Ravageuse

Jade stared at the empty glass in her hand. It was a bad day. She had pissed the boss off and, well, she’s lucky to even be alive after that. She was almost one hundred percent positive that the only reason he didn’t have her killed was because she was the best he had.

“Want another?” The bartender asked, causing Jade to look up.

Letting out a loud sigh, she answered, “Definitely.”

Once her glass was empty again, she made her way over to the ladies’ room. Jade grimaced at her reflection, noticing the red marks that went from her shoulder to her cleavage. Surely someone would see that if she didn’t cover it up. So she pulled some cover-up out of her purse and went to work. Once she was satisfied with the now invisible mark, she left the bathroom to return to her seat at the bar.

“Your tab has been paid for,” the bartender told Jade when she reached the bar.

“By who?“ Jade asked, hoping it was an attractive man that she could possibly release some tension with tonight.

“That red head over there,” he answered, nodding his head in the direction the woman was sitting.

Jade raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. She had been approached by women many times, always having to deny them no matter how nice they were. Jade just didn’t swing that way.

She might be an assassin but she still has manners, so she made her way over to the woman.

This woman was beautiful and sultry and Jade couldn’t help but think that if she did swing that way, she’d definitely take this one home with her.

The red head smiled at Jade and gestured for her to sit down. Jade didn’t want to be rude, so she complied.

The woman stuck her hand out. “Natasha,” she introduced herself.

Natasha's handshake was firm and confident. “Jade," she answered," thanks for paying my tab, it was a nice surprise.“

“No problem. I wanted to talk to you,” Natasha said with a smile.

“Well, I guess now is a good time to tell you that I’m not-”

“Lesbian? Bisexual? Neither am I,” Natasha answered.

Jade furrowed her eyebrows. “Then what’s the deal?” Jade didn’t like feeling like she wasn’t in control of a situation and right now she was feeling very much out of control.

“I work for an agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division,” Natasha started but was cut off by Jade.

“Well, damn. Could the name be any longer?”

Natasha gave Jade a look that made her shut right up, which is surprising because rarely is Jade ever intimidated by anyone. But something about this woman told Jade that she should be.

Natasha leaned forward and rested her forearms on the table. “We know what you do. Your skills, how you use them, what you’ve done. We know it all. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping an eye on you. We’ve been waiting for the right moment to show up, and that moment is now,” her voice was hushed and her face was placid, showing no emotion.

Jade was all but placid and calm. Her heart rate spiked up and she felt adrenaline pumping through her veins. If this woman was here to kill her, how did she plan on doing it? Jade searched her mind for ways to get out of this, to come out on top. She hated being taken off guard.

In a monotone voice, not willing to let Natasha see her emotions, she asked, “are you here to kill me, Natasha?”

Natasha grinned, almost as if she had her own little private joke. “No, I’m here to recruit you.”

Jade mentally let out a breath of relief. Her day was bad enough and having to fight off someone who was trying to kill her really wasn‘t how she wanted to end it. “What are you, some sort of army?” Jade asked.

Natasha chuckled lightly. “I wouldn’t call it an army. We’re a counterterrorism group. Who occasionally deals with superhuman threats. Actually, that happens a lot more than occasionally.”

Jade placed her chin on folded hands and tried to comprehend the information. “Superhuman. Like that Captain America guy?”

“Well, he’s one of us. But yes, like him. There’s a lot more out there. And a lot weirder too,” Natasha said swirling the contents in her glass. “You remember the attack here in New York last year?”

“Yeah, I heard about it. Wasn’t in town for it, thankfully. Some fucked up shit happens in New York.”

“That’s a fact.” Natasha paused. “So what do you say? We could use a fighter like you. You’re very skilled. Just what we need. And I think it’ll be just what you need too.”

“What I need?”

“We’re the good guys, Jade. You won’t have to do the dirty work for the bad ones anymore.”

Jade suppressed a smile. “The good guys, huh? Well, it sounds better than the pigs I work for now.”

“That’s the spirit,” Natasha cheered. “So… is it a yes?”

Jade thought about this for a good minute. A counterterrorism group. Superhumans. This all seemed very unreal, but she saw footage of what happened in New York. The ones who saved it were Superhumans for the most part. She, like most of the nation, had accepted the fact that they lived on a planet with people who had special abilities. For once in her life, Jade had hope. She was sick of doing what she did for the wrong people. Maybe Natasha was right, maybe this was just the thing she needed.

Jade nodded her head. “It’s a yes.”