Hello everyone just wanted to remind you that I do not own Marvel, I only own my Oc's. Enjoy!

thoughts

Another day has come and gone, but for some reason, I feel uneasy about it. A month has passed since I've last seen Agent Clint Barton. One month exactly, and today, is usually the day Clint comes to visit me... not that I care. Still, Clint has never been late for our usual meetings, and I'm almost positive it's dusk. The only reason I know how late it's gotten is due to the schedule the prison has. I received my dinner some time ago, and Clint usually comes sometime after lunch. I know a lot of people would say, he's given up on me, but that's not the case here. Clint Barton is an irrational man who doesn't understand when he needs to give up. He's the kind of person who continues to fight until the end. He'll never give up on a person once he's made it his mission to save them. Of course, he may take a break once in a while to live his life, but he never gives up on a person. It's kind of annoying, really.

Thump, thump, thump

Maybe I spoke too soon... I thought to myself wryly.

I hear the guard speaking to me through the slot on the door like usual, "Rodriguez you have a visitor, you know the drill."

I groan in response as I prepare myself for the next few minutes. Ten minutes later, I find myself in the same room Clint and I always meet in, but there's a surprise waiting for me when I arrive. I pause momentarily at the entrance wondering if I can turn around and head back to my cell. I never expected to see her of all people visiting me in prison. With her stone-cold face and indifferent attitude.

After a minute of gawking at the woman, I move forward to my regular seat as they chain me down per protocol. I notice today they put more restraints on me as I sat down in my usual chair. I smirk at the foolish display. To think they actually believe they can contain me, but I suppose they feel the need to take more precautions than usual considering who is here in front of me. When they finish, everyone leaves the room, except Agent Maria Hill. Out of all the people in the world, why did it have to be her?

"Well, you haven't changed one bit from the last time I saw you," She pointed out to me with her cold and indifferent voice. "I heard you turned 17 some time ago, congratulations."

"Yeah, yeah, whoop-de-do... Now, why are you here, Agent Hill?" I asked with mild annoyance. It's already bad enough Clint doesn't leave me alone, but now Hill? She doesn't even like me. "Don't tell me Clint put you up to this."

"...I'm here on a mission," She told me bluntly. "A mission to recruit you."

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, almost laughing at what she said. There's no way she's here to recruit me. I told S.H.I.E.L.D. I wasn't helping them with their problems anymore. It was a one-time thing when I last helped them, and from here on out, I want nothing to do with them. Apparently, someone didn't get the memo. Tragic really, she came here for nothing. "I must have misheard you."

"Sadly, you didn't. I'm here to recruit you per Director Fury's orders. We have a job that requires your assistance-"

"Nope! No way! I'm not getting dragged into another crisis again just because S.H.I.E.L.D is incapable of handling it. Y'all are on your own this time. By the way, next time you see Clint, tell him not to send you in his place. If he doesn't want to see me then that's fine, but it doesn't mean any of you can come in his place. Actually, just remind him I don't want to see him either."

There was a moment of silence before Hill spoke again which unnerves me, "Agent Barton couldn't come and see you today."

"I don't care," I stated with as much indifference as I can muster. True, I'm curious as to the reason he couldn't make it, but I'm too proud to ask why.

"Of course not. You only ever think about yourself," Agent Hill calmly retorts as she stands up to leave. "Why would you care about Barton being brainwashed by enemy forces?"

"Wait... what happened? H-how did this happen?" I practically screech. My mind is racing at this point, and how can it not when she just dropped a bomb on me like this. How can this happen to Clint of all people? This was arrow shooting, funny, smart, and dependable Clint Barton. How could he get taken?

"Loki happened," Maria states as she proceeds to briefly explain how Loki turned Clint into his mindless robot, or at least that's how it sounds to me. "He now has the Tesseract."

"What's a tesseract?"

"A power source which has the potential for good or great evil. Not that it matters."

"Why wouldn't that matter?!"

"Because you said that you were done with all of this, remember. I'm not going to waste any more of my time on you." the brunette announced, turning around to leave the room.

Before she can take two steps, I jump up from my seat, once again breaking through my countless restraints as I try to obtain the other woman's attention. "Wait! Is he... is he going to be okay?"

She paused before quietly saying, "I don't know. I'm bet you're happy knowing he's finally in trouble."

No... that isn't true. It's the opposite if I'm being honest. Sure, I'm mad at him, but that doesn't mean I want him to die. I just- I don't know what I want, but it wasn't this. I didn't want this!

"I'll help you!" I blurt out to the older woman. Slowly, she turns around to face me, eyebrows raised.

"What did you say?"

"I'll help you with the- well whatever it is, okay? I'll help you, but once you get Clint back, that's it. I'm out, got it?"

I can practically see the gears in her head turning as she thinks it over. A moment later, she replies. "Alright, but answer one question for me before I leave. Why are you helping us?"

I remain quiet for a moment, thinking it over. Why am I helping S.H.I.E.L.D.? I don't owe them anything. If anything, they owe me for everything that happened to me in the past year. But the moment Clint pops up in my mind, with everything he's ever done to try and help me, it becomes clear to me what my answer is.

"Because he never gave up on me, even when I gave up on him. Clint never left me. Not even when I yelled at him and blamed him for everything."

I can't leave him when he needs me. No matter how much I want to try and fight the urge to do so.

"So you admit that what happened to Cristina and Christopher wasn't his fault?"

"No, I never said that! I still blame S.H.I.E.L.D. for what happened to them that day. If you had just left us alone and dealt with the problem yourselves, they would still be alive! I wouldn't be in prison trying to get away from the rest of the world," I hissed back at her. "I will never forgive any of you for allowing them to die!"

"Calliope, Christopher is still alive," Hill softly mentioned, however, I turn away from her, not wanting to face her or the lies.

"His body is alive, but not his mind. Y'all ruined him and left me an empty shell in his place," I remind her sadly. They can say all they want, but I know the truth. I was there the entire time as I watched my world fall apart before my eyes in a matter of seconds. "He's gone."

"Alright then," She said trying to get back to the main subject, "In your room, you'll find an information packet for your assignment. I'll return tomorrow morning to take you to the base."

After saying a quick farewell, Hill leaves and I hurry back to my cell. It takes forever to get there since the guards were upset I broke another set of restraints. I, on the other hand, feel offended considering how flimsy the chains are. Once I reach my cell, I notice the packet Hill told me about, and I dig right into it. I begin to read about Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and so much more. By the end, my head is spinning with the overload of information. Let's just say, I don't get any sleep, and leave it at that.

The next morning, the guards begin processing me so I can leave the prison as soon as Hill arrives. Honestly, I never thought this would happen, but then again, who knew any of this would come to pass. Finally, the huddle of guards escort me outside to an awaiting vehicle. I get in the car and immediately come face to face with Maria Hill, as a (temporarily) free woman. We nod to one another as the car commences its journey to the jet that would take us to home base.

"You do realize, you don't have to wear the prison uniform, right?" She points out to me, looking at my prison outfit.

"This is just a reminder that I'm not here to stay. This arrangement is only temporary, and I'll be back in prison in no time."

Just have to save an idiot first... That shouldn't be too difficult. Right?

Authors note: Okay so the first two chapters are really short for a reason. Since they were more of an introduction to the story I chose to keep them short but the next chapter will be longer. Also, I wanted to let all of know that when it comes to Calliope's past you're going to learn about it in little snippets instead of all at once. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.