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Later, the next day, Natasha and Clint arrived in Rosewood, a town in Malibu. The town had house-lined streets and a central town plaza. It was a quiet place full of families and children. An awful place for a superhuman with pain causing abilities to be, if Sophie was still there, that is.
The last time the file had been updated, Sophie was said to be living in Rosewood. That was in 2009, it was now 2015 and Sophie and her father could've moved and the adress they had could be completely wrong. Then they would be back at square one looking for her. It also said that the last public display of her abilities was when she was younger. It said that she had accidently touched an injured child, who happened to be the child of a SHIELD agent. The child had gone home and told his parents of a strange girl who had magically made his scraped knee go away. The agent had immediately reported the incident, hence the tabs on Sophie.
Driving down Pinetree Street, where the Miles home was supposed to be located, in the passenger seat, Natasha scanned the homes for an address that matched to one listed in the file. Soon, they came to a stop in front of an old looking home. It was a small home with cracking and peeling paint. Rotted wood flower boxes sat below windows. An old screen door clung onto its hinges and the stairs leading to a rundown porch looked less than safe.
"Does anyone live there, it looks completely empty?" Clint asked, leaning out behind Natasha to get a good look at the home.
Natasha shrugged, "It's a bit rough around the edges."
"Stake out?" Clint suggested.
"Stake out," Natasha agreed. With that Clint put the car in gear and drove down the street a bit before making a U-Turn and stopping a little less than a block from the home. It was a safe distance to watch for activity in and outside the house.
Hours later, a old red car came driving down the street and pulled into the driveway. The duo watched a man in his late 50s climb out of the car and walk into the home.
"That must be Jason Miles," Natasha concluded from a printed copy of Sophie's file on her lap.
Clint nodded, "Looks high or drunk."
Natasha nodded but made no comment. The stakeout lasted about two hours more until they spotted a brown haired girl making her way down the quiet street, in the afternoon light. Clint and Natasha could figure from the similarities to the girl in the file picture, that this girl was Sophie. Taking a pen, Natasha made the necessary changes to the file for Tony to update when they returned. As Sophie entered the home. Clint and Natasha called it a day and headed to Tony's rebuilt Malibu mansion where they would be staying during the duration of the scouting mission.
"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Clint asked his partner.
"I'm thinking typical daily activites. A bit of undercover work, disguises included?"
Clint nodded and grinned, "Sounds good to me."
Miles Home
When Sophie arrived home she crossed the front yard to the old porch stairs, before quietly entering the home. Trying not to disturb her father she tiptoed into the home. It was quiet, her father must have been passed out. Sophie had just arrived home from work after school, because her father was a drunk she worked at the town's cafe to support the family. Sure, her father took most of the money to drink but Sophie made-do with the money she kept for herself. The home was lite with Candles when it wasn't lite with natural light. The only electricity in the house was for the refridgerator and TV, to keep her father happy. The rest of the money went toward food, rarely clothing, and house payments. It wasn't much but Sophie had adapted. She learned to fix her clothing and repurpose it to look different. She wasn't home much between school and work, not that Sophie minded. When she was home, she was her father's punching bag. His anger was unmanageable. He demanded food and necessaties but never worked for any of it. He treated Sophie terribly and she planned on leaving as soon as possible. When her senior year of school ended she planned to leave, pack her bags and start a new life. Her mother had left her money when she died, that her father had surprisingly not known about. Sophie planned to move to a new state, she was thinking east coast, to get as far away from her father as possible. Who could blame her, the only memories she had of him where empty alcohol cans and bottles, angry screaming, beatings, and pain. Sophie had thought of leaving before on particularly bad days. Days when she felt no one would really care if she was gone. Days when she felt as if she was reaching out and groping in the darkness for a small pinprick of light. Days when she would lock herself in her room and cry. Days when her control on her abilities would slip and she would be encased in a purple protective bubble. Days when she felt that if she didn't get out she might kill herself.
She had habits that a normal teenager lacked. Sophie tended to not speak unless spoken to. She had many nervous mannerisms and felt anxiety in places with a lot of people. In fact, Sophie might have actually suffered from anxiety due to abuse from her father.
Sophie learned over time how to deal with the hardships she faced daily. She learned three important rules; 1) keep your calm: one can not think straight in panic, 2) stay out your father's way, and number 3) Don't expect people to help you, it's to much to ask.
She remembered these rules she had made by herself everyday. Every long, hard day.
Next Day:
As the two spies prepared for the day ahead of them, they discussed the situation idly.
"What if this chick is actually dangerous?" Clint asked, throwing a duffel bag full of disguises into the trunk.
Natasha shrugged, "Then we'll deal with it. We won't know her mannerisms or habits until after today. If she seems to be a rash person then we can call the rest of the team and figure something out. We won't know, however, until the end of today."
Clint nodded and the two finished loading supplies into the car. Minutes later they were pulling out of the garage and traveling back to Rosewood. They arrived in the town around 9:00 am. Sophie would already be in school. The plan was to got to her school undercover as parents looking to sign their child up for the highschool. Hopefully they would be able to observe Sophie's behavior in school.
When they arrived in front a huge brick building labeled Rosewood Highschool, Clint and Natasha exited their car. They were undercover as Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert. Walking into the school lobby, the receptionist smiled and greeted them saying, "Hello, what can I do for you?"
Clint spoke first, "We're here for a tour, Gilbert."
The receptionist looked down at her book, "Ah yes. Do have a seat, Principal Tate with be with you shortly. Clint nodded and he and Natasha took a seat.
A few minutes later a large man walked into the hallway, he was middle-aged with thinning hair and a stern expression set on his face. He offered a small smile while greeting Natasha and Clint.
"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, so nice to meet you! It isn't often we get new families," Principal Tate exclaimed happily.
Clint smiled and stuck a hand out to shake, which the man accepted, "Glad you could have us. We're hoping to enroll our daughter and son here."
"Great! "What grades?"
Natasha stepped forward to answer, "Senior and Sophmore."
"Wonderful," the Principal nodded, "If you'd just follow me this way, please."
Natasha and Clint followed him through the old building. The hallways were long and though the outside seemed run down the inside was renovated and modern.
"This is lovely," Natasha commented, in character.
"Yes, we are very proud of the interior. It was re-done only a couple years ago. To my left.."
He said motioning that way, "is a sophmore class, feel free to step in."
Natasha and Clint took the suggestion and stepped into the classroom. A few kids noticed them and smiled happily while others carried on barely aware of their existence. Clint nudged his partner's arm as he spotted Sophie sitting in the back corner of the room, taking notes in rapid scrbbles across the page.
Trying to keep up there act, the two stepped out and followed the principal through the school. Later, after the tour, Natasha and Clint sat in a car around the corner from the school's pavilion and watched for Sophie. Most of the kids sat in large groups talking and laughing loudly.
"There," Natasha spotted Sophie sitting at a table. A few other girls sat at the table but they didn't seem to be talking to her, not that Sophie seemed to be joining in on the conversation. She sat quietly, picking at her food, listening, and shaking her head in agreement occasionally.
"Lone wolf," Clint commented, eyes glued on the girl.
Natasha nodded, "Most are."
"Do you think she's dangerous?" Clint asked, now turning to Natasha.
Natasha sighed, "What's got you so worried about this, if she is we'll take care of it."
Clint nodded, but his shoulder's slumped slightly, "I know, it's just I don't really like having to take out such young kids cause they were left alone and had to fight these powers themselves."
"You've done this before?" Natasha asked.
Clint nodded, "A while back Coulson sent me on a mission to bring this teen boy into SHIELD. He could summon fire and was getting dangerous. Set the house we were in on fire. I barely got out. We had to put him down after that."
Natasha nodded but offered no sympathy. Clint wouldn't have wanted it anyway.
"If you want to know the truth, I am hoping she's just a quiet outcast and her file was wrong. No kid should have to deal with superpowers alone."
Clint glanced back at Sophie who still sat doing to the same thing as before, "I hope."
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