Umbra

Chapter Two

"Calm down, you look like you're ready to rip that arm rest off."

Grey glanced over at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who was sitting in the seat opposite her, with little regard. The car that came in the morning had taken her to a private air field where a quinjet was ready to take her directly to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. It was Grey's first time on a plane, let alone a private one taking her out of England, and she was terrified.

Her eyes travelled back to the agent as a distraction. She was extremely pretty, short flame red hair gently brushing against her shoulders and blue eyes which could've belonged to a doll. However, (Y/N) knew those eyes could aim a bullet through a targets head, so she didn't just reserve her to 'beautiful'. She knew better than that.

"You're Natasha Romanoff."

The agent nodded with a small smile on her lips. "You did the reading."

"I like to know who I'm working with, it doesn't happen often."

Grey eyed Natasha, her gut feeling telling her that she could trust this woman. She was safe.

"You're right, it doesn't. You don't even chat to your neighbours in that apartment of yours."

A groan escaped Grey as she buried her face in her hands, "is there anybody who hasn't stalked me?"

Natasha gave a small laugh, and shook her head with a "Not really," as a robotic voice sounded from the speakers, which had been previously playing a mellow jazz playlist.

"We will be landing in T-minus five minutes. Please stay seated with seatbelts on. The time is 1300 hours, temperature being 68 degrees Fahrenheit."

Looking out of the small cabin window, Grey's mouth dropped. She assumed they were landing inland, but the view from the quinjet was just a vast ocean.

"Where are we landing, the water?" Grey asked incredulously, looking back at Natasha.

"Don't be stupid." She grinned slyly, looking out a window herself.

Grey turned her eyes back to the scene before her, still seeing only water. She braced herself for a wet landing until she felt the wheels of the jet touch down on solid land, which made her even more confused.

"Where are we?" she asked again as Natasha unclipped her seatbelt and stood up. The door of the quinjet opened, letting in streams of bright, undisturbed sunlight which made Grey wince. London was never this sunny.

"Welcome," Natasha started, gesturing to Grey to start making her way off the quinjet, "to the Helicarrier, the portable S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."

As Grey made her way off the jet, her eyes grew and her jaw dropped. She was on a military industrial boat in the middle of the vast ocean. Everywhere she looked there where planes similar to the one she was on, and dozens of stoic looking people, obviously other agents. Grey made a mental note to stay away from them, or to at least be invisible when they were around.

"This way," Natasha said, flashing a smile in Grey's direction. "Boss just informed me you're the first one here, so I'll show you to your room, and then you can be debriefed when the others arrive."

Grey followed Natasha through the inside of the Helicarrier. She looked around curiously, excitement sparking in her as they passed the laboratories where numerous scientists were using state of the art equipment to carry out their experiments.

Grey hadn't been anywhere near a science workshop since the fire. She was quiet as they walked past it, unintentionally moving away from the entrance. Natasha noted this.

The two girls travelled towards a set of rooms, and Natasha pointed Grey into hers. It was a modest sized room; furnished with a bed, a side table and a chest of draws. Through one door resided an en suit, which Grey was especially drawn to.

"This is amazing," she whispered softly. Natasha snickered.

"That's nothing. Wait until you see your suit."

Grey felt confusion pass over her face until Natasha pressed a combination of numbers on a keypad which Grey had completely unnoticed. A pair of hidden doors slid open to reveal a deep purple cat suit, complete with leather holsters for several guns, knives and other weapons.

"The atoms in the material have been genetically mixed with the DNA of cuttlefish," Natasha let out a laugh as she explained, "trust me on this, it's interesting. Cuttlefish are able to camouflage themselves in any surroundings, and with a bit of tweaking from our scientists, this suit should render you-"

"-Completely invisible." Grey finished in a breathy whisper, her eyes wide. "This is... truly outstanding scientific work." Her fingers traced alongside the arm of the suit lovingly but delicately, as if her mere touch would break it.

"Do you like it? The holsters are the same. We have some boots as well." Natasha said, a large smile on her face.

"Of course I do- thank you so much for it," Grey turned to Natasha with a questionable expression. "But how did you know I'd need it? I could've refused Fury's proposition."

Natasha said simply, "we knew you'd say yes."

Grey raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth ready to retort, but Natasha was already out the door, waving her hand goodbye. "Try on the suit! I'll be back later to bring you to debriefing."

When the door shut behind her, Grey dived to the suit, ripping off her own clothes in haste to try it on. It fit perfectly, gliding over her curves like oil paints on a canvas. Grey looked nervously in the mirror, before taking in a breath, and closing her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, Grey couldn't see her reflection in the mirror. No shirt resting against invisible shoulders, no socks walking on the floor by themselves, just...

...nothing.

Yet, Grey finally felt powerful.