They sat around the table and waited. Kala had positioned herself at the farthest end from the rest of the Avengers and every now and then she would meet Clint's eye and smile sadly before looking back down at her hands, clearly deep in thought. Natasha was eyeing her curiously, the smallest hint of concern showing on her face. Tony was lazing back in his chair, his expression relaxed and impatience but his eyes continued to flit toward Kala before meeting Roger's eye in question. Steve merely shrugged, just as confused by this meeting as everyone else. Bruce had a sad look on his face and kept trying to meet her eye. He knew some of what this was about but somehow it felt like something more and he was concerned for his friend. Fury stepped into the room not long after that, his eyes wandering to Kala as she sat huddled in on herself, avoiding everyone's eye. He closed and locked the door behind him, stepping toward the monitor at the end of the table before shutting down the security monitoring for that room which only made the Avengers even more confused.
"What we're about to discuss does not leave this room under any circumstance." Fury explained and Tony shifted in his chair and asked blatantly, "Why? What is this about?"
"Because I don't exactly want my personal life broadcasted through every channel of S.H.I.E.L.D known to man. This is important and something you all need to know." Kala's voice lowered to a whisper on her last sentence and she diverted her eyes again.
"Is this why you wouldn't come to S.H.I.E.L.D the first seven times?" Natasha asked and Kala nodded and said, "Yes."
Fury cleared his throat and Kala met his eye and she nodded, bidding him to explain everything. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew if she did she would be completely undone. It was hard enough just hearing it from his lips, feeling how she had felt so long ago. Seeing that video...she was just a young girl then, frightened and alone. It tore Kala apart to know she could be so weak.
"Five years ago we got word of a strange occurrence at a house in the Bronx. A young woman had thrown her parents into a wall and nearly killed them. She had no weapon that they could find and she was too small to have done it herself." Fury brought the news clipping up on the screen, the words all too familiar to Kala and she fought back the tears in her eyes and instead focused on the screen, willing herself to read the headline anyway.
'23 year old female attacks her parents and leaves them for dead'.
Kala grimaced and felt eyes on her. They were shocked and she refused to meet their gaze. There she knew she would see the hurt, the betrayal and the anger. How could she have done such a thing to her parents? How could she have hurt them so badly and left them for dead? They were the questions she had asked herself a million times since it happened and even now she struggled to keep herself from giving in. From going and seeing them and apologising for everything. But she knew that was impossible.
"When myself and a few other agents went to check it out, she was gone. Her parents were being taken to hospital and we assumed she was on the run." Fury continued and the room stayed silent.
"She was just a kid. A smart kid. She was enrolled in the local college, working her way toward her Phd in Astrophysics." A few photos came up on the screen of Kala looking happy, one of her sporting her college jersey like it was the most exciting thing in the world, her face was carefree and unburdened. This was before she knew what she really was. Of what she was truly capable of.
"When Kala disappeared completely off our S.H.I.E.L.D radar, we grew worried. No one had ever truly vanished off the grid before. We knew something was wrong." Fury went on before pulling up a picture of a mental institution and the emotion in the room suddenly changed.
"Kala, you don't have to do this." Agent Barton said softly, noticing the pain and fear in her eyes and if she had been close enough, he would have reached out and clutched her hand. Clint hated to see her so scared and haunted.
"I need to. I trust you all with my life. You've told me so much about what you've all been through to get here. I think it's only fair I come clean. You need to know they'll be coming for me. They know I'm alive and they want me back." Kala explained and Steve asked, "Who?"
She met his eye and was shocked by the concern she saw there and it was mirrored on all the faces around the room. They weren't angry or betrayed. They didn't blame her or hate her. They knew what it was like to be completely undone, to be different and alone. They all cared for her deeply and she for them and somehow Kala knew that after this there was no going back. And somehow she didn't mind at all.
"Show them." Kala said simply, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to control her emotions. Fury nodded, hesitating for a moment before bringing up the video on the view screen. It was static at first before a white room came into view, someone with dark hair was turned away from the camera, seated in an uncomfortable metal chair and their eyes staring at the floor.
"How are you feeling today, Kala?" Doctor Crown asked, his hands folded on the table as he perused her file. The person in the chair turned from studying the floor and met the doctor's eye, her expression beyond tired and her eyes glazed over.
"Bad." Kala said simply, rubbing her hands together and fidgeting in her chair. The medical scrubs she wore were far too big for her thin frame and both her arms were wrapped in bandages. Deep shadows lay beneath her eyes and her hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail.
"What are you feeling bad about?" The Doctor asked and Kala ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"I don't want to be here." She said, her tone whiny and irritated. Kala glared down at the device on the table, the small flashing green light reminding her exactly how much she was being controlled.
"You can't leave, Kala. You hurt people and you're not well." Doctor Crown explained.
"I didn't mean to!" She bit back, tears welling in her eyes.
"And now you've been hurting yourself. Self harm is a serious medical condition, Kala. You need to stay here for your safety." The Doctor continued and Kala shook her head as tears streamed down her face.
"This place is what's wrong with me! I need to get out!" Kala said, her voice turning into a scream before she threw her chair back and stood, her arm outstretched and her teeth bared in a snarl. She tried with everything she had to use her power but the device had completely blocked her. Kala felt the familiar sensation of blood running from her nose and down over her lip.
"We've been through this before, Kala. The device is here for your own protection. And to protect your parents from getting hurt again." Doctor Crown went on and Kala let her shoulders sag before she whispered, "I didn't mean to hurt them. I was just so angry..."
"They don't want you at home right now, Kala. You scare them. That isn't a good thing, is it Kala?" His voice was condescending as he continued to lecture her
into submission. Doctor Crown knew the drugs were helping to keep her docile but he knew that she was in pain and lost and had no where else to go. Not that she could leave even if she tried.
"Are you going to eat something today?" Doctor Crown spoke again and Kala shook her head, glaring down at the camera on the desk recording her every move.
"You need to eat something, Kala." He continued and Kala growled and screamed, "I don't want any of your bullshit food, or your bullshit medicine, or this bullshit psychology you think is going to fix me! I'm not your goddamn lab rat! Now let me the fuck out of here!"
The video cut off and turned to fuzz as everyone stared silently at the screen, no one daring to meet Kala's eye as she sat across the room squashed into her chair, her face pale and her eyes haunted.
"I'll kill him." Natasha finally said, her eyes hard as she turned to Fury and asked, "Permission to kill this man?"
"He's already dead." Fury explained, his eye darting toward Kala momentarily and she sunk further back into her chair, her face riddled by guilt.
"And your parents?" Tony asked and Kala fought through the pain and the memories and replied softly, "They live in California now. They've asked me to come visit but I won't. I can't."
"But you're in control of it now. You wouldn't hurt them." Rogers tried to reason with her but she shook her head.
"I can't be sure of that and I won't risk it. I'd prefer to have no family if that means I keep them safe from me." Kala said.
"We're your family now, Kala. You're not alone in this." Clint said, meeting her eye and she almost smiled. Kala felt Rogers squeeze her hand and she squeezed it back, noticing everyone nodding in agreement.
"So what now?" Bruce finally piped up, having seen and been through this all before. It wasn't long after Kala's stint in the institution that he had first met her. He knew everything there was to know but seeing that video had shaken him up just like the rest of them.
"I'm sick of running and hiding. If they find me, so be it. I can still use my fists and my feet just fine." Kala stated, a renewed energy filling her. Just being open with such an amazing group of people had her feeling like she could handle anything, fight against anything and she wouldn't lose with them by her side.
"I'm all for kicking butt." Tony stated, a cheeky smile on his face and he waggled his eyebrows at Kala and she smirked.
"Well, it's settled then. I'll have you back at Stark Tower within the day and report in when I have your next mission. In the mean time we'll keep tabs on this operation, make sure they don't get too close. Dismissed." Fury said and they filed out of the room.
