As she sat in the dimly lit interrogation room, Agent Hayley Harkin thought back to when she was first asked to join S.H.I.E.L.D..
"This party is gonna be lame. We don't belong here, Hayley," said Hayley's best friend, Eliza Warrior.
Her name gave an awful lot of an ironic twist to her personality.
"And? Eliza, I did not bust my ass off to get into this university just to NOT go to their parties that everyone talks about. Please, Just for tonight, let's pretend we're not anti social and a bit odd? Let's drink and dance and make out with cute guys we'll never see again!" Hayley replied with an excited jump.
Eliza rolled her eyes and obliged, "Fine. But just for tonight. And if something goes wrong, I am never trusting you again."
Hayley gave an excited laugh, "Yeah, okay, whatever, let's go!"
She made an effort to bring Eliza to be free willed for the night, which nearly took an hour. Soon, Eliza and Hayley were dancing with two rather attractive dark haired boys who must've been two years older than them. But they cared not, for tonight they would be careless.
"Hey, girls, wanna get out of here?" One of the boys suggested to Hayley and Eliza who were both just beginning to get tired of dancing.
Although she had been having fun so far, Eliza shot Hayley a worried look to which Hayley only smirked.
"Sure!" Hayley beamed, answering for the both of them, "But we don't even know your names!" She shouted over the loud rhythmic music.
"I'm Arthur," spoke the one Hayley had been dancing with, "This is Miles," he said, pointing to the one who Eliza took a liking to, "There, problem solved," he smirked.
Hayley smiled at Arthur and took his hand, calling to Eliza behind her to take Miles' hand. The four went outside, Hayley in a laughing fit as Arthur guided her to a tree which he promptly kissed her against. She made no move to stop him. Their lips moved in sync and just as his hands moved to her waist, she heard Eliza speak in a rush.
"Oh, stop it, please. I don't wanna do this," she had said, a shaky tone in her voice.
Immediately, Hayley pulled away from Arthur and looked toward Eliza who was about to walk away from Miles when he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.
"What the fuck are you doing?! Get off of me!" She argued.
Hayley pushed past Arthur and went over to Miles angry. He immediately let go of Eliza and stood tall.
"What are YOU going to do, pretty girl? Want to take me on?" He grabbed Hayley by her waist and pulled her to him.
Instinctively, She pulled her elbow back and brought it up to his jaw with great force, a satisfying crack sounding upon contact. That wasn't near enough though. Quickly, before he could even react, Hayley brought her knee upwards and slammed her foot into his crotch. He fell onto the floor in agony and she used it as an opportunity to kick him in the stomach. "Don't you EVER put your hands on her again," She spat.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Said Arthur, walking up to her with a balled fist.
Quite surprisingly, Eliza hurriedly kicked him in the spine, causing him to lurch forward in one swift motion. She then kicked him on his side three times before giving up, heavy breaths escaping her.
"You okay?" Eliza breathed.
"Yeah, you?" Questioned Hayley.
"Yep," she replied, "Let's not do this again, okay?"
Hayley was just about to agree when a figure appeared from the shadows, not at all previously visible in the dark of the night.
"Actually, I'd like to see you girls do that again. You make quite the team," spoke a man in a suit, a smile painted on his face and curiosity in his eyes.
It was none other than Agent Phil Coulson. He had recruited the two women for S.H.I.E.L.D. when they were freshmen in college. But that was long ago.
The door opened and in came Agent Warrior with Agent Grant Ward following closely behind her, guiding her to the seat next to Agent Harkin. As Harkin and Warrior exchanged a worried glance, their fear of what this might be about made them feel as though they were just plain Hayley and Eliza again. Nothing special. Agent Ward sat down opposite of the women and put a file down on the table with a slight slam. He took out a picture and showed it to the two.
"Do you know who this is?" Ward questioned.
"Yes. That's Agent Coulson," replied Warrior in a hasty fashion.
"And what do you know of him? Agent Harkin?" He looked over to her.
"He was our SO. Taught us everything we know. And he was killed in the Battle of New York," she stated, shaking a bit.
"Hm," he hummed, placing the picture back in the file, "Would you both please restate your names and level?"
"Agent Eliza Warrior. Level Four Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Stated Warrior, confidently and without hesitation.
It took Harkin a moment to believe she might have enough willpower to speak without her voice wavering again, "Agent Hayley Harkin. Level Four Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Level Four? Well let's fix that right away. Welcome to Level Five, Agents Harkin and Warrior," spoke a familiar voice, emerging from the shadows of the poorly lit room.
Harkin stood up quicker than Warrior, hesitation filling her body before she ran towards him and hugged him with deep sincerity, "Coulson!"
He didn't hesitate to hug her back, "Hi, Hayley," he paused looking toward Warrior, "And what are YOU waiting for? Get over here, Eliza."
She rushed over and hugged him too, tears threatening to spill over.
"Good to be back, girls," Coulson smiled, hugging the girls he considered daughters to him with an affection that nearly consumed him.
