The lights beyond my eyelids flickered, and I knew there was no point in pretending I was asleep anymore. My face contorted into a snarl. Fluorescent lights always made my skin crawl.

"What?" I asked, my voice shaky from lack of use. I sat up, ready to spit on whoever was near me. Unfortunately, no one had entered my cell yet. I could see one of them standing directly outside, punching in a few mandatory codes to unlock my cosy cage.

The man entering my cell carried a translucent bowl filled with something that was supposed to be edible. Great. Feeding time.

There was a crystal clear door between me and the guard, to ensure I didn't try to jump him. I watched the guard open a small flap and push my bowl through the opening. I looked at the bowl that was now inside my cell and sighed, exasperated.

I swung my feet over the edge of a suspended platform that acted as my bed. I hopped off and landed on the steel floor, hoping that they wouldn't tazer me until I saw God. I walked over my breakfast.

The guard hadn't moved. Usually they scuttled away, unable to stare into my bloodshot eyes for longer than a second. I was a bit excited, actually. The glass cage I was in gave me plenty of opportunities to stare at myself, perfecting my Sleep-Deprived-And-Pissed-Off persona. Finally, I had a chance to show it off.

I picked up my bowl and the plastic spoon that came with it. The guard was still staring at me.

"Come here often?" I asked, stirring my sludge. His face was unreadable, but I shrugged off his rejection easily. I scooped up a spoonful of the food and pointed it at him with a forced smile. "Hungry?"

Looking at his glassy eyes made my hand sway slightly.

"Jesus, did a Dementor get you this morning, Soulless?" I asked after a few moments of silence. I buried my spoon back into the bowl. Something seemed a little off about this guard. I looked back at him, narrowing my eyes slightly. "Are you gonna try something? You're welcome to join me in here if you want."

My eyes traveled down the guard's torso, and my heart skipped a beat.

All the guards dressed the same; a black jumper, a stupid looking hat, and a badge with cursive writing drawn on it. But for this specific guard, instead of the tell tale badge being on the left side of his chest, it was pinned on the right.

It was small, but I had spent enough time here to know that even minor changes in uniform were prohibited. I looked back up at him, and life seemed to flood back into his eyes. His arm twitched as I turned away.

"Nice uniform, by the way. You should get a medal for not spilling anything on yourself," I called over my shoulder. I didn't bother checking whether he had left or not.

I sat down on my bed and tried to stir the sludge up a bit more. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, seeing as ten months of nothing but static wore me down quite a bit, but this small change was enough for adrenaline to spark in my fingertips.

He had been different. The guard was different! Along with his persistence for me to notice that he was different, that badge meant something. Maybe it was time for me to finally get out of this dump …

I stirred the food with my spoon before getting so fed up with my lack of results that I threw the bowl on the ground. Its contents splattered everywhere. It probably would have helped if I had poured it out nicely, but I was willing to put in the time. I got on my hands and knees and sifted through the sludge for what seemed like a long time.

My palm ran over a sharp bump and I flinched away. I let my spirits climb higher and higher as I picked up the object, wiping off the excess sludge and looking at it carefully. With glee, I realized what it was.

It was a spherical object with rods sticking out at every angle, except one specific spot. In that spot, there was a tiny button, small enough to be overlooked and almost impossible to detect. Bingo.

I jammed my fingernail into the button and then rolled it to the middle of the room. I frantically crawled away from it, stopping near my bed and waiting. It couldn't be more than a few more seconds, now …

The small sphere lit up suddenly, and a loud hum engulfed the room. I shielded my eyes. A huge surge of electricity exploded from where the ball used to be, and traveled to the nearest mechanical device, which just so happened to be a camera inside my cell.

The surge continued, traveling through the building via wires, and I could hear every single machine in the entire building shut off simultaneously. Even the emergency lights failed to respond at first.

I stood up, grinning widely.

It was time to blow this popsicle stand.

It was pitch black, so I strained my ears to catch any sound of movement. Not two seconds later, I heard the sound of my cell door being manually opened.

With one hand placed on the top of my bed, it was easy to maneuver myself so it was in front of me. I wrapped my hands around the narrow sides, holding firmly, and proceeded to yank it free.

I braced myself, but the weight of the heavy platform didn't faze me too much. I crossed my cell, waiting for the sound of the crystal clear door opening. A faint whoosh reached my ears. I wasn't alone anymore.

I spread my feet apart and swung the large platform I was holding at whoever had entered. Like a large, rectangular baseball bat.

I hit at least three people. Yet, I suspected there were probably more guards coming, so I threw my bed at where the footsteps were coming from. Surprisingly it soared through the doorway, knocking guards down like dominoes, and stopped down the hall.

Call me the Tetris master, I thought, ignoring the groans of pain from the guards that were in the way.

In the almost complete darkness, I ran out of my cell, accidentally tripping on at least three limbs.

I nearly let my giddiness get to me before a guard that was lying down pulled out a tazer and swiped it near my ankle.

I had to jump and swerve away from it to escape. My back hit a wall, and I could see by the light of the taser that the guard was standing up. Others could not be far behind him.

He lunged at my thigh and I slid along the wall, feeling awfully claustrophobic in the tiny hallway I was in. The overwhelming shadows the taser cast weren't helping, either.

"Cut that shit out," I growled, kicking the guard where I thought his throat might be. My aim wasn't half bad, at least I managed to make him drop the taser. I dove for it, and grinned like a Nobel Prize winner once I had it firmly in my hands.

I felt something touch me and immediately I brought my weapon down on it. I got to my feet and used the taser as a light source, squinting down the hallway. Unfortunately, it was too long to see down, but I could hear reinforcements coming.

I turned around and saw a guard lunging towards me. I threw myself on the ground and narrowly escaped his grip. I gripped my only source of light, giving it a long look before shutting it off and scrambling to my feet.

More guards with the same idea as me flicked on their tasers. I attached myself to the wall once more and decided I would try my best to avoid the light, and maybe I would make it to the end of the hall.

I hadn't shuffled more than two feet when the emergency lights turned on.

At least twenty pairs of eyes settled on me, pathetically clinging to the wall.

"Howdy," I greeted, my voice small as they slowly reached for their batons and firearms.

The unit I was in had little to no guns, but only one bullet was enough to take me down. I could hear guards coming from the other direction as well, slowing down and readying themselves to attack.

In ten seconds I would be surrounded by a shitload of armed guards.

Needless to say, I was out of options.

Unless…

Well, I wasn't exactly in perfect condition, considering I hadn't used it in almost a year, but what choice did I have?

"Excuse my French, but this is going to hurt like a son of a bitch," I warned. I breathed deeply, and rolled my shoulders back.

The guards processed my words, and I saw their eyes widen. I stood in the middle of the hall, watching the guards try their best to cover themselves.

I felt a surge in my stomach and extended my arms to both groups of guards. My abilities were no longer in hibernation. I could feel my heart pounding, my blood roaring, and all at once, I forced the adrenaline out of my body...

But nothing came out.

My eyes widened as I flexed my fingers and tried to activate my power. I waited another few seconds as the guards looked at me warily, before realizing that nothing was happening.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I practically screamed. The one time I wanted to react sporadically was the one time I couldn't do anything.

The first shot was fired, and I instinctively jerked my body away, but it still grazed my shoulder blade. Pain erupted from my back and I cried out. Fortunately, that was the trigger that caused my magic to explode from my body.

I sank to one knee as all the guards were thrown backwards. I bit my tongue and swallowed, my throat dry. I placed my hand on the ground to steady myself as the world began to spin.

I felt exhaustion sweep over me, but there was no time to nurture it. I rose to my feet and tried to not focus on the blinking lights for fear of throwing up.

Turning away from the direction of my cell, I stumbled over the unconscious bodies of guards. The only clear thought in my head was to escape.

I almost made it through the the forest of limp bodies when I recognized one; it was the guard with the badge on the right side of his chest. I looked at his face for a few heartbeats, debating leaving him there.

"Oh, fuck me," I murmured, bending down and hoisting him over my shoulders like a fireman. My shoulder shrieked in distress at the sudden weight, but I powered through the pain.

When I reached the end of the hallway, I nearly ran into a group of panicked guards talking about the left wing being on fire. I watched them turn a corner, and frowned.

How big was this place? How many other prisoners were there in here?

I had been heavily sedated the last time I was allowed to leave my cell, and that was so I could go to their special electric shock room. That was one place I did not want to revisit, so I opted to turn left. Besides, that was where the guards came from. Maybe if I followed that hall, I could find a room filled with punk guards that I could force into telling me an exit.

I adjusted the guard slung across my back, wishing he would wake up and tell me how to get out of this hellhole.

The hallway flashed, illuminated by the emergency lights, but I could clearly see how every surface gleamed. The janitors needed a raise, for sure. However, a damp smell assaulted my nose and made me recoil. The farther I traveled down the hall, the stronger the smell was, and fear made my heart beat in my throat.

I turned to the right when the hall eventually split. That hall was lit up with another light source: a grey glow coming from a floor to ceiling window. I hesitated, not wanting to see what was outside of my prison,but I had to know.

I looked out the window, and my blood ran cold.

Water.

Everywhere.

I squeezed the guard's ankle and wrist so hard he groaned, so I put him down, and let him wake up a bit. I grabbed my chest and looked out at the expanse of nothing but ocean for miles.

"Water. It had to be a goddamn ocean," I muttered hoarsely. I tried to distract myself, to think of anything else. Anything other than being thrown into that deep abyss of water, every orifice filling up, trying to fight a fruitless battle against the waves…

"H-how long was I unconscious for?" the guard asked, making me jump out of my stupor.

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. Ten minutes?" I replied, refusing to look at the window. I looked at the guard's face. He looked Filipino, and was quite tall and lanky. His face was drenched with sweat, but he pretended as if the obvious concussion he had wasn't bothering him. He surveyed the hall, and seemed to know where he was. "What's your name? Who sent you?"

"Call me Lito. Director Fury sent me," he said quickly. I helped him to his feet as he began speed walking down the hall. "Come with me, Miss Robertson."

"Fury sent you?!" I exclaimed, elation filling my chest. I faltered for a second as electricity rushed back to the building. The hallway lit up, but at least I now had some kind of helper to get me out of here. I jogged to catch up with Lito, grinning all the while. "Took him long enough."

"There's no time to discuss." Lito gave me an unimpressed side eye and looked down a hall before ushering me to turn into it. "Besides, all I know is we have roughly fifteen minutes before their servers have full control over the system again."

"Fifteen?" I said, confused. "How organized was this? Is there anyone else on board?"

"There are five agents, including me, in this prison," Lito explained. Guards turned the corner, and I took a step back as they cried out and pointed at me. Lito had a loaded pistol in his hand in two seconds flat, and took five seconds and two bullets to take down both guards. Lito turned to me, nodding at my look of admiration. "This way, Miss Robertson."

"You can call me Melony," I said as we reached another corner. "I think I'll keep you, Lito."

"I'm flattered," Lito said, smiling slightly. "Especially since I heard compliments from you are not common."

"I got a reputation to uphold," I responded. "So where exactly are we headed?"

"There is a small jet that is awaiting our arriva-"

A spray of bullets flew through his chest, causing me to cry out in horror.

I grabbed his arm and yanked him to safety behind a wall, but the damage was done. There were four bullet holes in his torso.

I put my hands on his wounds, wondering if I could somehow help him using magic. "Lito! Come on, help me put pressure on these-"

His mouth was moving, so I ducked down and placed my ear next to his lips, ready to hear some kind of instruction that would help me save his life.

"That hall. Forty yards down, turn right. The second door on the left. Agent 13 is waiting for you. She has instructions to fly you out of here," Lito muttered, his last words gargling a bit as he choked on his own blood. "Tell her… Plan Beta has been ordered."

I shook my head, looking at him, saying: "Okay! Okay. I'll carry you …"

His eyes were shiny, and for the second time that day he looked soulless, but this time it wasn't just an act.

I looked at his dead body for a few moments weakly, feeling my knees buckle. My lungs became unbearably tight. He's dead, oh god …

I sat up, and some part of me must have been visible, because another spray of bullets was fired by the unknown attacker.

I slammed my back against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut and looking at the ceiling. Come on, Melony, I told myself. You weak piece of shit, get a move on or you'll die!

I smelt Lito's blood, and it made me angry and miserable all at once. I bent down and quickly grabbed Lito's pistol. There was a break in the onslaught of bullets, and so I stepped into view. I exposed myself fully just get a good look at the person who killed my friend.

I pointed my gun at a heavy built man who was looked irritated that he had nothing to reload his gun with. He had oddly square features.

"Aide-moi à echapper," he called to me. He was asking me to help him escape in … French. He must be one of the prisoners. He looked familiar, but I couldn't put a name to his face. "Et je te laisserai vivre."

Oh, he'll let me live if I help him? How generous. I pressed my lips into a smile, but it didn't come close to reaching my eyes.

"Va te faire enculer," I said as I readied my gun and shot at him. He dove to the side, then ran zig-zagged down the hall. I lowered my weapon, frustration making me grumble: "Branleur."

I watched him reach the end of the hall, then turn left. I swallowed, turning and giving Lito one last lingering look before sprinting down the hall and turning right.

According to Lito, I had about five minutes to get out of there. I went to the second door, just like he said, but it was locked.

I kicked the door down, and it landed with an echoing sound. I stepped through, and fifty pairs of eyes turned to stare at me. I lowered my gun as my jaw opened in disbelief.

Well. I had found the hangar.

It was filled with various jets, boxes, aircrafts, but most predominantly, pilots; packing up and readying themselves to fly.

When the first guard reached for her gun, I sprinted behind the first aircraft I could see. Bullets hit the machine and I flinched, curling myself into a ball and trying to avoid being hit. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Figures.

"Robertson!" Upon hearing my name I turned to see a young man waving at me from a ledge directly above. I looked up just as the guards shot him through the heart. I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid watching his body fall on the ground. If that was Agent 13, I was doomed.

I crawled over to a box, peeking over only to shoot a guard that came too close. However, my presence turned out to not be that big of a priority. People were yelling orders, organizing the pilots to get into their jets. Was this an evacuation?

I had about two minutes, and I was wondering why I was on such a schedule. Were all the pilots leaving in two minutes? Could I possibly sneak onto a jet and get out of here?

I raised myself to one knee, just as the the hangar doors opened. A blast of sea air made me topple over. I could see lots of guards fall over as well. Was this my only chance of escape?

I shot a guard who spotted me, and kept making my way to the other side of the room. A ship had landed in the middle of the hangar, and the doors were starting to close. I was missing my chance! Panic gripped my chest. I was so close to a jet that had the doors wide open, but what was the point if I couldn't leave the hangar?

Just then, the hangar doors screeched, and began to open again. The commotion died down immediately, and a moment of silence plagued the hangar.

The room seemed to simultaneously turn its attention to the door I had come through.

A flood of prisoners in the same orange jumpers I wore entered the room with heavy duty machine guns. Apparently, they had made a pit stop to the weapons department before here. They flattened most of the pilots in the room, and the few guards that were left.

Alarm bells rang, and the remaining guards were sniping people from above. Most of the prisoners were unarmed, so their brute force wouldn't hold up for long. A bullet strayed too close to me for comfort. I covered my head for a second before braving the pandemonium.

"I'm about to die!" I proclaimed, jumping over the box I was hiding behind. I 'stealthily' ran to the jet with the open doors. As stealthily as I could muster, anyway.

A prisoner was thrown on top of me after being blasted by another jet that was taking off. Some of the prisoners had decided to leave as quickly as possible, but luckily there was still lots of fighting to cover my escape.

"Get … off," I grunted while kicking the singed body away from me. After I was free, I half scrambled, half sprinted to the open jet.

I climbed into the jet, but realized there was already someone there.

The woman hiding behind the pilot's seat brandished her own gun, and commanded in a hard voice: "Drop it, or I'll shoot."

I pulled the trigger of my pistol, refusing to give up without a fight. Unfortunately my gun was empty, so all I could create was a hollow clicking sound.

I dropped my pistol and raised my hands, swallowing hard. I made it all this way, and for what? To be caught at the finish line.

The woman stood up, her blond hair visible in the shadows of the jet, and so was the badge on the right side of her chest.

"Agent 13?" I asked, praying the woman was the agent I was looking for. She seemed wary, lowering her weapon. "Is that you?"

"Yes," she said, confused. Her eyes narrowed, looking beyond me. I turned just in time to see her shoot someone who had ran into the jet.

I jumped out of my skin, turning and lacing my hands together in a pleading position.

"Lito told me you were going to fly me out of here," I explained.

"I have orders to fly my unit out of here, no one else," she barked.

"I thought you were assigned by Director Fury to get me out of here?" I asked, my voice getting higher in volume as the commotion outside began to calm down. The hangar doors weren't going to stay open forever.

"Director Fury is dead," Agent 13 said, shaking her head. My heart sank. What? "He has been for two years now."

Oh. I nodded, cursing my luck. Fury 'died' in 2014 after Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D, but he wasn't dead, just underground. Agent 13 had outdated information, which would make convincing her to get me out of here harder.

Beyond her, in the hangar, I saw a few jets lift off and fly to freedom. There was no way to know if they were the pilots from before, or if they were prisoners.

"Listen," I said calmly. She looked a bit insulted at my sudden change of tone, but I didn't have time to coddle her. "I knew you were here because Agent Lito told me-"

"You expect me to believe you?" Agent 13 said. "How do I know you didn't kill him?"

Shit.

Wait!

"Lito said to tell you that Plan Beta has been ordered," I remembered.

Her mood changed like the flip of a switch. She nodded, lowering her gaze. Apparently Plan Beta was good, but the pain in her eyes begged to differ.

"If they're all dead, I suppose I'll have to finish this on my own," Agent 13 stated. Her voice was still hard, but the way her voice broke when she said 'on my own' made me feel guilty for some reason. Were those other Agents her friends? But then how was she the only one who didn't know about me?

"Did Agent 78 give you the package?" Agent 13 asked. She waited for a second, but I had no idea what the 'package' was. This was an epic escape mission, not Christmas. "Agent 78, you know, Agent Lito? Did he give you the package."

"No?" I said, confused. "What the hell?"

Agent 13 looked as if she was about to get angry before realization dawned on her. "Wait, what's your name?"

"Melony Robertson," I said. The way her eyebrows rose made me believe she knew my name.

She turned and sat down in the pilot's seat. I caught her muttering: "How could I have been so stupid."

So … I guessed I was the package? If that meant I got a ride off of this goddamn prison, I would even dress up like a jolly old man and pretend I was an obese creeper.

The hangar doors began to close, and the screeching sound that signaled it made both me and Agent 13 jump.

Agent 13 closed the hatch, and turned the jet on. I grabbed the co-pilot's chair, and watched as Agent 13 lifted us above the fighting prisoners. The hangar was closing quickly.

Agent 13 shot us at almost full speed towards the exit. She dipped as low as she dared, desperately trying to make sure we weren't crushed.

We flew out of the hangar, but the door managed to bite off a chunk of our plane. Agent 13 switched our power from the back of the jet to the front, which would make for a bumpy ride, but at least it would get us away.

I let go of the co-pilot's chair and rest my forehead against it lightly. Agent 13 was either ignoring me, or giving me a chance to breathe. Regardless of the reason, I was thankful for a few moments of silence.

Silence that I broke when laughter bubbled up my throat and escaped my mouth. I slumped against the chair, making Agent 13 turn and look at me strangely as I giggled, hysterical.

"What's so funny?" Agent 13 demanded. Her tone made me laugh louder.

"Ah, nothing," I gasped. "I'm just … out. I'm out! Finally …"

Agent 13 sighed, but even after I stopped snickering, I didn't join her in the co-pilot's chair. I didn't fancy ogling at nothing but ocean for however long it took to get us out of there. "You have a strange sense of humour."

"You betcha'," I murmured, grimacing as I touched my still aching shoulder. I should have treated that properly, but I didn't stress too much. My body had a nice habit of healing very fast.

The pain of my other injuries settled in, but my exhaustion and stubbornness to get some well-earned sleep eventually won.

I must have dozed off, my head resting against the cold metal floor. I didn't have the energy to ask her why she called me a package (what the hell was that?) or whether or not she was going to sacrifice me.

Does she think I'm a virgin? The thought swam through my sleep-deprived mind at some point. Virgin sacrifices are worth more, aren't they? Too bad for her.

The inside of the jet was almost completely dark when it was hit. Upon impact, my head whacked the ground hard enough to rouse me from sleep.

"Ow, what the-" I sputtered, rubbing my head. Agent 13 had abandoned the pilot's seat in favour of grabbing a parachute from a shelf on the jet. My vision was blurry, but I accepted her help when she offered a hand.

I stood up and nearly fell over again as the jet was hit for the second time. Agent 13 shoved a parachute into my hands.

"They followed us," she said, and my heart sank. "We lost any retaliation methods during our escape."

Well, ain't that just dandy.

"What the hell are we supposed to …" I looked at the parachute, then dared a glance out the window, only to see that we were still over the ocean. I averted my gaze quickly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It's this, or death," Agent 13 said roughly, passing me a parachute. She stared at me for a second before I took it. I could feel the jet beneath our feet groan and rumble, not able to take another hit.

When she turned around and grabbed one for herself, I couldn't help but look out the windows to see any sign of our attackers. We were lazily drifting through fog without a pilot, but Agent 13 had managed to keep the ship in the air and fairly stable, all things considered.

I gripped the parachute tightly in my hands, frozen in place when I saw a flicker of light below us. Then another. My eyes narrowed when the clouds stirred, disturbed by something.

It took a second for it to click. We had been escaping with the other prisoner-filled jets, and the pilots had caught up to all of us. While the decision might get us killed, I couldn't blame Agent 13. After all, if we had deviated and the prisoners saw, they might have shot us out of the sky thinking we were pilots.

"Put it on!" Agent 13 yelled, making me jump. She grabbed the parachute from my hands and maneuvered around me to help.

I didn't allow my eyes to focus on the water, but I had an uneasy feeling about where we were positioned.

"Are we … above the fighting?" I asked, and Agent 13 confirmed with a distracted grunt. I looked out of the window and saw the clouds start to lazily move away from our jet. With each passing second, the clouds moved faster, and I took a step forward so I could see what was going on, much to the agent's dismay.

"Your parachute is caught, it's not hooking correctly," Agent 13 said, sounding panicked. I was touched, but my focus was on the much more urgent problem at hand; another plane was heading right towards us from below.

"Hold-" I cried out, but it was too late. The plane saw us at the last second and tried to swerve away, but it still rammed the nose of our jet. It was enough to make us spin as we began our descent to the ocean.

The agent was flung across the jet, as the speed of our descent made me physically sick. The bright flashes occasionally assaulting my vision were obviously due to the fight that we were falling through. Our jet was hit a few more times, causing an entire side to rip free. Agent 13 wasted no time leaving the jet, and I was alone. The sudden wind tugged at my hair, but it steadied the plane enough for me to see the water was terrifyingly close.

I had two options: stay in the jet and hit the water while still inside. I would be pulled into the ocean, weighed down by the plane. Or, I could jump and hope for the best.

I rose to my feet, and managed to get a running start while jumping out into open air.

I didn't propel myself far enough, causing me to be still affected by the descending jet. I was pushed to the water, uselessly tugging on my parachute.

Agent 13 had been right. It was stuck.

I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes, despite my heart stopping. I stared at the water I was about to reach, but this wasn't just some lake near my childhood home. This was a goddamn ocean, and I was no Michael Phelps.

I hit the ice cold water feet first, and and felt something fracture in my leg. How convenient.

The world was somehow darker underneath the water, and I was still stuck in the vacuum surrounding the jet, that was sinking rapidly in the ocean. Noises reached my ears, but I was too petrified to comprehend them.

My lungs were tight, but after a few seconds, the pain became less unbearable. The coldness of the water made numbness come quickly.

I shut my eyes, feeling something stir in my chest, but the magic inside of me was struggling to work as my body shut down.

I sank deeper still as I lost consciousness.

A big thank you to my Beta ravenreux!