Merciful
Chapter Eleven: In the Beginning
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Last Chapter
The final battle begins soon, Laufeyson. Remember whose side you are on.
Jaida
When I had expelled the dark mood from myself, I felt a familiar presence in my mind, something I had felt before, in the spar with Thor.
"Get out of my head, Loki," I said calmly, causing Nat and Clint to do a double take, and Loki to recoil. I saw slight surprise and confusion on his face, and I wondered what he had seen. Instead of dwelling on it, however, I straightened up and acted as if nothing had happened.
"I suppose we should call Fury back," I said. "He can have someone question Tri."
"Sounds good," Clint said, voice slightly shaky. That scared me slightly. Nat and Clint had never seen me at my worst, and I think they sometimes forgot who I had been, and who I had grown up as for thirty years. It wasn't something I was proud of, but it wasn't something I could forget or misplace. It was a part of me.
The first thing Fury did when he returned was ask why there was blood on his carpet - and my hands.
"We had a small… vermin issue," Loki said silkily.
"Do we need containment?" Fury looked around the room, as if Tri would be tied up in the corner.
"Natasha has him." Natasha tossed Fury the case, and he caught it, turning it curiously. "I… convinced him to remain in his mouse form."
Loki snorted. Fury looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head.
"Sir," I said. "You should probably have him questioned immediately. If I know the Red Room, they'll be acting soon."
Fury nodded. "Sounds good. I've already alerted everyone to your current state of living and non-compromised, so you're free to wander. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Got it?"
I nodded, accepting the dismissal, and Loki and I left. With nothing planned, we simply wandered around, ending up near the training area. I felt a strong sense of déjà vu, especially when I saw Coulson's team there; which meant Ward.
"Oh, joy," I muttered. Loki gave me a questioning look. "Ward. Want to go-"
"Liao!" I swear, that man was begging for a fight. "Finally come crawling back? How was the enemy? Did you bring them flowers?"
"Ward," said a girl warningly. "What are you doing?"
He muttered something to her, and then turned to me. "Liao, a few years back, you promised me a, what was it, a killer fight. What better time than now?"
"There are a whole lot of better times," I said stiffly. "If you hadn't heard, we are at war. Agents are falling like flies; I would hate to make you fall sooner."
"Sooner. Alright, that-"
"Ward, I don't think that's a good idea." I nodded gratefully at Melinda May, but she only narrowed her eyes.
Loki whispered in my ear. "Jay. Walk. Away." I jumped slightly when I heard him call me by my nickname.
Ward snorted when I turned away. "Now what? You'll just take commands from a freaking serial killer?"
In ten seconds flat, Ward was on the ground, my foot resting lightly on his throat.
"You're getting on my nerves, Ward," I hissed. "For ten years now, you've been pushing my buttons. I can't decide if you're the annoying ex, or the creepy boyfriend-wannabe. You know what? I'm sick. I am sick of no one trusting me, just because of a tiny detail of my past. Why me? Natasha was in the exact same position, and yet, here she is today, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most trusted agents. Why am I so different?"
"You can do things," Ward snarled. "I've seen it. I'm the only one who's seen what you're capable of, but everyone else can sense it. There's a darkness around you, as of you're marked. Not to mention that you were with them nearly two decades longer than Romanoff. Maybe we could trust you. If you cared to show your face instead of flitting around so quietly."
I pursed my lips. "I'm a spy, Ward. It's kind of in my job description. People make mistakes, alright? You just need to drop the grudge match and deal with it. Just because I dumped you-" Immediately, I stepped off of Ward and spun around.
"What-"
"Shut up!" I hissed. "All of you!"
I scanned the area. I had heard something that didn't quite fit in. I didn't know what, but-
"Jaida." It was Loki. "We're surrounded. Cats and dogs."
"How'd they get in here?!" I reached behind me, pulling out my bow, and placing an arrow on the string. The agents around me had caught on, and had drawn their own weapons.
Then came a voice that I had assumed I would never hear again, one that I had hoped I would never hear again. "Nine. Dearest Avian Nine. I hate to interrupt, when this was getting so interesting."
"Father."
…
3rd Person
When Clint had gone to retrieve Fury, he had requested that he and Nat speak with him. Alone. Therefore, Fury had made quick work of dismissing Jaida and Loki.
After handing off the mouse, Fury sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. "What do you two want? We're in the middle of a war."
"We're worried about Agent Liao," Natasha said bluntly. "We think we've been underestimating her. She's been holding back, for years."
"And what is your proof of this?"
Clint sighed. "Today. The second she caught that mouse, her eyes went red, like they do sometimes when she's particularly angry. This time, though, it was different. There was a certain, distant coolness in them. She tortured that man ruthlessly and without emotion. I mean, what she did… I would never wish that pain on someone."
Fury nodded. "Understandable. I've suspected for a whole that she hasn't been showing her full abilities. Yes, I can see why that's worrying, but also keep in mind her upbringing. All she knew was to kill and torture. She was a machine, and she's made great progress. Just keep an eye on her."
The two nodded and dismissed themselves, heading for the sound of a skirmish over in training. Then a cat ran by them. And another. And a dog. Then, before they knew it, they were both on the ground, snarling dogs at their necks, and a man familiar to Natasha tying their hands behind their backs.
Meanwhile, Fury had called up Maria Hill, giving her the small, bleeding mouse. She held the case slightly away from her body, the disgust obvious on her face. Finally, she reached a small interrogation room, one with no possibility of escape for the small rodent. Hill set the case down and pulled out the mouse, tugging off the ring. Then she set it on the ground, and sat in front of it.
"We're going to make a deal," Hill said, getting right to the point. "You're pretty damaged right now, that's obvious. You can't fight, you can't run, and if you annoy me, I can squish you under my foot. Therefore, Director Fury and I have come up with a reasonable deal. Immunity in the coming fight, and medical attention. In return, you will remain in our custody until we see fit, and tell us what we need to know at this moment."
The mouse didn't move, besides sitting up.
"You have two minutes to decide. If you choose not to… well, I'm sure Agent Liao would enjoy convincing you."
That did the job, and Tri immediately morphed into his human form. "I believe that is illegal."
"We move outside the law," Hill said cooly. "Whatever we have to do to keep the world safe."
"Obviously," the man said. "Fine. I will take your deal."
"Not so loyal, hm?"
"We were taught to have open minds and protect ourselves," Tri muttered. "That's why Red Room is so successful."
"Alright. So when is the planned attack time?"
Tri grinned wickedly. "You've missed it."
…
Jaida
I glared at the man who had sired me. "What are you doing here?"
"Not quite the touching reunion I had imagined," Petrovitch said. "Natasha didn't exactly greet me happily, either."
On cue, two men shoved the two tied up spies forward. I growled.
"What are you doing, Ivan?" I hissed. "You can't take on all of S.H.I.E.L.D."
He shrugged. "I know how you work, Nine. You and Widow, here. You forget that I raised you both. I know you better than anyone ever will. Besides, I know better than to take on all of S.H.I.E.L.D. No, I'm striking at the heart, since I can't seem to find the brain. Tell me, where is the intelligence in having six of your most important agents all in one spot?"
Headcount: Fury. May. Hill. Nat. Clint. Me. Crap.
"So scared, Nine. Are you doubting your choice? You could have stayed with us. You could still join us. You don't fit in here, Tri's torture is evidence enough of that. Your so called friends saw. It terrified them. You were not bred and raised as a hero. You are of me. You have my blood. The agents here agree with me. They know who planted the bombs a couple weeks ago. It was quite obvious. It would be someone with the motivation, with the past, and with the ability to pass by, unnoticed, no more than an animal. It was all the better when you somehow survived, along with your serial killer boyfriend." Petrovitch grinned wickedly when I glanced around to see most of the other agents either glaring at me, or looking at the ground abashedly. "See? You've already done that much. Why not go the whole way?"
"No," I growled. "I didn't plant the bombs, and Fury knows that; that's all that matters. As I told Ward earlier, everyone makes mistakes. My past wasn't my mistake; I had no choice as a child, when I was brought to the Red Room. My mistake was not leaving sooner and not killing you before I left. After all, I should have known that a roach like you would survive a simple bombing."
In one fluid motion, I lifted my bow and shot an arrow at Petrovitch's face.
Unfortunately, it didn't hit him. In fact, it didn't even hit the ground. It hit a force field, sparking slightly. I turned slowly to stare at Loki. That was his work.
Though chaos had erupted, what with the growling dogs, hissing cats, and loud gunshots, nothing got through to Loki and me until I slowly rose my bow, a razor sharp arrow pointed at his face. I released - and then we weren't there any more.
…
3rd Person
Natasha watched with narrowed eyes as Jaida and Loki disappeared before quickly getting out of her bonds and knocking out the two men guarding her and Clint, who had done the same and was now fighting hand-to-hand with a dog that had just turned into a man. In fact, every animal was growing larger, morphing into their humanoid form. There hadn't been many over in the training area, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were slowly being corralled into the center.
"Director Fury," Natasha said rapidly into her earpiece. "Training center is under attack. We are extremely outnumbered, and falling quickly. Loki has been compromised. His and Liao's location is unknown."
"I copy," Fury said grimly. Then Natasha glanced around, prepared to fight as hard as she had to. The Red Room. After all these years, they were still after her, and now Jaida. If she was captured, she most certainly wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of going easy.
…
Loki
Shield me.
Without thinking, I threw a barrier up in front of the leader of the Red Room. Seconds later, Jaida's arrow slammed into it, and she knew. She knew of my deception.
Kill her. She is of no use to me. Plan B.
Jaida slowly lifted her bow, an arrow aimed at my face. I saw her fingers twitch to release, and I threw my hand up, sending us both somewhere we wouldn't be interrupted by dogs. I had done as Ivan Petrovitch had asked. I had gained her trust. Now, I was to kill her. I would at least give her a fighting chance.
…
A/N: Hey, y'all! Sorry for the late update; I had finals, and then we went to Chicago for the weekend, and then two days off of school due to temperatures below -20, Fahrenheit. I used those days to hang out with MuchoMangoz1734. So, those of you in the southern states. Eidolon Specter tells me that it's about thirty degrees with about an inch of snow. With no school. And abandoned cars on the highways. And army rations. Up here, we have an average of two feet of snow, today is the first day in a while that the temperature is above zero in several days, and we still have school. Please continue with your insanity; it gave me something to laugh at during school. "Ice and Snow Paralyzes the South." Hah. Okay! Done ranting, R&R!