Beneath the Surface

Past Demons

Spencer groaned rolling over, his tawny brown wings spread out over the bed, this was the first time he was rooming alone and he was able to sleep with his wings out, his shapeshifting only held for so long and he struggled to hold it when he was rooming with one of the team members which was often. Reid opened his eyes seeing Artemis standing beside his bed, 

"Holy shit" he flailed falling out of bed a crack was heard from his where he fell, 

"Why did you do that Artemis?" he asked getting up and wincing his left wing was bent at an odd angle 

"Sorry Sparks" She bit her lip knowing the pain of a broken wing, 

"You can heal it right?" She asked knowing his healing abilities 

"Yeah" He groaned, spreading his wings out hearing the bones click into place and fuse back together, 

"I'm good, why are you here anyways besides scaring the crap out of me" He sighed, walking over to his bag to throw a shirt on over his toned torso. 

"Now I know was Romanoff sees in you Sparks you're hot" Artemis snickered, the team didn't know this but Spencer was the complete opposite to his nerdy cover where he was somewhat physically weak, clumsy and a slow runner with horrendous endurance, but the real Spencer Reid was extremely muscular, agile, and speedy, with amazing endurance, he and Artemis would most of the time beat Steve Rogers aka Captain America on their morning runs around parliament together. 

"Shut up Arty, and I'm sure you've said the same thing to Barnes" Reid rolled his eyes 

"What?" Artemis asked confused 

"You two are still in denial" He face palmed 

"Anyway I originally came here to tell you that Garcia blew my cover but considering she know S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury I think we're good" Artemis told her partner 

"That quickly Feathers? It hasn't even been 24 hours" He smirked 

"Hey I haven't been on an undercover mission in over 20 years cut me some slack" Artemis huffed her wings flicking in annoyance 

"How'd you get blown?" He asked her 

"She saw my arm and wings" She answered 

"You give her the whole story?" He asked her knowing the true details to how Artemis had gotten her bionic arm 

"Yes I told her that I lost my arm in an explosion which you guys presumed that I was killed by when I was 18, 20 years ago but in reality a rouge terrorist agency welded a bionic arm to my body and them brainwashed me to kill for them and kept me cryogenically frozen between assassinations so I wouldn't age" She grit her teeth and narrowed her now watering eyes her past was still an extremely sensitive subject for her, and that was understandable considering what she'd been through. 

"Sorry Artemis" Spencer felt horrible for reminding her of when she'd done under Hydra's influence 

"It's fine Spencer" She mumbled, wiping her eyes. He bit his lip walking over to his friend and putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"Talk to Barnes that always helps calm you down. Right?" He sent her a reassuring smile 

"I'd love to, but he's on a mission" She sighed 

"Go flying I'll cover for you, I know you haven't flown in awhile plus it helps clear the mind" He smiled 

"Thanks Sparks" She smiled, her outfit melding to tight fitting leather pants, her combat knife strapped to her thigh, and leather jacket her hair now dark brown with a red streak in it, her jet black feathers glistened in the light, this was the real Artemis, 

"See ya later Sparks" She smiled falling backwards through the wall of the hotel, a black blur shooting past the window as her wings launched her into the open sky, her mind instantly clearing and she felt betting being in the air, she could sense that she was around fifteen thousand feet in altitude, she had always been a natural for being able to determine her altitude she had lost her fine tuned skill for it over her years grounded with Hydra but she was slowly tuning her senses to what they had been before the explosion and some even better that before. 

"Rider!" A loud voice in her com cause her to cringe at the volume in her ear 

"I'm right here Sir no need to yell" She groaned hovering in the air so she could talk with Nick Fury the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and her boss, obviously, 

"Why are you not with Reid and the rest of the Behavioural Analysis Unit?" She could hear his teeth grinding 

"I needed to clear my head Fury, you know how flying helps me" She told him flatly 

"Fine, but I want you back with the team as soon as possible" She knew she was getting a special exception because Nick had taken her into the agency when she was 16 and he saw her as family, her parents and twin brother Alex, were spies for S.H.I.E.L.D. so she had know 'Uncle Nick' since she was born, her parents and brother loved her but were also rejected her choice to become an assassin, the spy and assassination divisions at S.H.I.E.L.D. had an animosity against each other always arguing about which division didn't break the law the most, killing for pay, or stealing secrets for pay, she really didn't care she had taken on spying but had had a natural knack for assassination so Nick assigned Spencer, Natasha, and Clint to train her, Alex still had a slight hatred for Spencer since he was her main mentor and her partner, they always fought when they were in the same room and since they both had the same healing power, guns and knifes were usually brought into the argument, Spencer getting shot in the forehead, Alex getting a knife in the neck, Natasha and herself having to separate the two of them, it was a normal occurrence. 

"Obviously Nick, and you might want to work on addressing people more nicely, you have the nickname 'Angry Pirate' for a reason" She snickered 

"Always a pleasure with you assassins" she heard him sigh into the mic 

"Also I want the FBI off the case you're on as soon as possible it's Widow and Winter that are on assignment that are your killers, taking down rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents" 

"Aye Aye Captain" She snickered 

"Good to have you back Artemis" Nick smiled on the other end of the com, a rare occurrence for the director 

"Later Uncle" She switched her com off before heading back to the hotel.Nick smiled shaking his head at his niece's antics, she had recovered quickly from her experience with Hydra, and had regained her carefree attitude with little effort. He marvelled at the fact of how she did it so quickly, it was because she was surrounded by her friends the entire time that she recovered so quickly.