Hi, everyone!
Sorry for not posting earlier like planned, but I had an exam this week that took me more time to rpeapre that what I had thought. So I finally finished the chapter and I'm posting it. Let me know what you think.
A few days later
"So you can morph your appearance."
"Yes. I told you that ten times already. Or more. You should check your records."
She sighed. Another boring interview with Coulson. She quite liked the man in general, even if he tended to be icy when it came to Ward, when it came to his team. She knew better than ask questions about what had happened. She knew that, in interrogations, you had to avoid questioning the person who kept you captive. It could have nasty consequences on your health. She just kept her answers sarcastic and clear, as she had always done in the multiple occasions she had found herself restrained, with a quite important threat on her safety.
Coulson knew she was a warrior. He had seen her fight, he had seen her talk about what she had done. He saw her behavior in this situation. He knew she had done all of it already a thousand times and was prepared to continue doing it. She was, and that was quite paradoxical because of her young age, some sort of war veteran. She had seen things on the battlefield most of people would have nightmares about. She had patched herself up in awful circumstances, probably unhygienic, and there she was. All smirk and sarcasm. She had that dark brand of humor. And he quite liked her vision of the Universe as it was.
"I'll do that."
He looked at his watch. He had been in there for two hours. It was time for them both to have a break. She looked exhausted.
"Time to stop for today."
"Great."
"Are your wounds still hurting?"
"A little. But that's normal at this stage of the healing process."
"Do you want me to send somebody to have a look?"
"I don't want anything. If you do, please send somebody that wouldn't say I'm a monster right into my face. I've got a lot of self-control. And I am not armed. But I can do things with my bare hands I wouldn't want anybody to find out soon."
He smiled. This girl was mad. But not psycho madness. She was just a wild one, who hated being restrained or kept in a little space for too long. And that energy could easily morph into anger at any provocation. He had seen that already, the pattern you find in patented warriors or spies. Romanov was like that too. Always requesting something to do. It was explained by a lack of sleep and too much caffeine in some cases. But for Romanov or Torunn Thorsdottir, their drug was adrenalin and combat. Who would win the fight if these two had to fight against each other?
He called Fitz to go see her. That was what she had meant. Not Simmons who had turned into a quite angry ball of nerves during the past months, but sweet, broken-hearted Fitz. He had seen him keeping an eye on her on the monitor in his lab. He had seen the footage of the interrogation room where he had taken care of her. He was kind with her. And she was surprised of that. He tried to look after her. He had made sure to be informed of what was going on in these interrogations. It was nice of him. But Coulson, like everyone else, didn't understand why.
When the two men pushed her in the vault, she saw that someone was already there. She immediately tensed, swearing on her lack of weaponry.
"Watch the language, princess."
She relaxed almost immediately. It was just Leo.
"Hi."
That's all she said. Hi. He shook his head. When she came under the crude white light, he saw how much her sleep deprivation was affecting her. She had dark circles under her eyes, she seemed slow and exhausted. Her motions weren't that precise and energetic anymore and he felt like she was going to black out any minute.
"How are you?"
"I'm ok."
She wasn't. He could see it. Being ok was something you said only when you weren't. When he heard his mother cry quietly and he came to see her, she always said that. I'm ok, Leo. Ok was not ok.
"You're not. You almost don't sleep. You almost are a zombie. What is happening?"
She didn't answer, and didn't look at him. It was as if she hadn't heard him. It was disturbing and he hated that.
"Look at me, Torunn."
"I'm ok, Leo."
"Look at me."
She reluctantly looked at him. Something was happening. Something he didn't really understand. It was pain. Fever maybe. Anyway, she was in a bad state. He ordered her to sit, and she did without complaining. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She was hurt.
"What is happening?"
He put a hand up at her forehead. It was hot. She was burning. Fever. Lack of sleep weakened the immune system. She had wounds, still not completely healed. She had been having her bandages replaced for a couple of days. What if… His eyes opened wide. What if she had an infection? Fever was one of the symptoms.
He was going to kill Jemma. She was supposed to be a doctor for God's sake! She was supposed to avoid this kind of situations! Even Torunn, who had no medical training, in a middle of a freaking battlefield, was able to patch herself up, without getting an infection! He swore.
"Watch your language, Leo."
She said with a slight smile. He helped her lay on the bed. She cringed her teeth. He muttered relaxing words to her. He moved the clothes around her wounds, put the bandages off. Nothing on the arm. He put a new one on and proceeded the same on her thigh. Nothing here. There was only one wound left. The bigger one, on her side. It was deeper than the others and longer. And it had swollen and reddened. Red streaks were starting to run from the area. How come Jemma didn't see this?
He gently touched the area. Her breath hitched.
"Don't hesitate to say if I hurt you."
She nodded but he knew she wouldn't. She was too proud. He sighed. Why was this girl so stubborn? Wasn't it sometimes much simpler to say things? He looked at her. She was pale, paler than the last time he had seen her. The dark circles and the red streaks both were clearly visible on her body, the contrast affecting it. She was sweating, she was starting to shake.
"Torunn."
Her head was hurting like crazy, her wound too, she felt generally weak and she hated it. Everything was starting to go dark. It started slowly. Then, she completely fell unconscious. As if somebody had turned the energy switch off.
"We are interrupting your program for a quick news flash."
Skye looked up from her computer. She had been browsing every footage they had that could actually lead to him. But no trace of him. Nothing. That made her go crazy. He was human, for God's sake! How come he didn't make mistakes? She felt like smashing her computer on the floor and stomp on it. And it was something she didn't say often, being a compulsive hacker.
"For a few days, violent deaths had been reported all over Nevada. People placed a group of masked men, carrying guns, near the city of Elko. They follow no clear pattern. Mr Toledano witnessed one of the killings. "
It was masked men. No sign of Ward. Where was he? She was desperate to find him and make him pay. He had made her that way. He had made her want to end everything. She couldn't believe she actually had loved him. That bastard. She was about to turn of the TV, the constant violence always made her wait of some sign from him. But she didn't. Something a young man was saying really interested her.
"The police wouldn't believe us. But we saw them. Their leader is a woman. The thing is, she really looks like a villain from comics. Like really. She's all metal-ish and carries a sword. She's insane. That sounds crazy, but we actually saw her. It is her."
That wasn't possible. Hella was there. She was heading North. Skye called for somebody. They needed to stop them before they caused more trouble. Waiting for people to come see why she was calling, she did a quick research. Elko. North Nevada. More than 18,200 inhabitants. More than 18.200 lives that could end soon if the goddess continued her savage enterprise. Nobody came they were all scattered around the Playground getting done with their tasks. They had been like that since the attack. Buzzing around the place, preparing for what they thought was an on-coming attack. It had been more than a week since then. And there had been no attack. Enough to make everyone start worrying.
She opened her mail box. She hadn't had any mail since his. She couldn't stop going back to it everyday, a few times each day. God, she hated that. But these worlds… Was it a whole lie? Could it be a lie? Of course it could. Of course it could. He was a liar. He was a master of dissimulation. He had done it already. She had seen it already. But she just couldn't help hoping. He had saved her. Before going away again.
She shook her head. No. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing she still wanted him to be good. She wanted him to see her as what he had made her. Cold. Deadly. Revengeful.
Coulson was working in his office. These files were incredibly boring. How could Fury manage that? He had been a field agent before becoming Director, just like Coulson. How could he keep his cool when he was browsing through hundreds of reports like these? He sighed. Becoming the head of SHIELD had been stimulating at first, since the whole organization was in state of internal war. But now that all had settled down… He was bored. He had not really been into a mission since months. A soft knock at the door broke his train of thought.
"Yes."
A young agent entered.
"Sir, we have a non-registered e-mail communication going on between an agent with a high clearance level and a IP code unknown of us."
"Who?"
"Agent…"
She looked at her paper a moment, quite perplexed.
"Agent Skye, sir."
Skye? Skye was having an email exchange with people outside SHIELD? Did she still have contacts with her hacktivist friends from Rising Tide? He sighed. That was going to add another issue to the whole Asgardian mess, and to the Kree fiasco.
"Do you have a report?"
"Here, sir."
She gave the paper to him. It was just two emails, one coming from an unknown address and the others was the reply from Skye. He started to worry. He had contacted her. Ward had dared contact her. That meant he knew her mail, that meant he knew how to contact them. How did he succeed to have access to protected addresses?
"Did you trace the mail?"
"I was waiting for your consent, sir. In case you wouldn't want us to…"
"You have my agreement. Find him."
She nodded and walked back to the door. He called her at the moment she was about to close the panel behind her.
"What's your name?"
"Agent Carter, sir."
"Then, Agent Carter, I would like that conversation and the story of these e-mails kept secret. You'll report directly to me."
"Yes, sir."
She closed the door. He stayed seated, staring at the words Ward had written to Skye. That explained everything. Her new behavior during the last days. The way she was colder, the way she spent hours trying to find a trace, anything, browsing through video footage they had already seen multiple times. She had… changed. As if her emotions were off, leaving the path free for her rage and revenge. This was her answer to the regretful piece of writing of the former agent.
We'll meet again, Ward. And you'll have the surprise of a lifetime.
Thank you for reading!
Don't forget to review to let me know what you think will happen next!
Until next time,
The Queen of Heart