Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

twenty-eight.

Until this moment, the only clear thoughts in Jenn's head were her two objectives; get Dr. Ingram out of there and burn C.E.N.T.R.E. to the ground. She didn't have a plan for what she would do if Dr. Ingram was already dead, or if S.H.I.E.L.D. interrupted her, or if she ran into other S.E.R.A.H. soldiers.

And she definitely didn't think about what would happen if she crossed her sister.

A conflicting mix of emotions swirled within her like oil and water. Looking at her sister's face brought back some of her only good childhood memories. Her sister was the lone ally she had growing up, the only person in the facility she could laugh with, the biggest missing piece from her past. All Jenn wanted to do was run into her arms.

But looking at her also recalled Harry's final moments. Jenn had watched him bleed out with her sister's name on his lips. That memory was so fierce, it colored over everything else. And, caught between rage and love, Jenn remained frozen.

Her sister wasn't quite so speechless. "It's been a while, huh?" She asked, still smiling. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. We all thought you died in that explosion. Imagine how it felt, watching you beat up some common criminal in that CCTV footage. Finding out you were still alive after all the years I spent mourning you..."

Seconds passed and Jenn realized her sister was looking for an actual conversation. Her jaw was still slack, rendering her incapable of forming words. All she could do was hold her hands up.

"You're right, I was absolutely pissed," her sister went on. "Abandoned, betrayed, confused...all of the above?" She cut herself off to draw in a deep breath. When she exhaled, the smile was back. "But I'm over that now. Mostly." She shrugged. "Really, I'm more relieved than anything else. Just, you know, glad to see you alive."

"Yeah," Jenn agreed. Her mouth felt dry. "Me too."

"Not a lot of others at C.E.N.T.R.E. are as happy as I am - particularly after that stunt you just pulled with the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor. The lot of them want you dead, actually."

Her sister could be so bloody patronizing when she wanted. "Yeah, I got as much from the announcements earlier, thanks," Jenn rolled her eyes. Then she swallowed around her still-dry throat. "Is that why they sent you in? Because you're the only option they have left?"

Being pitted against her sister was nothing new. In fact, it was one of many constants from her childhood. But that was always in a lab or in the training rooms. When it came to the real thing, an actual battle to the death, Jenn didn't know if she was capable of raising a hand to her sister. There was a time she would've said the reverse was true, but after today-

"What? No! I would never," her sister cried. "I'm not here to kill you, I'm here to talk you down. Bring you back."

"What?" Jenn echoed. The word was so quiet, she doubted her sister heard her.

"That's why I was so late. Which, sorry about that, by the way. I was doing my best to convince everyone it was still in C.E.N.T.R.E.'s best interest to bring you back," her sister went on. "And I nearly had them too, but then you had the worst timing with that escape attempt just now. Set me back royally, but at least I managed to get all the agents to stand down for now."

For some reason, Jenn found herself shocked back into silence. "You think, after everything, I would want to rejoin C.E.N.T.R.E.?" She asked once she finally recovered.

"It's okay, we heard all about your S.H.I.E.L.D. brainwashing from that doctor. C.E.N.T.R.E. can help you rewrite all of that," her sister waved a dismissive hand. "You're a C.E.N.T.R.E. agent, a S.E.R.A.H. soldier. You shouldn't be working for the government. And once you rejoin, you'll remember what your purpose is. C.E.N.T.R.E. created us. It may not fit the dictionary definition, but this organization is the closest thing we have to a family."