There's something inside me
That pulls beneath the surface
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self control I fear, is never ending.

Crawling by Linkin Park

Tony knocked on the kid's door around nine o'clock that evening. Natasha had been with her for several hours through dinner, which she also declined to attend, and now it was his turn to take over. He hadn't really talked to Elle much yet and was strangely eager to get to know her. She intrigued him.

"You are relieved, Nat," he nodded quietly, noticing the girl was lying in her bed.

Natasha got up and left the room silently, leaving Tony on the floor of the room to think.

"I'm not asleep."

"I wasn't sure," Tony admitted, "What are you doing?"

"Lying down."

"Obviously," Tony smirked, "I mean what are you thinking about?"

"Daddy, stop! You're hurting me!"

Elle could hear the girl from the next high-rise over. Her father was at it again. And here Elle was, unable to do anything. It was maddening.

"Have you ever known something horrible was happening, but not been able to do anything about it, Mr. Stark?"

"First of all," Tony said, "No more of this 'Mr. Stark' nonsense. I'm Tony. Second of all, yes. Many times."

"What did you do," Elle asked quietly.

Tony shrugged, "I did something about it."

Elle nodded. If only it were that easy.

"Why," Tony asked, narrowing his eyes, "What's going on, Elle?"

"Nothing, sir."

Tony looked at her suspiciously. Elle smirked, she could hear Tony's brain going a mile a minute trying to figure out what was going on. But suddenly it started again. The girl next door. She couldn't have been over nine years old from what Elle could tell. The whimpering was enough to set Elle off.

Elle started to cry, flashbacks taking over her mind. Red, red was all around her now. Flashes of blood, the sound of gurgling as someone choked on an open wound across their neck. Scrambling arms, flailing around her. A cackling laughter.

Tony approached her in concern as she gripped at her head in pain and fear and anger. Suddenly, though, Tony went flying back, hitting his head on the wall and dropping unconscious to the ground. Elle stood on her bed, eyes blazing. Things in the room began spinning, crashing into the walls. A lamp shattered as it hit a corner of a dresser. Slowly Tony began regaining consciousness.

"Holy shit."

He ran over to the door and got out of the room.

"Jarvis, get someone up here, now. Preferably with one of their stun-guns."

Peaking back in the room to check up on the girl, he was just in time to see a large black radio smash into the girl's head. This knocked her off balance, causing her to black out. Everything that had been hovering and spinning dropped to the ground in finality. Tony, oblivious to the small cut on his head, rushed inside just as Bruce, Natasha, Steve, and Clint all arrived on their floor, guns up and ready to fire.

Massive amounts of blood were pouring out of Elle's head and Bruce was the first to rush inside, carefully picking his way around the objects. He grabbed a blanket from her bed and wrapped Elle's scalp with it, careful not to smother her. Steve was busy checking over Tony, but Clint and Natasha were surveying the carnage of the room.

"Agent Love can't get here soon enough," Clint muttered.

Natasha agreed whole-heartedly. She wanted to help this girl, really, if only to help make up for the sins she'd committed with the Red Room and KGB. Surely helping a teenage girl manage some new powers got some red out of her ledger? But was this girl beyond help?

"She's slowly going crazier," Steve murmured.

Tony shook his head, "Something set her off. I want to know what."

"She's dangerous," Steve argued, "I'm calling Fury tomorrow. She needs out of here. She needs professional help!"

"We ARE the help," Tony pointed out, "That's why Fury put her under our care."

Steve wasn't convinced.

"Agent Ellis Love gets here tomorrow night," Natasha told them, "Let's give her a shot."

"Fine," Steve relented, "I want this girl to be safe and healthy as much as any of us, but she's also a risk to this team."

That next morning, everything Steve had been dreading occurred. Doctor Doom had sent several legions of doombots to New York and the Avengers were called in to handle it. Problem was, Pepper was in DC. They had to leave the girl alone.

"We'll be back soon," Tony told Elle who was just waking up from the result of last night's mental catastrophe, "Don't worry."

Elle nodded and sat up in bed. The Avengers rushed out onto the street and into the next few blocks where the carnage was occurring. But Elle had no intentions of staying put.

She knew what she had to do. Last night's flashbacks had assured her of it. She'd done it once, she could do it again. And this time, with her new powers, should didn't even need to get her fingers dirty.

Elle focused her mind. Never had she been so sure of what she wanted to do that her brain began working together, her new powers responding to her orders. She searched the nearby high-rise for the abuser. It was time he got a taste of his own medicine.

There he was. Sitting in his living room, no one in sight. Closing her eyes tighter, she reached into his mind. It took several minutes of fighting with his consciousness, but eventually she managed to take hold. She was in control now. And there was something she had to do.

Elle used her connection to order the man into his kitchen. Another quick thought and the man grabbed a butcher's knife. He held it up to his throat and slowly pulled it across his neck. Once again, he dragged it but this time much faster and with much more force. His jugular split.

Blood poured out over the countertops and onto the floor. He gagged on his own blood, desperate for breath. But instead, the blood began pouring out onto the kitchen counters and into his own lungs, drowning himself. Falling to the floor, the knife clattered into a pool of the scarlet liquid.

Elle struggled to release the man now that the deed had been done. She didn't want to find out what would happen if her consciousness was inside the man when he died. It came close, but at last she broke free. The strain caused her to fall to her knees on the floor of the medical bay in the tower. Jarvis inquired of her if she was alright.

"I'm fine Jarvis. Just fine."