Twenty Four ► Natasha Romanoff

one • six months later

•••

The minute Grayson walked into the building, he immediately made his way over towards Peter Branson. He entered in the middle of a meeting, but that didn't bother him as he barged in, dropping a file onto the desk and placing a hand on it as he slid it over towards the man in front of him.

"I want to be apart of this." He told Peter.

The man in front of him crossed his arms, staring down at one of his best agents. He simply shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't allow that Maddox, you're related to the case."

Grayson narrowed his eyes, glancing over at the other people in the room when someone cleared their throat. Josie Cortez sat in a chair a few feet away from him, raising an eyebrow at her partner. Grayson ignored her and looked back towards Peter.

"Come on Peter, how long have I known you?" He asked, standing straight as he placed his hands into his suit pockets.

"About five years give or take." Peter answered narrowing his eyes at the man who interrupted his meeting. "No, don't play the guilt card on me Maddox. It won't work this time."

...

Grayson smiled as he slid into his chair, glancing up when Josie entered. The dark haired woman leaned against the doorway, shaking her head as she resisted a smile. "Can't believe you managed to get on the case. The boss was sure you couldn't blackmail him this time."

Grayson resisted a smile, though it didn't last long as he chuckled lightly. He shook his head, "It wasn't blackmail."

Josie laughed, "No you're right, you played the guilt card."

Grayson's smile grew. "What can I say? Peter owes me."

Josie smiled, though before she could reply, Peter walked by. The man stopped abruptly beside Josie and looked between the two, "There's been a murder. Josie, Grayson, time to head out."

...

When Peter informed Grayson on how bad the scene was, he wasn't lying. There was blood splattered on the cement sidewalk and as Grayson turned into the alleyway, a frown etched it's way onto his face. Beside him Josie paused at the sight, a sad look in her eyes.

"Do you think she did this?" She asked him, nodding at another agent walking by who returned the gesture.

Grayson shook his head, sighing as he continued to stare at the scene in front of him. "Morgan's not capable of harming a fly, she couldn't have done this."

"You sure she's still your sister?" Josie looked back at the murder scene in front of her, ignoring the look her partner gave her as she simply told him, "You can't look at this like it's your little sister anymore. You need to go into this as you would any other case, don't let your love for Morgan blind you Grayson."

Josie walked away, leaving the man with no choice but to not reply. Though he wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say to that, after all, Josie was right. So as he approached the dead body of a man in his late forties, he put some gloves on and bent down next to him. He looked over the body, taking in note on the condition he was in.

The man had multiple scratches covering his face and hands, a long scar from an old wound was peaking out from under his sleeve and as Grayson tilted the mans head sideways, he noticed the blood that dripping out of his ears and down his neck. His mind reeled back to memory of his last encounter with Morgan, the day his sister disappeared from his sight. Her voice had raised into an inhuman sound level and the air vibrations had flown him back into the hallway.

"So you did do it, huh Morg?" He whispered to himself sadly, frowning as he let go on the mans head, allowing it to roll back to the position it was originally in.

Morgan's powers were growing and Grayson wondered if she had done this on purpose. Taking a mans life was something Morgan had feared the most, but it seemed she wasn't afraid of the nightmares anymore. He could dream all he wanted that his little sister wasn't the one to murder the man, but all the signs were there and he couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself. If he had only done things differently and had been there for his sister, he could have helped her figure out her powers.

Her powers...he thought. He hadn't mentioned it once to Peter or any of the other FBI agents and no one knew the true power his sister held. He could only wish that it stayed a secret, for Morgan's safety and possibly New York itself.

"Grayson," He turned around to find Peter behind him, standing up when he noticed there were two others next to him. Grayson nodded and Peter continued what he was saying, "this is agent Romanoff and agent Jensen from SHIELD. They're here to help with the case."

Grayson's eyebrows furrowed and he looked towards the two agents that SHIELD had sent. "What exactly are you here to help with?"

"Your sister, Morgan Maddox." Said agent Jensen, his cold eyes looking over Grayson with distrust. "She's awakened supernatural abilities she can't control."

Guess her powers aren't a secret anymore, Grayson thought, a frown etching it's way into his face.

"Powers?" Peter questioned, eyes wide with disbelief as he looked towards Grayson. "How long did you know about this Maddox? And when were you planning on informing us?"

Grayson sighed, blue eyes meeting those of his boss. "I've known since the night Morg disappeared. I didn't tell anyone because it would've put her in danger."

"Danger!?" Peter yelled, throwing his hands in the air in frustration and glaring at Grayson Maddox. He successfully gather the attention of the others surrounding them and Josie sent her partner a warning look.

"Yes, danger!" Grayson yelled back, glaring at the man he'd known for five years. He continued, ignoring the two agents from shield who watched on curiously. "The day we would've found Morgan, is the same day you would've locked her up and she'd turn into a lab rat!"

Peter didn't respond, looking at Grayson with a mixture of surprise and disappointment. He leveled his voice back to normal, "I wouldn't do that Grayson, you know that."

"Yeah, sorry I raised my voice." Grayson sighed, running a hand through his brown hair. "I'm just worried about her, that's all."

His boss nodded, patting his shoulder. "We'll find her." He told him, before walking away.

Looking up, Grayson made eye contact with the two shield agents. Frowning he told them, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Agent Jensen nodded, glancing at the female agent next to him before he left to examine the body. Natasha Romanoff gave the man in front of her a small smile. "It's okay, you're upset your sister is gone. We're here to help bring her home."

•••

Nat was supposed to have more lines in this chapter but she will for sure in the one after this one!