Sorry for the delay. Been busying with life for a bit, but now I found some time to add in the next installment.
Enjoy!
"Okay, okay, okay," Erin quietly whispered to herself, "Don't look suspicious, no fidgets, leveled heartbeat," she continued her pep talk. Her delicate palms were sweaty, her heart was beating in her stomach, and her eyes clouded with agitation. On both sides of her head, The Shadow Stranger's ears flustered into a scarlet hue. While she stepped off of the public bus, near the capitol of the country, Erin quickly draped her black hair over as much of her ears as possible. WIth a tremendously deep intake of air, she wiped her damp palms on her tan jeans and began her walk to SHIELD Headquarters. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Definitely insane. Never going to work," her sensible side was speaking up now. "There is no way you're walking out of that building."
Despite her valid points, Erin's legs endured the journey to the front gate of the massive building. From multiple websites, she had learned that SHIELD had at least forty floors; and that was just the above ground. She knew there were a handful underneath the surface, however pinpointing where they would keep her book was another story completely. Thanks to her book, she could essentially walk through walls, but it took a lot out of her. Erin had given her word to Winter so she was determined to help him, even if it meant getting arrested, again. She had to redeem herself somehow.
Once the reinforced security gate was within her sight, Erin cracked her knuckles and popped her neck. It was now or never. "So glad your distraction worked," she rolled her eyes as she approached the edge of the facility. Two, well-armed and muscular guards were posted; one standing at the gate, and the other sitting inside the little box at the corner. "How am I supposed to do this?"
Her confidence seemed to drain from her as she stepped in front of the two men. The one standing shifted his weight and quickly scanned the woman nearing them. Erin politely smiled and nodded at him.
"Good afternoon," she gave the most genuine expression she could conjure.
"Afternoon," his gruff voice said, while he still looked her up and down.
"Uh, this is a bit embarrassing," she began, "But I've got an interview inside."
"Oh yeah? What identification number?" he asked, clearly lightening his tone.
Well shit, she muttered in her mind. "92 Foxtrot," she said the first number that popped into her head and one of the phonetic alphabet.
She could see in his dark eyes that he was suspicious of her, however he kept his chin up and a constant grin. A rouse, she determined quickly.
"Oh, Foxtrot, eh? Hey, Dunn, mind calling for the exetrimantor?" he glanced over his shoulder to the silent man in the box. "I've seen a few too many bugs up here." He turned back to Erin, "What is that, computer work?"
"Adminastration," she pretended to correct him, "Well, there's computer work involved." Continuing her calm demeanor, she lightly shrugged her shoulders. From the corner of her eye, she watched the second guard pick up a phone and quietly talk into it. The way he was slightly hunched over to better conceal his mouth worried Erin.
"Really? You get a nice office with an window too?"
You're stalling. "That's my long term goal, but I doubt I'll have my own office. Still have to get through the interview," she nodded to the gate behind him, "I wasn't issued a badge. The receptionist told me to talk to whomever was on post outside." The security camera on each corners of the gate adjusted themselves towards Erin. With keen eyes, she looked directly into both; someone else was watching.
"Did she? Which receptionist, was her name Romanoff?" he dropped Black Widow's name to see how she would react.
Rather than her caving and giving herself up, Erin continued his game, "Yes, actually. The one with the red hair?"
"Yep, that's her alright," the guard stepped into the little security box and made it look like he was pressing buttons. "No big deal, let me just call up someone to ring you in."
"I couldn't help but overhear that you said something about bugs; there aren't any spiders around, are there?" she kept her face was painted and as fake as she make herself out.
"Arachnophobia?" the guard, as nicely as he could, asked.
"Not so much, I just find all insects rather annoying," she had raised her voice to insure that whomever was watching through the cameras could hear; she hoped Agent Romanoff was listening. They know I don't belong here. Are they using that Insight crap to identify me again? They know. Well, I couldn't expect my improv skills to be good enough to sneak me into SHIELD HeadQuarters. Damn, I was hoping to get a bit further than the front gate before causing a scene. "What about you, are you afraid of anything?"
"No ma'am," he said proudly.
Inhaling sharply, and moving closer to the gate, she gently placed a hand on the bars that connected to the wall and security box, "Not even the dark?" Before the guards could upholster their guns, or even realize what she was referring to, Erin forced the shadows inside the security box to seize the door shut. Loud bangs were heard from the inside. She wasted no time wrapping the interior of the post in darkness. The window blacked out, the door was almost welded closed, and the air vents were draped in her shadows. Gunshots were ringing from the guards, but The Shadow Stranger simply contracted her hand on the wall to enclose the men in a smaller circle. It shrank to almost bone crushing size, however she didn't want to kill anyone. Breaking the contact to her shadows, Erin pulled her palm away from the wall. The men inside the post gasped as the darkness released them. I'm not a murderer.
With a quick glare at the cameras that were studying her every move, Erin pressed her fingers to the bars and created a portal to walk through it. Once inside the perimeter, a long stretch of concrete lead to the skyscraper. Behind the gate, she heard the two guards shout to each other or into some communication device. They're bringing friends, Erin still hung onto the hope to avoid any more conflict.
Immediately kicking off her heels for her fake interview, Erin ran as fast as she could. Taking long strides and controlling as much as her breathing she could, the gate behind her began to open. The men shouted commands at her, warning they would shoot her. Ignoring the guards, her legs continued towards the tall building. Anticipating when the guards planned to open fire, Erin dove forward to the ground. The guards started to unload their clips close to her. Erin curled into a ball and attempted to count the bullets that were noisily chipping the concrete around her. She rolled to dodge the multiple shots take at her. One of the guards had reached to 17 shots and had to reload; or rather, that was what Erin was guessing. She dared to look back to see if either were switching magazines. Instead, they were running to her. Damnit.
Slamming her hand onto the ground, she resorted to the assist of her shadows once more. As the guards had stepped down, the shadows wrapped around their thick boots and held them down. Their bodies weren't prepared for the sudden stop, so they leaned forward and dropped their weapons. Another squeeze of her hand allowed the shadows around the boots to bring the guards downward. They tried to untie the sinking footwear, but Erin had the shadows move faster into the concrete. Once the guards' ankles, and the top of their issued boots were in the ground, she peeled her hand free. The shadows disappeared and the men remained in the road. She winced as their feet and ankles crushed by the surrounding pressure. Watching the men squirm was unpleasant and caused Erin to contract her own feet to their pain. "Jesus," she said, incredibly sympathetic of their pain. "I didn't want to hurt you," she whispered.
Jumping up from the road, The Shadow Stranger strained herself to turn away and resume her own mission. Please Winter, get that distraction started. Her short curls bounced as she increased the gap between her and the screaming men. Their cries of anguish echoed in her ears and eventually brought her to stop. She bit her bottom lip to hold back her own tears. You're not a monster. You don't torture people. Is this what you learned from Qlifhat? Erin's heart grew heavy as she came to the realization that SHIELD had already titled her a monster; she decided to not give them any inclination to further that label. Quickly whipping a small tear away, Erin ran back to the grounded soldiers.
As soon as she was close enough, Erin knelt down and used the shadows to lift the men from the concrete. They doubled-over in pain as their feet were brought back to the surface. Dunn gripped his shins and rocked back and forth in torment. His partner gave Erin such a dirty look while talking into a walkie clipped on his chest. The guard's expression was sour, harsh and absolutely dreadful. Erin knew that if looks could kill she would be dead before her lifeless body hit the floor.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, though she knew that she would never receive their forgiveness.
Erin spun on her bare feet and stood to run back to SHIELD; however, Agent Romanoff had other plans. The red haired woman appeared out of no where and threw a small device at Erin. The Shadow Stranger didn't have time to react as the silver device stuck to her stomach and immediately sent waves of strong electrical currents through her body. She felt her heart race to keep up with the new electricity, her muscles tense up entirely, and her knees give out. It felt as though someone had poured hot grease onto her head as her brain struggled to register what was happening around her. The impulses stopped just as Erin's body dropped to the cold concrete.
Over an hour later was when her body began to twitch and wiggle awake. Rather than the bright sun filtering her vision, a shallow light lingered over her eyes. Her pupils started to dilate, her head swam in dizziness, and her stomach stung with an idle burning sensation. Erin tried to move her hand to her belly, to cradle the painful area; only, her arm wouldn't budge. Her elbow was free, but something was holding her wrist. Gazing over to her side with foggy eyes, Erin was able to make out thick clasps. Looking to the other side, she found another one. Fidgeting her legs proved to be fruitless as more restraints held her ankles. Fantastic, I've been arrested, again.
The Shadow Stranger began to twist and jerk her hands in order to bend her palms to the clasps. If she touch them, she could free herself.
"It's pointless to try," a leveled female voice said.
Erin squinted her eyes to better focus the source; not much was revealed, but she did see red hair.
"Escape; it is what you're trying to do, right?" she continued to interrogate her.
The black haired prisoner held her tongue.
"Yeah, you shouldn't strain yourself trying to get out."
She blinked a few times to clear up the remaining haze over her vision but still did not answer.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," Agent Romanoff crossed her arms, "I mean, I didn't take you for an idiot. Attempting to break into SHIELD is the most ridiculous thing ever. Yet, you walked right to the front gates." She took a few steps closer to Erin.
"Well, I was hoping for some insightful reading," The Shadow Stranger vaguely mentioned her tome.
"That's obvious," the roll of her eyes was evident in her tone, "It's been over a year, why now?"
"Since you stole it from me?" Erin's brain was restarting and giving her confidence again, "Yes, it's been quite a long while. Figured I should get steal it back."
"You need it for something," she concluded. Erin turned her head to Agent Romanoff; apparently she was reading all of her subtle facial changes. Won't be able to lie to her.
"That's obvious," Erin mocked.
"Why do you need a wordless book?"
She couldn't help but scoff at her, "Maybe for you. Honestly, I'm surprised, I mean, I didn't take you for an idiot." The Shadow Stranger found it easy to enrage Agent Romanoff by copying her words. The red haired agent grew angry enough to strike her. A powerful fist collided against her cheek. Wringing her head back to face Romanoff, Erin adjusted her jaw to ensure she didn't dislocate it. "No need to get violent."
"Be thankful I don't stab you again," she warned.
"Look, I just want what is mine," technically, the book was never her's to begin with, but she needed it to help Winter.
"So you can burn down another town?" Those words went straight for her heart. Agent Romanoff noticed Erin's eyes narrow and nostrils flare in anger. "What city did you have in mind? Maimi? Phoenix? San Francisco?"
"I didn't do that," was all Erin could mutter in defense.
"Oh yeah? Is that why we found you in the center of Mountain Pass, completely untouched by your black fire?"
"Fuck off," Erin didn't want to be reminded of that day. As Romanoff continued to accuse her, The Shadow Stranger was forced to relive the events of January third.
"Yeah, I don't like terrorists. So, I'll just leave you here to rot, okay?" the final word was full of fake cheer. Agent Romanoff gave an obvious false smile before turning and walking away. "When you're ready to tell us how that book works, just let us know." The curvy woman with sweeping red hair said while closing the door behind her. Powerful locks clicked as the door slide to shut her inside a cell.
"Go to hell!" Erin spat at the agent.
She was left alone to her dimly lit prison and her thoughts. Her mind was constantly replaying everything that happened on over a year and a half ago. She wished to take back her words, she wished to control herself, and didn't she wish for those twins to live. Erin personally knew the Temple family; they were good people and only wanted their own child to love and embrace. They had twins, after fourteen years of praying for just one, they were going to get twins. Their happiness had only last a few hours before she lost control at the church. The screams of terror echoed in her head as she remembered climbing to the roof of the church and watching, horror-stricken. Prayers for God's mercy was the predominant of the many voices. Once the fire had started, she couldn't stop it.
It spread incredibly fast, burning everything imaginable. The damn asphalt in the streets were melted by the time it was over. The black fire had bounced from one person to another. Her childhood friends were the first to die; after witnessing her only friends in the world perish by her own hands caused Erin to lessen the little control as had on the death inferno. That's when it spread to the buildings, the cars, the ground itself was a lava pit. She had committed multiple attempts to jump into the blaze herself; to follow her friends, family, and neighbors. The black fire wouldn't touch her, morphing around her and avoiding her skin. Erin cried the entire time her hometown was ablaze.
Just as she was crying now. Constant rivers poured from her eyes and covered her cheeks. If she had one wish, it would to switch places with the twins. They were the youngest in Mountain Pass, never even opened their eyes. They were also the first babies in three years. The Temple Twins' death haunted Erin.
"I didn't mean to," she choked up as she imagined the twins. "You deserved a chance." Just like Winter does. Crying wasn't helping her situation, so she forced herself to swallow her feelings and cease the salty water running from her tear ducts. He needs my help to get him away from HYDRA. I have to give him his best chance. For The Temple Twins.
Rather than resuming her feeble actions of placing her palm on the clasps to free herself, she knew there was another way to use her shadows. Qlifhat's Tome had instructions for countless maneuvers with the shadows; only the basics required physically touching the surface where the shades lied. Truth be told, she was terrified to practice the more advanced techniques. The last time she did ended in fire. Of course, that was when she wasn't motivated to actively control herself. She was trying to showoff, brag about her hidden powers to everyone she knew. It took a lot more concentration to pull off Stage Two techniques, but this time was different. She needed to escape and retrieve her book. Erin absolutely had to get The Winter Soldier out of HYDRA's reach. Even if it's the last thing I do.
Erin easily found a shadow she wanted to move. Focusing her mind to the shade, she held a stern gaze at it. She used the breathing she had read long ago and narrowed her eyes across the room. From the pit of her aching stomach, and filtered through her determined heart, the darkness in the corner began to shimmer. Continuing her breathing and concentration, she felt the darkness in herself surface to her eyes, coating them entirely black; the book had explained that this was necessary to connect to the shadows mentally. Once her bright green eyes turned black, she felt her heart relax a little. She willed the shadow to move to the left, and it did. Quickly, not wanting to hold this mental connection too long, she forced the shadow to wrap around her right clasp. Applying strong pressure, the restraint broke apart. The Shadow Stranger blinked away the darkness from her eyes to break the connection. The helpful shade returned to its original place. Without waiting for a black fire to spring up, Erin used her free hand to use Stage One techniques to release the rest of her limbs.
Crumbling to the floor below, The Shadow Stranger wasted no time stepping to the door and using a portal to walk through; determined to get Qlifhat's Tome back.