A/N: Hey look at me, updating. :D Reviews are encouraged.

Natalee shifted uneasily. "What about Nikki?" Her eyebrows were knitted together and her pupils were small. To be honest, D.J. found the expression a little intimidating.

"She was asking about the serum, the-" He snapped his fingers while he tried to remember the word. "the Project. Wanted to see what we found. She was curious. And she asked about her cells being different even before the serum" He paused, swallowing hard. "I didn't know what to tell her so I didn't say anything. She knows something's up" He shrugged. Natalee's eyes closed in agitation. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What if you talk to Nikki's mom? She seems pretty cool, maybe she can help come up with something" D.J. looked at the screen. "Looks like a pretty decent lead with your tattoo"

Natalee nodded, smiling softly. She scrubbed her hand through her hair and took a few steps towards the elevator. "Oh, D.J.?" She turned. The boy turned in his swivel chair. "If you ever need me to do soemthing like sneak in and steal files from a secure tech facility or break someone's knees, let me know. I'd like to think of you as a friend" She said.

D.J. grinned at her. "I would be honored to be your friend, Natalee"

The red headed girl smiled.

*SCENE BREAK*

Darcy was in the lab with Jane Foster when Natalee wandered in. "Hey! Merida!" Darcy smiled. She was what Billie called a fun mom. "What's up, curly fry?"

"I was hoping I could talk to you about something" Natalee said awkwardly, glancing at Jane. The astrophysicist smiled gently at Darcy and stepped out of the room. Natalee's eyes followed her. "It's about Nikki" She said quietly. Darcy visibly tensed. "Don't worry, she's not in danger or anything. Well, not anymore" Natalee shrugged. She pulled a flashdrive from her pocket and nodded to the computer, silently asking if she could use it.

"Y-Yeah, go ahead" Darcy nodded.

"Uh, so a few days ago, Nikki had a hand in rescuing me off of a boat-long story. Anyway, this serum got into her system called the Project and-"

"Wait, what? Nikki never told me anything about this"

Natalee shifted uneasily. "Yeah...we asked her not to. The people that designed it aren't exactly the nicest and we didn't want more people involved than need be" She rubbed her nose. "I'm sorry, we didn't want to worry anyone until D.J. got all the information"

"So Nikki has some dangerous serum and you're just telling me about this now?!" Darcy exclaimed.

"It's more complicated than that" Natalee's attitude turned more defensive. She turned the laptop. "The only reason Nikki survived the serum was because of this. D.J. did some digging and it's the Super Solder Serum. The only other person with this kind of half-strain of the serum is Don. Which would mean Don and Nikki have to be related" She stopped and took a breath, her shoulders relaxing. "Does Nikki know about this?" She asked quietly.

Darcy sighed. "No. Neither of them do" She ran her hands through her hair.

"Nikki's asking questions. I feel like this kind of news would come better from her mom" Natalee said softly, tilting her head.

"I-I have to talk to Steve about this. I don't...I don't even know what I'm going to say. Wait, what does the serum do?"

Natalee swallowed. "We, uh...don't actually know that quite yet?" She looked at the screen. "From what I know- and it's not alot- there's a possibility of there being multiple mutations" She shrugged and paused, rubbing the pads of her fingers with her thumb, her bottom lip pulled under her teeth. When she spoke again, her words were quicker. "I don't know how many, we're still waiting on someone I know who knows more about this than me"

Darcy took her glasses off her face to rub the bridge of her nose. "I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass" She grumbled. "I'll talk to her. To both of them, her and Don" She said. Natalee nodded, a thought running through her head.

Good luck Nikki.

*SCENE BREAK*
Later that night...

When Natalee came to, she was standing in a small room. Concrete walls, a large metal door. Like a small warehouse. A choking noise made her head turn and she saw a small figure slumped over, face hidden by shadows. There was a pool of blood around them. Cautiously approaching the bleeding person, she knelt down. A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. It was Billie. "Bird?!" Natalee exclaimed, grey eyes growing wide. She couldn't see where the blood was coming from, it was like the blood was just appearing. "Billie, who did this to you?" Natalee asked.

Billie heaved, her breathing thick with the blood in her lungs. "Y-You" She whispered and vanished. Archer appeared in front of Natalee, a smirk on her face. A gun pressed to her chin and fired.

Natalee gasped when she woke up, the sound of the gun firing echoing in her ears. She was shaking. The sound of Archer's dark laugh still haunted her. She felt around in the dark for her phone, barely able to dial a number.

"Nat?" Billie sounded groggy, half-asleep.

"Bird" Natalee sobbed out.

There was a pause, the sound of movement in the background. "I'll be right there, red" She said and hung up.

*SCENE BREAK*

Natalee was sitting on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, tears running down her face but her expression blank. Her door opened, making her flinch, and Billie ran in. She dropped to her knees next to her girlfriend. "Nat" She whispered, gently brushing her curls away from her face. Natalee flinched. "Hey, it's okay. It's just me" She said quickly, catching Natalee's wrist. "It's me, I'm here. You're okay" She smiled assuringly. Natalee visibly swallowed and nodded. She shifted closer, into Billie's arms. A sigh of relief left the red head's lungs when she heard her girlfriend's heartbeat. Her fingers gripped the back of Billie's shirt.

"Bird" Natalee whispered.

"Yeah, red, it's me" Billie murmured against her hair. She always worried whenever Natalee woke up from a nightmare. Sometimes she didn't know where she was, or her mind played tricks on her and she saw someone else. But hearing the nickname made her chest feel not as tight. Maria had tried to get Natalee to go see someone, a therapist, and Billie encouraged her to go. But Natalee refused the help, insisting she was fine. That this was just how she was. And she had Billie and Maria and Nikki to go to. Billie had told her that she'd always be there for her, no matter what.

Natalee sniffled, content with feeling Billie breathe, hearing her heart beat. She was alive. She was okay. She was fine. Billie was always going to be there for her, she said so. Guilt clawed at the pit of Natalee's stomach. Her girlfriend, her beautiful, amazing girlfriend, followed her loyally. Billie trusted her. And she didn't tell Billie everything. At first, when she decided to keep things a secret, it was to protect the blonde. But as everything seemed to evolve, finding her parents, Nikki getting the Project, and Cole coming to live with them, it was more dangerous to keep Billie in the dark.

"Bird?" Natalee whispered.

"Hm?" Her girlfriend wasn't asleep, just had her eyes closed. Natalee swallowed hard and sat up. She brushed her curls over to one side of her face. Billie was sitting forward, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong?" She asked, gently taking her girlfriend's hand.

Natalee's voice was dark and a little hoarse, like when she was either trying to be intimidating or trying not to cry. "Remember when I told you about the Project?" She asked.

"Yeah" Billie tilted her head so she could see Natalee's face.

"I was given another serum. It was experimental...I'm not even sure what it really was. But it created this thing" Natalee paused, taking a shakey breath. "She's a monster with a bloodlust. Kind of like Dr. Banner's relationship with the Hulk. She's not me" Her eyebrows furrowed. "I took these pills that a friend made to help me stay in control. But I'm starting to run out so I stopped taking them as frequently" She swallowed hard, her throat tightening. "A-And it's like everytime I go to sleep, she's there, messing with my head. Making me see things, telling me she's going to kill everyone and it'll be my fault" Tears stung in her eyes.

"That's why you called me? She made you see something?" Billie whispered, brushing a stray tear away with her thumb. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" She asked.

Natalee finally looked up at her. "I didn't want you to be afraid of me" She admitted, her voice wavering. The blonde pulled her into her arms, leaning against the side of the bed. Natalee clung to her as she struggled to keep herself together.

"It's okay, Natalee" She whispered, kissing her head. "You know, you're too cute to be afraid of" She added. There was a laugh from her curly haired girlfriend, muffled by her chest. Billie smiled.

*SCENE BREAK*

The sun shone through the windows. Natalee was stretched out on her stomach, arms above her head, Billie's legs resting on her hips. The two had moved to the bed a few hours earlier, sleeping a little bit. "I might have to leave soon" Natalee said softly. "If there's a lead on finding a friend of mine, Cole and I are going to follow it" She turned her head to meet Billie's eyes.

"A friend?" Billie shifted against the pillows. "Nat, I don't know, are you sure you should be running around like that? After what just happened?" She ran her nails gently over Natalee's stomach, causing her girlfriend to squirm and getting a glare. Surprisingly, the red headed assassin was ticklish. "There is no way your parents are letting you out of here" Billie smirked at her, poking her belly button.

Natalee smacked her hand away. "Did you forget that I was an assassin?" Her eyebrow raised.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "So are your parents, Nat"

Natalee sat up, Billie's legs falling to her lap. "They don't know what I'll do" She shrugged. "I could use this to my advantage. Remember when I tried to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D.?" A proud smile appeared on her face.

Billie laughed at the memory, running her fingers through Natalee's curls. "Yeah, Nikki called you a freaky ninja. You going to go all freaky ninja on your parents if you have to find your friend?"

"If I have to" Natalee purred, her lips curling into a smile. "If I did, would you tackle me like you did the last time?" She asked, the tip of her freckled nose brushing against Billie's. Billie's laugh was darker, a little seductive, as she leaned forward. She gently lifted Natalee chin as their lips met.

A/N: Lemme know what you think of Billie/Natalee (so graciously named Batalee by my friend).