AN: If you haven't read my fic "Fix You", well then you might be confused with what's being said in here. So yeah, you might wanna go read that or risk being left wondering who the hell this OC is and what she means to the team.

Five years.

It's been five long busy years that Camille Saunders has been an Avenger.

She's been through a lot as a working hero- her preferred partner now being Natasha. It had been Clint at one time but after one mission in Romania where he pissed off one too many thugs and then made her shift into a horse so he could actually ride her away from the danger, well.. she changed her mind. And also, if she heard giddy up one more time, she was going to junk kick the archer.

She had been more than ecstatic with her decision in joining the initiative, although, life with SHIELD and the Avengers wasn't all happy-go-lucky as she had hoped.

There were successful missions and there were failures. There were many cuts, gashes, bullet holes, broken bones, and stitches but she always ended the week with a smile and a couple beers. And one of the main things that really sucked about being a full time Avenger was that the more she became a functioning adult- the more Coulson seemed to pull away from her and leave her be which she didn't like at all. Clint and Natasha had tried telling her to not take it personally but, of course, she did. Especially when Coulson got a whole new team to go out into the field with and he seemed to take a new girl under his wing only to treat her like a daughter.

That had been her at one time but now that she was doing things on her own and going out on missions with the Black Widow, it seemed like Phil Coulson wasn't in her life as much as she wished he'd be. So when her emotions eventually got the best of her and Camille needed a little pick me up, her mind somehow landed on art. More specifically- tattoo art.

SHIELD didn't like any of their agents with marks or piercings on their bodies that enemies could identify but seeing as she was an Avenger- well, she didn't care either way. With a vague idea in mind of what she wanted, Camille looked up the best tattoo parlor in New York and booked an appointment for a week later. After all, rash decisions weren't good ideas in the long run but if after a week she still wanted a tattoo then she was going to get a tattoo.

And a week later after hours of a needle digging into her skin, Camille takes a cab ride home, and readies herself for the thoughts of her friends and family on what they thought about the green vine-like plant that curved around her ear and down the side of her neck. She never did let her hair grow back in, well she did but a full head of hair didn't last long and she had Clint shave it back down.

Natasha was the only one to tell her she was stupid for getting the tattoo.. and then later tell her that it suited her. Everyone else had been shocked, not that she got a tattoo but about it's placement, and then went on with their day as if nothing had happened. But just as life started taking an excellent turn with Tony as a pseudo dad, the Avenger boys as pseudo uncles, the Hulk- of all people- as a brother, Natasha as a sister, and Pepper a mother, HYDRA decided to shoot everyone's happiness to shit.

The old-school Nazi organization decided they wanted to run things, compromising SHIELD and making Captain America an enemy of the agency. There had been a hit out on Fury, Steve, and Natasha- HYDRA bringing in someone they called the Winter Soldier- but the group managed to come together along with some friends in high places and take back SHIELD while rooting out the traitors. Steve hadn't been the same after that fight, he admitting to knowing the identity of the Winter Soldier and that had been a hell of a blow. With James Buchanan Barnes still alive and kicking after being HYDRA's weapon, Steve had been dead set on finding his once best friend.

So, of course, Steve was away when news of the Inhumans broke. And, of course, one just so happened to be on Coulson's new team.

Thor and Lady Sif had dropped by to warn his fellow Avengers of the threat the Inhumans posed. He told them how the Inhumans were created by the Kree to be used as weapons but when the Kree saw how dangerous their creations turned out, the Kree sought to destroy each and every one of them. But apparently, they missed a couple way back then and the Inhumans multiplied over the years. Although, as Lady Sif came to know, not all Inhumans were dangerous.

The Inhuman on Coulson's team was actually a decent one, therefore got a free pass to stay on Midgard with her team even after Sif told them how dangerous the Inhumans can be. Camille wasn't comfortable- especially since the girl didn't know control yet- and reached out to Coulson. Only when she finally got Coulson on the phone, he told her not to worry and quickly ended the call under the guise of having other matters to tend to.

Although, the Inhumans weren't being as discrete as they once were and the public ended up finding out about the new race. And when one too many Inhumans decided to use their powers for the not so greater good, it started up a whole new political fight between the humans and the enhanced so, of course, the mutants got dragged back into it once more.

And when Camille's position as an Avenger was questioned because of her abilities, Stark had a whole team of lawyers to defend her. But sadly, said lawyers couldn't really defend the mutant when she was walking the streets and started scuffles that turned into full blown riots just because of her existence.

Steve finally comes home when things start cooling off, he bringing with him a lost and confused Bucky Barnes. They then tried everything to make the man feel welcomed after a few health tests declared him healthy but he was skittish around everyone who wasn't Steve or Natasha. And then when he did start letting his guard down, he always blushed in Camille's presence and fled when words wouldn't come to him. But Camille being Camille, she just shrugged it off.

Camille had just gotten back from a long day on the Helicarrier, peeling off her uniform as she stumbles into her room. Phone ringing, the blonde groans with her suit halfway off and bends over to pull the ringing device from her boot. And without glancing at the screen to see who's calling, she accepts the call with a yawn. "Saunders speaking. Make it quick."

"Someone's in a mood."

Camille freezes, a lazy smirk forming and finishes stripping to undergarments. "Natasha. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Pepper and I are tired of the testosterone in the tower. We're getting pizza so you're needed in the garage in twenty."

"But I- I-"

"Twenty minutes, sestra."

The call disconnects and Camille holds the phone out in front of her face, staring at it in disbelief. And then realizing that one minute has just ticked by, she tosses her phone onto the bed and rushes into the bathroom. When Natasha tells you to be somewhere within a certain time frame then you better be there. Camille's tried the redhead's patience only once in her time at the tower and she'd never do it again. Never. Again. (Tony still has the video of Natasha using a shock baton with low voltage on the shifter in order to get her to move along.)

So jumping into the shower where she's careful to not wet her hair- seriously, she was not redoing the thin braid all over again where her hair met the shaven part of her head- Camille scrubs down in record time and brushes her teeth while in there. And then jumping back out of the shower, she grabs a fluffy towel from the closet in the bathroom and wraps herself in it.

Heading into her room, she hits the dresser first for an average cotton bra and hipster panties. After pulling them on, she then heads to her closet where she picks out a comfortable outfit that consists of a gray henley with three quarter sleeves and black ripped jeans. A dagger holster gets plucked from a hanger and is quickly tied around her abdomen beneath her shirt, Camille then quickly sheathing two daggers at the small of her back before she pulls her shirt down. Then sitting on her bed to pull on socks that she's pulled from her dresser, she checks her phone only to see she has two minutes left before she's meant to be downstairs. So grabbing a pair of boots from her closet, Camille quickly pockets some cash and her phone, and hops into the hallway as she tries to pull on her boots.

And when she makes it to the garage, both Natasha and Pepper are dressed fairly casually in jeans and boots- their jackets covering whatever shirt they chose to wear- and are laughing at something they're staring at on Natasha's phone.

"JARVIS sent you the video of my hopping, didn't he?"

"He did. At least you're on time, though," Pepper answers, smiling.

Camille rolls her eyes in good humor, glancing to the left only to see their driver. "Happy! Long time no see, my friend."

"Miss Camille," he smiles fondly. "It's been four months, I believe."

The shifter laughs as she steps up to him and briefly hugs him. "How's the wife?"

There's a moment's pause and then his smile turns rather goofy. "Pregnant."

"What?! No way! Congrats!"

"Thank you," he blushes.

Natasha and Pepper are already seated in the backseat so Camille happily takes the front passenger seat as Happy closes the back door. "Looks like I'm ridin' up front." Happy chuckles and walks around to pull open the driver side door before settling in. "So tell me," Camille then keeps up their conversation. "-has the wife had any weird cravings? That's a thing, right? The cravings."

"It is." His gaze is focused on where he's driving so she takes no offense with the no eye contact. "Lately, it's been pickles and spicy mustard."

Camille mock gags and Happy chuckles once more. "We'll get her hooked on sweets. Just you wait, she'll love my baking."

"I look forward to it," he then tells her.

Their conversation dies out and Camille relaxes into her seat as Happy drives them to their destination of the little hole-in-the-wall pizzeria that Pepper once long ago introduced Camille to. Natasha and Pepper are chatting away in the back, and Camille's happy to stay out of their conversation as she watches the city pass by her window. But then a few minutes in, Pepper's calling her name and Camille's glancing over her shoulder at the other blonde. "Hmm, what was that?"

"We asked how Darcy was. We haven't seen her around the tower for weeks now."

The shifter frowns and then glances at Natasha who's waiting for her answer as well, Camille then shrugging with a small smile. "She's fine. Still running around after Foster though she gets paid to do so now."

"Mhm. And why hasn't she been around the tower?" Natasha pushes.

She hesitates for a moment before deciding just to tell them. Natasha was bound to find out anyway. "We broke it off. Long distance wasn't really working out."

"But you were together for three years?!" Was it just Camille or did Pepper actually look sad about this new information?

"And it was a wonderful three years," Camille chuckles in response. "We're still friends so don't worry. I still get random playlists and random texts, and vice versa only I send her drawings instead of music."

Pepper falls silent but Natasha is still staring curiously at the younger blonde. And when Camille shifts uncomfortably under her friend's gaze, the redhead smirks. "What are your thoughts on being set up on a blind date?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not? You're obviously not heartbroken or pining."

"I've been told of your matchmaking stories from Steve. No, thank you."

"But he likes you- really likes you," Natasha continues with a grin. "And I think you like him. Or you could eventually if you already don't."

Camille's gaze narrows and Natasha smirks, and then the shifter is watching as Natasha turns to face Pepper before the two are sharing a quiet conversation with just eyebrow quirks and grins.

A knowing smile spreads across Pepper's lips and then she's staring at Camille. "Yes, I do believe Sergeant Barnes would be an excellent match when you're ready to start dating again."

The younger blonde snorts so hard that she startles Happy and laughs for a few seconds before she realizes her friends aren't laughing. "Wait, you're being serious?"

"Oh, honey," Pepper coos, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from outright laughing as Natasha scoffs, "Duh."

Camille's left to then mull over what Natasha's just told her, left to wonder about Barnes' reaction towards her ever since he's come to live at the tower and huh- maybe he does like-

"We're here," Happy states, pulling her from her thoughts.

Camille jumps and gulps, and Pepper and Natasha laugh at her reaction. Though after they've piled out from the car and are dropped off in front of the establishment so Happy can park around back, Camille's smiling as she stretches her arms outward before giving a twirl. "Is it weird that I absolutely love the city at night time?"

"Not at all," Pepper answers.

Natasha catches the younger girl around the neck with her arm, bringing Camille down low in a friendly headlock as Pepper holds the door open for them. She smiles fondly as the two women- who've become family to her- enter the establishment while laughing and joking, grateful for the way Camille's managed to tear down Natasha's walls like no one else was capable of.

Natasha and Camille then weave their way though the crowded pizzeria, the two girls choosing a back booth so Natasha can have her back to the wall and eyes on the exits. Pepper gets shoved into the corner and then Camille's taking the remaining seat- leaving her back vulnerable and trusting Natasha to call out any threats.

The three women order a large Supreme and split a cold pitcher of beer, talking about anything and everything they need catching up on. Especially about how Camille never saw how Barnes stared at her like a love struck child.

The pizzeria is noisy and loud but Natasha does a sweep of the joint from her position every couple of minutes.

It isn't until Camille's laughing with tears leaking from the corner of her eyes at some story Pepper's just told about Tony's trashy one night stands years ago- the ones Pepper had to get rid of when she was just an assistant- that Natasha sobers up and taps Camille's ankle twice with her own foot.

Camille sobers up just as quickly when she gets the signal, back going ramrod straight. "Situation?"

And yeah, Pepper's definitely not giggling anymore and trying to remain as calm and collected as possible. She knows the drill.

"Three males," the redhead answers, smiling and averting her gaze before continuing. "Baseball caps, hooded sweatshirts, hands in their pockets." She pauses again, looking to Pepper and laughing before picking up her beer mug only to pretend to sip it. Camille shifts uncomfortably in her seat, wishing she could glance over her shoulder but the terse and obvious head shake of no from Natasha has her keeping still. "One of them is scoping the place out; sweating. Amateurs who will shoot at first spook."

"What's the plan?"

When Natasha glances back in the direction of the three males, she tenses and Camille softly swears. "We're winging it. I've just been compromised."

Natasha throws herself to the side just as gunfire erupts, Camille throwing herself atop of Pepper and dragging themselves beneath the table. There's yelling going on, one of the suspects yelling about this being a robbery and for everyone to get down, and Camille curses their luck. They would get stuck in the middle of such an ordinary crime.

With civilians screaming and crying, Camille knows she can't shift in such a crowded place. Instead, she'd have to rely on hand-to-hand combat like Natasha or use her trusty throwing daggers and pray that the civilians remain crouched. God, she hopes Happy doesn't come rushing in. She doesn't need the man getting shot or worse.. killed.

She barely has enough time to see Natasha's quick nod before the redhead is returning fire, Camille quickly crawling out from atop of Pepper and pulling out a dagger. And when one of the suspects spots her, he turns to aim at her but she lets her dagger fly and watches as it embeds in his shoulder. With a cry, the guy stumbles back but still manages to fire off a few rounds.

The triumphant grin is wiped from Camille's face as she stumbles back in shock, pain blossoming in her chest. The people near her are crying out even more and then Natasha's taking care of the last two men, and as Natasha yells for everyone to vacate the premises, everyone starts scrambling for an exit.

Pepper scrambles out from beneath the table, sighing out in relief but the second she takes in the sight of Camille, her facial expression crumbles and she's calling out for Natasha. Numbly, Camille glances down and finds a hole in her shirt just off center and to the left, her shirt shades darker and damper than it should be.

When her hand raises to touch the dark spot and her fingers come away red, Camille's knees give out but Natasha's there to catch her. "Hey.. hey, I've got you. I've got you." Camille coughs, blood coating her lips and spraying across Natasha cheek and neck just as the redhead turns towards Pepper. "Out the back. Now! Tell Happy to start the car." And then glancing back at the blonde in her arms, Natasha's voice trembles. "Keep your eyes open, Camille, okay? You gotta keep 'em open."

Taking a second to steel herself, Natasha pulls one of Camille's arms around the back of her neck and then takes the same path that Pepper took towards the kitchen as she yells at everyone to get out of her way. Carrying most of Camille's weight, Natasha takes them through the kitchen and out the back exit where Happy's watching on in horror from the driver's seat and Pepper's in the front passenger seat yelling hysterically into her phone for a medical team to be ready at the tower.

Dragging the wounded shifter into the back seat and reaching over to slam the door shut, Natasha maneuvers them until Camille's laying across the back seat with her upper body in the redhead's lap.

Camille's gasping and whimpering, and Natasha's putting pressure on the wound. "I know it hurts," the assassin gulps down the sudden lump of emotion in her throat. "-but I gotta put pressure to stop the bleeding."

"It- it doesn't- it doesn't hurt," Camille pants.

"That- that's good, right?!" Pepper urges.

But Natasha remains silent, growing cold at realizing that Camille's back and her own lap are becoming damp. The bullet hole is a through-and-through, and Camille's not just bleeding from her chest. "Pepper, give me your scarf."

"P-please- please, don't- don't make me leave."

Natasha's heart skips a beat at Camille's words and her eyes grow damp. Pepper tosses her scarf into the back only to see Natasha ball it up and shove it beneath Camille's back. "We won't," Natasha tells her. "We love having you here." Glancing up, she meets Happy's gaze in the rear view mirror. "Drive. Faster."

"Please.. I don't- I like it here."

"We know you do," Natasha assures her, pressing harder to slow the blood flow and blinking away the tears.

"I- I have family now. Love.. my family."

"We love you, too," Pepper cries from the front.

Camille's eyes close briefly and Natasha panics. "Camille? Open your eyes. Open your eyes, Camille!"

The shifter jolts, her eyes opening as she whimpers. "Please- please don't make me- make me leave." She's panting, coughing, and more blood dribbles from her mouth. "Please- please don't.."

Voice trailing off and chest suddenly ceasing all movement, Natasha gives the Camille a soft shake. "Sestra?"

There's no answer as eyes stare up unseeing, and Natasha cries outright for the first time in years for the girl in her lap. Pepper wails when she glances in the back seat only to find Natasha hunched over Camille's body and muttering apologies in Russian.

xXx

When Happy screeches into the underground parking garage, no one moves. The medical team that Bruce has pulled together waits anxiously by the elevator with a gurney and still, no one moves a muscle. Happy is hunched over the steering wheel, Pepper's crying into her hands, and Natasha's back is pressed against the door while one arm is protectively laying across Camille's chest and her free hand is shoved between her thigh and the seat- the assassin's gaze dead and staring into nothing.

Bruce, Tony, Clint, Steve, and Bucky are suddenly running for the car- Tony immediately going for Pepper's door while Bucky goes for the back door at Natasha and Camille's feet, he ripping it off it's hinges in an attempt to hurriedly reach them. But with the door being ripped off, it startles Natasha so badly that her gun is suddenly trained on Bucky staring in shock- it having been gripped tight in hand by her thigh.

Clint manages to push the Soldier out of the way and when he does, he catches Natasha's gaze. "Tash?"

Her aim wavers and her bottom lip trembles, and the Widow sinks back against the door in defeat.

Camille Saunders is given a private and then public funeral- the first being for every SHIELD associate and the Avengers, and the second being open to the public (although the Avengers showed their face there as well) for the civilians who surprisingly mourned the fallen Avenger. A few protesters had dared to show their face and cause a scene but that was quickly taken care of when the Black Widow lost her temper and punched a man unconscious. After that, no one was too keen on shouting anything negative about the mutant.

Three days after the burial, a tired and sluggish woman sits in the passenger seat of a nondescript black SUV with a dark skinned, eye patch wearing man in the driver's seat. Before them and down at the bottom of the hill, they watch as a group of people surround a fresh mound of dirt- some leaning on others for support.

"Did you see what you needed to see?" he asks.

Eyes blinking slowly, she shrugs. "Did I know them well?"

"..you did."

"Why can't I remember then?"

"We're not sure," he answers. "Which is why we're sending you away to find out without any interruptions. Are you ready to find out who you are, agent Saunders?"

Camille turns towards Director Fury, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up and over her head. Sinking back into her seat, she tersely nods. "I'm ready, Sir."

Part 1 of 3.

So, are you guys happy I wrote 2 more chapters? Seriously, this chapter had ended when "the Widow sinks back against the door in defeat". But then I got ideas for more and added the end part of this chapter so it slips into part 2 more easily.