Grace's head snapped up as her door slid open and a group of agents strode in.
"They're just a precaution," A familiar man stood forward, a kind smile on his lips, "Fury just wants you to take a few tests." She let out a deep breath, calming down and standing up as the agents stood around her. "My name is Philip Coulson, Grace." The man spoke softly as he led them out of the door. Grace's eyes darted around as they strode down a darkened corridor, her mind absorbing everything that she saw in a desperate attempt to compensate for her amnesia. They got into a lift and Grace basked in the feeling of weightlessness. She felt as if she was flying, and Coulson saw the happiness in her eyes. She had never experienced it before, and she smiled as she found joy in the trivial act. The lift stopped and they resumed their formation as they strode down another corridor.
Now, they were in a well lit area, thought there were still no windows. Grace assumed that they were underground. Here, there were Agents dotted around and the rowdy clatter of voices echoed around the long corridor. Some stood in the doorways which led into various rooms with high tech screen or lab equipment. The noise dulled slightly as Grace walked down the corridor, and all eyes centred on her and the Agents marching her towards the door at the end of the corridor. She tugged at her hospital gown, suddenly feeling exposed and self-conscious about what she was wearing in an environment where everyone was wearing formal attire. She tugged at the hem of it nervously.
Coulson sensed that she was uncomfortable, "We are almost there." He reassured her as a door swung open to reveal a group of scientists in lab coats flapping around in a large lab.
"What kind of tests did Fury want me to take again?" Grace asked, a pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. She didn't know whether to trust these people, to trust Coulson or even Fury. She couldn't, they hand't given her a reason to. Nonetheless, she let the scientists lead her onto a medical bed, placing various suction-pads connected to wires on her pulse-points and temples. To her left was a tray with various tools placed neatly in a line. She winced as she saw the sharp-needled syringe that they were sure to use for numerous blood tests, but she stopped when she saw a mirror.
"Is she alright? No more...outbursts?" A brunette woman asked Coulson, a look of concern on her features as she glanced at Grace. The girl was slowly stretching to reach the small mirror to the left of her, picking it up. The two watched her intently as she stared at her reflection. The face she couldn't remember. Her own.
'Blonde hair', Grace noted as she looked back at herself, 'I have blue eyes as well.' She thought, blinking almost as if she was checking they worked correctly, 'My nose is too round, and my forehead is too big,' She scoffed to herself, looking up at the two senior agents who were staring at her. 'They probably think I've lost my mind,' She told herself, hurriedly placing the mirror back down.
"Not yet-" Coulson said in reply to Maria's question.
"Hey!" Grace looked over at them, "Have a little faith, I can keep it together." She laughed slightly, holding up her arm as a doctor took a vile of her blood. She winced, "I am co-operating."
Coulson grinned and the women let herself smile slightly, "This is Agent Maria Hill." He told the girl, "Deputy-Director of-"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Got it." The blonde nodded, smiling at Maria.
"Don't move," a doctor told her and she lay rigid as Coulson and Maria watched. The doctors crowded around a screen as a full body and brain scan was taken.
"Brain activity seems normal, the central cerebrum has began to heal nicely," A doctor told the two senior agents.
"Vous savez, je ne vois vraiment pas pourquoi vous faites tous ces tests. Que pourriez-vous éventuellement trouver?" Grace said, laughing slightly as her body remained still. Everybody looked at her, eyes wide.
"You know you just spoke French, right?" Agent Hill asked her, eyebrows raised. Grace sat up slightly, mouth open but no words came out. What had just happened?
"Yeah, I think we need to run more tests," Coulson said, laughing and shaking his head.
/
"She is not causing any problems, as far as I am concerned," Fury paced around his office as the council's face's loomed over him.
"She is dangerous," A male voice replied firmly.
"We don't know that." Fury replied.
"We saw what she did to those agents, who knows what else she is capable of."
"She doesn't know what she is capable of."
"She is a threat to this institution."
Fury silenced them with his powerful voice, "She is 17." He sighed to himself, "She doesn't know who she is, so we know that she is not here to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't see any issue with keeping her here for as long as is necessary."
"So your Avengers stop an alien invasion and now you are recruiting every powered person you can get your hands on."
He shook his head, "No," He laughed slightly, "Grace is different. I can see it in her. She has the making of an Avengers. A good heart, courage, a strong will. She's smart too." His eyes flickered to the computers at the side of the room where various video feeds were up, including Grace in a lab, "We are all she has now, she needs us. And I think we need her."
"Italian."
"Mi impegno di fedeltà alla bandiera degli Stati Uniti d'America,"
"Swahili."
"Na Jamhuri ambayo ilivyo sasa,"
"Dutch."
"Ondeelbaar, met vrijheid"
"German."
"Und Gerechtigkeit für alle."
"Did she just say the Pledge of Allegiance in four languages?" Fury asked as he watched Grace, looking up at Coulson with an arched eyebrow.
He nodded, "They have been doing things like that all week with different languages."
"And?"
He smirked a bit, a surge of pride running through him, "She hasn't slipped up once."
"What do you mean?"
"She knows them all."
"All of them?" He exclaimed in disbelief.
Coulson nodded, "Well there are roughly 7,000 known languages, Sir. It's been a long week."
"Can I go now?" Grace asked wearily, turning to face the glass screen that the two men were standing behind it.
Fury nodded, looking back to Coulson, "That could be useful." He shrugged, watching various doctors and scientists fuss around the girl, taking off head equipment and moving various bits of data apparatus, "Do we know why?"
"No regular human could speak, write and understand all those languages with perfect accuracy." Coulson shrugged, "It's got to be a power, super-interpretation or something," He shrugged and Fury nodded. They were only just beginning to understand this girl.
"How is she dealing with the...amnesia..." He trailed off, gesturing towards his head.
"She's sublimating. Throwing herself into any test we give her and ignoring the fact that this is all she knows," Coulson shook his head.
"And that is bad?"
"It's a distraction. All of that confusion, all of that fear, it is just building up inside of her."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Get her out there, strike some normality into her life. She hasn't been here long, we still don't know what she can do. This thing...understanding every language...it's an eye opener. We haven't come across a gifted on earth with more than one power before."
"Let's hope that's a good thing."
"We just need someone to train her, Sir. We can find out the extent of her powers and even work her way to becoming..."
"Don't say it. I'm still working on the council about keeping her around. This job is heavy duty...call in Widow, she'd just love training a newbie."
Coulson glanced at the girl for a moment. She needed a place where she belonged, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted SHIELD to be that place, "Do you think she belongs here, sir?"
"I think we're all she's got."
/
Natasha rolled her eyes, she did not want to get stuck with some kid who had no idea who she was or what she was capable of. She wasn't some big sister, or some teacher. She was a trained assassin, not a babysitter.
"You have got to be kidding me?" The red-haired woman grumbled to Fury and he scoffed. He'd expected this reaction.
"We don't want to send any of the Avengers on field missions until the commotion surrounding New York has died down a bit. Call it a distraction." He suggested but she still wasn't convinced.
She began to protest, "But-"
"She has nobody, no family or friends." Fury went on, and at this natasha had to stop. She knew the feeling, and for Grace, it would be a million times worse. it was bad enough to be alone, but not to know anybody in your memory would drive her insane, "She needs someone like you to guide her."
She smirked slightly, "I wouldn't say I'm the best role model." She shook her head, "Plus, she doesn't look like the kind of person I would have patience with."
Fury smiled, "Looks can be deceiving, Romanoff. Take some time, get to know her, you'll see. She does this thing…" He tilted his head, and Natasha was instantly intrigued.
"What?" She interjected, expecting it to be yet another power.
"Where she brings out the best in people," He told her happily. It was true, Grace had a way of talking that made people like her. She was charming and witty and kind. She deserved a good life and he was going to give her one.
She creased her eyebrows together. Natasha didn't want that kind of pressure on her shoulders, "Great. Just what I need."
"And what she needs is someone to confide in. She needs you, Natasha." Fury told her and she finally looked up at him. What if she could be better? What if she could really make a difference to this girl's life?
/
Natasha looked at the feed of the room holding Grace to the door into it. What if they didn't get on? Sure, they had fought together in New York, but she had gotten amnesia between them and now. Dealing with her meant a world of responsibility, and she just knew she'd get attached after what Fury had told her. What if she was a bad influence?
She stopped, rolling her eyes at herself. Get over yourself, Natasha, she needs you. Do the job you were sent here to do. She placed her thumb on a keypad and the doors to the room opened. Grace looked up, startled to see a new face. She recognised the pretty woman, she was sure they'd met before.
"My name is Natasha...Grace." She walked into the room with a pile of clothes. It was about time the girl got out of that hospital dress. "Fury sent me." She placed the clothes on the side.
"To take me out?" Grace asked quickly, not knowing where the statement had come from so suddenly. Maybe it was a reflex from her other life. Maybe it was because she knew what kind of organisation SHIELD was, and what kind of woman Natasha was. She looked like she could hold her own and from the vague memories she'd retained from some large fight, Natasha was an excellent fighter, the best she'd ever seen. And who knew what these people really thought of gifted people. What if they were going to execute her, it wasn't a particularly far out notion.
Natasha was confused at Grace's reaction. Did she know something about her past? "Why would you say that?" She asked and Grace scoffed slightly.
"I know what this place is about, this sealed room…I'm not as naive as I look." She shook her head, shrugging slightly, "I'm gifted. That makes me a threat. I even know I'm dangerous."
Natasha creased her eyebrows together, "You just need time." She told the girl reassuringly, "It has been a month, I'm sure things will get better."
Grace didn't look at her in the eye, "I just don't want to hurt anyone, you know? I don't want my first memories to be of dead bodies and destruction."
"They won't. I won't let you start like that." She promised her, and Grace finally looked up at the woman. She knew that natasha cared, for some reason.
She smiled slightly, "I guess I kind of did. I remember some of New York but not like I was there, I can just see a blur of faces. I was fighting an army with...you. I remember you, you were there."
Natasha smirked, "And the others." She added, sitting down on the end of the bed next to Grace.
"Who were they?" She asked, tilting her head.
"The Avengers. Earth's mightiest heroes. Protecting the earth from an alien threat."
Grace thought back to the battle. Natasha had been the only woman there, but there had been other men. There was the man they'd been fighting, with long slicked back black hair and a smile that had seeped it self into her memory. Loki. A muscular man with long blonde hair, a hammer and a cape. Thor. A towering green creature. The Hulk. A man dressed in a suit of armour shooting beams of energy to defend himself. Ironman. An agile assassin with a bow and arrow. Hawkeye. And last, and by no means least, there was a handsome and kind soldier who had saved her life. Captain America. She looked back up at the woman, "That sounds...exhausting."
She shook her head, "It wasn't all that bad. We had you to help us." She told her and Grace looked pleased at this, "You did good."
"What if I was a bad person before?" She thought out loud, anxiety suddenly filling her eyes, "What if I...killed someone. I wouldn't even know."
Natasha scoffed, "I would say the odds that you were a serial killer are in your favour." She smirked and Grace laughed slightly. "You really don't remember anything, do you?"
The girl just shook her head, looking around the room at her possessions. So far, she'd been given a couple of books, a hairbrush, and now a pile of clothes. "I can remember everything I read but not who my parents are or where I grew up. I have knowledge, intelligence, but no memories." She told her, "It's a nightmare."
"You can have a new life." Natasha told her thoughtful, "Do you know how many people would kill to start again and forget their past?"
"Like you?" She asked and the woman looked away from her.
"Get changed," She snapped, not wanting to answer or think about that question. It hurt to think of the past, she she refrained from doing it.
The blonde slowly stood up, picking up the plain S.H.I.E.L.D clothes and putting them on behind the screen that Coulson had picked out. She sighed, returning to Natasha, "Are you here to comfort me, Natasha, or did you want something too?"
"Fury thinks that you could do with getting some...fresh air."
"I don't know what to say. I mean, I'm about to see the real world for the first time, what can you say?" She laughed sheepishly, suddenly anxious.
"It's ok. I'll be there with you." She said softly as the door slid open. Grace stepped out of the door, taking a deep breath as she went. She glided slowly along the corridor until she reached a closed door at the end of the corridor. She paused for a moment, placing a hand on the door knob before retracting it.
"What's wrong?" Natasha's voice sounded from behind her, the red-haired woman raising an eyebrow.
Grace sighed, turning to face her, "What if something happens?" She said softly, her eyes meeting Natasha's.
"What do you mean?"
"Like what if I spontaneously combust or something when the sunlight hits my skin."
"You're gifted, not a vampire." They laughed
"Here we go. I guess the beginning always is the hardest." She spoke softly, twisting the handle of the door and walking out onto a balcony, of sorts, which looked over what looked like the main foyer. The front wall and ceiling were made of glass and a large monument was placed in the middle, one which resembled an eagle crest. Shafts of light hit the glass roof and dispersed throughout the space, shimmering off the modern, metallic reception desk. Grace's ocean-blue eyes flickered around, noticing the vast amounts of people that were passing through, going off into doors and corridors on the left and right walls. Like before, the people here seemed to be dressed rather studiously, with suits and black high heels thats clicking was muted by the hum of dialogue.
"It's amazing," Grace breathed, looking straight up.
Natasha scoffed, "It's just the Triskelion. Nothing really that interesting," she shrugged, having seen and passed through the room thousands of times.
"No, it's beautiful," she concluded in delight, racing down the stairs to the ground floor. She ran through the crowd of people, like a child disturbing a flock of pigeons, and laughing in wonder as she felt a shaft of sun warm her face. Natasha watched as she did, smiling genuinely for the first time in a while. This girl was so youthful and fearless. She had nothing to worry about in the world and could just enjoy it. It made her happy to see such delight in the surroundings.
Grace caught her eyes and the blonde's smile widened. She extended her hand to the woman and Natasha eyed it skeptically. She looked at the girl, eyebrows raised before gingerly moving her hand.
The blonde grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling the woman towards the doors at the front of the building, outside into the built up town. They stood at the top of a set of concrete stairs, looking out onto the busy world around them. There were parents and children eating sandwiches at a small café across the road, and crowds of smart looking people - possibly agents - gathered on a section of the steps.
Grace's bright eyes took in everything she could, her eyes lingering on every aspect of the outside world while she could. The sun was really shining now and Grace could feel it's warmth without the restrictive glass. Her eyes twinkled in wonder as she let go of Natasha's hand and turned to face her.
The red haired woman smiled at her before looking around in shock.
Grace sighed, "I just wish I could stay in this moment. I can't remember ever being this happy." She smiled half-heartedly, looking at the ground bashfully. When Natasha didn't say anything, she looked up at the agent who's mouth was hanging open. She pushed past Grace, looking down the steps at the world. Nothing was moving. It was like somebody had pressed pause and everything had become stationary.
The blonde looked past Natasha to see what she was staring at and realised what had happened. That time had stopped. "What's happening? What's doing this?" She asked, shocked. Even though she didn't have her own memories of the outside world, it didn't mean she thought that time randomly stopping was normal.
"This isn't you?" Grace yelled back, in a state of almost panic.. The silence was deafening. A sharp pain shot through her head for a moment, before she took a breath and looked down at her hands in confusion and curiosity, clenching them into fists. Suddenly everything started moving again and Natasha stepped out of the way of a man who had been walking normally. He frowned at her gruffly, grumbling something about people watching where they were going.
The agent creased her eyebrows, "We need to get you back inside." She grabbed the girl's hand roughly, knowing that they couldn't be out there any longer. She didn't know or understand what had happened, but if anybody else had seen it Grace would be in trouble. If word got out about this, her life would be in danger, and a hundred bad ways that bad people could use her raced through her mind. She was her responsibility now, and she would stop at nothing to protect her.
/
A man smiled as he watched a red-headed woman pull a blonde, younger girl back into the S.H.I.E.L.D building. "It's her." He said into a comms unit.