Chapter Four

"Is it true what they say? Are we too blind to find a way? Fear of the unknown Clouds our hearts today..." See Who I Am, Within Temptation

No one bothered stopping by that morning. No one bothered to see the broken girl wrapped in bandages on a medical bed. Only two people stopped by the night before to see the damage. They never saw anything like it before. It was an appalling sight, and even the fully certified doctors were horrified by what they had seen.

The girl was covered in scars, from head to toe. She had several burn marks along with what looked like cuts and bullet holes. What bothered the pair more than anything was that she had survived it all. Her hardened exterior made it seem like she could survive anything the world through at her. But they knew what she would be like when she woke up. She would be terrified, and try to fight back. They were ready.

. . .

"Director Fury, are you sure about this one?" Agent Phil Coulson was on the phone with the director, avoiding anyone else in the office. Since his supposed 'death', he had been keeping an eye out for people who might be good candidates for SHIELD. But something about this girl just wasn't right, and Coulson wasn't the only one who thought that.

"Considering all that she's been through, I'm sure she's the one," he replied. "Have you seen the photos we sent you?"

Agent Coulson let out a sigh as he said yes. He did see the pictures, and he was horrified by what he saw. No one should ever go through this kind of torture. How she managed to survive was beyond his knowledge. But judging from the bullet holes in her chest and on her foot, she wouldn't forgive SHIELD so easily for letting her live.

"I'm not sure if she's mentally ready for this challenge," Coulson explained after pushing the thoughts aside. "What if she suddenly attacks, or worse?"

"Romanoff and Barton are already on my ass for that one," Fury muttered. Coulson had a feeling those two would be. They knew what it was like to go through something like that. Most of the higher up agents knew what it was like. "I want you to find out more about her history when she wakes up; where she came from and who she really is. So far we've got nothing in the system."

Agent Coulson leaned against the back of his chair when Fury hung up. This was not going to be an easy mission. If the girl did have some crazy backstory, than she wasn't likely to warm up to him. More often than not they usually tried to run. He would have to take on a different approach, find out what made her different from the rest and try to win her over. Otherwise she might just end up on the street again, only this time she could easily kill those that dared oppose her.

. . .

My head was still buzzing from the flurry of activity in the room. For a while it was like watching a scene from a movie. People were walking in and out, either glancing at me or completely ignoring my presence. I was thankful for the ones who ignored me. The people that stared at me... I'm not sure what to make of their expressions. It doesn't take a genius to see that they're horrified.

"You've caused quite a stir here." Panic rose within me when I heard a voice speak up. Glancing around I spotted a man dressed in a nice suit standing beside the open door. To my left was the beeping of a heart monitor, and for a moment I wondered why it was here. "People are beginning to question why we brought in someone like you," he added after eying me warily. Again I said nothing, only avoiding his eyes as I tried taking everything in.

I was in a hospital room. Or at least that's what it felt like. Ivs were strapped to my arm, and I noticed for the first time that my stomach was wrapped in bandages. That was when the panic suddenly returned.

Memories of the day suddenly came rushing back all at once. I pictured myself in a hotel room running from someone. Master had approached me and stopped the attacker. But than something else happened, something that sent shivers of fear and rage through me. All the people who witnessed our attack, I had to kill them. I killed them without hesitation. And when I was finished, Master fired a gun at me.

"Do you talk? Or did they train that out of you too?" Confusion swept through me when he asked that. Than I understood when he looked at me seriously. The hate I felt earlier for what I did returned. But this time it wasn't directed towards myself, I had someone else to thank for turning me into what I was now. The only response he got from me was a simple nod. I was too angry, too confused and nervous to speak. And he seemed to understand that, much to my relief.

Thankfully he didn't spend much more time here. With that being said and done, he left the room and myself in peace. Well, about as much peace as I could get.

I thought about the past events and everything that happened. My life was a mess. Those innocent people I killed, their blood was now on my hands. I could never forget their horrified looks as I killed them, not even thinking of the consequences. And it had felt good at the time to kill them. Much as I hated admitting it, I enjoyed the taste of their fear, the look in their eyes when they begged for mercy. Was that all of Master's doing?

It was only a few seconds when the door swung open once again. My heart began to race when I recognized the person standing in the door. Dressed in the same suit he had worn during his attack, he really did look intimidating up close. But seeing him now I saw that there was so much more to his features. He had spiky blond hair and light blue eyes, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was how powerful he looked that sent shivers through me.

Out of fear I braced myself for what might happen when he walked in. This was usually right at the point where an intense round of training would begin. If I failed training than I would receive some form of torture that followed. Only to my surprise, I felt no hand slapping against my face, or the hot end of metal piercing my skin. Instead he was standing far away from me, on the other side of the room. Concern flashed in his eyes, but he made a point to hide it.

"Who are you?" I demanded. My voice was hoarse from lack of use. I was surprised I could speak at all after how long I was out. I'm sure I had been knocked out for weeks. It wasn't until now I realized how weak I probably sounded.

"Agent Clint Barton, from SHIELD," he explained as he folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "So, do you have a name or are we going to keep calling you 'It'?" His question was meant to lighten the mood, but it only made me angrier.

I was always told not to trust SHIELD, or anyone who worked for it. And yet here was the guy who at first saw me as a target, and than later saved me when I was on the verge of death. The anger was replaced with confusion as I tried to figure out what was going on. I would give them a false identity. Master had taught us that people would question what who were are, and to use another allias.

"Avaria Bagrov," I replied while looking him in the eye. Clint looked slightly taken aback by the fact that I spoke. "What am I doing here, exactly?" I added once the surprise faded.

"Brought you here when you were dying in the hotel lobby," he explained. "You're welcome by the way." He added the last part with a smirk.

Smug little bastard. Should've punched him when I had the chance. And he should have just let me die. Anything would have been better than what I was facing now. Guilt was trained out of most of the program's recruits. But for me, it was different. I could almost feel the pain those people that died felt. And while it did feel good to kill them, it didn't feel good now.

"Considering the fact that you were shot in the stomach, I'm surprised you're still alive," Clint continued as if I wanted to hear more. "No human should be able to survive something like that." He looked down at me once again, as if expecting me to say something. I wasn't sure what to say. Even if I did know what had happened, I wouldn't tell him.

"Guess I'm just full of surprises," I said bitterly. The look he gave me told me that he didn't believe what I said one bit. But thankfully he didn't press any further. Instead he took the chance to leave before things went from bad to worse.

It gave me time to thank of some way to escape this hell hole. If I stayed any longer these people would probably treat me worse than they did at the program. Taking that into realization the urge to escape suddenly became more desperate. I wasn't going to let these people hurt me; that pain was reserved for Master.

My teeth ground together when I realized that my hands were strapped to the bed, once again. Carefully I tried wriggling my wrists so that I could slip out of my restraints. It wasn't an easy task, but my wrists were small enough that I could manage. Once that task was finished I ripped off the Ivs as the heart monitor began beaping more quickly.

I know the risks, I reminded myself as I slowly got up. To my surprise as I made my way to the door it was unlocked. Just how stupid were these SHIELD agents? Did they really not think that I would try to escape? Maybe they thought I was too hurt to even bother trying. Obviously they've never seen what I was capable of.

Slowly but surely the door creeked open, to reveal a long hallway leading to what looked like the outside world. I glanced around to make sure no one was around, careful not to alert anyone guarding the halls. With quick work I managed to knock out the security cameras before making a run for it. It was at that point everything started going downhill.

An alarm sounded almost as soon as I got outside. The harsh sunlight only blinded me for seconds before my eyes adjusted to it. Wind rushed past my skin as I ran across the cement, ready to escape before the agents came snooping around. My heart was racing with adrenaline as I made my way towards the edge. Hope surged through me when I realized that my plan was working.

But in a matter of seconds that hoped was crushed when a strong pair of arms grabbed me by my torso. "You're not getting away that easily kid." Clint's voice rang in my ears as I fought back, jamming my elbows into his chest as hard as possible. Another string of curse words escaped from his tongue as he dropped me. Even if he could overpower me I wasn't going to let it be easy. I was ready to take on anyone at this point.

"Slow it down kid, you jump off and you'll regret it." My eyes widened when a new voice spoke up. "We are not the enemy, much as you'd probably love to say we are." Clint was still clutching his stomach when we were both approached by a tall African American man wearing an eye patch. I wasn't sure what to make of him as he stared at me menacingly. "You need to calm down, taking down one of my top agents is not a wise choice."

Mentally I scoffed at the term 'top agent'. I could easily kick Clint's ass if I wanted to, but I held back. I wouldn't kill unless I was given the order to. "How do I know I can trust you?" I demanded, my fists clenching once again.

Don't believe anything he says. Anything SHIELD tells me is a lie. I kept reminding myself this as he locked gazes with me.

"If you want answers to that than you'll have to come with me," he replied. "I know you aren't going to trust me, at least not right away. But you will be safe here, for the time being." He added the last part with a warning in his tone.

Safe... the idea of actually feeling safe or being safe had never occurred to me. I was safe under the watchful eyes of Master. But here I had nothing. I was nothing. I was just a simple little nobody who had killed in cold blood. If I fled now the cops would give chase and send me to prison for the rest of my life. This really was my only option.

AN: So there's chapter four. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it, cause I had fun writing it :) Thank you so much ellethwen of lothlorien and cat-afterlife for reviewing! They really mean a lot! And please let me know what you thought of this chapter, I'd love to get some feedback!