525,600 Minutes

The Cure

Steve is the first one to find Lucy. She's hiding in the lab, underneath the table, in his black hoodie and black jeans, tear stains soaking through the collar of her hoodie and on the knees of her jeans.

Rogers doesn't entirely know what to say, so instead, he chooses to just sit across from where she is and mirror her position.

Lucy brushes her sleeve over her eye with a breathless sniffle;

"I deserve whatever you decide to do to me,' she whispers, 'I didn't mean to hurt her! I didn't want to hurt anybody!"

Steve looks at her, his face unreadable, "Well. That's more than some people can say."

"What?," she peers out from underneath her long side bangs.

He shrugs, "That you didn't mean to."

"Is she okay? Is Riley going to be okay?"

Steve sighs, "I don't know. Do you know what happened? What made you...what's the word."

"Freak out?! I don't know! Maybe I'm just a freak. My genes are all freaks but they're awesome freaks. I'm just. Me."

"Well..."

"You don't know me! So just go! Just go away!"

Steve nods and then shakes his head, "I'm not going to do that. I'm in charge of you and the rest of the children-."

"Then go take care of them!"

"-I will. After assuring myself that you're okay."

"I'm not,' she breaks into tears, 'But Riley's not okay either, and it's because of me. I hurt her!"

Steve listens quietly, trying to offer a kind smile, "No one is perfect."

"I'm a monster," she manages in between sobs.

Rogers lowers his head, trying to think up something to say, "You know, you might have a little more in common with my teammate than you realize."

"What," she sniffles, confused and frustrated.

Steve looks back up with a kind grin, "Your relative, is one of the most brilliant minds on earth. An 'awesome freak' to use your words, right?" She waits. He continues, "Dr. Banner spent years on the run after he hurt someone. He called himself a monster because of an accident. Does that change your opinion of him?"

"No."

"Why not."

"Because, he's a hero. He's an Avenger."

"He wouldn't be a hero if he kept running and living in the past. He trained, he worked hard to understand to himself and he moved on. With his help, we won the battle of New York. And Hulk was considered a hero. One mistake doesn't define you. I could share a ton of stories honestly."

Lucy swallows hard, looking at her Uncle with a newfound respect. Being big and green doesn't seem like so big of a risk when your mom is on the news daily, can function just as well whether she's green or not and an overall representation of hope. Maybe her mom has a similar tale?

Still overwhelmed, she lets her head fall against the Captain's shoulder, which makes him panic slightly. Steve lets her cry herself dry on him until he can reach for a box of tissues, "Um...here. This will help."

Lucy takes the box with a nod, pulling out an excessive amount of tissues. Steve watches and fights the pull of a small smile, "Um...so..."

"So?" Lucy's red eyes look at him wearily.

"Should we call your mother or..."

"God, please, no! Please! I'm the ultimate disappointment already! I have no powers- well, except for hurting people. So my abilities are that I'm a murderer. I can't go home like this. And I can't go home until I know Riley is okay! Please! You're a trainer, so train me! Help me! Like you guys helped Uncle Bruce, you did it once so I bet you can do it again!"