9 Years Ago
Tony had many different modes. At times he was the careless public figure who threw parties for days and drank like an Irish mobster. Other times he was the good samaritan 'helping out' the military just to get James Rhodes off his back, but for the most part, he was a billionaire playboy with way too much money for his own good.
Nina was used to all his modes because despite whatever mask he decided to throw on in the morning he was still Tony Stark, she was still his chosen sister and she loved him.
...however...
She could do without his over the top birthday mode. Nina had always seen the day as just like any other but Tony always had to go big.
"Tony, what did you do?" Newly turned 14 year old Nina asked as she walked into the 20th balloon tower she'd seen in her 10 minutes of being awake.
"Happy Birthday!!" Tony exclaimed with outstretched hands after throwing a handful of red confetti in the air around him while Jarvis played the birthday song in all corners of the room.
Nina just stared at him before travelling her eyes across the landing. Every table and chair was filled with neatly wrapped boxes, varying in size and colour, with futile bows that she couldn't even see the usual machine parts that Tony left on them.
"Tony, you know I love and appreciate you... but what the hell?" Nina responded as she batted a purple balloon out of the way to reach the billionaire.
"Before you go on your 'stop spending money on me, there are people who need it more' rant, hear me out," Tony held hands out to stop Nina's complaint in its tracks. He pulled her into a hug as she accepted the embrace, "I know you didn't like the indoor aquarium I set up last year, so I thought this was more your style,"
"The aquarium was lovely, I just didn't appreciate the almost drowning part when you decided to turn my bedroom into the dolphin exhibit... while I was still in bed," Nina rebutted as she pulled away from him, a smile had reached her face because despite how extra he was being, he was still Tony.
"I agree the methodology was flawed, but this year I did something more Nina certified," Tony smiled and gestured to the boxes, "2000 presents that we can disrupt out to the local orphanages and foster homes. I know you worry about the kids being all alone sometimes so I figured we'd give them something to have as their own."
"Tony-" Nina hadn't expected Tony to take on one of her passing comments and make it a reality but she was so happy that he did.
"They consist of stuffed animals for the young ones, games consoles for the competitive kids. Macbooks and phones for the teens and unlimited access cards to the ground floor of the tower. So they have somewhere they can go when they have nowhere to go," Tony explained as he pointed to the presents. Nina smiled.
"Tony... thank you. This is the best birthday present you could ever given me,"
"I'm not done yet, bear," Tony told her as he pulled out a small box from behind his back, "this one's yours."
Nina took it slower and opened it even slower. She was surprised to see a blade laying in the thin box considering Tony had always begrudgingly allowed her around weapons.
"You hate knives," she said as she pulled in out of the box and held it carefully in her hand, avoiding the sharp blade.
"I do but you don't and neither did your dad," Tony responded and Nina tilted her head at him confused until he handed her a picture.
She looked at it and instantly noticed it was of her dad. He was in uniform and the picture must have been taken overseas as it was one Nina had never seen before. In his hand was a knife, a replica to the one she was holding now.
"I know how uncomfortable this must be for you, you didn't have to get me this," Nina said as she smiled down at the blade in her hand, merely holding the weapon made her feel closer to her father.
"It's nothing," Tony said throwing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side, "I prefer you with that knife than the guns you can't seem to stay away from."
"I love it. I love everything," Nina said as she set down the knife and hugged him properly.
"I'm glad," Tony hummed before pulling away after a moment and walking towards the presents, "let's get this stuff to the cars. We have a long day ahead of us and Rhodey offered to drive the van, you know how he gets when we're late."
Nina grinned and nodded excitedly. Grabbing what she could carry and following Tony down into the elevator, no longer annoyed by the balloon towers or the birthday song Jarvis was still playing but appreciative of the family she had with the one and only Tony Stark.
*
Present Day
After Coulson had come clean to the entire team about his resurrection, Nina had retreated into the training room. Her injured knuckles restricted her from working on a punching bag so instead, she sharpened the blades of her knives.
It was therapeutic to her but also something that gave Tony severe anxiety when she would do it as a teenager in her room. But he was proud now, proud that her destructive adolescent hobby had turned into a destructive adult job with semi-positive consequences because she was his sister and he had somehow raised her right.
Nina had her headphones in while she brought her current knife back and forth on the stone, her music was so loud that she didn't hear the door open or the company she now had call out to her.
However, she did feel the hand that grabbed her shoulder and reacted accordingly.
She grabbed the hand and turned around, ducking under her assailant's arm and kicking the back of their legs. Bringing them down to their knees as Nina twisted their arm in front of them.
"Who the hell are you?" Nina shot at the African American man she now had on his knees in front of her.
"Trip! Agent Antoine Triplett!" He responded in agony, "damn woman, my arm!"
"I told you interrupting her was a bad idea," Nina heard Ward say as he entered the room, she spared him a glance before focusing back on Trip.
"Agent Triplett, I've heard that name before," she stated and Trip nodded hastily.
"We met... briefly! Ward introduced us," Trip responded, not trying to mask his pain. Nina continued to look at him blankly until his face started to become familiar and she was reminded of their first meeting.
He was right to call it brief. Nina hadn't even had enough time to say more than one word to Ward that day, so the agent he introduced her to had easily been believed to be a figment of her imagination.
"You're Garrett's agent?" Nina started tightening her hold on Trip's arm while he squirmed under her grip. Just knowing that he was currently being trained under Garrett made him an enemy.
"Yes! He's my SO," Trip responded and Nina hummed, keeping her rising anger at bay. Trip knew now to always take Ward's warnings about the infamous Executioner seriously in the future.
"Why are you on our Bus?" She leaned closer to him, almost hissing in his face. Trip could tell that she was confident in her fighting ability as the knife that she had been holding hadn't once been raised in his direction despite it still being held loosely in her hand.
"Quinn! Headquarters wants us to bring them, Quinn!"
"Us? Who's us?"
"Me and Agent Garret! Coulson took him to the holding cell. To see Quinn!"
Nina let go of Trip immediately and he fell to the floor, holding his arm in agony. As Nina stalked to the door, she heard it lock and automatically turned on Ward, seething.
"Unlock the door, Grant," Nina said. Her voice was calm and Ward knew that it was more dangerous than if she had yelled.
Nina had just found out that the man, she believed to be responsible for the death of the most important men and women in her life, had waltzed into her solace like he owned the place and she felt utterly disrespected and pissed.
"You'll kill him," Ward told her and Nina just nodded agreeing with his statement.
"Yes I will, and if you don't unlock this door, I'll kill you too," she threatened him.
"You wouldn't kill me, we're too close for that," Ward said. Where he sounded fairly confident about what he was saying, the venomous look in Nina's eyes told him that despite their friendship if he stood in the way of her vengeance, he was going to get hurt.
"You're right, I wouldn't kill you... but there are different versions of alive and you, Grant, know I am well versed with every single one of them," Nina reminded her best friend as she held her newly sharpened knife up so Ward could see the light catch on the blade. He gulped subtly before unlocking the door and watching Nina walk out without a second glance.
*
Despite Ward's expectations, Nina didn't go straight to the holding cell. Where she had every intention of making the trespasser suffer, she decided to visit the lab first as she believed that death by her blades was far too lenient for what Garrett was.
"Do we have cyanide?" Nina asked as she walked into the lab attracting the attention of the scientist.
FitzSimmons had been camped out in the room for a while, trying to figure out what the miracle drug that had brought back Coulson was so they could create it for Skye.
"Cyanide cyanide?" Fitz asked, without looking up from the file he was currently reading.
"Is there another type of cyanide I'm not aware of?" Nina asked but Fitz shook his head and she walked towards him.
"Storage room, 2nd row from the bottom."
Where Simmons seemed immediately concerned by the request, Fitz saw didn't seem to see anything wrong with it as he disclosed the location.
"Thanks, babe," Nina said kissing his cheek swiftly as she turned to make her way to the storage room.
"Wait, hold on!" Simmons called out and Nina turned to look at her confused, while Fitz looked up from what had previously caught his attention, "why do you need cyanide?"
"Garrett's here, he's in holding with Coulson," Nina answered her before turned to Fitz, "the cyanide, is it concentrated?'
"Mmh not really. We mainly use it for electroplating and sometimes cleaning our metal equipment," Fitz answered, "it's in the form of sodium cyanide so it's safer to take in the air with us."
"So how much would someone have to consume to have a painful death?" Nina asked and Fitz set down he sheet a paper completely. He was used to theoretical conversations like this with Simmons but it had slipped his mind that Nina wasn't a very theoretical person.
"Not much, cyanide is still cyanide," Fitz answered at this point Simmons was just staring at Fitz in astonishment. She didn't understand why he wasn't fazed by any of Nina's questions, "but if it's a painful death you want, I'd sublime it."
"Turn it into a gas?" Nina followed up and he nodded.
"It would take some sophisticated machinery and history in biochemical nerve agents but it should be fairly easy," Fitz told her and Nina grinned.
"You think you could make some for me?"
"Of course, it shouldn't take more than-"
"No," Simmons cut in causing the couple to turn and look at her but she wasn't deterred by their glances, "you aren't making cyanide gas and you aren't killing Garrett."
"Why not?" Fitz and Nina asked simultaneously.
Fitz pouted as he had been quite excited with the possibility of showing off his skills to Nina considering she had mentioned in passing that she'd love to watch him work one day.
"While firstly, you're going to need my input on the sublimation of cyanide and I am not going to help you, help Nina kill a man," Simmons pointed at her best friend before turning on Nina, "and if you kill Garrett when there is still zero evidence that he had anything to do with Cambodia, SHIELD could easily have you thrown in the Fridge."
"It'll be worth it, at least Garrett would be dead," Nina said after a moment of silence.
"No, it won't because with him dead, you'll never get the man who killed Tobias,"
Nina froze at that, realising that in her rage she had forgotten the original reason Garrett was still breathing. The determined look on her face quickly faded as she realised she'd almost eradicated any chance of avenging her late fiance.
"I..." Nina trailed off as she thought about the repercussions of her almost actions. She'd never lost sight of her overall mission before and she was being to worry that in welcoming the team as her family she was losing the part of herself that created the mission.
Her anger was what got her through the multiple surgeries and hours of physical therapy. Her strive for atonement was what gave her the strength to attend 5 funerals and tell 5 families that their loved one wasn't coming home.
Her overall mission was what kept her steady and preventing her from losing all control but she had forgotten it.
And that scared her.
"Nina," Fitz was quick to notice Nina begin to spiral and he reached out cupping her cheek in his palm.
She leaned into his touch automatically, biting the inside of her lip to prevent the soft whimper for leaving her mouth. She felt like a school girl every time Fitz touched her, and she was happy that her body didn't visually give it away.
"I won't kill him, not until I get a name," Nina said after a moment, pulling away and thanking Fitz for anchoring her with a smile and turning to look at Simmons, "but Jemma, the moment I know-"
"You'll put a bullet through his head-"
"No. I'll burn him," Nina cut in firmly. Despite the brutality of her words, her voice was calm and steady. Jemma gulped nervously before continuing.
"As much as I wish you wouldn't for your own sake, I know that you have to," the biochemist said, "I wouldn't try to stop you."
"Thank you," Nina nodded at the scientist. She pulled herself up onto the lab table, sitting so her legs dangled over the edge. She didn't want to dwell on what had just happened and the other two in the room caught on instantly.
Nina picked up one of the papers that had caught Fitz's attention earlier and gestured to them with it, "how's it going with the mystery medicine?"
"I've never heard of half the drugs they gave Coulson," Simmons responded with a deep sigh, "GH-325? And what about robotic-assisted neuro micro surgery they used to implant the Tahiti memories? It all sounds so diabolical."
"I agree," Fitz rubbed a hand down his face and Nina was quick to pull him towards her. Rubbing her hand up and down his back to relieve some of his tension, "but we can't argue with the results. He's walking around."
"Yeah, but at what cost?" Simmons asked, momentarily looking to the monitor that displayed Skye in the pod. She looked away and handed Nina the transcripts of Coulson's surgery, "he begged the doctors to let him die."
Nina didn't say anything as she read the transcripts, her hand still easing the knots in Fitz's back when she turned the pages. Unlike the scientists in the room, she had heard Coulson utter the words she was reading. The more she read, the more she could hear and see the look of desperation on Coulson's face when they'd rescued him from Po and Raina.
The words quickly literally came to life and Nina had to set the transcript down before it all got too much.
"This is different," Fitz countered Simmon's comments, "Skye's still alive. We have to keep her that way."
Simmons just nodded, not getting the chance to respond due to her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out, looking down at the screen.
"Oh. I've asked Dr Streiten to advise us," Simmons said as she answered the phone, she stepped away expecting the phone call to be long but was surprised to find it wasn't, "Hello?... Yes...Are you sure? That can't be."
The 20 second phone call ended abruptly and Nina raised an eyebrow once she saw the smile that was on Simmons' face had fallen and dropped her hand from Fitz's impromptu massage.
"Bad news?" Nina asked
"Dr Steiten's gone off the grid,"
"Okay, that's bad I'm guessing," Nina said and FitzSimmons nodded. They both started explaining their findings to the specialist while she nodded, trying to follow along.
Nina wasn't well versed in the science side of Coulson's resurrection, even when he had explained what he knew, she was too busy fighting her jealousy to pay attention.
Coulson was a good man and from what she did know he didn't even want to be brought back, so she wasn't going to take out her anger for her team being left dead on him. In her eyes, Coulson was just as much a victim as extraction team alpha were and she was determined to not let Skye be one too.