4
Midnight's Shadow was not entirely sure how long she slept. All she knew was that it was not long enough. She was stirred awake to the sound of her cell door opening. Her eyes snapped open and looked towards the door just in time to see Storm Shadow stride through carrying a small bag.
Without a word, the white ninja dropped the bag on the floor near the entrance with a dull thud. Not taking his eyes off of her, Storm Shadow swiftly walked across the threshold of the room to the small bed in which Midnight's Shadow lay. Bending down, the ninja made quick work of the restraints that held her down. When he was finished, he turned and went over to the bag.
The dark haired woman raised herself slowly into a sitting position, her eyes wary as they watched Storm Shadow. She rubbed her wrists where the restraints had come into contact with her slit wrists. Slinging her legs over the side of the small bed, Midnight's Shadow's bare feet touched the cool metal floor. She wondered once again where this facility was located that it always felt so cold. Or perhaps they just didn't turn on the heat as much in this facility. The dark haired woman stretched her back, careful to avoid aggravating her bruised stomach. Sleeping in only one position all night, or however long it was that she had slept, had made her entire body ache.
Storm Shadow retrieved the discarded bag by the door. Instead of walking back to her, the white ninja simply turned and threw it at her roughly.
Midnight's Shadow grabbed the bag, which was nothing more than a simple tan, leather shoulder bag, and clutched it to her chest like it was a lifeline. She looked at the ninja questioningly. "What is this?"
"Your clothes," he answered. He turned around, not seeing the look of surprise that flashed across her face. "Get changed. We leave soon."
The young woman watched as the white ninja strode through the door and disappeared from sight as it closed behind him. Her blue eyes strayed back to the bag now clutched tightly in her arms. Opening the flap, Midnight's Shadow began to slowly draw out the bag's contents and set them on the bed next to her. Once she was finished, she stood and examined them. The clothes consisted of dark skinny jeans, knee high black boots, a pair of socks, a v-neck long sleeve dark navy blue shirt, and a black hooded jacket.
The last object lay splayed out on top of the clothing. It was a necklace. It consisted of nothing more than a long piece of black string. At the end of this string were two metal charms. One was in the shape of a crescent moon and the other was shaped like a sun. The necklace was so simple looking. Anyone could have made it by just visiting a craft store. Someone like Midnight's Shadow perhaps?
Clearing her thoughts of questions, which was continually getting harder, the young woman began to undress. Apparently the people of this facility had given her something new to wear during her stay: a plain white t-shirt and white pants that were strikingly similar to pajama pants. Midnight's Shadow dressed quickly in case Storm Shadow grew impatient and walked in.
It was a good thing she had hurried because her prediction turned out to be right. Just as Midnight's Shadow had finished zipping up the side of her boot, the door swung open once more to admit the white ninja. "What is taking so long?" he asked with barely contained annoyance.
"Just putting on the damn clothes that you gave me. Have some patience," she snapped at him. She saw the look of black rage cross his face, the one that she thought she had imagined before. Her heart leaped in fear. She thought he was going to kill her. To hide her fear, she turned and reached onto the bed and put on the last content of the bag: the necklace. Once she was finished, she turned to face the white ninja. She was relieved to see that his expression had returned to its typical bored one. "Shall we?"
Without saying a word, Storm Shadow strode forward and roughly grabbed her arm. He paused for a moment, looking behind her towards the bed. His almond eyes sought hers. "You don't wish to keep the bag?" he asked with a slight smile.
"I didn't realize it was apart of the outfit you picked out for me," she responded icily, scowling at him. "Nice touch with the necklace by the way."
Storm Shadow let out a low chuckle.
"What is so funny?" Midnight's Shadow growled at him.
The white ninja released her arm and took a step back. He gestured to her clothes. "You picked out these clothes. This is the same exact outfit you came to us in," he told her with a small smile playing on his lips.
Midnight's Shadow couldn't keep the surprise from her face. "These…these are mine?" she asked slowly. Her blue eyes strayed down to her clothes, as if they suddenly contained new information on her forgotten past.
Storm Shadow nodded. "The bag, too." The white ninja strode around the black haired woman, grabbed the shoulder bag off the bed, and walked back to stand before her. Midnight's Shadow stiffened in surprise when the ninja slung the strap over her head so that the bag rested securely on her hip. His dark almond eyes regarded her shocked expression silently for a moment before he once again grasped her arm and led her out into the hall.
As he had done the other times, Storm Shadow led her through a maze of corridors and hallways, never doubting his path for a second. He had definitely learned from his past experience to shorten his long strides so that Midnight's Shadow could keep up more easily. This time though, she didn't notice. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
She couldn't seem to make sense of Storm Shadow. He seemed to be the only one that tended to her-bringing her in and out of her cell. He was the only one she had contact with, besides the Doctor. Midnight's Shadow forced down a shiver before she continued in her thoughts. When she had escaped from her cell, he was the one to stop her. There was also when the white ninja had taken her out of her cell to fight her one on one. He had said it had been out of curiosity, but she didn't buy it. So as all of this was added up, what did mean?
Midnight's Shadow's blue eyes strayed to the white ninja, who remained focused on where he was going. She had no idea what the motives of Storm Shadow were and what his interest in her was. Not to mention the Doctor, but she'd rather not think about that right now.
Storm Shadow led them to a large door. He brought her forward with her and typed in a code into a panel next to it. She tried to catch what he put in, but his hand blocked most of what he put in. Besides, his hand moved too fast for her to catch any of it. When he was finished, he stepped back slightly, bringing Midnight's Shadow with him.
A second later, the door opened into a massive hanger. Assorted jets, helicopters, planes, and assault vehicles sat parked on the hard pavement. Heavily armed soldiers patrolled every inch of the hanger, large gun clutched in their hands at the ready.
Midnight's Shadow was momentarily struck by a gust of freezing wind as the door opened. She bent over slightly, her hands instantly on her arms as she tried to warm herself by repeatedly rubbing them. Not caring about her cold state, Storm Shadow jerked her alongside him as he began to stride across the hanger. Recovering from the initial shock of the cold, Midnight's Shadow straightened and looked to see where they were going.
Gathered in the middle of the hanger was a large group of soldiers, all heavily armed like the soldiers patrolling the area. They were all clad in dark armor that looked like it was bulletproof. They even wore masks to hide their faces. They were all gathered at the end of a massive cargo plane. When they noticed Storm Shadow approaching, they wordlessly turned and began to file onto the plane.
Storm Shadow followed them up, dragging Midnight's Shadow up with him. He led her to a small seat, slightly separate from the soldiers, and sat her down. His fingers moved quickly as he fastened a tight harness around her body, securing her down. Once he was finished, he gingerly reached into his pockets and grabbed something. When his hand exited his pocket, it came out clutching a syringe.
Midnight's Shadow's eyes became wild. "No! No more needles!" she said, her voice pleading. She tried to move away from him, but the harness held her in place.
"Can't be helped." Storm Shadow moved the needle towards a distressed Midnight's Shadow. When he was close enough, he plunged the syringe into the skin around the inside of her elbow, right where she had gotten so many other injections.
The difference with the contents of this needle and the one that the Doctor gave to her before was that this worked instantaneously. In mere seconds, the dark haired woman found it difficult to keep her eyelids from dropping. She was barely conscious of Storm Shadow putting the syringe back into his pocket. He disappeared from her already blurred vision for a moment before coming back. He took a seat next to Midnight's Shadow and started to fasten himself in. She was vaguely aware of his shoulder coming into contact with her own. She could feel herself slowly sagging further into her seat. She did her best to fight it, but to no avail. Eventually, she gave into the darkness encroaching about the edges of her vision. Within another few seconds, Midnight's Shadow was unconscious.
The dull roar was the first thing that Midnight's Shadow heard. She quickly realized that it belonged to the engine of the plane. She slowly came out of her groggy state, fighting through the after effects of the contents within the syringe. As the plane jostled, she became more aware that she was slumped over in her seat. Not only that, her head was resting on something.
Slowly, Midnight's Shadow inclined her head only to find herself staring into the mildly amused face of Storm Shadow. Immediately, she sat bolt upright, roughly slamming her shoulder into his as she quickly rose. This only caused the white ninja's smile broaden slightly. "I didn't want to wake you," he said simply.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should have," she snapped. She reached up and pulled the ponytail out of her hair, letting her messy, long black locks fall down around her shoulders.
"You should not be so angry all the time. You'll wear yourself out," he commented dryly.
"Do as I say, not as I do, right?" she replied with an insulting smile.
The white ninja's smile faded slightly but remained on his face. "If you are this insulting to the Doctor during your upcoming examination, it will not end well for you. I was only trying to help."
Midnight's Shadow directed her hard blue eyes directly in front her, which just consisted of a few empty seats opposite her. "I don't need your help."
"Clearly you do," was all he said in response. He reached into the pocket of his white suit and produced a throwing star. He spun it in his fingers, the shine of the metal catching the light.
The dark haired woman shifted her eyes to this new distraction. "Bored, are we?" she asked him with a slight smile.
"Yes, well, you are not exactly the best form of conversation or entertainment," he answered bluntly.
Midnight's Shadow rolled her eyes, but continued to watch the movement of the throwing star as the ninja twirled it expertly in between his fingers in complicated maneuvers.
Suddenly, the dark haired woman felt the plane shift direction. It was descending. "We're there?" she asked, a slight waiver to her voice.
"Almost. Once we land, we drive the rest of the way. Flying in will draw too much attention," he told her. His dark eyes shifted to find her own blue ones. "The Doctor is already there waiting eagerly for your arrival."