Katie Moon: Haha I'm glad you like my story. I've purposefully made it suspenseful, so I'm glad that has been working out! And we will meet Indali soon. She's been up to a lot of things since then and I can't wait to share it with you guys. I'm sorry about your grandfather, and thank you. It's still sad to think about her, but I'm a lot better than I was when she first passed.
Bex: Thank you! I'm happy you like my OCs
Fury rewound the security tape again to the right second. One moment she was in one place, then in a different one immediately after. He couldn't quite place his finger on what was happening. There seemed to be more to Saniya than previously assumed.
The director clapped a hand on the young, jittery agent's shoulder. "Send that to Agent Romanoff when she's back in New York."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Considering that they took a regular helicopter instead of a quinjet, it would be longer than he preferred. Fury wanted to confirm Saniya's powers —or lack of— as soon as possible. SHIELD was a master of control, and she was one variable that he couldn't let run loose.
With one last prospecting gaze over the room, he left the bridge of the helicarrier. He slid a key card through a detector in the wall and the metal doorway spread open. Fury kept walking until he came upon Conference room 4.
Dorie Hughes bent over a pile of notes, which had been solicited out of Professor Clerk. There were now highlighted sentences and doodles in the margins. Not to mention, he saw a rather large coffee stain on half a page. He'd have to get her a separate journal to keep her from doodling on the professor's notes. They still needed to be filed in the SHIELD database.
The projector was set up with a picture of a multi-limbed woman standing over a man lying on the ground. For some reason, she thought it was okay to write on the projector screen with a permanent marker. Several of the items in the goddess' hands were circled with notes scribbled below. One of the whiteboards was covered in Sanskrit words and reminders to reference back to certain pages. The trashcan by the door was stuffed with styrofoam cups and wrappers. She had certainly made the conference room her second home.
For the past week or so that Dorie had been employed, he had seen little to no results. He wasn't sure whether it was her fault or his for even bothering to hire her in the first place. Her memory was an important asset, but was it really so important to test how long until he had an aneurysm?
To get results, he often had to push people. Fury enjoyed that part of the job. Pushing people to their breaking point was one of the few things he loved about being the Director of SHIELD. Maybe Dorie just needed a good shove. If she failed, at least he would sleep easy knowing he didn't let this drag out.
He let himself in without knocking. Dorie hardly had time to lift her head before he demanded: "Status report."
She smacked her gum and spun around in her chair. Fury's eye twitched. "I've found nothing about someone being able to spout out symptoms of Vishnu appearing in his final incarnation of Kalki if that's what you mean." Dorie noticed Fury's blank expression. "Doomsday," she explained. Her face brightened as she shifted through the notes. "But I've found some fascinating things on Kali Yuga and—"
"Miss Hughes," Fury interrupted, "I am not interested in Kali Yuga. I am interested in why that woman can make blood rain from the sky."
Dorie's excitement faded. She fidgeted under his glare. "I don't know the answer to that, but maybe it's tied in with Kali Y—"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then you will find out, or you are demoted and we will finally bring someone else in." Dorie's jaw dropped. "I've spent too much money and resources on you with little results."
"That's not fair!" Dorie protested. "And what resources? You've dumped me here with no help except for someone to get me coffee every morning."
Fury's patience began to chip away. "As I said before, too much money and resources." He stepped towards the door. "I want results," he said before he slammed the door behind her. That was as good as a push as any.
Dorie balled up her fists. "Frick frack!" she spat to the door. Her eyes trailed down the notes about Kali Yuga, highlighted with a bright yellow marker. Rulers will become unreasonable. Hell yeah, they're being unreasonable.
Could she be demoted? She was already in one of the lowest positions at SHIELD. What would he do? Make her a custodian? Not the worst job in the world and she had plenty of experience of cleaning toilets.
Despite a demotion not being as bad of a threat Fury thought it was, she still wanted to keep this position. Dorie felt that with enough time, she would be able to make a difference somehow. She wanted to be someone important.
If she still wanted her job, she had to act fast. Dorie didn't know how much time she had. And when she tried to predict when her next status report would be, she found herself unable to reasonably estimate. All she knew was that it was going to be close.
Dorie ripped out a slip of paper out of a notebook and wrote down a book order for Kaala Gnanam. Maybe the famous Pothuluru Veerabrahmam's poems would help her out. She wasn't sure if it would, but she had to at least try.
When they arrived back in New York, Saniya had formed 12% of a plan. It wasn't so much as a plan, but more like a general idea of what she was doing.
While she wasn't proud of how lacking her scheme was, she figured she could make it work. It had to. She was playing the part of the hero, and the heroes always won.
Saniya watched Natasha from the corner of her eye. She was sitting on the couch, browsing the channels. One foot was propped on the coffee table, dangerously close to knocking over a glass of water. When Natasha finally started playing an old episode of 1000 Ways to Die, Saniya took the opportunity to slip into the hallway.
It was so early in the morning that no one was awake. Except for Bruce, but he had retreated back to the lab. She snuck down the hallway until she came to a door with the red x. The forbidden door. Saniya touched the handle then pulled back her hand like it had burned her.
Natasha would not take kindly to her messing around in her room. Plus, if it was booby-trapped like Tony had claimed, she'd most likely die. The Russian spy was not someone who was to be messed around with. There were bound to be lethal traps in that room.
Saniya bit the inside of her cheek, contemplating what she should do. She had to play it smart.
She dropped low to the floor, in case there was a shotgun aimed at the door, and twisted the knob.
The door creaked open with a high pitched whine. Her hands covered her ears, waiting for... anything. It was pitch black considering that it was windowless. Her hand fumbled until she found the light switch. The light flickered on, revealing a normal room.
Disappointing. She had expected something weirder.
It was identical to hers, except for the fine layer of dust. Nobody had been in there for a long time.
Saniya stepped inside, half expecting a bomb to explode. While she was searching the ceiling for electric nets or security cameras, she never noticed the red laser across the doorway at ankle-level, nor did she hear the alarm on Natasha's watch in the other room.
Tony, along with telling her it was booby-trapped, said that it held Natasha's spy gear. Saniya looked under the bed. Nothing except for a forgotten sock. Before she began ransacking the dress drawers, she noticed the closet door was open. She pushed the door open even further.
Grenades were lined in neat rows on the shelves. Not fake ones or memorabilia from past wars. No, these were live grenades, along with machine guns stashed behind a rack of leather suits. And this was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Oh hell yes," she whispered as she spotted a grappling hook between several pairs of combat boots. Since Jarvis was effectively keeping her trapped in the building, she would use this to escape. Somehow. She had a feeling it wouldn't work as smoothly as she had seen in the movies. Still, Saniya picked it up, along with a can of mace.
"My, my. You seem to be planning something big."
The assassin leaned against the doorframe, watching the blood drain from Saniya's face. Natasha smirked. "Please, don't let me interrupt. Continue looking through my stuff. I don't mind."
She slowly placed the grappling hook and mace back where she found it. "Ahh, I was just looking. Tony said there was something in here... that he needed... very important, so I had to find it for him." Saniya rocked on her heels. "I see that it's not in here. I'll talk to him and see if he thinks it's somewhere else.
Natasha pushed back her shoulder to keep her from leaving. "You know," Natasha said with a hint of humor, "whenever you lie, you tend to overcompensate."
"What! I'm not lying. Ask Tony if you don't believe me. It's the truth."
She held up a finger. "There it is again. Slight overcompensation. You try so hard to make it convincing that it sounds fake." Natasha flexed her hand. "Why are you really here?"
Saniya tried to move past her again. The assassin matched her movements with much more grace. "Maybe we can talk about this another time—"
"Do you know how many interrogations I have performed? Tortures?" Natasha asked. She reached over to a small stand of weapons, absently rubbing her finger along a knife. She frowned when she found a scratch in the metal. "Clint's being using my decorative knives for throwing again," she muttered to herself. There was a second of thought before Natasha returned the knife to its slot. "As I was saying, I know how to make you speak. I'd prefer to not have to strap you to a chair and bring out my equipment."
"Wait, you'd do that?"
Natasha smirked. "The best interrogations are done that way. Why wouldn't I?" The humor drained from her eyes at a frightening speed. "Spill," she commanded.
Saniya shrank at the tone in her voice. "I was hoping to... visit my sister and bring her back here. For Bruce. He... uh wanted me to bring her back to the tower discretely."
The assassin blew a gust of air out of her nose. Before her reply, an idea flashed through Natasha's head. It was so grand of an idea that even Saniya pinpointed the exact moment it occurred to her. The widening of her eyes and the mischievous grin was a dead giveaway.
"Oh you can do better than that," Natasha chuckled. "I can see the effort there, hiding the truth within a string of lies, but it's hardly believable." Her calculating eyes roamed Saniya's face. "Plus, you didn't keep your story straight. First Tony told this, then Bruce said that. Try again."
Saniya crinkled her nose. "Try again?"
"Yes, try again," Natasha urged. "You're capable of lying, just be good at it this time."
Since it was obvious the jig was up, Saniya didn't want to continue fighting a losing battle. Something in Natasha's face, though, kept her from just saying the truth.
"I was curious. Tony said you had a lot of cool stuff in here and I just wanted to see if what he said was true."
Natasha pursed her lips. "Better. If I had closed my eyes, then it would've been somewhat believable." Finally, she moved from the closet door. "Body language gave it away immediately, though."
Saniya stepped out of the closet, only to have her arm grabbed by the quick assassin. "You know, if you really want to sneak out to see your sister, all you had to do was ask."
She sighed. "I don't want to just see her. I want to break her out and bring her here. She can't stay rotting in a cell for who knows how long."
Natasha released her arm. "Okay."
Saniya blinked. Was she hearing things? The Black Widow, important SHIELD agent and Avenger, was offering to help her free her sister?
"Okay? Okay, what? You're going to ask them to send her here?"
"No. I'll help you break her out."
Her foot kicked into the carpet. "So you aren't going to get her out the legal way?" Natasha nodded. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You have the power to get her here hassle-free, but you're still going to do this the hard way. What the hell?"
She shrugged. "I have no interest in bringing your sister to the tower."
Great. Ulterior motives. Something completely expected from a super spy. At least she was honest about having them.
"Then why?" Saniya asked in a half whine, half annoyed tone.
Natasha removed a leather suit from the rack, held it up to Saniya's body, then nodded. "Because I want to see how far I can push you," she answered. "What's your bra size?"
Her hands covered her chest at a speed she didn't know she was capable of. "That is none of your business."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Okay. Then it's not my fault when it doesn't fit." From one of the drawers, she pulled out something that looked like a tube top with a bra sewed into the fabric. The fabric was stiff, keeping its form as she lifted it up. "This is specially made to deflect knives. Bullets, not so much."
Saniya reluctantly grabbed the fabric. Her fingers pinched the ends, trying to hold on to as little as she possibly could. "Got it. Stops knives, doesn't stop bullets." Realization banged her head harder than a hammer. "Oh god. You think I'm going to get stabbed!"
"Stop holding it like that; I've never worn it." That made her feel better. The bra/knife vest was held firmly in her hands without the dramatics. Natasha began to search through several boxes. "And no, I don't. It's supplied by SHIELD as a part of the close-combat uniform. You are going to need it if you're going to be imitating me."
Saniya shook her head. "There's a problem with that: I look nothing like you. I'm not white or red-headed."
Natasha plucked a dusty earpiece from the box and a black, rectangle canister. On the side, written in white marker, was 'Zzz Quick Nonlethal'.
"You don't understand what I'm getting at, do you?"
"Well pardon me for not understanding the plan you're sharing so much about."
The redhead frowned like she loathed having to explain this mysterious plan. But, Saniya supposed, when one was in a line of work where everyone ran on the same wavelength, Natasha didn't have a lot of experience of explaining things to clueless people such as her.
Natasha turned to fully face her. "The plan is that Clint and I will fly you to the base on the quinjet. You will use my ID to get past any security barriers. All you have to do," she held up an outdated card, covering the picture with her thumb, "is hold it like this while showing the clearance level. I will watch the cameras while you get your sister. Tell them that Director Fury requested she is moved to Stark Tower, escort her to the quinjet, and off we go. Easy."
Saniya shook her head. "That doesn't sound easy." Her foot tapping grew faster. "Maybe this is a bad idea." She began to grind her teeth. "Especially since you can just move her here. That'd be easier," she muttered under her breath.
"Oh, this plan's the worst," she deadpanned. "I have no idea why you would ever want to free someone who could do the things she can do."
"Then why are you helping me?"
Natasha flashed her white teeth. "Like I said, I want to see how far you'll go."
"So, you're not being altruistic then?"
The assassin stifled a laugh. "No."
Saniya sighed. There was no turning back now. She had made up her mind.
She spread out her arms. "Okay. Zip me up in one of those leather suits and let's go."
The suit squeaked as Saniya shifted in her seat, trying to adjust the vest. Clint giggled. Giggled.
Who knew the man was such a big fan of fart jokes?
He turned his head so that he could watch her reaction from the corner of his eye. "Did you have beans for breakfast? That's the fifth time!"
A smile threatened to break on Natasha's lips, but not quite.
"It was the suit and you know it, Clinton Barton," Saniya retorted.
The man winced. He turned his head back to its original position. "I kind of hate you for telling her my full name," he whined to Natasha.
Natasha ran her finger along the back of his seat. "No, you don't."
He sighed. "No, I don't."
Saniya toyed with the earpiece they gave her several minutes ago. It buzzed with white noise, giving her a faint headache.
The quinjet was odd to her, just like the earpiece and uniform. It was everything a science fiction geek could dream of: flashing buttons and unfamiliar gadgets. Even someone like her could appreciate the complexity of the technology.
She carefully crossed her legs. The leather thankfully didn't make a sound. "Why didn't we take the quinjet in the first place? It's a million times faster than the helicopter."
Natasha walked from the cockpit to sit across from her. The elegant woman crossed her ankles, looking like royalty. "Tony doesn't like sharing his things," she confided. "Before wasn't important enough to fight with him over it, but now we need speed."
Saniya tapped her foot on the metal. "Speaking of Tony, how angry is he going to be if he finds out?"
"Very, most likely. It is his quinjet."
That caused her to sigh. Thor would defend her if it came down to it, but that still didn't mean she felt okay with upsetting the person who owned the bed she slept on.
"There it is, ladies," Clint yelled. The helicarrier came into the view, not leaving much room for the sky. The deck was just as busy as that morning, if not more.
Natasha walked to her side and grabbed Saniya's hair. Her nimble fingers scooped each strand into a tight ponytail. "You need to be quick. Don't let anyone look at you too long. Don't stay in one place too long," she advised.
Clint nodded. "Walk fast but not too fast. And for god's sake, don't look guilty."
She gestured towards the laptop they packed earlier. "We'll be watching, but we won't be able to help if you get in trouble." Natasha handed Saniya the canister from her closet. "Use this only if you have no choice. Spray in the eyes and they will drop almost immediately."
Saniya's eyes widened. "You mean kill them?" she asked.
Natasha frowned. "Read the side. It's nonlethal."
She sighed in relief.
"Remember, it's a quick stop. Get out before they start checking IDs."
The quinjet drew closer until it jolted to a standstill. Immediately, she was ushered out the back and pushed onto the helicarrier. The second her feet touched the deck, the quinjet was in the air.
A man with a clipboard jogged towards her. She held up her key card, careful to cover the picture. He barely glanced at it before nodding and moving to another part of the helicarrier.
While she was overjoyed to have fooled her first SHIELD employee, it was concerning how easily she was overlooked. A giant, important, spy organization should have been more secure than this. Or maybe it was just the one negligent employee.
And that was exactly what SHIELD was: giant and important. Thinking about that gave her goosebumps. The idea of it was scary, but standing in their base alone was downright terrifying. SHIELD headquarters was much more intimidating without Bruce to hang on to. Saniya found herself wishing for the mild-mannered scientist to be back by her side.
Clint pointed to a speck below them. "There she is. Should you call him or should I?"
Natasha pulled her phone from her jeans pocket. "I will. It is my plan. He'll want to hear it from me."
He pursed his lips. "He'll either give you a raise or rip you a new one, Nat." Clint pressed the button labeled 'autopilot'. He leaned back in his chair, watching the ocean waves. The quinjet was programmed to fly in a circle a mile east from the designated pick up zone.
Her finger floated above Fury's number. The odds favored her. She was one of Fury's favorite agents. Natasha's mouth curved upwards. It wasn't like she needed a raise, but it would be nice to have extra money.
"Agent Romanoff."
"Director Fury, I've called to inform you that Saniya Ramakrishna is breaking a prisoner out of a SHIELD cell."
There was a pause. "And how is she going to manage that? This is our most secure base."
"That's exactly why I'm calling," Natasha replied. "I need you to make it less secure."
"You better give me a damned good reason, agent."
She watched Clint start up the laptop and slip a pair of headphones on his ears. He gave her a thumbs up.
"You want to see what she's capable of. I'm giving her a chance to showcase her talents," she explained. "Plus, she might be able to get something out of Elliot. We're recording all everything. She's bound to reveal something."
The long sigh on the other end of the phone told her everything she needed to know: Fury was going to do exactly as she said. He was just as curious as her.
"I put too much faith in you. If she causes harm to any of my agents, I will have her arrested, no matter what Thor or you say," said Fury. "And don't expect I won't have any surprises of my own. I might cook up something interesting for her."
"Understood," Natasha said before she hung up. She peeked over Clint's shoulder. "How far along is she?"
"Just got inside the base. Nearly ran into a dozen people and raised some eyebrows." Clint shook his head. "She's terrible at this."
She yanked the headphones off Clint's head. "Let me talk to her."
Saniya nearly cheered when she made it inside of the base. It was a small victory that should be celebrated, even though she had a long way to go.
But, her happiness was short-lived. When she looked at her surroundings, she found herself lost. Bruce had known the way to the cells, so there was no reason for her to pay attention to which way they went. Nothing looked familiar.
Despite the distressed expression on her face, no one stopped to offer help. SHIELD employees rushed through the hallways like ants, all minding their own business. There were no signs or maps to direct her. None that she could see, at least. SHIELD headquarters was not visitor friendly.
Right as she was about to ask someone for directions, Natasha's voice buzzed in her ear. "You're staying in one place too long."
Saniya glanced over her shoulder to see if someone was watching her. "I don't know which way to go."
"Left."
Since she hadn't steered her wrong yet, Saniya took Natasha's word for it.
"Stop looking like a sad puppy and straighten your back. Be as straight as the vest. Slouching is a sign of insecurity and weakness."
Her back aligned with the vest. The thick material was no longer jabbing into her ribs. Now, with her personal GPS, all she had to worry about was putting one foot in front of the other. With each step, she felt her confidence blooming.
Here she was, looking smoking hot in Natasha's leather suit and feeling like a queen. Just like when she wore Pepper's clothing, she had the respect of those passing by, whether with a 'ma'am' or a curt nod. The simple acknowledgment of her existence was liberating. Her ego was inflating, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to fight it. And all of that because of a change of outfit.
"Go right and—"
"Well, well, well. I expected this behavior from Clint, but you, Natasha? I expected more," a deep, male voice cooed. "I'm not angry, just disappointed."
"Tony, what are you doing?"
"Just checking on my teammates like a good Iron Man. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where my quinjet is, would you? It's missing. I've put up posters all around New York, but no one has called in yet. I'm thinking of checking the nearest shelter for any sign of her."
Saniya scratched her ear. It was hard to concentrate with him talking. While he was speaking, she almost missed the turn. A man, with obnoxiously thick glasses, glowered as she cut him off. She returned the glare with an equally nasty one.
Natasha sighed. "We can talk about this later, but right now Saniya needs to concentrate," she said.
"Concentrate on what?" There was a suspiciously long pause and a sound of fingers drumming on a screen. "Wow. How'd she get into SHIELD headquarters? Let me guess, this is off the books."
Saniya struggled to keep her face neutral. "Be quiet," she hissed under her breath.
"Maybe if you ask nicely," he quipped. "BRUCE, THOR, STEVE, LOOK AT THIS! SANIYA'S DOING ILLEGAL THINGS!"
Her hand flew to her ear and her face scrunched. A woman passing by gave her began to walk a little faster.
"Ignore him," Natasha told her. "Clint's doing his best to block his signal."
It didn't take long for her to hear Steve, Bruce, and Thor on the line. Steve was scolding her and saying that they should tell Fury while Thor was worried about her safety. He kept saying that she was too mortal for dangerous missions, whatever he meant by that . Bruce kept his comments to a minimum, instead preferring to ask Natasha and Tony polite questions about what they were doing.
At least there was a rational voice in all this.
"Isn't that the turn up there?" Bruce asked.
She stared further down the hallway. It was blocked off with tape and several custodians were mopping the floor. All traffic was blocked off, no matter the clearance level. She had been thwarted by some mops and a wet floor sign.
"What do I do now?"
"Maybe you should turn back," he suggested. Steve muttered in agreement.
Saniya huffed, slowing her steps to a stroll. "I'm not turning back."
Natasha told her of another route if she turned left and followed the side hallway to the prisoner cells. No one walked down that hallway. They didn't even look at it. Without the other people to make it less lonely, it was just one long hallway of nothingness. She already felt uneasy being in the helicarrier, and this only fueled her paranoia. Empty hallways always meant bad things were going to happen to the protagonist.
Saniya gripped the canister Natasha gave her. Too bad she didn't let her take the grappling hook. She, for a second, entertained the thought of shooting someone with a grappling hook.
Her black boots slapped against the metal floor, vibrating off the walls. The bravery that she had occasionally didn't show up. So, instead of being a powerful woman who could overcome any obstacle, she was a scared child.
"You guys saw that too, right?" Tony asked.
She whipped her head around, expecting an ax murderer to be lurking behind her.
"It's nothing," Natasha told them. "Just keep walking."
"Keep walking. Keep walking? There was a ripply thing on the screen, which means one thing."
Saniya gulped. 'Ripply thing' hardly sounded scientific, so maybe he was messing with her. But what if he wasn't? Her hands whitened with her grip. "What does it mean?"
"It means someone is hiding something from us. Watch that corner closely, Sani."
His advice froze her blood, freezing her whole body in the process. No matter how much she tried, her legs wouldn't move any further. No way in hell would she go around the corner.
"Keep walking." She didn't move. "You have to keep walking," Natasha urged.
She shook her head.
There was a muffled sound of someone passing a microphone. "Saniya, you're going to be okay," Bruce said.
Her eyes closed. "I don't want to see what's around that corner, even if Tony is just screwing with me."
Tony gasped. "It did the ripply thing again, closer this time."
Saniya groaned. Now her legs were leading her backwards. "I think I'll just go a different route."
"You have to go down this hallway," Natasha said sternly.
Her eyes searched the end of the hallway for any movement. "Why? There are plenty of other hallways in this place. I'm sure more than one leads to the prison part of this flying deathtrap."
"You are going down this hallway. End of discussion," Natasha bit back.
Everyone fell silent. Her word was law. Saniya swallowed back her protests, but she still didn't walk forward. Now, she didn't want to continue out of principal. There was no good reason for her to continue this way.
"Listen to me," Bruce said, and she did. "You seem pretty determined to free your sister. Despite my feelings on it, you need to keep going. You've come so far."
Her boots stopped shifting backwards. "Why do you even care? She isn't your problem."
"Because I don't want to see you fail. None of us do."
The weight of disappointing Bruce landed on her shoulders. Surprisingly, though, it didn't feel like a burden. It was more like wood added to a fire in her heart. She lifted her chin and held the canister out in front of her at arm's length. Whatever threat was lurking around the corner, she would be prepared.
"You're a warrior, Lady Saniya. You can defeat any threat that comes your way."
Saniya smiled. "Thanks, Thor."
Just as she was about to turn the corner, a towering woman came into view. Agent Klemmer was exactly the same as when she met her: almost identical clothing and the same pulled-back hairstyle.
The agent regarded her in surprise. Then, her face contorted in anger. "I knew it," she growled. "I knew you were Hydra!"
Before she had time to explain that she wasn't a part of Hydra and that her reasons for breaking into SHIELD headquarters were more for personal gain than to infiltrate the organization, Agent Klemmer punched her in the face.
The sound of Saniya's jaw snapping out of place froze her to the core. She suddenly found herself unable to close her mouth or move as the agent landed another punch to the side of her head.
Through the rush of adrenaline and pain, she pulled back time. Her jawbone reattached to show no evidence of the punch Agent was tugged back around the corner, having no memory of what happened.
Saniya froze in place. There wasn't enough time to run or hide. So, she followed her instincts and flipped off the cap of the canister and blindly threw a punch when Agent Klemmer came into sight.
Though she had almost no time to react, she dodged and forced Saniya against the wall. One hand held against her neck and pressed against her stomach. Agent Klemmer's nails dug into her soft skin, lifting her until she was on the tips of her feet.
"It's you!" she snarled like a rabid dog. "I warned them this would happen."
Her mind blanked as she saw the fist coming towards her face. Suddenly, everything slowed to a crawl. Agent Klemmer was moving like she was in molasses. With her free hand, Saniya tore the agent's hand from her neck.
She kicked Agent Klemmer in the shin and ducked under her arm right as time sped up. With two shaky hands, she aimed at Agent Klemmer's face. A yellow, sour smelling mist erupted from the can, painting her foe's face like the sun.
The agent dropped immediately, her body thudding against the metal. Saniya threw the canister aside and covered her nose with the sleeve of the suit.
"Holy... did you just Flash out from under her arms?" Tony gaped.
"... No." Saniya tapped the fallen agent with her foot, looking for any sort of movement. Not even a flinch. "Bruce, what do I do?"
"Why are you asking me? l don't have a lot of experience hiding bodies!" Bruce exclaimed.
Saniya stomped her feet with impatience. "I'm asking you, Bruce, because you're more level headed than me at the moment." The thrill of the fight was starting to wear off and her chin was numb. She felt where each knuckle had collided with her face. "Ouch, I think she broke my jaw," she muttered to herself.
Bruce paused. "You passed a closet a little bit ago. She's not dead, is she?"
She picked up Agent Klemmer's feet and dragged. Just as he said, there was a closet close to where the hall ended. "No, unless Natasha lied about it being nonlethal." Saniya rotated her jaw. Agent Klemmer had an impressive punch.
"It's nonlethal. She'll be out for half the day," said Natasha. "You handled that better than I thought you would."
A small ember of pride found her heart. It grew exponentially after Thor complemented her warrior prowess. Not only did she take down a woman twice her size and much more skilled than her, she managed to impress two of the Avengers.
That felt good.
The last few feet to the closet, she pulled with all her strength. Something about dragging a body was stressful, so it was a relief to stuff the unconscious body behind a couple of brooms. With that out of the way, Saniya was free to save her sister.
"This isn't right," Steve said. His voice was faint due to him standing further away from the microphone. "You can't just leave her there."
She walked away from the closet without a second glance. Agent Klemmer hurt her, so it was only fair that she spent the rest of the day in a closet. The pain in her jaw was proof that she deserved some sort of consequence.
"Saniya? It's your call what to do with her," said Natasha.
She rounded the corner and pressed forward, not bothering to look back. She wanted Agent Klemmer to suffer a bit, but the displeasure in Steve's voice made her feel guilty. Whether it was from leaving someone alone in a closet or for letting down one of America's greatest hero, she wasn't sure.
"Can you call someone to get her?" she suggested. "Not until after we leave."
"Sure. Take a right and you should be able to find the rest of the way yourself." Natasha paused. "You can find the rest of the way, right?"
She did as she was told. The smaller hallway emptied into another one with more people. It looked familiar. And when she peered further down, she saw guards patrolling the minimal-security prison entrance.
Saniya flashed her card. This time, they didn't let her pass right away. One of the guard's hands rested on his taser until he thoroughly examined her face. There was a flash of recognition, but they let her through without an incident.
She smiled to herself. Marsha as good as free.
Getting her sister out of SHIELD headquarters was surprisingly uneventful. No one stopped them. No one looked twice. Actually, people actively went out of their way to give them no attention. They turned their heads to avoid looking at them or brushed past without a second glance. And when she mentioned that to Natasha, she just said that it was their lucky day.
Natasha joined Clint in the cockpit, leaving Marsha and Saniya alone in the back. For some reason, she thought they would have more in common or never stop talking to each other. It wasn't every day that two long lost sisters were reunited. But the longer Marsha stared at her with doe eyes, the more Saniya's words escaped her.
This was her sister, yet she wasn't sure how she had a sister. She wasn't adopted —Saniya refused to believe that— and Marsha was a year younger than her. After her parents immigrated to the United States, her mother became pregnant with Saniya. They never returned to India, even though Marsha claimed that she was born there.
Their stories weren't adding up.
"So," she started, then rubbed her jaw, "what about your parents? What're they like?"
Marsha blinked. "You mean the ones who adopted me?" she asked. Saniya nodded. Her sister sat by her side, their shoulders bouncing against each other at any sign of turbulence. "They're the best. They're missionaries for the church we go to in California. That's how they found me, by going on a mission to Rajasthan. What about your parents?"
Saniya frowned and mentally swore at herself. She hated talking about her parents, yet she was the one to bring up the subject.
"They're... the worst." The look Marsha was giving her made her want to vomit. Pity mixed with disbelief. "I mean, they weren't always that way, but..."
She glanced towards the cockpit. Both Clint and Natasha were too preoccupied with their own conversation. "What happened?" Marsha asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
That was something she never told anyone. Not even Dorie knew the entire story. Telling Marsha about her family troubles was an unnerving thought. But, if the Avengers or SHIELD killed her for the stunt she just pulled, one person had to know. Plus, she couldn't say no to Marsha. Not with the way her little sister was staring at her.
Saniya attempted to rub the numbness from her chin. "I had an arranged marriage with some guy who lives in India. My parents had one and so did my grandparents, so they wanted to keep up the tradition." She shrugged. "I thought it was cool when I was young, like a fairytale or something. Thought it would be love at first sight. All the romance without any of the awkward beginning phases."
Marsha's eyes widened. They were so full of hope. "And was it?"
"I never went through with the wedding. My parents pretty much disowned me after that."
Her sister deflated. "Oh. Why didn't you?"
She sighed. Out of everything they could be talking about, it had to be this. "I met someone who made me see that arranged marriages aren't for me. Plus, I was just twenty-two! Who wants to get married at twenty-two?"
Marsha's jaw slackened and her hands wrapped around her arm. She was under the impression that this someone was Prince Charming who swept Saniya away from all her troubles.
"Who was it? Are you still together?"
Saniya bit her lip. "No. We broke up within two months of getting together." A laugh threatened to escape at Marsha's confused expression. "We kind of grew to hate each other."
Surprising her, Marsha rested her head on Saniya's shoulder. "That's terrible."
"Not terrible," she corrected. "We were never going to last. I just dated him to give my parents an excuse they would believe. For some reason, they had it stuck in their mind that I was as excited about the wedding as they were." They hit another patch of turbulence, causing Marsha's hold to tighten.
The quinjet started to descend. Clint turned in his seat. "Buckle up girls, we're about to land."
Marsha's bottom lip quivered. Saniya found herself clasping hands with her sister. It was odd to think that she was comforting her sibling, but it felt natural.
"I won't let them take you away," she promised.
"You won't?"
Saniya shook her head. "They'll have to get through me, and probably Thor to get to you. You're in good hands."
Hopefully, she wasn't unintentionally lying to the only family she gave a damn about.