Hey everyone! Been working on this fic for a while and very excited to show you guys :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., though I wish I did so I could bring back Bobbi and Hunter and make sure they don't screw up that Black Widow solo movie that's in the works. No copyright infringement is intended.
ONE
What If...
Six Years Earlier
Dust and pebble-sized pieces of rubble rained down on her and Bobbi jerked back reflexively but was unable to escape the cascade of small rocks. Most rolled off or bounced away, but a few stuck to her matted hair and bloodied skin. Her eyes scanned the floor near her, looking for her phone and her last chance at getting out of here alive. Her gaze roamed over her abandoned gun—empty mag, all extra clips used—and the only other body she could see.
"Vic!" she whispered hoarsely. "Vic!"
The head framed with red-streaked black hair no longer moved, and Bobbi let her own fall gently to the ground again.
There, that was it. Cracked screen from its harsh landing, but hopefully it would still work. It had to work. She heaved herself forward along the ground towards the cell phone, leg protesting in a sharp bite of fiery pain as she stretched out, trying to reach it. Just a few more inches…
Her vision swam, and for a few seconds Bobbi thought she was going to pass out. But no, her fingers closed weakly around the phone, pulling it toward her and relaxing the tension in right leg, pinned by a several-ton column of broken concrete. She was hit with the sudden urge to cough and did so, body going into weak spasms to try to rid her lungs of the dirt and soot. When the bout had passed, her forefinger found the contact she was looking for automatically, and she held the phone with a shaky hand, bringing it up to her ear.
"Bob?"
"Hunter," she breathed, voice coming in short ragged gasps. "Need...help."
Present Day
"Hunter!" she slapped his hand away. "I said, don't touch that."
"Yeah, but I don't see why you have to dye your hair whenever you go undercover!" He nursed his fingers where she'd hit them.
"Because otherwise I'd stand out too much, you know how HYDRA likes their aesthetic to be dark and evil." She shoved the hair products back under the sink, away from Hunter's prying fingers.
"Thought they were descended from Nazis, weren't they all about blonde hair and blue eyes?" Hunter muttered.
"Still are Nazis," Bobbi said, crossing over to the queen bed and pulling on the dark red military coat laying on top of it. "And most importantly—" She tossed something from one of the pockets at him. "—it's because I was fresh out of the Tokyo op when the picture for this HYDRA ID was taken and now I need it to match."
"Not sure that's what you want to be wearing if you want to be overlooked, love." She had pulled the coat snugly over her body, and he was so busy eyeing her appreciatively that the ID almost hit him in the side of the head. He caught it, barely, and flipped it open. When he saw what it was, Hunter handed it back to her suspended from the tips of two fingers with a grimace. "Hate these things. They exude evil."
She rolled her eyes, taking it from him and slipping it back into her pocket. Bobbi finished buttoning her coat. "It's a fake. No innocents were harmed in the making of this ID."
"I know." There was a sigh in the words as he pulled her toward him and she caught the flash of sorrow behind his eyes.
She pursed her lips. "Hey," Bobbi said, but her tone was softer now. "I'm coming back."
"You can't promise that; you know you can't."
She frowned, tilting his chin upward to meet her eyes. "You having second thoughts about the project? A little late now."
"No, of course not. We're doing what has to be done. We're doing some good in this shot-to-hell world—someone has to."
"Then what is it?" She searched his face. "You can tell me."
"I just don't like it when you have to go somewhere I can't follow, that's all." Hunter pulled her into a hug. "Reminds me of..."
"Six years ago. Yeah. But you made it in time."
"You were still in a coma for six days from blood loss. Bob, you almost lost the leg."
She nudged him with it. "Left leg, present and accounted for."
He shifted away, giving her a piercing look. "I know it still pains you sometimes, Bob, no matter how much you try to hide it."
She kissed his forehead. "I'll be fine," she promised. "You keep an eye on the place until I get back."
It was his turn to roll his eyes. "You say that, but I know you turn right around to tell Izzy to keep an eye on me." Bobbi only grinned, sidestepping out of his embrace and heading for the door. "Don't die out there!" Hunter called after her.
It was a quick trip to the armory to don her HYDRA-issue gun before Bobbi headed out of the small, previously abandoned military bunker into the sun. Her breathing quickened at the chill wind sweeping across the small mountaintop where they based their camp. "Bobbi," called a man's voice from somewhere to her right.
She paused, waiting for the man to reach her. He was on the shorter side, Mexican, and was one of the ones who had been at the facility the longest. "Joey, what do you need?"
"Nothing." His hands were shoved deep in his pockets and normally alarm bells would have been going off in Bobbi's head at this stature, but she had long since learned that was just how the reserved man stood. "I was just wondering if you leaving meant we were getting some new people soon—if I should make up some extra bunks."
"Actually, yes, that would be great," Bobbi nodded. "If all goes well, it'll be a middle-aged woman and a brother and sister, kids." She stopped, thinking. "The houses we have in use are already getting a bit crowded, so I would talk to Izzy about opening up that one we've been repairing near the cliff edge."
Joey nodded. "Okay, will do. Good luck."
"Thank you," Bobbi said, and set off again. She headed for the grassy clearing which they used as their tarmac. The Quinjet was in full cloaking mode constantly so as to not raise suspicion from any aircraft flying overhead, but the thick cable supplying it with power snaked across the grass and led her right to it. Once she was inside, she checked that the gear was stowed properly before lifting off. Bobbi switched on autopilot as soon as she was far enough away from camp, and then her HYDRA transponder once she was an hour out. This was their plane, after all.
Then she took a nap.
The incessant beeping of the nav system awakened Bobbi, informing her that she was currently fifty miles from Washington, D.C. She took the stick herself for the descent, landing neatly on one of the Triskelion's many landing pads. The giant HYDRA symbol was visible out her front windshield, and she shuddered inwardly. Bobbi allowed herself exactly five seconds to compose herself before pulling on the persona of Bobbi Morse, HYDRA enforcer, wrapping the identity around herself like a blanket. A stiff, uncomfortable, uptight blanket.
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, snapping her out of it. There was no caller ID.
"Morse," she answered it.
The voice that replied was guarded and unyielding and unmistakably male. "For the season, it's been unusually rainy."
S.H.I.E.L.D. "Rain or shine, the man with the umbrella is always ready," Bobbi replied. "Who is this?"
"My name is Grant Ward, and I need your help."
"How did you get this number?" Bobbi asked. "I usually liaise directly with the Patriot."
"I took it from his files," Ward replied.
Bobbi frowned. "What do you want, Agent Ward?"
"As I said, I need your help."
"My skills...or my project?"
"Your project. Tabula Rasa."
"This isn't a good time, but I can arrange a pick up point for you in about an hour," Bobbi replied, glancing out the window. Much longer and the HYDRA goons might get suspicious as to why no one has emerged from the Quinjet yet.
"No, it's not like that," Ward said.
"Are you Inhuman?"
"No, it's—"
"Then the project isn't for you," Bobbi told him, ready to hang up.
"It's my girlfriend! Skye. She's Inhuman," Ward whispered breathlessly. "I want you to take her to your camp. She'll be safe there."
Bobbi considered. "I'll need a blood sample as proof."
"I can provide that." Ward's voice sounded strained.
"All right. After I see the proof, I can arrange a pickup for her," Bobbi said. "What are her enhancements and what is her level of control?"
"That won't work. She hasn't gone through the change yet; she doesn't even know she's Inhuman. She's...she's an agent of HYDRA."
Immediately she was in high alert, a shot of adrenaline rushing through her veins. "No," Bobbi said flatly. "She could blow the entire project. Everyone would be at risk."
"Please," Ward uttered. "The random blood tests HYDRA does on its agents are getting more frequent and more random and I doesn't know how long I'll be able to keep switching her blood sample before the sequencing is done. She's a good person."
"She's HYDRA," Bobbi countered.
"They're going to find out soon and I can't lose her! I love her."
"I'm sorry, Agent Ward," Bobbi said, jaw set. "It's too great a risk." She ended the call before he could say another word.
Bobbi took a deep breath, putting Ward and his girlfriend out of her mind. About to infiltrate the enemy yet again, she had bigger problems than a HYDRA agent who was helping persecute Inhumans without even realizing she was one. If something happened before Bobbi and Hunter had a chance to do something about it—if they decided to do something about it—then karma would have had its say.
She hit the button to lower the rear ramp a little harder than necessary and stood up from the pilot's chair, setting her features into a half-stern, half-menacing visage. Bobbi swept out of the plane without a backward glance, trusting the agents running the landing pads to refuel and prep it for flight again. The glass doors leading into the Triskelion slid open for her when she scanned her ID and she got into the elevator to her right.
"Floor?" the man inside asked.
"Twentieth," Bobbi replied. "Good to see you, Sitwell."
"And you, Morse. It's been a while. Haven't even seen your name come up—"
"Special mission from Madame Hydra," Bobbi cut him off.
"Oh...right." Sitwell looked flustered at the idea of an op so highly classified that he wasn't privy to it. She gave him a thin smile and they spent the rest of the ride listening to the faint hum of Bakshi News playing its propaganda in the background. Sitwell got off on the eighteenth, leaving Bobbi alone to ascend the last two levels. When the doors opened, she was faced with two rows of cubicles with upper level agents of HYDRA hard at work inside them. She began to walk purposefully through the center aisle, trying to make it to the other side unhindered.
"Agent Morse!" Melinda May strode toward her from behind, forcing Bobbi to turn around just two feet from the door to the next hallway. The Asian woman looked as cold as she always had after joining HYDRA. Post-Bahrain, really. "May I ask where you're headed?"
"Detention level," Bobbi said truthfully. "I have orders to transfer some of the experimentation subjects out of the compound."
"Not orders from me."
Damn. "No, ma'am. From Agent Sitwell." Though the line about Madame Hydra was most efficient at stopping questions, May was high up enough to have access to the Madame and ask if she became suspicious enough.
"And an agent of your skillset is well used in prisoner transport?" May raised one sinisterly sculpted eyebrow.
"Apparently so when they have powers," Bobbi replied, letting just a hint of challenge slip into her voice.
"Fine," May said finally. "But when you're done with that, you have another assignment." She tapped something on her tablet, then turned it to show to Bobbi. "Calderon. A subversive within our own ranks. The Doctor wants him eliminated."
"Not even an interrogation?"
"We'll leave that up to you. Bring back some useful Intel on the Patriot, if he knows anything."
"You think he's S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"He's well-trained. If he isn't S.H.I.E.L.D. already, he soon will be."
"Got it," Bobbi nodded.
May stepped to the side to let her pass, and as she exited the room she heard her snap at one of the agents, "Pinskey! Call everyone in for an intake briefing!"
Letting out a breath of relief, Bobbi turned down a side hall and found the computer terminal she was looking for. Plugging in a flash drive to its side, she logged in with a set of credentials stolen from an agent downstairs and began to copy the files for their newest intakes off of it. Names and images flashed by on the screen.
Their best computer tech had tried to hack into the system from the outside instead of doing it manually every time, but in their rise HYDRA had offered the hackers of the Rising Tide a place among their ranks, and quite a few had decided to join up rather than remain loners. A B.S. in Computer Science was no match for them.
When the copy was done, Bobbi ejected the flash drive and slipped it into her pocket, now safekeeping the medical records of the three Inhumans she was about to rescue so that proper treatment could be given back at camp. Then she headed down to the detention level, as she had told May she would.
Getting into their cells to release was the easy part. Getting them to trust her—or even cooperate—was harder.
The woman wasn't so bad. Cowed, beaten, bloodied, and treated generally like an animal by the HYDRA scientists, she followed Bobbi's instructions as if she was holding a cattle prod. Bobbi made the mistake of trying to help her up, however, and thin, silvery, quill-like needles burst through every pore of her arms and legs, making the woman cry out sharply in pain.
Why did it have to be needles?
Nevertheless, Bobbi squatted down next to her and took her hand slowly, so as not to poke herself. "You are not a monster," she told her, fully aware of the HYDRA imprints on the sleeves of her imposing scarlet jacket. "I am going to take you somewhere safe, somewhere you will not be harmed."
"Kill me," the woman croaked. "Kill me now. You people are right. I'm a monster, and I don't want to live like this."
"You're not a monster. You have abilities. They're not your fault, and you can learn how to control them and make them into gifts instead of burdens." Bobbi knew the speech by heart, had perfected it with a score of other Inhumans on whom she'd attempted rescues. "Please, come with me." After a moment's pause, "You have no other choice." Not the nicest thing to say, but minorly comforting and better yet, efficient.
Slowly, the woman shifted her legs into a position Bobbi understood to be an attempt to stand up. Grasping her under the arms-ow, poky, hopefully there wasn't any venom in these things because she hadn't prepared for that-she gently hauled the Inhuman to her feet, which luckily she remained on after Bobbi let go, swaying. "All right, let's go." Bobbi guided her out the door.
The kids, of course, were harder. Much harder. Bobbi was glad she'd told the woman to wait outside, because she didn't really look to be up to dodging fireballs. Well, not fireballs per se, but it was definitely more than wisps of flame coming out of the boy's mouth whenever he coughed, choking on his own smoke. His lips were badly burned, red and inflamed with blistery bubbles beneath the skin.
His younger sister was huddled in the opposite corner, looking terrified. The only sign of her Inhumanity was the slight ridging of her nose. Bobbi tried for her first, kneeling in front of her and speaking softly, but the girl was obviously too panicked for any of Bobbi's words to reach her. Eight years old, matted black hair, burns all up and down her arms...Bobbi had seen better, but she definitely had seen worse too.
But this girl was lucky, she reminded herself. She was one Bobbi could save. The same wasn't true for all of them.
"Up you get," Bobbi said, hoisting her roughly under the arms and hauling her to her feet. "I'm going to help you, but you have to do your part." She pulled a pair of electro-shackles from her belt, looking the girl in the eyes. "Now, don't be alarmed, but I'm going to have to put these on you." The girl immediately started struggling, but Bobbi deftly slipped the cuffs over her thin wrists and activated the locking mechanism. Dodging spurts of fire, she did the same to the boy. A third pair of handcuffs found their way onto the woman's wrists, and then Bobbi attached them all together with a length of chain. She felt for the shocker in her pocket, knowing she would never use the little plastic remote on these three but wanting to prevent anyone else from doing so out of her own carelessness.
Bobbi was about to frog-match them out the door—boy first, so no one would get singed—when another agent appeared out of the elevator. "Bobbi," he said, appearing surprised.
"Agent Rumlow," she replied through gritted teeth.
"What are you doing?" he asked casually. Then, taking a closer look, "Is that fire-boy? Subject 8115A?"
"Just doing prisoner transport on the Doctor's orders," Bobbi answered.
"The Doctor just sent me to collect its sister, 8115B," Rumlow told her, lips twisting into a mockery of a smile. He brushed one scarred finger against the puckered flesh of his left cheek. Bobbi prepared for a fight. "He said my unique experiences with fire would make me suited to the job in case fire-boy had an objection. Where are you taking it?"
"To the Doctor," Bobbi said smoothly. "I was also told 8115B was wanted for experimentation. The other two are being transported out of D.C. for holding, until the Doctor can get to them."
"And you were taking all three at once? Bobbi, always taking on all the responsibility...let some of us do our jobs as well, yeah?"
"I do that, mistakes get made," Bobbi said, jutting her chin forward in a slight challenge.
The smirk slipped off his face. "Give it to me," Rumlow demanded in a low voice, jerking the fingers of his outstretched hand. Though he technically didn't have the authority to order her to do it, Bobbi knew if she made a ruckus now she risked losing the other two as well. She risked getting caught.
She unbuckled her restraints from the other two, handing her over. The wild, scared look in the girl's eyes was one that Bobbi knew she wouldn't be forgetting soon, no many how many times she'd seen it before in this line of work.
With her compliance, Rumlow's chip-toothed smile was back. "Always good to see you, Bobbi. Hail HYDRA."
"Hail HYDRA." She kept her eyes on him until he was around the corner and out of sight.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought! This will be a four chapters total, updated every two to three days depending on how impatient I get ;)