Some people are born with talent while others train their entire lives for something to be noticed. Some passions turn into careers while some careers turn into torture. Kids dream big; they dream of being princesses, doctors, astronauts, racecar drives yet my childhood was different. Don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic family. I was the only child to two loving parents. I always imagined they met at a party where their eyes met across the dance floor, and suddenly everything stopped. They were the only two people in the room; they were soul mates. My parent's had a huge wedding, and her parents cried, tears of happiness. Soon after, my mother found out she was pregnant, and my father couldn't have been happier. They had a healthy baby girl, me, and named me Raquel. At least, that's what I always told myself, but that whole story was made up by the imagination of a young girl who had no friends nor family.
All I can remember of my family was how happy they were, how they believed in your talents and whatever you wanted to do, they would support you. When I was five years old, I decided that I wanted to be famous. My dad was against it. Living in the city of a South American country was dangerous, but my mom didn't want me to miss my chance. My parents started taking to auditions and callbacks. I would get small parts in movies or telenovelas or plays but nothing too big so my father was proud. My life was perfect; I was the happiest five year old on the planet.
Some people are born with talent while others train their entire lives for something to be noticed. Some passions turn into careers while some careers turn into torture. Kids dream big; they dream of being princesses, doctors, astronauts, racecar drives yet my childhood was different. Don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic family. But even fantastic, loving people can make grave mistakes that can change your life forever. My mother had to work that day, so my father took me to an audition and five minutes in he told the director that he would be right back. I remember that day so vividly. That was the last day I ever saw my family and the first day that the rest of my life began. I was sold to this child army in a different country and was forced to train to become a child soldier. I didn't know what I was fighting, but fighting was better than a beating. The first year was the hardest, I couldn't sleep nor eat. All I could do is cry, but after a year, everything changed.
I became tough, but I was still recognizable. I stilled wanted to be famous. I wanted to be the best, well-known so I trained harder than anyone else. I followed instructions to the T and became their most valuable fighter by the age of 15. Once I turned 15, I started cross training with all the other kids my age. They thought if we were good at multiple things, we'd fear that we were replaceable, and no one wanted to know where replaceable kids went. They were probably sold for parts, but I didn't care. The only days I felt any kind of emotion were the days I was the getaway driver. It was the single moment I felt... free! The wind in my hair, blasting music as we escaped; I finally felt my age. Like a careless teen, rebelling against her parents, not following the rules, believing she is invincible. I always thought I was invincible, that I was irreplaceable. In some weird way, I started to feel like that was where I belonged, and I thought I was important to them, but that was a lie.
I learned that when I turned seventeen, I was the oldest in the group. Once you turned of legal age, they sell you. It was going to be one of my last missions, and I was in charge of the getaway. I was ecstatic, I sat in the car outside the building listening to the radio feedback, ready to start the car on the signal, but it never came. The radio went quiet. The air was suddenly heavy and getting out of the car felt wrong. The three other teens that I was paired with ran towards the car as they yelled, "Start the car."
"Where is it?" I asked, but they ignored me as they kept yelling to start the car. I was NOT going to fail this mission, so I ran towards the building. I honestly believed that they were going to wait for me, but as I got closer to the building, the car started and sped off. I muttered some curses and sneaked into the building. It looked empty, I smirked thinking it was going to be quick when I felt this sharp pain radiating from the back of my head, and everything went black.
I don't know how long it took me to wake up but when I did, I was in a what looked like a hospital room, but I was handcuffed to the bed. A man in a suit was sitting next to me. He must have seen the terrified look in my eyes because he promised me safety if I gave him everything I knew about the terrorist group I was a part of. That was the first time I heard it be called a terrorist group and suddenly I understood what indeed happened to me.
Once I turned eighteen, I was brought onto shield to put a stop on groups that kidnapped children. I wanted to make sure what happened to me never happened again. Those were my only missions as a shield agent until the unthinkable happened and they needed my help.
The Tesseract opened.