I awoke in a cage. The hard metal was cold against my skin. Where am I? I took in my surroundings. I was in a laboratory of some sort and there were several men in lab coats working on computers. I moved cautiously toward the front of the cage as one of the men approached me.
"You're awake." He said bluntly.
"Yes," My voice wavered. Although I tried to seem confident, I knew I looked terrified.
"State your name."
"Trishula."
"What are you?"
I glanced at the blue, bioluminescent tattoos intricately swirled around my wrists and ankles.
"I'm a goddess."
He took a clipboard from his desk and exited the room. Soon after, he re-entered with a tall brunette man. He was wearing a suit and had carefully groomed hair and facial hair. He carried himself with a lot of confidence and a just a hint of arrogance. The man in the lab coat whispered a few things to him and then left the room once again.
"You can get out of there without our help." Said the brunette man. It wasn't a question but, I nodded in reply. "So why don't you?"
"I don't know if I could make it farther than this room." I said quietly.
"Smart girl." He walked to the cage and wrapped a hand around it. "My name's Tony Stark."
"I'm Trishula."
"How come I've never heard of you? You are a goddess, aren't you?"
I rose from my sitting position. "I fell from the universe into earth. And they took me. I was only about three years old. Humans are cruel creatures, but I doubt it's necessary for me to tell you that. You should know." He was now staring uncomfortably at me. "They thought I was deformed, a freak of nature, a demon. They held me in mental hospitals, labs like this one, and even prisons. That's why you have never heard of me."
A young, blonde man walked through the door. "Tony, Nick told me they found a godde-" He cut off as his eyes met mine. "Why is she in a cage?" He said in a small voice. He charged over to the men sitting at the computers. "Let her out! She's not a prisoner!"
Tony put up his hand to the blonde man. "No. Leave her."
The man looked at Tony with absolute disgust and disbelief. "You think it's okay to treat her like some...creature?!"
"She can get out of there herself," He crossed his arms and gave me a sideways smile. "She's just choosing not to."
The blonde man turned to me and mouthed the words "Are you okay?" with a concerned look.
To be honest, having people be concerned about me annoyed me a little. I had fought my way through life ever since I could walk on two feet. And now this man, this human, was worried about me. I ran my hands down two bars of the left a trail of a glowing, blue liquid and it soon began to make a sizzling noise. The bars melted and were only left as a puddle in the ground.
"Acid?" Tony raised his eyebrows.
"It can be many more things than that. That was just a miniscule use of my power." I replied, stepping down from the cage.
Suddenly, a tall man with an eyepatch, followed by a woman dressed in a black jumpsuit entered. The man eyed the remnants of the cage.
"My name is Nick Fury and this is Agent Romanoff." He gestured to the girl. "Do you know where we found you?"
"No. But, I know I was trapped. I've never been anywhere simply because I wanted to be there."
"You were found in a laboratory hooked up to several machines. You were unconscious during most of the experiments. They were interested in..." He pointed to the remains of the metal bars. "This."
The blonde man looked at me with such pity. I glared at him. "Don't look at me that way. I don't need your sympathy."
"I'm sorry, I never meant to offend you." His apology seemed sincere but still, I looked at him with malice. Even though I did forgive him, I didn't want anyone in this place to assume that I was weak. Although, technically I was. The last place I had been in had drained me of almost all of my power. Most of my power was held it in vials and beakers back in that lab, and it would take me a few days to regenerate it.
"Natasha," Nick said "Take care of her, please."
"Yes, sir." She nodded and took my hand. "Come with me."
She had a very serious demeanor; however, she seemed like a kind person.
"Okay." I replied, cursing myself inside my head for sounding so innocent.
She handed me some clean clothes as she left me at the door of a bathroom. "You can take a bath in there. Come and find me when you're finished. There should be towels and soap on the counter."
"Thank you." I said, grasping the clothes.
She smiled at me kindly. "You're welcome, goddess."
That was the first time someone had ever addressed me as though I was actually a being. She even acted like I was above her.
I allowed myself to relax in the water. I had a feeling this was a safe place. I didn't think I had been taken here to be held prisoner. I squeezed my eyes tight, and ducked my head under the water. Is this it? Am I finally free? I emerged from the water and took a deep breath. Suddenly, a feeling of guilt ran through me. If this was a safe place and it wasn't necessary to keep up this act of being so powerful at the moment, I had been awful to that blonde man for no reason. He had been so kind to me and was genuinely concerned. I drained the water, quickly dried myself with the towels, and grabbed the clothes Natasha had given me.
I stared at myself in the mirror. I had no idea why Natasha had given me such pretty clothing. I twirled instinctively and the light material of the white dressed danced in the air. My shoulders were bare, but the sleeves were long and puffy and the waist was tight. It resembled that of a peasant dress from long ago. I ran my fingers through my wet, knee length hair, and slicked it back. I finally looked like a goddess again.
I closed the bathroom door behind me and the soft material of the dress brushed against my feet as I walked.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I was able to properly introduce myself." I spun around at the sound of a man's voice. "I'm Captain Steve Rogers."
I shook his hand. "Trishula."
I glanced around the room. I hadn't noticed it before, but I sensed the presence of a god in this place. "Is there a god here?"
"Yes, well, two. Thor and Loki. Thor's good but we're keeping Loki as prisoner because he-"
"I know who they are." I interrupted him.
"Oh, yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "Forgot that you're a goddess for a second there." He smiled at me awkwardly and I couldn't help but smile back. There was something endearing about this man.
"So, where are you from?" He asked.
"Asgard." Thor answered for me, now approaching.
I recognized him immediately. The god of thunder. In one of the prisons I had been in, I researched all the books on gods and goddesses, hoping one day I could find myself. He had long blonde hair, and wore heavy armour. He looked exactly how I imagined he would.
"I could sense an Asgardian." He continued. "What is your name?"
"Trishula." I said. It felt weird having people ask for my name. None of the other places I had been in had cared what my name was.
Thor seemed taken aback by my reply. He looked me up and down. "No..." He put a hand to his mouth. "Why are you on earth?"
"I fell from Asgard."
He starting pacing up and down the room. "It can't be you...it can't." He buried his face in his hands. "How old were you when you fell?"
"I was three years old." I glanced at Steve. He wore the same confused expression as mine.
"It is you..." Thor stared at me and tears began to well up in his eyes. He pulled me into an embrace.
"Who is she?" Steve asked.
"She was Loki's betrothed." He replied.