Chapter 3

There was a sharp knock on the cell door and your eyes opened, looking up to the window immediately. It was a dull yellow, meaning it wasn't time for questioning yet and it couldn't be Natasha. Your mind was drowsy as you sat up, confused as to who it was. The next knock was more abrupt, echoing against the walls of the cell.

"Am I really going to have to knock again?" You frowned, recognising Fury's voice. When you had been called out for questioning before, it was always from the hidden speaker in your cell – he had never approached the door before.

"Is it time for questioning?" you called, your eyes still adjusting to the morning light.

"No, I need to talk to you." There was a click and the door swung open, Fury's silhouette appearing in the doorway. You kept the covers over your body, trying to smooth down your bed hair to make it less noticeable. He stood with his arms folded over his chest, waiting for you to answer.

"We can talk," you said, a hint of uncertainty in your voice. You figured the sooner this conversation was over, the sooner you could go back to sleep. Your late nights with Natasha were starting to take a toll and you wondered if she was suffering the consequences too. Fury walked to the centre of the room, clicking his fingers. "Can someone turn a light on in here?" The room brightened a few seconds later, forcing you to squint as your vision was flooded by artificial, white lighting.

"How did you do that?" you questioned. Fury chuckled, pointing at a strange device in the corner of the room that you hadn't been able to identify before.

"Don't pretend you don't know, we're aware you've been tampering with it at night," he said, "It's what we call a CCTV camera. It watches what you do at all times, except when you've been turning it off." You had no idea what he was accusing you of. This was the first time you had been given a name for this piece of technology, why did he think you had been messing with it or could even switch it off in the first place? You thought about what you had been doing at night, the dots starting to connect; you had been with Natasha. She must've switched it off to stop herself from getting caught. "We'll discuss that in a minute but that's not what I'm here for," he added, clearing his throat. "So, I've been asking you the same questions every day for the past week, you know that. Are you sure you can't tell me anything?"

"No," you said, "As you know from what I've told you, the information you want has the potential to put Earth in immense danger. I know you don't trust me but I'm telling the truth, I promise. I'm sorry I can't cooperate."

"You're right, I don't trust you," he said, "...But I'm willing to give you a chance to prove yourself." Your breathing halted for a moment. You didn't know what to expect of the outcome of your imprisonment but you had thought over many different scenarios, most of them being quite negative. This was different, hopeful even.

"Can you elaborate please?" you requested. Fury took out his phone from his pocket, tapping the screen and bringing up a projector behind him, moving to the side so you had a clear view. There was an outline of a man and his details on the side, all in an electric blue, hovering above the ground. He tapped his screen again and the image shrunk, a circle containing what looked like an eagle growing in size in front of you, the words S.H.I.E.L.D. scrolled below it.

"I've already told you what S.H.I.E.L.D. is, are you clear on our aims?" You nodded. "To protect this planet, we have to carry out a wide range of missions. Stopping criminals, identifying threats, finding faults with the global security system… you get the idea." The outline of the man was amplified again, his figure rotating, new text appearing beside him. "We've been after this target for months. He's the leader of one of the most lethal gangs in New York and it's imminent that we put a stop to his actions as soon as possible."

"Why should I know this?" you asked. Fury swiped upwards on his phone, the projection disappearing. He slid his phone back into his pocket.

"I'm going to let you join this mission, I think you could be a useful asset. It will be easy and short. If you prove that you're trustworthy, I'll consider letting you join S.H.I.E.L.D. – we need people like you." You hesitated for a moment, trying to conceal your shock. He wanted you to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?

You thought the opportunity over for a moment. It was a life of fighting, violence and danger. It would mean taking risks that might cost you everything, all to protect the globe from crime makers. Just over a week ago, the only plans you had for your future involved normal every day desires that people in your tribe did: finding a stable job, learning and mastering spells, exploring the world and in the future, finding a partner. Being an agent meant taking on the weight of the world's evil, a lifetime of selfless suffering and sacrifice. Was that something you wanted? The simple answer was no, it wasn't what you wanted. But you didn't have a choice in the matter, you had powers after all – you were either a threat or a protector. Maybe people like you only deserved a life of chaos and pain.

Your gaze fell to the floor, your face crumpling a little but Fury didn't budge, your body language earning no reaction from him. "Do you think you're up to it?" There was a slight pause.

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"Not if you want to be imprisoned forever, no. So?" You didn't need much time to consider your options. You had no choice.

"Okay," you said, "I'll do the mission." Fury gave you a nod.

"Good, I'll have your suit delivered to you immediately. We leave tonight so you have a few hours to prepare yourself. I'll activate something you'll find very helpful in a few minutes," he said, striding towards the exit, not sparing you a second glance. He opened the door and paused. "And about the CCTV thing, I'll let you off this time but trust me, if you try it again, I won't be so nice." Before you could reply, the door was slammed shut, the lights above you flickering back off, plunging you into semi-darkness. A notification appeared at the top of your vision.

The Internet is now available. Please confirm.

You cursed under your breath. You had no idea what they had done to you when you were unconscious but they had definitely done some deep tampering to your cyborg parts, without any of your consent. Even though they weren't a part of your biological body, they were still yours and helped you to function, so it felt like a violation of your bodily autonomy. You had no idea what else they had done and judging by the fact these notifications weren't appearing by your own accord, S.H.I.E.L.D. also had some element of control. The thought made you sick.

You decided you might as well find out what else they had done; it's not like you had anything to lose. As soon as you confirmed the request, your head was thrown back a moment later and your mind buzzed with an overload of new information, leaving you temporarily paralysed. After a minute or so, your body began to calm, drops of sweat trickling down the side of your face. You leaned forward as a white strip appeared across the screen of your mind, accompanied by a strange circle with a line coming off it. Text appeared in the middle of the strip, reading 'Search.' You blinked. What were you supposed to search for?

You tried to find something that would alert you to what it wanted you to search, scanning your cell and distracting you from the text typing itself into the strip. The entire screen suddenly changed, a blue dot pending at the top, a confusing array of text and images appearing in front of you. Some of the sentences were highlighted in blue and underlined, stating similar things like '10 Google search tips' and '15 ways to search Google'. You frowned, beginning to figure out this new part of your brain. From the clues you were given, it seemed like whatever you typed into this bar would come back with an answer.

You started asking questions to help you navigate the internet, learning what it was and how you could use it. You found hundreds of photos and videos, any landscape you wanted presented in front of you with a thought. All of Earth's history, events, education, and people; it was all in your head. You had thought over the last few days about how inconvenient life seemed to be on this planet without magic but as you scrolled through endless amounts of information, it was clear that technology had advanced the Earthen's quality of life at a very quick rate. You might have even gone so far as to say their lives were made more convenient than yours had been, all because of this invention.

You stifled a yawn and were reminded once again of how exhausted you were. You led back down, pulling the covers back over your body, knowing you needed to sleep to prepare yourself for that night. There would be plenty of time to explore the internet later. After falling asleep, you were woken up again by a knock at the door but this one was more gentle than Fury's had been.

"Are you awake?" You smiled at the sound of her voice.

"Yes, I am." Natasha stepped into the room, shooting you a subtle grin. She came over and placed a package next to your bed. "How long before the mission?" She straightened her figure, brushing her skirt down, her body language more tense than usual. You were reminded of the eyes watching you both from the corner of the room.

"Two hours." She maintained eye contact with you as she walked to the door, the sound of her heels against the ground echoing through the room. It was obvious she couldn't stay. "See you later Isa."

As soon as she left, you picked up the package and opened it, pulling the brown, crinkled paper away from the contents. Left in your hand was a dark garnet one-piece, similar to what you had seen Natasha wear on occasion, embroidered with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the left shoulder and a phoenix on the right. Two notes fell from the clothing. You unfolded and read the first.

This is your suit for tonight. I thought I'd personalise it a little bit for you. The phoenix matches your tattoo, it should be on the same shoulder too.

You assumed it was from Fury. You frowned, having no idea what a tattoo was. You did a quick search of the web, bringing up images of illustrations embedded into people's skin and a brief explanation. You laughed while reading the definition, finding it amusing that Fury thought your mark was a tattoo. Your mark was actually the symbol of your magical powers, though you didn't know what they all were yet. All you knew is that you could create fire with your hands and you could talk to Phoenix's, a pretty useless power on a planet the creature didn't inhabit. You were still unaware of the three other powers you possessed. Perhaps the mission would be a chance for you to find out. You opened the other note and began to read.

Hi, I'm sorry if Fury gave you a hard time about the CCTV, I didn't realise they noticed I was turning it off. The CCTV cameras of low-risk prisoners aren't usually checked at night. Anyway, I'm really glad Fury is giving you a chance to earn your trust; I hope you're not stuck in that cell for too much longer. You'll need to be under surveillance for a while and I've managed to persuade Fury to let me do it, I hope that's what you want. I thought you'd like a familiar face and he trusts me to keep an eye on you. You'll need to stay in my apartment when you're let out. The spare room isn't anything special but I hope it will be enough for you. If you're unhappy with this arrangement and want someone else, let me know and I'll do my best to sort it out for you.

If I'm abrupt with you on the mission, I apologise, I just don't want anyone catching onto the fact we've spent time together when we shouldn't have. I hope you understand. I'm looking forward to working with you.

– Natasha.

As you scanned over the words, you couldn't help but grin. You obviously didn't mind staying with her and understood why you needed to be watched. Trust was something that took time to build. You thought it was sweet she was so considerate of your feelings.

You checked the time using the internet, seeing that it was 6 pm. You were thankful that your planet and Earth shared the same clock, so you didn't have to adapt and use a completely new system. You went to the bathroom and took a shower, avoiding getting your hair wet – you didn't have time to sort it. After drying yourself and freshening up your appearance, you changed into your suit. It was tight in places and made you a bit self-conscious but overall, you thought it looked decent. Since it was your first mission and you had no idea what to expect, you decided to put your hair back so it was out of the way.

You took a slow breath out, gripping onto the sink. It would be okay, you told yourself, Natasha will be there. But you still had doubts. What if you still couldn't do the mission? What if you did something wrong and jeopardised their entire plan? You stepped away from the sink and leaned against the wall, causing a pang of pain in your spine as you slid down the cold, hard floor. You buried your face in your hands, your heart thumping in your chest. If you didn't do well today, you might never gain Fury's trust. You would be stuck inside of this cell for the rest of your life. You had to do well – you didn't have a choice.

You spent the hour counting down to the mission pacing your cell, the frequency of your thoughts like a machine-gun, your body consumed with the sound of adrenaline pulsing through your body. Your legs were rooted to the spot as a loud knock echoed through your cell. There was a click and a stream of light streaked through the centre of the room.

"Follow me." It was time. You dragged your heavy feet after Fury, your gaze locked to the floor. Your arms were wrapped around yourself and your stomach churned with butterflies. You were told to stand next to a group of agents all wearing a suit identical to yours except theirs were jet black. You looked up as soon as you saw Natasha but she broke eye contact with you in a matter of milliseconds, focusing her attention onto Fury who was briefing the mission. You filled the empty gap in front of her behind an agent with brown hair tied back into a low ponytail.

"Tonight, we will be arresting the leader of a gang who call themselves the Arkursa, Mr Finnian McCoy, who has been charged with the murder of forty people in the last two months. The U.S. police force have failed to detain him in this time bracket," the Director said, getting out his phone and projecting an image of Finnian in front of you, "He is a white, six-foot male with detailed tattoos on both his arms, black hair and brown eyes. He is expected to attend an Arkursa meeting at 11 pm tonight at a warehouse on Hillcrest Avenue, Manhattan. We take him in as peacefully as possible. I'll extend upon our plan when we get onto the jet. Are we all clear?" Everyone around you nodded.

As the group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents moved, you followed them, walking through a door into a room bustling with hundreds of workers. Your eyes widened in awe, the room too large to fit into the entirety of your vision, vehicles of many different sizes and styles spread out all across the ground below you on lifted platforms. You scanned these vehicles, results from the internet flooding into your brain, naming them as jets and planes. You could immediately tell that they were much more advanced than the images appearing across your vision. As you walked down the stairs, the ceiling stretching up above you, you noticed groups of workers fixing and tending to some of the jets, their tools creating sparks of fire and wisps of smoke.

You were led to the end of the room where a grey jet with a bulky main body and long, sleek wings waited for you, the door already open. As everyone walked up the steps, Fury waited at the bottom, not taking his eyes off of you.

"New agent, wait here a moment," he said. After all the agents had boarded the ship, Natasha and you exchanging a quick glance, he cleared his throat. "I just want to see what you're capable of tonight. Follow my instructions and listen to your teammates and you'll be fine. I'm not expecting anything big from you. Understood?" You nodded.

"I understand." You took the first few steps towards the jet doors before Fury spoke again.

"I hope you like the new addition to your synthetic brain. I thought it would

be quite useful."

"It is," you said, turning to him, "Thank you." You could've sworn he nearly smiled but just before he did, his expression darkened.

"Here's your only warning. If you try anything stupid, I have full control of your cyborg parts. I won't hesitate to switch off your synthetic limbs so you can't move." You physically recoiled, your body burning with rage. So not only had he tampered with your cyborg system, he had gained complete power over it. You were revolted at his mindset. How dare he think he had a right over your physical self? You understood why he didn't trust you but violating your bodily autonomy was a different matter. That was blatantly immoral.

Before you could say anything, Fury was already climbing into the cockpit. You stormed onto the jet and found the only seat left, clenching your fists. This wasn't the first time in the last week that wrong had been done against you by S.H.I.E.L.D., making you question the overall morals of the organisation. 'What drove them?' you thought, 'what do they actually want?' You hardly knew anything about this organisation but you were about to find out a lot more