I'm watching The Wizard… it's good, as far as some of the older movies go.
"Someone who can help my sister?" Sabrina echoed.
"I just said so, didn't I?" The man looked bored.
"You're Scarlet Hand, aren't you?" Sabrina asked suspiciously. The man snorted.
"Those idiots? Of course not. They cause more problems at S.H.I.E.L.D than anything else."
"Where…" As the blonde girl struggled to comprehend what he was talking about, the man shifted his position and sighed.
"I'll have to start at the beginning, won't I?"
"That would be greatly appreciated, yes."
"It's like this: My name is Edin Ananta. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D, which is an acronym- you do know what an acronym is, don't you? Good.- for Society Headquarters of Illegal Everafter Lifestyle Department. There, as you may suspect, we make sure that humans remain of the whereabouts of us not-so-humans. Families like yours- the Grimms- and others such as the Andersons have the right to know about us. The rest of you- not so much. What I want from you is your superior field skills. That fairy has the obvious advantage over you, what with the wings, yet he still can't find you. You are superior in that area, even compared to other humans- and some Everafters. What we need you to do is hunt down- and ultimately terminate- the threats to our world. In return, your sister's little disease goes away."
"And then what," Sabrina asked warily. " I have seen Ghost Rider, you know. Her cancer goes away, and then what? She gets hit by a car? Eaten by a dragon? Falls off a cliff?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Mr. Ananta said. "What would that do for me? I have no use for your sister, outside of a bargaining chip. I'm not going to argue the point that sooner or later, she'll get herself killed- the "eaten by a dragon" thing was probably dead on- but that's a separate matter entirely."
"So I just sign, and poof! problem gone?"
"That is the gist of it, yes."
Could he be telling the truth? Could he really cure Daphne, just like that? If so, his powers must be phenomenal. Who was he? She shrugged off her doubts. This was her fault, her responsibility.
This was her bargain to make.
Licking her lips, she looked up. "So, where do I sign?"
The mystery man smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to read the fine print? Fine-comb through the liability claims? Run away screaming?" His grin stretched to the point where she could see his unusually sharp canines. "Most girls your age would."
Sabrina bristled, despite the situation. Like she didn't get that enough from Puck! Practically the first thing he had said to her was to fix him food, it was women's work. Since then, whenever he felt that he was losing an argument, he pulled the gender card.
What would you know? You're a girl!
Why should I? Tell Sabrina to.
She's a girl.
It's women's work!
It was enough to drive her insane. Or anyone else, for that matter.
The man- Mr. Ananta- sensed this. "If you are having any doubts, now is the time to voice them. How does it go again? 'Speak now, or forever hold you pe-'"
"Where do I sign?" Sabrina was tired of playing around. She was tired in general, actually.
"Very well," Mr. Ananta pulled a rolled up sheet of paper out of his knee-length black coat. Unrolling it, he said, "Just sign here."
The contract read:
As of this date (_/_/_), I pledge my loyalty, capability, and bravery to the protection of human ignorance. I will not fail to meet the requirements or to make myself available when necessary. If I fail, my life becomes forfeit, and my deal rescinded.
X_ _
Sabrina wrote her signature over the bottom of the document before doubt could set in, scratching the date in as well. Then she rolled the paper back into a tight cylinder and handed it to her new boss.
"Excellent." Mr. Ananta's eyes glittered, "We'll be in touch. Don't call us, we'll call you, you know the drill, I assume?"
S.H.I.E.L.D's newest agent nodded.
"Good." With a small, sharp nod, the man disappeared into the edge of the trees.
How long did it take for Puck to find her? Minutes? Hours? Seconds? How long before he scooped her up and returned to the air? How long before she fell asleep?
When she woke up, light streamed in through her window. Sabrina was vaguely aware that she was not alone. She turned over, kicking off the covers in the process, to see her entire family- minus one fairy- crowded in her room.
"…brina. Sabrina."
Ah. Yeah. Granny talking.
"Yeah?" she mumbled.
"How are you, leibling?" Granny Relda could guilt you without even trying like none other. One Where you last night? We were so worried! look could wipe the smug right out of you.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Sabrina insisted. Turning to Daphne, she asked, "Hey, kid. How are ya'?" the little girl smiled.
"I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm great! I've been so hyper all day, and Nurse Sprat did better than a skin graft, she found an old medical spell that no one's used for, like, centuries, and it stopped the infetion and isolated it or something and she zapped it up and right now this hand is mostly glamor but there's another thingy they want to try and-"
"I get the point," Sabrina cut in, only a little worried that Daphne was willing to undergo a treatment she wasn't familiar with past the term "thingy".
After another ten minutes of being fussed over, Sabrina was finally left alone to sleep. This didn't, of course, last very long. Only about six minutes had passed before the door creaked back open. She sat up.
"Mom, I don't need anything. I'm fine. Really."
"Well, you always were fairly indestructible. Probably because I destroyed my reputation to keep you that way." Sabrina groaned inwardly. The reputation card was shuffled in the deck right after the gender one.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Relax," the fairy snorted. "This is for you. It was on the front porch." He tossed a small black box tied with a red bow onto the bed next to her. Shooting a last look at her, exited the room.
Sabrina raised her eyebrows, snorted, and turned her attention to the box. Inside was a sleek black cell phone. Under it was a note reading,
Keep this on you. You'll be needing it.
-E.A.
P.S.- Jenny sits besides you in math class. It would be in your best interests to befriend her.
Okie-dokie, that took longer than I thought it would. And now I have 'I Found My Way' stuck in my head. I don't own the Sisters Grimm 'n Co., I only sorta own Mystery Man (if you figure out who he is, DO NOT SNITCH!), I will own Jenny whenever she comes into play. I will probably add another chapter tomorrow 'cause I'll be at my Grandma's house for a few hours.