Revamped!

[I'm currently pissed because I was supposed to be going on vacation but now we're not going due to some reason that I find to be stupid. Well, it's probably not a stupid reason but I'm just being passive-aggressive and salty towards it]. [2020: I have no memory of any of those details, but the feeling is the same again].


Chapter 41: Mind Over Muscle

SHIELD Headquarters - 8:44 AM

She hates the stupid parole bracelet for two main reasons: it kept on causing her to stick to the wall for every entry she wasn't allowed to go through (even if it was just meant to be a silly shortcut or she accidentally got lost in this labyrinth of an institution) and it wouldn't match any outfit in her closet. She makes a mental note to tamper with it when she gets the chance. It shouldn't be that hard to modify.

She thought she'd have more privilege as a correspondent.

After being accepted by SHIELD and their long interrogation, Emily walks around the place in search of her friends. The agents who pass her give her looks - not the judgmental kind or the kind that loves her shoes, but the looks that show recognition. Emily has a feeling that they know her not only as Tony Stark's daughter but the sixth member to show up for Project: New Generation and the inventor of a handful of their new gadgets. It's a look that Emily has never seen before today and she loves it. If anyone were to ask for a photograph or an autograph, she would do it.

After asking and being told where some of her friends are, Emily heads to the training section of SHIELD Headquarters. Even with the directions, she still gets lost and ends up in the viewing section of the training rooms. Emily looks down, like a practising doctor watching a surgery. She sees Xavier, Angela, and Merida sparring with one another.

Everything happening down there too fast for Emily's eyes to keep up with. The punches and attacks she sees all look so real but she knows that they're only sparring. Suddenly, she sees Merida with her back to the twins and suddenly stops fighting as well. Merida stands up straight and slowly turns around to face Angela and Xavier, her chin covered in blood from a split lip. That gets Emily thinking that maybe she is watching a surgery take place.

Merida looks up from her bloody hands and her eyes land on Xavier and Angela, unsure of which one of them did this but she doesn't care. Even the twins aren't a hundred percent sure which one of them caused the bleeding. The only reason Merida even froze for a bit is that out of all things, ironically, she's scared of blood.

"I need a break," Merida says.

"Sure," Xavier replies.

Merida looks up at him in shock. "I thought you would say that I can have one when I'm dead."

Xavier says nothing. Merida still looks at her blood that's on her hands, running down her lip, and now staining her training clothes.

"Merida?" Angela questions.

Merida clenches her fists together and wipes across her bloody lip, tasting iron in her mouth and resisting the urge to gag uncontrollably.

"Forget it happened," Merida states, holding up her fists to continue sparring.

From the viewing section, Emily, having witnessed all that, backs away feeling extremely uncomfortable. She knows that they're only sparring and it's for good practice but what she couldn't digest was how they could just hit one another to the point where they could die - and it's only training!

This is why she told Daniel that the people they became unsettles her. And she's not a hypocrite. She even counted herself in that statement since she made weapons for SHIELD and took out some AIM agents.

After asking other agents for a set of directions, Emily finally arrives at the laboratories and sees Daniel and James working on something. She walks in after being rejected at first due to the SHIELD parole bracelet she has to wear since she's not a uniformed agent, by she eventually gets accepted.

James lights up at the sight of Emily and immediately drops everything he's holding to hug her. As they reconnect, Daniel sighs happily as he picks up all the papers and places them on the countertops.

"I haven't seen you since -" James starts, suddenly not being able to remember when he last saw her. "- a while!"

James kisses Emily's forehead out of joy as he hears Daniel coughing in the background since she's his fiancée.

"I'm right here," Daniel says.

Just to spite Daniel, Emily quickly kisses James's forehead, rubbing off the lipstick mark she made. Daniel knows that it's all heartfelt and for laughs but still, he's standing right there.

James looks at him. "Settle down, I'll kiss you later if you want."

Daniel shudders at the thought of James kissing him as Emily and James laugh. Emily runs over to Daniel and hugs him tightly, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Still holding him, she looks at the papers James dropped and sees some plan written on them.

"Please tell me that doesn't involve fake-killing each other like what Merida and the Rogers twins are doing," Emily begs seriously. "They're all in a bloodbath."

"No, not at all," Daniel says gratefully.

Emily perks up with interest. "I'm listening."

James puts the papers back in order. "I have an assignment, well considering who gave it to me it's technically a chore. My dad is bringing over a ton of Pym Particles to move into a storage and/or disposal unit. The problem is my dad's labs that are best suited for this job are going through repairs and SHIELD is, well, SHIELD. He trusts them to an extent but not with his life's work … but he trusts me here so that says something."

"We could go to my place. I'm sure there's one good lab in there that Technovore didn't demolish. Besides, it'll be safer there than here and I won't be bound by this ugly accessory."

Emily lifts her wrist and jingles her SHIELD parole bracelet.