Guess what! The Hulk is coming in the next update! I am sooo excited to write him and Saniya. Trust me, it's going to get intense when they meet, haha. The last few days I haven't had any wifi, even though I had this finished. But everything's working now, so there will be a lot more writing coming your way. Thank you everyone for you support. I truly appreciate it.

Katie Moon: I thought she was pretty fun too, so I'm happy you think so. Sneaky Natasha is the best. I love it when she's like that. Yeah, things are not so great for Dorie right now, but that might change ;)

apoorva: I'm so happy that you like my story! I hope you continue enjoying it :) Thank you

Saniya, Clint, Natasha, and Marsha walked into the tower to the sound of Tony's slow clap. He had ambushed them outside the quinjet landing pad, along with the rest of the Avengers. Marsha hid her small body behind Saniya's.

The 'lobby' outside of the landing pad was a lot like the living room back on their floor, except for the view of the quinjet. Couches were arranged in a square with the same coffee table between them. There was the same floors and lighting too. It was familiar, but the familiar territory wasn't enough to calm her nerves.

"That was a nice trick you played. Kudos to you," Tony complimented. He flicked his hand towards the landing pad. "Now, put her back."

Saniya shook her head. "She's not going back."

The billionaire crossed his arms. "Oh? Okay then. But where is she going to stay? Have you thought about that? Because she's not staying in my tower."

Pepper placed her hand on his arm. "Tony—"

His glare didn't waver. "We don't know her. She could be a psychopath for all we know," he protested. "She's not staying with us, and that's final." Tony angled his body towards Pepper, resting his hand on her back. "And I'm not so sure about Speedy, anymore."

Thor crossed the distance between them. His large, puppy dog eyes glanced between the woman hiding behind her and Tony. "Lady Saniya, is it true that this is your sister?" he asked.

While the few doubts that still lingered popped into her mind, when she looked back at Marsha's terrified expression, she knew that it was still true. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she is. You can't let them take her away."

The Asgardian nodded. "You have my word," he said with conviction.

"No! You don't have his word! I veto his word," Tony interjected. Bruce sighed. He turned to the scientist. "My tower is my domain. I have the power to veto."

Thor frowned. "Do you not want to house Lady Saniya's family?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope! Not at all! I know that she can make blood rain from the sky and probably a bunch of other voodoo. Can't risk that," he snapped. He pointed at Saniya. "What about you? What's the crazy you're bringing to the table?"

Her eyes widened and slowly moved to hide part of her body behind Thor. Marsha moved with her. Though he wasn't wearing Asgardian armor, she hoped he was intimidating enough in his black t-shirt and sweatpants.

"I don't know what you mean," she lied.

Clint rolled his shoulders. "We all saw the surveillance footage," he reminded her. "You're pretty much outed."

Her hand clasped around Thor's bicep, well, as much as her hand could hold on to. She lifted her chin. "No, I'm not! There's nothing wrong with me and I—" She caught Natasha's gaze. "I'm normal," Saniya finished.

Natasha crossed her arms, her calculating eyes taking her in. "Well, normal is terribly boring."

"That's me! I'm boring."

Steve scratched under his cast with a fork. "You need to tell us the truth. SHIELD needs to know if you have any sort of abilities."

The space between Thor's eyebrows creased. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. Something registered with him; there was a shift of understanding in his expression.

Thor dropped his hand on her shoulder. Her knees buckled, but she quickly fixed herself. "What does it matter if she has abilities or not? I do not understand why we are not celebrating Lady Saniya's arrival. She brought a guest. Does that not warrant a celebration?"

Tony clasped Pepper's hand and jabbed at Saniya with the other. "Because she could go 'Loki' on us at any moment. I don't trust that." He dropped his finger. "Sorry, big guy. She may be your friend, but you have to admit that she's hiding some shady stuff from us."

Steve nodded. He was, for the first time in a while, actually looking at Tony with something other than contempt. "We have no reason to trust her."

Saniya kicked at the floor. She sucked a placating breath through her nose. There were fewer options than before. If she wanted to get through this without ruining her entire life, she would have to play it smart.

"If I tell one of you guys about my abilities," she started, "not that I have any, of course! But if I did tell one of you, would you let me and Marsha stay?"

Marsha gripped the tight leather on her arm. She shook her head but refused to speak. Being in the same room as the Avengers was enough to turn her mute.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Pepper rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "Sure, I'll bite. Who is this special person?"

"Thor," she answered as if it was obvious, and it was. Thor was her best option. Plus, he was her friend. It was about time she clued him in to what was happening with her.

Clint groaned. "He's the most biased one here! Just tell all of us and get it over with."

"No!"

"It's important that we know," Steve reasoned.

She practically melted into Thor's side. "No way! I'm only telling Thor and no one else."

Steve helplessly looked towards Thor. "You understand why we can't have that, right? I'm sorry, but you've known her the longest—"

The Asgardian stiffened. "Are you suggesting that I would betray my friends? My comrades in arms?" he asked in a tone between a growl and innocent confusion.

"Of course not. You know I wouldn't suggest that, but—"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone froze at Bruce's voice. Natasha and Clint took a large step back, as well as Tony, Pepper, and Steve. Thor stood his ground, but he was now completely in front of her and Marsha. His hand was posed to call Mjolnir. Saniya poked her head out from behind his large body.

Bruce shook his head with disgust while his first two fingers felt his pulse. He sucked in a large breath. "Don't you all see? She's terrified of us! That's why she isn't telling us what she can do."

Saniya bit back a retort that she wasn't terrified. Wary, or perhaps cautious were better words to describe her feelings. But since he seemed like he was beginning a defense for her secrecy, she decided to let him continue.

Natasha quirked an eyebrow. "And why would she be terrified of us?"

She froze when Bruce's eyes connected with hers. A wave of relief washed over her. Bruce understood, to some degree. He was on her side.

"Yeah," Tony cut in. "I can see why she's afraid of Spidey and Capsicle, but me? I'm not scary unless I want to be."

"It's because we're connected with SHIELD and look what they did to her sister." Marsha burrowed her face in Saniya's back. "They locked her in a cell and did who know's what else. What will they do with Saniya?"

She crossed her arms and leaned her weight on her friend. "Probably the same thing."

He wrung his hands. His breathing was less erratic than before. "Maybe. They might not, because of Thor." At the mention of his name, Thor puffed out his chest. "But if you were in her shoes, would you take that risk?"

Steve glanced down at the floor, an internal war raging over his face. Bruce's words were eating away at him at a rapid speed. "I'm willing to compromise," he announced. There was a slight hesitance to his next words. "If you tell one of us, other than Thor, everyone else can stay in the dark."

"Really, Cap?" Tony hissed under his breath, but his comment went unaddressed.

The compromise was fair. Actually, it was more than fair. She owed them a few answer and this was the best she was going to get. So, Saniya eagerly seized her opportunity. It was hardly a question of which Avenger she would pick.

"I'll tell Bruce."

Tony scoffed. "Typical. Picking the safe choice." Pepper elbowed his side.

Natasha, in an effort to bring the argument to an end, spoke up. "I am fine with this. Everyone agrees?" The Avengers nodded. "Good. Jarvis, switch to the privacy setting." Tony swore under his breath as Jarvis followed her command. Any chance of him eavesdropping was crushed.

Clint began to walk out of the lounge area, then froze. "Marsha? I can help you find clean clothes if you want."

She shied out from behind Saniya and Thor, who hadn't bothered moving. Her eyes flickered between Clint and Saniya. Saniya didn't know Clint well, but she hoped he was a man of his word and didn't kick Marsha out while she wasn't looking. The small bob of her head was enough for Marsha. She, like a barnacle, attached herself to Clint and let him lead the way.

Saniya looked around the room. Neither was she trained to spot listening devices nor had any hope of noticing them, but she still looked. "Are you sure there aren't any bugs or stuff like that in here?"

"Tony scans the tower quite regularly," Bruce replied. "SHIELD isn't listening in."

She caught his eyes lower on her body, but he quickly jerked them back to her face. Was... Bruce checking her out?

He sat on the large couches facing the glass in which she could see the quinjet launching pad. Saniya didn't give Thor much of a choice when she guided him to the loveseat in front of the scientist. Thor was the only person she fully trusted in the tower, so she wasn't going to let him leave her side.

She set her hands on her lap and met Bruce's expecting gaze. "So… it's nothing special and is not worth all this commotion, but I can…" A brief thought passed her mind of lying about her abilities, but then she looked at Bruce. Saniya couldn't lie to him. He deserved more than that. "I can go five seconds back in time. See! Nothing super great."

Thor twisted his mouth into a contemplative frown. "You do not have the powers of the seiðr?"

"Nope."

Suddenly, Thor didn't look so sure. His forehead creased and his eyes were downcast to the floor.

Bruce readjusted his glasses. "And you were born like this?"

That question wasn't as easy to answer considering she didn't know the answer. "Maybe. It didn't really begin until five years ago," she told him.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear," he said with a placating tone, "but do you mind if I perform some tests? If you really have this—"

"No," she snapped. His eyes widened. "I just want to be left alone. Do you understand?"

The light in his eyes dulled. Bruce avoided eye contact with her, instead staring at the same spot on the floor Thor was looking at. He nodded slowly. "I understand more than anybody." His palms rubbed against his pants. "Thank you for being honest."

"I didn't have much of a choice."

His eyes met hers again. "You did, and you made the right one."

She felt a heat rise to her cheeks.

"And what about when you moved from under the agent? You moved faster than anyone I have ever seen," he added.

Saniya stilled. That… was something unexpected. Even to her. "I don't know. That never happened to me before."

Thor then said something that made her stiffen. "You are becoming more powerful. I can feel it."

Bruce pursed his lips. "You can feel it?''

The Asgardian nodded. "Yes. It was not sudden and had been building up for many days, but I do sense it. I do not know if it is a natural increase in your abilities or unnatural." Thor bent his head. "Are you certain you do not contain the power of the seiðr?"

"Yes!" Saniya bit the inside of the cheek when she saw Bruce's face. He was just as unconvinced as Thor. "Any other questions?"

Bruce stayed silent for a moment. The gears in his brain turned at a fast speed. "This might seem like a silly question, but you don't actually jump off the bridges, do you?" Saniya grinned and hid a laugh behind her hand. That was enough of an answer for him to know that he was right. Bruce somehow managed to connect the dots and was not pleased with being right. His mouth opened then closed. "Oh, wow."

"It's actually a lot of fun when you can just reverse time," Saniya confessed. "I have jumped off the balcony here several times. No big deal."

The scientists stared at her with an unreadable emotion. "No big deal," he repeated. "As your doctor, I'm going to suggest you don't do that anymore."

"No, thank you. It's fine." Thor chuckled. "I should check on Marsha. She's probably freaking out." As she stood up, she turned to Bruce. "You promise you won't tell them anything, right?"

Bruce engulfed her small hand with his larger one. His skin was so much warmer than hers. "I promise."

Pepper and Tony's floor had been under renovation for quite some time. But, as he claimed, he would rather live on a floor with an unfinished bathroom than sleep two rooms away from the 'blood lady'. Marsha just ducked her head whenever he called her that, but each time made Saniya's blood boil.

The billionaire kept Pepper away from Saniya and Marsha by either literally herding her a different direction or giving her a box to carry. Tony was in so much of a flurry that everyone knew not to argue with him; even Pepper let him do what he wanted without complaint. She kept giving Marsha and Saniya an apologetic smile that Marsha always returned. Tony chose to glare at them instead. In his eyes, they were dangerous people threatening the one he loved. Nothing anyone said would change that.

Tony offered everyone else a chance to move. Of course, it would be in smaller rooms or sharing with someone already staying in the tower, but he offered.

Steve was conflicted. Several times he picked up a cardboard box that had been brought up by Pepper's assistant, then put it back. Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor made no move to pack their stuff. Despite not moving floors, the assassins still kept a wary eye on Saniya and Marsha.

The way the Avengers were acting made Saniya angry. She had known they would treat her differently if they found out she had abilities. It was also expected that they would have a bad reaction to Marsha. She knew this back then but still kicked herself for being surprised. Somehow, she thought the defenders of the earth would be more understanding.

All this was avoidable. If only she hadn't been so curious about Christopher. When she discretely asked Marsha if she knew him, she just blinked and said no. Accusing Marsha of being a conspirator with a terrorist was ridiculous. Marsha had never even met the guy.

A part of her wish she knew that from the beginning. Nothing would have changed. She wouldn't be the most hated person in the then again, she never would have met Marsha.

Marsha giggled as Clint told another joke. She already completely trusted Natasha and Clint, despite them tricking her into SHIELD custody. Saniya didn't understand why. If she were Marsha, she wouldn't be within fifty feet of them, let alone talk to them.

Tony slammed a box on the floor of the elevator. "That's it. I'll send someone to get the rest of the stuff later," he said. "Anybody else want to join me? Sharing isn't my forte, but I suppose I will make an exception."

Natasha ran her hands through Clint's hair, leaning her body against his chest. "We're staying. Someone needs to watch her." She winked at Marsha, whose cheeks turned a bright red. Clint rolled his eyes and smacked her arm.

"Capsicle?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

"I was planning to look for apartments, anyways. I can stay for now."

He shrugged. "What 'bout you, Doc?"

Bruce glanced up from his notepad where there were notes written in another language.

"I'll stay."

Tony snapped his fingers. "Forgot to tell you, but that lab I was talking to you about is completely refurbished. New Hulk Tank and everything. Now, you can just ride the elevator up and don't have to walk past people."

Bruce shot him a shy grin. "I'll look at it later."

Tony slapped his palms on his thighs. There was no point in asking Thor if he was staying or not. "Well, finally we're getting the space you've been complaining about," he commented to Pepper.

"I wasn't the one who was complaining." Pepper turned to Marsha. "Don't feel like we're moving because of you. We've been talking about this—"

"Ah, no," Tony interrupted. "She's definitely most of the reason."

He shut his mouth when Pepper glared at him. She motioned towards the ceiling and Jarvis closed the doors, after they said their goodbyes. The elevator hummed for a couple of moments as it propelled them to their personal floor.

It only took exactly two seconds after their departure for Clint to go back to joking with Marsha and Natasha. "Thor! Come here and show her your hammer. I need it as a prop!"

Thor lifted up Mjolnir and practically skipped over to the three. Saniya rested her chin in her hands with annoyance. She sighed. There was nothing worse than sitting in silence. Her eyes found Bruce.

Startling the shy scientist, she plopped next to him on the couch.

Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "I forgive you for not telling me about Marsha right away," she said. She let her head fall backwards. "Wow, that kind of sounded self-centered since you don't even seem sorry about it."

He nodded with a small smile, but his eyebrows drew together. He probably didn't even know she was still mad in the first place. "Sounded like something Tony would say."

She turned her head just enough to watch his face. Her neck rested against the back of the couch. "I meant that I'm not mad at you about it anymore. You're sort of helping me out by not telling the Avengers what I can do, and it doesn't feel right to stay angry at you."

"It's nice to be on good terms with you, again." Bruce opened his notepad and effectively shut her out. Saniya frowned and scooted closer to him.

"What language is that? Hindi, right?" She leaned over his shoulder to have a better look at what he had written.

He paused mid-character. "Yes. A mix of it and Bengali." Bruce brought his pen back to the notebook.

Saniya watched him write smoothly across the paper. There was hardly any hesitation after he wrote word after word. It was as natural to him as it was for her to write English. She sat, transfixed at the smooth movement of his hand for an embarrassing amount of time.

The words were familiar to her. Her parents had never gotten around to teaching her the language. They were always busy with work and life in general to teach her much about their homeland. But, she did remember her parents writing notes in Hindi. Sometimes she'd just stare at them and beg them to tell her what a word meant.

"What are you writing about?" she asked.

Bruce's hand stilled. "Tony has been having some ideas for inventions and I'm recording my thoughts."

She rested her cheek by his shoulder, not quite touching. "Are they stupid ideas?" Because of the way he was acting to Marsha, she really wanted to hear some dirt.

He cleared his throat to hide a laugh. "Some of them, yes. He's been thinking about placing a waste disposal in one of his suits. Of course, there are a number of problems, mainly sanitation and where the fecal matter goes after... you know. He wants me to come up with a way around that."

Natasha, appearing out of nowhere, rested her hands next to Saniya's head. "If you figure it out, he'll never take the suit off."

"That's exactly why I don't want to help him. He wears them too much already."

Saniya tapped his shin with her bare foot. "Then why are you? Just tell him no."

Bruce frowned. He dropped his head back down to look at his notepad. "It's not that simple to say no to Tony."

It also didn't help that he was a huge pushover. Bruce caved in to the littlest of things when she asked him to the past few days. Saniya assumed he was like that with everyone.

Natasha smirked and shifted her body towards her. "I see you're still wearing the suit I loaned you," she said to Saniya.

She nodded. "Yeah, it makes me feel hot, so I'm wearing it for as long as I can." Bruce turned his head slightly then forced himself to look back at his notebook.

The expression on Natasha's face made her stomach crawl. "So, you're going to still wear it when the Director of SHIELD comes to talk to you?"

Saniya shrugged. "I mean, it makes me feel confident and hell yeah—" Her heart stopped for a fraction of a second. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait. The Director of SHIELD?"

Natasha straightened her back. "Yes. He's been wanting to speak with you for a while."

There was a moment where her mind absorbed the information, then the next she was on her feet and pacing. "Oh shit. Oh crap!" Saniya balled a hand in her hair. "You're lying to me. You have to be."

Bruce watched her carefully. "I don't believe she is, Saniya."

She stopped. "You think so?" Bruce nodded. Saniya groaned then continued her pacing.

A number of different thoughts rushed through her head. One of them being that she was going to yell at the Director for keeping the Avengers out of the public eye. That was on the top of her priority list. Also at the top was to appear as normal as possible. She was only an innocent waitress. Nothing more, nothing less.

"So," she began, "let's assume you're telling the truth, when do you think he will arrive?"

Just as Natasha was opening her mouth, Jarvis interrupted.

"Ms. Ramakrishna, Director Fury is en route to this floor. He requests to meet with you alone."

Clint rocked on the back legs of the chair, balancing at a perfect angle. "Welp, his requests should be taken like orders. Doesn't Cap have a doctor's appointment today for his arm?"

Steve furrowed his brow. His good hand rested on his cast. "Yes, but it's not until six."

"Then we will move it up a few hours and go together. Team building, plus Marsha!"

A pang of fear overrode her senses as the Avengers and her sister moved towards the elevator. Just seconds ago she was feeling like she could kick this Director Fury's butt with good arguments and sassy comments. But now, without any sort of backup, she felt as intimidating as a field mouse. She couldn't be brave if she was standing alone.

Her heart jumped as Clint pressed the down button. "You guys aren't really going to leave me here at SHIELD's mercy, are you?" she asked nervously.

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Don't look so scared, котёнок, he just wants to talk."

"Yeah, talk then slit my throat!" she exclaimed.

Thor stepped towards her, but Natasha held out her arm to stop him. "He's not going to hurt her."

Marsha's tense body uncoiled at those words. She took them to heart immediately while Saniya found it difficult to believe the slightest.

They stepped into the elevator. As a last ditch effort, she whined Bruce's name. If anyone would cave in, it would be him, as bad as it sounded. But, apparently Bruce did have a backbone. "We wouldn't leave you here if we thought anything bad would happen to you," he assured.

And, with that and a command to Jarvis to allow Marsha access to the medical bay, they were gone.

"How long do I have until he's here?"

"Approximately ten seconds."

She resisted the urge to jump off the balcony. "Can you please give me access to the lobby so that I can escape?"

"I cannot do that," Jarvis replied.

There was only one option, and that was to stand her ground. Well, actually there were two: standing her ground or hiding underneath a bed, but she was certain Jarvis would rat her out. So, she was forced to not look scared out of her mind and instead appear confident. The leather suit helped with that. It was quite empowering to wear.

She readjusted the bra-vest and straightened her back. Even if she didn't feel unstoppable, she was going to act like it.

All these thoughts almost disappeared when she laid eyes on Director Fury for the first time.

He wore a long, black trench coat that wrapped around his body in the same way dark mist wraps around villians. The scowl on his face sent a shiver down her spine. Despite one eye being covered by an eyepatch, his glare paralyzed her.

An agent, much smaller in stature, stood behind him. She wore a black hijab over her head, not a single hair out of place. The woman was dressed in secretary-like clothing, a skirt, and a purple blouse. Despite the non-agent attire, she still looked like one. She stood just like Natasha. In her hands were thick packets of paper and an ink pad.

"You've caused some problems for me," Fury said. He walked further in the room with the agent right at his heels. "I hope that after today you won't cause any more."

Saniya resisted the urge to rock on her heels. "No promises." She pointed at the mystery woman. "Who's that?"

The woman lifted her chin. "My name is Agent Musa. I will serve as witness."

She took a step backwards. Her tough facade crumbled. "To my murder?" she squeaked.

Agent Musa tilted her head. "No. To the signing of these documents."

Fury lounged on the couch with his hands behind his head. The agent sat next to him and spread the documents across the coffee table. Saniya, at a loss of what she should be doing, stood awkwardly in front of them.

The director stared at her with his one eye. "Agent Romanoff has quite a bit to say about you." He held out his hand and Agent Musa handed him a piece of paper.

Saniya blanched. "She's lying," she accused.

His eyebrows rose. "You don't even know what she said and you're accusing her of lying?" Agent Musa smothered a smile. Fury skimmed the piece of paper. "Agent Romanoff is a trusted agent. Everything she says will be taken at a higher value than your word, remember that."

He flipped the page.

"She compliments you in here, which is surprising," Fury examined her as if trying to figure out what exactly Natasha saw that was worth complimenting. "She recommends no disciplinary action for attacking Agent Klemmer and releasing a dangerous prisoner. I have half a mind to agree with her. She brings up several good points."

Saniya sighed, wondering when Natasha had time to write a whole packet about her. "This is the point where you blackmail me or something."

Fury gave her a dark chuckle. "Or something. Agent Musa, the report. Main points, please."

"'Saniya Ramakrishna exhibits several skills that may benefit SHIELD or other allies. Through observation, I am certain she possesses abilities beyond the normal human capacity that may be used to SHIELD's advantage.'" Agent Musa cleared her throat. "While she shows a substantial weakness in environment observation and exhibits moments of aggressive behavior, passive and active (see Dorie E. Hughes, Robert B. Banner, and Judith S. Klemmer), she demonstraits specific traits for a retrieval specialist. It is not recommended she works with live targets or involved in deep undercover work.'"

She frowned at the onslaught of words that meant nothing to her. Nowhere in there was the compliment Directory Fury promised. But, the cat was out of the bag since Natasha mentioned abilities. SHIELD had to at least suspect something if Natasha hadn't already told them everything.

"What traits are needed to be a retrieval specialist?"

Agent Musa brushed a piece of hair behind the fabric of her hijab. "They must be able to judge risk and be able to get themselves out of... sticky situations. They are responsible for important data and cannot be killed or captured at any cost."

"In short," Fury added, "you can't have a hero complex like Captain Rogers and spend all your time saving helpless citizens during a mission."

Saniya frowned. "Well, I refuse to become a retrieval specialist, so your time was wasted. Sorry."

He narrowed his eyes. "You do not have a choice in this matter." Agent Musa pushed forward a packet that looked like a contract. One page said 'confidentiality agreement' and the other was labeled 'employee application'. "You were told about the Battle of New York. We never intended to let you go in the first place. You're too close to Thor for us to let you roam free."

She covered her face with her hands. "Why do I have a feeling that Natasha was planning this out from the first moment she met me?" Saniya muttered under her breath.

Fury regarded her with a cold stare. "Mr. Stark refused to sign right away as well. Will you sign this willingly, or shall I use other methods to make you cooperate?"

She uncovered her face and balled her fists. "I'm not going to ruin my life and work for you guys. I'm not signing."

"Even if I threaten to take Ms. Elliot back?" Saniya's resolve faltered. "We have a large number of doctors excited to examine her. They'll be pleased to get their test subject back."

A part of her immediately wanted to say she would sign, but then she remembered all the things SHIELD had done. They had kidnapped and imprisoned her sister. Not to mention they almost killed Saniya with the truck and had murdered Christopher. And if they were keeping up their streak, Fury most likely sent Agent Klemmer to her on purpose. Joining them would only increase the secrecy, the deception. Not to mention, chances were that she would die on the job than of old age. Saniya wasn't willing to live that sort of life for her.

She cared for Marsha, but not enough to make her live that sort of hell.

"Like you said, I don't have a hero complex like Captain Rogers. No."

Fury's eye widened with momentary surprise, but it was quickly covered. The Director did not come with only one threat in his pocket. "What about you? What if I were to take you back against your will? I can easily bring both of you back to the helicarrier and never let you see the sun again. It is within my power."

His threat rattled her rib cage. The beats of her heart threatened to be as loud as a bass drum.

"Thor would never let you," she argued, lacking the confidence it held before.

Director Fury opened his palms. "He will if Jane Foster is in our custody."

Jane Foster. Great. There was no way she could compete with the love of Thor's life.

Saniya forced herself to look closer at the packets. "If I say yes, there will be no experiments on me?"

"Correct."

"Will I be free to live my own life?"

"To an extent. You will need to be able to leave on a mission at any given notice. SHIELD will take highest priority," he explained. "Agent Musa will be your handler. You will report to her on your training progress."

Her lips curled downward. "Training? Who will be training me?"

Fury shifted through the papers until he came to the right one. "Normally it would be the one who wrote the recommendation, but Agent Romanoff refuses to train any new recruits. Agent Barton will train you every once in a while, however, Agent Musa is prepared to take over at any moment."

Her breakfast threatened to spew from her mouth in a tidal wave of nausea. She could not be put in a cell. That wasn't something she ever wanted to experience. Impending death or imprisonment for life; the ultimate choice. Neither were good and both made her want to crawl in a hole.

In an attempt to salvage whatever pride she had left, she straightened her back and lifted her chin. "I'll sign, but I will read through everything and argue about anything I don't like."

Agent Musa and Director Fury shared a look, then he rolled his eyes. She handed Saniya the employee application.

"I want that brought to my desk the first thing tomorrow morning." There was no room for discussion.

Fury pushed forward the confidentiality agreement with his pointer finger. "And this needs to be signed now. It guarantees you won't release any information of the Avengers or the Battle of New York to any unauthorized individuals."

Saniya huffed, all her anger returning to her. She swatted the packet of papers back. "There's no way I'm ever signing that. The public needs to know about the Avengers. Keeping everyone in the dark is the stupidest—"

"Miss Ramakrishna," Fury loudly interrupted. She cringed under his gaze. His voice reminded her of Thor's, just as loud but without the kindness. "You seem to have forgotten who I am. I am the Director of SHIELD. If you think that I will sit here and listen to you ramble on about what is right and what is wrong, then you are very mistaken."

Agent Musa gestured towards the contract. "I suggest you sign without further complaint."

God, she hated SHIELD. As much as she wanted to press the issue, Saniya did have a sense of self-preservation. So, instead of following through with her rant, she forced her mouth closed.

Agent Musa flipped to the page where she needed to sign. Saniya couldn't watch herself signing her name, so she closed her eyes as she did so. Fury sighed, but she was signing the stupid contract, so why would he say anything?

The agent wrote her name on the witness signature line. She opened the ink pads and flipped the page. Without so much as asking for permission to touch her like Bruce did, she grabbed Saniya's thumb and marked her thumbprint, followed by the rest of her fingers.

She gulped, closing in on herself. "Can you leave now?"

Agent Musa gathered the papers. "Thank you for your cooperation." Saniya mocked her with a high pitched voice under her breath. Unfortunately, Agent Musa heard her. The agent turned her head as she pressed the elevator button. "It could have gone much worse. Be thankful for that."

"Wise words, Agent Musa." Fury gave Saniya a pointed look. "Tomorrow morning."

Saniya screamed into her pillow for the millionth time while Thor watched. He rubbed her shoulders as she released her frustrations.

She flopped on her back. "I hate him!"

"You have made your feelings for him quite clear."

Her hands hit her face. "He belittled me. I couldn't even yell at him for making the Avengers some giant secret." Thor removed her hands from her face. "Why was he so hard to stand up to?"

He shifted his weight, making the bed creak. The piece of furniture threatened to collapse under his weight. "He is an intimidating man. There is no shame in losing a battle to someone such as him."

"There is when the battle is what is going to happen for the rest of my life!" She smacked herself in the face with the employee application. "I'm pathetic," she hissed into the paper. "I could have at least fought harder or something. Maybe I should have hit him."

He tsked her. "I have full faith that you made the right decision." Thor took away the employee application she began hitting herself with and set it on the bedside table.

"You weren't even there!" she exclaimed. The pillow landed back on her face. It was like a rubber band snapping: sudden and took her by surprise. Her yells of hate turned to cries. Warm tears soaked into the pillow. "I-I don't w-want to work for him."

Thor lifted her into a bone-crushing hug. She sniffled into his shirt collar. "I do not know how to help you, Lady Saniya."

The tears soaked into the fabric of his shirt. "D-Don't worry about it, Thor. I'm just being a dramatic child. More dramatic than usual." She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It's my parents all over again, except in the form of an organization that can k-kill me. They're taking over my life and it feels sucky."

His arms tightened around her. "I will not let them kill you. No friend of mine will be harmed if I can help it," Thor promised. "SHIELD has a noble side. I'm sure you will no longer be afraid when you see it."

She pulled out of the hug. The tears, what was once a waterfall, was now a small trickle. Thor had to know how much he meant to her. She had to tell him. He was an angel for putting up with her. Even she was getting annoyed with herself, and for him to stay by her side for so long deserved an award.

"Have I ever told you that you're my best friend?" Her bottom lip trembled.

He grinned. "You are one of my greatest of friends, also, Lady Saniya."

Saniya hit his arm lightly. "One of the greatest? I'm not the best?"

"I have many friends," he joked, "it would be considered rude to have a favorite."

A small giggle escaped through her tears. "Just like a parent choosing their favorite child, huh?"

Saniya's eyes fell to the application. Suddenly, she felt twenty-two again: rebellious and fighting to become independent. She picked it up and slammed it in the trash bin on the other side of the room. Saniya would pick it out again in the morning, but it was the principle that made it satisfying.

This was her life now, but that didn't mean she had to accept it right away.