sparrow // mcu

chapter 1 - the mission

Disclaimer: I own nothing that's been in an actual movie.

"Haylock!"

Hearing her name, Imogen stopped in her tracks and turned warily to face the three other junior agents that had been following her since she left the mess hall ten minutes ago. The one that had called her name, Eliot Walters, was the first to reach her, stopping just short of her fists with a smug grin that she itched to wipe off his face. His followers, Burchett and McCarthy, stayed back, trying to look tough and impressive (it was all an act though – she'd beaten them before, and she could beat them again).

"What do you want, Eliot?" she asked, crossing her arms to avoid doing something she'd regret.

He shrugged. "Just wanted to tell you what a nice job you did in training today. Twenty missed shots – gotta be a record for wasted bullets or something." He glanced back at his friends, laughing along with them.

"Better than the money your mother wasted putting you through school," she shot back. "It was fourteen, not twenty. How'd you ever get into SHIELD when you can't even count properly?"

He stopped laughing. "At least I got parents," he spat. "I hear you needed a sympathy vote from your brother to get into training."

Her hands curled into fists. She'd been strictly told, there would be no more fighting, but the urge to punch him was a strong one. They were just so good at riling her up – Eliot in particular – and from the moment she'd gotten here, the other recruits had all disliked her. She had that effect on people. She'd been barely scraping by for weeks now; SHIELD was the only thing she had, and she'd be damned if she was going to let some good-for-nothing kids take it away from her.

With that in mind, she turned her back on them and tried to walk away.

Eliot, ever the idiot, grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from escaping. "Aw, Haylock, come on. We're just playing around. We're all friends, aren't we?"

Her self-control never was the best. The words had barely left his mouth when she turned around and clocked him square in the jaw as hard as she could, trying her best to break something. As she punched him, her heel found the curve between his foot and ankle and stepped down hard. He stumbled backwards with a surprised yelp, clutching his face and favouring one leg, staring at her like she was insane. His friends were at his side in an instant, steadying him before he could fall over, trying to pull him away before she could do more damage.

"Haylock!" a new voice called, and all her satisfaction turned to dread.

The deep, commanding voice of her handler rang through the cold hallway as he rounded the same corner the boys had come around just moments before, face as dark as a thunderstorm. His steps echoed with his voice, heavy and confident, carrying him to the scene of the crime in mere seconds.

"What's up, chief?" she asked bravely as he reached them, eyes as cold and hard as the concrete walls around them.

"Don't play around, Haylock," Donoghue growled in response, towering over her and giving her a murderous look that would have any other agent trembling in their boots. "What have I told you about starting fights?"

"He was asking for it."

He shook his head. "When you're involved, no one is asking for it."

They stood there, eye to eye, and stared each other down as Eliot limped past them, arms thrown over the shoulders of the other boys. "You'll pay for this," he spat at her as they passed. She spared him a look of absolute contempt, but did not deign to answer.