Nina realised the day was shaping up to be a pretty awful one when the Bus shook for a second time. The shaking, however, was steady and controlled telling her that Skye wasn't the cause. She could picture the plane leaving the ground and entering the sky, she could almost see the clouds getting closer while civilization grew farther away.
She didn't trust she had enough control to safely be up in the air.
So with a heavy sigh, she pulled the hood of her hoodie over her head and snapped a black, disposable mask over her face. She'd taken to wearing the masks whenever she moved through the Bus to shower throughout the week, just in case she bumped into anyone and wanted to hide the black veins her practice had created.
When she exited her room, she wasn't surprised to see Garner turn a corner. He was heading towards the cockpit and Nina decided to follow him, wanting to know where she was being taken.
Coulson hadn't visited this morning before her session with Garner. At first, she hadn't thought much of it but since the Bus was taking off, she realised it was because there was a job. Part of her was hurt she hadn't been told but the other part understood, until she could control her powers she was unpredictable.
Unpredictability in the field was never the best thing.
"Look, I was gonna come talk to you once I put the Bus on auto," Nina heard May say when Garner pushed open the door of the cockpit, she was quick to stick her foot in the frame before it closed all the way yet her presence was unknown to the formerly married couple.
"Talk to me, after the fact?" Garner seethed, "when we're already in the air?"
"Coulson needs backup," was all May said as she focused on levelling the large plane, "plus you were in session. I didn't want to interrupt."
"How is Skye?" Nina decided to say, pushing the door open further and strolling into the room. Garner and May turned to face her, taking in the hoodie that covered her forehead, stopping just at her eyes, and the black mask that claimed half her face.
If they didn't know Nina's voice and her eyes, she would've been unrecognisable.
"You shouldn't be out," May simply said as she et the plane on autopilot and stood up.
"Why?" Nina asked with a regale grin. She held up her, now gloved, hand and directed the pair's attention to the shadows of the cockpit moving across the walls. The mass congregated on the wall directly to her right, awaiting instructions, "it's not like I'm contagious."
"You should stay in your room, Nina," Garner spoke up, "you are not ready for stressful situations."
"I'm fine," Nina responded, twirling her leather-clad fingers. A thin rope left the wall and circled around her body, she smiled underneath her mask before clicking her fingers. The sound caused the shadows to surge towards May and Nina watched as the Cavalry tense before relaxing slightly when the shadows moved through her hair. They sectioned off her dark locs, twisting her hair into a braid and mirroring the movement of Nina's hands, "I have some control over it."
"Then why the mask?" May asked, her question causing Nina to falter and the braid to unravel. She sighed heavily before clenching her hand into a fist, calling the shadows back to her and pressing her palm against the wall, allowing the darkness to absorb back into it.
With a silent order, the shadows moved across the wall and returned to their original places while May and Garner watched both cautious and impressed.
"Overexertion," Nina answered honestly, knowing she wouldn't be able to lie to the pair without them calling her out on it.
She pushed back her hood slightly and Garner gasped at the sight of the black lines on her forehead. They looked painful like she'd blown a blood vessel. May was especially concerned when she noticed the black moved to under her mask and she worried that all her veins were suffering the same outcome.
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[2] An Executioner's Requiem | Leo Fitz
FanfictionNina Ramos is an Agent of SHIELD. An agent with a reputation she's embraced, a past she doesn't remember and a future she didn't quite expect. After her last mission ended up with her at the bottom of the ocean, Nina trades her suicidal path for a h...