Disappearing Act (N.Romanoff)✓

A Thousand Needles

"Go fish." Alisha said, looking back up at Elena from her cards. "¡Esto es ridículo!" Elena began, throwing her cards. This is clearly trickery and I honestly don't even wanna play anymore so anyone want some guac?" The Latina smiled. "No!" Both Sapphire and Alisha yelled. "Whatever puntas." Elene rolled her yes and walked off to the bathroom.

"So Saph," Alisha said getting up, "What do you want for dinner?" She asked. Sapphire had been feeling a little down in the dumps lately, considering that her mother was clearly MIA and no one was acting like it was even a little strange that she decided to take a job away from the very baby she would put her life on the line to protect and then not even have the curtesy to text her back.

Shameful.

"Well, I'm just going to order a pizza, Dominos sound good?" She asked. Sapphire nodded, and began to put the playing cards in order.

"You know Lisha, I was thinking and maybe I should listen to my parents." Elena said, coming back with a bottle of Arizona juice. "And do what?" Alisha responded, putting in the order. "And become a lawyer or doctor like my siblings." Elena responded. Alisha rolled her eyes. "Here we go again, Elena we both know law school is not for you." Alisha protested. "Yea but medical school might be, and whose to say that I won't like it?" Both Saph and Lisha looked at her like she was crazy.

"You know, you guys aren't being very supportive."

"It's because we both have been down this street before and if she were here right now you know Mani would have told you to shut the hell up and keep living your dream."

"What if my dream is to be a lawyer and defend the people, I do love to argue."

"Lawyers arguments have to be valid all the time and when are you ever 100% correct?" Alisha questioned, getting a giggle out of the infant. "Lisha please, I'm having a midlife crisis here." "You're 22 Lena." "And 22 is half of 11 and 11+19 is 30 so a midlife crisis."

Alisha looked at her shocked. "Well look at you, maybe you can put those mathematician skills to use and figure out the change we get back from the delivery guy and if it's enough for a tip." Alisha then walked away, leaving a distraught Elena and a quiet Sapphire alone. "You know, the one time I needed your opinion you're silent." She complained. Sapphire rolled her eyes.

"Where's my mamma?" Sapphire asked. Elena's frown disappeared and it turned into that of sympathy for the baby. "Oh Saph, I wish I knew." She answered. "But until e find out, can you please help me figure out what law school to sign up for?" Elena asked. Sapphire just sighed and fell back, staring at the ceiling hoping that her mom would just come home.

Meanwhile, in fucking Germany, Normani awoke strapped to a table was sitting vertically on the floor so she was standing up basically just strapped to a cold metal table. Before she could adjust to her surroundings, someone came up behind her and stuck her with something that knocked her out cold, but something seemed so familiar. Like she had done this a million time before but just couldn't quit muster the strength to form a proper thought and make sense of what was going on.

Before she knew it her eyes were closed again and she was falling into a deep sleep that would soon be interrupted by her body telling her something wasn't right. But she would just forget it a little later, when they stuck her with shot number 55.

Confused? Allow me to explain. A few chapters back we learned that there is a series of three injections that Normani here had to take in order to keep from phasing out of existence. The only problem is that she was only injected with two which means she needs to get shot number three from HYDRA but HYDRA won't give it to her unless she works for them, which the last shot will make her do anyway so it's really, die by disappearing completely from existence, die by HYDRA sending an assassin to your apartment door or be enslaved by HYDRA for all of eternity.