surprise! extra chap this week - next one will be this saturday!

...

Ashley had no place to go. The raindrops were like cold pellets on her skin and the air surrounding her was terribly bitter. She'd been riding aimlessly for hours, and was just about ready to drop to the ground from pure exhaustion. Cars were honking their horns as they usually would, but for Ashley it was a harsh foreign noise, and it was making her head throb.

She simply couldn't take it anymore - so she swerved out of the main road and into a side street instead to prop Scott's bike up against a wall and take a few moments out. She barely made it a few steps before accidentally bumping into someone. "Oh! I am so-"

Then she froze.

"CHRISTIE!"

There stood her younger sister in all her badass glory, wearing an oversized black hoodie with ripped black skinny jeans, whilst her long wispy white locks were pulled into a mid pony, swaying in the wind.

"Ashley! Always a pleasure," she hummed with a small smile as they hugged. "Wrong side of town for you, no?" Ashley chewed the inside of her cheek and felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. But Christie remained unfazed - she was always known as the over-emotional one between the two. "Dude, no need to cry-"

"I failed again," Ashley choked out, dropping her gaze to the pavement. "Dad made me take this exam to prove I was stable enough to join the X Men and clearly…I-I lost it, in front of everyone. They had to sedate me, like, a minute and a half in. I barely got my name out."

Christie huffed in response and crossed her arms.

"So…you ran away? Again?" she tutted.

"I'm done, I can't-" Ashley suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and frowned. "Wait, what are you doing here? This can't be a coincidence."

"Of course it can! It's a small world," Christie waved her off. "Can we get out of the rain? My apartment's literally just down there and I don't wanna smell of rainwater." Ashley didn't even have the energy to disagree - she was hungry, tired and relieved to see a familiar face. How Christie managed to find her wasn't even an issue right now.

Unless…

"Oh god. You're not Mystique, are you?" Ashley asked her wearily, taking a few uncertain steps back. Christie made a face and her head jerked back.

"Now who the hell is that?" she spluttered. Ashley rolled her eyes - but took her word for it.

"Mystique is a shapeshifter and a friend of Dad's," she explained as they both began walking down the street, pushing Scott's bike between them. "She can morph into anyone, and has the ability to change her voice, too. She fools the very b-"

"Ash, no offence but I don't really care about that man's 'friends'," Christie interrupted quickly, making Ashley roll her eyes and stay quiet.

All these years later and Christie still couldn't stand him.

They soon arrived outside what appeared to be a disused shack built on some greenery behind a block of flats. Half of the shack appeared to be sunken into the ground, like the ruins of a natural disaster. Ashley tried not to say anything - but her judgemental side soon got the better of her. "What the hell is that?" she ended up blurting before she could stop herself. Christie sighed and approached the solid metal door to place her thumb on the handle. The door opened immediately, revealing a set of steel stairs heading down. But there didn't seem to be an end, and it was completely pitch black the further Ashley peered. The daylight trickling in from behind her could only reveal so much.

"Ladies first," Christie hummed, extending her hand. Ashley let out a light laugh and shook her head. Despite her growing exhaustion and hunger, she had no plans to step down a mysterious staircase.

"Mate, there is no way," she scoffed haughtily.

"Do you want me to push you? Cos I will?" Christie snapped as she shoved her forward to prove her point.

"WOAHHHH CHILL!" Ashley yelped back, catching herself just in time. "I know you're an assassin but would you really want my blood on your hands? Your own sister-"

"Ashley, get down the damn stairs!" Christie barked impatiently. Ashley let out a defeated groan and took a step forward into the darkness - and as soon as she did, the entire hallway lit up ahead of her. The staircase led to yet another barred metal door.

"Oh," she breathed out as she continued to walk, now much calmer. Christie closed the first door behind them before following her down. Once she got to the bottom where Ashley was patiently waiting, that door opened for her too, revealing a stunning modern dark themed apartment.

Ashley let out a shallow gasp as she stepped in. There were two sleek black sofas in the middle of the reasonably wide living room, with a shiny glass coffee table between them. In the far left corner was a black door which must've led to Christie's bedroom, and beside it was another door - but this one was open. It led into the bathroom where all the appliances were a beautiful black and stone grey too, including the walk in shower and dark granite floors. To Ashley's right was an open kitchen, furnished by a space grey breakfast bar and a large smooth black fridge, with a matching oven, microwave, assortment of cupboards and so on.

Minimalist, sure - but expensive no doubt.

"Christie…this is so sick," Ashley giggled in awe as Christie locked the front door.

"Thanks. It was a 'Welcome Back!' present from S.H.I.E.L.D," she hummed, the slightest bit of pride edging in her voice. "Here, let me take your jacket so you can relax. You genuinely look like sh*t."

"How rude," Ashley tutted as she shrugged off her coat and handed it over to her sister. Whilst Christie hung both their jackets up, Ashley slammed herself onto her sofa, releasing a comfortable sigh. She then watched Christie make her way to her fridge.

"Okaaay food…food…food - I have…uh… pizza?" she offered up feebly.

"Pizza? Sorry, what happened to 'Healthy Christie - Queen of Kale and Quinoa?'" Ashley gasped sarcastically. Christie stood up straight and threw her a glare, bumping the fridge door shut with her hip.

"She got hungry," she responded briskly, handing the takeaway box over.

"Fair enough," Ashley smirked. There was a comfortable silence between them as Ashley got stuck in, only interrupted by the gentle sound of the rain outside. She felt like she had to at least try bonding with Christie again, so she asked the one question that had been on her mind. "Sooo…how was the rest of the Asgard trip?" Christie's steely grey eyes shot up to meet her bottle green ones as she settled down onto the sofa opposite, both slender legs tucked underneath her bottom.

"How was it?" she repeated carefully.

"Yeah…Mum told me you went back up after all that Manhattan drama," Ashley shrugged as casually as possible. Christie suddenly broke eye contact with her and focussed on her hands instead, those loose strands of white hair falling over her face.

"I did go back, for a year and a bit," she confirmed quietly. "It was…okay. The mission finished so I came home again a couple of weeks ago." Something in Christie's tone told Ashley this wasn't a conversation she wanted to have, so she shut up and left it there.

Christie took a few moments to compose herself again before speaking.

"So, what's the plan?" she suddenly asked.

"The plan?" Ashley frowned.

"That's what I said, yes. What's next for you?"

"Oh. Good question," Ashley murmured - but then her eyes lit up. "Perhaps I can live with my wonderful, loving little sis who adores me?" Christie couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle at such a bizarre suggestion. She and Ashley had a strained relationship to say the least. Growing up with one of them being a mutant and the other being a regular human really impacted their relationship. The focus was always on Ashley, even after their parents separated. Mella she lived with Christie whilst Charles took Ashley away, but Mella still spoke about Ashley non stop. So Christie, the 'normal' child, ended up as an assassin, using her striking lack of emotion and care to commit heinous crimes in the name of anyone willing to pay a high price - whilst Ashley…well, she didn't know what her calling was now.

Nobody would've ever guessed that Christie would be the more 'successful' one.

"As wonderful as that sounds," Christie began steadily. "I-"

"Oh come on! You're really gonna deny me like that?!" Ashley gasped, half jokingly and half seriously.

"Course not," Christie smirked her pink lips slightly, "you can live here for as long as you want. I wouldn't ever throw you out - but I still work, Ash. Half the time I'm not even here - tomorrow morning I might be gone for months at a time." Ashley shrugged and snuggled a little deeper onto the sofa.

"I can handle myself, Chris," she assured her with a smile. So Christie bit down on both her lips and said no more.

…

As soon as Ashley woke up on Christie's sofa the next morning, she noticed the apartment was in fact empty. It was around 10am, and of course there was very little natural sunlight, but Christie had timed artificial bulbs installed to at least mirror the daytime. Ashley yawned and stretched her limbs before standing up and padding into the bathroom. Once she got there, she soon noticed that Christie had folded fresh clothes for her, underwear and all, with a quickly scribbled note on top.

'ash,

not all of us were blessed with hips and dips so i got some stuff dropped off in ur size. be back when i can - don't burn anything down pls.

c x'

Ashley giggled and hopped straight into the shower, immersing in the hot water soaking her skin. She spent a good few minutes in there, washing her hair and taking her time to lather herself. Truthfully, she still had no idea what the plan was - should she keep running? Should she stay with Christie? Maybe this was the time to repair their relationship - she'd been wanting to do that for years.

The options continued running through her mind as she got herself dressed, allowing her wet copper coloured red locks to fall down her back in a lazy middle parting. She then made her way into the kitchen to find something to eat. She really fancied a lemon and ginger tea - but the first thing she had to do was boil the water, and the hob was far too advanced and complicated for her liking. Then again, she did have the elements at her fingertips…

Bad idea.

"Shoot," she hissed to herself, accidentally creating a fireball which bounced onto Christie's perfectly polished black kitchen tiles.

"Looks like you need some work there," a deep voice suddenly emitted from behind her. Ashley didn't even have time to register who it was - she automatically spun around with glaring flames engulfing each hand, ready to attack whoever had silently broken in. Standing there was a tall man in a black trench coat and a matching eye patch; beside him was a shorter man in a smart suit and a woman in some form of navy unitard, her gun poised directly at her.

It was a little much.

"Ash, relax," came the voice she knew belonged to Christie from behind. Ashley glanced over her shoulder to see her sister standing there with her arms crossed, her silver eyes pleading not to make a scene.

"Christie? Where did you- what the bloody hell is going on?" Ashley hissed anxiously. But Christie said nothing. She simply continued to stare at her older sister intently, almost daring her to do something stupid with the fire. She knew how quickly Ashley snapped, so taking her eyes off her for even half a second would be stupid.

"Put the flames out, Darmer - we're not here to hurt you," the tall man told her steadily. But she still shook her head and kept them rooted in her hands.

"Your the ones pointing guns!" she shouted, as the heat in the room started to rise. Christie let a slow breath out of her nose and started nibbling on her bottom lip.

"Miss Darmer, if you calm down we can explain," the shorter man murmured, causing Ashley's eyes to dart over to him instead. He looked reasonably friendly.

"Again, you literally have a gun on me?!" Ashley exclaimed, feeling the flames in her palms grow bigger involuntarily. "I'm not putting these out till you get to the point!" Her beautiful green eyes started to swirl into a dangerous deep olive.

"Oh my god. Just tell her who you are!" Christie groaned to her boss impatiently. "Does she look like she's in the mood for your dramatic reveal?!"

"I'm Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D - and these are my colleagues Agent Coulson and Ag-"

"Coulson?" Ashley repeated his name, now looking at the shorter man again. Of course - that was Christie's beloved Coulson that she was called from the mansion to save when Loki stabbed him.

Regardless, right now that wasn't important.

"Great to meet you, but still not explaining much," Ashley murmured, now bouncing the flames in the air as if they were balls.

"We're here because we'd like you to join us," Fury explained as steadily as possible.

But Ashley didn't look convinced.

"What, was the doorbell broken?" she scoffed sarcastically.

"No, that would be way too normal for them, Ashley. S.H.I.E.L.D don't do normal," Christie piped up from behind her, rolling her eyes.

"Clearly! More to the point, how do you know who I am? I mean I gathered that Christie showed you here but…" Ashley suddenly spun to her sister with an accusatory glare. "Christie, did you volunteer me to join your damn super group?"

"No! Relax, you twat," Christie snapped back. "They were the ones that told me you'd run away in the first place. You think I was just roaming the streets of New York and just so happened to bump into you? C'mon, Ash. I'm good but I'm not that good." Ashley bit down on her jaw and turned back to Fury again.

"We've actually been tracking you for years. You're considered a danger to society, and you have been from an early age, right? So naturally, the government have eyes on you at all times - it's just that those eyes are on our heads," Fury shrugged.

"And?" Christie prompted him tiredly.

"…anddd we happen to be good acquaintances with your mother. She kinda lets us in on you from time to time."

Only then did Ashley lower her hands slightly, and her eyes faded from menacing to confused. Her mother knew guys in S.H.I.E.L.D? She never knew.

"But why would you want me if there's a good chance that I could hurt people? What's the point, if I'm such a 'threat'?" she mumbled out reluctantly.

"Oh, we don't see you as a threat. We see you as useful - you running away is what we call their loss and our gain," Fury hummed, still not breaking eye contact. "Christie assured us that we can trust you - and we sure as hell trust her."

"Cute," Christie whispered.

"Plus if we can keep the LITERAL Hulk without there being…too many problems…then we're pretty sure you'll be secure," Coulson pitched in brightly. Christie smirked to herself slightly, now seeing that S.H.I.E.L.D may have underestimated what they were dealing with.

And it was clear, by the look on Ashley's face, that she thought the same thing.

"I appreciate the confidence, but I don't know if you quite understand. I…can be pretty dangerous-"

"Darmer, the world's only getting worse. That, is why we need you. We know you're capable of helping us as much as any other hero out there, if not more - without forcing you to weaken your strength. So you can either join us, or you can go back your lil' school and sit in lessons bored outta your damn mind," Fury smirked, knowing he'd hit a nerve.

And he had. Finally, Ashley closed her palms and a wisp of smoke puffed out of her fist as Agent Hill and Coulson found themselves able to breathe again.

"Also, you controlled those flames for a good five minutes," Christie pointed out smugly. "You never used to. So clearly you learnt something in that hellhole." Ashley glanced at her fists and realised she was right - this was the first time she'd held fire and kept herself calm at the same time. It was only one element out of a possible five and there were a few questionable sparks, but on a whole - she did it.

"Hm. What's this club of yours called?" Ashley asked Fury curiously, slowly regaining her composure.

"The Avengers Initiative."

…

Charles abruptly answered the video call that had suddenly burst through his office. He was joined by an anxious Scott, Logan and Storm. Every single person in the room sat up straight, eagerly waiting for Charles to answer.

Within seconds, Fury's face had popped up in the form of a hologram. "Professor," Fury began.

"Director," Charles nodded back politely. "Thank you for returning my call."

"Not a problem, not a problem at all," Fury nodded. "How can I help this fine afternoon?"

"I was wondering if you had…by any chance…made contact with Ashley?" Charles asked, keeping his cool.

He knew how this went.

"Ashleyyyy…" Fury trailed off as if he was trying to place the name.

"My daughter?" Charles tried a little louder. Storm and Scott exchanged glances - they could sense the tension rising already.

"Ohhhh Ashley!" Fury snapped his finger in faux remembrance. "Ah. I guess you saw that she broke out of her cell, huh?" Logan could tell that he was purposely rubbing Charles up the wrong way and he hated that.

"Is she okay?" Charles pressed on.

"She's fine. You don't have to worry - she was actually bunking with one of our best agents. An assassin - you might know them," Fury raised a knowing eyebrow. Of course Charles knew who he meant, but the others certainly didn't, and all that did was panic them.

"She's bunking with an assassin?!" Scott hissed to Storm and Logan in horror.

"Assassin or not - Ashley can handle herself," Logan muttered back begrudgingly, whilst Storm looked horrified.

"Director, please tell Ashley to contact me when she can," Charles decided to wrap it up, unsure of what else to say. "I can't say I'm too surprised that you caught her as soon as her foot stepped off our premises but…that's S.H.I.E.L.D for you." Fury let out a short chuckle at the clear bitterness in Charles' tone and shook his head.

"You were always so anal over when we could and couldn't contact her, but now we're actually abiding by your rules, you're mad?" he scoffed, causing Storm to frown at Charles.

His 'rules'?

"She came to us fair and square," Fury continued. "Give her a week here and I'll ask her if she wants to leave. If she says yes, we'll fly her back to you ourselves, first class on the speediest Quinjet we own. How bout it, Prof?"

"…fine. Just tell her that we're missing her, please?" Charles requested sincerely.

"I'll be sure to make that clear," Fury nodded, before swiftly shutting off the call. Charles slammed a frustrated fist onto the desk once he had gone, making Storm jump.

"Professor," she breathed, standing up and rushing over to his desk. "An assassin? Do we…do we need to step in?"

"No," Charles told them firmly, "no we don't. I'll take care of it. You aren't to do a thing - understood? I mean it. Leave it alone." Scott, Logan and Storm didn't look too sure - but they nodded obediently regardless.