Sunlight slipped through the thin curtains, painting pale stripes across the unfamiliar ceiling.
Eli blinked awake.
For a moment he was confused.
Then yesterday returned all at once.
Aliens.
Flying metal whales.
A man in a metal suit.
And a red-haired spy who apparently thought he was a kid.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
Then a faint shimmer crossed his vision.
Status: Optimal
Ability Capacity: 9 / 12
The display faded almost immediately.
Eli sighed.
"Well… good morning to me."
He rolled out of bed and shuffled toward the kitchen.
The smell of coffee reached him before he even turned the corner.
Natasha was already there.
Of course she was.
She sat at the small table with a mug in her hands, dressed in dark tactical pants and a fitted black shirt like she'd been awake for hours.
Which she probably had.
A tablet rested beside her.
Eli stopped in the doorway.
"Do spies sleep?"
Natasha took a calm sip of coffee.
"Eventually."
He grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup.
The first sip made him pause.
"Okay… that's actually amazing."
"Stockholm," Natasha said simply.
"I have it imported."
Eli raised an eyebrow.
"Let me guess. Through twelve shell companies and a fake charity?"
"Thirteen," she corrected.
"And a bakery in New Jersey."
He snorted softly.
Natasha slid the tablet across the table.
The screen lit up.
Files.
Lots of them.
Eli looked at it.
Then at her.
"…What's this?"
"Mission files."
He groaned.
"I just helped save the planet yesterday."
Natasha shrugged.
"Welcome to the job."
"I don't remember applying."
"You fought an alien invasion," she said calmly.
"That's basically an application."
Eli rubbed his face.
"So what is this exactly?"
"Evaluation."
"Evaluation for what?"
Natasha stood and set her mug in the sink.
"To decide whether you're a threat… an asset… or just a lucky idiot."
Eli frowned.
"I vote for option three."
"Get dressed," she said.
"We leave in thirty minutes."
Forty-five minutes later they arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse in Queens.
It wasn't abandoned.
Not even close.
Natasha swiped a keycard and led him inside.
Downstairs was a temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. operations center.
Training floors.
Simulation rooms.
Observation stations.
Agents everywhere.
Eli looked around.
"…Processing center?"
Natasha nodded.
"Something like that."
A man with a buzz cut walked over.
"This is Agent Mercer," Natasha said.
"He's running the tests."
Mercer barely looked up from his tablet.
"Step onto the mat."
Eli glanced at Natasha.
"Seriously?"
"Humor us."
Reaction Test, The lights dimmed.
Red targeting dots appeared on the walls.
Then the lasers started firing.
Eli moved.
It wasn't even conscious.
His body twisted and shifted through the pulses like water slipping through cracks.
Thirty seconds later the room went quiet again.
Mercer stared at his tablet.
"…Ninety-seven percent evasion."
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"And the other three?"
Mercer looked confused.
"The energy dispersed across his body."
Eli shrugged.
"Didn't feel it."
Mercer wrote something down.
"Sparring next."
Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stepped onto the mat.
Both looked like walking tanks.
Eli sighed.
"This feels unnecessary."
Natasha folded her arms.
"They need to see how you fight."
"And if I hurt them?"
Her lips curved slightly.
"Try not to."
The agents attacked.
Eli didn't.
He simply moved.
Every punch missed.
Every grab failed.
Three minutes later the agents were breathing hard.
Eli wasn't even sweating.
He looked at Natasha.
"…Done?"
Mercer lowered his tablet.
"If he had been attacking, the fight would have lasted ten seconds."
Natasha nodded slowly.
"Not bad."
The next room held a simulation screen.
A hostage scenario.
Civilians.
A man wearing a bomb vest.
Mercer spoke.
"Thirty seconds. What do you do?"
Eli studied the screen.
His mind raced through options.
Then he said quietly,
"I stop the bomber first."
"How?"
"Fast. From above."
"And the civilians?"
Eli hesitated.
Only for a moment.
But Natasha noticed.
"I protect them," he said.
Mercer made a note.
Natasha stayed silent.
The tests ended.
But Eli didn't leave.
At least not immediately.
He stayed.
Worked with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Mostly with Natasha.
Small missions.
Nothing world-ending.
Stopping black market tech dealers.
Intercepting stolen alien weapons.
Breaking up a few Hydra operations.
At first Natasha watched him like a scientist watching an experiment.
But slowly…that changed.
Time Skip — Two Months Later
Mission in Prague.
Eli smashed through a warehouse wall.
Natasha stared at the hole.
"That was a door."
"It was locked."
"That's what lockpicks are for."
"You have those?"
She sighed.
Time Skip — Four Months Later
Night mission in Berlin.
Gunfire echoed through a warehouse.
Natasha ducked behind cover.
Eli casually stood in the open.
Bullets bounced off him.
She grabbed his arm and yanked him down.
"Stop showing off."
"I wasn't showing off."
"You were literally standing in gunfire."
Time Skip — Six Months Later
Rooftop in Vienna.
Mission complete.
The city lights stretched below them.
They waited for extraction.
Neither spoke for a while.
Finally Eli said,
"You ever take a day off?"
Natasha smirked.
"Do you?"
"…Fair point."
For a moment the silence felt comfortable.
Not awkward.
Just quiet.
Later — Fury Call
That night Natasha sat in the safehouse car.
Phone to her ear.
On the other end was Nick Fury.
"Report."
Natasha leaned back.
"He's not lying."
"About what?"
"About not belonging here."
Fury paused.
"And his abilities?"
"Exceptional."
"And his judgment?"
Natasha thought about the hesitation in the simulation.
The way he always moved civilians out of danger first.
"Too human," she said quietly.
Fury grunted.
"That could get him killed."
"Or it could be why he's worth keeping around."
Silence hung for a moment.
Then Fury said,
"Keep watching him."
The line went dead.
Natasha lowered the phone.
Inside the building, Eli was probably arguing with the shower again.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah…" she murmured.
"This is going to be interesting."