Trust

The sun shined through my windows and into my eyes. I cracked open my eyes and examined my surroundings. The unfamiliarity of it caused me to sit up in surprise. Then the events of last night came flooding back. Right, I was in Avengers tower. I swung my feet over the side of the bed, and let them hit the wood floor. I stumbled over to the bathroom, still half asleep. I stood in front of the mirror and rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. My reflection stared back at me. I looked awful. My hair was standing up in all directions, I had bags under my eyes a mile wide and blood and sweat smeared over my face. I sighed and examined my surroundings, seeing what they had given me. I found a few basic things, such as a hairbrush, a few towels, and other cosmetics. Then I turned the shower water on, and let it warm up. A hot shower was a luxury I never had at Hydra and was looking forward to it. Once confirming there were no cameras in the room, I stripped out of my clothes and then laid them aside. Stepping into the shower, I let the warm water hit my back. Then cleaned my body and hair and turned the knob off, the stream of water turning into a slow drip.Once drying off I slipped back into my clothes. I wandered back into my room, and once again found myself staring out the large bay windows out onto the city skyline. A soft knock came from behind me. Assuming it was the doctor, I let out a soft, come in. The door then creeped open, but instead of Bruce. The red head was standing there, holding a tray of food and a punching bag.

“Mind if it comes in?”

I shook my head, even though I kinda minded. She let the door fully open before walking inside, dragging the bag of sand behind her. She dropped the bag in the middle of the floor, then set the tray on the bed. I glanced over at it from where I stood. It contained a stack of pancakes with a side of bacon.

“Do you need anything else?”

“No.”

“Do you need help setting that up?”

“No”

She nodded in understanding and turned to leave. The door opened and closed and then she was gone. I walked over to the punching bag that was still laying on the floor. I picked it up and quickly found a hook in the corner of the room. I picked it and let it set on the hook and confirmed it was steady. I swung my fist forward and it made hard contact with the bag. I swung again, and again, and again, letting my thoughts wander.

“Worthless!” My S.O yelled at me.

“Pathetic!”

”Stupid!”

“Waste of space!”

Memories flooded my mind with each came a harder punch. My fists came in contact against the leather. Moving the bag back and forth, faster and faster. I lost myself in my thoughts, completely forgetting the world around me. The experiments, torture, training, clouded my mind with each memory came a harder punch then before. A sudden knock on the door brought me back into reality. I grabbed the towel from my bed and whipped off my brow.

”Come in!”

The door creek opens ranking the doctor once again carrying a plate of food.

“Thanks, Doc.”

Bruce scrunched his face out the nickname. “Your welcome. I’m gonna go now, need anything?”

“Nope!”

He picked up my lunch tray from my side table and briefly left once again leaving me in silence. I began munching on my food, not bothering to check for drugs. Just trusting them. After I finished dinner I finished my workout then hopped in the shower. I took the time to find the closest, hoping there were clothes I could sleep in. I found some baggy pants and jeans, along with a couple tee shirts. I threw on the baggy pants and a black tee shirt before heading to bed for another restless sleep. I woke up again around one and headed straight for the punching bag. About half an hour later a knock sounded on the door. After telling them to come in, the door opened and Doc stepped in carrying a plate of tea. Without a word we both plopped down on the bed and picked up our tea. We made light small talk as we sipped, but never said much. Once both teas were gone the doctor left and I attempted to get sleep. And that’s about how the next week went. One of the Avengers, usually doc., but sometimes the captain or his friend would bring me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then me and Doc would have tea at night.

One week later

Me and Doc sipped our tea in silence. Enjoying the company of one another.

“So Doc, now that we’re getting to know each other. I have to know, why does the great Bruce Banner, Doctor of the Avengers, have insomnia over?”

He hesitated for a moment, having a mental debate on whether or not he should tell me. He opened and closed his mouth several times before saying anything.

“Well, I’m not just the Avengers doctor. You know that big, green, angry, rage monster, the Hulk.”

I nodded.

“Well, I’m him too. And let’s just say the things that he does when I’m not in control don’t settle with me well. Though I don’t remember much I did as the Hulk, the screams of my victims are definitely pretty prominent in my mind.”

I stared at him shocked. Off all the things it could properly be. Him being the Hulk was definitely not one of them. I also didn’t expect him to be that open. I guess he trusted me a lot more than I thought. We sat in silence for the next few moments. Both unsure what to say.

“My training.”

“Huh?” He asked, looking up from his tea.

“That’s what keeps me up at night. My training with Hydra. It wasn’t exactly a happy one. It was filled with torture, experiments, and constantly being pushed way past my limits.”

He looked at me shocked. And he looked just as shocked as I felt. I would have never had thought I would have had the trust to ever be that vulnerable with anyone. But, here we were.

“Mya, what do you think of joining the Avengers for breakfast tomorrow. We eat around nine and I can pick you up and take you there.”

“Sure. At this point I’ll do anything to get out of this stuffy cell.”

“Ok, I’ll come get you around 8:30?”

“Works for me, it’s not like I have any plans that could interfere.”

He chuckled slightly, “Ok then, I’ll see you at 8:30.”

The sun peeked into the horizon and shined brightly into my eyes. I sat up and stretched my arms, my eyes gazed at the clock. 5:30. Three hours till Bruce would come pick me up. I swung my legs over to the bed, and wandered over to the punching bag. I got a few punches in as my mind wandered. They were giving me an opportunity for escape, to go back to my life. They were letting me out of the cell they call a bedroom and I could easily take advantage of the opportunity. But, would Hydra take me back? Would they want me back? And do I even want to go back to the place where I held all those bad memories. Since coming to the tower I’ve had nothing, but good memories, though not all of the residents were welcoming, they didn’t torture, beat, or starve me. I even started to enjoy my midnight talks with Bruce. I glanced at the clock, eight ó clock. I brushed off my feelings and went to go get dressed. I found a pair of black jeans and a navy Stark Industries hoodie that appeared about my size and threw them on. I then went into the bathroom to freshen up from my workout. As I did, my mind once again wandered to my chance to escape. If I went back to Hydra would they take me back? My guess is they would properly kill me for being captured and being in such close proximity to their mortal enemies. So that was out of the option. And I kinda liked being here at the tower. I generally enjoyed having my midnight talks with the Doc, an emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time. But, at the same time they did keep me locked in a bedroom all day, and none of the other Avengers seem to like me. But, maybe that could change. I guess I’ll have to hang around to see.

“I’m going to stay,” I say out loud to myself.

I stare at the final result in the mirror once I’m done getting ready for breakfast. An unrecognizable person stares. back at me. My hair, usually pulled back, flows down in soft waves and my face looks better after a wash. A sudden knock on the door interrupts me from my thoughts.

“Mya, you in there.”

Yes, of course, I am doofus I don’t know where else I would have gone, I think to myself.

”Yeah, come on in.”

There was a click of a lock and the door squeaked open. I wandered out of the bathroom and found Bruce waiting for me by the door. After examining his hands, I found nothing to restrain me. I chuckled to myself, there mistake.

“What, no handcuffs?”

“I trust you enough not to try anything.”

“Your loss.”

“You ready.”

“Yeah.”

“Ok,” he said, turning and opening the door.

I followed him through the door and into a long hallway. Checking both ways I saw that there were about seven doors both ways. All were closed so I couldn’t check inside, but my guess is they were similar to mine. Bruce guided me to the left, away from my cell. We passed a few more doors until he led me into an open living area. Floor to ceiling windows surrounded the area, giving me a better view of the skyline. Venturing further away from the area Bruce led me past a kitchen and into a dining room. The same group I had met a week before. Out approaching footsteps caused a few to look up. Stark was immediately out of his chair when he saw me, the Captain soon followed. The iron fist was soon pointed directly at me, and the Captain had his shield. Hmm. Bruce didn’t tell them I was coming

“Bruce watch out,” Tony shouted.

He quickly turned his back to the group, fear in his eyes, he scanned the room. Finding nothing of danger besides myself, he turned back.

The doctor sighed, “Don’t worry Tony, she’s with me.”

The Avengers looked on in confusion. A pen drop silence filled the room. No one did or said anything for several seconds. Reluctantly, the two leaders lowered their weapons, and the rest relaxed.

“Guys, this is Mya. Mya, the Avengers.”

I made no move to greet them, and they returned the favor. Bruce then moved to the empty seat, across from the red-head and dirty blonde and next to Stark. Beside him, he pulled an empty seat up, and gestured to me to sit down. I cautinaly followed his lead. Once seated, I examined the room. I counted three exits, and two possible escapes. Across me, I guessed the two assassins had at least three weapons on them, Stark had his suit, and Rogers his shield, the rest I was unsure about.

“How about we make proper introductions,” a voice spoke up, interrupting the silence. I glanced up, it was the captain.

“Hi Mya, I’m Steve Rogers. I’m also known as Captain America.”

I slightly scuffed under my breath. Lets see how this goes.

When no one made any move to say anything else, he nudged the red-head next to him.

“Natasha Romonoff, the assassin Back Widow.” She said in a slightly challenging way.

The black widow, I knew she as an assassin, led a team against her once, the blonde was there too.
“Name’s Clint, also known as Hawkeye.”

“Clint literally no one calls you that,” Natasha noted.

“And you know me, Tony.”

“She knows I am. No introduction need to be made,”

“Um, I’m sorry. Not to burst your bubble, but I don’t actually know who you are,” I spoke up with a smirk. Yes, I knew exactly who he was, but was I gonna pass a change to crush his go, no, no I was not. His mouth gaped open. Natasha and the black man next to Stark snorted.

“I'm I’m Tony Stark. Iron Man. You ever hear those names.”

“Nop, not ringing a bell.”

“How..how.. Ugh, you know what. I’m Tony Stark, I’m iron man.”

“I’m Rhodey, I’m the better, much cooler version of iron man, war machine.”

“Oh, you I’ve heard of.”

He chuckled in response, “I like her.”

“Well I guess it is my turn to go. I am the Vision.”

“I’m Wanda Maximoff. Um, also known as the Scarlet Witch.”

Wait, the little brown haired girl at the end is the Scarlet Witch. This is what Strucker was so proud of. Interesting.

“Well I’m Sam, but my code name’s Falcon.”

“Well now that that’s over with, how bout we eat.” Stark spoke up.

They began passing the food around. Bowls and dishes circulated, some grabbed more than others. My guess was advanced metabolism. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Looking to my left, I see Bruce holding up a bowl of eggs. I nodded to him in thanks, and grabbed the bowl and put two scoops on my plate.Across from me, Clint held out a plate of pancakes, and I swapped the eggs for the plate. Once everyone had their share of food, people started eating. I stayed silent prodding at my food with a fork.

“So, um, Mya, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself,” Steve spoke up

I hesitated. I didn’t really know what to say. I had the same problem with the doctor that first night I was here. I had been in Hydra most of my life, never really got a chance to explore myself. And even if I did, it's not like anyone would have asked At this point everyone was staring, but it was alright, I was used to it. After a little bit of thinking, a thought popped into my mind.

“I don’t like caviar.”

“Hum, me either kid, me either.”

I turned my head to the sound of the voice, it was Clint. He was smiling.

“It's just because you guys are poor. Only the rich like caviar,” Tony countered.

“Whatever, Tony.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I don’t speak poor.”

“Was, was that, an internet reference,” Natasha added.

“Yes, in the matter of fact it was. I own the largest technology company in the world, I do keep up with stuff that goes on. Why do you know about Natasha.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She glanced at me, and then clossed her mouth.

“Oh, have I rendered the great Natasha Romonoff speechless?” Tony questioned sarcastically.

She shook her head, and then made an ever so slight nod to me. I don;t think I was supposed to notice, but I did. It means they were hiding something. I mean I’m not surprised that they would keep secrets from a known Hydra assassin. It only makes sense. Small conversations floated around the table, keeping the talk quite until the new factor didn’t hear them. I then noted that they probably didn’t know about my super hearing. I listened in on a couple of them. Sam and Captian’s, Tony and Rhodey’s, none of them were of any importance. No idea why they were wishoeing. But it was clear they didn’t want me here, and that they weren’t used to it being anyone but them. I shrugged it off, not like I wanted to be here either. I picked up my fork, and started to nibble on my eggs. Slowly, people started to finish their meals, some migrated to the kitchen to start on dishes, others moved to the living area and sat on couches. Once everyone else was gone, me and Bruce sat alone at the table.

“Wanna go back to your room?” Bruce asked.

“I would hardly call it that,” I muttered.

“I know, yo
u’ve mentioned.”

“You heard that,”

“Yeah, even when I’m not, the other guy, my senses are still slightly above the normal humans. Side effect of the gamma radiation.”

“Huh, good to know. But yeah, I'm ready to go. I swear if I had to send in another second awkward silence.”

He chuckled, “Ok. Let’s go.”

Wel walked in silence back to the bedroom. We stopped in front of the door that had been my sleeping quarters for the past week. His hand reached for the door handle, but stopped.

“What if I show you a little bit of the tower. Besides the med area, main living area, and your bedroom, you haven’t been anywhere. It’s a multi million dollar building, I’m sure you're curious.”

“Don’t push your luck Doc.” As soon as the words left my mouth, surprise overcame me. Back when I was with Hydra I was taught to use others' weaknesses for my gain. My S.O burned those words into my mind.

“Ok, that’s fine.” The doctor's words brought me back into reality. I had honestly forgotten he was there. He had started to open the door, and his back turned towards me. Another thing Hydra had burned into my mind, never turn your back on the enemy.

I nodded goodbye to him, and he nodded back. The familiar clicking of the lock behind me reminded me I was still their prisoner. Don’t get attached, I reminded myself, don’t show weakness.