I'm going to try and post a little more frequently from now on, because I really cannot wait to see how the rest of this story pans out, thank you all so much for your support!
Everyone was excited, I could smell it. Only, they wouldn't tell me what they were excited about. Duke tried to pass it off as my amazing stunt last night. "Duke. You're a terrible liar. It doesn't help that I can actually smell you lying." Duke blushed with embarrassment, making Anna laugh.
"Ah, you're blushing!"
"Am not!" Sighing I turned to Roadblock.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" I asked him but he merely shrugged.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to walk away but I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, forcing him to his knees as he hissed in pain.
"You sure?"
"Positive!" He growled through gritted teeth. I squeezed his wrist a little tighter.
"Are you very sure." I pressed him, arching an eyebrow as he began to sweat a little. He looked from me to his wrist then back again.
"We're going to have more of the team join back up with us!" He blurted all at once.
"Block!" Everyone chorused as I let his wrist go, smiling victoriously.
"What? You weren't the ones having your wrist broken!" He whimpered, nursing his hand carefully as I retrieved an ice pack and wrapped it up for him.
"So who are they? Why were you trying to hide it from me? I asked curiously, sitting down next to Block who continued to whine like a little puppy.
"We wanted to surprise you." Heavy Duty answered, shooting a glare at Roadblock in the process. "They're coming today."
"They should be here any minute. We're just waiting for the call from…" Scarlet trailed off when something began to buzz on the table. Breaker looked at it then grinned.
"They're here!" Instantly everyone sprang to their feet and I was dragged along in the rush to the airfield, Ripcord gripping my arm as he encouraged me to hurry up.
"Didn't know you could run so fast Rip." I said to him, making Duke laugh. The moment we were standing before the plane which was slowly shutting down, three people got out. The first was a man who instantly went to Duke and they gave each other manly hugs before Rip moved in. "Flint! Great to see you bro!"
Next was a beautiful woman with reddish brown hair who smiled at us all and went to Scarlet first, hugging her. "Robyn this is Lady Jaye." Scarlet introduced. "The three of us make the top women shooters in the entire force."
"Hi." I smiled and held out my hand, shaking hers as she nodded to me. "Robyn."
"Jaye." She answered warmly. "I've heard about you. You're the experiment aren't you?" The smile dropped from my face a little but I brought it back quickly before Jaye could register the slight hurt she'd inflicted.
"Yeah that's me. Subject Forty-Three." I shrugged then stepped back as Jaye hugged Ripcord. The last person out of the plane was a woman with dark hair, a slightly darker tone of skin and two katana which she carried in her hand whilst holding her duffle in the other. "This is Jinx, Snake Eye's apprentice and Storm Shadow's cousin. She's training to be a ninja like them." Scarlet stepped up as Jinx pulled away from embracing Snake. I bristled slightly at their contact. Jinx turned at the sound of her name and her eyes instantly narrowed suspiciously, glancing me over. Finally she nodded her head.
"Hello."
"Hey." I answered back. Scarlet continued, noticing the ice between us as I narrowed my eyes, trying to place this woman's face from somewhere in my past.
"Jinx, this is Robyn. She's training with Snake and Storm so you'll see her around. She's an excellent markswoman and she's also a thief. So watch your valuables, she likes to take them for fun but don't worry, she always gives them back." Neither of us said anything and soon everyone became quiet. I took a step closer and Jinx tensed, obviously seeing this as a threatening move.
"I know you from somewhere." I stated, rubbing my head to try and figure out where I'd seen her before.
"Impossible." Jinx answered coldly, arching an eyebrow. "I've never seen you before."
"But I feel like I have." I answered. All at once the memory rushed at me. It was winter and the snow was falling thick. I was begging on the streets, wanting just a little money to buy some medicine to help Petunia with her arthritis. I saw a pretty woman walking towards me so I walked up to her, asking if she had any change. I saw her face clearly as she shouldered me aside then spat on me as I hit the ground, twisting my wrist awkwardly which made it throb with pain. Blinking I stared at her.
"Have you ever been to New York?" I asked her and she nodded.
"A few times, yes." That was it. I hated her. Nodding my head I smiled, trying my best to keep the venom from my voice.
"Well, welcome back." With that I turned and headed towards the beach. I mauled things over in my mind, trying my best to forgive Jinx but I just couldn't do it. She'd shoved me into the snow and spat on me like I was nothing but filth. I couldn't help but hate her.
Angrily I kicked at the sand, spraying it all over the place before sighing and turning to face the waves. I sat down on a warm rock, baked by the sun then crossed my legs, straightening my back before closing my eyes. The gentle sigh of the waves helped to relax me, the salt air and soft breeze cooling my temper. I meditated for a long time just like Storm and Snake had taught me. Up until now I'd found no use for it.
"I see you have not hit off well with my cousin." Storm's voice interrupted my empty mind.
"I'm meditating." I told him darkly, warning him to go away. When I sensed him come and sit next to me I sighed and dropped my position. "What do you want?"
"Why did it look like you two were about to draw out your claws and go for one another?" He asked me, looking out to the ocean.
"I've met her before." I answered. "We didn't meet well."
"What happened?" I shook my head, not wanting to tell him but he asked again with a little more force.
"Well, it was winter. I was cold and one of my friends was ill. I was begging for money on the streets when I saw your cousin." I spat out the word like it was poison in my mouth. "I asked if she had any change and she just shouldered me aside."
"So? She pushed you down. Deal with it." Storm Shadow replied sardonically, earning a glare from me.
"I would. But I can't forgive her for spitting on me. She made me feel like I was worth less than nothing. Like I was filth." Springing off the rock I began to stride down the beach, trying once again to rein in my temper. Storm followed me.
"That's all?"
"You don't think that's a good enough reason?" I retaliated sharply, looking over my shoulder to see him shrug.
"It's in the past. Put it there and let it go. My cousin and I are alike."
"You mean you're both jackasses?" Storm's eyes narrowed at me. This time I shrugged, spreading my hands as I faced him, walking backwards. "And arrogant and selfish and egotistic jerks and…" Storm leaped at me. I ducked under him, swinging up my hand to flip him over my head. "Let alone slow." He sprung up and went for my legs but I flipped them out of his reach and kicked him in the chest, forcing him back a few steps. "And gullible. Very predictable too." I grinned as Storm began to smirk a little, accepting the challenge.
We picked up where we had left off the night before, fighting with everything we had until finally, I managed to throw Storm Shadow into the surf. "Yes! Victory is mine!" I declared, spinning around and punching the air. The smile dropped from my face when Storm didn't rise above water. Oh crap, did I knock him out? "Storm?" I called, walking into the turf. "Storm!" I cried a little louder then waded in towards the place I had landed. "Storm this isn't funny!" I yelled, frantically searching the water.
All at once something sprung up from behind and gripped me around the neck, pulling me back then buried me in the water. Storm Shadow grinned down at me when I resurfaced, coughing and spluttering for air. "Victory is mine." He stated simply. With a growl I leaped at him, slamming him back into the water again. We fought for a few more minutes until finally, we swam back to shore then dragged ourselves onto the beach. I collapsed onto dry sand and closed my eyes, shifting to get comfortable.
"What are you doing?"
"Waiting for the sun to dry me off. I'm not walking in there dripping wet." I informed him simply, not even bothering to open my eyes. "You should either consider to do the same or use those ninja skills of yours to get in and changed without being seen." Storm Shadow paused for a moment, contemplating before sitting down beside me.
"Your skills are improved." I waved a hand in the air, brushing off the rare compliment.
"They aren't mine."
"How do you mean?" I shifted slightly, frowning as I thought deeply back into my memory.
"They were downloaded. By the chip I mean." I explained to him. "I think that's how I'm so advanced in all those fighting arts. He planted the data I needed to make my body and mind think I knew those kind of things." With a soft sigh I sat up then pulled off my tank top, baring my torso to lay back down in just my sports bra. Thankfully it was fairly modest and just looked like a crop top. "So technically, I'm not skilled at all."
"How do you know this?"
"I remember more every day. Some of it I don't want to but it doesn't look like I have a choice." My hands cupped under my head to cushion it a little more. For a long time neither of us spoke further, just enjoying the silence and one another's company. The heat of the sun meant that we dried off pretty quickly so I stood, brushed myself off from the sand then looked around to Storm. Before I could speak I spotted something in the sand.
I went over to it and knelt down, getting low to look at it closely. "Storm? What is this?" I asked and Storm Shadow looked up then moved closer.
"It's a starfish." He told me. "They live in the sea."
"But what is it doing here?" I asked, feeling like a six year old again. I hated that there were so many sieve holes in my mind.
"It's probably got washed up by the tide." I looked back down to the reddish coloured starfish, its legs trying to move back to the ocean. "It'll die soon if you don't put it back." Motivated by this new information I carefully picked up the creature, making sure not to damage it before walking into the sea. "You could just throw it." Storm called out to me but I ignored him, walking deeper and deeper into the waves before I took a deep breath and dived down.
I swam further out and down, angling to reach the bottom of the deep ocean where I knew the coral reef was. Once it was in view I let the starfish go and watched it float down like a feather, landing on a soft patch of sand where it then buried itself in, snuggling into its blanket whilst waving one of its arms at me, as if in thanks. Satisfied I swam back to the surface. The moment my head was free I gulped down some air then swam back to the shore where Storm Shadow was on his feet, searching the waves for me.
"That was pointless." He stated to me as I walked up to him. "You're soaked again."
"It was worth it." I replied with a shrug. "I saved its life."
"It's just a starfish."
"And you're just a human." With that put between us I turned and headed back to base, not caring that I was soaking wet from head to foot. When the others saw me, they all frowned. Jinx snorted in laughter slightly then rolled her eyes. I looked down at my feet, blushing with embarrassment then continued on to my room but not before Scarlet called out.
"What happened?"
"I found a starfish." I answered simply and Scarlet frowned, not quite understanding. "I didn't know what it was so Storm told me it lived in the sea and would die if it dried up on the beach." I said. "So I swam into the ocean then took it back to the reef."
"Oh. Right." Scarlet said then smiled. "You're so sweet." I looked back at my feet again, tucking my hair behind my ear with my little finger.
"You got yourself wet for a starfish?" Jinx asked. "And you didn't even know what it was?" My eyes darkened at her. Instead of rising to the bait I turned and headed to my room. I threw my clothes into the wash basket then took a shower. A long one.