For almost a week Spencer was kept in that little room. True to his word, people started to show up outside Spencer's room. The little flap was lifted and it broke the shielding just enough that their emotions were easy for Spencer to pick up on. It made being in here just that much more bearable. The inactivity was starting to get to him, though. As was the wait. This wasn't the first time he'd been made to wait around for something, but… he had no idea how these people would react in different scenarios. Nor did he know what he wanted to do.

On one hand SHIELD seemed to be offering him everything he could want on a silver platter. On the other hand, there had to be a catch somewhere. There was always a catch.

If he wanted to take them up on their offer and stay here—and, God, did he ever. Anywhere had to be better than there—he'd have to tell them about his Mom. Beg them to protect her. What would they do with that kind of leverage? How would they use it against him?

Would it really be any worse than the way They used her?

That thought made Spencer sick. The Facility had never shied away from using his mother to make him comply. When he'd begun to be old enough to wonder, old enough to question why he was doing what he did and why he was so different from other kids, they'd had to have something to contain him. Diana Reid was that something.

You keep waiting long enough and they're going to grab her before you can get there to protect her. It won't matter then because she'll be gone. All because you couldn't do what you had to.

Only, he hadn't had any opportunity to break out of here. The room itself was pretty impossible to break out of. They'd sealed it up well. If he wanted to get away, he was going to have to get out of here somehow.

That opportunity came exactly one week after Spencer was brought in.

Spencer was pulled up from a nap by the sound of the door to his cell opening. When he looked up from his prone position on the bed, he found Clint standing in the doorway. The man was grinning as he tossed something Spencer's direction that the young genius caught off instinct. When he looked at it, he was surprised to see it was a coat. Curious eyes lifted to lock on Clint and found that he was grinning. "C'mon." With nothing more than that, he turned and disappeared from the door.

There was no pause before Spencer was up and off the bed. He was curious about what Clint wanted, and why he was offering him a coat, and Spencer sure as hell didn't trust him but he'd be stupid to give up any opportunity to learn the area around him or a chance to potentially go outside. If he could get outside, the whole game changed. They had no idea what he could do once he was out there.

"Hurry up." Clint told him as soon as he reached the door. He shot him a look over his shoulder that spoke of trouble. "Move those legs, unless you want to be caught and stuffed back in there before we get the chance to eat the most awesome pizza ever made."

Spencer picked up his pace and hurried to join him. They were…had he heard him right? They were sneaking out…for pizza?

No one disturbed them as they went down a long hallway. Spencer's eyes took in every single detail, logging them away as he'd been trained to do and already searching for exits. He didn't pursue any of them, though. He followed behind Clint and kept his footsteps quiet as the agent stopped them periodically, checking that it was clear, before he'd move them forward again. Spencer was sure someone was going to come out and stop them any moment now. He wasn't expecting for them to step through a door and actually be outside.

The urge to start running and never stop was strong. Spencer had to jam his hands down into the pockets of the coat to fight against it. When he looked away from the open road and over to Clint, he found himself being watched knowingly. It only served to put Spencer's back up.

Clint's lips twitched with amusement. "Let's go, squirt. Pizza waits for no man!"

As they walked through the city—Vegas, holy shit, they were still in Vegas!—Spencer watched the man he was with and wondered, yet again, what his agenda was. No one was ever this nice to Spencer without a purpose. They always wanted something in return. What was Clint's end game? Was it just an attempt to recruit Spencer to SHIELD? If so, they never should've brought me outside. They should've left me in there. Another day or two and I probably would've signed anything. But now he was out, he was free. He just had to break away from his shadow, and the other three shadows trailing behind.

More people joined them on the sidewalk and Spencer unconsciously found himself edging just a little closer to Clint. It felt strange and unsettling to be out here and know that he was completely and utterly unarmed. Not a single weapon on his person. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been like that outside of the Facility. There were so many people out here, so many who might try to touch him, to hurt him, and he had nothing on him with which to defend himself. The only thing that kept him from truly panicking was the knowledge that Clint undoubtedly had weapons on him.

The fact that Spencer stayed silent through their walk didn't seem to deter Clint at all. He talked almost the entire way there, hands waving dramatically around and the occasional quick grin lighting up his face and making him appear so much less threatening. What he was talking about, Spencer couldn't have said, but he let the sound of his voice wash over him, and he enjoyed the warm emotions that Clint was putting out. They were a nice buffer for a mind that hadn't been exposed enough lately and was now being thrust out into public.

Spencer felt his first real spurt of hope when he saw the pizza joint that Clint was taking him to. It was small, a bit of a hole-in-the-wall where you could get great pizza for the cheapest price around. It also had two exits—the front door and an alley door through the kitchen. A kitchen Spencer knew he could slip out of. He'd done it before. The only trick would be to get away from Clint.

Not that that was going to be that hard. Spencer knew just how to play it. Goofy though he seemed to act, there was no doubt in Spencer's mind that the man beside him was smart and capable. He was the type to notice the little things. So Spencer made sure that his hands shook just the slightest bit as he drew them out of his pockets to pull his coat tighter around himself. And he leaned in another half inch towards his companion while also ducking his head down and pressing his lips together. Nothing big, nothing over. Just enough of the little things that it only took seconds before Clint was leaning in towards him and murmuring, keeping his voice low enough that the people in here couldn't hear him "Kid? You all right?"

Spencer drew in a shaky breath and nodded. Then he shook his head. "There are… a lot of people. I just… I need a moment." He moved away, surprised and pleased when Clint didn't follow him. He snuck a look through his hair and saw that the man was watching him the whole way. That was fine. Spencer didn't care about being watched. He made a show of checking for the sign and then followed it in the direction of the bathroom.

Halfway down the hallway he glanced back and had to smother a grin. Either Clint hadn't followed him or he wasn't close enough to catch sight of Spencer yet. There was a brief window here, a small blind spot, and he took full advantage of it. As he turned back around, Spencer reached down inside himself for the mutation he'd been born with, the one that wasn't recorded on any file anywhere, and the one that was going to get him out of here. He grabbed hold of what he thought of as an internal 'switch' and he flipped it. Between one step and the next, the young man Spencer was gone, and in his place was the young woman, Erinyes.

She darted into the kitchen before anyone could come and see her. This part of things was easy and familiar, something she'd done plenty of times before. As she slipped around someone, projecting ever so slightly to try and encourage people not to see her, she grabbed a nearby coat that hung on a hook and switched it out for the one she had on. Once that was zipped up, her shirt was hidden. There wasn't much to do for the pants. Then again, they looked like almost any other pants out there, so she should be fine.

A hat was snagged as well and pushed down on her head. Her hair was longer in this form, just a bit below her shoulders, and it was curlier and lighter as well, moving more towards honey-colored than brown, and making her look just a bit different than her other form.

With the hat and the new coat over her changed body it should've been enough to keep her hidden. She was confident when she slipped herself out the back door and into the alley, right up until she came out and found Clint freaking Barton leaning against the wall opposite her.

Spencer made damn sure not to stumble or show anything. She gave him a curious look, same as she might if she were any other worker on her way off after a shift, and then shook her head like it wasn't worth her time. She smiled politely and made as if to leave, only to watch as Clint pushed off the wall grinned at her. "Well now. That's a nifty trick there, Erinyes. I'm a bit impressed."

Shit, shit, shit! Spencer pulled on her best acting skills as she stopped and turned to look back at him. She could run, she knew. She could try and run fast. Only, if he were already here, the other agents were probably watching the end of the alley, and Spencer wanted to get away without killing anyone. If she killed SHIELD members they were a whole lot more likely to burn resources trying to find her. That was the last thing she wanted. Just play your part. You've done it before. With that in mind, she bit her lip and furrowed her brow, moving back just a small step as if she were nervous at some strange man speaking to her in an empty alley. Most women would be. "Excuse me?" A hint of a soft drawl touched her words, turned it into something a bit more delicate, flavored slightly by the south. "Do I know you?"

Clint's grin grew wider. He stuffed his hands down into his pockets and strolled towards her, head cocked to the side as he looked her over. "The coat, the hat, those were nice touches. You might've pulled it off if you'd managed to snag some sunglasses or something. Those eyes… those give you away. They're exactly the same. I knew you had a trick or two up your sleeve but, man, I never would've guessed you could shapeshift. That's awesome. Can you do more or just this?"

His open eagerness and honest admiration floored Spencer. She couldn't help herself; she gaped at him. Was he serious? He found her trying to escape and he wasn't angry with her. Was, in fact, almost radiating curiosity and a strange sort of eagerness like he couldn't quite contain himself from asking a hundred more questions. Through it all, though, one thing became clear. "You knew I'd run back here." With that sentence she was admitting that this was really her. That she could do this. Why hide it now? He'd obviously figured it out and the way he looked at her made it clear he wasn't going to be swayed. She wouldn't fool him. Not without manipulating him in a way she absolutely refused to do. Not to someone who had done her no harm.

Clint shrugged one shoulder. His grin had a hint of a smirk now. "This is the only decent exit out of here. I figured you'd try to run."

"Why can't you let me go?" Spencer blurted out. Emotion churned inside of her and she had to fight it back. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides in an effort to contain the small tremor building there. "Please. Just let me go."

"Who are you trying to protect?"

That simple question hit home like a blow. Spencer actually flinched, her body tensing in preparation of a fight.

Tilting his head, Clint studied her face, his humor from before gone. He looked so serious now. "If you were loyal to them, you would've tried to kill me or used your powers to wipe my mind when you came out here. I get the feeling you probably could've done it, too. If you aren't loyal to them, taking SHIELD up on their offer would be a godsend. You'd be nervous but not this all-fired determined to get away. The only thing that makes sense is that you've got someone you're looking out for. So, who is it, Erinyes? Who are you trying to protect?"

With each word it felt like he took her apart more and more. The barriers she'd put up over herself were being yanked away. Just like the people she'd been with before, he stripped her down bare, laying her out for the world to see. Spencer closed her eyes at the realization sank in. She wasn't going to get away from them. She was going to be stuck working for SHIELD, imprisoned by them, or dead. The only option she had left here was to throw herself on their mercy and beg them to protect the single most important person in her life. The only person that mattered.

Everything about Spencer deflated. She opened her mouth and sealed her own fate. "My mother."

She didn't look at Clint anymore. It didn't stop her from feeling how his emotions went softer, or hearing how his voice softened as well. "Is she safe right now?"

"I don't know." The words were aching, spoken past lips that felt kind of numb. Another tremor shook her hands and she clenched them tighter. Her eyes were locked on the brick wall behind Clint's head even though she could barely see it. "She's at Bennington Sanitarium in Vegas. The last time I was free and checked, there were no new agents on it, but I don't know if anywhere else has heard of the Facility being taken down here and has bothered to come there after her. I have to…" A lump built in Spencer's throat and she fought to swallow it down. "I can't let them take her. She wouldn't survive it. Her mind isn't strong enough to take that."

She knew what she needed to do here. As much as it galled her, she couldn't have pride, not where this was concerned. They had taught her that a long time ago. What was the point of pride? It earned you nothing. Spencer swallowed hers and made herself shift so that she could meet Clint's eyes. The compassion there was almost her undoing. She held it together, though her voice trembled just the slightest bit when she spoke again. "Tell your bosses I'll do whatever they want, submit to whatever they want me to—so long as they protect her. They do that and I'm theirs."

To his credit, Clint didn't try arguing any of it with her. He didn't voice any of the thoughts she could almost feel tickling at the edges of her shields. He just looked at her with so much sorrow and nodded. Then he pulled out his phone.

Standing there in the alley, Spencer closed her eyes and grieved for the loss of that small glimpse of freedom she'd had. It didn't matter anymore. She was never going to be free. She was Erinyes and she was always going to be Erinyes.

Something deep inside of her broke a little more.