Hey, guys! Here with another chapter! I'm so glad that you like my story! I love the comments and kudos! Thank you!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

BEWARE! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS TRIGGERING TOPICS SUCH AS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE, TORTURE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, HOSTAGE SITUATION! READ ON YOUR OWN ACCORD!

Enjoy!

The next day she was climbing out of Caroline's car to the school parking lot when Stefan marched up her way.

"Can we talk?" He asked tensely and Elena nodded before giving an assuring nod to Caroline. They walked to his car and got inside, drove to the Boarding House where Damon was essentially pacing back and forth.

"So, you're about to interrogate me for my research?" Elena theorized and Damon and Stefan nodded.

"How do you really got them?" Damon asked calmly but she could hear the tense tone.

"From Craigslist, Reddit and the Deep Web. Don't worry, when I was in the Deep Web I used Torch search engine and very good VPNs and wasn't from my computer." She semi lied, she was sure Slater used these ways to compile said research if not his own memories and archives.

"You know how to access the Deep Web?" Stefan asked shocked and Elena shrugged. As Lena she had an undergraduate degree in computer science and a fascination with the internet and computers so she had experimented during the long days of quarantine.

"Never mind that, brother, why did you do this research?" Damon dismissed Stefan's shocked question and continued his interrogation.

"Because, I don't want you using my friend and my friend's grandma only to unleash hungry vampires to a town that is on a brink of a vampire hunt that would probably rival the Salem's witch trials!" Elena defended herself and Damon looked mildly impressed by her answer but mostly annoyed as he rolled his eyes.

"And you didn't happen to think that I have done my own research?" Damon asked her rhetorically and she sighed.

"My honest answer will harm your self esteem, Damon." Elena stated annoyed as she folded her arms to her chest and glared at him. Damon glared at her and Elena and him locked in a staring contest.

"OKAY BOTH OF YOU!" Stefan yelled annoyed ending the contest and Elena smirked victoriously.

"To answer your question, no I didn't think you would have made an unbiased research before opening the tomb, so I did it for you. You're welcome! Stefan we're done here, let's go back to school." She exclaimed annoyed and then grabbed Stefan's arm dragging him to the door.

After that though, Damon seemed to spy on Elena from time to time yet his spying resulted into boring outcomes. She knew what he was doing and was extra careful. During training, she seemed to be more in tune with her magic and combat skills yes she had graduated but she wasn't given a mission yet so she went to the ARMORY's gym twice a week late at night.

Fellow, witchy agents had told her that the Petrova bloodline were some of the rarest witches who could open portals and teleport if concentrated hard enough. Which prompted Elena with Slater's and Enzo's help to start attempting those things since the fourth day of active duty per say and now it was about a few weeks since then. She had become better at it and now she could use it to go to the gym or at Slater's or Enzo's apartments through teleportation or portal-opening.

They had a system though, she was meant to text and wait for the okay before appearing just because both had their lives and Elena didn't want people to know she was able to do such magic, plus they might see her and recognize her as the doubleganger and have word sent to the Mikaelsons.

Life was going okay yet there was no drama between her and Stefan like "here's why we can't be together" and the "I want to be together" which was a relief, less drama. And Damon seemed not so taken by her as he still insisted she shot him in the woods during the bonfire party.

It didn't bother her all that much she liked that Damon wasn't obsessed with her to that extend, he was still sarcastic though. That annoyed her some days.

And then came the career day...this one Elena took serious, even in now US and global they were still dealing with a lower case of a recession. And since she had been burned before she was now trying to cover every possible scenario, in the OG timeline Elena wanted to be a writer just like Lena did but knew how difficult it would be to actually get a job. Moreover, the ARMORY would have her on their payroll once she get her real mission which made a risky yet great career. So, she browser through the stands and asked questions.

Damon had already cozy up to the council and she knew that Logan Fell had been turned and NOW they were talks about tomb vampires. But with her research Damon had abandoned that idea for now. He was patrolling the school halls for Logan and any other vamp that has been killing people. Turns out after the bonfire party Damon had kept killing people but after Elena's tomb research he stopped or at least covered his tracks better. So, the person wreaking havoc in town wasn't Damon but Logan turned by some unknown vampire in town.

In one of his patrolling he saw Elena asking the military post odd questions for a girl her age;

"And are you sure there's no way for an entire international civilian army? Like civilians arming up themselves and going to help evacuate territories where countries don't want to send in help for various reasons, mostly diplomacy and apathy." Elena asked interested and passionate but the poor guy at the stand had no answer.

"I don't know, miss, I bet there are laws about loyalty and country. Besides it's not like a war is going to broke out, out here." The young man answered and he seemed to annoyed with her pestering. His last comment made Elena bitterly chuckle as she shook her head walking away.

Damon studied her intrigued and then went to look for his brother.

"Something is definitely up with her!!! The research and now those questions about international civilian army and that laugh when the poor guy said about the chances of a war, like she knew something he didn't, we don't. And I'm so so sure she was the one who shot me in the woods!" Damon exclaimed as they walked through the halls looking for Elena.

After her conversation with the soldier boy as she nicknamed him she felt her phone vibrating and she opened it to see it was a text from Enzo.

"You have a mission, kid."

Elena rushed to the toilets and opened a portal inside a stall and appeared at Enzo's office.

"I'm here!" She exclaimed causing Enzo to jump off his skin and turn to face her.

"Don't do that!" Enzo exclaimed holding his chest and Elena giggled.

"Nope! You have super speed and I had teleportation!" Elena said chuckling as she shrugged and sat down opposite the desk and smiled sweetly at him.

"Your mission young lady is a family of immigrant witches from Iraq and they need help reaching US soil from their country. You are leaving with a task force. Wheels up in an hour go get packing. And here's their file." Enzo said as he went full on business tone.

"What am I supposed to say to Jenna and Jeremy, the school?" Elena asked seriously concerned and Enzo let her know that a cover story was arranged that she with the grieving group were meant to go on an excursion to New York for an art exhibit regarding the process of processing grief.

Elena nodded and teleported home to fix her things. In an hour she with her teammates, after small and short introductions, they bordered a plane that would get them as close to Iraq it could and was meant to wait for them to get everyone back in the states. But nothing goes as it seems.

They were ambushed by humans, the local terrorizing militia that had captured the family and the ARMORY was unaware of it because it happened in the last 10 hours since the family sent out an SOS. Elena dumbly tried to sneak in and save them but failed and was captured.

The few hours mission turned into days of captivity and torture for all. She was by herself, her teammates nowhere in sight and she truly thought they double-crossed her.

They hadn't.

They returned back in the states to request a rescue crew. They couldn't risk showcasing their supernatural gifts while many countries kept an eye on the hostage situation.

One of the hostages besides the witch family and Elena it was the daughter of a European Parliament officer, she was abducted from her hostel. The daughter, Miriam dumbly decided to enter Iraq to give our humanitarian aid, she was pacifist. She was held hostage for more days than Elena and the witch family, she was clearly raped and had broken hand and leg. Her spirit was broken and she had resigned to the fate of death. She wouldn't even utter the name of the country she was from. Elena had to use her mind reading to get any sense of who she was.

Her name was Princess Miriam Windsor-Van Huss, great grand-niece of Queen Elizabeth II, her dad was part of the inactive Bavarian royal family while her mother was Princess Anne's daughter, Princess Alexandra. Elena had to admit these names in her other life didn't exist and she was an avid watcher of European royal families, it was fascinating to think how much history and mystery lay within them.

Miriam looked to be around her early 20s and Elena felt pity for the woman, so far they hadn't raped her but she had witnessed multiple rapes including Miriam's, many of many it seemed, it was just as scarring. And Elena had lost the sense of counting down the days by now. She was held captive for a week, Enzo and Slater going insane trying to find any way to allow some time where the media and countries didn't watch them to sent in a team.

"Fuck it! I'm going! I'm done with the bureaucracy!" Slater yelled inside Enzo's office and Enzo nodded completely a wreck from worry and guilty for sending Elena in such dangerous waters as a first mission.

Unfortunately, Elena's luck run out and after particularly cruel torture session one of her captors decided to have his way with her, she was too injured to fight back so she laid still and try to dissociate just like how she guessed Miriam and all the other women did, when she saw Finn's ghost. He looked murderously at them and marched up to them shoving his hand inside the man's chest and ripping his heart out. Elena screamed just like everyone else, they just watched the man's heart being ripped out of his chest by a invisible force!

Blood spilled on Elena who got up hopping on her none broken leg and looked at Finn with such relieved look as tears run down her eyes. Just then the doors blew open and Slater with her original team broke through.

"Miriam, you have to hold on to me!" Elena whispered to the Princess who looked alarmed at her.

"Witch." Miriam whispered to her ear and she nodded as Miriam broke down in her arms as the both girls limped to the exit.

Sunlight hurt her eyes as she watched various tv stations watching them, cameras rolling and in awe. Miriam hid her head in Elena's shoulder and Elena eyed Slater who held them both, aiding them to walk.

"Thank you." Elena mouthed to him and he just kissed her dusty, bloody hair.

"I'm sorry I was late, kid."

"You came, that's all that matters." Elena assured him as they walked to the ambulance.

They were flown to England where every hostage went through thorough medical aid and were then taken back to their respective countries. Elena expected Jenna or Jeremy to burst through the doors of her hospital room but none of it happened. She was relieved, they didn't know.

She was sleeping one night when Miriam shook her awake.

"Your Grace!" Elena said scared, she was awakened by a nightmare.

"Sorry." Miriam apologized and climbed on to her bed.

"I can't sleep on my bed....it's too soft." Miriam said quietly and Elena allowed her to snuggle in her bed. It wasn't as soft as a royal bed she betted which must have been a good medium for the princess. Staying corrected Miriam was out like a light and Elena put her covers over her as she watched the moonlight through the window.

"Are you afraid to sleep?" Finn's quiet voice made her turn to him.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for what? You saved me, saved us all actually. The ARMORY should do better....they left me for a week...how am I supposed to trust them for following missions?" Elena mumbled in troubled realization and Finn touched her hand and squeezed it.

After that night Elena was considered healthy enough to fly back to the states, Miriam gave her, her personal email and phone number and Elena did the same. They had no idea but these two girls were bonded for the rest of their lives.

She had deep rooted mistrust in the ARMORY now and anger....so much anger! The Iraqi family were saved so mission was accomplished but what the fuck was that?!

"Did you do this on purpose, Enzo? Left me in there so I can taste what you went through in my family's hands for centuries?!" She blew up as she marched inside his office, bandages still on because vampire blood can fix so many injuries at once. She still felt the healing process of Slater's blood but she couldn't wait until she was presentable to rein her fury!

"I'm impressed it was different kind of twisted long awaited revenge scheme!" She ended her rant and didn't care she had the entire agency staring at them. Enzo's face was surprised, taken aback and hurt hearing these words.

"Elena..." Enzo started to say and Elena squinted her eyes as she folded her hands to her chest.

"Elena, I had no idea what you'd encounter! I had no idea it was so publically covered that risking exposing the supernatural."

"And yet you did, just a week later! A fucking week!" Elena retorted angrily and betrayed.

"I..."

"Enzo, you're in charge of over a thousand people some even younger than me, if that is the best you can do when a mission goes sideways...you'll bury much more than you'll recruit." Elena stated wisely and disappointed. She didn't wait for Enzo's answer and walked out with head held high.

In the lockers, Elena was clearing out hers, not wanting to continue working for them when they nearly killed her on her very first mission! Her trust was dwindling.

"Elena, I'm sorry.... I was following protocol." Leo Samuel, the leader of her team said hesitantly and Elena refused to even turn face him.

"Protocol also says no teammate left behind, you abandoned me, Leo! It wasn't cool. Learn from this, for next time. Goodbye." Elena told him as she slammed her locker and walked away with boxes in hand. Slater was waiting for her.

She stored all her stuff in one of his many warehouses/stash houses. She refused therapy offered by Slater and went back to her life. It was harder to do than say. Most of the newly graduated agents lived around the town and Richmond, Elena was used to exchanging glances with them throughout the days and some odd smiles and hellos when she was an active member of the agency. But now? Now, they were staring at her some with sadness, some with glares and some just pity. One girl named Joana even left her a note asking if she was okay and if she ever needed to talk to call her or text her.

So? What do you think? Did you like this chapter? Do you think Enzo and Elena will solve that?

Tell me in your comments!

Thank you for reading!!!

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