Aurora's cell phone rang and she automatically checked the caller ID before she answered. 'Eye Patch.' It read and she sighed, not wanting to answer it but aware that she probably should.
"Sup Fury." She said casually.
"Aurora. Nice to hear your voice." He greeted her pointlessly, she ignored the comment and waited for him to continue.
"We have a situation and I think you should come in."
"Not going to happen." She said quickly but calmly, she had made her distaste for working under Shield very clear. Fury laughed.
"I'm aware you do not want to be 'Shield's bitch'." He quoted her. "But don't think I would have called without the intention to barter for your trades."
"I'm listening." She sighed, her tone indicating she doubted he could offer her anything she would accept.
"If you come and work with us on this case… I can get her out of prison." Aurora's eyes widened though she said nothing, Fury gave her time for the words to sink in. Fury was clever, his leverage was a high price, something he knew Aurora would do anything for.
"She would be released?" She asked slowly.
"Yes."
"Her record cleared?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"As soon as you agree to work on my side, with my terms." Fury said, his voice thick with authority. Aurora frowned, Fury was planning to use her talents to his advantage no doubt, the resulting action would make her remember what it was like to be a tool of Shield, a feeling she detested. But she could not allow her sister to suffer an undeserved fate in a triple max slam prison for a crime she did not commit. She knew Fury would be aware of the magnitude of the decision, to release someone in her position, just like that and the thought crossed her mind that her freedom may not even be in his power. But it was not something to be offered again, and she could not risk taking the chance.
"I'll do it." She agreed. Fury smiled. He had originally not wanted her on the case, he had thought they would not need her but Shield was desperate, and they had Loki in captive now, a perfect opportunity for her skills to be used. He knew her assistance could compromise everything, his plans could completely unravel, so it was needed to hold something over her to keep her loyal. And there was only one action he could take that he knew she would not be able to resist.
"I'll come and pick you up. Be ready in an hour." He said and ended the call. She laughed, of course Shield would be tracking her location as always and if they weren't, they could have traced the call. She gathered some clothes and material possessions she was attached to, made herself a coffee and sat on her couch, waiting for Fury to arrive.
She was nervous as she stepped down from the jet, all these people, countless soldiers and agents milling around on duty, not a situation she specifically wanted to be in.
"The rest are here, on the bridge." Fury said, implying that's where she should be headed as he walked off in a different direction. She nodded, Fury had quickly debriefed her on the ride and told her about the others she would be working alongside. She strode confidently into the Heli-carrier, she may be a newbie to this team, but she, like them all had more than a few tricks up her sleeve.
She slipped quietly into the meeting, her presence unnoticed and she listened as they talked.
"Loki's going to drag this out… so, Thor, what's his play?" The Captain said as all eyes including Aurora's fell to Thor.
"He has an army, called the Chitauri. Not of Asgard or any world known. They will win him the Earth, and return I suspect for the Tesseract." Thor's words were grim and heavy with warning. Aurora pondered for a moment before she spoke.
"Why?" She said loudly in a strong questioning manner. All eyes switched to her from the very simple question then back to Thor expecting an answer. Natasha's eyes narrowed as she recognized the red haired female, the only one in the team who had prior knowledge of her.
"I do not know." Thor said solemnly, though he had an idea, which Aurora picked from his head.
Because of me. He needs to rule something, as he could not rule Asgard, and Earth would be the next easiest target.
Natasha walked towards Aurora and stood before her.
"Aurora." She greeted her formerly.
"Natasha." Aurora gave a slight nod.
"I'm surprised you're still alive." Natasha said. A simple statement, yet taunting and riddled with animosity. What she had meant was I'm surprised you haven't killed yourself yet. Natasha loathed Aurora to a great extent almost as much as Aurora hated herself and of course she knew of Aurora's mind reading abilities, far before she had been brought anywhere near Shield. But Natasha was not one to speak of such powers and Fury had sworn her to secrecy, she was not allowed to inform the others of what talents Aurora possessed.
"Need I remind you that it was my sister who crossed you, not I." Aurora replied calmly as she towered over the shorter Widow. Natasha smirked.
"And now she is where she belongs. Trapped in an underground cell for the foreseeable future." Her tone heavy with malice. Aurora said nothing, her face showed nothing, though she wanted to mutter Not for long.
Excuse me," Tony said loudly, clearly annoyed he wasn't part of the conversation. "Who is this? Fury didn't tell me you were coming in." He pointed at Aurora and approached her as Natasha walked away.
"Yeah, There's a lot Fury doesn't tell you." Aurora laughed as Tony recalled repeating the same sentence earlier to the Captain. Steve's eyes swayed to her with a questioning look.
"I am Aurora." She introduced herself, she lacked a last name. She had never remembered her own nor sought it out and hadn't adopted a new one.
"Are you an agent?" Tony asked curiously.
"She's a Black Widow." Natasha informed them, causing confused glances to be shared. People would forget that Natasha was not the only one, that there were multitudes of them trained to deadly perfection in secret facilities.
"I was. Now I'm Shield's bitch." She made a resentful face and Tony laughed. Natasha rolled her eyes, she'd always considered Aurora far too unprofessional to be a spy, it was only because of her genetic experimentations as a child that she'd gained the abilities that would best compliment a spy.
"Not for long, though." She added. "I only have a specific purpose, and I didn't really want to come."
"What is your purpose? What could you do that the rest of us couldn't?" Tony taunted and Natasha eyed Aurora warningly. Aurora smiled deviously and tapped her nose. Natasha sighed in relief, now was not a goodtime for Aurora to be a show off.
"Back to the matter at hand." Bruce cleared his throat. Aurora was no longer listening, Fury and Coulson were nearby, and their use of her name spiked her interest.
Do you really think it a smart play, bringing her in?
She has exactly what we need, she can get into his head, determine his every move.
Do you really think she will? Do you really think she is on our side?
Aurora is… unpredictable, to say the least, but she will stay true.
How can you be so sure?
Because I have offered her something, one of the few things she cannot do herself.
And what would that be?
Releasing Rose from prison.
Coulson was silent for a moment.
And I suppose you think that a smart play as well?
You know as well as I do that her actions despite the repercussions were of good intention. Yes, some good soldiers were tragically killed but her call kept America safe from nuclear destruction. She should be awarded medals, not rotting underground in secrecy.
She could turn on us in an instant if she pleases. With her in Loki's grasp he would be unstoppable and we wouldn't even know it til the last second.
Don't be so naïve, Rose will not be freed until this is over, Aurora knows what it will take to release her sister and she would do nothing to taint the opportunity.
I hope you are right.
Their meeting was over and Fury was on his way to the bridge, no doubt to instruct her to begin her interrogation on Loki. It had been made abundantly clear that she was not under any circumstance to go near him unless instructed by Fury himself.
Fury entered the bridge, greeting the team with nods before coming directly to Aurora.
"You're up." He said and pretended not to notice the pleased smirk on her face.