A/N:
I'm back everyone! And now Paige moves on to the next cycle in her life in the Marvel Universe as Whiplash (and I know that the original Whiplash was evil and tried to kill Tony, but I don't care! The codename suits here!) and we get to follow her adventures!
Also, I have decided to call this series the Infinity Stones series!
Disclaimer:
"This is Paige. Angel does not own anything that is Marvel's. Why am I doing this again?"
Because you love me, Paige!
-:-
When I woke up, vivid images of missions from the past still fresh in my mind, my back was pressed against the wall completely. It was a habit I had picked up after my first couple of missions. My first one had been simple—get in, get the intel, and get out—but the agent I was paired with to watch my back had failed to notice the enemy tailing us the first twenty minutes in. While hacking into the mainframe, Agent Harrow took a bullet to the shoulder and froze up. Still, I had been determined to get the job done. I wasn't going to fail. While fighting, I took two bullets—one to the side (I was luck there was no serious damage) and one to the thigh. I managed to drag Harrow outside, where I contacted evac, bit was loosing too much blood. By the time Clint and Natasha arrived, I was just about dead. But I had the intel and saved Harrow. Of course, I went into surgery and then was in a coma for three weeks. When I woke up, Clint was pacing around my room in the Med Bay, looking like he was about to kill someone. Natasha was sitting in a chair, eyes following him, but when I shifted, they both turned to look at me.
Despite their obvious relief that I wasn't dead, I got a tongue-lashing from the both of them (as did Agent Harrow and Fury, I was told later), and after I was fully recovered, a month of kitchen duty. The second mission I was paired with Agent Mayne, and it went perfectly until evac couldn't pick us up until the next day. We were given a room in a nearby hotel, and Mayne was taking a shower. I had just settled down with my back to the door when it flew open and a knife had sunk into the back of my shoulder and dragged downwards.
Needless to say, I had begun sleeping with my back to the wall.
Rolling out of bed and stretching, I took a shower before loosening up with some yoga. I then pulled my hair back into a messy bun with a single braid left down to hang. I fingered it gently before continuing with my routine. Changing into a pair of dark jeans and a blue long sleeved shirt with a v-neck and pulling on a pair of combat boots, I coiled my whip around my waist and headed down to the mess hall for breakfast. Snagging a muffin and a cold bottle of milk, I ran into Agent Jensen, whose first name was Clara.
"Good morning," she said. "Agents Romanoff and Barton are over there expecting you." I thanked her and moved to the table where she pointed. My SOs were indeed waiting for me with expectant expressions—which is to say, no expression on their faces at all.
"Fury is expecting you on the launch pad by noon," were the first words out of Clint's mouth. I sat down and took a bite out of my muffin. Fury's warning was ringing in my ears—not that I had any intention of telling anyway.
"Is that so?" I asked, snagging my milk back from Natasha, who had tried to take a swallow. While Natasha liked to seem like the Ice Queen from the seventh circle of Hell, she did like to steal my (and Clint's) food and eat it. "Natasha, stop it. If you wanted milk, you should've gotten your own."
"Yeah," Clint continued, ignoring us. "The thing is, he wouldn't give me any details other than you're going to be working with a mobile team for a while. Any insights?"
"No," I lied. "But if Fury says I'm working with a team, then I'm working with a team. I'll check in when possible, keep up with my schoolwork, and train on my own. Besides, we all know my teamwork skills need some tuning up."
"Paige," Clint warned. "What are you hiding?"
"Your knife from Cambodia," I replied, secreting his favorite knife into my combat boot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have school to attend to and a mission to pack for." Before they could say anything else, I was up and walking away from the table. Before going to Fury's office, I stopped at Clint's quarters and dropped off his knife. It I took it with me, he'd hunt me down, which could lead to him seeing Coulson alive and that wouldn't do. I then swiftly made my way to the Director's office.
Like last night, I knocked twice and waited for him to call me in. He glared at me and heaved a sigh, causing me to hide a smirk. I could really irritate Fury, because he knew I was right and couldn't come up with an argument that I couldn't counter. Clint and Natasha's training had only furthered my ability to do so.
"You wanted to see me, sir? Something about a mission?" I really shouldn't have goaded him. Oops. Too late now.
"You're being assigned to Coulson's mobile team for the time being," he said stiffly. Again, I hid a smirk. "You are not obligated to stay with them all the time, and you will be pulled off for other missions as needed. I don't suppose you'll stay with them all the time anyway, will you?" I shook my head no. Of course I wasn't going to stay there all the time. Things to do, places to go, people to see. I was a very busy agent, you know. Between schoolwork, training, missions, making sure that fate runs its course… let's just say that my life was never dull.
"Very well. Since you are aware of his situation, I want you to assist Agent Melinda May in observing his condition. I assume you don't need to be briefed?" Again, I shook my head no. "Good. You're to meet them on the Bus by noon. I assume that Agents Barton and Romanoff…"
"Don't know any details other that what you told them, sir," I finished. "If I may, who else is on this team?" Not that I didn't already know, of course. Just playing it up so they were a little less suspicious of me. Or not. Either way, they had gotten used to it by now.
"Agent Coulson and Agent My you already know," Fury started, flipping through some files. "On the team there will also be agent Leo Fitz, Agent Jemma Simmons, and Agent Grant Ward." He showed me their files.
"Sir," I said, "it says here that Agents Fitz and Simmons aren't cleared for field work."
"Agents Fitz and Simmons are the top of their class, Agent Willows," Fury said sharply. "I expect they will adapt. However there are four other agents capable of field work on this team including you. I they'll be well looked after."
"Sir, Agent May… she said she won't be doing any field work. Not since Bahrain."
"Agent May has already agreed to go as the pilot, as she is complying with my orders to keep a close eye on Agent Coulson. Do you have any further questions, Agent Willows?"
"I shook my head. "No, sir."
"Good. You leave at noon. I expect your schoolwork to be done and your bags packed before then. You have four hours. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir," I said as I turned around and left. When the door closed behind me, I muttered, "Grandpa Fury." I quickly made my way to my quarters, not leaving any chance for me to run into Clint or Natasha.
-:-
After finishing with school, I gathered up two duffel bags One I filled with clothes and personal belongings, such as my sketchpad and journal. Since the Battle of New York, I had begun to keep a journal on everything that I knew and went through. Maybe someday someone would read it. Drawing was something I had sort of fallen into, as I drew my feelings and dreams that particularly bothered me. Natasha told me it was my coping device for everything that I do and see that bother me. The second bag was filled with weapons. Some were from other countries, some I'd had made specifically for me, and others I'd made myself. I was actually pretty smart, even if I didn't get technical with the terms. I wasn't FitzSimmons or Bruce Banner or Tony Stark smart, but I knew enough to make my own. After all, if I can turn a Zippit pencil pouch into a weapon and use it to kill aliens, I can't be too bad at making my own. I still had an hour. I used that time to work out, practicing with knives, guns, and my whip of course.
The new agents watched me, bit I paid them no attention. Soon my lithe body was covered in sweat, and the hair that has come loose stuck to my neck and forehead. The long, braided strand whipped around, but it was of no hindrance to me, so I ignored it. My body did the motions without thinking. My thoughts were elsewhere. The team on the Bus was just getting gathered. Coulson… he had been dead for days until they were able to bring him back to life, and then they kept him under surveillance to make sure he was fine. I wondered what other lies they told him to keep him from asking too many questions.
Suddenly, my whip was yanked from my grasp.
"You're not focusing," Natasha said, picking up my whip. "When you don't focus, you die. Keep your thoughts on the battle at hand—not the one in your head. Understand?"
I rolled my eyes, holding out my hand for my weapon. "Yes, Mum. Jeez, it was just practice. I have to go anyway and grab a shower before I head to meet my new team." As she handed me my whip, Natasha gave me a stern look.
"You're keeping secrets, Paige. I understand about where you came from, but you've never kept secrets about missions. Want to tell me why you're starting now?" Natasha asked.
I met her green gaze. "If I could tell you, I would. That's all you have to know. I'm sorry, Tasha." I called her by her nickname quietly, aware of the new recruits nearby and her reluctance to show weakness in front of them. They already challenged her, Clint, and I too much already. I sometimes trained the new recruits, but mostly showed them around. Usually Natasha and Clint used me as an example of what they could become if they worked hard.
After giving me a long, hard stare, Natasha nodded. "Check in whenever you can." I nodded. She saw the gratitude in my eyes that she let the subject go. I didn't like keeping secrets from them (and the whole knowing-the-future thing already made me keep too many) and they didn't like letting things go easily. Checking the time, I rushed to my quarters and took a quick shower, changing into another pair of jeans—black this time—and a blue long sleeved shirt. I slid on a black leather jacket, combat boots again, holstered a gun to my thigh, slipped a knife into each boot, and coiled my whip around my waist. I had mastered that trick a while ago—disguising my whip to look like a belt—and was now able to pull it out quickly when needed. Perfect for undercover ops that could get dicey. I left my wet hair down this time, and quickly rebraided the one strand. I only took it out when I showered and then immediately put it back in afterward. I grabbed my duffel bags and quickly headed down to the launch pad. I was directed to the Bus, where I chose my bunk. It was the farthest away from everyone else's. I knew which one was Coulson's because it already ha his stuff in it. This bunk was tucked in a corner, and I knew that if anyone on this plane (and man, it was a really nice plane) were to get trapped by enemies and have to fight their way out, I was probably the better one. May would only fight if necessary (to begin with, anyway) and Ward wouldn't choose this one anyway.
I unpacked quickly, putting weapons where I deemed necessary and sliding the rest under the bed.
All that was left was for the rest of the team to arrive.
-:-
And there we go! Chapter 2 out of 3 done! Next one soon! Please send me your love!
Love,
Angel
