By the time Ashley reached the underwater HYDRA base, she could barely breathe. The helicopter ride with Coulson had successfully shot her anxiety into kingdom come, and now she was starting to doubt her own capability, which is all her father used to do anyway. Coulson told her what to do if she needed back up but realistically, she was far too stubborn for that.

Too damn stubborn.

"Agent Darmer, are you ready?" Louis, one of the pilots, called out from the cockpit. They were currently situated in one of S.H.I.E.L.D's best retroreflective panelled quinjets in the dark of night, over a vast stretch of sea.

Whereabouts exactly? Ashley had no idea. Did it matter? Nope.

"Ready!" Ashley lied as she nervously approached the open airport door, feeling that intrusive breeze slap her from every angle. "Is the bunker directly below us?"

"Affirmative. We're literally directly above as we speak, so once you jump in, you'll pretty much be on top of it. Don't forget to contact us once you're in!" Louis shouted back over the roaring sound of engines.

"Got it," Ashley winced. "God, Christie better love me forever for this." Then, taking the deepest of breaths, she took a final glance into the dark murky water below her. "Let's just do it," she mumbled. Before even considering where she'd land and what to do when she landed - she leapt off the platform feet first.

The air sliced around her at an incredible speed that she barely had time to register what was happening. In a rushed panic, she forced water in a jet like stream out of the bottom of her feet to give her a little more stability just above the surface of the water. "C-can you guys still hear me?" she asked out loud, trying to catch her breath.

"Loud and clear, Agent. If you land now, you'll be perfectly in line with their bunker," Louis confirmed through the communication sitting in her ear canal. Ashley let out a sigh of relief and wrapped a whirlwind around herself to replace the jets, and swiftly lowered herself in to the sea. Once she was fully submerged, she found that her wind powers had practically created an oxygenated bubble, allowing her to see her whereabouts and manoeuvre around without much trouble. It took a lot of concentration, but she got it. Just as Louis had predicted, she soon came face to face with one of the bunker's steel landing pads, completely submerged on the ocean floor. There were industrial like lights attached to the walls of the bunker, but there didn't appear to be many guards.

"Um, should I be concerned that there's literally nobody guarding the exterior?" Ashley hissed to Louis.

"Yeah - they don't see any reason to," Louis responded immediately, "they're not expecting anything but fish down there." Ashley raised an eyebrow of understanding. "There's an opening just ahead of you, it's probably locked but I'm guessing you can melt that with your powers or something?"

"Melt the lock….underwater?" Ashley drawled slowly. "Louis-"

"I don't know! Agent Darmer, you're the superhero here," he scoffed back sassily.

"For goodness sake. I wasn't cut out for this. You should've just got Stark to do this, or better yet, Stev-" Ashley began to mutter - before she quickly spotted a HYDRA agent beneath her, strolling across the bunker floor. He was wearing a divers suit with weighted boots and protective gear fixed firmly on his head, with a large flashlight in hand to illuminate the murky waters surrounding him. Ashley's eyes practically lit up, because whichever way he came out, she knew that eventually he'd have to go back in.

"Well would you like us to call Stark in?" Louis was sighing whilst she had her epiphany. "I think Rogers might be busy-"

"No, wait, I have an opening!" Ashley murmured back proudly. She manoeuvred her bubble silently in the water, narrowly avoiding the shine from the large flashlight before it accidentally lit her up. Soon enough the agent was satisfied, so he lowered the torch and turned on his heel to go back inside. Ashley followed him, gliding through the water, watching his absolute every step like a hawk in case he was to turn round. Her target appeared to walk down a set of stairs leading into the interior of the bunker, and Ashley knew it there had to be a point where the water was replaced with oxygen.

She just had to get in there.

The agent was rather oblivious as he took his first few steps down the stairs, so Ashley used all her might and wind power to lower her bubble, as hard as it was. She was literally fighting with the water pressure to sink herself until she was directly behind him.

But then agent frowned to himself. He could feel a presence behind him, so he froze just a couple of steps down. Ashley's eyes widened, already foreseeing what was about to happen. She was left with no choice. She winced, not wanting to do it - but she had to. She was under pressure, meaning she could raise her hand and force his plasma against his will so that he was physically unable turn his neck.

She hated it, though.

"ARGHHHH!" the agent let out a yelp of pain as he felt his body fight with his brain. It was as if he was suddenly paralysed.

"Agent? I just picked up a shout, is everything okay?" came Louis' panicked voice through her earpiece. Of course Ashley couldn't answer - she was too focussed on the stress of not knowing what to do next.

Ashley? Not thinking things through? No! Impossible!

Her father would be so proud.

She had this man's life in her hands right now. One sharp twist and she could end him completely - but she didn't want to do that. She couldn't bring herself to kill him, she just couldn't, too much blood had already been shed because of her in one lifetime - so she released her hold on him again. The man gave a gasp of relief as he felt his neck muscles loosen, and he rolled his head from side. Once satisfied that he was back to normal, he continued his journey down the steps, now assuming it was nothing more than a random muscle spasm.

Ashley continued to float downwards behind him, now unsure of when she'd get the opportunity to properly intervene. But it came soon enough as the agent approached a metal door at the bottom of the staircase which slid open for him. Through the doorway revealed another chamber, full to the brim with water since they were now completely submerged. Ashley silently waited for him to step into the chamber before quickly slipping in after him, biting down on both of her lips to make sure she didn't make so much as a whimper. She watched him slam a button on the wall to enclose them in, still unbeknownst to the floating bubble of a woman hovering behind him. Then he slammed another button, causing the the water to somehow start draining out of the chamber. Within a few seconds, the vertical water tank had turned into an oxygenated room, giving them both freedom to breathe and therefore causing Ashley's bubble to burst.

But of course, that also caused her floating body to end up conking onto the floor, releasing a large metallic CLANG! The agent spun around at the noise and his eyes went wide.

Naturally, he opened his mouth to shout.

"NO!" Ashley yelped, leaping over to him and roughly shoving him up against the wall abrasively. The agent struggled against her grip, attempting to kick her with those steel toed sea boots. "OW! Keep still you idiot!"

"I don't know how you got i-in here, but g-get out NOW!" the man spluttered out, trying to sound threatening but instead sounding petrified. His voice was muffled due to the underwater gear he still had on, but Ashley could hear the panic.

"I said shut up!" she hissed, shoving him into the wall once again, "or this time your neck will twist in a complete 180 and you'll be dead." The agent's eyes grew even wider.

"H-how d-d-did…? Look ma'am I'm sorry, I just work here, my dad owns the base and he made me do the nightly check b-because I have a fear of sharks you see, and he said 'son', h-he said to me 'son, you have to grow some balls' and I said, 'but Dad, sharks kill 16 people per year!' and he said 'actually son, they kill two people p-'" Ashley blinked at this guy waffling away in her grip, and only then did she realise how young, frightened and borderline innocent he was.

"Okay dude seriously SHUT UP!" she suddenly snapped, stopping him dead in his tracks. The guy looked up at her with worried eyes, leaving a thick layer of silence between them. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"D-Derek," he spluttered back. "Derek Munchwitz."

"Alright Derek - do you want me to kill you?" Ashley challenged him quietly, looking dead into his eyes. Derek shook his head speedily with large pleading pupils. "Lovely, because I don't want to. I'm actually here to collect someone, she was kidnapped. Now, you're gonna help me get her, then I'm gonna leave without touching you - ya got that?" She watched Derek give an uncomfortable gulp before working up the courage to speak again.

"I….I hear ya…I do," he nodded croakily, raising his hands in defence. "I-I swear wasn't…I mean, I d-didn't…um…sorry, who are you here for-?"

"Her name's Renesme, and she's a friend of my sister's. I'm taking her back t-"

"Renesme?" Derek suddenly choked out, pulling a tug dangling off his suit sleeve to open his helmet. He had a freckled face and a strong jaw structure, but his features were still extremely boyish. He looked like a teenager, and he was clearly shaken. "You're…here for Ren?"

"You know her?" Ashley blinked, tightening her grip on his shoulders. Derek clenched his jaw and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Know her? I…I love her," he murmured with a flush of his freckled cheeks. Ashley couldn't help it - she rolled her eyes. A mission turned love story?

Please.

"You love her?" she repeated with a bored drawl, her head lazily lolling to the side.

"I love her," Derek insisted a little firmer, "I shouldn't have even…well, it's technically my fault that she's locked up in the first place."

"Uh huh. Honestly Derek, I'd ask you more about this but I just can't bring myself to care. But if you loved her this much, she wouldn't be your prisoner," Ashley told him bluntly. Derek clenched his jaw and nodded bashfully.

"Wait, so are you from S.H.I.E.L.D?" he blinked.

"Yes, Derek, I'm- okay, what do you guys want with her?" Ashley cut straight to the point impatiently.

"They're using her for information," Derek answered bashfully.

"Information on…?"

"How to take down S.H.I.E.L.D, I-I think. I don't support HYDRA, by the way, I-I swear. They've done some messed up sh*t, man, and I didn't want any of that, but I was born into it. That's why I was scoping outside the bunker, they keep me on the stuff I can't sabotage - they think I'm too weak for the real stuff. If my dad wasn't the leader of this division - I'd be dead," Derek murmured, dropping his muddy coloured eyes to the floor. But Ashley's own eyes lit up and her head perked back up considerably.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow at his confession. "So do they treat you badly, huh?"

"Always," Derek huffed back, "whether I'm their boss' son or not."

"Then why don't you get back at them by releasing the girl you love? Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity?" Ashley pointed out slowly. Derek took a few pauses before nodding confidently, standing up straighter and clearing his throat.

"You know what? You're right. Ren deserves that much, I swore I'd get her out. But could you maybe…uh…let go of me now, please? You're hurting me a little," he admitted with a small wince. Ashley rolled her eyes and did as he asked, before taking a few steps back to give him space to breathe. "Thanks. Um, another question….how did you make my neck get all tense?"

"Ah. Same way I travelled underwater without getting wet - I'll explain it later," Ashley broke it down to him with a tired sigh. "So…where is Renesme?"

"She's being held in one of our cells," Derek recalled with a grumble, "they've been trying to get information out of her for a few hours now but she just won't give anything up. She's a real one - I told 'em she wouldn't spill anything."

"How very supportive of you," Ashley murmured whilst raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "How do I get in to her cell?" Derek ran his tongue over his bottom lip and began to pace the tiny space they were confined in.

"I guess you could wear my suit and sneak through with me," he suggested with a thoughtful frown.

"Or, I just rock up and annihilate absolutely everyone in my path until we get her out?" Ashley blinked back nonchalantly. "You might be innocent but HYDRA sounds flat out evil." Derek's eyes fluttered at her in confusion.

"I mean…can your magical mutation stop bullets and flare guns?"

"…ya know, I've never actually been faced with that predicament before?" Ashley frowned in sudden thought.

"Really? Huh. I would've assumed-"

"Same to be honest, but- look, this isn't the time! Let's do your whole disguise plan, we can wing everything else as and when. That's kinda how I work," Ashley hurried him with her hand outstretched so that she could take his clothing from him. Derek stripped down without hesitation until he was down to his overalls. Ashley took the suit from him and hurriedly shoved herself into it - it was damp, slightly tight and the boots felt heavy to walk in but she had to go with it. Lastly, she placed the helmet over her head, leaving the screen open so that she could at least breathe in relatively 'fresh' oxygen. "Derek, don't you think it will look weird that I have on this suit and you have on…overalls?"

"No, some agents wear this all day, others prefer to change," Derek assured her, giving her one last look over before nodding. "Okay, when we get in there, you gotta act like part of the crowd, got it? Don't look anyone in the eye - and I'll do all the talking."

"Got it," Ashley murmured back. It was admirable that he didn't want her to make a scene, but she knew that eventually she would have to because that's just how her mutation worked. She couldn't just scoop Renesme up and breeze out of there - it wasn't that simple. It would never be that simple, not for as long as it was her doing the mission.

They really should've called in Stark.

"Follow my lead," Derek instructed, before clearing his throat and slamming his hand down on yet another button on the wall. This triggered the wall opposite them to suddenly split in the middle, revealing the bunker's main control room. There were HYDRA agents milling about all over the place, running tests, monitoring maps, chatting amongst each other - all totally oblivious. Derek held his head high and strolled directly across the meal floors whilst Ashley followed suit, but her own hidden eyes were darting back and forth in an attempt to analyse everything, including possible escape routes.

But there was too much happening at once - too many people around and too many foreign noises, plus the heavy suit she was in was already weighing down on her body. This was awful.

She felt like she was about to have a power attack. Bad idea.

Suddenly, Derek took a swift left into a narrow corridor which led to yet another locked door. He scanned his pass on the little screen on the right hand side of the door, and cleared his throat.

"Yes?" Ashley heard a distant bored sounding voice call out over a monitor as she took steady, deep breaths to keep calm.

"Um, it's Munchwitz?" he announced back clearly. "I've been sent here by my father to train a new agent on prison controls." He glanced back at Ashley, and only then noticed how pale she had become. "You okay?" he mouthed over at her.

"I'm fine," Ashley hissed back through gritted teeth, squeezing her eyes shut as her heartbeat increased. Derek gave her an uncertain nod and turned back to the intercom again.

"Could ya hurry it up please? We have other things to do before we turn 80?" he barked at the intercom sassily.

"Derek, we're checking for record of your father signing this off. It's purely protocol - relax," the agent snapped back. Derek's eyes went wide as he quickly thought of a cover story.

"He's on a business call - did you want to be his target once he gets off the phone and has to ask why this still hasn't been done yet?" he tested the agent, his voice edging on threatening, which surprised Ashley the most. From the way he was acting before, she didn't know he had it in him.

And it worked.

The responding agent let out a reluctant sigh and released the lock, allowing Derek to breeze straight through with Ashley shuffling in close behind him. They entered another narrow hallway, which had a wet stone wall on one side and a large pane of glass on the other. Through the glass was a harshly lit holding cell, and inside said cell was a young woman huddled into one corner, her bruised knees drawn to her chest and her chin resting on them. She had tangled ginger locks which were messily tied into a high bun and her big doe eyes were full of tears. Ashley immediately recognised her from the picture Coulson had shown her. "I'll…uh..watch the door - you've got a few minutes before they get suspicious, but the room isn't bugged, you'll be fine," Derek mumbled a little uncomfortably, before turning on his heel and stared at the door instead. Ashley whipped off her headgear and tapped on the glass with the tip of her finger, causing Renesme to look up with those droopy eyes, expecting one of the agents again.

Once she laid eyes on Ashley however, her lips parted open slightly.

She wasn't expecting that.

...

thank you for all the follows and reviews so far! means a lot to know you guys like this story, it *really* does! x