Chapter One;
2014
"Lane!"
Steve's voice vibrated in her ears, but it was distant; she was consumed by fear and was staring wide-eyed at the man, the Asgardian, standing above her. Somehow her powers didn't affect him. Somehow he was able to smirk when she told him to freeze. Her heart was no longer beating; every part of her body was frozen in terror.
"You have a strong heart," Loki had mused, considering her. "And an even stronger mind. It will serve me well."
And then the sceptre's will consumed her, and she was screaming, clutching her temples as though she could stop it from exploding as pain consumed her. Something was ripping through her mind, tearing it to pieces and she couldn't bear it, it was like fire surging through her brain –
And then out of nowhere memories attacked her, in no chronological order but they were a mixture of blood, of orders, of training with cold calculation and purpose and relishing in plans of domination, and the being taught to hate what heroes such as Captain America represented...
And two faces, constantly, who smiled and claimed they loved her, but they didn't, she knew that now; they'd only loved that she was what they'd raised her to be: a weapon capable of toppling the world and stopping armies in its tracks.
"You serve us well, Miss Esquivel," said the man with the cold smile.
And the woman, with the eyes like eyes, gazed at her with an expression that was a mixture of pride and triumph; like she was an invention she was particularly pleased with. "You've made us so proud," she said. "Of everything you've done. My daughter... We couldn't have asked for anything more."
And it was then that Delaney woke up, biting down hard on her lip to stop herself from screaming.
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Delaney flew into a sitting position, clutching the covers close to her chest and gasping for breath. Her hair stuck to her forehead and, with shaking hands, she pushed it behind her ears. The strands were damp with sweat.
She stayed seated for a moment, breathing, her eyes closed. Just a dream, she told herself. You're okay. You're safe. She repeated the mantra in her head until she actually believed it; that she was safe, that no one was going to hurt her. Once her heart returned to its normal rate, Delaney opened her eyes.
The apartment was dimly lit; it was only just beginning to dawn outside. Shivering, Delaney pushed herself out of bed and retrieved a jumper. The warmth was welcome as she padded to the tiny bathroom of the apartment she was renting and splashed cold water on her face. She stood there, her head bowed, hands braced on either side of the basin, water dripping from her face.
It wasn't the first time she'd had that nightmare. Ever since the events that led to New York, Delaney had found herself waking up, screaming, as her subconscious recollected the pain and the horror of her mind being invaded, of her mind somehow being cleared of its block and allowing old memories to surface once again.
First, it had been small things, such as her date of birth. Delaney now knew for certain that she was twenty-five years old – and would be twenty-six in two months.
But then other memories had returned, and she was waking from more nightmares – about herself. Who she had been. What she'd believed in. How she'd been used... And how the people who'd left her wanted her back.
How they'd stop at nothing to do so.
That was when she knew she had to disappear, to fade out of existence. She'd only be threatening the Avengers, her friends, if she remained. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to Clint, to Natasha, or to Steve, the three people she'd been closest to. They would've stopped her, and she couldn't allow herself to be stopped. She couldn't let anyone make her reconsider, or decide on another path. This was something she had to do and she couldn't expect anyone to understand why.
That was why she was now in a dingy apartment she could cheaply rent for a month, before she left and disappeared to a new place for another period of time. Her appearance was always changing, as was her name. Anything to keep people, both friend and foe, from finding her.
Delaney squeezed her eyes shut, like she always did when thoughts of her friends surfaced. Of days spent training with Natasha and Clint, of their jokes and the times where she dragged them with her to Starbucks; the way Natasha had taught her how to wield knives, and how they both helped her bring her power under control, and how they'd spent nights under the stars whenever she requested it, for they calmed her. Of Steve, and how he had been so polite to her when they first met despite her initial distance, and how she had allowed herself to begin opening up to him. Other agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. she knew and liked – especially Evan Wilde and Cristina Wood. The other Avengers – Tony, Bruce, and Thor – who she hadn't been as close to, but had still been kind to her.
Don't think. Don't think.
Delaney's eyes flew open and she was running, to her rented bedroom and suddenly she was throwing on her exercise gear and within two minutes she was outside, her feet pounding against the concrete floor as she ran – and continued to run until the sun came up, when she could breathe no more and her entire body was drenched in sweat.
Running made her forget; running kept her calm, focused on her will to keep going, just that little bit further – it also kept her fit, ready for anything. When she finally game to a stop, all thoughts of her friends had been driven from her mind, which was what she had been aiming for in the first place.
She'd chosen her path. There was no turning back now.
She had to be ready to move once again, to disappear, and to become another ordinary person in the billions of people in the world.
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sorry for the slow chapter, but it's needed to set up delaney's life and the story! things begin pick up next chapter....