I finished season two of agents of SHIELD and can I just say what the fuck. I love all the characters and the end was just such a dick move. Can't wait for season two.

TW: MENTION OF SUCIDE

September 2 2012

School for Irina, Klara and Bella started on the fourth. Bella was going to be dropped off at MIT on Labour Day. The summer had been steps forward for all of them. Irina had decided to try and be part of the family and she fit in better then she thought she would have. Better yet Irina was prepared for school, neither Bella nor Klara had seen Irina at her worst so they couldn't tell in the months they'd known her she was the healthiest she'd ever been and getting better. Bella had spent her time studying and building her relationships with her friends. But she had conflicting feelings about Angie, not because she didn't like her as much but she liked her a lot. But Bella had never had a really close friend before and still was making up how to behave as she went along but having a friend felt good. Klara had spent most of her time with Garrett, her parents or Irina. Training was all she did, by the end of the summer Klara was stronger, faster and a better fighter then she'd ever been and was planning on working on it throughout the year. She'd managed to best Irina and Clint once, but she knew he was having an off day and let her win. Klara had grown to, Bella had topped at 5'4 along with Irina but Klara at grown to 5'7. A few inches shorter than her father.
"It's probably the alien DNA in your system." Irina had said, Klara had never thought about it. No one had ever confirmed alien for her, but that's what everyone was thinking. Bella was annoyed her younger sister had grown even taller but "you're flatter than me so where does it count" Bella would joke. What was never spoken of was her abilities, which had also developed. Klara was happy to say she had control, mostly. Sometimes she went a little overboard on the lightning but exhausting practice with Garrett had helped hone her abilities. "Don't you have a job?" klara asked about once a week
"this is my job" he replied. Klara knew he was giving up his time to work with her but she couldn't understand why. She'd had also had the pleasure of training with Grant Ward on a few occasions. She liked him, she'd even go far enough to consider him a friend. The one thing weighing in Klara's mind was how lethal she was becoming. She'd been training with a bow with her father, not just shooting but also fighting with one. Garrett had been teaching her how to use the array of deadly weaponry SHIELD had to offer, knives, guns and even a staff. Klara was proud to admit to herself that her marksmanship had impressed Garett and Ward "I didn't think being a near perfect shot was a genetic trait but you got something from your father. Other than your nose." Garrett joked.

"To bad you're so opposed to being an agent." Ward said to her as pummelled the punching bag Ward was holding steady. He was in New York for the day and wanted to see her, Grant hadn't been around since the end of July so Klara was happy to see him.

"Well, I wouldn't say opposed. Not anymore, undecided. I'm not even 16 I don't have to make any decisions." She said.

"Do you trust SHIELD?" he asked. Klara stopped hitting the bag.

"With what?" she asked and started unwrapping her hands.

"Your life." He said. Klara frowned.

"I trust my parents and Garrett with my life. Haven't decided on you yet." She answered.

"But SHIELD as a whole?" he asked. Klara shrugged.

"Do you?"

"That's not your business." He said. Klara couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"So you can ask me personal questions but I can't ask you any? Unfair." She stated and walked towards the target range.

"Pick something and I won't miss." Klara said. Grant picked up a gun took the magazine out and stood on the mat.

"We all know you can shoot. Take this gun from me. I'll fight back." He said.

"I could just shock you and kill you." Klara offered with a smile. But her heart leapt into her throat, she'd finally figured out how to deliver a non-lethal shock. Like a Taser but only in simulations and never on a real person. She wasn't eager to try.

"Without doing that." Ward said.

Klara rolled her eyes and stepped onto the mat, Ward held the gun out in front of him, pointed at her. She glanced at the gun. They'd fought only once before and when she wasn't very good. He didn't know how she did things. Klara grabbed and ducked under his outstretched arm and kicked the back of his knee. Grant spun around and turned the gun back to her.

"No dice." He said and waited for her next move. Klara grabbed onto his outstretched arm and used it as leverage lift to kick him hard in the chest. Ward twisted away from her, grabbed her arm and flipped her onto her back. Ward then lifted her back up into a choke hold.

"Well I did drop the gun." He said. Klara smiled and threw all her weight back, lifting herself onto the ground and then threw herself forward. Ward's grip on her loosened and she stomped on his foot and elbowed him in the chest. She swung her leg around to knock him off his feet and grabbed the gun, pointing it at his head.

"You let me win." She stated.

"Yes. But you're better than I thought you'd be. With more training one day you might actually beat me or one of your parents." He said getting up.

"I still have the gun." Klara pointed out. "Bang." She said. Pretending to pull the trigger.

"Very funny, we both know you'd never actually shoot me." He said, holding his hand out for the weapon. Klara handed it over.

"If I were in the field how screwed would I be?" she asked.

Ward thought for a moment "Against a cop, security guard or person? You'd do just fine. I could see you going toe to toe with your average mercenary and holding your own. Most agents in anything but the field can't do that."

Klara scoffed "There's no reason for them to learn how to fight."

Ward nodded "Maybe but I have to leave. Do some sparring with Irina." He said.

"Can't, Bella is dragging us both to get haircuts." Klara huffed. She didn't understand why but Irina wanted to go. Klara's hair was halfway down her back she liked it this way.

"Go short but long enough to be pulled back." Ward imputed.

"Did I ask you?" she joked.

"Just a practical idea." Ward stated as he left the room.

Irina Alkaev had spent the last week looking at pictures of other peoples haircuts online. She'd decided to thin out her hair and have it cut in a lot of layers about an inch below her chin. It'd be different than anything she'd ever had. Her hair had always been long and thick, almost to her waist. When the hairdresser met her she thought Irina dyed her hair the almost white color it was.

"No. Came with my fair skin." She said. Her accent was still thick but she'd always been understandable. As Bella and Klara also got seated in their chairs and discussed what they wanted.

"I'd just like the dead ends off and some more layers." Bella said. Klara rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you do something different with it for once? I Am." she said. Bella frowned

"What are you doing?"

Irina turned to Klara eyebrows raised "Just above my shoulders, it's not in the way but I can still put it up."

Bella narrowed her eyes "You've never had hair above your shoulders if you can help it."

Klara shrugged and followed her hairdresser to the sinks "Trying something new, practical." She said.

Irina sat down next to Klara "Short hair, out of the way." She agreed.

Bella's hairdresser turned to her "Do you want to do something different? You've had this for as long as I've known you." He said.

"What would you do?" she asked gesturing to her hair.

"I'd thin it out, keep it long and add some darker lowlights."

Bella stared at herself in the mirror, why not change it up? She was leaving for university tomorrow. This was a good time to change her haircut.

"Let's do that."

September 3 2012

Bella stood in her half empty room. Most of her clothes, pictures, books and TV series were coming with her. Which took most of the stuff out of her closet and shelves. It was surreal, seeing her room like this. She could see the chip of paint in the wall where she'd slammed into it on her desk chair and knocked over a potted plant and her lamp. She'd shattered the pot and the light bulb and it had taken forever to clean up. She looked into her empty bathroom, she had more unpleasant memories there. One specific thing she never thought about. Her only real big secret. Bella shuddered and sat on her bed. It was still made, she'd gotten a small cheaper duvet for her dorm. Bella didn't know her roommate, she thought it was best to meet somebody new. There was a knock on the door, it was Clint. He looked teary eyes.

"Dad?" she said. He smiled "It's just hard to see this room so empty and I mean you're going and you're gonna start a real life and you'll be an adult soon." He stopped and ran a hand through his hair.

"You have Irina and Klara to keep you busy." Bella said but she was having trouble keeping her voice steady.

"I'm your dad, I'm supposed to protect you and now I have to trust you can do that yourself." He said softly.

"I can dad. It's just university and I'm not even that far away. I'll be back at every holiday and I'll call all the time. You won't miss me that much." She said with a small smile. Clint pulled his daughter into a head and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

"Doubt that Iz." He said. Bella frowned "Don't call me Iz."

"That's all you wanted me to call you when you were eight." He said happily.

"That was ten years ago dad." Bella said sadly. He nodded

"I know, but you're still my little girl, always will be."

Bella sighed "Yeah I know, but I think you've got your hands full with the other two. Are you sure Irina's ready for school?"

Clint nodded "After what she'd been through I think she can take on anything." He said somberly.

"I never understood what happened to her? And where are the other girls? What happened to them?" Bella asked.

"Two of them are living with SHIELD agents, the other two didn't make it. Irina's with us."

"You never explained why they were in the hospital, what they went through, what mom went through."

"Bella." He cut her off "It's not something I can explain and it's not something any of them want to talk about. There's brainwashing and sterilization and addictions. I'm surprised at how well Irina held up. Maybe she wasn't as messed with as the two that commit suicide-"

"They commit suicide?!" she explained. Clint shushed her. "Yes. Your mother, in the first few weeks she was in SHIELD's care she tried, twice. Nat doesn't talk about it and neither should we. We'll never understand." He stopped and stared at the floor "I hope." He added as an afterthought. Bella was silent, she'd assumed things about what her mother had been through but she never thought it had gotten that bad. She stayed quiet. Clint put his arm around his daughter. Natasha materialized in the doorway.

"Can I have a moment?" she asked. Bella nodded, Clint hugged his daughter and left the room.

"Hey mom." She said and made space for her mother to sit next to her on the bed. Natasha sat down and for a moment she was silent.

"I'm sorry." She said, Bella opened her mouth "Don't interrupt. When I joined SHIELD, Clint to. We made a choice. To dedicate ourselves to the cause, to put it before anything else. Having you was a gamble and we did our best to balance it all out to act as parents and as agents. To keep it separate and even once Klara came along I'm not sure how well we did. We haven't been to one PTA meeting, we've missed most school plays and you danced form ages 5 to 10 and I never saw one recital. We've missed birthdays and holidays. I know this was hard on you and I've been meaning to apologize for this for a long time. I know that you're forgiving and that you can say you understand but I also know that it's the reason Klara is so… Klara. I don't say sorry much and this doesn't have to mean anything but I am and so is your father."

Bella gaped for a moment "Where is this coming from? I've always been fine. I know that what you do is important and that it sometimes as to come before other things. Why are you saying this all now? Have you given Klara the same speech?"

Natasha shook her head with a sad smile "You know if I tried that on Klara she'd get angry. There's a reason we never talked about it but SHIELD shouldn't have come before our children and I shouldn't have left this apology so late. You leave for university today, I shouldn't be dumping apologizes for 18 years of bad parenting on you now."

Bella frowned "You're not bad parents. Just different, we don't live like normal people. Mom my dad fights international crime with a bow and arrow, there are two ex KGB assassins in my house and my sister isn't human. We were never going to have it normal." She assured. Natasha shook her head at her daughter.

"I knew you'd make excuses for us. Which is why I'm apologizing to you." She said.

"You want me to repeat that to Klara?" she asked, repulsed by the idea.

"Over the phone, later tonight when you call to tell her about your roommate and your dorm. You two need to have a happy goodbye. You've had a rough year." Natasha stated.

"It's been better, especially since New York. And she'd been happy all summer are you worried about her?" Bella questioned.

"Are you? I know how much you care about her but you understand she'll be okay. You need to focus on you for once, I've seen you do it all summer and I liked seeing you like that. Not bearing weight that isn't your to carry." Natasha said happily.

"I shouldn't worry about, I get that. My whole life can't be about my younger sister. She's growing in to herself, so should I." Bella assured her mother.

"Good. Maybe you'll learn how to have actual fun. But not too much, school comes first."

Bella smirked "I would've thought dad was gonna be the one to say that."

Natasha kissed her daughters cheek "Clint is surprisingly ignorant about youth. And university which is understandable considering he didn't go."

Bella looked at her mother quizzically "What did he do?"

Natasha smirked "His life before SHIELD was a bit of a circus."

Irina leaned casually on Natasha's SUV. Her hair fluttered in the wind. In front of her on the curb the Barton's said their farewells. She bent to re-tie the laces on her boots, she glanced over at the family. Klara was wearing the same ones so was Clint. Irina smirked she didn't mean to emulate Klara's style of clothing completely but her months of wearing the girls clothes molded what she ended up wearing. Dark, practical and edgy although she wore more shades of dark red and pink, Klara said they didn't go with her blood colored hair. She gazed around the campus, maybe she'd end up in a university like this one day now that she had the choice. This time last year Irina couldn't have dreamt of freedom, she wasn't even capable now she could. Irina could become anything, once she figured out what she liked in school. Her recovery didn't look as gruelling as the other girls had, Irina had taught herself at a young age to look and act stable. Even in her worst months, struggling not to act on the orders still ringing in her head or being unable to sleep for days at a time. She didn't take baths because she didn't trust herself in the water. Irina stood back up and watched another family saying goodbye to their son. Both parents were tearing up and the two younger brother were sobbing. She looked back to the Bartons. Klara and Clint looked a little sad, Natasha look proud of her daughter and Irina was standing 10 feet away next to the car.

"Interesting family dynamic." She muttered. Her accent was still as prominent as ever but she'd learned that she wasn't hard to understand so she'd stopped trying to make it go away. If the red room as looking for her sounding American wasn't going to make it harder for them to find her. Irina often wanted to ask if anyone was working on finding and stopping the organization but she always stopped herself. If she wanted to start a life she couldn't focus on the past, if SHIELD was looking then SHIELD was looking, if not… Irina didn't want to care. Her past was her own to put behind her, SHIELD knew everything she did. The red room would burry itself deeper into the shadows of the world and Irina was okay with that. She didn't think like Natasha, in her opinion the red in her ledger was put there by someone else and the international organization that stood for protection could do its damn job just fine. SHIELD saved her, she trusted it.

Garrett stopped his car and turned to Grant in the passenger seat.

"What'd you think of Barton's skills?" he asked.

"I think she's holding back. She's had training from two of the world's most lethal assassins her whole life. There's no reason to believe she shouldn't be able to beat me when I'm trying my best which I wasn't today. Especially with how much time you've been spending with her." He paused "And her powers, they're pretty lethal."

Ward shrugged "Haven't seen them."

Garrett smirked "I have, simulations and pictures of the destruction she caused during New York. Everything in a 50 foot radius of the girl struck by lightning. She can stop a man's heart with flick of her wrist and a small bit of electricity."

Grant nodded "Do you think she can restart one?"

Garrett rolled his eyes "Yes, I'm training her to be a walking, talking AED." He paused "She could."

Ward sighed "I'm saying it could be an interrogation method. She just needs more control."

Garrett shook his head "She has it. Barton's claiming not to be afraid of her power but I know she is and she's afraid of how good she's been getting. That fear and uncertainty needs to go."

"And that's why she's holding back?" Ward questioned though he knew the answer.

"Combat comes easy to the kid. It's in her blood. I think it's time to test her, real world scenario." Garratt stated.

"What do you mean?" he asked tentatively. Ward liked Klara, he knew that sometimes Garrett pushed people to hard and tried to make them break. He didn't want that to happen to her, Ward thought Klara was strong, she just needed time to get stronger.

"I have some expendable guys at my disposal, some mercs. I could tell them to subdue her. I could send them after her mugging style all at once. See how it plays out." Garrett explained.

"That could blow I your face." Ward deadpanned.

"Not if I appear right after and explain it's a training protocol. She'd believe me, she trusts me." Garrett said with a laugh.

"I remember you telling me not to trust you. You really are using a different approach with her." Ward mused.

"Have to, she's a smart kid. Tough to, but a little naïve and she's got mixed feelings about SHIELD. She trusts it but she doesn't like it."

"That's a problem?" Ward asked. "Trust can be broken." He stated.

Garrett smiled "I'm counting on it."