Rain hammered against the ground. It was unusually heavy today, as though it was a signal, a sign of things to come. There were whispers amongst the guards at Belle Reve, of a visit from someone high-up and the way they talked about the person, sounded like it was someone very dangerous. 

The rain continued to pour, and yet the falling drops could not conceal the sounds of the engine of the large jet that had made landfall on the tiny airstrip. 

Sitting in her cell, hands bound by those strange suppressant cuffs, Sophie Gupta could hear the plane landing from her tiny prison cell. The door was a solid hunk of metal, with a small space in the center to hand her the slop that passed for food; otherwise, that space remained blocked off by a thin metallic slide. There was a tiny window up in the corner of the cell, to let in the bare minimum amount of sunlight. She sat on the metal bed, placed directly under the window, waiting. She knew, she just knew what this person was here for. They always wanted to talk to her. 

Sophie glared at the cuffs on her arm and at the symbol carved into them. When she was out of Belle Reve, she would take great pleasure in looting STAR Labs. No matter how hard she tried, how much she tried to break them, the cuffs just stayed the same. Quite frankly, it was getting annoying. 

"Yo! Robin Hood! Don't zone out in there!" That annoying lieutenant, Griggs or whatever the fuck his name was, tapped loudly on the door of her cell. "You got visitors!"

The metal slide covering the space opened and Griggs peered in, looking pissed that he even had to talk to her. "You sleeping or what?"

Sophie swore at him in Hindi, calling him the worst of names that he would never even know the meaning of. Perks of knowing a second language after all. She stood up and crossed her arms, setting her face into a death glare. "What the fuck do-"

She trailed off, noticing the two people standing behind Griggs. Both of them had visitor batches hanging around their necks. One of them, for sure, was a military guy, judging by the way he stood. He was tall, at least six feet, maybe even more and had sandy brown hair, which was covered by a cap. The other was a much shorter, dark-skinned woman. But the way she stood and just...there was something about her that made her seem more dangerous than the guy from the military.

Griggs moved away from the tiny space in the door, allowing the two to take his place. Sophie stood up and stretched her arms, before walking towards the door. 

"I'd say it's nice to have visitors in this shithole and what not, but really, it's not," Sophie stood straight, refusing to let them see even a hint of nervousness. "So, who the hell are you and what do you want from me?" 

"Let's get you out of the cell first, shall we?" The woman ignored her question, motioning for Griggs to unlock the door. 

"You know how dangerous she is? You want me to get her out of her cell?" Griggs looked incredulous.

"Just unlock the damn door," The tall guy snapped. 

Griggs looked like he wanted to protest, but bit back whatever remark he had. The sound of dangling keys filled the air as he swung the cell door. "Out you get," he sneered at Sophie. 

"Again, what the hell do you want?" Sophie asked as she stepped out of the cell,  accidentally elbowing Griggs on the way. 

"Patience is a virtue, Miss Gupta," The woman looked amused as she stared Sophie down. 

"Well, I'm not a virtuous woman, ma'am," Sophie stared back. She had never been one to back down from challenging authority figures. "Every single time one of you people come here, they want me to do something. So really. What. Do. You. Want."

The woman and the guy from the military exchanged looks. "Colonel Flag, escort Miss Gupta to the location."

"Follow me," Flag grabbed her elbow, his grip teetering on the verge of being harsh. The slight twist in his expression was a clear indicator that he did not want to be here. 

"Where else would I even go?" Sophie muttered under her breath. 

(There was no point in running when her powers were still bound.)

The rain had stopped, but clouds remained in the sky. The air was sticky and the humidity was far higher than any normal human would like. 

Sophie loved it. Having barely seen the outside of her cell in the six months since her imprisonment, she was going to savour every moment she was outside those four walls. She took a quiet breath, feeling the tinge of moisture in the air. Being trapped would make her appreciate the sky, even a clouded one, more than she ever did. 

The outdoor shooting range was oddly dingy and rusted in all directions and yet, was surrounded by more guards than Sophie had ever seen. There were ten guards in total, each carrying their strongest guns. She supposed it was because of her. 'Such a nice welcome for me?'

The table in front of her looked like it had been thrown up last minute. Machine guns, pistols, rifles and stacks of loaded pistols had been hastily tossed on it. Those circular black things in the corner looked suspiciously like landmines. Sophie wondered what they wanted her to do with them. She did not need guns or bombs to permanently take someone's life. All she needed was a flick of the wrist and a solid wall nearby. But she wasn't a killer and she never would be. 

The steel targets placed at a distance, all had holes in them and looked like they hadn't been repaired in decades. Seriously, they could afford to trap her with experimental cuffs but couldn't even afford new targets? No wonder all the guards in this prison were fucking pathetic. 

"Alright, take those cuffs off," Flag demanded. 

"You do know what the hell she can do, right?" Griggs looked incredulous once more, and a tad bit fearful. "She's too dangerous to be let out in the open."

"Just take the damn cuffs off, man," Flag glared at Griggs, who immediately complied.

Sophie mindlessly raised her hands, winking at Griggs. His face was contorted in a range of emotions, but mostly fear. 'Good. Be afraid. You have no idea what I can do.'

The cuffs slipped off her palm and the annoying prison guard immediately stepped back. Sophie felt a slight rush pass through her arms, like the return of an old friend. She could now feel it all, the familiar tingle in her hands, the urge to move things, to push them out of the way. Oh, she had missed this. But there was no time to revel in the joy of having her powers back. She could easily take down the guards and escape, but that would be pointless. The woman and this Flag guy, they were here for a reason and if she could find a semi-legal way out of here, then so be it. Sophie would become a circus freak if that meant gaining freedom from a prison cell she shouldn't even be in. 

"Are you guys going to tell me what I am supposed to do or..." Sophie looked from the colonel towards that woman. 

"You know exactly what you need to do, don't you?" Flag said clearly. His eyes were oddly piercing. "So, do it. Let's see what you can do."

"So demanding, Colonel," Sophie drawled, grinning up at the man. "You seem more civilised than the idiot guards in this prison. So why don't you ask nicely?"

"Please show us what you can do," Flag rolled his eyes, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice. 

Sophie casually leaned back, pressing her hands against the table. "With guns or..."

She felt a rush of power flow through veins, as sharp as a knife and yet completely painless. Her mind was alert and she could feel every gun on the table. A single blink of her eye and every single weapon was in the air. Six of those guns were pointed towards Griggs, who fell back on his ass in fear. The others were pointed towards the ten guards, who bore identical expressions to Griggs, their hands gripping their weapons tighter than before. 

"My hands," Sophie took a bow, grinning at the fear she could see in the guards and the damn bastard Griggs. She wanted to injure them all, but..."There's no fun in targeting you assholes, so.."

She raised her hands, and the weapons hovered in the air until they stopped just above the table. With a flick of her wrist, the weapons faced the steel targets. Another flick, and the weapons fired simultaneously, the bullets razing through the targets. It sounded like a bomb had been let off. Another flick, and the weapons were back on the table. 

"Telekinesis," Sophie took an elegant bow, now full-on grinning. Griggs was already back on his feet, scrambling to be away from her. But as she faced Flag and that woman, she slowly let that smile disappear. "I've done what you asked. Now tell me what this is all about."

"Your freedom, Miss Gupta," The woman spoke. 

Sophie was immediately alert. Freedom. Did that mean she could be out early? There had to be a catch here.

"You couldn't possibly mean me getting out of here," Sophie looked from Flag to the woman. "There is no way you will let out of here before my sentence is done, Ms..."

"Waller, Amanda Waller."

"What's the catch here, ma'am? Do I need to crack a code? Break past a firewall?" 

Sophie crossed her arms. "I am no soldier, and neither do I enjoy hurting people. I would rather die than kill anyone, so no assassinations. All I am is a thief, who's here because of a mistake I -"

"That is what we are here to fix," Waller said. "There's an offer on the table, Miss Gupta. A way to get out of prison early and make yourself useful to me."

Sophie bristled. All the government officials that had come through, FBI, CIA, the DOD itself...they had all wanted to use her as a tool. Yet, there was something about Amanda Waller that seemed, there was no other word for it, real. "I do want to get out here, so I am ready to accept your offer, Ms. Waller. But I need a few things first. First, I need an actual bed in my cell. Goodness knows I've already fucked up my back. A good mattress and a memory foam pillow for my neck would be nice."

"Anything else?" Waller looked amused. 

"When I was arrested," Sophie made a face. "There was a necklace in my belongings. It belonged to my mother and I would like it back."

Part of the sentence was a lie, but this woman and the colonel didn't need to know that. 

"That's all that I ask for."

Waller stared at her for a long moment, before nodding. "Then, welcome to Task Force X, Shadow."

writing the first chapter of something is sooo easy (not)

i think this is the longest starting chapter i have written in ages because usually, writing first chapter is such a pain. but this was actually kind of fun to write and i am happy with how it turned out, especially with sophie and rick's first interaction hehe. letting you know in advance that like most members of task force x, sophie takes nothing seriously (except her powers)

as for the necklace, well...let's just say it's foreshadowing hehe

i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! comments and votes are always appreciated <3

for now i shall leave you with my favourite representation of rick and sophie's dynamic: