Anala-Salila: Fire and Water Don't Mix

Chapter One

Clint Barton's plane had just landed in West Texas, or, as he called it, the middle of nowhere, and he wasn't happy to be there. Sure, it was nice to be off the hellicarier, but his mission was one he would prefer not to think about, especially from the standpoint of a father of two- soon to be three- kids.

Fury had said he was to kill someone, as they were a threat to society. He was ok at first. His job had forced him to kill people before. But then Fury let slip that this person was a twelve year old girl living in a girls' orphanage. She was named Janie by the orphanage caretakers. When he asked how she was a threat, all Fury would say was that she had dangerous powers. They didn't know the source of the powers, or even if she was human. They really didn't know anything about her.

Clint drove into the small, surprisingly rainy town. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could return to S.H.I.E.L.D. and tell Natasha. She could calm him down. He knew this mission would affect him worse than any in his past had.

He followed the GPS until all there was left was a long, winding road. On either side of the road were large rocky hills. When he reached the other side of the rock, however, he saw a building, his destination, on fire, despite the rain. Outside the building were two older, strict looking women and about seven young girls. He got out of his pickup truck and walked over to them, securing his bow and quiver to his back. He was about to ask a question when a small girl with blond hair grabbed his hand.

"Janie's still in there!" the girl cried.

Clint quickly grabbed a gas mask from the backseat of his truck and put it on while rushing towards the building. He went in and immediately heard screaming. Going to the source, he paused at the door. Afraid of what he might find in the burning building, he opened the door. Inside, a young girl on her knees was crying in pain, though there wasn't any fire around her. She hugged her arms to her chest. Clint knelt beside her.

"Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"

"It hurts!" she cried, shaking, hunching over even more.

Not knowing what else to do, he scooped the small, underweight girl up into his arms and ran out of the building and into the rain outside. He set her down beside the other children and the women. The other girls crowded around the crying preteen, but the women told them to stand back. They seemed frightened, but he wasn't sure why.

Once making sure she wasn't burned, the women immediately started to yell.

"Janie, what were you thinking!" the older of the two women screeched. "You could have killed the girls with that fire!"

"It was an accident! I'm sorry," Janie replied, still shaking. Her face still showed pain, and Clint could only look on in confusion.

"You said that last time, too," bagered the other woman. "And then, someone did get hurt!"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Janie defended desperately. "You know I can't control it."

Now Clint knew for sure that this was the girl he was sent to, well... murder. His eyes darkened as he saw the girl start crying again, this time in fear. The younger of the women stepped forward and grabbed the preteen by her wrist, yanking her up. Janie winced and tried to pull away, but to no avail. Clint suddenly stepped between the two, feeling pity for the girl.

"She's coming with me," he said.

"What?" the older woman asked, astonished. "You don't understand, that girl is mental! She's a freak! She just started a fire in her own home!"

"She's coming with me," Clint repeated, flashing her his S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. He then turned towards the girl cowering behind him. "I'm sure you won't mind," he said.

The girl's eyes widened and she took a step back, afraid.

"Hey, take it easy," Clint said. He wanted to say he wouldn't hurt her, but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he said that. His mission was still to get rid of her. He just couldn't do it here. "Come on, we're getting you out of here."

Clint lead her over to his pick up truck and climbed in, waiting for her to cautiously get in the passenger seat before driving back the way he came. Looking over at the girl, he took in her unusual features. Her eyes were an odd color, blue with red around the pupils. Her hair was a dark, wavy black that faded to red with a few barely noticeable blue strands. Everything about her reminded him of fire and water. Complete imbalance. She wore dark blue denim jeans and a long-sleeved dark purple turtleneck shirt, seemingly hiding her skin. Covering bruises, probably. He could see that she was too thin. He started having doubts about why he was supposed to get rid of her.

"Why don't we stop somewhere to eat, and you can tell me what really happened. Sound good, Janie?" Clint suggested. He had the feeling that sonething unnatural was going on.

The girl looked over at him, still scared. Finally, she wispered, "My name isn't really Janie."

"Well, what is it, then?" Clint questioned.

"Anala-Salila," she answered, her voice still low and quiet.

"Nice to meet you, Anala-Salila," he said, realizing he had forgotten to introduce himself. "I'm Clint Barton. Call me Clint."