Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N I went back to chapter 6 and lowered Ryo's IQ from 203 to 182, the MCU has a lot of people with extreme IQs (Tony Stark's IQ is estimated to be over 267), so I felt pressured to give her a high IQ to be near the same level as some of the other heroes. Ryo is extremely intelligent, but an IQ score over 200 is just plain unrealistic. She has a lot of natural intelligence, but she does have flaws (especially when interacting with people), so I apologize for giving her such an unbelievable trait.

Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. I will try to update more often.

Also, from now on I will not give full responses to all reviews, I will still answer questions and I absolutely love reading about your reactions and ideas, but I don't want to keep bumping up the word count with responses to reviews.

Pastel-Potatos: I'm glad you like Nat's personality, I was a bit worried about how she may come across. Chapters will be gradually longer. Thanks for all the support!

ItsJustMe-94: Glad you like the ending! More sassiness to come!

IforgotMYpasswor: Oh no! I'm glad that the last chapter didn't cause your laptop to get broken, but you might not want to thank me just yet because I sense another cliffhanger coming up.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

"There's a situation in Budapest, I'm sending you and Agent Barton there tonight."

"I already did talk to you, and you didn't believe me, so I guess we can just wait until next year for me to be proven trustworthy."

"You are going to be moved to another location."

"Hail Hydra."

Ryo finally succumbed to the darkness, and by the time that SHIELD headquarters learned that the van was intercepted, she was long gone. Spirited away in the night.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Consciousness did not return to Ryo quickly or pleasantly, but rather slowly as scattered pieces returned to the broken jigsaw puzzle of her mind. At first there was no recognition of the holes in her being until the sense of touch crept back to her and a chilly metal surface bit harshly on her skin as rough straps chewed viciously at her wrists and ankles.

That's strange. SHIELD must be going downhill if they can't even get decent restraints. Murky darkness overtook her once more and the chill faded to the back of her mind. What could have been an eternity later, Ryo noticed a low buzzing in her ears. Groaning, she strained to cover her ears from the grating sound and rediscovered the restraints on her wrists. AARGGH. It's so annoying. Why can't I move my hands? Her disoriented thoughts were interrupted by a clarity to the low buzzing as it shifted into words.

". . . think she's . . . -ake up soon?" A gruff voice breaking in and out as Ryo tried to focus.

"Maybe we used too much tranquilizer gas." The companion's voice came clearer.

"I'll go ask Wilson to check on the girl. You can go get some food, good job on the mission."

"Thank you, sir." The voices faded and the sound of footsteps faded away.

Now I remember. Something stopped the van. Hydra. I have to get out of here. The holes in her memory shrank as alertness grew in her mind.

Ryo's eyes snapped open and began observing her surroundings. Alright, that Wilson person may already be on their way, I have to hurry. Wary eyes scanned the room. Blank walls, sterile scent, some sort of medical office? She pulled her wrists, trying to break the rough old straps. It's no use, I need to cut it. But how? Her eyes came to rest on a tray near the table she was on. Medical equipment and glass beakers glinted invitingly on it.

Yes, that's it. Ryo Inari Noble had a plan.

Hydra should really have known better than to underestimate her.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Deputy Director Maria Hill earned her high position at SHIELD because she was a loyal and pragmatic agent and skilled at adapting to new situations. So, it is of no surprise to learn that she showed no signs of anxiety in the current situation.

Yes, a prisoner transport van was intercepted the previous night, but there were already protocols for situations like this and all things considered it had not been a great loss for SHIELD.

The agents from the van were in the medical center still with injuries ranging from difficulty breathing from inhaling too much gas to nonlethal bullet wounds. Being the pragmatic person that she was, Agent Hill had already sent the bullets to the lab to be examined for any clues about their origin and a field team was in the process of collecting samples from the van and surrounding area of the ambush. If the perpetrators left any evidence, she was determined to trace it.

Now the only question that was still bothering her about the case was regarding the prisoner- Ryo Noble. Agent Romanoff insisted that the prisoner was not a threat and could be a useful ally, but Maria had a gut feeling that that was wrong. Romanoff was always a bit softer on children, but Hill could've sworn that she saw a cold glint in the prisoner's wary eyes. Surely it was a possibility that Noble planned the interception of her transport van, perhaps this was the work of the group that Coulson had theorized Noble was a part of- a group that would have trained and given information on SHIELD to Noble so that she could infiltrate and retrieve more information from SHIELD.

Agent Romanoff and Coulson had come to view the hellion as a harmless yet knowledgeable resource, but Agent Maria Hill simply could not reconcile their perception with her own. Any individual with a bit of intelligence can tell pretty lies, but the darkness in one's eyes are not so easily concealed.

For all of her pragmatism and intelligence, Maria was forgetting one crucial aspect of leadership that she had learned long ago- compromise. In a way, they were all correct- Romanoff with her belief of Ryo's innocence, Coulson with his belief in Ryo's good intentions, Hill with her suspicions of lies and danger.

~{I'm just a line break}~

The place was a veritable maze. Every hallway looked the same and Ryo feared that she was walking in circles.

Having just escaped from the office where she had woken up, Ryo was slowly making her way through the place. It was slow work- behind every corner or closed door a hydra agent may lurk and she had to be careful to be sure that there was no trail of blood left behind her.

Ryo freed herself from the restraints she had awoken in by first struggling to slide off her shoes so that she could free her feet from the restraints at her ankles. The lack of shoes made the restraints just barely loose enough to slip her feet free with minimal chafing. From there she managed to pull a tray of medical equipment closer using her feet. It was difficult work and Ryo made a mental note to not mock yoga in the future.

Just barely being able to grab an object from the now close tray, Ryo smashed a glass beaker against the side of the table and used one of the larger pieces of broken glass to begin cutting away the restraints at her wrists. Her own hands were cut almost as much as the restraints were, but she managed to finally free herself and here she was rushing through a maze of corridors looking for a way out. Her bloody hands could be tended to later, she had no time for distractions.

Turning another corner, Ryo skidded to a halt. A group of people were walking down the hall away from her. Three men and two women, all were noticeably muscular and two of them had guns at their sides. Ryo froze at the sight. Is this it? Guns, they'll get me for sure. Are they patrolling? If I go back from the hallway I came, I'm more likely to be caught, but I can't stay here. Her mind went on overdrive and panicked thoughts held her in place.

And then the alarm went off. Three wailing rings echoing down the halls before giving way to the crisp voice over loudspeakers. "Attention, all agents, this is a lockdown. Follow protocol 482A. I repeat, all agents proceed to your stations and follow protocol 482A."

Cursing under her breath, Ryo quickly dashed back behind the corner, out of view from the group down the hall. Where there had previously been a friendly casual air amongst the group, there was now a solemn stiffness. Three of them ran further down the hallway, tossing desperate looks back at their companions before splitting off in different directions, the remaining two- the smallest of the three men and a woman with one of the guns- turned and began striding back down the hall towards Ryo's temporary hiding place. Ryo flattened herself against the wall and struggled to calm her breathing. I won't make it to the end of the hall and out of sight before they turn around the corner. Well this is just great; I can get shot and killed or turn myself in like a coward. Come on, you useless twit, THINK.

The footsteps grew ever closer and Ryo pressed further against the wall. I should be dead. I should have died when that truck hit me and ribs cracked and pierced my lungs. I already know what it's like to slowly choke as my lungs fill with blood.

Red lights flicked overhead, flashing brightly and casting long shadows in the hall. With a shuddering breath Ryo clenched her shaking bloodied fists and squared her shoulders.

I'll do what it takes to survive. It doesn't matter what happens to the bloody Hydra agents, I'm the only thing that I can be certain is real. I'll do whatever it takes to not lose the only thing I have left in this hellish reality. And if I fail to protect my life, then I'll make sure to drag down some of these guys with me.

~{I'm just a line break}~

There come times in every person's life that their resolve is tested and this was one such time that Ryo's resolve was put to the test.

No matter how much history is studied, it seems doomed to repeat itself and Ryo already had a habit that was rather hard to break.

Lying. Deceiving. Denying.

There had been many times in her life that she swore she would change- swore that she would never allow insults to hurt her, swore that she would be strong, swore that she would be better.

Swore that she would protect her brother Luke and never leave him alone, helpless.

Swore that she would live a good life that she hardly deserved for the sake of a little dead boy named Cas.

Swore that she would not fail again.

But she did fail. Every time.

It's hard to accomplish anything when the only resources one has at their disposal are cunning and knowledge.

Knowledge doesn't fill an empty stomach.

Facts do nothing to block abuse and assault.

In the end, sometimes cunning can only entrance a victim with sweet dreams of unbroken promises.

~{I'm just a line break}~

When the agents had almost reached Ryo's hiding spot, the small male continued straight down the hall while the armed female turned around the corner to where Ryo was waiting.

There was barely any time for surprise to flick across the agent's face before there was a foot carefully maneuvered to smash into the back of her knee and the agent fell. A bony fist struck her neck and the agent suddenly found it very difficult to breath, she barely registered that a small figure was reaching for her gun.

The male realized that something was wrong when he heard the grunt of pain, and he looked back to see his associate falling to the ground. Behind her was a disheveled figure. Uneven hair covered most of the face, but as the being drew back a bloodied arm, the hair shifted to reveal murderous eyes.

[Ryo always got so involved in her charades. In the beginning the mask always appears flawless.]

The pistol was drawn from the female's thigh holster and Ryo aimed it at the male.

He froze, horrified gaze taking in the sight of his injured comrade and the muzzle of the gun.

[He didn't notice the slight shaking of Ryo's hand.]

"Where's the exit?" The voice was too young, too high, but the female agent hardly noticed as her eyes watered and she struggled to breath. The question was met with silence and the voice continued with a bit more trepidation, "I asked where the exit is, you bloody moron. Answer me!"

The man's arms were raised in the air- a position of surrender- but he stood firm. "I refuse to answer that. Stand down or things will only be worse for you."

Ryo looked from the stubborn man confronting her to the gasping woman at her feet. "Your partner's airway is swelling up as we speak. If you want her to live, then you will tell me how to get out of here and you might be left with enough time to save her from suffocating as her airways collapse. Your choice."

[Awfully merciful for someone who had just decided that no one else's lives mattered]

"If I help you escape then I'll be killed; If I refuse to help you, I might survive."

"And why do you think that?"

"Anything above a code D is considered more important than an agent of my rank, I can only capture you, if I were to use lethal force or help you escape then I would be disposed of. But you haven't shot me yet, so I have to count on there being a chance that you won't kill me.

The words made Ryo angry, his doubt of her resolve made her want to shoot him out of spite.

[Once upon a time, a little girl wondered why she was treated like her life was less than others'. The world asked why she thought her life was worth anything at all.]

"You think I won't shoot you? I suppose it's been long enough that my commitment to your death is uncertain," a flash of relief on the male's face, "but my commitment to survival is a bit more certain."

A bang echoed through the hallways, barely audible over the alarm. Red blood washed over sterile white floors.

A scrawny figure darted down another hallway, searching for escape.

The very much alive male agent smiled slightly from the ground before pulling himself up and examining the wound on his leg. It hurt very much, but he knew the basics of staunching the blood flow from bullet wounds. With a grimace, he dragged himself to his partner and got to work on relieving the pressure on her airways. They would both survive to get medical aid.

Ryo didn't bother to berate herself for failing to kill the agent, she just kept running.

[No point in killing the defenseless.]

At least now she had information on Hydra's protocols. Information she could work with. For someone who was normally only armed with cunning and knowledge, information was always a welcome ally. The gun didn't really feel like it was her style anyways.

[Sometimes vows are impossible to fulfill.]

Ryo recalled an old phrase from what seemed like a lifetime ago, "Never trust a survivor until you find out what they did to stay alive."

Maybe there were more important thing than survival. Maybe there weren't.

[Vows are such restraining oaths, unsuitable for the fickle reality of life.]

Maybe it would be easier to take things one step at a time. Ryo still had some old promises to work on.

She was supposed to turn her life around and fight tooth and claw for a good life because a little dead boy named Cas didn't have a life to turn around.

It wasn't just this world that was rotting, it was every world.

If Ryo could do something to help prevent that rot- just a little bit- then who was she to stand by and do nothing.

Maybe she wasn't a billionaire with a suit of armor or a super-soldier with a sense of morals and justice.

Maybe she wasn't a deadly assassin or a Norse god.

But she was armed with a sharp tongue and intelligent mind, and she could train hard and help just as much as any other hero.

[One mask cracks and another replaces it- or perhaps there were layers of masks all along. Is every persona a lie or does the strongest mask become the truth.]

Sooner or later she would definitely get away from Hydra.

[Once upon a time, a little girl put on a mask to hide herself from a harsh world. The world beat viciously at the mask, but by the time that it had worn away the mask the girl was unrecognizable. Blood dripped down her face from where the mask had been stuck to the skin and pried off. Had the world been less cruel, it would have mourned for what was lost from the girl's face. Wear a mask long enough and your mind and soul will be torn apart and reassembled into something new.]

~{TBC}~