𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲

•warning, hacking jargon that may or may not be correct (i have no clue how hacking works)

- ⧗  ZARIAH PETROVA ⧗ -

ZARIAH'S PROMISE TO SHIELD to regain their data began the next day. Natasha had told her she could have more time to settle in if she needed but Zari had protested against it. Waiting longer wouldn't do much for her and the lack of routine was driving her insane. So, Natasha had agreed and forwarded to Maria that she was ready to begin on her promise to help them.

After breakfast, Zariah had gotten herself ready and met back up with Natasha before heading out across the compound. They walked towards the corridor that contained all of the Avengers' individual offices, continuing a few doors past where Natasha's resided. The redhead pushed the door open for Zari, revealing a spacious looking office behind it.

The first thing Zariah noticed however was the pair of directors, sat on a set of arm chairs off to the left. They both stood as the pair entered the room and Zariah did her best to pass them a friendly smile.

Maria returned it, glancing her up and down. "Looking good, kid."

Zariah was wearing some of her new clothes; simple blue jeans with a hoodie, accompanied by her new red Converse. "Thanks," she replied. Maria seemed in a good mood which was perfect as Zariah was already feeling incredibly anxious and didn't need anything extra on her plate.

Despite telling Natasha she was ready to move on with her contract, the girl felt exceedingly trepidatious. Every worry stemmed from the fact she was terrified the red room would find out what she was doing, that they would discover her treacherous nature and punish her immensely. Last night she'd dreamt they found her, that Dreykov dragged her back to the red room and let Madame. B decide her fate. She'd woke crying, screaming out Natasha's name into the darkness. When the redhead appeared, holding her close, Zariah had been able to rest once again but the fear still lingered. Would all of this be a mistake?

"You ready to get started?" Nick Fury said, eyeing Zariah.

The girl swallowed, burrowing her fear. "Yes."

Maria Hill guided her towards the desk at the back of the room. There was a nice computer setup atop of it, alongside some gadgets she could use for her hacking.

"This is the best tech we've got," Maria said. "Should hopefully be enough to let you in."

Zariah nodded as she sat down in the desk chair. She started up the computer in front of her. "Looks good," she said. "I should be able to gain access soon but you should know this whole process is gonna take me a while." She looked around at the adults in the room. "Before I came to your own computers and it still took me a few months to get all your data. Doing it all from here may take even longer."

"Just try do everything as fast as you can," Maria replied.

The girl nodded. "I'll have to wipe the C2 I set up in your system first, that could take a little while in itself. And then I'll have to break through the KGB servers. I can't just copy your files, I need do delete them from their system which will take even more time. Plus, I know they use polymorphic code so that is gonna be a struggle."

The adults looked back a little startled.

"Okay, kid knows her shit," Maria said very matter of a fact.

Zariah felt herself smile a little. Her whole life she'd only been chasing approval.

"You do know they'll know its you, right?" Zari asked. "The KGB, I mean. They'll know it's SHIELD who's hacking their system."