5

Midnight's Shadow blinked opened her blue eyes. When had she fallen asleep? Tilting her head forward, the dark haired woman's hand reached up to massage the back of her neck. Apparently falling asleep with her head leaning back against the seat didn't agree with it. Bringing her hand down to her eyes, Midnight's Shadow rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When she had finished, she knitted her fingers together and stretched her arms. With a contented sigh, Midnight's Shadow let her hands fall back into her lap as she looked around the plane.

She wasn't sure how long they had been on the plane, but it must have been a while considering everyone else's appearance. Heavy Duty sat strapped into his seat, his arms crossed across his broad chest, and his eyes closed. It appeared as if had taken Midnight's Shadow's idea and fallen asleep in his seat. The young woman could even hear him snoring, barely audible over the dull roar of the plane's engine.

Breaker was leaned back, settled into his seat. He had put on a pair of glasses and was looking down at the screen of a small device. Midnight's Shadow wasn't sure what it was, but it was about the size of a large phone. A long cord attached to the bottom of the device led up to ear buds that were tucked into his ears. The Moroccan's eyes were fixated upon the screen.

Scarlett still sat next to Midnight's Shadow. An iPod rested in her lap, ear buds set into her ears. The red haired woman tapped her foot to the beat of the song currently playing, her head nodding slightly to the music. Her lips moved almost imperceptibly, mouthing the words of the song.

Lastly, there was Snake Eyes. The black clad ninja still sat directly across from her. His arms were crossed across his chest. His head was tilted slightly forward, his visor looking down. Midnight's Shadow wondered to herself if he was actually asleep, the same as Heavy Duty. As if he had heard her thought, Snake Eyes looked up. She could feel him looking at her, even though she couldn't see his eyes. He just sat there, staring at her. Midnight's Shadow wasn't sure why he was staring, why he didn't say something. So she simply stared back, refusing to be the first to look away. This only seemed to intrigue Snake Eyes as he cocked his head slightly to the side, as if he was trying to figure her out.

Beside her, Midnight's Shadow heard Scarlett give a breathy laugh. "I see you two are entertaining yourselves," she commented, a smile evident in her voice.

The dark haired woman glanced over at Scarlett for a brief moment before looking back at the ninja. She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, and returned her steady gaze to the man before her. "There's not much else to do," she answered bluntly. She nodded towards the ninja. "Come on, Snake Eyes. You have any ideas of how to occupy our time?" the dark haired woman asked, a small smile on her face.

"Umm…" Midnight's Shadow turned to look at Scarlett. She had pulled out of the ear buds and held them in her hand. "He doesn't speak."

Surprise crossed the dark haired woman's face as she looked from the red head to the ninja and back again. He doesn't speak? So that was why he hadn't said anything to her since they met. "Why doesn't he speak?"

Scarlett shrugged as her gaze shifted to Snake Eyes. "I don't know. It's not like he can tell us," she said.

Midnight's Shadow looked back to the ninja. Snake Eyes just stared back, his head still cocked slightly to the side. She felt her mind wandering as she looked at him, wondering why he didn't, or couldn't, speak. Did it also have to do with why his entire body was covered in that armor? He hadn't taken it off like the others had. It only seemed to add to the mystery of the ninja. Though, Midnight's Shadow was a mystery to herself, so what did it matter?

Scarlett gripped her discarded ear bud and offered it to Midnight's Shadow. "Do you want to listen?" she asked, indicating her iPod.

The dark haired woman hesitated as she stared down at the small device in the other woman's hand. Her blue eyes flicked back up to hers. "I don't think so…I mean, I don't even know what I like…"

She could almost see the light bulb turn on in Scarlett's head as an apologetic smile instantly appeared on her face. "Right. No memory. Sorry."

Midnight's Shadow smiled back. "It's alright. In a way, I'm still coming to terms with it myself."

Scarlett nodded understandingly. "So, you really don't remember anything?" she asked, looking at her sideways.

It was her turn to nod. "Nope. Nothing. Not singers, bands, songs, or albums. It's all a blank slate."

The red haired woman offered the ear bud once again. "Are you sure you don't want to listen? You could find some songs that you like. With enough luck, you may even recognize some of them and it will jog your memory a little."

"It's fine. I'd rather not. I don't want to get my hopes up only to be disappointed when I don't remember anything," Midnight's Shadow explained.

Scarlett withdrew her hand. "I understand. So, I've been meaning to ask you, what do you remember about your imprisonment with those terrorists?" Midnight's Shadow bit her lower lip nervously and averted her gaze, choosing to focus on her hands in her lap. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

"No," the dark haired woman held up a hand as if to ward away her words. "It's alright. I don't mind talking about it." Midnight's Shadow took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I awoke in my room with no memory, as I have told you. I was kept there for who knows how long. Maybe a day or two. It was hard to keep track of how much time had passed, exactly. There were no windows. The few times that I left my room, I was escorted- and that was only twice. Once to meet the Doctor and the other to…" Midnight's Shadow paused for a moment as she recalled the memory, "assess my fighting skill."

Scarlett nodded as she talked. When she had finished, the red haired woman leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what can you tell us about this Doctor? What does he look like?" she inquired.

The dark haired woman shrugged. "He…" Midnight's Shadow inwardly cringed as an image of the Doctor arose in her mind. With it, it brought that feeling of utter dread and fear that she had felt upon their first, and hopefully last, encounter. "He has a mask over the lower part of his face. It looked like it could be used for breathing or something like it. He had long black hair and pale skin. He also had a really deep voice, kind of raspy too. Umm…." The young woman closed her eyes as she tried to, much to her distaste, remember him better. "The only other thing I can recall is that he had a monocle."

"Alright. So then do you think when we get back to base that you could help construct some sort of sketch of what he looks like?" Scarlett asked, looking at her sideways.

"Sure, I guess. If it'll help you find him. It certainly isn't a face that I will ever forget," Midnight's Shadow commented dryly. She directed her gaze forward and, once again, found herself in a staring contest with Snake Eyes, who had also been listening to what she had to say.

"Did you ever find out what he wanted with you? Like what happened that one time you were taken to see him?" The red head asked.

Midnight's Shadow sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned back slowly until her back met the seat once more, never taking her gaze away from the black clad ninja before her. "Well, he strapped me to a chair, gave me a shot to knock me out, and then left the room. While he was gone, I managed to escape from the restraints and took off down the halls looking for an exit. I never found one. Not even a window. But, there were plenty of guards. It was during this time that I first discovered my ability to fight." She paused for a moment before continuing. "The escape was short lived. Eventually, the drug that the Doctor gave me kicked in and knocked me out. When I awoke, I was back in my cell."

"So he didn't say anything to you while he was administering the drug?"

The dark haired woman shook her head. "No. At least, nothing important."

Scarlett nodded her head. "Okay…what about your fighting skill? I'm a little unsure of how you could know how to fight even though you have no memory."

Midnight's Shadow scoffed. 'You're not the only one' is what she wanted to say, but she didn't. She couldn't entirely explain why she hadn't told them about Storm Shadow yet. Did she feel some sort of obligation to protect him? She wasn't sure she had any reason to do that, especially since he was one of the people holding her captive. Or, perhaps it was because of a certain other ninja sitting across from her. Something inside her just told her not to mention him. At least, not yet. "I'm not entirely sure how I did it either. It just happens. Like instinct. When someone gets too close, it's like my body interprets it automatically as a threat and merely reacts. Before I know what's happening, they're on the ground, either dead or unconscious. I don't know how else to explain it."

"Sometimes, the body has a memory of its own. It doesn't forget what it's learned. What I would really like to know is where you learned to fight. Not to mention, why those terrorists had you imprisoned."

"You and me both," Midnight's Shadow answered with a dry tone. "But it seems like these questions will not be answered immediately."

"I know." Scarlett was silent for a moment, her blue gaze directed to her iPod, still clutched in her one hand, before returning to the woman next to her. "What about this place where you were being held? Is there any information you can give us on it?"

Midnight's Shadow considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "Not really. Like I said, there were no windows. I didn't even find a door that looked like it led to an exit."

"Alright. What about the interior. Anything specific about it?"

Once again, the dark haired woman considered it. "It was rather plain. The walls were white and there was metal floors. And now that I think about it, it was also really cold. I thought they were just being cheapskates on their heating bill," Midnight's Shadow told her.

"Not quite. Maybe that could give us a clue to their location," Scarlett said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Now you know they weren't keeping me somewhere tropical," the dark haired woman answered with a small smile.

"That it does. What about when you were being transferred to another facility? Did they say why they were moving you or anything like that?" Scarlett asked.

"I was told that the Doctor needed a particular piece of equipment to examine me. It was located at that facility. They never told me what it was, though, and I wasn't inclined to ask," Midnight's Shadow responded. She directed her gaze down for a moment as she looked at her hands, knitted together in her lap, before returning her gaze to the other woman. "Do you mind if we give the questions a rest for a while? I just feel that every question I answer now will only be asked once more once we reach your base."

"Of course. I understand." The redhead swiped her thumb across the screen of her iPod. "We're there anyways." She took her ear buds and began to wrap them around the small device.

Midnight's Shadow was just about to open her mouth to ask what she meant when she felt the plane begin to slow down. Her hands gripped the sides of seat for some semblance of stability. Breaker had taken off his ear buds and put it in his duffel bag. Heavy Duty had awoken from his nap, keeping his arms across his chest as he waited for the plane to land. Snake Eyes, as silent as usual, kept his arms similarly crossed over his chest with his gaze directed downward.

The plane slowed to a stop, hovering in midair. A moment later, it began to descend down to the earth below. To be perfectly honest, Midnight's Shadow felt a little relieved at the thought of getting out of the plane. She didn't like feeling trapped in here. There were no windows, which only served to make it feel like her cell back in the terrorist base.

After a moment of decent, the plane landed with a dull thud upon solid ground. Heavy was the first to his feet, grabbing his own duffel bag from under his seat and slinging it over his broad shoulder. He moved down the aisle, careful to avoid stepping on anyone's foot, and made his way over to the door. With the press of a button on keypad, the door slid open. Without a backwards glance, the British man walked through the opening and disappeared from sight.

Midnight's Shadow looked to the others, unsure of what to do. They were all rising from their seats, each taking their own duffel bag from beneath their seats and slinging them over their shoulders. The dark haired woman stood, still not sure what she was supposed to do. Snake Eyes moved to the side, to allow her room to stand. The dark haired woman glanced at the ninja, wondering not for the first time what he was thinking. Snake Eyes simply looked at her, not taking his gaze away. Midnight's Shadow wished she could see his face, or even his eyes- anything that would give her even a clue as to what he was thinking or what he was feeling when he looked at her.

Mentally, Midnight's Shadow shook her head. What did it matter what Snake Eyes thought of her? She was just probably a little on edge due to not knowing hardly anything about this ninja- not even what expression was on his face at that exact moment. She had no facial clues to give her an idea of what he planned to do next. It was rather unsettling.

A little more gently than he had before, but still with a degree of firmness, Snake Eyes took ahold of Midnight's Shadow's arm. This time, she chose not to fight it. But that didn't stop her from throwing an irritated glare at the ninja, who once again pretended not to notice. Scarlett looked over her shoulder and smiled when she caught sight of the two of them. This only caused Midnight's Shadow's expression to deepen into a scowl.

Then, following Scarlett, Midnight's Shadow walked out of the plane with a certain black clad ninja hot on her heels.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this story! I started another fanfic and was really into it. I found a natural stopping point for the moment, so I'm going to try and focus a little more on this story. Thank you, Karin, for always reviewing my story. It really means a lot!

As always, please give me some reviews to let me know what you think!