ALEXITHYMIA ⇉ AVENGERS

01 | Elara

She was confused as to why she was alive.

The girl had been taken from a S.H.I.E.L.D. raid. So, why exactly was she still alive? She was dangerous. But, being in a strange glass box didn't bother her. From being there for about a week, she'd already grown accustomed to it. Food and water came every few hours, delivered by a young man that looked terrified of even being in the same room as her. It was all normal for her. But adaptation was something that HYDRA made sure she had.

She'd been taught to survive under any extreme condition. Cold and hot meant nothing to her. Pain? She could endure it.

Her head tilted in interest when someone entered the room. A man with an eyepatch stopped in front of the glass, and as she got to her feet, he wondered what genius had thought of this. Who would expect a child to hurt someone? Who would expect a child to kill?

“You know who I am?” asked the man with the eyepatch, finally breaking the silence as he watched her.

She watched him just as carefully before she spoke. “Nicholas Joseph Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., born December 21st, aged sixty-four years.”

“I'm flattered,” said Nick, putting on a false smile as he tipped his head. “HYDRA made you learn about me?”

“They wanted me to kill you,” she responded easily. After a moment of staring at him, she gave a shrug. “I'm not going to.”

“Not going to?” He looked down at her wrists. Handcuffs were locked on them tightly, giving off a soft glow. “You can't. I don't see you coming out of those cuffs anytime soon. They were made just for people like you.”

She gave a smile that was void of anything. It looked strangely out of place. “I suppose not. But I said I wasn't going to. So I'm not.”

“And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?”

“That decision isn't mine to make, Director.”

This was all so strange for him. Having a conversation like this with a child that seemed barely the age of twelve. Just as he opened his mouth to ask something else, he heard static through his earpiece.

“Director? Dr. Banner would like to speak with you.”

“Tell Dr. Banner I'm busy,” Nick said back without taking his eyes away from the girl in front of him. The person on the other end of his line quickly responded.

“He insists that it's urgent, sir. He's waiting in the conference room.”

The girl's brows pulled up as she tilted her head at him. “Dr. Banner,” she said quietly. “The Hulk. You should probably go see what he wants. You know, to evade a ‘Code Green’.”

The man turned around, unable to help the fact that he was only slightly irritated. He knew he had to talk to Bruce. A couple of days ago, he had asked the scientist to engineer a pair of handcuffs that could disrupt the powers of a dangerously enhanced human. Bruce had no problem doing this, but of course the man had to contact Tony Stark. While the two of them were very smart, Stark had most of the tools and equipment required to actually build the cuffs. Fury knew it was only a matter of time until the billionaire somehow found out who exactly the cuffs were for.

When he walked into the conference room, Bruce looked dangerously calm, obviously trying to keep his cool as he looked at the TV that was suspended in the top right corner of the room. It showed the girl in the cage, and Fury reminded himself to fire the woman he told to turn it off.

Tony was there two, and he turned around, smirking at the sight of the man. There was a small bowl of grapes in his hands, and he popped one into his mouth, raising his brows. “Patches! Good to see you. Tell me, have you gotten taller? Or have I gotten shorter?”