AN: Ok, so there was a small point of concern brought to my attention in the last chapter. I feel the need to discuss said concern. Violet is not done fighting back. In the last chapter, she said she will be the best agent she can be. She didn't say for who. Violet is only taking a short reprieve from fighting back so that she can train. She can't very well rain down fire on Nick Fury if she isn't strong enough. In later chapters, Violet will continue to rebel. But for now, she will hide her anger and train.
Now, for this chapter, there is going to be a bit of a time jump. It will be two weeks since Violet started her training, and I'm going to throw in a couple minor OC characters.
And this will be another longer chapter. Not sure how you feel about that. Let me know whether you prefer longer or shorter chapters, please.
Disclaimer: I own nothing the rights to nothing except Violet.
- Two Weeks Later -
"No. Not like that. How many times have I told you. You can't take too long to sight and release. If you take too long, you're dead. Try again." I sighed. Clint was trying for the thousandth time to teach me archery. He just couldn't accept that I was rubbish at it. He was determined to turn me into a little Hawkeye.
Throwing down the bow in frustration, I said "Clint, give it up. I just don't have a gift for the bow. You'll just have to think of something else."
Sighing in defeat, Clint ran a hand through his hair, something i had noticed him doing when he was frustrated. "Fine, Vi. Go hit the showers." I didn't let him see my sigh of relief. We had been training since 2 am at Fury's insistence. He wanted me to be ready at all times. I had spent the better part of the morning imagining the targets and punching bags were Fury's face. Stepping away from Clint, I grabbed the rope next to me and swung down. Natasha had asked Clint to train me with the ceiling targets more. Part of Natasha's class was to face our fears; the less we were afraid of, the less an enemy could use against us if we were captured. I had narrowed my major fears down to spiders and heights. That's why we were training on the ceiling, to desensitize me to heights. The spiders I refused to even think about, but suffice to say I was no longer afraid.
Swinging down, I landed on the balls of my feet like Clint had showed me. I let myself feel a small spark of happiness. Even though it had only been two weeks, I was much stronger. Thor's DNA had given me a few enhancements, such as above average strength, endurance, and speed. My already muscular physique was now all deadly strength and speed. It had become routine for me to spar with Natasha and Clint because they were among the few who could beat me. I was in the top of almost all my classes, because it was easier for me to remember information. Other trainees were asking me to help them study, and I was more often then not called to demonstrate in class. I was the happiest I had been in years, and the saddest. All of my progress, all of my accomplishment, and my Mom had no idea. I missed her everyday; I never took off the locket. I had even asked Steve to start teaching me how to draw, just so that I could sketch my memories of her. I hadn't given up my hope of seeing her again one day, or my anger at the people who had taken her away from me. I was just waiting till the opportune moment.
I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, but I suppressed them. I couldn't show any weakness here, lest Fury was watching and saw me cracking. Only in private did i let go of my emotions. I heard someone creeping up behind me, and I recognized the now familiar footsteps. I waited till I sensed the person reaching out to me, then I quickly backstepped, drove my elbow into their chest, and flipped them over my shoulder. Moving quickly, I sat on their stomach, pinning them down. I raised my hands, pointing one fist at their face and pressing my other forearm against their neck.
"Yield." I said in the most intimidating voice I could muster.
Steve began to laugh. "Okay, Vi. Get off, you win this round." I stood up, releasing him. I brushed imaginary dust off my S.H.I.E.L.D issued catsuit and hid a smile. Ever since training began, Steve and I had gotten closer, both in class and out. I didn't consider him my den mother anymore, he was just a friend who hung around a lot. He had stopped glowering whenever I was around, and we were very comfortable around each other. He was one of the few people i trusted, but i trusted him the most. He was the only one i showed any weakness in front of. The first few days of training had been brutal, but Steve had been there with a dry towel and a cool water bottle. More recently, whenever i was scared or really missing my Mom, Steve would take me out of my cell and let me sleep in his room. I would drag my pillow and blanket with me, then settle down on the floor next to his bed. Steve always offered to take the couch so i could sleep on the bed, or to put sheets down on the couch to make it more comfortable, but I didn't want to intrude after he was already being so nice, and the couch was on the other side of the room. Being close to Steve was comforting. Though I would never admit it to anyone, and I scarcely believed it myself, the fangirl crush I had before on Captain America was nothing compared to the feelings I had for Steve Rogers. It wad wierd and complicated, but in those moments when I was sad and he would hold me close, I could almost pretend he cared.
I reached out my hand and helped Steve up. He shook his head slightly. "Guess I'll never try sneaking up on you again."
I laughed. "Well, if you didn't walk like a stampeding elephant maybe it would have worked."
He chuckled in response. "Well if you didn't have the wierd alien DNA I could so take you."
I countered with "Says the guy with serum-made muscles." This is how our banter was, lighthearted and fun until one of us gave up.
Today it was him "Lunch?" I had about half an hour before my next class, so I nodded eagerly.
"Just let me change into something less smelly and sweaty. I'll take a five minute shower and meet you in the mess hall." "Sounds good." With that, I headed to the locker room and Steve went towards the mess hall.
Entering, I heard the call of "Hey Tessa!" I turned to see a couple of people from my classes, Agent Major and Agent Richards, or as I knew them, Alison and Maria. We got along pretty well in class, and I would eat lunch with them from time to time. They were like my gossip girlfriends. They made me almost forget what was troubling me with all the talk of which Agent like which, who said what about Fury, and OMG did someone really mess up that mission? It was a little slice of normal in my crazy life.
"Tessa, were you really just talking to Captain Rogers?" , Alison asked.
Maria added in "Yeah, I saw you, like, pin him on the floor and attack him. What was that about?" No one except Clint and Natasha knew about my...special relationship with Steve. The other Agents would think he was showing me favouritism, and the other Avengers would probably not approve of a student and teacher sleeping in the same room, so it was kind of a secret.
"He and I were practising techniques for if an enemy snuck up behind you. I don't want to be unprepared." I knew they would accept this. I had developed a reputation as a slightly antisocial workaholic, because I was always 'practicing' with Steve, and I was never seen outside of headquarters. Most of the other Agents frequented night clubs or other local hot spots. Fury didn't even trust me to be alone Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. No way would he let me go Outside.
Alison and Maria began twittering about some love triangle among other Agents, leaving me to myself. I rinsed off in the showers, then pulled my wet hair into a messy bun. I was almost used to the strange color. The catsuit was only necessary for physical training, so I threw on a pair of black shorts and my favorite light blue t-shirt that said 'I speak fluent sarcasm'. I had managed to convince that I needed more than just S.H.I.E.L.D regulated clothes, so he had let Natasha to several department stores and get me clothes that would fit. She had somehow managed to sneak in a beautiful ball gown and similar clothing to what I had worn when I first arrived.
I had questioned her about the gown, but all she said was "You never know." I had immediately shoved it to the back of my closet. While I was still kept under lock and key, Fury had moved me to a room that was actually fit for people to live in. It had a closet, a bureau, a bed, and a bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was better than before.
Slipping on a pair of sandals, I headed to the mess hall. They were serving my favorite meal, a hot sandwich of what was supposed to be chicken. The food here was even weirder than in high school, and I still wasn't convinced the food was drugged. When I walked into the hall, Steve waved me over to what I had mentally named The Avenger Table, since I never saw anyone sitting there except for the Avengers. I smiled when I recognized a familiar head of slightly gelded hair and the scent of oil. Tony was here.
"Hey kid." He said as I sat down. "How've you been?"
"It's only been four days since you saw me, tin man." Tony had been even better than his word. He had kept his promise about seeing me when he could. Sometimes he came up with completely ludicrous excuses to frequent S.H.I.E.L.D when i would be around. I had come to think of him as a particularly doting Uncle.
Tony wrapped a hand around my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "I missed you, little flower." Tony had taken to calling me childish names. Little flower was his favorite nickname for me, because of my name. I responded by calling him names that were aimed at his suit and arc reactor. It was all in good fun. "When am I going to be able to take you with me to Stark Tower? We have all the cool stuff." I had become something of a science geek, often spending time with Dr Banner in his lab.
"As soon as Fury gets the giant stick out of his butt." This made Tony laugh. We both pretended it was just a matter of time till I could rejoin the world, but we both knew I could never leave. Even if I became a full Agent, Fury would probably never let me go on away missions. I would be stuck with some crappy desk job, holed up here for the rest of my days. Seeing that I was slipping into one of my funks, Steve scooted over to sit next to me, sliding over a tray with him. I ate the offered food, but I didn't taste it. I hadn't told anyone, but today would have been my sixteenth birthday. If I was with my Mom, she would have taken me to get my learner's permit, so I could start learning to drive, and we would have celebrated with cake and a Harry Potter marathon.
As I was thinking over what could have been, Agent Coulson slipped into the mess hall. A change went through everyone in the room. No one wanted to get on the wrong side of Fury's right-hand man, so the noise level immediately went down, and people sneakily cleaned up their tables. But Coulson didn't notice. He was too busy walking straight toward the table I was currently seated at. He stopped, simply saying "Fury wants to see you." Before turning on his heel and exiting.
I looked fearfully at Steve. I hadn't seen Fury for two weeks, and I was only scheduled to see him next week for a progress report. This was unexpected. I took a deep breath, like Natasha had told me to when I was worried. No use worrying until I had all the facts. Steve and I stood up and headed to Fury's office. Tony mouthed "Good Luck" to me as I exited.
It didn't take long to get to Fury's office, the walk only taking five minutes. Just before we entered the office, Steve rested a hand on my shoulder and gave me a light reassuring squeeze. The door slid open, and I wiped all emotion of my face like Natasha taught me. Stepping in, Fury stood facing us behind his desk. "Agent Violet, or is it Tessa now?", he greeted.
"Only my friends call me Violet. You can call me Tessa.", I said to Fury, as smoothly as if I was talking about the weather. He shot me a look I couldn't read.
"Captain Rogers" he greeted Steve, and I saw Steve slip back into his dutiful soldier attitude.
"Director" he responded with a slight salute. "At ease. How has...Tessa here...been behaving? I trust she has not been too much trouble."
"Not at all, sir." Steve replied smoothly.
"I am sure, Tessa, that you would not have expected me to not realise that you made me unaware of something." This made my heart flutter slightly. Did he know about Steve and me being friends? Would he put me with another Agent if he was aware? Would that make Steve happy?
That last thought caught me by surprise. I had never considered that Steve was only being nice to me because he had to be. Was it all an act? Pushing aside these thoughts for later, I asked "To what are you referring, Director?" The title felt foreign in my mouth, and as it past my lips I felt nauseous.
"I am referring, Agent Tessa, to your birthday." Now I was shocked. Why would Fury care if it was my birthday?
As if reading my mind, Fury said "Tessa, I'm the head of a secret government agency. I'm not heartless. I know this hasn't been easy on you, but I want to give you something for your birthday. You will be accompanied by Captain Rogers and a tracker will be implanted temporarily, but I will allow you to choose one activity for your birthday outside of S.H.I.E.L.D."
AN: wow. Who saw that coming? PLEASE REVIEW! Also, whoever wants to can send me an idea about what Violet should choose as her one activity.