𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃━︎━︎M. Hill ✓︎

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
WHO ARE YOU?

SAGE DIDN'T THINK SHE WAS going to be this nervous to talk to Steve Rogers. She knew his reputation, she knew that he was going to give her a chance, but she also knew that he wanted to know everything that she knew about HYDRA, and she didn't know what the hell it was that she was going to say. HYDRA was complicated. Their saying was cut one head off, two more take its place, and they meant it. When Sage was cut off from HYDRA, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that any plans they had shared with her had been quickly burned in white flames.

She took a deep breath, walking down the hall with Maria at her side. She ignored the eyes of the other agents that were practically glaring at her in un-trust. Maria was quick to glare back, immediately sending the agents back to what it was that they were doing. Sage didn't mind the glares all that much, she had lived with Blake for all of her life and the man did nothing but glare at her because she always right and he was always wrong and he knew it. The thought of Blake made anger bubble in her stomach, but she was quick to shove it down when Maria opened the door for her.

Steve Rogers stood there, talking to Natasha for a few moments before they both turned their heads to look at Sage as she entered. Sage looked over her shoulder at Maria who gave her a reassuring smile before leaving the room. Sage looked back at the two Avengers, one of which was looking at her as if she were analyzing her, and the other looking at her with a 'let's get down to it' look. Sage sighed under her breath before walking further into the room.

     "Are you going to keep staring at me, Romanoff, or are you going to say something?" Sage asked, looking away from Steve to meet Natasha's green eyes. She cocked her head slightly as she looked at the redheaded woman, watching as Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. Sage smiled in amusement. "I know you don't trust me, but that doesn't mean you have to let everyone in the room know that."

     "Natasha." Steve warned the woman. Natasha looked at Steve before allowing her arms to fall at her sides. She nodded towards the man before walking out of the room without sparing a glance towards Sage. Sage watched her leave, frowning slightly. She was already on the bad side of one of the Avengers, the one that could kill her with her thighs―︎ literally. Sage had never witnessed Natasha fight face-to-face, but she's heard the stories, and Sage didn't want to take any chances with her.

     "Sage Daniels." Steve called her name, causing the woman to focus her attention back on him. She watched as he placed a file on the table, sliding it towards her end. She walked forwards before picking it up. "Ex-HYDRA agent. Professional killer, someone that my team doesn't trust." Sage glanced up at him in slight amusement, before looking back down at the file that was all about her. And she was surprised to find that there wasn't a whole lot about her in there.

     "And the woman who tricked Maria Hill into opening up." Sage continued for the man, closing the file before sliding it back over to him. "I know who I am, Rogers, the question is do you know who I am? Because that file―︎ everything in there is who my character is, who I was forced to play the role of. You don't know a single thing about me."

     "Well, that's why we're here, isn't it." Steve told her. He held a hand out towards the chair in front of her. "Please." Sage looked at him before pulling out the chair and sitting down, Steve following suit. He looked at the woman for a moment. "Maria trusts you. And everyone that knows her, knows that Maria is not one to easily open up. So my question is why she chose to open up to a total stranger like you."

     "You think I know what goes on in her head?" Sage scoffed. "Who knows? Maybe I found her on a lonely day, where she was so tired of being a SHIELD agent, that for once in her life she wanted to be a human with a normal job, and with normal friends."

     "I asked Maria what happened." Steve told her. "And her simple response was that it wasn't her story to tell. So, Sage, what happened."

     Sage looked at him, pursing her lips for a moment. This was a new leaf. So, she had to trust him. She sighed and nodded. "Everything that could've possibly happened happened. I've been working with HYDRA my whole life. My hometown was blown off the map, and they took me in without me realizing that it was HYDRA that took my family away from me. HYDRA brainwashed me, they turned me into the person inside of that file, but I'd like to believe that that's not who I am."

     "Then who are you?" Steve asked her.

     Sage looked at him for a moment, her jaw clenching as tears started to spring to her eyes. She swallowed her tears before answering him. "I'm the girl who lost everything, and the girl that has no one left."