The doctor smiled and gestured for Klara to sit down. He had dark skin, dark hair and kind light brown eyes when he smiled they crinkled. He looked like a nice man which made Klara want to trust him.
"I'm Dr. Mullur but you can call me Neel."
"I assume you know I'm Miss Barton, but you can call me Klara." She said quietly not taking her eyes off of him. When Klara met new people she made a point not to break eye contact first.
"Most people don't introduce themselves to me, or wait for me to break eye contact."
Klara shrugged and to her satisfaction he looked away.
"Trying to make me comfortable? Trust me I know all the tricks." She said confidently.
He nodded "Your parents? Tell me about them."
Klara frowned "Why? You've met them. I assume."
"Briefly, I've read their files to get familiarized with who they are as agents. But I'm asking you about them as parents." He said. His voice was soft and warm, Klara wanted to talk.
"How does confidentiality work?" she asked.
"My assessment goes into your profile but that doesn't include what you've said to me. Everything we talk about stays between us unless I believe you are a danger to someone or yourself." He answered.
"Well I could name several people who think I'm a danger to someone." Klara said bitterly.
"Who?" he asked. Klara rolled her eyes.
"Just the people who are supposed to help and support me all the time like my parents and sister. And Irina but she's Irina." Klara paused "Turned it back to my parents. Clever."
He shook his head "I try not to direct conversation, but I would like to talk about them. How does it feel when they're on mission? I understand you've seen very little of your father since Christmas."
Klara nodded "Yeah he was away more than normal, had something to do with aliens I think."
"Right, but how does it feel when he's away?"
"Not great I guess." Klara huffed.
"Do you worry?" Neel asked.
"What does that matter? It's not like I can do anything about it." She spat.
"So when your parents go on mission you might feel helpless." He questioned. Klara sighed.
"Yeah sure. But they're doing the right thing. Or they're trying."
"They're trying to do the right thing. In the field or by you?"
"I hate psychology." She muttered. He smiled. Klara glared at him "Both."
"So you think the work they do for SHIELD might not be the right thing?"
Klara was taken aback, that wasn't what she expected him to ask. She had to take a moment to think.
"Morally? No. My mother used to be an assassin for the remnants of the KGB. Now she's killing for SHIELD. I don't understand how she thinks one is wiping red from her ledger."
"And you're father?" he asked.
"He just wants to protect people. Also I think at one point he was a mercenary but I was never clear on that." Klara said quickly.
"Does it bother you that your parents have secrets? Things they keep from you."
"Yes." She said as thought it was obvious. "It bothers Bella to. We don't talk about it much but sometimes it's like we don't know them. But it's the nature of their life. We're not all that's in it."
"The nature of their life. You're not exactly happy they're spies are you?" Neel asked.
"Happy? No. But that's just my life. Can't change it." She said. Klara pressed her fingers to the inside of her wrist checking to see of her heartrate was going up. To her surprise it wasn't, it was steady and slow.
"I understand you didn't want anything to do with SHIELD, do you think this whole ordeal will affect your life?"
Klara laughed "Yes! Of course it will. I'm going on a list of people who are monitored and handled by SHIELD. That will definitely affect my life. If this were happening to Bella she wouldn't care, which is annoying. There's nothing she wants more then to join SHIELD."
He nodded "Your sister, let's talk about her."
Klara scoffed "I love her. I'd love her more if she didn't side with our parents about everything. Although she didn't want me on the index so credit where it's due. But she's leaving anyway also she got me kidnapped."
"She is going to University next September. How does that make you feel?"
Klara stared at Neel and shrugged.
"For the first time in your life she won't be a constant."
"I would've thought you would ask about the 'she got me kidnapped' part." Klara quipped.
"That is a story I am familiar with. I understand you and your sister weren't on good terms for a long time after that. But I hear that's changed, what happened?"
"It just blew over. This whole weird gifts thing happened and I had bigger problems than being ticked with my sister."
He nodded "Did you feel like you needed her on your side? You said she agreed with you over not being put on the index."
"Didn't help much." Klara muttered.
"But she is leaving, she's going to MIT I believe."
"Yeah that's what happens when people graduate high school, normally they move out. Why are you dwelling on this?" she asked in a taut voice.
"Because it's change." He said slowly. "In you, your household and your entire world is changing. People thrive on either change or stability. Could you tell me which one you're most comfortable with?"
Klara shrugged "I have to be adaptable."
"Are those your words or your parents? You don't have to be anything." Neel said. Klara focused on his cell phone sitting with the screen facing up on the coffee table. The screen lit up. She smiled smugly.
"I have to be this. I doubt you would say it's healthy to pretend otherwise."
He turned his phone back off "Fair. But that's not what meant."
She tilted her head "Then what did you mean?"
"I meant you don't have to be anything you weren't meant to be. I think if you're not meant to become a SHIELD agent you won't become one."
Klara was silent for a moment thinking over what he said. "So you believe in fate Doctor?"
"I believe there are forces in the universe we don't understand and maybe we never should. After all messing with something we don't understand brought an alien invasion to us didn't it?"
"I guess it did. So, am I a threat?"
"A threat? No. How would you feel about keeping this up? Meeting with me once every week or so. And I would like to talk with your sister." He stood up, Klara did the same.
"You'd have to talk it over with her and my parents. But sure, why not." She stated.
Neel opened the door for her "I see it now."
"What?" Klara asked
"Why people have told me you and your mother are so similar. I didn't before."
"What? Why?"
"Well the liberty of choice in what you become was stolen from both of you. And you've both handled it very well so far, relatively."
"Well blame fate."
He smiled "You're going to use that against me, I can feel it."
"Count on it Doc." She said with a smile.
"Agent Garret is meeting you in the garage."
Klara let out an exasperated sigh "Right, I've gotta meet that guy."
Agent Jonathan Garrett was standing next to what Klara assumed was his car.
"Hi kid." He said, his voice was gruff but he was smiling at her. He was about the same height as her father, but older and rougher looking. Sometimes when Klara saw agents she would guess what they did, but they're as no guessing with this man. Everything about him screamed field agent. His posture to his haircut to his SHIELD issue combat boots. The same ones Klara as wearing just in a much larger size. Klara wasn't sure how to feel, there was a twist in her gut that said "trouble" but she'd felt like that all day. He was an agent like her parents. She couldn't think of a reason not to trust him.
"Hi agent." She waved.
"Call me Garrett. Hungry? You probably haven't had lunch all the lab work and psych analysis."
Klara nodded "Yeah. Do you know where my parents are?"
"No." he answered and opened the passenger side door for her. Klara climbed into the car and waited until he was inside to reply.
"That's straightforward." She deadpanned.
"More then you're used to I'd guess. Here's something else for you, Fury has made it a mission of mine to track down anyone else who got blood form the same donor as you. That means tracing stuff back to the hospital and donors are anonymous so it's basically impossible and in my opinion redundant but anything for Nick." He said, his voice was brash and sarcastic at the end but Klara didn't mind. He was being honest with her, granted he was probably ordered to be but it felt good to know for sure what somebody was saying.
"He thinks there could be others?"
Garrett turned out of the garage "Seems that way. Who wants to talk about that? We have to get to know each other. What's your favorite food?"
"Pizza." She paused "How long have you been working for SHIELD?"
"Long enough that Fury was my S.O and not my director." He answered.
"Have you worked as a case worker before?" she asked.
"No. First time, you're my test run Klara but I have been a couple agents supervising officer."
Klara thought for a moment then remembered what Marilyn had said in the lab "He turned a very troubled teen into one of our best operatives."
"What very troubled teen did you turn into an operative?" she asked intently.
"Ah, so you've heard the story. Agent Grant Ward, young guy. He's a specialist. Like me and your parents." Garrett said.
"Is a specialist just someone who's really good or does it mean something else?"
"I'm a combat specialist, your mother is an espionage and combat specialist, so is your dad and he's a marksmen. Probably the best one at SHIELD. Just means we're really good at our jobs. You don't ask these questions to your parents?"
"You have to be honest with me so I'm double checking. Where are we going?" she said, gazing out the window.
"Pizza place in Brooklyn, my personal favorite. Traffics not as horrible as usual getting out of here today. Huh." He muttered to himself.
"Should I call my parents and tell them where I am? Does it matter? Oh and there's no traffic because most of the city is hiding indoors because aliens invaded yesterday."
"I don't care call who you want. And does that mean pizza will be closed? Hope not, not like Brooklyn was invaded by aliens"
Klara stared down at her phone, deciding she'd call her sister. School was out today in all of New York so she'd be home. Thankfully Bella picked up on the first ring.
"Hey! Where are you?" she asked
"Going to Brooklyn for pizza with my case worker!" she said with mock enthusiasm.
"I'm that bad?" Garrett jokingly questioned. Klara shushed him.
"How'd everything go?" she asked quietly. There were voices in the background.
"Where are you? And fine. Well no, I'm inhuman."
"What?! - Yeah I know we're watching a movie. I'm talking to my sister! Jessica shut up! Fine I'll go talk in the bathroom." There was a pause and some shuffling
"Hey Im back. I'm just with friends. Angie's friends but they're my friends. A few of them are going to MIT."
"You have friends?!" Klara gasped.
"What do you mean inhuman?" Bella hissed.
"I mean not human what the fuck else could that mean? I'm not a mutant they lied to me."
"That's shitty." Bella muttered.
"My thoughts exactly. Where's mom and dad?"
Bella sighed "I don't know. They're being weird. I talked to them this morning they still aren't telling us what compromised means. Bring back pizza and put it in the fridge."
"I'm not getting you pizza." Klara said bluntly.
"We can get your sister pizza." Garrett said.
"Ha!" Bella shouted.
"Whatever, call me when you hear from mom and dad."
"Yeah I will."
Then Klara hung up.
"I can't believe you agreed to get her pizza." lara said as hey walked into th
"Well you've got to trust me but so does your family."
"Why do I have to trust you?" she asked as they pulled up to the thankfully open pizzeria.
"I'm your case worker It's my job to make decisions regarding your case, you have to trust that I'll make the right one and by extension so do your very lethal parents."
"Hmmm, I trust my sister she gets me kidnapped, I trust my parents they put me on the index, I trust my caseworker? Who knows what could happen. You're the person who can get me killed." She mused.
"Any field officer in SHIELD who's familiar with your case can do that. Sitwell, Hand, Blake. All the other ones and the directors. Also Captain America. I think they're making him a field officer so he could kill you to."
Klara's heart sped up "Comforting." She gazed around making sure she wasn't messing with the electricity in the restaurant.
"I'm just telling you who your enemies are. Who not to trust." He said as he the waitress came over.
"Hey John, good to see you again. Who's this?" she asked her eyes lingered on Klara's eyes. She'd forgotten how weird they must look. No one at school had said anything since she had no friends and teachers didn't want to pry.
"Gina this is Klara, she's my niece." Garret answered with what Klara assumed was an attempt at a sweet smile.
"Hi Gina." Klara said.
"So drink order?"
"I'll stick with water." Garrett said as he picked up a menu.
"Coke." Klara said.
"No problem!"
"Thank you!" Klara chimed.
"That list of people not to trust includes you, field officer/ case worker." She whispered.
"I'd never kill you." He same in the same hushed tone. Klara's hair glinted in the sunlight from the window, making it look like it was on fire.
"Why not?" she questioned "What if I become too much of a threat and need to be eliminated?"
To Klara's surprise she was calm and collected. She was talking about SHIELD killing her but she'd calmed herself down.
"Threats can be very easily considered assets. Just depends on where you're standing."
Klara frowned, there it was again. The twist in her gut "And where are you standing?" she asked.
"When it comes to people like you I'm open minded."
She studied him. The uneasiness was gone, she felt he was telling the truth.
"Good." She stated and leaned back into the booth. Gina brought their drinks.
"Speaking of you, how are you holding up? Must be strange waking up to find you're something else." Garrett said.
"I don't know, might be fun to be SHIELD's newest freak." She said with a smile. The bitter sad edge in her voice was hidden well but not from Garrett.
"Freak? You say it like it's a bad thing."
"It's not great." She muttered.
Garrett shrugged "I guess your opinion is the only one that matters but it's my personal belief that anyone who's more than ordinary should be happy. Ordinary's boring."
"Depends on where you're standing." She said with what was becoming her trademark smirk.
"This pizza is really good." Bella said through a mouthful.
"Yeah it is." Klara said absentmindedly.
Clint and Natasha came thought the door. Klara debated running upstairs but she stayed where she was.
"How'd you like Garrett?" Clint asked.
"I don't know, he's alright. Good taste in pizzerias, doesn't think I'm a threat. Not a bad dude." She said monotonously.
"He's expressed interest in training you. In a way we are can't cause we're your parents." Clint said. Bella looked up from her food.
"What can he teach her that you guys can't?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.
"There's a reason Clint and I have never been anyone's S.O. We aren't good teachers." Natasha stated.
"You're both good at some simple self defense and hand to hand, you can both fire a handgun, Klara's gotten good with a bow and knives. Other than that we've haven't taught you much but both of you are fluent in three languages other than English so there's that." Clint said.
"Almost 4. German's coming." Said Bella.
"Pfft. I learned German forever ago." Klara taunted.
"Well you don't speak Italian."
"You're right but my French, German and Russian are really unimpressive compared to Italian. Did I mention I also speak the dumbest language in existence, English?"
"Why do you hate on the English language?" Bella asked.
"Yeah why is that?" Clint agreed.
"Because the pronunciation. Grammar and spelling rules aren't consistent. Right mom? You had to learn it. Where's Irina? She still struggles."
"She's reading." Answered Bella.
"Klara are you interested in being trained by agent Garrett and Bella you're going to see Klara's psychiatrist tomorrow."
"What? Why!?" she asked.
"Tell him I am." Klara said to her father.
"Because." Natasha said to Bella.
"Because why?" Bella pressed.
"Don't do this." Natasha muttered.
Before Bella could say it again out of spite Klara cut her off "What does compromised mean?"
The room fell into uncomfortable silence. Clint sat down on the couch.
"A Norse God mind controlled me into doing his evil bidding Nat hit me on the head now I'm fixed." He sighed. Natasha sat down next him.
Bella was silent.
"That's shit. But silver lining you're still a human."
Bella elbowed her sister, Clint and Natasha for the first time in a while let themselves laugh.
May 6th 2012
Marilyn felt sick, when the director called to see her results he as usual was unreadable but he too was unsettled.
"Those are similar." He stated.
"Shockingly."
"But not the same. Something's different in the DNA. Like a subspecies of GH. but… I don't have any answers. Since this project is off record this stays off of Klara's index file right? Until we understand what's happening?" Fury nodded." Sir, she's not just more than human. She must have completely different biology. Her system has been changing, adapting… no evolving since the donor. Her gifts are just the product of years of change. " she said quickly.
"Thank you Doctor. Send me everything you have then delete what you've got."
"No problem sir." She said and switched off the monitor. Fury had returned to the Helicarrier the night before, she wished she could have shown him in person. Marilyn hated computers.
Fury dialed Garrett.
"Yes?"
"I realize there is no way you can find Klara's donor. Forget I asked you to find them."
"No problem sir. But the kid does want answers." Garrett said, trying his best to sound genuinely concerned.
"Tell her we're looking." Fury ordered, then he hung up.
Garret shook his head "Lies, lies, lies." He muttered.
Bella wouldn't stop shaking her leg as she waited for the door to open. She knew it was 945 and her appointment was at 10 but who didn't show up to their job early? She was always at school early. Until she had to start driving Klara. The door opened.
"I thought you'd be early." He stated as he sat down. Bella sat up as straight as she could.
"Did Klara say that? That's something she'd say." Bella said quickly. She hated talking about herself or being asked about herself. Writing her university applications had been awful.
"No she didn't mention it. We didn't talk at length about your punctuality." He said calmly.
"Oh. I guess you wouldn't have, yeah." She mumbled.
"So, university. Excited?" he asked.
"Is this a test?"
Neel smiled "It's a question. Moving away from home, that's a big change. How do you feel?"
Bella fidgeted in her seat "Excited, nervous. A lot's changing. More than me going to school. Klara, SHIELD. I feel different."
"Different how?" he asked curiously.
"I don't know. I mean in the past year I've felt guilty most of the time. For siding with my parents about sending Klara away. For making a decision that got her hurt, for breaking up with a boy I never loved. I just felt wrong all the time." She paused and looked up from the floor to Neel "I don't anymore."
He nodded "What's changed in your life? Because that's a good way to feel, no one wants to feel wrong."
"I have new friends. I had the same friends for years but they never felt as rea as these people do. And most of them are going to MIT so I get to build of these relationships. For once Klara's going through something I have no control over, we're getting along better than ever." Bella said with a small smile.
"Why do you think that is? You and your sister getting along better?"
Bella remembered I conversation she had with her mother months ago. "She idolizes you." Natasha had been trying to explain. Klara didn't anymore, months of anger and not speaking and Bella's mistakes changed that. Bella never would have guessed some good came out of the months of fighting between them.
"She doesn't want to be me. She always thought I was perfect and I did some things, made some mistakes that changed that. I think she wanted to go to a different school so that no one would think she'd be like me. Because she knows she can't be me, she always did." Bella said quietly. She's never said any of this out loud.
"And what is it about you she wanted to be?" Neel asked intently.
Bella frowned "I don't know. I think it's just a little sister thing, they idolize you for a bit then realize you're flawed. Am I close?"
Neel said nothing "I don't know Klara well enough to say anything. Tell me about your friends?"
Bella smiled "I'm closest with Angie, we're lab partners. We like the same music and movies. There's Jessica who's pretty high strung but in a good way we both have younger siblings, her brother's in the tenth grade. And Matt is hilarious he always has a joke and his best friend David is really serious and he also wants to be a mechanical engineer so we bond." She said quickly.
"They're all going to MIT?" Neel asked
"Yeah, it's weird that it turned out that way and that they all got in but most of us are doing different programmes. Jess likes chemical, Angie likes biological and Matt wants to do computer science and stuff. I thought about that but I don't like the idea of it as much as mechanical engineering." She said. Bella loved talking about this. Once she'd figured out late last year that she actually hated biology the idea of university was a lot more appealing.
"How are they different from your old friends?"
Bella drummed her fingers on her knee "We have more in common, we're more honest with each other. I'm just closer with them and we haven't even been friends that long."
"But like you said you get to build on these relationships. But how do you feel about moving from home?"
Bella shrugged "I'm not sure. I think they'll be fine…" she trailed off realizing how her family was feeling was not what he was asking "I'll miss them and it'll be hard but I think it's a good thing, me going. I need to start my life, things have started changing and I don't think they're going to stop. I'm going to rethink my desire to join SHIELD. I want to see what happens to Klara."
Neel nodded "Are you worried about your sister? Because you're not responsible for her, siblings are for support and love."
Bella sighed "I know, but however SHIELD handles her could show me if this is something I want to be a part of." She stopped and thought or a moment "you're not responsible for her". She knew he was right, Bella should feel accountable for things out of her control. She was leaving and she couldn't have her own life is she spent her time worried about Klara.
"I work for SHIELD, it's not so bad." He said.
Bella looked back up at him. "I doubt you get to see that many of SHIELD's deep dark secrets." She said bitterly.
"No I suppose I don't. But your parents would. What do you think of that?"
Bella clenched her fists "They're spies. I don't think about it." She said stiffly.
Neel nodded "Ok. I think that's all the time we have. Would you lie to do this again?"
Bella frowned "No. No I wouldn't." she said. She hadn't wanted to come here anyway. Neel stood up and opened the door for her.
"It's been good speaking to you." He said with a kind smile.
"Thanks." She said softly and left the room.
Klara lay on her bed staring at her ceiling and trying to make the light above her flicker. Bella barged into her room.
"Just got back? Oh and what the hell?"
"I'm not responsible for you." She stated.
Klara sat up "I know that. It's you who didn't know that." She said.
"Yeah but now I know that." Bella explained.
Klara laid back down "Productive session with the shrink, you going back?"
Bella sat down in Klara's desk chair "No. You're letting Garrett train you? That seems very future SHIELD agenty of you."
Klara frowned "I don't know. I'm being forced interact with SHIELD. Might as well get something out of it. And I have superpowers now I'd be a kick ass agent." She joked. Bella didn't smile.
"Bella, I'm kidding. Im finishing the ninth grade I have no idea what I'm gonna do with myself. SHIELD's not going anywhere I can make that decision when I'm older." Klara reassured.
Bella nodded "I thought I knew what I'd want now when I was finishing grade 9." She mused.
"What do you think's gonna happen to me?" Klara asked, her voice wavered. It was hard for to keep a brave face. She was surprised she hadn't broken down in front of anyone yesterday but it was just as hard for her to be vulnerable. Bella moved across the room ad sat next to Klara, putting her arm around her sister who lay her head on Bella's shoulder.
"I don't know. But I think you're strong. You're holding up better than I could I think. I'm gonna be honest I don't think you'll ever get a normal life but I think you'll be able to handle whatever happens to you." She said softly. Tears ran down Klara's cheeks. Bella couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sister cry.
"You think?" she asked, her voice was surprisingly steady but as rough as always.
"Yeah I do. What do you think is gonna happen to me?" Bella asked with a smile.
"I think you'll be an awesome mechanical engineer one day. And that you're stronger then you give yourself credit for. You let me go the other day. You knew that there was a chance I was stupid and I wouldn't come back but you had the strength to let me go." Klara answered.
"I don't think that's strength Klara, I think that was giving up." Bella said, her voice as cracking now to. She felt her eyes and throat burn.
"I think sometimes strength is knowing when to let something go, knowing when to give up. There's no point in fighting a fight you don't think you can win." Klara said into her sister's shoulder.
"You might change your mind on that one day."
"Girls!" Clint called from downstairs. Klara groaned and wipes her face. Bella was impressed after a moment no one could tell she'd been crying. Then she wondered how often her sister had been upset and no one had ever seen it. The two bounded downstairs after Irina.
Clint and Natasha were sitting next to each other in the living room in a "we have important news" sort of way. The three girls sat across form them, with Irina perched on the sofa's armrest.
"Klara I'm going to guess you are not at all attached to your high school." Natasha said. Klara nodded
"I have no friends and I'm lonely all the time yes." She answered.
"You know there's a different high school in our district and its closer downtown and to the base. If you want to go there next year for a second fresh start you can." Clint said, looking intently at his daughter. She ignored him, Kara was still mad. Irina turned to her.
"I'm starting there to, same grade. Technically I have been going to school." She said. No one asked questions. Klara knew that while she was in the red room she'd been educated up to the end of a grade 9 curriculum.
"Ok, that'd be good actually." Klara answered. Bella smiled at her sister.
"You better try harder with people." She warned.
"Yeah, yeah." Klara muttered. Natasha eyes her youngest daughter.
"You're sure about training with Garrett?" she asked. Klara looked up at her. She couldn't figure out the answer her mother wanted so she went with the truth.
"He wants to teach me and it's not out of feeling obligation." She said and looked accusingly at her parents "Then sure why not?"
Clint nodded "Alright, summers coming. You know what you're doing. We're still doing archery stuff" He said to Klara who nodded. Clint turned to Bella eyebrows raised.
"Packing, studying. Normal." She answered. Irina looked at the family.
"There is some weird subtext in this room. I'm going to brush up on my social skills." She stated bluntly.
Natasha smiled "We could probably all use some of that."
Bella looked down at the floor. Summer's figured out, but what about next year?
So next chapter is going to jump into September 2012 and sort of go over everything they did over June, July and august. And nothing really happens in the MCU in 2013 other then IM3 at Christmas and the beginning of AOS in September 2013 so probably not a lot of time chapter wise will be spent on most of 2013 just mainly relationships ad characters developing a little and I'm still not 100% sure on what to do with Bella but both girls will got through some emotional hell. No story is good without that. Right? Reviews are as always super appreciated.