Hyacinth | MCU

chapter one

When you have the ability to search through someone's mind, many people would exclaim about how 'cool and interesting' it might be, however you may come across some very dark memories. But that's not what happened this time, all she was looking for was...

"Yes! Got it," Allura praised herself in whispers. She was standing in the dark corner of the hallway where no light seemed to gather, and no camera was there to spy on her actions. The man she towered over whimpered ever so slightly, slumped against the blood stained wall with fear pooling in his eyes.

"I'm not going to kill you," she rolled her eyes, glancing at the swelling surrounding his left eye. "But I needed this information. To be fair, you put up quite a fight," she attempted to give the man a sympathetic smile, but this only frightened him even more. With one slight wrist flick, purple wisps of energy travelled calmly through the air towards him. They reached his temples and disappeared, and with that the man's eyes shut and his body folded slightly. There, now he was resting.

And when he woke, he would remember absolutely nothing.

Allura paced through the bright hallway, the fluorescent lights causing her to squint as she went over the four numbers in her head - 0759,0759,07...

She reached the end a few moments a later, now only a strong, metal door standing between her and the outside world. Deep breaths, you'll be free soon, she thought. She inserted the four numbers into the keypad, and she was met with a green light. The metal door swung forwards, and the fresh air greeted her like an old friend. Allura smirked, she had done it.

She crept around boxes piled outside in a place that somewhat looked like a courtyard, she had to be quick as they would notice her disappearance soon. Unlucky for them though, they trained Allura not only with her powers but to be a skilled assassin, it wasn't going to be easy for them. She spotted the gate, and took a deep breath. Around a dozen guards were nearby, and there was no way she'd be able to leave undetected. She paused for a moment, hiding behind a wooden crate full of weapons. She'd been alone for as long as she could remember, but never literally. Escaping meant no guards watching her at all time. She gulped at the thought. It was weird to say, even though she never had her privacy, at least she felt...

...safe.

But this was her only chance. That gate was the only way, even if it meant exposing where she was to the whole base before she was able to get through. So, as anyone would, she ran. It wasn't far, so it was only a few moments after that the guards spotted her and started shouting. They picked up their guns and fired, but she was quick, and stealthy. She jumped, and her magic spun out from her fingers, not gracefully like before, but dangerously. It surrounded her, encasing her body in a type of forcefield, whilst she continued running. The guards still moved towards her, and with another flick of her wrist, the three nearby fell to the ground in agony. Allura focused back on the gate, and with a slight nod of her head the lock on the gate fell to the ground. Still being fired at, she slipped through the gate and lifted her hands up, supporting her as the energy lifted her into the air, soaring towards the deep forest.

It should've been more difficult, escaping a HYDRA facility. But it wasn't. The base had basically been on standby since the attack the previous day. She had heard loud booms from outside, and there, as clear as they could be from her tiny square window from her tiny square room, the Avengers. Mr Strucker had told Allura a lot of things, but the people he talked about the most were the Avengers. He had an unhealthy obsession, studying their every move and every battle they fought, and he often hired men to attempt to hack into their servers. Allura was extremely observant and intuitive, but she didn't really understand why he was so interested. The Avengers helped them, fighting evil just as HYDRA did.

Or that's what she thought.

Mr Strucker was a horrible man, but most of the time he treated her like she was a priceless thing, which even though it was wrong because he used her as a weapon, Allura never knew any different, so she heavily admired him in some way. However, the one thing she was always forbidden to do was look into his head. She accidentally did it once when she was 15, and he beat her repeatedly and made her suffer for hours every day months later. He was secretive, but isn't everyone? 

She respected this always afterwards, trying to dodge going through the immense pain ever again, but for months he had been acting very suspicious, and she began to doubt his aspirations to 'make the world a better place.' So she risked it all, to know the truth. What Allura saw made her crumble to the floor, clutching her head so harshly it was a surprise her hair didn't fall out. What she saw terrified even her, cities destroyed, genocide, even entire countries falling to pieces. But a common factor in all these images: blood.

From this moment, she knew she had been lied to. Allura never knew her place in the world, but at least she knew she was helping and doing good. It was the only thing that kept her going, but it had been a lie, it always had been. How could she stay in such a place?

The trees loomed over her as she stepped through their dark shadows. It took a long time for her  to reach the edge. She stood on the edge of the cliff, admiring the view. In front of her was the city of Sokovia. Most there were troubled, but the few times she had been there to gather intel on missions, the people were incredibly hard-working, and extremely kind. She smiled softly, and for a moment she was tempted to try and find a place there, but something inside told her it wouldn't be safe. She huffed and turned on her heel, that voice inside her was certainly annoying, but from her experience it seemed to always save her. She would go somewhere else.

A few hours later, she came across a small village . She was far from Sokovia now, content that she'd left it behind after all. This would be a decent place to lie low for a while. She entered the biggest building with a neon sign screaming at her 'OPEN TILL 3AM.' As she stepped inside, she was met with a strong whiff of alcohol, and maybe even food. It was a pub. For a moment, Allura stood there awkwardly, looking around, and the bartender must have noticed her, beckoning her to go sit at the bar. The bartender seemed around the same age as her, a tall, slim woman with kind eyes and a wide smile. The tag on her blouse said 'Mallory.' Allura noticed she was beautiful, she looked like the women she saw in the magazines that were given to her to keep her occupied on free days.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Mallory glanced at her.

"I'm not sure what-I don't really do this often," Allura awkwardly gave her a half smile.

"Something sweet and not too strong it is," Mallory chuckled, pushing her hair away from her face and walking away. She returned a few moments later with an exotic looking drink. 

"I don't think I've seen you around before, and have you ever been to a pub before, you seem quite...overdressed," Mallory chucked again, pointing at her clothes. Alarm bells went off in Allura's head. How could she have been this stupid? She was still wearing the tight-fitted combat suit that she left in earlier. She even packed a few pairs of clothes that she owned in her backpack. She mentally facepalmed, but simply replied with,

"It's been a long day."

She hadn't lied. It had been a long day.