Magnetized

“Elle!” A greasy haired man with a round belly shouted. “We got a last minute thing here.”

Her blood ran cold, sharp in her veins. Baker never took last minute repairs, but she knew they’d be able to persuade him eventually. They always do.

“I got somewhere to be, Boss,” she yelled back, slamming the hood on the Camaro she’d finished.

“The gasket is loose, it’ll take 2 seconds.” He insisted, popping his head through the door. “Come on.” His voice echoed through the garage. She wiped her hands; he poked out his lower lip. Pouting wasn’t an attractive feature on him.

She gritted her teeth. “Send them in.”

The garage door slowly opened revealing a vintage Harley bike next to an old lemon of a car. She held back a laugh. “Please tell me the bike is busted at least,” she whispered. Her eyes moved to the pairs of legs standing next to her potential project. The door continued up, trailing black high-heeled boots attached to matching leggings, and blue converse carrying faded jeans. Before she knew it Assassin Barbie and young Mr. Rogers stood before her.

“It’s not the gasket! The car’s pistons fire on biomechanics and…” Mr. Rogers jumped into a round of words that Ellery understood, but didn’t want to hear.

“Katherine Ellery?” Assassin Barbie questioned.

“Never heard of her.” Ellery shrugged. “What did you do to get stuck with that old thing?” She motioned to the car. A 1956 Renault Dauphine. Definitely the worst thing that ever came from France.

“He lost a bet,” Barbie said, stepping forward. “Are you sure you don’t know Katherine Ellery?”

“Do you want your car fixed or not?” Ellery crossed her arms over her chest and stared the leather clad woman down. She didn’t need this, but she wouldn’t provoke trouble either.

“I engineered this beauty myself, thank you!” Rogers corrected her previous statement. “I don’t think you can just fix it with a swipe of your hand.”

“Can you?” Barbie accused.

“Who are you?” Ellery asked cautiously. She hated confrontations, but she never backed down. “Tell me, who sent you this time?”

“This time?” The duo answered. Confused expressions crossed their faces. Barbie shook her head.

“You don’t understand we’re with…”

A loud crack broke through the back of the garage. The tin roof peeled back; Ellery suddenly felt like a sardine. She waved her hand over the hole slowly developing; the metal forcibly moved back down, reforming the roof. A glance at a wrench brought it sailing toward her. She caught it before snatching the air causing the door to drop. Barbie and Mr. Rogers dove through just in the nick of time.

“Bloody hell!”

“Why can’t you people take no for an answer?” Ellery growled. Her dark blue eyes turned silver as the metal in the room began to rattle.

“Are you…?” Mr. Rogers started. Barbie pushed him out of the way of a flying rim.

“We’re not with them!” Barbie hissed.

“Then why is the party here?” Ellery glared at the door, holding her hand against it.

“What are you…?” Mr. Rogers started, but a loud crash cut him off. The garage door should’ve caved into that hit, but Ellery stood there, her palm against the undented door.

“We’re with S.H.I.E.L.D!” Assassin Barbie declared.

“That’s what they said last time. Don’t feed me that comply crap either! We both know it didn’t work then and it won’t now.”

Another crash brought blood from Ellery’s palm and left a large, square dent in the door. The roof groaned again. She sniffled back the tears before she met Barbie’s cold, dark eyes. “Get me out of here alive, and I will hear you out. That’s the only promise I’ll give you.”

Barbie nodded before she grabbed Roger’s arm. “Fitz, call the bus. We need a diversion and a ride.”

Four more hits to the door and a giant explosion on the roof left Ellery battered and bleeding. The hole in the roof emerged again; she couldn’t cover it. If they hit the garage door again it might break her arm; the door would certainly give in. She held tight to the heavy wrench. Gasps escaped her lips.

“We know there is someone home, Katherine. Open up before something terrible happens.” The familiar voice bellowed. It was thick and loud; the accent had changed.

“I’m not Katherine,” Ellery whispered. She thought she could muster one last burst of energy to reinforce the door, but her bones were feeling the exhaustion.

“Tell me how you can do that?” a softer voice asked. She looked to her right, letting some of the concentration on the door ease off. Fitz, the Mr. Roger’s lookalike, sat beside her, both legs crossed.

“I don’t know. My mom told me my father was special before she died. She never mentioned why, just that he was.” Ellery took a deep breath. She could hear the crane outside backing up, preparing to swing again. “I can’t hold this anymore.”

“That’s okay, you won’t have too.” He glanced at his watch before he nodded. “Let go of the door, Katherine.”

“My name isn’t Katherine!” She whispered before the first of the bombs exploded, shaking the rafters.

Ellery prepared herself for the next blast. She knew there should be pain ricocheting through her body. Instead, the walls vibrated before Fitz reached out to her. He didn’t touch her, but his fingers were close enough.

“Whatever your name is, our ride is here.” His eyes were warm and sincere. She didn’t have a reason to trust him, but the way he looked at her now made the world feel like a safe place. Ellery let him take her hand away from the metal door before a bright light cut into the metal.

“I sent you to talk; did you have to make a mess?” A short man in a black suit stated. He removed his sun glasses as he leaned down. “Sorry about that. I’m Phil; Phil Coulson. You must be Ellery.”

She nodded. “Finally, you got something right.”