Warning: This chapter contains dark themes ... do not read if you are a gentle soul..
The small sleeping space was exactly what Marie had needed.
Her head had been spinning from two and a half hours of playing tourist and a thousand questions with Barton.
The moment her head hit the memory-foam mattress and pillow she had been out cold. That had been around one a.m.
So it was with a great groan and reluctance she got out of the bed wrapped up in a duvet cocoon to answer the hammering on her door.
The door slid open and revealed Barton.
"What?" she snapped at him.
Barton looked at her and chuckled.
"Ya'll better have damn good reason to wake me up at," she looked at her wristwatch "six thirty in the morning! Barton!" She groaned at him. Marie wanted to smack that annoying grin of his face.
"I do have a damn good reason, governor" he said in the worst southern accent he could muster and Marie winced.
"I was bored. Besides we'll be landing in an hour so you should probably get ready." he chuckled at her again when she blew away a white stripe of hair from her eye.
Once she was ready, Marie came out to see Barton waiting for her.
He held out a sandwich and apple juice for her, and her duffel bag in the other hand.
She felt bad for having snapped at him earlier.
"Don't you have some secret agent stuff to do besides babysitting me?" she looked at him wondering why he was wasting his time around her.
"Nah," he said as they walked towards the cargo room. Marie ate the sandwich and nearly moaned. It was that good.
"My mission was to stop Creed from getting his paws on you, since I've done that I don't really have anything else to do until further notice. Besides, admit it, you love my company." He grinned at her happily.
"Yeah as much as I'd love an aneurysm too." She muttered rolling her eyes at him and Barton laughed.
They reached the cargo room and waited for the plane to land. "So this base we're going to, is that where I'll be working?" she asked him curiously.
Barton shrugged "Maybe, S.H.I.E.L.D has R&D's all over the world, and newbies don't typically start out on the helicarrier. But with Coulson having hired you, you'll never know. That man has a finger in a lot of pieholes." He finished grinning when Marie exclaimed an "Ew!"
"Horrible and disgusting metaphor Barton," Coulson said shaking his head sneaking up on them from seemingly nowhere, while not looking bothered by the agent's remark.
"Sorry Boss." Barton replied not sounding sorry at all and still grinning.
"But to answer your question Marie, yes you'll be working on the helicarrier. I pulled some strings, firstly because of your safety (Sabretooth won't be able to get to you on a helicarrier) and secondly because Tim Jones, our head of R&D want to discuss some of your research papers and what not and he's stationed here." Coulson stated while fiddling with something on a touch pad.
A small thump shook through the plane as it landed causing Marie sway unsteadily, while the two agent were unfazed by it.
"Here being?" she asked him. He only nodded his head towards the exit as the cargo door lowered itself.
Marie walked outside looking gobsmacked. several quinjets lined up on a massive landing pad. The endless sea surrounded them as the wind rather violently whipped around them.
"Seriously?!" she yelled at the two agent over the noise of the wind and the plane with a bright smile lighting up her face "This is where I'll be working?!"
Coulson nodded at her and the two agents smiled at her young enthusiasm.
Marie barely refrained herself from jumping up and down.
"That's not the best part!" Barton yelled at her. Suddenly everything shook until she realized that they were starting to ascend towards the sky. "We're flying…" she thought shocked.
Barton pulled her towards an entrance where she could see Coulson had already made his way through.
The inside Marie had to admit was as impressive as the out side.
Various levels, rooms and offices lined the hallways. "Barton, take her to Jones' office and join me and the Director afterwards." Coulson told him and Barton nodded.
It took five minutes to get there but Marie was sure that if she had to get back again it would take her a hour at least.
She stood in front of the door that said Tim Jones, R&D.
Barton nodded at her worried "You okay?" she gave him a small smile "Yeah sugar, I just feel like I'm 'bout to be interviewed for a job that I have no qualification for."
He placed a hand on her jacket covered shoulder and squeezed lightly. "You'll be fine, besides" he grinned "You've already been hired. I'll be back for you when I finish with Coulson and Director Fury." She nodded at him and knocked on the door.
Barton left her without a look back.
A yell of enter replied and Marie gathered what confidence she had and walked inside.
A old bald and fat man sat behind the desk and her first impression of Tim Jones was that she wasn't impressed with him.
He looked at her, leering at her body with a sleazy smile "What do you want girl?" And so began the most annoying conversation of her life.
1 hour later
Clint stood outside Jones' office and waited for Marie to finish her meeting with Jones.
He knew she would be pissed when she left. It wasn't a secret that Tim Jones was the oldest and biggest sleazeball that S.H.I.E.L.D had employed.
Unfortunately he was also one of the most brilliant minds they could find so they had to put up with him.
Clint liked Marie, she was young, brilliant and sarcastic. And she had a great sense of humor. But there was something about her he couldn't put his finger on.
She would sometimes have this worry in her eyes, before shaking it off. The comment back on the BUS that she hadn't ever wanted to be a engineer didn't sit right with him either.
"What kind of person spends five years of their life studying something they have no interest in?" he wondered perplexed. He would keep his eyes on her, she may trust him (and he was happy she did) but he didn't trust her yet.
And neither did Coulson.
The both of them and Director Fury had all agreed that anyone who Magneto had their eyes on, had more to them than they let on. He really hoped the girl was what she presented herself as.
A small ping came from his pocket and Clint pulled out his phone to see a message from Natasha.
"How's the babysitting coming along?"
Clint smiled and shook his head, he could practically hear the teasing tone in her voice.
"Better than expected… She reminds me a bit of a young russian girl I had to babysit several years ago…
Same attitude and all. When are you coming home?" Clint replied knowing she would roll her eyes at his reply.
It took a moment before another text pinged on his phone, and he looked up at the door beginning to worry a bit.
"Sounds exhausting for an old man like you… Now I really have to meet her. Already on my way, should be there by sundown."
He sent a quick reply to her and watched as the door to Jones' office opened and Marie walked out with a… smile?
She started walking down the hall looking at him expectantly. Clint was still in shock - he was expecting a inferno of anger and rage coming off her.
He looked inside the office to make sure she hadn't killed Jones.
The old sleazeball sat behind his desk completely pale and shaking. "You okay Jones?" Clint asked with a morbid curiosity behind his eyes.
"I.. I…" The noises coming from Jones' mouth were high pitched and ended with a furious nod as the man couldn't even form a word.
Clint left the office closing the door behind before running to catch up with Marie.
She still had a smile on her face when he caught up with her.
"Everything went okay with Jones?" he asked looking at her worriedly.
"Just peachy, we came to a mutual agreement on my employment." Marie replied suddenly smirking.
"Anyways, is there a cafeteria around here because I'm starving." Clint nodded still in shock of seeing Jones so helpless and pathetic, but still managed to lead them down to the cafeteria.
Three days after the Jones incident Marie was given her first assignment. The giddiness she felt when she was handed a file quickly died down.
According to the Jones look-a-like number one (Peter McGuiness) who worked the lab she had been located to, she would primarily be doing research.
Marie hated paperwork. She seriously hadn't finished her Phd so that she could do low level research papers.
If she was going to work here she wanted to at the least build something.
But beggars couldn't be choosers, so Marie bit back the many swear words that came to mind and started reading through the file. The work was boring and easy, and she finished within two hours.
When she asked if there was anything else she could do, McGuiness looked at her in surprise, but shook his head no and gave her the rest of the day off. It continued like that for the next two weeks.
With nothing better to do after having been given permission to leave early, yet again she thought, Marie decided to hit the gym.
Dressed in a pair of all black tights, a long sleeved, tight dark blue gym shirt and a pair of black nike shoes she entered the gym.
Her hands were bare and had been since she had gotten settled on helicarrier. She didn't want to attract attention to her condition, and avoiding accidental touches were easy.
Government official and un-officials were not keen to having their personal space invaded by anybody, and avoided doing the same to others. It all worked in Marie's favor. The gym was bustling with life, but not overly crowded.
There were several boxing rings along the end of the wall but only one was being used.
A redheaded woman was kicking the ass of some younger looking agent guy whose friends had gone from cheering to wincing and looking away in fear,when the woman kept beating the shit out of him.
"That'll teach him.." She thought shaking her head before making her way the small group. The closer she got the more she could see the pissed of look of the woman.
"What did he do to piss her off?" Marie asked one of the guys that winced as the redhead smashed her knee into his stomach and Marie followed suit with a wince of her own.
The guy with the black hair didn't turn to her unable to tear his eyes from the beating his friend was receiving, but answered her.
"He was talking about how he could easily take on the Black Widow, no trouble, and that she would be more useful on her knees than in the field.
She just so happened to overhear him, and here we are."
"How long has she been at it?" The guy was a bloody mess by now. "Shouldn't anybody … stop them. He'll need medical." she said to the guy again.
This time the guy turned and looked at her.
He smiled at her "Nobody here is suicidal. By the way I'm Jack Foster." He nodded at her and she smiled back "Marie, and just because ya'll wimps, doesn't mean I am." She said shaking her head before walking closer to the ring.
The men took a step away from her realising what she planning.
Her heart was beating like crazy, but she couldn't let the Widow kill this guy no matter how much he deserved it.
"No offence, but I really think you should let him go before you kill him" She said and the Widow glared at her not letting go of the choke hold she had the idiot in.
"Look," Marie began with false calmness "I get why you wanna kill him, and if I could, I would gladly help beat the shit out of the chauvinist asshole any day of the week - not that you need help, clearly - but I'm pretty sure killing off agents, no matter how young and dumb they are, is a big no-no even in S.H.I.E.L.D.s book." She defiantly held the Widow's glare.
Her heart was beating out of control while she was praying to whatever deity was out there that the Widow wouldn't start beating her ass too.
You always have get involved in other people's' problems Marie. She could hear the condescending tone i Cody's voice.
For a moment Marie thought it wasn't going to work, but the Widow tightened her hold for a second before letting go of the chokehold.
The guy fell to the floor of the boxing ring with a loud thump that echoed in the gym. The Widow pushed past her angrily and left the gym.
The silence in the gym continued as the people around her stared at her as if she was crazy.
It wasn't just the immediate group of guys around her, but the rest of the people in the gym too.
She felt annoyed before barking out a order for them to get their friend to medical, and they hurried to obey.
People went back to what they were doing though still glancing at her now and again.
Jack followed her as she stepped up on a treadmill. "You got balls of steel for a junior agent." Jack said and a lot of people nodded while others listened interested to their conversation. Marie smirked at him "Sorry to disappoint sugar, but I'm not a agent."
He looked at her disbelievingly "No way you're not, what are you then?" he demanded. Marie put one of the earbuds of into her ear "R&D." She grinned at him.
The other earbud followed and she turned on her music. She started running and Jack walked away.
Jack and the rest of the gym stared unbelievingly at her.
A young girl from R&D had stood up to the Widow when none of them, not senior nor junior agents had dared to.
Later that night when she was sprawled on her bed in a pair of sweats and hoodie, someone knocked on her door.
"It's open!" she called out and Clint leaned on the doorway to her small bedroom. He was wearing a weird black and purple uniform.
Marie wasn't going to question why he was carrying a bow and several arrows on his back. He raised his eyebrow at the small chaos of clothes on the floor.
"How do you have so much clothing lying around? Seriously, you came here with one duffel bag. one!" He exasperated while gesturing at the floor with his hand.
Marie rolled her eyes before grinning "Sorry dad, I'll clean it all up if you promise not to ground me." she sassed back at him.
This time Clint rolled his eyes. "You wanna grab something to eat?" he asked her.
She agreed while putting her hair up in a messy bun.
"Good," he turned around grinning slightly "Natasha will be joining us. See you in ten down stairs." Marie's head felt like it snapped as she looked up at where Clint had stood not a second before. "Fuck..." Fuck… Cody agreed wholeheartedly.
"She wouldn't kill me? Not when Clint is there…" somehow the thought did nothing to reassure her.
After having changed attire to a pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeved shirt, Marie had made her way down to the cafeteria in record time, piling up a plate with couple of slices of pizza making her way to an empty table.
At the corner of her eye she caught Jack smile at her and give her a wave from a couple of tables away.
She was about to wave back when Clint and Widow ceremoniously dumped their trays on the table in front of her, blocking her view of Jack.
They were both wearing civilian clothes.
Marie looked a nervously at Widow. Her face would have been unreadable if it hadn't been for the small, almost microscopic, twitch of her lips.
But Marie saw it and understood it as a sign that they were good. "Natasha this is Marie, Marie - Natasha." Clint introduced them. Not that you'd need a introduction - the lady is crazy. Quipped Cody from inside her mind. She didn't know how to respond "We've made our acquaintance already." Natasha said her lips still upturned.
Clint looked between the two of them. "Aw Nat," he began teasingly "The moment I'm away you try to replace me." A small snort escaped Natasha "If only it had worked." Marie couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her. "Nat you wound me!" he replied clutching at his heart.
"Good" Was the response he received. Clint shook his head smiling "So Marie, how's R&D treating you?" Natasha raised an eyebrow "You're R&D?" she asked but without the disbelief that had been directed at her earlier today from Jack.
"Maybe she just hides it better than everyone else."
"Yup," she popped the p "And to answer the question - it's - excuse my language - fucking boring. Jones Clone number 1 is only having me do low level research - a complete waste of my time by the way - because he doesn't like doing it himself." She complained.
Clint frowned. "I could have Coulson talk with McGuinness to give you something to tinker with." He then offered.
"Nah," Marie replied smirked "I'll deal with him on my own time." "Should I warn McGuinness upfront? After your talk with Tim Jones I'm not sure I can leave him to that experience in good conscience." He said while Natasha looked at her curiously.
"What happened to Jones?" A male voice interrupted as a new person joined their table right next to her.
Marie could barely stop herself from embarrassing herself by drooling. "Definitely a hunk! thank you God for surrounding me with these good looking men!" She thought happily.
He was buff and blonde and blue eyed. "Man S.H.I.E.L.D really knows how to find these guys. They must have a radar for the all-american types." a small huff from inside her mind let her know that Cody was making his displeasure known.
"That's what I'd like to know too," Clint said shaking his head slowly
" So, first day here and I'm taking Marie here to her meeting with Jones. In the meantime I have my own, and it's no secret that Jones is the biggest sleazeball S.H.I.E.L.D could have hired, Steve " at this both Natasha and Steve nodded in agreement
"I kid you not," He said looking impressed and smiling like an idiot "I come back and see Marie walking out the door of his office with a smile, so I of course had to make she hadn't done a Natasha and killed off the old geezer," At this Natasha punched Clint in the arm but he continues smiling full blown.
"I look inside his office, and he's in his ugly leather chair, you know the one that stinks of old cigarettes and fat-man sweat, shaking like a chihuahua, so I ask him if he's okay, and the man can't even form a sentence. His voice the highest pitch I've ever heard, and he just nods his head. I swear he was almost crying."
Now Clint was laughing at the memory while the other occupants took in the skinny twenty year old. Natasha's eyes held just teeny tiny bit of respect for her and Steve look at her amused.
"And I still don't know what you did Marie. Please tell me!" Clint begged in between laughs.
Marie shook her head a bit before smiling at him. "He was beein' a creeper an' I made it clear to him, that it was no way to treat lady, 'specially a lady from the south. My momma didn' raise me t' tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone." She replied her accent coming out a big thicker in her embarrassment.
Steve turned to her smiling "As it should be, I'm glad someone finally said something to him. I had the displeasure of meeting Jones once and lets just say I haven't stepped foot at R&D again."
Marie looked around them one by one. "Can I ask you guys something?"
They nodded "How old are you? I mean you all seem pretty young considering you've all probably been in this business for some time." Natasha snorted, Clint laughed and Steve looked a bit uncomfortable she noted. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." she reassured them.
Natasha shook her and started "I'm thirty-two." Marie nodded,she had been guessing the redhead was around the early thirties.
She took a sip from her bottle of water "I'm forty five." Clint said and Marie choked on her water. She could barely breathe and Steve hit her on her back gently. "You okay?" He asked her concerned as he tried to hand her a paper towel.
She ignored the offered towel staring shocked at Clint "Oh my god Clint! You're so old!" she exclaimed loudly. Clint exclaimed a "Hey!" looking affronted. "Yeah Clint," Natasha grinned "You're so old…. Old man." She laughed at the sour look on his face as she teased him.
"Careful Clint, you might get a heart attack, in your age you're in the danger zone." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and even Steve laughed full heartedly.
Marie blushed. "I didn't mean it like that!" she tried defending herself "It's just, you look so young." she said
"And act like a five year old," Natasha added still grinning before turning to Marie "I can understand your confusion."
Marie groaned "Never mind." she said giving up but enjoying the good natured humour.
Clint still looked at her like she had betrayed him before turning to Steve. "I don't know why you're laughing soldier, you're the oldest one here." He exclaimed looking pleased when Marie exclaimed a disbelieving "No!"
Steve nodded at Marie sadly but said nothing.
"That's not possible. I refuse to believe you older than Mr. ready-for-diapers over here." At that Natasha let out full blown laugh causing some of the other people in the cafeteria looking over in concern and shock.
Clint glared at her before saying "He's Captain America." as if that would explain to her how he was older than Clint.
She looked at them in confusion "So… that means... what exactly?"
Steve looked at her relieved for some reason while Clint looked shocked that she had no idea what that meant.
Natasha just shook her head at her.
"You know," Clint continued "Captain America? His Howling Commandos? World War two? Did you not grow up learning this in school?"
She looked at him with a blank look.
"I skipped high school in case it slipped your notice. You know, phd, twenty years old, working for S.H.I.E.L.D and so on." She replied to him looking at him as if he'd hit his head and told her she had tentacles.
"I honestly wouldn't know if it was something I was supposed to learn in high school." she turned to Steve and he sighed before explaining her his life story.
By the time he had finished the cafeteria was almost empty.
"Wait, how old were you when you crashed into the ice?" Marie asked him.
"Twenty-seven, why?" Steve asked.
She exclaimed a victorious Ha! before explaining "That actually makes you the youngest of the three! You're twenty-eight now. All those years under the ice don't count because you weren't conscious to experience them, and you came out again as a twenty-seven year old. In conclusion to this story: Clint is a very old man!" Marie laughed at Clint's pouty expression as did Steve and Natasha.
They made their way out of the cafeteria. "Anyways I'm beat," She said "I'm gonna head to bed." She said and Clint's eyes lit up "I maybe a old man, but you're just a baby here!" He yelled after her she walked away.
He could see her shoulders shake from laughter.
The next month was boring to Marie. Her golden trio as she had started to call them in her mind (after having found and borrowed a copy of Harry Potter from McGuinness' office) had all been shipped out on missions.
So she spent her time between researching for McGuinness and his lab partner and working out in the gym.
Sometimes Jack would join her either in the gym or at lunch, (And she learned he was actually a senior agent, not a junior - thank you very much) but he was pulled away soon after by a blonde junior agent with a heart shaped face who would give Marie the stinky eye whenever she saw her.
"Yeah, I'm not getting in the middle of that." She thought and Cody agreed.
Some things were better left un-meddled with.
Marie felt like she would go crazy if wasn't given something to do. So she walked up to McGuinness and told him in her sweetest voice that if he didn't give her a project she would start testing their projects on them. After that, he had given her free reign on the available projects.
She ignored the way his voice shook when he replied.
She looked at five different project that no one had started on yet.
Three of them she admitted to herself were to advanced to be worked on alone so she left them to McGuinness.
The last two files she read through a couple of times, before brainstorming on how to proceed.
As her mind focused on the tasks she set, she closed her eyes for a moment. To anyone else looking at her they would think she was resting her eyes.
But she wasn't, Marie searched the darkness of her mind before opening her eyes with a small smile.
She started drawing, designing and calculating.
She'd been doing it for so long that she barely registered when McGuinness and his partner leaving.
Another hour passed unnoticed by her as she started listing possible materials. "Yeah, this should work.." she said as she looked at her plans. She looked at the clock on the wall.
"Two a.m… I'm not tired yet, I could begin working on the wiring and then start molding the cast for it." she thought rolling her shoulders a bit.
Marie worked furiously on her project all through the night, and the next day and night.
She had only been interrupted once, when Coulson had stopped by to clear her for her projects and some of the more classified knowledge she would be needing.
He had forced her to nap in the lab when she refused to go to her room to sleep.
He'd rolled his eyes at her and later came back with a sandwich and bottle of water.
On the third day though she was "... looking like crap". Or at least that's what the voice behind her said.
She turned away from the wires on her arm and saw Clint and Steve look at her.
Her arm was covered in small wires attached to a battery on the desk which led back into a small square metal plate that held a small computer chip in it.
The plate was only held onto her arm with small strips of velcro.
She snorted "Thanks Clint, you're quite the charmer." she replied sarcastically before realizing who was standing in front of.
"You're back!" She let out happily before attacking the two in a group hug pulling the battery of the table with her. She laughed before placing it back.
"You have no idea how boring this place is with out my favorite ol' man." Clint laughed and replied happily "She must be talking about you Steve.".
Steve only shook his head with a smile on his face. "Coulson sent us down to check on you. What are you working on?" Steve asked her concerned.
He could see the purple bags under her eyes, and she seemed a bit pale. While not very concerning, Coulson had informed them that she hadn't been seen in almost three days, before he'd personally left to check on his young recruit.
Marie shook her head "I finally had my talking with McGuinness. I used my sweet voice and he let me work on whatever i want." She grinned and Clint only shook his head in amusement.
"Course you did."
Marie turned back to Steve "It's actually something for you." He looked surprised "Really?" She nodded before explaining
"It's actually Natasha's idea. Apparently she's tired of picking up your shield after you throw it around, so she requested we make you ... " she thought of a way she could explain it to a man who didn't know a lot engineering. "A giant magnet if you will."
"A magnet." Clint said unimpressed crossing his arms. "Yeah sugar" She said looking at him as if he was idiot before returning her attention to Steve again.
"What's so special about this magnet is you'll be able turn it on and off with a small command of your hand. Also, it'll only pick up on your shield specifically because of the rarity of the vibranium. But it's nowhere near done yet." She said and Steve nodded.
It did sound extremely handy.
She handed a long arrow to Clint. He looked at it oddly, instead of blades on its tip it had small cylinder attached.
Marie smirked at him "E.M.P arrow." she said watching his eyes grow big. "No way!" he said looking between the arrow and Marie nodded "Way." she replied.
"You are the coolest person ever… Don't tell Nat I said that." She chuckled "Deal. Steve?" she said looking at him.
"Well," he said "If it's nowhere near done you wont mind us kidnapping you for dinner." he said smiling while embracing her in a bear hug from behind holding her arms out as Clint removed the velcro straps from her arms.
"Hey! Be careful with that!" she exclaimed in concern, not because of the device, but because of her uncovered hands. While there was a minor calmnessaound the use of her powers and control, she didn't trust herself completely yet.
Steve turned her around and marched her out the door of the lab with Clint hot on their heels.
The helicarrier shook lightly while they were eating.
In the almost two months Marie had been on the carrier they had been airborne, it would seem they were finally landing somewhere.
"Where are we landing?" She asked the two and they shrugged. "No idea, but if it's Hawaii again i'm not gonna complain." Clint grinned. Steve shook his head "It's probably D.C. I think Fury had some business at the Triskelion.
"10 bucks?" Clint challenged him and Steve chuckled "You're on."
Jack chose to walk by them that exact moment "You're both wrong," He said looking arrogantly at the older agent and captain "We're in New York." he looked at Marie. "We're gonna be land bound a couple of days, wanna play tourist with me tonight? I hear they have a beer museum where you can sample all the different beers."
Marie grinned "Sure. Is eight okay?" He nodded "I'll meet you outside by the staircase." He left and Marie turned back to the Steve and Clint, losing the smile on her face. "What?" She asked defensively noticing their looks. "What?" she asked again narrowing her look at them.
Steve looked a bit put out and Clint shook his head. "I don't like that kid… He rubs me the wrong way. Besides, you're underage you're not allowed to drink beer." Marie rolled her eyes "You're saying that to a girl who started college at sixteen, and I didn't think I'd need your permission. Jack is a good friend, so I'd like it if the two of you could stop glaring at him." she replied with a small glare at them before leaving them to their lonesome.
Marie had some time to spare before her outing with Jack "Because it's definitely not a date." Yeah it is Marie, you can't deny it. It's a date... Cody annoyed her. Having Cody in her head was like having her own personal annoying game commentator.
The fact that Cody was stuck at sixteen in her head didn't really help the situation. He was so whiny.
I heard that! he said offended,
"You were meant to!" she sang mockingly in her mind.
She looked through the small closet and sighed. She'd have to do some shopping tomorrow when she had the opportunity.
She grabbed whatever looked like it was clean which ended up being some tight dark jeans, and a white long sleeved v-neck shirt. She let her curly hair flow down to her shoulders and threw on her black leather jacket before leaving.
The hallway was filled to the brim with people wanting get off the carrier and have some fun.
Marie found Jack waiting outside for her. He held out an arm for her and she accepted with a smile.
The night had been fun Marie admitted as she sipped from a beer inside some random bar Jack had found.
They hadn't been able to find the beer museum he heard of, but they'd made their own fun running around the city. At the moment they were playing noughts and crosses on a small pad of paper, enjoying the music and atmosphere of the bar and they couldn't stop laughing.
Jack turned around to order another drink and she leaned over grab the pen from his hand.
Slightly tipsy she missed and touched his hand instead. Jack didn't notice, the pull of her powers had dimmed over the years to almost non existent since she had sucked Cody dry.
"Get her drunk if you have to! Just get the girl off the aircraft and you'll be paid!"
She shook her head a bit at the memory from Jack. Not good Marie… Cody warned her and she agreed.
She pulled at Jack's sleeve. He looked at her. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Want to get out of here, we don't need to go far - there's an alley right outside." She whispered as seductively she could.
Jack looked at her and nodded licking his lips. The moment they were outside Jack attacked her lips with his.
He pushed her up against the wall of the building with his body. Marie kept her eyes open the entire time.
Then she forced her powers on him, large veins popped up his face as she sucked the life from him.
Jack was paralyzed, staring at her in complete fear. She didn't let go. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed on the cold ground.
Marie quickly assessed his psyche in her mind before ripping it apart into millions of golden particles.
Some of the golden particles attached themselves to her, while the remaining vanished from existence.
She used this trick whenever she touched someone, no matter how brief. It only never worked on Cody for some reason.
It had even worked on her very first victim. Before Cody.
She ran through his memories.
Jack had been contacted by Creed because they knew each other from previous jobs, before Jack had been recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Creed knew he'd be able to get Jack to do the dirty work, and deliver her to him if the pay was good enough. "Half a mil. for lil' ol' me." She thought impressed that she was apparently worth that much.
But he was going to have his fun with her before he handed her over to Creed.
His ideas of fun made her visibly shudder. She leaned down and checked his pulse.
She'd killed him, another man to add to her kill list. "It was self defense…" she thought, but she was still feeling guilty.
She looked for her phone before remembering that she'd left to charge on her bed.
She was going to have to make this as convincing as she could. They would question her on how he had died, seemingly with no injury.
In the darkness of the ally, she found a steel pipe.
She hesitated only for a second before smashing it once, as hard as she could on his forehead.
Her secret was more important than her guilt.
The thick blood oozed out slowly fromt the big head wound and she vomited.
Having emptied her stomach of all the alcohol she had drunk and the caesar salad she had eaten at dinner with the guys, she smashed her face at the brick wall as hard as she could make herself.
The pain and tears were immediate, and she felt blood falling from a cut on her cheek. It was probably bruised as well.
She took the cellphone from Jack's body.
Who was she gonna call now was the tough question.
Coulson or Clint?
Coulson - she would call him and he would alert Clint and send him to her to assess the situation. She called his number while crying hysterically. She had slid down on ground next her vomit. "Coulson." He answered simply and immediatly.
"Phil!" She sobbed hysterically into the phone "It's Marie! You have to help me, I didn't mean to but he was hurting me and I didn't mean to, and OH GOD I THINK I KILLED HIM!" She was still sobbing, but she added vomiting sounds, "Where are you!?" He said worry clear in his voice and Marie couldn't help but feel a bit bad that she was playing him like this.
It has to be done. Cody quipped understandingly.
"I don't know! The ally of a bar he took me to, he said he was going to hand me over to Creed, " She choked on air "But not before he could he have his fun with me!" She could hear him yell out a order in the background "Breathe Marie... deep breaths… " Coulson said trying to calm her "I've had the phone tracked and I've sent agents to your position. They'll be there soon don't move. Can you promise not to move.
She nodded and choked out small "I promise."
Coulson hung up and as soon as he did screeching tires were heard, as a black SUV stopped outside the alleyway. She hugged her knees and while clutching the phone tightly in her hand. She rocked back and forth eyes closed muttering and crying.
"Marie? Sweetheart?" The voice was soft. It shouldn't ever have to be so soft for her she thought guiltily. She didn't deserve that softness. She looked up and saw Clint crouching right in front of her.
He slowly reached out a hand towards her and she flinched away instinctively.
He dropped his hand but scooted closer to her and she let him.
And then she broke down for real.
The guilt, the pain and the embarrassment were all running high and she couldn't get rid of them no matter how much she tried.
She'd killed once before and now she had been forced to do it again.
She cried because no matter how much she tried, she would always be monster.
"Once a killer, always a killer." She couldn't stop herself from thinking, and Clint held her tightly against him as she broke down.
"Marie…" He spoke softly to her "I have to know.. Did he.." Clint's voice cracked a bit "Did he rape you?" She shook her head violently no.
"He was going to…" she managed to whisper out, and it wasn't a lie. She had seen it in his memories. He had come prepared, there were drugs and condoms in his front pocket he would have used on her to knock her out until Creed could get to her.
He looks at her, she's trying to solve the hangman challenge he drew on the pad of paper. She drops the pen and as soon as she's bending down to pick it up, he slips a small powder in her beer. He only managed a small dose, but it wouldn't be a problem, he'd make her want it by the end of the night.
"He smashed me into the wall… and he was … on me… I managed to get hold of a pipe, and I didn't think, I just hit him as hard as i could." She shuddered and Clint held her tighter, a small sense of relief settling in his heart. She looked and saw Steve looking furious. She hadn't realized he was there. She was sure he'd heard everything with his hearing.
Creed looks at him expectantly. "Half a mil." He agrees. "Why do you need her so badly anyway, she doesn't really fit your type - you know armed and crazy." His old friend shakes his head "Not for me. The boss. She has a specific skill set he needs." He doesn't question Creed, but he he gets the feeling that he isn't talking about her engineering skills. Creed leaves. He looks around the safe house, before deciding to pack up and head back to the helicarrier. He contacts his handler who agrees to send a quinjet for him. He has a job to do.
There were a few agents waiting to process the crime scene. "I'm gonna carry you to the car, okay?" he whispered and placed a small kiss on her head. She nodded and her hands clenched around the front of his shirt.
He looks on and winces as the kid gets his ass beaten by Romanoff. Even he wasn't that dumb. He'd never talk shit about her… To her face. From the corner of his eye he spies her. Coulson's newest R&D recruit, his job. He watches as she looks on before making her way to the group. This was his chance. He introduced himself to her, and day by day he earns her trust more. He calls Creed the moment they land in New York and works out the details. He would finish it tonight and get his payment. He's been looking to spend money on some new toys.
The trip back to the medical on base was a blurry one.
She noticed that Steve had remained back with the team that were investigating.
Clint spent the time back to base patting her head, calming her and it worked. By the time they had parked she was half asleep in his arms. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again she was lying down on a bed, machines beeping in the dark.
A dark figure had its feet propped up on her bed and stared at her unimpressed. "I was wondering when you'd be rejoining the land of the living Dr. D'Ancanto." She sat up and adjusted her pillow. Marie had a horrible head ache.
"Good evening Director Fury. Or is it morning?" She asked completely calm despite knowing what the man's presence meant.
"Doesn't really matter what time it my surprise when Coulson contacts me in the middle of the night to inform me that an R&D member of my staff had killed one of my best agents in self-defence." He looked at her the whole time unblinkingly. "Almost unbelievable." he said.
"Almost." Marie repeated. "Did Barton brief you?" she asked knowing the answer already. He nodded. "And you don't believe or trust me." she stated. "I believe it's the truth," he said surprising her "But I know it's not the whole truth. And no I don't trust you. In case it slipped your notice, I'm the Director of a goddamn secret agency. I don't trust my best agents, let alone my R&D workers." He said honestly.
"But I'll let you earn a bit of my trust, right here, right now. You tell me the truth. I want to know everything that happened tonight at the bar, why out of all the engineers out there Magneto has his eyes on you. How a young girl goes from needing extra help in math to being a child prodigy. Nothing that's being said leaves the two of us."
She looked at him a bit uncertainly.
He sighed before continuing "You're an asset to S.H.I.E.L.D. Doctor. McGuinness showed me your work. It impressed him, hell it impressed me. I just need to make that the asset is being utilized in the best possible way here." she still looked uncertainly at him - if she told him everything - he could blackmail her for the rest of her life or throw her in jail. But she knew that wasn't his end game. "Nothing leaves the two of us." She asked and he nodded.
She sighed but began talking anyways.
"It all started when I was seven. I was at my cousin's birthday party at the local park, having fun like all kids do that age ya know, playing around, making friends getting high on sugar." She looked uncomfortable talking about it, but it didn't stop her.
"The day before, my parents received a call from my teacher mrs. Peers, yet again, about my constant failing in her class. I don't know what she said that time that had been different from million times before, but this time it sent my dad into a rage. Now my parents aren't very loving creatures. Mix that with the fact that they're highly religious and you get the oh-so-wonderful childhood of me. They believed that discipline was the only way for me to get my act together, never mind the fact that I was only seven at the time."
Fury nodded knowing where this was going.
"I still had red lashes on my back from the belt when I was dropped off at the party the next. They hurt a little less, both physically and emotionally, when you're surrounded by family and friends who wouldn't raise a hand at you, who gave you cake and balloons, and toys to play with.
But the hurt returned, and I ended up sitting on swing all by my lonesome softly crying from the pain, when this kid same age as me, comes up from behind and pushed me on my back and off the swing. I still remember the pain his hands caused me. It felt like a millions hot knives slicing and burning their way inside me."
Marie drew a small breath before continuing.
"I could barely get up again from the ground and when I did, the kid started laughing at me. The humiliation and pain made me want to hurt him, and I remember pushing him except I wasn't really. My hands had made contact with his neck.
I was so angry at him I hadn't realized that he was paralyzed with fear. When I finally noticed him, his face was covered in thick veins and he was gasping in pain. It felt like a lifetime had passed, before he finally collapsed at my feet unmoving. I ran back to the part and pretended nothing had happened."
Marie brushed a tear away from her eye. "I spent the rest of the day reassuring myself I wasn't Adrian Beckett, and that my foster parents Don and Jennifer Beckett were not actually my parents, but that Owen and Priscilla D'Ancanto were. As time passed I got better at remembering things, what page held a certain quote, every number included in pi. I sucked up information like a sponge, at the change didn't go unnoticed either by my teachers over the years nor my peers. It wasn't until i was thirteen that I realized that Adrian Beckett, while he was alive, had photographic memory… and that I for some reason had kept it. "
Fury nodded, "So you're a mutant." he stated and Marie replied "I honestly don't know what I am… I'm pretty sure I'm a monster. I never even knew what a mutant was until Coulson explained to me that was what Creed was." she said staring at her hands as if they would answer her. "... It didn't happen again, and after a while I did what any kid would do. I repressed it and went on with my life."
"Now the time in between the next time my curse would act up was spent with tutors: reading, learning and remembering. I'd finished all my schooling when I was fourteen, and was offered a place at the University of Mississippi, but my parents wouldn't let me accept it. They thought I was too young, and I agreed with them, so they let me stay in middle school until I was ready to socialize with college kids.
The summer after I'd turned sixteen, before high school, I had a boy in my room. A friend. His name was Cody. We were messing around, talking about our dreams, when he leaned over to kiss me. I was surprised and it soon turned into horror when thick veins appeared on him and he was left gasping for air. I managed to let go of him, and ended up screaming for my parents."
Fury was silently taking in the informations.
"A lot of that night was a blur, but I stayed behind with my momma when my dad left in the ambulance with Cody… I didn't see ever see Cody again. My parents shipped me of to Ole Miss U, wanting nothing to do with the demon that was their child. My momma only ever called me once in those five years to let me know that Cody had woken up from his coma. She hung up before I could even register what she'd said."
She tapped her head lightly "I haven't been able to get rid of him since."
Fury eyed her and asked "He's in your head?"
she nodded and explained "Over the years I've learnt how my powers work and what they do. Whenever I touch someone, I… Absorb them. Everything they are becomes mine… Or at least a copy of them. Their memories, their knowledge and their skills. Sometimes even their looks if I've taken enough from them.
I wanted to control it, so little by little I would walk around touching the people around me, people I saw and spoke with everyday. Their voices inside my head grew stronger every time I touched them. They were all quick touches, not enough to leave anyone suspicious.
One day I was partying with my friend Jess and this drunk guy grabs my hand wanting to swing me around the room. I was terrified that this would be the moment my secret was outed. That I was going be hunted down and experimented on.
I fiercely willed and wished myself not to hurt him and it worked. To my total surprise, his loud and drunk psyche was entering my mind but he wasn't getting hurt. He was just pulling me along the living room, dancing to the music."
The wheels in Fury's mind were turning as he took in the young girl in front of him.
"It's not fun having a hundred different people in your mind talking and yelling at each other because they're bored and stuck…
One day I was studying for an exam, and I couldn't focus.
I got so angry, wanting to rip out the psyches from my mind, that I actually did it.
Every voice disappeared in my head, but their knowledge and skills stayed.
Except Cody. For some reason I just can't get rid of him..." She said playing with the IV drop on her hand. She didn't want to meet his eye but did anyways.
Fury whistled appreciatively "That's one hell of a power."
She nodded.
"So, you're telling me that with just one touch of your hand that you can get all the dirty secrets and memories from a person and they can't do shit about it..." Marie nodded.
Fury grinned "You'd be one hell of an interrogator to have on our teams." he said before turning serious again.
"I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from using your powers on anyone else in my organization unless I give direct permission or an order that says otherwise."
Marie nodded "I haven't, only on Jack" she winced "… I don't actually like using my powers… It's just a necessity in order to control it."
"Good. Now tell me about Jack and what went down tonight. The full story." And she did. It felt nice to finally have someone to confide to about her powers, even if that person was the director of a secret agency, who would probably use it to his own gain.
Everything from the brief touch that alerted her about Jack's intentions, to the 500k bounty Sabretooth had put on her head, to Jack's more darker side and why Magneto wanted her.
"Apparently," Marie began "He knows about my powers and that's why he wants me. Creed told Jack that much. I have no idea how he knows - the only people who do, I can count on my hand. And neither one of them would ever discuss their demon child with anyone… especially a man like Magneto."
Fury nodded, this was gonna be problem - Magneto knowing things he shouldn't - a big problem.
"You said you've obtained Jack Foster's skills and knowledge," He asked her and she nodded affirmatively
"Good, that means you can defend yourself now. Jack was one of my best fighters close to Romanoff in skills. Now what do you want to do?" she looked at him surprised "I'm sorry?"
He sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose "Not utilizing your powers would be a crime considering its usefulness in an organization such as S.H.I.E.L.D, but you're young. Do you want to stay in R&D or do you want me to have you transferred to the junior agents?"
Marie was surprised she was given a choice. "I'd like to stay at R&D for now Sir. When I get bored I'll let you know… But if you need help with an interrogation... Well, I want to help out where I can." She said honestly and Fury nodded his head approvingly
"I was expecting nothing less Doc. Now get some sleep. Barton would have my hide if he knew I'd kept you up most of the night." With that he left the medical room and Marie fell into a deep sleep.
;-)