"But with the beast inside,
There's nowhere we can hide..."
(Tenshi's POV)
Agent Romanoff gestures for me to take a seat on one of the leather armchairs scattered throughout the common room. I sit down, quickly taking note of my surroundings.
Everything is modern and complimentary to everything else. The walls are a nice white color; easy on the eyes. The furniture is made of dark leather, naturally contrasting with the light walls and creamy carpet. A huge flat screen takes up the wall directly in front of me, behind the Avengers standing in front of it.
My gaze returns to Agent Romanoff, who has been scrutinizing my body language and posture since I sat down. My face is still empty, betraying nothing.
"So. Let's get started shall we?"
I nod.
"You said your name is Tenshi. Is that true?"
"Yes."
She looks at Wanda, who is standing behind me. She must have nodded, because I am asked another question.
"How old are you?"
"Sixteen," I immediately answer.
"Mhm. Now for the hard questions. Why were you with H.Y.D.R.A.?"
"They created me."
"For what purpose?"
"I'm a weapon."
"Against?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D., ultimately. I was to take you all down first."
She glances back at Wanda. Apparently, I'm not lying. She returns to her questioning.
"Are you human?"
"No."
"What are you then?"
I take a moment to decide how to word my response.
"I'm a preternatural angelic creature."
"And that is...?"
"A demon."
She cocks an eyebrow.
"A demon?"
I nod gravely. "A demon."
"Are you possessing someone?"
"No."
"Is this your real form?"
"No. I can shapeshift. This is merely the form I prefer to take."
She considers for a moment.
"Show us your real form."
I nod again. "I need to get off the chair."
She steps back to allow me to stand. I move forward a few steps and pause. Lowering my head, I take a deep breath, close my eyes and concentrate. With a shimmer of silver light, my illusion of a grey uniform drops to reveal a simple knee-length black dress and innocent looking flat black shoes. My five foot raven wings shimmer into place between my shoulder blades, forming a span of ten feet across, the soft feathers glinting slightly in the light of the room.
My hair remains the same golden blonde that it's always been, but when I raise my head and open my eyes, the usual forest green is replaced by a deep, bloody red. The Avengers gasp and step back, some drawing their weapons. A few look curious. I can work with this.
I sit calmly on the same armchair, as far back as my huge wings allow, my back straight and my feet dangling slightly above the floor. I usually consider my vertically challenged height a curse, but I bless it today, for it adds to the innocent demeanor that I am endeavoring to adopt. My hands are folded on my lap in front of me, my knees held close together. If it weren't for the black color scheme and the red eyes, I could be mistaken for my namesake.
Seeing my lack of aggression, the Avengers put away their weapons, and change their stances into more relaxed positions. They're still alert; I can see the tension in their shoulders. I adjust my wings behind me. Darn it, I'm sitting on my lower feathers.
Mr. Stark eyes my wings curiously. "Can you fly?"
"I can. I've never been able to do it in the open air for obvious reasons, but I have tested my ability and yes, I am capable of flight."
He looks impressed.
"What are your other abilities?"
My gaze snaps over to Sergeant Barnes, who had been silent until now.
"I have several abilities. I can control the elements, you've seen my shapeshifting, of course I can fly, I can create illusions, possess human hosts - naturally - and I may or may not have a slight musical inclination. I can also heal people and kill them simply by willing them to die. I'm untraceable when I use that particular ability." I end my list, carefully watching their reactions.
Their faces are stone, yet their eyes hold the judgment I knew I would see. The eyes are windows to the soul, and I can see the emotion clearly. They don't trust me. I don't blame them.
Who would trust a monster? But I am not a monster. I'm much worse. I haunt the plots of horror stories and movies. I am a devout's worst nightmare.
I am a demon. And they know it, too. I can hear the Russians chanting prayers inside their heads.
I don't allow this to bother me. Agent Romanoff resumes her position for a moment. Just long enough to say:
"Thank you for your cooperation."
I nod, acknowledging the formality.
Mr. Stark speaks up.
"I suppose I should show her to a room?"
The captain nods. "Yeah."
Mr. Stark takes a breath and waves me forward. I replace my illusion, my wings disappearing, my uniform showing up and my eyes returning to their usual forest green. I follow Mr. Stark to the elevator and step inside, waiting as he presses the button to the floor above us. The elevator ascends, and within seconds, we are facing a fairly wide hallway, lined with doors. We pass a door in red, white and blue, a grey one with a deep red star in the middle, a black one with a red spider sprawled across it, a solid red one, a purple and black door, a red and silver door with a gold lightning bolt, a silver door and a black, green and gold door. Finally, we arrive at a generic white door across the hall from the green, black and gold one.
"Well, here you are. If you need anything, just ask Jarvis. Dinner's at 6:00 if you're hungry. And... I think that's it. Better be going. See ya, kid."
He turns to retreat down the hall.
"Mr. Stark?" He stops and turns.
"Yes?"
"Thank you... for everything."
He nods stiffly, most likely not expecting my gratitude.
"Um. No problem."
He continues down the hall. Sighing softly, I scan the hallway.
The walls are a light grey color, with a beige carpet covering the floor. The ceiling is lined with small circular lights down the center leading to the elevator. My room is right at the end of the hallway, the wall at the end offering a clue as to the dimensions of the chamber perpendicular to its own location.
I hesitantly turn the generic silver knob and open the door. It swings silently, smoothly open, the hinges clearly well maintained. The walls of the room are - of course - soft white. A rather large bed dominates the center of the room with the same white color scheme. As I tour the room, bathroom and walk-in closet, I notice that it is all white.
This won't do.
I walk over to the bed and touch the duvet. Immediately, black begins to radiate from the contact site and cover the cloth. On the edges of the coverlet, flame designs begin to lick their way up from the seam. I reach under the blanket and touch the sheets, the black swiftly overtaking the white until the sheets are completely blackened. I do the same for the pillowcase.
I touch the bed frame and transfigure it into wrought iron, with flame patterns and the illusion of having just come from a forge. With a stamp of my foot, the white carpet becomes a very dark grey. The white nightstands on either side of the bed become stained with darkness. The walls become black with flame patterns and I enchant the ceiling to display the weather. The curtains over the huge picture window are changed to match the walls. I vanish the light on the ceiling in favour of the daylight from the enchanted ceiling.
Bathroom's next.
I stride to the door and change it to mahogany with a gold curlicue handle. Walking in, I change the counter tops to dark granite, and the wooden shelves and toilet paper holder into mahogany like the door. The towels and washcloths turn black along with the shower curtain. I make the tiles turn to the same dark grey as the bedroom carpet, and the rugs are solid black.
Yeah, I love black.
The bathtub becomes a dark granite basin and the taps are all gold. The sink retains its white inside as the walls become light grey. I replace the lights with ever burning torches. Finally the bathroom is done.
Now for the closet.
I advance on the large space and turn the door into the same wood as the bathroom door. I immediately turn the walls black. I turn the hangers gold and the beam they are hooked to mahogany. The light is replaced with a magically suspended fireball inside a glass orb. The flickering light gives a sense of peace along with the crackling noise. I then make clothes appear on the racks.
Must keep up appearances.
Finally, my room is done. As I admire my work, I am startled by a knock at the door...