Thank you everyone for your support! If you haven't already, please review/favorite/follow so I know how I'm doing. Next update will have a lot of Bruce/Saniya time, so don't worry!
Nik1804: Haha I'm glad you liked it :) And the answer to that question is in this update! I hope you continue to like my story!
Saniya came to the conclusion that the mafia was holding her hostage. For some reason, the mafia kidnaped her and brought her here. Her explanation was based off the abandoned warehouse hideout and the abundance of guns lying around. No law-abiding citizen would own that many guns if they didn't intend to use them. Plus, the secret location gave the situation a sketchy feeling.
Maybe Christopher was trying to take the crime organization down and he wanted to warn her. The mafia caught up with them and was now going to torture her for information.
But that didn't explain why he would bother warning a mediocre waitress and shot Thor and Natasha.
Unless they were part of the mafia too and he knew she was close to Thor!
Saniya calmed the train wreck that was her thought process before she could jump to anymore conclusions. Thor was too friendly to be a mafia member. It was not possible. If he was, Saniya would have known. On the other hand, Saniya wouldn't doubt for a minute that Natasha was involved. She gave off an aura of power, and what better way to gain power than be the leader of the mafia?
To stop her mind from convincing herself that Natasha was a crime lord hell-bent on killing her via truck, Saniya focused on the nurse who entered a couple minutes ago. He rummaged through a small red pouch until he pulled out a small pad.
She slapped the nurse's hand away. "Don't touch me!"
His scrubs were a light gray and just as boring as his voice. The dull light made the wrinkles in his forehead clearer. "Ms. Ramakrishna, this is more for your benefit than mine," the nurse droned. He lifted up the small pad he intended to clean her face with. "I suggest you let me continue."
The nurse had a good point, but Saniya was a startled deer. Her brown eyes kept darting and everything was a threat. Even something as harmless as a nurse. Her mafia theory didn't make her nerves any better.
Saniya scooted back in the metal chair. "Not until someone tells me where I am." The nurse's lips stayed sealed and his hand was too close to his taser for comfort. "I have a roommate. She'll call the police when she realizes I never came back. Plus, there were witnesses to my kidnapping and the car crash. They know I'm in trouble," she told him.
A woman with a tight bun and a poor fitting suit sauntered into the room. The door slammed behind her. She gripped several folders in her large hands. "I doubt she will; Ms. Hughes has been made aware of the situation. And, is that how you would describe it? A kidnapping?"
When the woman took a seat, the nurse begrudgingly left the room. It was just Saniya and the tallest woman she had ever seen. Her chair appeared like it belonged to a doll compared to her body. Underneath the thin fabric of her jacket, Saniya noticed the ripples of muscle. This woman had the body of someone who lived in a gym.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Agent Klemmer. Please answer my question."
Saniya blinked. "Is this an interrogation?"
"Yes. Now, the question—"
"Are you the mafia, then?" Saniya blurted. She kicked herself under the table. If the mafia wasn't planning to kill her, they would now since she acknowledged their existence. "I promise not to say anything if you are," she rushed out before Agent Klemmer could respond. "Who would believe me anyways? I'm poor. No one believes poor people when against the rich."
Agent Klemmer flared her nostrils but sustained an indifferent expression on her face. "I can assure you we are not the mafia. This is SHIELD: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." The long name sounded like it was a part of the government, one of the obscure agencies no one hears about. "Miss Ramakrishna, do you consider your experience a kidnapping?"
Saniya crossed her arms. The lack of mafia activity brought back some of her confidence. At least now she could be bossy without worrying about her body being dumped in the Hudson river. And since she was sure she was in government hands, Saniya wanted to prolong an arrest as long as possible. "I demand to see a lawyer," Saniya replied.
Agent Klemmer's eyes fluttered with irritation. "A lawyer will hardly help you out of this position. This is the last time I will ask you—"
"I am an American citizen," Saniya proclaimed. "An American citizen has rights, in case you haven't noticed. This little interrogation of yours will not continue until I see some sort of lawyer." Her fingers twisted into a giant knot. "I cannot afford one, so a lawyer is appointed to me by the state, right?" Government was not her best class in high school, but she watched enough television to know that.
The agent slammed her hands on the table. "You willingly got into a car with a known terrorist. Under the Patriot Act, your rights are ignored," Agent Klemmer growled.
Saniya's heart jumped to her throat. The terror was back in her eyes. "The United States government thinks I'm a terrorist?" she squeaked.
Agent Klemmer's face relaxed when she saw Saniya's scared expression. A part of her recognized it as the good cop bad cop act rolled into one person. "We are not the government. This is SHIELD," she corrected with a softer tone. Agent Klemmer opened a file. Christopher's mugshot was paperclipped to the top, like in a cheesy detective show. "Christopher O'Neill is a known arms dealer for many terrorist groups. He also was a part of the failed regrouping of Hydra five years ago. What I don't understand is why a nice girl like you would willingly get into his car."
Saniya dug her fingernails into her thigh. "To be honest, I didn't know he was a terrorist at the time," she defended.
"Fair enough," Agent Klemmer hummed. She stood and paced the tiny room. "But you knew he was armed, correct?" The agent didn't wait for Saniya to answer. "Why did you get into the car instead of calling for help? Agent Romanoff stated you did it quite willingly. I assumed it was because you are working with him."
She held her hands up. "Wait a minute, is that why you nearly killed us? Because you thought we were working together? I'm not a criminal like Christopher!"
"Terrorist, Miss Ramakrishna," Agent Klemmer reminded her.
Saniya shook her head, which strained her neck. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed. "You could have killed me! We all could have died because of your decision to test how strong his car was! There has to be some sort of law making this illegal. Do you have a boss I can talk to because they're going to get an ear full of—"
She was cut off when Agent Klemmer's phone went off. Both of the women froze. The phone kept ringing until Agent Klemmer dropped her gaze and answered. Saniya rubbed her temples. The sharp ringtone made her head hurt more than it already did.
"This is Klemmer," she greeted with a stiff tone. The agent blanched after a couple of seconds. "Hello, Agent Romanoff. I took care of the situation, as instructed."
There was a long pause.
"In all due respect, I was the only available agent. Miss Ramakrishna was treated with the utmost respect."
Saniya snorted. Nowhere on earth was it a show of respect to nearly kill a person with a car.
Agent Klemmer held up a finger to silence her. "I did what was necessary. There is a possibility she is connected to Hydra. I hope you reconsider—" She stopped mid-sentence then jutted out the phone to Saniya. "Agent Romanoff would like to have a word with you."
Saniya narrowed her eyes. "This is the second time someone handed a phone to me today. I am not speaking to whoever Agent Romanoff is until I know exactly who they are," she demanded. It was a fair request, so she didn't understand the glare Agent Klemmer sent her. She had the right to know who she was speaking to.
Agent Klemmer forced it into her palm. "Agent Romanoff is my superior." One of her eyebrows rose. "I vaguely remember you demanding to speak to my boss."
That was enough to convince her. Saniya placed the phone to her ear. "Please tell me you're going to fire her," she pleaded to the mystery person. "She nearly killed me for Christ's sake."
"Yes, I heard. I was not aware Agent Klemmer was the one responding until it was too late. She's one of the more overeager agents," mused the voice on the other end. "I'll be more than happy to forward a complaint to the director."
Saniya tilted her head. The voice was familiar. "Your name doesn't happen to be Natasha, right?"
There was a small, amused chuckle on the other end. It sounded like the type of laugh that belonged to a serial killer. Yeah, that was her. "Hello, Saniya. Thor is worried sick," Natasha confirmed. Saniya slapped her forehead. Of course Natasha was a part of SHIELD. Just when she thought she was done being caught off guard, her day threw another curve ball. "I am just outside the warehouse in a black sedan. You are coming with me."
"Not until you tell me where I'm going." Thor's friend or not, Saniya was not about to get into Natasha's car. She learned the lesson of getting into a stranger's car the hard way.
"Stark Tower. Thor and the others are waiting there."
Now was Saniya's turn to laugh. "Why would Thor be in Stark Tower? That makes no sense."
Natasha fell silent for a moment. She sighed. It was barely audible on Saniya's side. "And here I was thinking that you were smart. Saniya, he is one of the Avengers."
"No, he is not," Saniya denied. "Thor isn't the alien killing type."
"He carries his Mjolnir everywhere he goes and you haven't figured it out yet?" Natasha's disappointment was nearly tangible.
Saniya's confidence dwindled. Her brain rushed through every time she made a reference to the Avengers. It wasn't very often, but Thor's reaction was always the same: avoid the topic at all costs. Maybe his avoidance was because of his connection with the group. Plus, the hammer was a bit weird, and Saniya remembered seeing videos of a guy with a large hammer before they were censored.
"How sure are you that he is an Avenger?"
"Very certain." There was a jingle of keys. "If we don't hurry, Thor will destroy all of New York looking for you. I would prefer to get to the tower before that happens." Natasha hung up on her.
Saniya smiled at Agent Klemmer. "Can I leave the warehouse?"
"Not without a full escort," the agent replied.
As long as she got out of there, Saniya didn't care.
Natasha's driving was just as terrifying as her stone cold expression. They weaved in between cars, going faster than any sane person would drive. One time Saniya swore Natasha was going to drive on the sidewalk. And while she was driving, Natasha answered her questions about SHIELD, not once stuttering whenever they hit a pothole. Of course, they were severely edited answers which kept out key information such as their plans with Saniya and what the organization really did with its agents, but it was something. The more she learned about SHIELD, the more Saniya realized that her previous assumptions about the mafia were almost spot on.
Saniya stepped out from the vehicle when it braked in front of Stark tower. Immediately, Natasha dragged her to the elevator. She didn't leave any time to marvel at the clean lobby or doorman.
The doors slammed shut and the buttons lit on the floor they needed. It already knew where they were going.
"Good afternoon, Agent Romanoff," said a British male. The voice came from nowhere she could see as there was no one else in the elevator.
Natasha placed her hands on her hips. "Afternoon, Jarvis. This is Saniya Ramakrishna. Limit her access to the main living floor and labs unless stated otherwise."
"Of course, Agent Romanoff," the voice reported back. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ramakrishna."
Saniya eyed the ceiling of the elevator. There wasn't a speaker in sight. "It's a pleasure to meet you too..." What did Natasha call him again? "... Jarvis."
Natasha nudged her forward when the doors opened. Saniya's breath was sucked away at the sight. A large TV stood before a gigantic couch which could fit a whole kindergarten class. The kitchen was just behind it with shiny state-of-the-art appliances. A large oak table sat in the center the kitchen with a vase of flowers. Further into the floor was a long hallway. The lights on the wall illuminated the walkway in the noon glow. But the most amazing thing —in her opinion— was the windows and the balcony. They stretched the whole wall and saw over New York City. Her fingers tingled when she noticed how high up they were. She couldn't wait to try and jump off the tower.
And, on a less impressive note, was Tony Stark standing in the middle of the room stabbing a remote with a screwdriver.
Seeing the billionaire in person was underwhelming. He was dressed in stained pajama pants and a tank top with his company logo. Everything about him screamed 'I just got out of bed'. Despite the lazy look, he was bouncing with energy. Tony laughed —almost maniacally— and placed the remote on the coffee table. Saniya tried to tell herself that she was staring at a genius, one whose mind could never be matched, but it was hard picturing that when he looked like a couch potato.
Natasha cleared her throat and the billionaire looked up. He wiggled his finger in Saniya's direction. "So you're the girl I've been getting emails about," Tony stated.
She felt her muscles stiffen. "You've been getting emails about me?" she asked.
Tony waved his hand as if it was nothing. "Most of them were from Thor. I never should have taught him how to use the internet. But," he dragged on, "some were from a certain secret organization. Natasha, wanna tell me what that's about or do I need to force the answer out of Clint?"
Saniya plopped into the couch. The piece of furniture threatened to gobble her up.
"You and Dr. Banner will be given the information soon enough. All of the data on her is relatively new and still waiting to be filed. Make sure to check you email," Natasha explained.
At the mention of his name, Bruce came out from the hallway with his hands stuck in his pockets. "What information will I get—?" He stopped when he saw Saniya on the couch. Bruce's eyes immediately drifted to the patch of blood on her forehead and the small scrapes. "What happened to your face? Did... he...?"
"Christopher? Guy who kidnapped me?" she offered. "He didn't hurt me. SHIELD tried to murder us with a truck. This," Saniya gestured to her face, "is from the airbag."
The three each had their own reaction to her statement. Tony let out a low whistle before pouring himself a drink at the bar. He shrugged then brought out a second glass. Natasha shot Saniya a somewhat regretful look, which Saniya took as an apology for letting Agent Klemmer be in charge, but didn't show any other sign of guilt. Bruce pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket and immediately moved to get a better look of her face. The space between his eyebrows creased.
His hands reached up for her face, but he recoiled before he could touch her. "May I?" he asked.
She nodded. "I thought you were a nuclear physicist," Saniya commented as Bruce tilted his head for a better look. His fingers were warm and gentle. He had the hands of an experienced doctor.
He shrugged. "I am. But, according to SHIELD, the title doctor means I can do anything science related."
"But you can. You're like a super scientist," Tony protested. He sipped on his drink while making an 'mmm' sound. The billionaire curled around his alcohol like it was hot cocoa.
Bruce ignored Tony's comment. The corners of his mouth curled into a shy smile which unknowingly made her smile back. "You don't need to worry, though. I was a medical doctor in India for several years, so I know what I'm doing." His eyes roved over her entire face. Saniya had not looked in a mirror since the accident, but she assumed it was a mess. "Do you have a headache or any nausea?"
"I have a headache," she answered. Saniya tucked her black hair behind her ear. "No nausea, though."
He removed his glasses. The bags under his eyes were clearer without them. "If you experience any signs of a concussion, please tell me. I'm worried that the air bag hit you too hard," Bruce said.
"Why? Is my face a mess?" she teased.
Bruce was about to stutter out a clarification when Thor bolted into the room. His eyes widened with joy at the sight of his friend in one piece. Now that she knew he was one of the Avengers —a god if she remembered her facts right— seeing him in a t-shirt and jeans was weird. He engulfed her in the tightest hug of her life, and she was okay with that. Her foot nearly smacked Bruce in the face as Thor swung her in a circle. Saniya couldn't recall a moment when someone was this happy to see her. It sparked a nice feeling in her chest. When her back cracked, relieving some of the pressure in her spine, Thor set her down.
He dipped his head. "I apologize, Lady Saniya. I was not able to protect you." Thor sounded devastated. Even in times of trouble, he remembered his formalities.
Saniya rocked back on her heels. "Don't worry about it, big guy." She kicked him in the shin, hurting herself more than him. "What I want to know is why you didn't tell me you were an Avenger and why you sent emails about me to Tony Stark!"
Tony swirled his glass. The amber liquid nearly stained the white carpet. "To be fair, they were all nice, nothing creepy. Just a five paragraph essay about how excited he is for Jane to meet you and then something about how shiny your hair is," Tony reassured her with a smirk.
Saniya kicked Thor in the shin again.
He backed out of her reach. "So you are not angry about allowing you to fall in harm's way?" Thor asked. A small glimmer of hope fluttered in his blue eyes.
She fought back a sigh. "Why would I be mad at that? You're not my guardian angel or anything, or god I guess in this case." Bruce chuckled as she attempted to kick Thor one last time. "Just stop sending emails about me."
"Don't do it, Thor," Tony piped in. His smirk grew. "Don't let a silly Midgardian tell you what to do."
Thor glanced between the two. He chose his words carefully. "I fear her wrath if I do not, Man of Iron." Thor looked back to his friend. "I will not send any more emails about you without your consent."
"That's all I ask for." Saniya smiled but then frowned when her real life responsibilities came back to her. "Can I go back to work now?"
Bruce looked at her like she grew two heads. "You really want to go back to work after everything that happened?"
She shrugged. "I don't have a choice." The Avengers stared at her as she walked towards the elevator and pressed the down button. The elevator doors remained shut.
"I apologize, but you do not have access to the lobby, Miss Ramakrishna," Jarvis replied the second she pressed the button. "However, you are welcome to explore the labs if you want."
Saniya nervously laughed at the ceiling. "Okay, really funny, Jarvis, but open the door."
"I'm sorry, but you do not have access to those floors."
Natasha pushed off from the wall. The way she stood, with her shoulders back and chin high, demanded everyone's attention. Without any effort on her part, Natasha was the center of focus. "Director Fury has requested that you stay in Stark tower until you are no longer deemed a threat," she said.
Saniya and Tony's mouths fell open in shock.
"I thought I just cleared up that I'm not a threat!" Saniya objected as Tony bemoaned the fact that they were living on one of his guest floors and there wasn't enough room.
She shook her head. "I promise you that I'm not a part of Hydra or any terrorist groups. I promise you I'm not!" Saniya stammered. Her heart pounded so fast it was about to burst. Staying here was not an option. If she stayed here, she would lose her job, then lose her apartment... and then she would be homeless again. SHIELD and Avengers be damned, that was not going to happen.
"I believe you," Natasha said. "But I'm afraid that that is not what SHIELD is worried about, despite the impression Agent Klemmer gave you. Dr. Banner?"
Bruce turned his head after giving Saniya a sympathetic glance.
"Director Fury has placed you in charge of her health and discovering why she gives off the same energy signatures as Loki."
The room fell silent.
Saniya was no scientist, but having the same energy signatures as Loki seemed like a very bad thing to have. She got a feeling that maybe, just maybe they knew about her ability, her trick. This only confirmed her need to escape. Plus, she hated the curious looks Thor, Bruce, and Tony had. Especially Bruce and Tony. Saniya felt more like an experiment than a person under their gaze.
"Does she..." Thor was the first to break the silence. "Does she possess magic like my brother?"
Natasha kept her gaze of Saniya. "I don't believe so. When SHIELD was profiling Miss Hughes, nothing odd turned up when Saniya was investigated. Do you have magic?"
"No!" she told them quickly.
The redhead's eyes narrowed a fraction.
Tony slapped his hand on the bar. "Okay, I for one, am not ready to have this conversation right now. I'll show our little prisoner one of the extra rooms on the floor and introduce her to the rest of the scooby doo gang. If anyone objects, speak now or forever hold your peace." Thor, Natasha, and Bruce remained silent. Tony handed Saniya the second glass he poured. "Drink up kid. You're gonna need it."
Saniya gulped the drink the instant the glass touched her hand. While she wanted to learn more about what was going on, she agreed with him: she wasn't ready to have the conversation.
Tony strolled into the hallway. "This is one of my guest floors where I place the people I don't like. But, after the alien invasion fiasco, I've been doing a little remodeling, so this is all we've got." He pointed towards the first door on the left. "That's mine and Pep's room."
"Pep?"
"Pepper. Pepper Potts. She's an angel, honestly." Tony jabbed towards the next door. "That's Clint and Natasha's. Technically Clint's, but they prefer to bunk together." The billionaire threw open the door.
A man with short brown hair sat on a king-sized bed sharpening an arrow. The walls were decorated with crossbows and knives. There was a gun rack next to the bed filled with rifles and small handguns. On the wall across from the king sized bed was a dartboard. A picture of a man with long black hair and an antler helmet was taped over the bulls-eye. Two darts stuck out where his eyes were supposed to be and someone drew a mustache in marker.
"Clint, this is Saniya. Saniya, this is Clint," Tony introduced. "She'll be staying with us until dad tells us otherwise."
Clint's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?" he questioned. "I could have sworn they were going to throw her in a cell back at base."
They were going to do what?!
Tony shrugged. "Guess Thor's unconditional love convinced Fury to let her stay here."
Clint twirled the arrow between his hands. "Ehh, I think it just gives him an excuse to keep Nat in New York." He winked at her. "Make sure you cause a lot of trouble, alright? Don't be afraid to give her hell."
Oh, Saniya was very afraid to give Natasha hell (especially after learning that her 'joke' about being an assassin was not a joke at all), and Clint saw the fear in her eyes. Instead of telling her that it was okay, he chuckled to himself.
"Next room," Stark tugged her away from the doorway. "That room is the Captain's." Tony rolled his eyes. "He's really annoying about his privacy and alone time so you shouldn't bother him unless something is on fire or if you need to get something off a tall shelf." He pushed the door open.
It was pitch black except for the glow of a laptop. Captain America sat in the middle of his bed scrolling through facebook. His eyes were wide with wonder until he saw them standing in the doorway.
"Stark," he sighed, looking more exasperated than angry, "I know it's difficult for you to follow instructions, but please knock before you enter. It's the polite thing to do."
"Thought this was too important to wait," Tony quipped. He pointed at her. "This is Saniya. She's living with us now." The Captain opened his mouth, but Tony stopped him before he could. "I'm running on two hours of sleep and a glass of whiskey so I would prefer you save your questions for Natasha. She's the only one here who knows what's really going on." The door slammed and they were walking to the next one.
The wood door had a giant red x painted in the middle. Tony didn't touch this door. "That's Nat's room. It's filled with all her super spy stuff. I'm pretty sure it's booby trapped, so avoid at all costs unless you have a death sentence."
Tony quickly moved on. "This is the guest bedroom, aka yours." He pointed nodded towards her room then pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. It was the furthest from the other rooms. "The last one is the good doctor's, but he's rarely in there so don't worry about it." Tony nodded, satisfied with his brief tour of the floor. "Questions?"
Saniya nodded. "A lot, actually. Who's Loki?"
Tony winced. "I meant about the living arrangements."
She met the billionaire's gaze. "I need to know, Mr. Stark."
"Oh, god, please just call me Tony," he moaned. "Mr. Stark was my father."
Her arms fell to her hips. Without knowing it, she adopted the same stance Natasha had before. "Fine, Tony. Who is Loki? This seems like something I really should know."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand." Tony tilted his head. "Let's order some food and see if we'll tell you what you need to know." He shook his head. "This is going to suck."
Saniya was curled in the fetal position, using Thor's leg as a pillow. Several hours had passed since their long discussion —it sucked, just as Tony predicted— and she still had trouble absorbing the bits of information thrown at her.
The Avengers described what really happened during the invasion. They didn't answer her questions of why SHIELD was determined to keep everything they told her from the public, but they did give her a new appreciation for the city. No other place in the world could say it survived an alien attack. At least, she thought that until Thor skimmed over the incidents in New Mexico.
The one thing they didn't skim over or sugar-coat was Loki, the lunatic who attacked earth. They told her about all the people he killed and the evil he had done. Tony excused himself from the room when they started to tell her about the portal. He was so pale when the subject was brought up. When they finished telling her everything that happened, Natasha began explaining what was wrong with her.
Loki, Thor's brother, gave off the same energy signatures as her. It was discovered by accident, when an agent passed by her with a weird detector used to measure radiation a week ago. No one thought much of it until Christopher stuffed her in his car. A team of agents raided her apartment for anything out of the ordinary. Apparently, she was SHIELD's property until further notice.
This seemed to cement Steve's opinion of her. He shot glares at her every so often and avoided speaking with her. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would be snubbed by Captain America. But, according to Natasha, her case wasn't unheard of, so his hate was unjustified in Saniya's eyes. The same signatures were found in two twins in the sixties and there was nothing wrong with them. To be fair, though, there was something wrong with Saniya. Normal people could not turn back time, but she was never going to let them know she could do just that.
While the facts about Loki shocked her, she was more surprised to hear about Dorie. Natasha let slip —Saniya doubted it was accidental— that SHIELD had been targeting Dorie for recruitment for weeks. That revelation led to Saniya being investigated, which led to Natasha bringing up the fact that there was video evidence of her standing on top of bridges on multiple occasions.
Technically she was jumping off the bridges, not standing, but time was rewound each time so that there were hour long videos of her swaying on top of bridges throughout New York. Now the Avengers thought she was crazy, which didn't help her argument that she was nothing like Loki. Bruce wanted to do an assessment of her mental health in the morning.
"And in other news, a farmer outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana has reported that he was able to produce milk from the bulls on his farm. Isn't that odd, Richard?"
"That is in fact very odd, Barbara. Bulls do not have udders so it should be impossible for the farmer to milk the animals. There is speculation of a new disease or an elaborate hoax, but Louisianian livestock owners have nothing to worry about; the best zoologists are on the case. All future updates will be reported here at New York's Fast News. And for our next story..."
Clint groaned. He reached for the remote mumbling something about the decay of 'real news' reporting. As he pressed the buttons to change the channel, a small spark jumped, making the TV turn off and burning his thumb. Clint yelped and threw the remote across the room. The marksman growled, "I'm going to kill him." With a single jump, he was pounding through the floor for any sign of Tony.
Natasha calmly turned on the television, opting for the buttons on the side of the TV. She changed the channel manually to a mixed martial art fight. The volume was up all the way, but Thor snored on.
Saniya sighed. She stood up while making sure Thor was tucked under his blanket. Before Natasha could question where she was going, Saniya was out on the balcony with one thing in mind.
She leaned over the railing. The ground was miles away. Saniya hadn't jumped off something this high in years. Every cell in her body was aching for the freefall. It was a stressful day, after all, so she deserved something to make her happy.
Saniya gracefully tumbled over the railing. Loud sirens blared from nearby speakers and she heard the panicked questioning throughout the guest floor. The Avengers rushed to the railing. She waved as she fell further and further. The lights from the taxi cabs and neon lights grew closer. She wanted to touch them. Her chest tugged at something and everything was in reverse. Soon enough, her feet were planted on the balcony floor. Saniya marked her wrist with the marker in her back pocket.
The stress from today was swept away. It wasn't a typical way to relieve stress, but it did its job.
"Miss Ramakrishna, my systems reported a drastic jump in your body temperature," Jarvis reported. "Do you require medical assistance?"
She waved off his concerns. "I'm fine. It's late, go home, Jarvis."
"Miss, this is my home. Are you aware that I am an AI?" Something in his tone was mocking her, but he was polite nonetheless.
"AI?"
"Artificial Intelligence. I am merely a program installed into the tower."
This was almost enough to make her jump over the balcony again. "But... you can't be a robot," Saniya babbled. "You're sentient."
"That depends on your personal definition of the word."
She groaned. This was a good time to end her day. "Okay, this is too much for me. I'm going to bed. Night, Jarvis."
The balcony door opened automatically. "Goodnight, Ms. Ramakrishna."
All the doors she needed to go through opened for her. Saniya did not have to lift a finger. Before she drifted off to sleep, she made a mental note to thank Jarvis in the morning.