Thank you everyone for your support! I love it when I get an email for a new review or alert. The last bit of this update feels a bit rushed to me, but the reasons that it went down like it did will be explained in the next update.
Nik 1804: You're right about the SHIELD thing. For some reason, when I looked up what it meant, I used an older definition of SHIELD used in the comics. When I have the time, I'll go back and fix it. Thank you for letting me know :) I'm glad you like it!
addicted2memories: Trust me, I have a lot planned for this story haha
Potatoprincess: Thank you so much!
Saniya rolled over in the bed. The blankets wrapped around her in a secure cocoon, one that was a safe haven in the mess called her life. Yesterday's events were in the back of her mind, but the bed kept her safe from her troubling thoughts. Nothing bad could possibly happen in a bed this soft. God bless Tony Stark and his good taste in mattresses.
She reached out for another pillow; there were hundreds on the bed if she remembered right. Instead of feeling feathery goodness, her hand collided with strands of hair. Saniya slowly opened her eyes, then screamed.
She scooted backward until she was at the edge of the bed. Saniya tumbled off the side, only to have two strong arms catch her.
Natasha sat up. Her red hair was perfectly straight and untangled, unlike Saniya's. The assassin smirked, showing off her teeth. "Good morning," she greeted.
"What are you doing in my bed?" Saniya gasped.
The person holding her up snickered. She tore herself from his grasp. Clint didn't try to stop her. "Actually, you're in our bed." One eyebrow rose. "Sleepwalker, huh?"
Saniya glanced around the room. The last time she saw the room Tony gave her, it was pitch black and she was drifting off to sleep. Despite the non-lucid observations the night before, she was certain that this was not the room she fell asleep in. The weapons were a dead giveaway. In all honesty, this was partly her fault for not telling anyone about her occasional tendencies to wake up in odd places.
She shrugged. "It's a nasty habit." Saniya winced as she remembered Christopher saying the same words yesterday.
Clint sniffed a shirt lying on the ground then pulled it on. "Well, let's just say that you scared the crap out of us when you walked in here like a zombie at midnight." His smirk grew. "You didn't strike me as a cuddler, but you proved me wrong." Her face grew hot. She wanted nothing more than to run from the room, but sometime after her screaming and Clint telling her what happened last night, Natasha moved between her and the door. There was no getting past her.
"Scared is a strong word, Clint," Natasha commented. "The report was quite extensive. I knew you sleepwalk every night," that was news to Saniya, "so I expected something like this. Clint's just freaked out that you called him Sammy and tried to kiss him."
"That didn't happen," Saniya protested. She looked at Clint for confirmation. "That didn't happen, right?" He only laughed as a reply.
Natasha leaned against the door. Her eyes trailed over Saniya's face. "While we still have you, Christopher O'Neill was found dead in his cell last night."
Her eyebrows drew together. "I didn't kill him if that's what you're trying to say."
Her two perfect eyebrows rose. "I was never going to accuse you of that. We already know what happened, I was merely informing you."
Saniya's hands fell to her hips. "Well? What happened?"
Natasha and Clint shared a look. Clint shrugged his shoulders. "Ehh, what's the harm in telling her? It's not like she can tell anyone while cooped up in the tower." He turned to her. "Agent Klemmer killed him."
"I don't get it. Why would—"
"And that is well beyond your clearance level," Natasha interrupted. She picked up a stack of clothes sitting on a chair against the wall. "Pepper dropped off some clothes. A SHIELD employee will be by your apartment this afternoon to pick up your stuff."
Saniya took the clothes from her. The material was soft in her hands, clearly worth more than she made in a month. All her clothing was years old and bought from a second-hand shop, so she held the clothes like it was a baby.
Natasha moved from the exit. Saniya decided that it was better to leave before it was too late.
"Saniya?" She turned around. "Our door will be locked tonight in case you decide to sneak into our room again." Natasha smirked.
Saniya gave her an apologetic grin. "Sorry, you guys. I can't help it."
Natasha shut the door. Saniya breathed a sigh of relief. Why would her subconscious bring her to —of all rooms— Clint and Natasha's? That seems like an easy way to be killed, and the last she checked, Saniya wasn't trying to earn a one-way ticket to the graveyard. But at least they were kind about it, and Natasha didn't freak her out as much (despite waking up next to her). Maybe the assassin was growing on her. Or maybe Saniya was just getting braver.
She went into her room and saw the signs of her sleepwalking. Her bed sheets were on the ground on the other side of the room. Sometime during the night, she ruffled through all the empty drawers and left a lamp on. She'd clean it later that day, Saniya vowed.
"Ms. Ramakrishna?"
She jumped. "Jarvis?"
"Dr. Banner requests that you are in Lab C23 in twenty minutes to start the health examination."
Her head slammed against the doorframe. "Tell him I'll be down in ten."
Saniya was true to her word. It took five minutes to slip into the pencil skirt and white blouse Pepper gave her. Then another two to tell herself how stupid she looked in the nice clothes while wearing dirty tennis shoes. The last three were spent finding the elevator, arguing with Jarvis to let her leave the tower, and walking to the lab.
It smelt sterile and hurt her nose. In the corner of the lab was a large glass room that had 'The Hulk Tank' scribbled on a piece of paper and taped to the glass. Several large screens sat unused throughout the lab, along with a number of equipment she didn't know the names of.
Bruce sat at a counter, tapping his computer. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows, oddly reminding her of Indiana Jones (he did have the sexy professor look going for him). Bruce's glasses sat on the tip of his nose. He slipped them back in place in one swift movement.
"So, doctor who isn't a medical doctor, how is this examination going to start?" she asked out of the blue.
He looked up. Bruce scanned her up and down. When he realized he didn't respond, his eyes snapped back to her face. "Just... ah... take a seat on the table." She did as she was told. "Did Pepper lend you her clothes?"
Saniya smiled. "Yep. That noticeable, huh?"
A small smile graced his lips. "She has a distinct style."
She scoffed. "Yeah, rich CEO millionaire style. How come I haven't met her?"
Bruce picked up a clipboard with a frown. "You haven't met Pepper yet?" She nodded. He took a seat in front of her. "She's probably just busy." Bruce clicked a pen against the clipboard. "I'm going to ask you a couple questions if that's okay."
"Go ahead."
He looked down at the clipboard. From what she saw, there was a checklist he had to go through. She felt sorry that SHIELD was forcing him to become her private doctor.
Bruce placed his pen by the first thing on the list. "Do you have any allergies?
"No."
"Any past surgeries?"
Her head lolled back. "Only my wisdom teeth."
"What about mental health problems? Recent or in the past?"
Her head snapped back to the upright position. "No," she insisted.
Bruce placed the clipboard on his lap. "It's okay. No one will think of you differently."
"I'm fine, mentally," she groaned.
He wasn't convinced. His chocolate eyes were wide and understanding; it made her sick. "Mental illness has a terrible stigma that you have to look past. I can help you." Bruce shook his head. "Well, I can't. I'm not a psychologist, but SHIELD has people who can."
Her gaze hardened at the mention of the agency. "I don't trust SHIELD," she told him bluntly.
Bruce opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. He nodded. "I don't trust SHIELD either."
"They hit you with a truck too?"
His laugh was quiet, as if he was afraid someone would hear him. "No, nothing like that." The doctor rubbed his hands together. His fingers finally stopped moving when he interlaced them. "Why do you stand on top of bridges?"
Saniya blushed. The reason was a bit embarrassing. Today must've been 'Embarrass Saniya' Day because her face was in a permanent flush. "I'm... I guess I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I like heights."
He stared for several seconds, like he expected her to burst out that she was kidding and list a bunch of symptoms, but slowly he understood that she was serious. Bruce wrote something down on the clipboard. No doubt this would be something he would bring up later. "What about your diet? Is it balanced?" he continued.
Her mouth turned into a grimace. "Not exactly."
Bruce looked up at her through his glasses. "Not exactly usually means no," he commented.
Saniya balanced her chin on her fist. "You've seen the kind of job I have. I barely get paid over minimum wage, added with the rising food prices because of the invasion, that means I can only afford to eat Ramen and mac and cheese."
"I heard milk and egg prices are going down, though," he added in an awkward attempt at small talk. He cleared his throat. "What about when Thor buys lunch? Are you eating protein and vegetables or fruits then?"
She thought back to all the times she had meals with her friend. Most of the time she picked at the pancakes and gave her leftovers to him. If she ate too much of the restaurant's food, she usually found herself puking all night. New York's Best was not a good restaurant, no matter what Thor thought. It was amazing that Thor hadn't died because of how much he ingested.
"Vegetables, yes. Protein, no. I avoid the meat sometimes out of habit," she told Bruce. "My parents were vegetarians, so it's ingrained in me to just avoid anything that is an animal's muscle."
"You need to have more protein," Bruce concluded. "I'm a vegetarian like your parents, so I normally eat beans and peanuts for that. Those help."
Her eyebrows drew together. "But I met you at a hot dog stand," she said.
Bruce's smile turned sheepish. The tips of his ears lit a slight pink. "Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I cheat," he quietly admitted.
Saniya held back a laugh. "Your reputation is safe with me. I won't tell anyone."
"I appreciate it," he said. Bruce took out a stethoscope from a drawer. He stuck the two ends in his ears. The doctor raised it to her chest but stopped. "May I?"
"Go ahead."
Just as he pressed the device on her skin, a woman with strawberry blonde hair and clothes very similar to the ones Saniya was wearing ran into the lab. She sighed in relief at the sight of Bruce. "Steve's arm might be broken," she hurried out.
He retracted back into his own personal space. "Broken?"
She nodded. Her lips curled into a grimace. "It's bent at a weird angle. Absolutely disgusting. Thor is carrying him here now."
Bruce's eyes grew wide. "He needs to go to a hospital. There's nothing I can do for him here. Pepper," so this was the generous woman with fancy clothes, "if it's broken, he needs a real doctor." His fingers flew to his pulse point.
Saniya tapped him with her foot. "You were that kind of doctor in India, right?" Bruce nodded. "So you can at least check if it's broken or not. It'd save him an unnecessary trip to the ER."
"I suppose," he said slowly. Bruce turned to Pepper. "What happened?"
Pepper blanched, but she covered it with a cough. Her eyes flickered to Saniya. There was a silent plead in her gaze. "You're not going to like it," she warned.
"What happened?" he repeated with more force.
The CEO moved to Saniya's side. Pepper's fingers curled around her wrist, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Bruce. Instead of freaking out that Pepper was worried of his reaction —as Saniya would have been— he stepped away from the two. His hand was practically glued to his neck.
Pepper took a deep breath. "Tony placed a tripwire outside the Captain's door. Steve didn't see it and fell on his arm."
Bruce's face looked green. Saniya thought he was going to puke. "Damnit!" He slammed his fist on the counter. Pepper edged away. "I told him that someone was going to get hurt if he didn't stop doing things like that!"
"Bruce? Are you okay?" Saniya asked. He whipped his head up to face her. For a second she thought he was going to hit her.
His Adam's apple bobbed. "Everything is under control," he strained out. Bruce exhaled through his mouth. The scientist loosened his fists. "Everything is under control," he repeated, more for his benefit than theirs.
"DR. BANNER, OUR CAPTAIN HAS BEEN GRAVELY INJURED," Thor yelled as he stormed through the lab. Steve sat in his arms, looking quite disgruntled. His arm was bent in a way it should not have been, almost resembling Christopher's. Though Saniya was not a naturally observant woman, she noticed that Tony was nowhere to be seen.
Bruce looked at the arm after Thor laid Steve on the table. There was no denying the state it was in. "That is definitely broken," he confirmed. "I don't need an x-ray to know that."
Pepper pulled out a phone. "I can arrange for a car to drive him to the hospital."
Steve struggled to sit up. "Ma'am, that is not necessary."
"Your arm is twisted all the way around, Steve. You will not argue with me," Pepper snapped.
Captain America shut his mouth without protest.
Within moments, Thor was carrying the soldier to the elevator. Pepper trailed close behind, quietly cursing Tony. He was bound to spontaneously combust with the way she was talking. Bruce was asked it he wanted to come along but declined. Nobody bothered to ask Saniya, as Steve wouldn't want her there in the first place and she couldn't leave the tower.
But she would have said no if she could go, anyways. She still had to figure out what Steve's issue with her was, and she wasn't going to do that while he was having a cast put on his arm. There was a time and place for demanding answers. Hospitals usually weren't that place.
Bruce sighed. His jaw was clenched "We'll continue this tomorrow." He was almost in a rush to get her out of the lab.
"Okay. Same place?"
"I'll have Jarvis let you know," he said, not paying much attention. Bruce practically pushed her out of the lab. The door locked behind her. Since Bruce had not been rude to her before, she decided that he probably wasn't intentionally starting now. Saniya decided to let his actions go. It had been a stressful couple of minutes.
Tony pried off the back of her phone. With a pair of tweezers, he pulled out a small microchip. He twirled it in front of him. "Just as I thought," he muttered. The billionaire smirked, which she was beginning to think was the only facial expression he had. "SHIELD deemed you important enough to record your calls."
Saniya eyed the small piece of technology. "Are you kidding me?"
He shook his head. "But not important enough to replace the transmitter when it malfunctioned your phone." Tony waved it in her face. "Congratulations on your first bug! Soon you'll be finding hundreds of them, just like me!" he shouted to the ceiling.
"Sir, there are no detectable listening devices on this floor."
He rolled his eyes. "'Detectable' being the key word. SHIELD has gotten fancy with its espionage devices. Jarvis, remind me to update your sensors."
"Of course, Sir."
Saniya rested her chin in her hands. The shot glass the billionaire handed her sat at her feet, along with the rest of the alcohol Tony smuggled in. "So, is now a good time to ask why you are hiding in my bathroom?"
"Technically, it's my bathroom," he corrected. "I don't remember you putting any money into this tower."
She sighed. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Why are you hiding in your bathroom?"
Tony pointed his finger. "You learn fast, kiddo." He tilted his head in mock thoughtfulness. "I wouldn't refer to this as hiding, but instead as camping out, for everyone's self-interest."
"Sounds like you're only looking out for your own self-interest," she lectured.
He scoffed at her. "Don't lecture me on looking out for myself. Not when you turned down the marriage proposal from that dashing accountant to run away with your one true love. Plus, haven't you heard of not biting the hand that feeds you? I can take away food privileges."
Saniya kicked him. The threat held no weight, though. The last thing Tony wanted was to starve her to death. "Stop talking about something you don't know anything about," she grumbled.
"The SHIELD file was quite extensive," he said.
"I bet it wasn't extensive enough," she retorted. Saniya shuffled in her spot on the floor. "I didn't love him," Saniya muttered.
Tony held an ear up to his head. "What was that?"
She felt like kicking him again. "I didn't love him, okay? The reason I dropped everything was not for him, so stop talking like it was."
The billionaire's eyes sparkled. "So, if you didn't do it for him then you did it for...""Myself," she groaned.
"Myself," she groaned.
Tony crossed his arms. "Then you know that feeling when you need to look after yourself. This is necessary. I have to wait for everyone to cool down to make my grand reappearance."
Saniya shook her head after several moments of silence. "Y'know, that was a really big stretch to make, between an arranged marriage and avoiding being yelled at."
He shrugged. "I still made my point, didn't I?"
A smile fought its way to her face. "You kind of proved mine with you looking out for yourself instead of thinking of everyone else."
His lips pursed. "I guess I did," he conceded. "But me being selfish is a necessary evil. Poor Cap and Bruce have the worst anger management skills. Their blood pressure won't take it. In a way, I'm doing them a favor."
"Ms. Ramakrishna, a SHIELD employee is here with things from your apartment. Would you like for me to send her up to this floor?" the AI cut in.
"Sure. Thanks, Jarvis."
"My pleasure. Ms. Hughes will be on the floor in fifteen seconds."
Ms. Hughes? Did that mean Dorie was here?
She left Tony behind, who had begun to have a nice conversation with his invention. The AI must be nice company when he didn't have anyone else to talk to.
Saniya stood in front of the elevator, hands on her hips and chin high. Natasha inspired her to be intimidating, so she mimicked her pose. She had the full intention to call Dorie out for everything. Saniya was going to get answers, one way or another.
Thor looked away from the cat commercial. "Lady Saniya? I believe you must press the elevator buttons to have it carry you," he said from his spot on the couch.
"I'm waiting for someone to come up," she told him. "Dorie's here with my stuff."
The doors slid open just as she finished her sentence. Dorie looked different. Not a physical difference, her hair was still in the same lazy hairstyle and she wasn't more muscular or anything, but in the air she carried herself with. There was more purpose in her gaze. Something about it reminded her of Agent Klemmer and the other SHIELD agents she saw in her short time at the warehouse. Dorie was a woman on a mission.
Despite the new employment, she still had her grungy sweatshirt and jeans. Her shoes were the same she wore to work every day. Three boxes sat on the floor of the elevator and one in her hands.
"Hello, agent," Saniya mocked. Her lips pressed into two straight lines.
Dorie caught on to the tension. "I'm not an agent, just a research assistant," she corrected. "Hi, Thor."
Thor was about to reply when Saniya cut him off. "Thor doesn't want to say hi to you. He's upset about you never telling me you are a part of the mafia."
Her ex-coworker rolled her eyes. "SHIELD's not the mafia."
"Close enough," Saniya said. She eyed the boxes. "Are those my clothes?"
Dorie pushed them out of the elevator. The doors closed behind her. "Yes, and anything else I thought you'd need." She picked up a box. "Which room do you want these in?"
Saniya frowned. She picked up the other two boxes, stacking one above the other. "I can do it myself," she snapped.
"It's faster this way," Dorie pointed out.
Since it seemed that Dorie wasn't going to let her take the boxes, she led the way to her temporary room. In her eyes, bringing all her stuff to Stark Tower was useless. Saniya was not going to stay for long. She'd let SHIELD record all the data they want then she was going to go back to her life. It would be a week, tops, assuming that they didn't discover her ability.
When they were in her room, Dorie slammed the door shut. "Okay, did I do something to make you angry or what?" She crossed her arms.
Saniya slammed the box on the bed. "Of course you did something. Why would you ever join SHIELD? They're all insane!" Saniya's hands clenched. "They are the ones who censored everything. There were aliens on earth and SHIELD is blocking all that information. It's like... I don't know... it's like we're living in a government conspiracy!"
"Well, I like working for them," Dorie snarled, quick to fight back. She took a long breath. Her voice was quieter the next time she spoke. "They make me feel smart and important. I haven't felt that way in a long time."
Saniya crinkled her nose. "Are you kidding me? You were smart long before SHIELD came along."
The woman faltered. Dorie's shoulders slumped. "I only have a perfect memory, Sani, not intelligence," she explained. Suddenly the end of her shirt was incredibly interesting. "SHIELD's helping me with my learning disorder and—"
"Wait, what?" This was the first time she ever mentioned a disorder.
Dorie sighed. "It's Executive Function Disorder, okay? They're helping me manage it." The frustration returned in her eyes. "I don't care if you have some vendetta against SHIELD, I made the choice to work for them. You didn't even know what SHIELD was when I accepted the offer. I couldn't tell you anyways."
"Yeah, but... but..." Saniya felt her anger fizzle out. She couldn't come up with a good explanation for why she was furious with Dorie. At the start of the fight, everything made sense. Being angry at Dorie was the reasonable thing to be. Dorie was a part of the organization that almost killed her and successfully killed others. Now, Saniya wasn't so sure. She lifted her chin. "But they hit me with a truck. Is that a kind of organization you want to work for? You have to quit."
Dorie ran her hands through her hair. She yanked the bedroom door open. "No! I don't care what you think about my job. I like it and that's all the matters." Dorie spared one last glance over her shoulder. "Word of advice, don't try to pick fights with people who are trying to help you."
Saniya stood for several seconds, still a little dazed. When Tony accidentally knocked over some shampoo bottles in the bathroom, she broke out of it. She rushed from the room. Dorie violently pushed the button to the elevator.
"Dorie, I..." Am sorry? Sure, she was sorry to have forced a fight between them, but until she figured out what exactly set her off, a sorry seemed meaningless. She let her apology die on her lips.
Dorie stepped into the elevator with a glare. The doors shut and her ex-roommate was heading down to the lobby.
Saniya rubbed her face. "Shit," she swore, "what is wrong with me?"