Sorry this was a day late! Life keeps you busy sometimes and you also have to let yourself rest now and then too!
But I got to say this is one of my favorite chapter titles so far :D
Chapter 3:
Training's a B*tch and So
is My Roommate
After countless hours of negotiations with lawyers and Fury, Harlow had been free to go...Unfortunately, it had cost her her savings thus far and applicable help from Director Fury to placate the two men from where she had worked previously. And thankfully, none of the civilians had truly witnessed her transformation or giveaways. Now here she was on a tour of the facility with yet another agent, a woman named Maria Hill
It was definitely a weight off her shoulders, but as for the other consequences, Harlow was essentially on house arrest for the next few months. She would only be reporting to train or to wherever Fury was placing her to live. It was stupid, but letting her frustrations get to her had been stupid too. That being said, it was probably better to be held accountable starting out at SHIELD than to try to ignore it.
"...And this," the brunette before her proclaimed as she opened a large set of doors, clipboard in hand. "Is our training room."
Maria Hill watched the young woman walk inside, taking in the sights of the sparring area, the boxing ring, and other agents running on treadmills or using weights. She took a few notes, checking off a few boxes on the girls evaluation sheet. Harlow turned to face Maria once more, a questioning look on her face.
"So how does this work? Do I just pick someone at random or is there a list or something?"
"Follow me." Maria told her, leading her to a set of desks tucked away in the corner. "You'll be assigned with a trainer before being placed with a partner. However today, is just an evaluation on what you can do."
"I mean I can hold my own but that's about it." She told the woman honestly. Sure she could skin-change into a 6ft black wolf or use her abilities in human form, but that only got you so far. Harlow saw Maria nod as she sifted through a few more papers before referring back to her clipboard, writing a few more things down. The blonde tried to see what she was writing but the older woman picked up the clipboard and kept it close to her.
"Well, I think people tend to give themselves far less credit..." She stuffed a few more papers onto her clipboard before continuing. "You're going to just have a quick sparring match and then we'll focus on the other tests we're going to run."
"How many exactly will that be?" Harlow grimaced slightly, somewhat regretting her decision to join. Maria seemed to be like a cat that ate the canary as she smiled at the girl and in turn, it made the blonde sigh. "Can I at least get some better work out clothes before we start?"
Sweat billowed off the girls face as she braced herself against a nearby wall, lungs burning as though they were on fire...Evaluation was the understatement of the year...By normal standards, the amount of tests she had just done would have seemed have cruel. Even when she brought her abilities to the surface, the girl still struggled, never having trained more than learning to call it into existence.
Even more still, she hadn't truly mastered to call upon the wolf inside her skin and DNA. It wasn't that she couldn't, but it was painful to transform and transform back. There had also been a time or two that she had feared she wouldn't be able to change back at points, something taking over. Almost like a defense mechanism to keep her safe from something she didn't know about or see...
"Are you alright Channing?" A familiar voice asked as a water bottle appeared in her vision. She took it gratefully, standing up from the wall to face who was speaking.
"As much as I can be Coulson." She told the man before taking a long pull on the water after opening it. Maria was nearby, checking off more boxes and making more notes. "I think I was lied to about how thorough the evaluation was."
"Not necessarily." Maria told her, finishing up her notes. "I just didn't tell you how much there was."
"So pretty much the same thing." Harlow told her, wiping her face with the towel that hung around her neck. Coulson chuckled slightly, leaning against the wall.
"I'm supposed to escort you to your living quarters once you're ready."
"Well, there's one more test we have to run." Something in Hill's tone made the girls blood turn cold. She shook her head, putting the cap back on the water.
"No. I've never been able to attempt it twice in a row before. I can't...I don't want to hurt someone."
"Well, I had the room cleared already." Coulson gestured around and Harlow took notice of the empty room save for a lone figure off in the corner.
"It seems that guy didn't get the memo."
"He's here just in case." the wheels turned in her head thinking back to the tranquilizer.
"That's who shot me last night isn't it." Neither Hill or Coulson answered her, knowing the rhetorical nature of her question. "What about you two?"
"Don't worry about us. We trust you." Maria told her, and they did to a point. It was the only way she knew to convince the girl to try. Harlow took a deep breath before setting down the towel and the water before making her way back to the mats in the middle of the gym.
She closed her eyes trying to calm her nerves, her brain telling her to leave it alone. Her breathing slowed as the familiar warmth washed over her, a new found strength in her muscles. That had been the easy part, calling upon what had been in her for years. Now it was time to call upon the other part of her "gift".
The girls body shuddered slightly and she gritted her teeth as pain began to radiate in her bones. Her entire body now felt it was on fire and Harlow felt herself drop to a knee, shrinking in on herself. Voices of her past echoed loudly, making it harder to focus.
'WE DON'T KEEP MONGRELS AS PETS.'
'AGAIN. RUN IT AGAIN.'
'SHE NEEDS MORE TESTING. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE TRIGGERS WORK. THAT THE SKIN-CHANGING WORKS'
'BRILLIANT WORK DOCTOR. SHE WILL BE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE UNDER MY CONTROL. SHOSTAKOV OUTDID HIMSELF FINDING HER.'
Screams left her as pain flooded her senses, causing Harlow to curl up into a ball. Seizing took over as she shuddered, her body still on fire. The girl could feel gloved hands on her, trying to still her shaking form. She felt her increased senses snuff out, the pain overwhelming, and sweat rolling down her face and body.
"Deep breaths kid. Deep breaths." the voice said, placing a hand just under her collar bone and she felt the slight pressure. It helped to feel something to keep her grounded and helped her even out her breathing. Time seemed to move slow as the young girl tried to let the pain pass over her, her body still shivering. The person who was next to her, never left her side until she tried to sit up.
Her head pounded and every joint ached, pure exhaustion settling in. She looked up to see a concerned look on the mans face and Harlow nodded as if to let him know she was alright. The man stood and offering a hand, to which she gratefully took it.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Coulson and Hill dared to approach, as the episode appeared to be at an end.
"Thanks Barton. Fury has another mission lined up for you and Romanoff." The man nodded before taking his leave. Harlow closed her eyes, allowing her mind to catch up.
"Channing, are you alright?" Coulson asked the girl, seeing her still shivering slightly. He found her hazel eyes now on him and she only nodded, before speaking to Maria.
"Please tell me that was it."
"You're completely done. Go get some rest. I'll see if we can figure out something that might make changing easier but it'll take some time." Harlow merely nodded before going to grab her belongings then leaving with Coulson to see her new place.
Fury had really undersold the accommodations for where Harlow would be living now. The new apartment she would be staying in was only a few blocks away from the HQ but it was tucked in and hidden in such a way, no one would be able to find it. The only thing the girl was unsure of was the fact that she would have a roommate, but if that was a small price to pay, so be it.
Everything seemed to be neatly in it's place, books and movies stored on free floating shelves. The kitchen was fully stocked, an island and several bar stools sitting in the middle of it. Her feet soon carried her down the hall, finding a decently sized bathroom and two bedrooms. One of which was locked up and the girl assumed it belonged to her undisclosed roommate, leaving the other for her.
Harlow melted when she opened the door, seeing the massive bed. She all but ran to it, jumping on top of it. Her body immediately relaxed, eyes beginning to droop shut, sleep calling to her. It had been a long day and it seemed that was to be her life now.
A month passed by uneventfully as the girl fell into somewhat of a routine. Going from the apartment to Shield HQ to train and then back again. When she wasn't training, she was learning other skills that would be useful to her. Ways to hack systems or how to blend into environments, that sort of thing. However, the girl found it was easier said than done, sometimes it felt as though it were information overload.
"Thank goodness Fury knows what a day off means." She said to no one as she plopped onto the couch, a bowl of salad in hand. The girl rolled her eyes, remembering she had also been placed on a diet of health foods as part of getting in shape. Junk food called to her often, as did coffee most mornings and nights.
"I hate you." She muttered to the lettuce before taking a frustrated bite, pressing play on the remote and a James Bond movie began to play. As she was engrossed in her movie and lunch, Harlow neglected to hear the front door opening and closing. The figure that had entered set down the dufflebag in their hand before shedding off their boots and making their way to the kitchen.
The person promptly stopped, seeing the sink full of dishes and a few take out containers on the counter. Frustration bubbled in their stomach as they turned to see someone sitting in the living room, blankets draped every which way on the couch and chair. Movie cases sat on the entertainment center instead of their proper place. A cup not on a coaster.
"You've got to be kidding me." A honeyed voice entered their ears as they saw a familiar blonde looking over the back of the couch. Harlow took notice of the red-haired woman that she had met almost a month ago. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since she had her first meeting with Fury, but thought nothing of it...What was her name again? She was sure that Fury had said it...
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment? It looks like a tornado ran through here."
"More like what are you doing in my apartment?" They both sneered at the other, neither daring to move. Harlow caught the woman muttering something under her breath...Was that Russian? "Look, if you've got something to say, you can say it to my face."
"You are not staying here."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Harlow dared to retort, soon flinching under the hard gaze of the woman's green eyes. However, the red-head said nothing, merely seeming to calculate...The girl hoped it wasn't all the ways she could kill her. "Fury told me this is where I was supposed to live and that I would be rooming with someone."
"Fury told me I'd be rooming with someone but he failed to mention it would be with a walking dumpster." the woman gestured to the mess around them. Harlow's cheeks burned, knowing she was caught out. She had been meaning to clean for the past few days, knowing how the apartment looked, but the girl hadn't gotten around to it just yet.
"I will gladly clean up and move somewhere else. The last person I want to live with is the one who almost crushed my windpipe and insulted me."
"And I would rather not live with some unqualified, loafing teenager." The woman watched something pass over the girls face, a brief expression of hurt.
"I don't know what makes you the authority to decide that I'm unqualified, but I have been working my a** off and I'm still learning." Harlow opened her mouth to say something else, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. It opened before either of them had a chance to see who it was, though there was no mistaking them as a face with an eye-patch came into view.
"Ahh good...I made it before either of you could kill each other." Fury looked at both the woman, both of them had gritted jaws and reddened cheeks. "I stopped by because I figured there might be a bit of a problem with your current living situation."
The man would be lying if he couldn't see the tension between the eighteen year old and twenty one year old respectively. But when he had noticed a few things line up between Romanoff's file (mostly redacted of course) and Channing's, Fury knew he wanted to see how well they would work together. It would take time, but something told him these two would be a force to be reckoned with when they did. That and if things went as planned, they would be the glue to hold everything together.
"Allow me to get you two started so we can end this standoff." He gestured over to the red-haired woman. "Channing, Natasha Romanoff." Fury then gestured back to the blonde, Natasha's eyes cool and calm, studying every moment. "Romanoff, Harlow Channing."
"Well Fury, I don't think-" He put his hand up, stopping Harlow in her tracks and her mouth shut. A smirk of satisfaction tugged at the corner Natasha's mouth for no one but herself.
"Fury-" All Fury did was look at Natasha and she nodded, knowing to keep her thoughts to herself for the moment. However, her gaze locked back onto Harlow who snickered slightly at her correction. Though it stopped once she found Natasha giving her a hard stare.
"I don't care why you want to be separated or why you might not want this, but you don't have a choice. I need you two to learn each other's habits and routines because eventually, you will be partnered up with one another." He continued as the women said nothing. "Once Channing finishes her basic training, Romanoff you will take her under your wing."
"You can't be serious Nick." Natasha spoke with an irritated lilt in her voice.
"I am deadly serious Romanoff. Due to investigations popping up, our agents are spread thin as it is. Not to mention you are the best at keeping your emotions under control and keeping a level head under pressure. Channing needs to learn that if she is going to continue to grow in confidence and in her abilities."
"I don't know how you expect me to learn it from someone who clearly doesn't want to train me." Harlow sniped bitterly, crossing her arms in frustration. She shoved away the familiar feeling of her aforementioned abilities, not longing to bring them out into the conversation.
"Well you're going to have to figure it out...Romanoff, you're due for a debriefing in twenty..." Fury paused, noticing the takeout containers on the counter. "And Channing, stick to your regimen."
And with that, the girl watched as Fury left the apartment, Natasha lingering in the room only for a few moments before retreating to her bedroom and then to the bathroom, sounds of the shower filling the silent apartment. Harlow swallowed hard, grabbing her bowl of salad from the coffee table. She promptly walked over to the trash can, dumping it. Her appetite was long gone and she soon began washing dishes in frustration.
The story should start picking up some, but I am glad to be taking this journey at a slow pace...Anyway, have an awesome evening!
Thank you once again to all of you who are reading this and following. You are the best! :)