"Time did what now?!" Fury yelled in utter surprise at the two women who were sitting in the Director's office at a large conference table.
"It stopped, Sir." Natasha replied, glancing at Grace as she leaned back in a black swivel chair, her head lolling back in boredom, "We'd just gone outside and then all of a sudden everyone just stopped moving."
Grace sighed, her head still hanging back, "I don't see why I have to be here."
"I don't see why you're not taking this more seriously." Fury growled at her, a stern look in his single eye, "If this really is another power, it is incredibly dangerous. Creating forcefields is one thing, but stopping time? There are a lot of bad people who could use that and they wouldn't care who died to get to you." He sighed, bending over slightly so Grace had to look him in the eye, "We only want to keep you safe."
"I get that, really I do…" She said in a small voice, "But I already feel like a prisoner…"
"It's just a precaution," He told her firmly, though it didn't seem like there was much scope to negotiate.
The girl frowned, looking down, "Can I at least go outside?" She creased her eyebrows, looking back up at him. Her eyes flickered longingly out of the window at the building below the high rise office, but the Director didn't seem convinced by the idea.
Fury looked over at Natasha and she slowly nodded, "Go back to your room. We'll discuss this later," he told Grace and she let out a breath is exasperation and left the room.
"What do you make of all of this?" He asked Natasha, leaning against the table.
She raised her eyebrows for a moment, "We have never met a gifted where we don't have some idea where their powers have come from. She could be dangerous...but she's still a human being. You have to treat her like one," She looked out the window for a moment, "You were right about her." She stated.
"What do you mean?"
The woman shrugged, "Seeing her…it made me see things clearly, see my life the way it is," She scoffed a little, "She made me feel...better. Better than I have felt in a while. Normal even," She stood up so she was at eye level with Fury, "I know you are worried, but you can't take away her freedom. She was touching me when she stopped time, and I wasn't stopped with it. She has some control with these powers, and she grows stronger as a person by the day." She reasoned, "You just have to trust her."
"If it comes to it..." He took a deep breath, "You know I'll have to take her out." He said with a heavy heart.
Natasha nodded slowly, "It wont come to that." She said firmly.
From the corridor, Grace creased her eyebrows in worry as she listened to the two conversing. She blinked back a tear and strode away to her room.
/
Grace looked intensely at the book in her hands, the world around her quiet bench becoming a blur as the words filled her mind, telling her about the American War of Independence. She may not have memories, but she had knowledge and lots of it, and she supposed that made her luckier than many. The bench, which was located just outside of the glass-fronted S.H.I.E.L.D building, sat serenely under a small tree, the warm summer sun being obscured from the girl's weekly visit where she tended to bring one of the many books that Coulson had supplied her with. After people watching for a while she would become entranced in a book, barely looking up from it when a team of agents arrived to take her back to her room.
"You seem enthralled," the blonde looked up to see a man leaning on the back of her bench, watching her. She shut the book in her surprise, startled by the man's presence. Nobody had ever spoken to her from the outside world before. The man continued to look at her with a kind smile while these thoughts raced through her head.
"I…like…history," she stuttered simply. 'Well done, Grace. That makes you sounds really intelligent and not at all like a 6 year old. You can barely string together a sentence.' She mentally face palmed, "It, uh, it interests me," she looked down at the cover of the history book. 'Good save, Grace, now he thinks you're a nerd.'
To her surprise the young man's smile widened and he took a seat next to her, "Now what is a pretty girl like you sitting out here all alone for?" He asked, his winning smile catching Grace in a trance for a moment as a small blush appeared on her cheeks. He was attractive, with light brown hair which was styled upwards so's not to obscure his beautiful chocolate brown eyes. "Do you go to the university?" He asked, his dimpled smile unwavering.
"No," She shook her head, tucking a piece of her light blonde hair behind her ear. Subconsciously she let her eyes flicker to the S.H.I.E.L.D building but quickly snapped them back to the young man, hoping that he hadn't noticed her glance.
"You from in there?" He asked, and Grace cursed herself for letting her eyes wander. She remembered what Fury had said. S.H.I.E.L.D was a secret organisation.
She had to keep it together and lie to him, "No, I just really like this bench." She shrugged, hoping that she had covered up her mistake.
The boy looked at her skeptically, crossing his arms and leaning back in the bench, "Is that why there are at least five agents watching and tailing you?" He commented, cocking an eyebrow at her mischievously.
Her smirk dropped, "I don't know what you're talking about." Grace said truthfully, genuinely being unaware that any agents were watching her. Fury had told her that they would leave her alone for this one time a week. That she would be completely free for just one afternoon.
He leaned towards her, "Either you seriously didn't know, or they've trained you up to be a really good liar." He smirked, laughing slightly. Grace was speechless and she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She creased her eyebrows, looking away from him.
"Here, look," he placed a hand on the back of her neck, twisting her head towards the small café across the street. His hand was cool against her neck and she felt an odd tingling sensation on her skin. "You see that man over there in the café?" He asked, dropping his hand from her neck to place his arm around her shoulder. She didn't fail to notice his arm but didn't move it. He was the first person her age that she had spoken to and he seemed to be helping her. She nodded in agreement to his question, looking at the man he had gestured to, "He ordered that coffee twenty minutes ago and hasn't taken a sip. And that woman on the next table?" Grace nodded again, "See the paper she is holding? She hasn't turned the page for the whole time she has been sitting there. If you really look, you see it."
He smiled, seeing Grace's pretty blue eyes widen, "What else?" She asked, leaning back in the bench.
"Okay," he scanned the scene again, "You see that couple," he looked at a man and a woman who were sitting on a bench by a fountain about ten metres away from them. They were laughing and chatting, and Grace had early seen them kissing a few times.
"Let me guess," She raised her eyebrows, "They keep kissing and PDA is frowned upon in the area?" She asked cluelessly, tilting her head in hope.
The boy laughed, "No but close." He grinned at her, "They kiss once every minute, on the minute. Like clockwork." He shrugged, looking down at his watch, "Three, two, one." And as if on cue, the couple kissed once and resumed their conversation.
"How was I close?" She asked perplexed, rolling her eyes at the boy who was clearly humouring her.
He shrugged, "You mentioned kissing," He said softly, looking down at her soft pink lips for a moment.
Grace's breathing and heart-rate quickened as the boy edged his head towards her slightly. He suddenly spoke, "Well this was fun but I must be going." He grinned, standing up.
"But I have questions," Grace protested, standing up with him, "Why were they following me?"
He smirked at her, "S.H.I.E.L.D are always keeping secrets. Even from you." He arched an eyebrow, "Same time next week." He promised, turning away.
"Wait," she caught his muscular arm and he grinned, turning around to face her as she spoke, "What's you name?" She asked softly.
"Zach Cavanaugh," he smirked at her, raising an eyebrow, "And your's?"
"Grace."
"Grace...?"
"Just Grace," she replied sheepishly.
"Well goodbye, just Grace. See you soon," he said, grinning and walking away into the streams of people.
/
The blonde's mind was spinning as she was led back to her obscenely white room. Why had Fury lied to her? Could she trust him and the organisation that she had been brought to? Who was Zach? This was all she had now, and she wasn't sure she had the choice of leaving. And if she did, would she want to? She sighed as she stepped into the room, hearing the door slide shut behind her. She stood still for a moment, lost in thought before her ocean-blue eyes flickered over to the camera that stood to the right of her. They were always watching. She took a deep breath, looking around at the room that had been filled with another stack of books. SHIELD's idea of compensating for keeping her in a sealed room. She leaned against one of the blank walls, picking up a new book and sinking to the floor. On the one hand, she thought as she read the first chapter, SHIELD had taken her in when she was clearly in need. They had kept her in the sealed room so they could monitor her powers and help her keep control, as well as even helping others by looking at her mutated genes. On the other hand, they had already lied to her about tailing her and who knows what else. Something told her that Fury wasn't being honest about why she was really there. As if by magic, her door slid open and Fury stepped in. His lips were pressed into a straight smile
"Good afternoon, Gratia," He said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall near the door.
"Grace." She corrected quickly, an edge to her voice as a sudden anger filled her.
He took a step towards her, "I hope you're feeling comfortable."
She looked around, raising her eyebrows at Fury, "Sure. A room with no windows and a bed. Screams home, doesn't it."
His eye flickered away from her, turning so that his back was facing her, "It's just a precaution."
"Mm," She hummed, "If you say so…"
"You're angry…"
Her head snapped up, "Yeah maybe I am. Or, sorry, am I not allowed to have emotion as well as contact with the outside world now too," She yelled.
"we let you outside…"
"Do you want me to get down on my knees that you gave me a human right?
He sighed, shaking his head at her. He didn't want to argue anymore, she was obviously upset, "Coulson will be in to take you to the labs in an hour…"
She shrugged, "Maybe I don't want to go."
"You don't have a choice."
She scoffed, "So this freedom business is just a front, huh? I don't have any real choices."
"That's not what I'm saying…"
"It's what you're implying!" She retired, raising her voice once more.
He reasoned with her once more, "It's for your own good, your own safety-"
"I'm a person, not a weapon."
"That's not what everybody thinks, there are people out there that won't think twice about manipulating you to do some really bad things."
"I can control it, I'm under your thumb as it is, all I ask is for you to loosen the leash."
"We can't trust what you can do until we figure it out…"
"I'm just a girl-"
"You're not normal and we have to fix you!"
"There it is."
He turned back to her, an almost apologetic glint in his eye, "Grace, I-"
"Every time you come in here you spin me some crap about how you are trying to fix me like I'm a china doll, or doing your best to make me feel at home." She shouted, "Well guess what, I don't have a home." Her heart was racing as she spoke, not remembering feeling this emotional before in her life.
"Listen to me-"
"No, you listen." She interjected, shaking her head at him as her hands began to glow slightly, "I will co-operate just as I have so far, but I am sick of being lied to. And you're lying to yourself if you think that SHIELD isn't manipulating me by keeping me here. But that's okay because I don't have anything else, just, please…if you keep me locked away then you are damaging a toy that is already broken." She said, tears suddenly dripping down her cheeks. She turned away from Fury, not wanting him to see her cry. "Please go," she asked, not turning around to see the director slowly leave.