525,600 Minutes

Friends From Work

Locked in her cell, Lucy has her eyes closed, humming songs that bring some sort of solace to her. She had just turned fourteen a month ago, and now there she was, lonely and shaken. Her laces untied and her arm is sore from an injection- presumably to dull the abilities she still doesn't know what they exactly are.

At least, she assumes that to be the case. She's never been one to feel her 'she-hulk' side, if that's even what her red zone rage freak out could be called...

Locked in a cell...Her mother has told her stories like this. And fortunately she's prepared enough to snap her wrists free with a creative shoelace trick.

Being the daughter of a NASA/Government agent who turns into a wolf when he feels like it and a She-hulk means you start learning these sorts of things at 5. One problem;

She's not the quietest person when she's nervous. And she's never practiced with guards before. Though humming "You Will Be Found" intermittently would appear to be an actual nuisance for her guards. She'll pause for a bit if they tap her cell bars.

On the other hand; They've never had such a chipper captive, amused by her shoelace trick they're fully aware of. She pauses in her song to make a Broadway connection-the cell reminding her of a dark hideout underneath a certain opera house.

Pause.

It feels like it's been hours when she starts to hum again, this time louder, "...Crying at all is not allowed, not in my castle on a cloud."

"Hey."

She jumps, the whisper catching her off guard, believing he'll hit the bars again. She tiptoes closer to its source, the man keeping his voice extremely low;

"Is a balcony center seat just as good as orchestra?"

She's thoroughly confused by the question. She sniffles away a tear, "What?"

The SHIELD agent having volunteered for guard duty huffs and exhale, he shouldn't be talking to the prisoner but he's desperate;

"My daughter is turning 13 and she wants to go see Phantom of the Opera. I heard your reference and you sound like an expert on all things theater so is an orchestra seat worth the price..."

Lucy squints and moves toward the bars,

"I mean...nothing beats orchestra but if you get some big head that sits in front of you it might block her view. Like. First row center balcony isn't a bad option for Phantom because there's this chandelier- I won't spoil it. So why Phantom? Why the creepy-stalker-story? I have some issues."

"Issues?"

"It's not the best example of women empowerment, I know' She braves up and quotes her mother, who enjoys dissecting musicals when she's not green or lawyering people around, 'But it's a classic. I've seen it twice and the ballet is great but yeah, so like, I'm wondering why your daughter wants to go see that one so badly?"

"I don't.. know?"

"...What do you mean? You don't know her interests? Like. Why she like, likes some things or dislikes others?"

He quietly turns back to facing the wall across from them, giving his back to her and not another word.

"Guess I'll shut up now," Lucy wipes her nose on her wrist and pivots to go back to trying to climb the bars and softly singing her songs. Maybe questioning the parenting styles of someone who could turn around a shoot her was a bad idea. If she learned anything from the center it should've been that not every kid is as lucky as she has been.

. . . . . . . . .

Thor arrives after most of the mob has already retreated, hammer in hand and ready for action and quickly stands up to protect Rogers and Izabella while greeting them.