Chapter 3 – A SHIELDed Heart.

The Day after the failed assassination:

Adora sat quietly in a SHIELD interrogation room. She had refused to speak to anyone since she was arrested, and was determined to continue with that. It was a combination of her unbreakable loyalty to Dr. Santos, and her anger and hurt over having failed her first assignment.

Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, was outside the room, watching her sit quietly, alongside Agent Phil Coulson. They were trying to figure this kid out, its not often that a teenager is not only able to fight through Senate security, but also toss around the famous Black Widow. Phil was the first to speak, "What do you think it is? Steroids? Another Red Room project?"

Fury's glare never left the girl, "We're running a blood test on her. Girl doesn't have anything on record about her. It's as if she doesn't even exist." he explained, "Not only that, but we have nothing on record about her uniform. She's clearly not HYDRA, she's not Ten Rings. I don't like being in the dark Phil."

"Well sir, the labs should turn something up. Of course it'd be much smoother if she'd just open up." Phil conceded.

As the two spoke, Natasha happened to walk in, carrying something. Fury looked at her and caught the scent of what she'd brought in. "Pizza, Nat? Seems like a weird time to go for take-out." he deadpanned, causing Natasha to chuckle.

"She hasn't eaten anything since we brought her in. I picked up something fast on the way, maybe it'll help get her to trust us?" she replied, setting the box down.

Fury nodded, "Hopefully you have better luck than the rest of us Natasha, I feel you'd connect to the girl much easier. You've been in her position before." he stated, turning back to the window. Natasha simply nodded, before grabbing a few slices and walking into the interrogation room.

As soon as she entered, Adora looked up, then tilted her head in confusion as Natasha set down a plate with a few slices in front of her. "You looked hungry, you should eat something." She said calmly, taking a seat across from Adora.

"What's this?" Adora said, staring at the plate.

Natasha chuckled slightly, "It's Pizza. You've never had it before?" she asked the young girl, who simply shook her head and tried a bite. Almost immediately, Adora was shocked at the flavor and quickly scarfed down all the slices on her plate. "Well, looks like I was right.

Looking up from the plate, Adora quietly thanked Natasha. "I've never eaten anything that good before." She said in an awed voice. Natasha had a look of dismay on her face as she said this. Adora, noticing the look, continued, "Back where I was raised, we usually ate military rations, or smaller portions of simple food."

Natasha nodded in empathy, then it was her turn to speak. "My name is Natasha Romanoff, Codenamed Black Widow. I'm an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD. Can you tell me your name?" she explained.

Adora still tired to keep quiet, but something about the way Natasha looked at her started to crack her barriers, so she replied. "My name is Adora."

Natasha chuckled a bit, "As in Adora, from the old She-Ra show?" she asked.

Adoira nodded in affirmation and replied, "Y-yeah I was named after it...it's my favourite show."

Natasha gave her a soft smile, and kept trying to talk with her, "SHIELD wants to help you, Adora. You need to tell us about yourself before we can."

"I don't see how you can." Adora snapped back, "You don't know anything about me, and I sure as hell don't know if I can trust you."

Natasha put a hand on Adora's, and calmly explained, "Adora, you're a young girl used as a weapon by some unknown force to kill someone. You're clearly being used, and exploited as a child soldier. I know that life, I lived it." Adora's eyes widened, so Natasha continued, "I was raised in a hellhole called the Red Room to be a master assassin. I killed my first man when I was only 10 years old. I lost my childhood to that place, so I understand what you're going through."

Adora could only hang her head hearing this. Natasha really did sound similar to her, although she herself hadn't taken a life yet. Almost immediately, she had begun letting her guard down, and opened up more, "I...didn't realize. I'm sorry." she replied, quietly and with a sad hint to her voice.

"It's alright. I'm working through it. So please Adora, let SHIELD help you, let ME help you." The sweetness in Natasha's voice struck Adora in the heart. This was a new experience to her, The last time anyone had been so kind to her was years before she and Catra were taken from Hydra. Catra's mother. She and Catra barely remembered her, but what they did remember was a kind, loving woman who cared for them as more than just weapons, and then there was no longer any sign of her, and nobody was saying why. For this reason...Adora just completely opened up.

"I'm a genetically engineered super soldier working for a group called the Followers of Inperatio." she began, keeping her head hung. "I don't exactly remember how we were founded but we're lead by a woman named Doctor Lorraine Santos. She works out of an Orphanage somewhere in the United States but I'm...not certain where. I was told that we were hired to kill Senator Stern for 'the good of the world.' But I'm beginning to think she lied to me." Adora began to tear up as she spilled everything she knew.

Seeing her eyes watering, Natasha put her hand on Adora's shoulder, standing up from the table and moving over to hug her. Adora stiffened up briefly, but quickly returned the hug and cried into her arms. "I take it this Doctor Santos was horrible." she asked gently.

Adora nodded her ehad and wiped her eyes, "It wasn't so bad for me, but she was a harsh taskmaster, always pushed me to be perfect. My friend… another experiment named Catra...I-I think she was hurting her." she said between sobs.

Natasha gently stroked her back as the door opened, and Coulson entered the room. He patiently waited by the door until Natasha calmed her down. It took several minutes but she managed to do just that, then looked Adora in the eyes. "I have to go right now Adora. But I WILL be back alright? I promise." she said.

Adora blinked, hearing her promise, and nodded, then sat back quietly in her chair. She'd made a promise once, a long time ago. Would she be able to keep it now? As Natasha walked in, Coulson walked over to her. "Adora right? My name is Phil Coulson. Would you mind coming with me?" He asked, hands behind his back. "I just think we should move you to more comfortable surroundings."

Adora nodded and stood up, following Phil out of the room. Even he seemed more gentle than she was used to, perhaps her incarceration wouldn't be as bad as she believed.

As the two left, Fury met with Natasha and agent Maria Hill, "Any word from the labs?" the director asked.

Clearing her throat, Hill responded, "Yes sir...they found Traces of Irskine's formula in her blood. She's a genuine super soldier."

Fury nodded and turned to Natasha. "What do you think we should do with her?" he asked the veteran spy.

Natasha, steeling herself, responded, "I think we should help her. Keep her around, help her adjust to normal life. And if she wants, when she's ready, offer her a place with us?"

Fury almost chuckled, he'd never seen Natasha like this. "Attached already Natasha?"

"Sir with all due respect," Natasha quickly shot back, "She's just like me. SHIELD was the best thing that could happen to me. We have a chance to save her before she ends up with as much red in her ledger as I do."

Fury nodded and even cracked a smile of his own. "I trust your judgment." He turned to Agent hill, "Find a suitable handler to keep an eye on her. See to it's she's taken care of as well. Make her feel welcome." he commanded, sending her off. "I really hope you're right about this Nat..."

Days Later:

Adora had gotten rather used to the new room Agent Coulson had given her. It was spacious, had enough to keep her from getting bored, and Natasha visited every day. She still hadn't gotten used to the softer beds yet however, and had in fact destroyed at least one trying to get comfortable. She even enjoyed trying many more types of food that she hadn't tried during her time with the Followers. At this rate, she had no intention of going home, SHIELD had been treating her so much better, despite very obviously keeping an eye on her as well. Still, it was better than how Doctor Santos acted every single day. Natasha had even gotten her a gift, a Red Jacket with a white high-collar, and somewhat short sleeves

As she sat in deep though, there was a knock at her door. "O-oh you can open it, it's not locked."

A SHIELD agent who looked to be in his early twenties walked in, he smiled as he entered and cleared his throat. "Uh, you're Adora right?" he asked. When she affirmed, he continued. "I'm Agent Smith, I've been assigned as your handler until you're able to live on your own." He explained to her.

"Uh, no offense Agent Smith but why would I need a handler?" Adora asked incredulously, causing Smith to just chuckle.

"It's mostly for your own safety miss. We don't know if your old employers are looking for you, and until we know more about what we're dealing with, having an extra gun at your side wouldn't hurt right?" he explained, before thinking a moment and adding, "I'm also a pretty good people person so I'm betting Fury's hoping I can help you improve socially here." Adora agreed this was a pretty good idea and smiled brightly. "I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Hawkeye and Widow."

"Yeah Miss Romanoff has been very kind to me since I've been here. Mr. Barton is just so relaxed and calm that he's...calming to be around. And a hell of a shot." replied the young soldier and she flopped onto her couch. "I honestly love it here." she declared without a care in the world.

Meanwhile, outside:

She didn't give a damn what Santos said, Catra was determined to get her friend back no matter what. She had suited up, snuck out of the facility, and gone on the hunt for Adora. She was desperate at this rate, Santos had been getting more and more cruel and angry the longer she was gone, and Catra was getting lonelier and lonelier. Goddammit Adora why did you have to get your stupid ass arrested! You could have taken anyone here easily, why!? she thought, gritting her teeth in rage. She thought back many years ago...to the most important moment of her and Adora's life…

2003:

Catra was crying bitterly, hiding under her blankets. It was another rough day of training, all for the insults and mockery of Santos. Her cheek was still sore from when the Doctor struck her for talking back. She was crying so hard, she didn't even hear the door open.

"Catra?"

She looked over in surprise, to see Adora at the doorway walking in.

"Catra, whats wrong?" she asked, hopping on the bed and trying to take the blanket off her.

"G-go away Adora. I wanna be alone." Catra hissed out between sobs.

Adora didn't leave at all, and yanked off the blanket. She slowly began stroking Catra on the head, like petting a kitten, knowing it would usually help calm her friend. The pets did their job and Catra leaned into her, wiping her eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"Santos gave me heck for my last training session again… I'm never good enough for her." she bitterly told Adora, absentmindedly rubbing her cheek.

Adora, having noticed the motion, widened her eyes. "Catra, did she hit you?" she asked with a concerned voice. Catra kept quiet so Adora asked again, "Did. She. Hit. You." Catra nodded after a brief moment of silence and suddenly felt herself wrapped up in a hug. "She shouldn't have done that! You're doing your best, she should be proud of you."

Catra clung as close as she can to Adora, letting her tears flow as they embraced. "Catra… you tell me if she ever hurts you again. If any of the kids hurt you." Adora told her. The Kitten looked up at her friend, wiping her eyes again. "I won't let anyone hurt you if I can help it."

"Y-you promise?" Catra asked hopefully.

Adora nodded, smiling widely. "I promise Catra."

Back to the Present Day:

Catra shook the memories away as she moved silently through the Alleys of the city. She was CERTAIN she had caught Adora's scent and was rushing like a lion chasing its prey. Eventually she decided to climb a nearby tree to get a better view, and there she saw her.

Standing less than 20 feet away was Adora, dressed in a red jacket, white shirt and jeans, walking with what looked like a blond SHIELD Agent, and talking with him. To Catra's surprise, she didn't seem to be in danger, or even scared. She was almost happy, and eating an ice cream. Still, she finally found her. As her lips curled into a Cat-like grin, two simple words came to mind…

"Hey Adora~"

To Be Continued….

Man I'm on a Roll with this right now huh?Really hoping that this is entertaining to you all.

Yes I did keep the promise. I may rewrite it, or ask Penumbranox rewrite it based on your feedback. Initially I was debating devoting a whole chapter to the promise. However, as the Temple and Light Hope don't exist in this universe, and all the other ideas I had about

Adora's life in SHIELD, AND how little I actually had to write about the promise, I felt it would be better to make it a part of this chapter. I am hoping to reach The Avengers around chapters 5-7.

REMINDER: I do NOT own the MCU, She-Ra, or any related characters. I have also not yet seen past Season 1 so please refrain from spoilers in the comments/reviews. Reviews and Critiques are encouraged to help me improve.

Next Time: Promises, and Friendships, are broken…..

EDIT: Included a blurb about something sentimental that will factor into later episodes.