Chapter 1:

Ace

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them shut a few times to get used to the bright light above my neck. My breath hitched, and upon glancing around, I found I had no idea where I was. I was in some kind of clear container, if that's even what it was. I sat up quickly, and glanced around. Only then did I hear the faint beeping of a monitor. I turned my head slowly to the sound, and let my eyes follow a cord, which had a needle on the end. This needle happened to be in my arm.

My eyes widened, and I barely managed to conceal a fearful groan. I looked away and pulled the needle out quickly, and steadied my breathing. I put some pressure on the hole in my arm to stop it from bleeding everywhere. The machine beeped loudly, and I resisted the urge to punch the screen. Instead, I decided to press all of the buttons on it, until I eventually found the one that shut it off.

I glanced around the room again, and seeing I was alone, hesitantly placed a foot on the ground, wondering if I would be steady enough to stand up. My head started to throb, and everything around me started to spin. I decided it would be safer if I stayed in a sitting position. At that very same moment, a door to the right of me opened slowly, and I turned my head a little to see a colored man in a black leather trench coat walking through the opening.

He walked to a small stand and pressed a yellow button, which opened a section of glass in front of me. He walked in slowly, and the glass shut behind him.

"My name is Director Nick Fury." He said, his voice commanding authority. "I have a few questions for you, if you would be willing to speak."

"If I do, can I leave?" I asked, looking at the man from several different angles, trying to see if he was with Hydra. The thought made me shiver a little bit.

He frowned slightly. "It depends."

I nodded, tensing slightly. I wasn't going to let my guard down near this man, a stranger. He pulled over a chair, and sat down, giving me a strange look that I couldn't quite make out.

"First, what is your name?" He asked.

I squinted, my brows furrowing, and my mouth twisting into a frown. "The last time I gave my name to a man in a black suit, I ended up with Hydra…I don't trust you, at least, not yet; I won't give my name to you, or anyone here until I know nothing dangerous will come of it." I said, my voice clear, not showing how nervous I felt.

"Is there something we can call you for the time being?"

I thought for a moment, then said the first thing that came to my mind. "Ace."

He simply nodded. "Second, do you work for Hydra?" He asked.

I shuddered, and shook my head. "No." I said.

He gave a sort of glare. "Then why do your clothes have their emblem on them?"

"I told you, I don't work for them…Not anymore." I glared.

He leaned forward slightly. "You were one of them, then?"

"Never out of my own will." I said. "They took me from my home, and corrupted my mind."

"What do you mean, corrupted?"

I shot him a glare…This conversation was going somewhere I didn't want it to, and I had a feeling he already knew the answer. "They put false memories into my head, and they lied to me." I answered. "They made me kill people that were innocent, and made me believe that I was saving the world." My fists clamped shut and my muscles tensed a little.

The man nodded slowly. "Did they tell you to fly into my window?" He asked.

My eyes widened. "No," I paused. "That was my own doing." I said. "I remembered some things, and tried to get away, I'll admit not in the most effective way, I was mostly unconscious by the time I hit your window."

He stood up quickly, which caused me to wince. "You should rest."

"You said I could leave." I said, glaring at him- it was almost as if I was trying to burn a hole through his head.

"I said that it would depend." He walked out of the container, and a nurse-looking person walked into the room, holding a syringe of sorts.

Ace, you're fine – it's only a needle.

'Needle, my ass.' I thought back to the voice.

I moved back on the bed, and gave the nurse a warning look. She didn't seem to take the hint, and I lifted my arm up slowly, until it was almost in front of my face. "If you come any closer to me with that thing, I will hurt you." I said. She faltered slightly, and looked back at the Director, who shook his head.

The woman swiftly turned around and left the glass room. I watched the doors shut, and let out a breath I'd been holding.

I walked backwards and slowly lay on the bed with caution, in case someone tried to grab me, or take me to get my memories wiped again. I faced the ceiling, and closed my eyes, eventually calming myself down enough to fall asleep.

"You will answer to your new name…Ghost, is that understood?"

She didn't respond, and instead, only looked ahead. The man slapped her across the face, and she stared at him in surprise. "Is that understood?" He asked again.

The woman nodded once, and they put her in a room. They made her sit down on a chair, which was hooked up to a machine. They made sure to strap her down securely, and pressed a button on a control mechanism.

Almost immediately she felt like her head was going to explode. She screamed, and writhed in the chair for several minutes, glancing wildly around the room, silently pleading with the people around her to stop what they were doing- to end the pain.

I sat up quickly when I heard the glass doors shift. The Director walked into the 'container', and sat down in the same seat as the day before.

"I want to ask you some questions." I said, looking at him with a curious stare.

He nodded, giving me an odd look.

"Who do you work for, if not Hydra?" I asked.

He sighed. "I work for SHIELD, and I'm in charge of a group known as the Avengers."

I nodded, ignoring the burning feeling on the back of my head, telling me to find them, and kill them all. The Avengers were my enemy, or so Hydra told me. I wasn't sure what to believe at this time, so I figured I'd make my own decision on that matter, as long as I could keep my mind in check.

"When can I leave?" I asked.

He frowned. "It all depends on how well you cooperate, and if we feel it would be safe for everyone around you."

I grunted, getting into a more comfortable position, preparing myself. "I take it you still have questions?" I asked.

"I do." He said. "How long did you work for Hydra?" He asked.

"Why is this important information?" I said.

"It's for a file we're putting together."

I nodded slowly, understanding the reason behind it. "They took me from my home around the 1980s, I can't remember the exact year," I paused. "They wiped my mind so many times." I muttered, quiet enough that the man couldn't hear.

He nodded, only a little bit of surprise came through his stoic expression. "Do you remember when you were born?" He asked.

I frowned, trying to remember anything that might give me some hint. Suddenly, a four-digit number popped into my head. "I think 1945, though I could be wrong." I said.

He nodded again. "Would I be correct to assume they injected you with something?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yes, it was some kind of serum they gave me, which enabled me to heal a lot of wounds, which sort of slowed down the aging process." I said. "They also put me on a cyro-freeze when I wasn't on a mission." I shivered, trying to forget the feeling of practically being frozen alive.

"Was there anything else the serum gave you?"

I grunted. "I can make things with my mind, mostly knives, and heal, along with one other thing I refuse to put a name to." I tried to speak as quickly as I could, avoiding the last one. "I was also born with the ability to control air."

"The 'thing' you refuse to talk about, is it dangerous?" He asked.

"It can be, though it depends on the situation…In some cases, it's more dangerous to me." I said.

He nodded, and stood up quickly, watching my reaction. I winced slightly, and stood up off of the bed hesitantly. The glass opened, and a group of people walked in, giving me odd looks.

"These are the Avengers." He said and motioned an arm to the people behind him.

I nodded as they each introduced themselves, giving their code names, along with their real names. The only one that sparked a memory was a man named Steve Rogers, or, to be more direct, Captain America. I shifted on my feet slightly, glancing at him for a few seconds longer than the others.

Kill him first.

I shook my head a little and quickly glanced back over to Fury, who cleared his throat. "I am willing to let you out of here, under supervision, if you agree to help, when it is needed."

I thought for a second, wondering what 'help' could be, but figuring that it couldn't be as bad as Hydra's way of doing things. I only nodded, though, and put my hands in the pockets of my sweatpants.

"I am also going to ask you for a demonstration of your abilities." He said, though his tone told me he wasn't really asking for anything.

I cleared my throat. "When?" I asked.

"Now, if you're ready." He said.

I nodded, and closed my eyes. I pictured a dagger-like knife appearing in my hands, and within seconds my left hand closed around a heavy object. I opened my eyes and tossed it into the air, waving my hand to make it disappear seconds before it hit the ground.

Then, I concentrated on moving the air around me to make two funnels come out from my hands. I felt myself being picked up, and heard a quiet gasp, possibly from one of the Avengers, though I wasn't really paying attention. I carefully dropped myself back onto the ground, and let myself smile- just a little.

"I can't really show you the healing, but…" I pulled up the sleeve on my right arm, revealing two scars, both rather close to one another. "That's what it does, it heals the wound, and leaves a scar." I said, letting the sleeve fall back down my arm.

He nodded, and motioned for the glass doors to be opened. "You're free to go most anywhere onboard, but remember, you are under supervision." He said, walking out of the room with calm, and somewhat calculated strides, leaving me with the Avengers.

You're alone now…Here's your chance!

I mentally rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to groan- it hurt when that 'voice' talked. Almost like it was threatening me. I reminded myself I wasn't one of them, not anymore at least.

I moved my arms closer to my side, not particularly enjoying being alone with these people; strangers, and supposed enemies. "Sorry about the window." I said- and I was being honest. One of them smirked a little- I'm pretty sure he was Tony Stark, my mind was too busy thinking of other things to pay close attention.

Steve cleared his throat quietly and motioned to the now-open glass door. "We could show you around a little, if you wanted, ma'am." He said, his voice mostly polite, though it had the slightest bit of aggravation- I understood it completely.

Go on, do it.

I clenched my jaw a little before answering. "Thank you- I appreciate it." I forced myself to smile a little, though not so much that it was creepy. I didn't want anyone to think I was who they were making me out to be.

Steve nodded and walked out of the glass 'room', the other Avengers trailing behind him, though the redhead stayed behind me. Natasha Romanoff, I think, was her name. I followed the other Avengers, and she followed me, giving me odd, and occasionally angry looks. Fury had probably told them all who I was…or they guessed.

We had gone through the dining hall, and the training room before my head started to get really fuzzy. The voice was pestering me again, this time using more force in its words. I managed to hide it well, though, and nobody seemed to notice.

Kill them.

The voice put in every ounce of hate into those two words that it possibly could. I had to lean against the wall of the hallway we were walking in; Tony Stark was currently showing off the bedrooms, pointing out who's was who's. I put a hand to my head and scrunched my face up- the throbbing was getting heavier.

Come on, Ghost. Kill them – you have your chance…Take it!

I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to drown out the voice, even though it didn't seem to be working. The Avengers seemed to notice I'd stopped walking- Natasha had probably signaled them. I groaned a little when I heard footsteps coming closer. I knew I'd have to do something soon to get the voice to stop.

Kill. Now.

It was like a switch had been flipped in my mind. I grabbed the one who'd happened to be closest to me and barely managed to shove them into the wall opposite of the one I'd been leaning against. I let a little growl escape my throat- I only saw my mission. I had to kill whoever this person was, though I didn't know why. I raised my hand back to punch whoever it was before-

'Stop it!' I screamed at myself, trying to fight whatever it was that was making me do this. 'Knock this crap off, NOW.'

My hands started to shake slightly, as if I was surprised at the volume I'd managed to shout in. I dropped my arm, and my vision cleared. I'd pushed Steve up against the wall. I quickly took my hand off of his chest and stumbled back into the wall I'd previously leaned on. My head was wringing, though I wasn't sure if it was out of fear, or anger. It was then that I finally noticed all of the other Avengers, who'd seemed to have prepared themselves to fight in some way.

I let out a breath I'd been holding. "S-sorry," I paused, trying to clear my head for a second, mentally berating myself for letting that damned voice take over. "I- something came over me, I couldn't stop myself." I said, my voice shaking a little. I sighed, knowing that probably wasn't the best explanation for what had just happened, but there really was no other way to put it.

Natasha sent me a faint glare, meant only for me to see, while Clint looked…concerned? It was almost like he knew what had happened. "Is there somewhere I can sleep for a while?" I asked, hoping they wouldn't take me right back to whatever glass 'room' I'd been in before.

Steve's expressions changed quickly- so fast I could make out what any of them were. I'd imagined he'd be furious, but if he was, he hid it well. "There's an open room for you down the hall, 'Room 15'." He said, pointing down the opposite way we'd been walking before what just happened.

I nodded a little and hurried down the hallway, searching the doors for the number he'd given me. It was in between his, and Clint Barton's room- probably in case I tried anything. I opened the door, walked into the room, and shut the door loudly behind me. Running my fingers through my hair, I mentally screamed at myself. Already, I was screwing things up- they'd probably hurt me, or put me back into that 'room'. I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands.

Not five minutes later, I heard a few knocks on my door. My head shot up and I quickly walked to the door, somewhat curious to see who it was. I grew nervous when I saw that it was Steve. I backed away from the door, flicking my hand a little as a way of saying he could come in- I wasn't sure why I did it, though.

He walked in and closed the door about halfway behind him, and then crossed his arms over his chest. "What happened back there?" He asked, his voice giving an indication that he was upset.

I looked down at the ground quickly before staring back at him. I didn't want to talk to him, especially after what had just happened, but I forced myself to at least answer his question. "Something clicked in my head, and I couldn't control myself." I answered. "I saw you as my mission." I said, trying to sound as serious as possible.

He furrowed his brows in confusion. "By mission, do you mean target?" He asked.

I only nodded and pulled my arms close to my chest, almost as if I was hugging myself. "I tried to stop myself before it happened, but…" I stopped- he knew the rest already, so there was no point in continuing.

Steve nodded once and turned to leave. "Goodnight, ma'am." He said, though it sounded sort of forced. I couldn't blame him though, so I watched him as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

I released a breath I'd been holding, and fell back onto my bed. I moved myself so that I could slide underneath the sheets and closed my eyes, wondering what was going to happen to me the next day.