a back door to the website," Tessie said, assembling some parts and grabbing a torch. Putting on a pair of safety glasses, she handed a pair to me. I hesitated and placed the glasses on. Tessie grinned and melted some covers. I opened a new window and connected the device to the computer. I started to code. I felt relaxed. I was in my element. After about two hours of hard work, we were done. I went back into the Shield website. Grabbing the device and another cable, I connected the thing to the computer. The impromptu device glowed with a bright blue light. The screen flickered as the code scrambler did its job. When the Shield website tried to block the code, the other device connected to the computer did its job. It changed the blocked codes and created another back door and slipped in while the system was getting the other leak fixed. All this was done in a matter of seconds. Just as the Shield homepage appeared...
Nick Fury's POV
" Director, we have managed to scan the girl based on her blood." Agent Hill reported to me. I eyed her with my good eye.
" Who is she?" I asked. Agent Hill faltered.
" Sir, I think it's best you come and see for yourself." Came the agent's reply. I nearly let out a groan but restrained myself.
" Hill, just tell me who the damn girl's parents are. Are they dead? MIA? What?" I pressed. Hill looked straight at me.
" Director, we got a cross match. She's the daughter of our two best agents." Hill replied respectfully.
" Agent Romanoff and Barton?" I asked. Hill nodded.
" Shit. Get me the both of them. Now!" I ordered.
" Yes, sir."
Natasha's POV
" Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton, report to the 4th briefing room immediately." Agent Hill's voice came over the sitcom. Her voice was strange, not like her normal, business-like voice. I hesitated, but shrugged it off as her having a bad day. I headed for the briefing room, fully dressed in my Black Widow outfit. Meeting Clint in the hallway, we shared a glance. Not knowing what Director Fury had in mind for us. I slowly raised my hand and knocked on the door.
" Come in," The all too familiar voice of Director Fury said. I opened the door with Clint at my flanks. " Agents, please take a seat." He said. I scrutinized his one eye carefully. Seeing no difference than usual, I sat down warily. Clint sat next to me and we both eyed Fury.
" I suppose you don't know the reason I've gotten you here, right?" He asked and we both nodded. " You remember the rouge assassin, right? Remember how I said she was basically a ghost on Shield's radar?" I nodded warily. I couldn't see where this was coming from. I had to admit, I had my suspicions about that. Everyone on Earth was recorded by Shield, their DNA, their identity, everything.
" Well, that was just a ruse for the rest of the team to believe. She was actually on the Shield database, but her identity made us believe that it was necessary to hide it from the rest of the team." I pushed down my raging emotions and cut them off with my imaginary metal shutter. I snapped back into my emotionless shell.
" Well then, Director, who is she then? Who could be so important that you had to hide it from the rest of the team?" Clint asked, his eyes, the only thing that showed emotion, dull blue.
" She's..." he said. Wow, this is probably the first time I've seen the director so flustered in all my years of working in Shield. " Apparently she has both of your DNA." The news hit me like a wrecking ball, shattering me. Wait. Did that mean...that she was our daughter? Which meant that my earlier hunch was correct!
" Agents," Fury said, snapping me out of the train of my thoughts and back into the present day. " Is there something you have been hiding from me?" He asked. I glanced at Clint, my eyes basically pleading him not to tell. It was our secret, kept under wraps for so long, and only discovered now because of some stupid mission. We had always hung on to the fact that our daughter was still alive, despite the fact that she could not have escaped. And here came the slightest glimmer of hope that she might still be alive. Evidence, even.
" No, sir," Both of us answered in unison. Fury stared us down with his one good eye but I stood my ground.
" Seems like you won't tell the truth," he finally answered after a few moments of silence. We kept our heads down and refused to speak, for fear of Fury knowing.
" Well then, Agents," Fury sighed. " It's time to bring you to the room." I was confused. What room? Suddenly, I felt a small pinch in my neck. Damnit. A sedative. Looking back to see who had did it, I saw a flustered looking Hill.
" What the hell?" I asked. She looked upset.
" Sorry. Director's orders," she said. I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy.
" Bring them to the brainwashing room," Fury said.
" Fury, you son of a bitch," I said.
" Sorry. Can't have my two of my best agents having weaknesses now, can I?" He asked and that was the last thing I heard before blacking out.
---
Clint's POV
Ouch. What happened? My neck hurts like hell. Oh wait, never mind. I remember now. I injured it on that mission with Nat in Hawaii yesterday. Where's Nat? I sit up from what I suppose to be a hospital bed and look around. Yes, this is the Shield medical room.
" Agent Barton?" Asked an agent which was Level 2 or 3 I suppose. I nodded. " Are you feeling better?" I nodded again. " Director Fury wishes to meet you and Agent Romanoff in the forth briefing room." I acknowledged him and got out of the bed. Heading towards the briefing room to meet Fury, I moved my neck, causing it to crack loudly. I winced at the pain and continued walking.
" Yes, Director Fury?" I asked politely. He looked at us strangely.
" Are you feeling better?" He asked. Nat and I both nodded. " Well then, I'm sending you on another mission."
" Where?" Nat asked, her emotionless mask on.
" Right here in New York. We need you to infiltrate the safe house of a supposed Hydra agent, where the latter is supposedly hiding in right now as we speak." He handed Nat a file and I peeked over her shoulder, trying to read what was on the file. Apparently this supposed Hydra agent was a female and had fiery red hair. Just like Nat. Wait what? I do not know why I just connected the girl with Nat. Eh, habit. Anyways, after she had finished reading the file, she handed it to me. I scanned the file and devoured all the information written there. That figure looked familiar...
" When do we leave?" Nat asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. Fury eyed us.
" You have fifteen minutes to get ready," he said and I rose.
" Dismissed." I walked away. The both of us walked into our separate rooms to change and grab weapons. Heading towards the quinjet, I fingered my bow. I was all ready to take down this Hydra agent.
" Is this the place?" I whispered to Nat and she nodded.
" Quiet! We don't know whether she's inside or not, so keep your mouth shut!" She reprimanded me.
" I know, Nat, this isn't my first mission, you know," I shot back.
" Then why don't you act like it isn't!" Nat said and that was the end of the discussion. Communications were kept to a minimum, except for the occasional: This way! or Follow me! Finally we reached the floor where the ' Hydra agent' was currently residing in. Nat took out her granite. I took out my stack. We glanced at each other and nodded. Five minutes. She mouthed and I nodded, sprinting off. Planting all the bombs, I ran back to the rendezvous point and nodded to Nat. Three, two... I counted silently in my heart. One! Nat pressed the denote button and the building exploded.
Natalie's POV
I clicked gingerly onto the search button. Done. A result came out. I was just about to click on it when...
Boom! The house suddenly exploded. I reacted immediately, pushing Tessie to the ground and under a sturdy table. The chemical smell was intense, and I plugged my nose with a handkerchief I found in my pocket, dousing it with water first. Spotting the nearly suffocating Tessie, I immediately grabbed a pocket knife from my belt and sliced the handkerchief into two with one blow. Handing one piece to Tessie, I covered my mouth and nose to prevent the harmful chemicals from entering my lungs. Tessie looked grateful for the temporary mask and put it on immediately, gasping in relief after she did.
" Wha...wha...what is going on?" Tessie screeched, after she had regained her breath. I put my finger to my lips, signaling her to be very quiet. Spotting a burning piece of paper, I pounced on it like a tiger would do to its prey and blew out the fire. Grabbing a pen from my pocket, I scribbled down these words on the piece of half-charred paper.
" Whoever denoted the bomb obviously wanted to get rid of us," I saw Tessie's mouth move as she read the words silently. She snatched the pen away from my hands and jotted down a reply: What do we do? I signaled her to wait.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open. I gestured to Tessie to stay there, and peeked out of the underside of the table. Even in the low visibility, I spotted two figures approaching stealthily. My acute eyesight picked up no other people in the room. I withdrew back and put my finger to my lips. Tessie nodded and kept very still. The figures kept creeping closer. Psh, I could probably handle this. What's a couple of people going to do to me? I've defeated more than two people in a surprise ambush before. Um, did I mention that it probably wasn't in a burning house with debris bound to collapse on you at any minute, and you didn't have a person with you to protect, besides, these people had explosives. They probably weren't here to get a cup of coffee, say hello, pat me on the head and then go, right? I had a feeling it was much, much worse. Well, I've got no choice. Grabbing my favorite dagger out from my belt, I ran my finger along the edge to check its sharpness. The knife drew a silver of blood. Good. It was sharp enough. Grasping the knife and another one in my hand, I waited in silence for the two people to approach.
Clint's POV
Wow. I cannot believe this mission is so easy. The catch is, most Hydra agents put those damned pills in their mouth to make them die so that they won't betray Hydra. Unless this person isn't a Hydra agent, but that's highly unlikely, since, knowing Shield, most of their information is correct. Just then, my sharp eyes spotted a movement through the dust. I signaled to Nat and used sign language to communicate. She nodded, getting that there was someone there. Moving closer, my eyes made out a figure of a sixteen-year old girl. These damned bastards. Taking the childhood out of these kids. My collapsable bow was folded into my suit. I fingered it, ready to draw it out and attack if needed. A stifled gasp from Nat told me that she had saw the girl.
" Stay away! Don't come closer!" The girl shouted. I caught a glimpse of a shimmer and that told me that she had a knife. Well, this was going to be harder than it was already. I heard Nat drawing out her gun but I stopped her with my hand. Nat glanced at me. I looked at her and shot her a look. She looked away. The girl came closer and came into the light. A shock of red hair was the first thing I saw. It reminded me so much of Budapest, when I had rescued Nat. And something else. What was it? I couldn't remember. The red pulled my concentration away from the small tug on my consciousness. I glanced at Nat and could tell that she was remembering the old days too.
" Where are you from?" She asked. Normally, I would have bit my tongue and not said anything, but I felt strangely compelled to tell the girl this information. After all, she was just a kid.
" Shield." I answered her. Her strong demeanor wavered and I could tell she was thinking about something. I pitied her. She reminded me of my own childhood: rough.
" I'm going to give you an offer. Join Shield and no one gets hurt, okay?" I asked the girl with my hands up in the universal ' I mean no harm' gesture. Her eyes flickered and I could tell she was considering it. The thing was, I didn't want things to get ugly. Would she agree?
Natalie's POV
Shield. Didn't Tessie say that my parents worked for Shield? I considered his offer. It would be so great to find my parents and settle down. But I thought that that would be selfish. After all, even if I wanted to find my parents, I shouldn't pull Tessie into this mess.
" Okay. On one condition." I said. They eyed my cautiously. " You take me, and me only, okay?" I asked. They narrowed their eyes.
" Look, in my eyes, we should be giving the conditions, not you," One of the figures said, this one distinctly female. I narrowed my eyes.
" Wait, does that mean..." The guy said, narrowing his eyes. Shit. He found out. " There's someone else?" Damnit.
" No," I lied. Thank goodness lying was my specialty, or I would have been dead. The lady nodded.
" Deal," she said. The guy looked surprised but didn't protest. They put handcuffs onto my hands and I groaned silently. I hated the feel of cool metal on my skin, almost as if it was teasing me. They brought me outside. Looking back into the ashes, I was glad I had did the right thing. But did I really do the right thing? Was leaving Tessie in this burning hell hole really the right thing to do? At least, at Shield, there would be a roof over her head and possibly a few meals. Not three meals a day, that's for sure, but at least something. Before I could make up my mind, I was outside, breathing in the fresh air. I spit out my handkerchief and breathed in the chemical-free fresh air. I bathed myself in the light and enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face. Now in the light, I could finally see the two people in detail, instead of the blurry image I had to make do with inside the house. The person on my left, who I assumed was the guy who talked to me just now, was tall and handsome. He had dirty blonde hair and baby blue eyes. The person of my right, who I now knew as the woman who 'spared' Tessie's life, had stunning red curls and defiant emerald green eyes. Had I seen them before? They seemed so familiar. The two people walked me across the road and into a shiny van with an eagle and a coat of arms proudly imprinted on the side of it. As I was shoved into the van, I speed read the tiny words on the logo. Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Department. Wow, what a mouthful. I got into the van and both of the people got in the front. They started up the engine and drove off. I, in in the back of the van, suddenly felt lethargic and tired. Settling down, I lay down in the backseat for a nap.
---
" Do you think she's asleep?" The lady's voice startled me. I had been stuck in the haze in between sleeping and awake, so I was awakened easily. I kept my eyes closed out of instinct and forced my body to keep still and my breathing to keep steady so that they wouldn't expect anything. What can I say? I'm a girl, and a girl needs to know what she needs to know.
" Yes, I think so," the man's voice sounded out. The lady nodded. We continued the journey in silence for about a minute, and then the man spoke again.
" Why, what's up, Nat?" Making me startled. That old nickname rubbed me none too well. Realising that they must not know my name, I assumed he was talking to the lady.
" Nothing. It's just that...she looks so familiar. I have no idea where I've seen her before." The lady said, a scrunch heard in her voice. The guy nodded. I only knew because I had gotten so curious that I was currently peeking at them through my eyelids.
" I know! She's so familiar, I just can't place my finger on who she is..." The guy said. " Speaking of the girl, Hydra's getting their hands dirtier and dirtier. They would kidnap a girl to use for an assassin?" I nearly bolted up when they said the word Hydra. Hydra? I had heard that word before. I ran into some trouble with them a few months ago, but I sure wasn't working for them. Oh, they must have got it wrong! They thought I was working for Hydra, which was why they had kidnapped me. Huh. Hydra? Those bunch of puny thugs who have weird tattoos on their arms? Don't make me laugh. I wouldn't put such tattoos on my arm.
The jolt of the van made me awaken, and I realised that I must have fallen asleep while immersing myself in my own thoughts.
" Come on, kiddo, we're here," The guy said. I pretended to stretched ( to the best of my abilities with the cuffs on) and made a big show out of yawning and I got out of the van. The poshness of this place was incredible. Anyways, I walked with the two of them and was shoved along. Soon, they stopped me at the front of a briefing room.
" What's this? Aren't I supposed to be in a prison cell?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.
" Yes, you are, but my boss wants to speak with you for a moment," he said. I was about to ask why, but stopped when I saw his face. He obviously did not know either. It would be a waste of time and my precious breath. The lady knocked on the door and a voice came from inside.
" Come in," the voice said and I opened the door. Surprisingly, the two crazy people behind me didn't follow. I assumed their boss had ordered them not to.
" Please, take a seat," he said and I sat, sizing him up. He was a fairly tall man, wearing a black coat and an eyepatch. Wow, someone played dress-up, huh. Tacky, especially for the ' boss'.
" Why am I even here?" I asked. He smirked.
" You're here cause' my agents captured you," he answered.
" Um, sorry, but if I remember correctly, it was I who gave myself up, not them who caught me," I shot back, my eyes glaring daggers. He stared straight back at me, unfazed by the death glare I was shooting him.
" If I were you, I would stop glaring, young lady," He said.
" And what makes you think I would do that?" I asked, staring him back into his one good eye.
" Remember, I have information about your parents," he taunted, looking like he was having a whale of a time. I faltered, just for second but I'm pretty sure he caught that.
" What do you know about them?" I asked, my calm composure slipping over me again. He shrugged.
" Maybe I know their names, their workplace, where they live..." he trailed off, leaving me seething in anger.
" And?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice under control.
" Basically, young lady, I know everything. So you'd better succumb to my requests." I glared back at him, but my will to be defiant had already receded. And besides, I really needed the information about my parents. So I unwillingly agreed to his demands.
" So, young lady," he said, obviously satisfied with his work. " Are you willing to join Shield?"
A/N
Wuzzup, my peeps?
*is met with angry glares and people holding knifes
O.O so...all I wanted to say is that...IM SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I'm having exams now, just like Jamila, so I haven't been updating regularly. I'm sowwy!!! I have written you guys an extra long chapter to make up for the long wait! My exams finish on Friday, so starting from them, I will be able to update regularly ( I hope). Thanks for sticking with me though! And I know it's too much to ask, but can you please just give me a vote?
Stephanie signing off!