2.

Her head was spinning. She couldn't see clearly. What happened? Oh, right. The spy woman. But who had got her from behind? Tazer arrow. Very clever. She would never had expected that. Who shot it? Probably one of her accomplices. And where was she now? Probably at that SHIELD place. She decided to open her eyes. Her vision was fuzzy, but it didn't take her much to figure out that she was in a metal room with a big glass window in front of her. Were they watching her? Definitely. Anne tried to rub her eyes to clear her vision, but discovered her hands were chained to the chair.

Great. Now not only was she a prisoner, but a prisoner that couldn't defend herself. She leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes once more, waiting for the pounding in her head to stop.

They watched her for some time until they finally decided she must not be that much of a threat. She wasn't even TRYING to escape.

"Agent Barton said she beat you."

"I've never seen such determination in such a young girl."

Fury just kept looking at the girl. She was very young. Anne Knight. A nineteen year old girl from Utah. She had just happened to be in New York for a few days with her father when the city was attacked by Loki's army. Her father had been killed during the attack and the girl had never gone back home. Now she was a vigilante, defending the weak, beating up bad guys and bringing them to justice.

"Maybe Barton should be the one to talk to her. He's good with kids." Said Natasha.

The woman felt bad for the poor girl. She had read her file and immediately understood the pain that drove her to do what she did. There was nothing worse than losing the people you loved. Her mother had disappeared and now even her father was gone. She had no more family. No grandparents, no aunts, no uncles, not even a distant cousin. They had all lost touch, died or broken with her parents. She had no one to go to. No one to look after her. She had truly lost everything.

Now that Agent Romanoff got a better look at Anne, she didn't seem so frightening. With her hood down, her face looked like that of a child's. Big grey eyes, short red hair like hers, just less wavy and a very sweet complexion. Her skin was pearl white and her lips were a pale pink color. And now she looked more like a little girl, afraid and damaged by too much pain, thrust upon her without warning.

Nat could see she wasn't cold at all, or determined. So everything she had seen last night must have been drawn out by fear.

Agent Barton nodded and entered the room.

Anne heard the door open. She heard footsteps and then a soft sigh. Could it be the woman? She leaned back up and opened her eyes. She could see more clearly now. It was not the woman. No, it was someone much more different. Someone she recognized at once. Initially, she was surprised. She hadn't imagined...

"Is this some kind of joke?"

He just looked at her confused.

"You're Hawkeye. You're with that guy in the leotard and Iron Man right?"

Clint had to hold back a chuckle when she mentioned the guy in the leotard. She must have meant Thor. He instantly imagined her and Tony getting along very well.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

He stopped and just smiled kindly at her. Anne didn't know why, but looking into those deep blue eyes she felt she could trust him.

"Where am I?"

"SHIELD headquarters. I think my partner mentioned something about it."

"The woman?"

"Black Widow."

Anne just looked more confused.

"Who's she?"

For a minute, Barton seemed surprised. Everyone knew who they were now. Everyone. How was it that she didn't? How could she have never heard of Black Widow? Or Thor?

"She's a member of the Avengers, like me."

"Oh, yeah... She said something about that. That's Captain America, Iron Man, you, the leotard guy and the Hulk right?"

"And Black Widow. The Woman. Oh, and if you join the team, please keep calling him the Leotard Guy. I really want to see Tony's face."

This made her smile. And Clint thought he had never seen such a sweet smile in his life. He really couldn't imagine her being such a great fighter, but he had seen her in action. She had beat Natasha. That had never happened.

Anne liked that guy. He was nice and kind, and even a bit funny.

"So, you guys want me to join the Avengers?"

"In a manner of speaking. Oh, by the way, nice bow."

All of a sudden, it hit her.

"HEY! Were you the one who tazed me?!"

A look of guilt appeared on his face.

"Yeah... Uh... Sorry about that, but you were just about to kill my partner."

"Don't be ridiculous! I would have never killed her! I just did that to scare her! I don't kill."

It took him a while to understand that she was serious.

"Well, I think you should talk to Fury now."

Barton smiled again and started to leave when she stopped him.

"Wait! Could you... Uhm... Stay too?"

Clint suddenly realized that she was extremely frightened. Of what though? He thought he had made it clear that there was nothing to fear. But of course, her hands were handcuffed to a chair and Nat had attacked her. He could understand why she couldn't trust them completely.

Hawkeye nodded gently, still smiling and pulled his chair next to hers. This made Anne feel much better. She saw him nod slightly and the door open once more. This time a tall, dark man entered the room. He had the most serious expression she had ever seen and an eyepatch on his left eye. He was completely clad in black. Black leather trench coat, black leather pants, black leather boots and black turtle neck shirt.

But no matter how grave he seemed, he didn't seem to frighten Anne at all. And she was thankful to Hawkeye for this.

"Miss Knight. I expect Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton have mentioned me."

"Yes..."

Her expression went cold again, just like the night before. She didn't trust him.

"We've been watching you for the last few years."

"Why?"

"Because we thought you might be useful."

"How did you even know that I would become a vigilante?"

"People driven by desperation take desperate measures, and YOU were desperate."

Now she REALLY didn't trust him. That was one of the worst lies she had ever heard. But she let him think she bought it.

"We would like you to take part in our Avengers program and become part of SHIELD."

To become one of the Avengers... Even she had to admit that would be pretty cool. Fighting along side Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye... That really sounded great. But what was the catch?

"Why me?"

"You have incredible and almost unnatural fighting skills, some of the best I've seen since Agent Romanoff and you fight for a good cause."

Another lie.

"What would I have to do?"

"Live at Stark tower and go on missions when needed."

"Wait... I would be living with the Avengers?"

Nick Fury sighed.

"Miss Knight. You must understand that you would have to have training first to become an Agent so we can be sure we can trust you before we let you..."

"I won't become a part of SHIELD."

This came as a shock to the three of them. Even Natasha, listening behind the glass, flinched.

"And may I ask why?"

"It's simple. I don't trust you."

His already grave face became even more serious, and angry.

"You've been lying to me ever since I started asking you questions. And don't tell me you haven't been, because I'm not stupid. Another reason is that I don't know anything about your Organization or what it stands for, but it's obviously based on secrecy and worst of all, lies. And if there is something I can't tolerate, it's deceit. So answer me this, Nick Fury... Why would I have to be trained here if I'm already one of the best fighters you've ever seen?"

She leaned towards him. She had a certain certainty in her eyes that made Fury sit still and quiet. Clint smiled. That kid was actually really smart.

"And how would you know my organization is based on lies?"

"What else could an agency with a lying chief be?"

"I hide the truth from people to protect them, Miss Knight."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that. Like him. He's a part of SHIELD right?"

And she looked towards Barton.

"He tries to look carefree, puts on the mask of a funny, optimistic person. Now, do you want to know what I see?"

All of sudden, the grin on Hawkeye's face disappeared and Nat started to listen intently.

"I see someone who's hiding the pain of a tormented past by putting a smile on his face. I see someone who's lost everything and yet who's still managed to have everything given back to him. But the pain never goes away. And so his humor is only a defense mechanism. Or take your Black Widow for instance. Sassy and strong on the outside, but a little girl, afraid and alone and desperate on the inside. A little girl with a very dark past. And then there's you... Well, there's not much to tell. You say you stand for justice and for everything good, but you don't even know the meaning of the words. THAT is why I won't join SHIELD. Because I am not a lier."

Everything was still. Barton kept repeating her words in his head. How could she know so much about him? And Nat?

Romanoff was just staring at the girl, frightened. How was that possible?

Fury did not change expression.

"I read people Director Fury. I can see who they truly are from examining them or from just looking them in the eyes and I'm almost never wrong. I'll join the Avengers, because they stand for what is right, but I will not join SHIELD."