Authoress' note: This is my first time writing for The Avengers, any comments or suggestions are always welcome.
~Skittles
After a long day, a small girls slips into her bed, sighing as the covers on her body warm gradually. As the girl sleeps, a figure appears over her, opening the window and walking to the bed where the girl lays. The girl stirs, shivering from the breeze but doesn't awaken, the figure leans over and reaches out to her neck where a blue crystal begins to glow. Before the stranger could do anything a low growl rips through the room, the figure looks up to see a large animal of beastly size staring him down, hackles raised. The silhouette chuckles and turns toward the open window, glancing back at the girl before darting out the window. The young girls begins to thrash in her sleep, her dreams changing from happiness to horror...
It started when she was eight... The horror she called her life...
Or at least that's what she thinks, after all, it's hard to remember very much from her childhood.
She can vaguely recall darkness, just overwhelming darkness, and then light. Bright florescent lights that burned her eyes; and pain, overwhelming pain everywhere. Blinking, she tried to rub her eyes but found her arms tied down, panicking she tried to pull free. She struggled hard, hysteria edging in. Looking down she saw she was wearing a hospital gown and that there is a row of stitches on her stomach going up to her sternum.
"Please! Can anyone hear me? Please come help me it hurts, it hurts so bad!" She sobbed.
Finding that she couldn't move, she looked around to find herself tied to an operation table, in a room that looked similar to a hospital, but something feels... off. she looked around to see things that can't be described, but will never leave her mind for as long as she lives.
The sound of a door opening made her head snap around. "what's this one?" her brown eyes widened at the emotionless, cold voice. "This is EX. 174, a new one just brought in for experimenting, she's already had the tissue and organ samples taken." Shivering, she tried to move away, but couldn't.
The man moved closer, picking up a syringe filled with sickly blue liquid. "Let's start, shall we?" All she remembers after that is pain, pain and more pain. When they 'finished' with her she was thrown into a dog cage, moaning softly, she runs her fingers over her throbbing neck; when they come back covered in blood she gasps.
"I'm guessing you're the newbie, don't worry. It gets easier as time goes, you'll get tough" she looks over at the cage next to her to see a skinny boy with wings slouching over. He grins at her and sticks his hand into her cage and rests it on her shoulder.
"What's your name kid?" she sniffles, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"Marti, Marti Stark"
~o0o~ With a gasp, Marti bolts upright, clutching her chest and panting wildly. Her black hair a rat's nest around her shoulders and her brown eyes glazed over with fear. A small whimper brought her senses back, looking down, she sees her brindle English Mastiff, Puff, nudging his head against her thigh. Gently, she strokes his head. "It was just a dream, about the past" she says aloud, as if to reassure herself that she was safe in her small house in Ireland.
Mindlessly, she traces her fingers over the brand tattooed into the skin of her neck, right under her jaw. EX, 174. [FAILED] is what is reads in red ink. "Just a dream..." she mutters once more, before turning on her side and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Waking up in the morning Marti stands and a stops abruptly, feeling the usually warm pennant icy against her skin. Fishing it out from underneath her shirt she's startled to see the pale blue, crystal like pennant glowing and the inner light swirling.
"What in the name of-" she mutters, her voice scratchy from sleep, the glowing suddenly ceased when she touched the pennant with her other hand. She quickly retracts her hand and stares hard at the pennant before tucking it into her shirt and going about her usual morning routine.
After locking Puff in the large backyard of her small house, the girl begins the walk to the small cafe where she works to pay the bills.
"Look at you Marti, coming in early as usual" Marti smiles softly pulling her hair up and grabbing an apron.
"I came in the same time I do every day." Marti laughs quietly and gets to work, the dream and strange occurrence thought of no more. When she got home from work, she lets Puff into the house and begins to make dinner for the two of them, not a care in the world. Just a girl and her dog against everything.
