A/N; Warnings for mentions of injury and abuse of minors/kidnapping
Izabella sharply inhales the smelling salt, her mind dizzy as she sits upright in the small living room. Her vision swarms, reaching to hold her head only to find a restraint over her wrist. Her heart rate increases as she starts to panic.
"Don't pull Izabella."
She turns her head toward the blonde, going off in her own language before she corrects herself;
"Where am I? What is this-"
John offers a friendly smile, releasing her restraints;
"You panicked. Don't you remember? After school you started thrashing like crazy, warping random objects-"
Her eyes soften with a pleasing expression;
"Tell me I not hurt anyone."
John cringes, patting her forehead with a warm cloth;
"I wish I could. Unfortunately dad and I swept in too quickly to see all of damage."
Izabella holds her head, unable to recall any event after their lunch period. John reaches for her hand. The girl complied only to see a bright red burn in the center. She cringes and pulls back, opening her palms to examine their shooting pain;
"Wha-. What..."
John settles back beside her;
"My dad tried to heal your burns. You'll have to take it easy the next few days."
She looks up in a panic once more, "Burns..."
"You were just out of control Izzy. But that's okay. We're going to fix you up."
"I not...,' she struggles to process, tears forming in her eyes,
'I not remember. Is Lucy and Brody and-"
"They're all safe...Brody took some damage from what I saw, but it'll be okay."
"Where is he?!"
"Everyone is safe, you don't have to worry."
Izabella turns, searching for her communicator. The current mission to contact Natasha or Bruce and inform them of her apparent loss of control. She scrambled, palms lifted upright as she searches for her device. John brushes her wrists;
"What are you looking for?"
"My com."
"Why..."
She shakes her head, "I need to tell Vrach Banner. He help me-"
The blonde speaks softly, holding her wrists gently, "But I'm here. My dad and I can help you."
"They need to know for the school and my aunt-"
He shakes his head, "I wouldn't worry about your aunt sweet Izzy."
The girl turns her head upon the entrance of a taller man. She inhales sharply only to be soothed by the calm voice of the home owner;
"There she is. How are you honey? I'm Kyle. John says you had a rough day."
He sits across the way, eyes drifting to her palms, "How are you feeling?"
The girl glances downward, unable to form a warping circle without the pain shooting you her wrists;
"I not warp."
John chuckles, "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll figure it out."
Kyle points with a smile, "John's right. You need some rest. Are you hungry?"
Izabella shakes her head, struggling to be polite through her panicking;
"No, I...I need to see Natalia. Vrach Banner can fix."
Kyle steps with a hand over his hip, "I will contact them for you. Would that make you feel better?"
She stares forward, trembling over her reddened fingers. The older man calls the younger who is quick to oblige and makes his way into the kitchen to discuss the situation with a lowered voice;
"Call Agent Olga, tell her we have the Russian and that she's out of commission. I need to go pay our louder mouth prisoner a visit."
The younger boy twists his jaw somewhat guiltily;
"I don't think Izzy is a threat-"
"Really."
"You didn't have to burn her hands."
"You think I should've just left her to warp as she pleases? You know how destructive Blonksy's creations can be. We need a demonstration but I thought you liked her. Taking her power away keeps her safe."
The boy snaps, struggling to remain quiet;
"You have no idea what she's been through! What makes you any different from the monsters you're trying to eradicate."
His eyes widen, "Don't cross me or I'll lock you in the basement next. You already know too much. Keep an eye out for the Avengers. God knows you can't hide your tracks."
John shuts his eyes, "Don't hurt Lucy."
Kyle shakes his head, "You still don't get it-"
"She's born gifted dad, it's different. There's no trigger word that sets her off like Izabella and the rest of them."
He pauses;
"We'll just keep her quiet then."
. . . . . . . . .
The California girl twists in her ropes, cleverly folding over the strands in an attempt to pull it from behind. Ducking her head she twists and pulls. With her bangs falling over her forehead she releases a heavy exhale, chomping down on her current gag. With one more pull she frees her hands, chuckling with pride over her accomplishment. She freezes over the sound of the footsteps, tucking her hands back into the now loosened restraints.
In her short time training she's learned nothing of how to escape capture. Perhaps her obsession with spy movies would finally come into play. Counting her heart rate she slowly builds, inhaling and exhaling faster to set her eyes aglow.
She needs to be 'passionate' as Izabella once put it. She shuts her eyes tight as the man makes his way down the wooden steps. A chill rolls down her spine over the cool wall. Lucy almost wishes the situation were more scary, her heart rate staying steady due to a lack of fear in a furnished basement. She cracks an eye open to see the Murphy father steadily approaching. His hands are cold as he threatens her silence. She spits once her gag is removed, using humor to diffuse the situation;
"You get a kick out of kidnapping teenagers and locking them up."
"Shut up. It's not you we're after."
"Which is weird considering you have a teen of your own. How'd you feel if someone took Johnny boy Junior?"
"Shut. Up."
She tugs from his grip over her bicep;
"What'd you do with Izzy?! Last I saw you were stuffing a pillow in my face and she was kinda unconscious so-"
"Will you please-"
"Help! Child abuse!"
He scrambles in a panic, covering her mouth with a hand he squeezes too hard. She snarls and bites his finger, her eyes narrow over his complaint;
"Ow!"
"Man! For real?"
He shakes his head, in slight disbelief over her lack of fear;
"How?!"
"How what."
"How are you so calm."
She shrugs, "Regrettably my DNA never accepted the large green monster gene. I mean what am I gonna do? Keep screaming child abuse until someone comes? Or trust my secret criminal uncle has friends in all places and trust he brings his large green alter ego and completely destroys your ass. I'm really looking forward to the latter, I've never met the big green personally, but I hear he's smashing. So where's Izzy?"
"Lucy?!"
The fear in Izabella's eyes is evident, the younger teen having snuck down the stairs out of pure curiosity. The blue haired teen smiles in reply;
"Oh look, there she is! We were just talking about you gurl!"
John reaches around her torso to hold the struggling Russian steady, offering Lucy a chance to spot her hands. With her teeth clenched her heart rate increases, her eyes glow a vibrant yellow as he hands twist to wrap over Kyle's neck. With a kick into his gut she pulls away in her act of self defense and moves to help Izabella kick off John. Grabbing her friends hand she mumbles as they run up the stairs and head for the door;
"Psycho bastards."
Izabella glances over her shoulder toward the incoming SHIELD agent and his son behind him;
"Lucy!"
"I'm thinking I'm thinking!"
She releases a scream, elbowing the door and leaping up to swing her feet through the window in a hitch kick. Izabella ducks over the shattered glass, feeling a hand grab her wrist as Lucy leads them in a foot chase down the city street.
Izabella pants as they run through the dark, moving her friend down an alley to dodge the agents as they continue to run forward;
"We need to talk about you athletics."
Lucy covers her friend's mouth, trying to eavesdrop on the altercation in the street;
"Olga is going to murder us-"
"Shut up John. They couldn't have gone far."
Lucy laughs once they're in the clear, "Mom taught me self defense. Guess she knew it would come in handy someday."
"You can teach me."
She scoffs, "We also need to talk to Clint about a portable bow. I'd love a weapon right now. Do you have any idea how we ended up in that- douche bag's house?!"
Izabella shakes her head as they stay tucked in the alley corner;
"No. But they burn my hands...I heard him say..."
Lucy gently takes her fingers with wide eyes;
"My frickin God Izzy! So you can't warp us home?!"
She shakes her head, tears in her eyes, "I am so, sorry Lucy. I trusted..."
She grits her teeth, analyzing the situation;
"It's ok. We need clear heads right now- W.W.N.D?"
Izabella sniffles, the back of her hand wiping her eyes;
"What?"
"What Would Nat Do?"
She glances around, pointing to the gate;
"Keep running. Survive."
Lucy nods, "Great! Except I don't know NYC. I can help us outsmart the bad guys, break out of a basement, completely suppress all emotion when I really wish I could rage full out right now, and I can see super clearly in the dark but I can't navigate a city I don't know."
Izabella forces herself to stand, getting her bearings;
"I do. We need go north-"
"Perfect. Let's go East a bit first to throw off the asshole. C'mon."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Natasha finishes her circle around the building, the dust settling from an explosion just off property. Along with the team and a few SHEILD agents she presses indoors to circle the area. Leaning to the right she watches a large group of disgruntled employees making their way outside. She snaps toward a familiar nurse intern;
"Where are you going?! Are all of the injured cared for?"
The woman snarls back;
"Ask your husband."
Natasha rolls her eyes and makes her way toward the nurses station. With crosses arms she fixates from a resting Brody to her Vrach;
"Why are the interns leaving?!"
Bruce barely lifts his focus, currently stitching up Riley's arm;
"I fired them."
Natasha tilts her head, "You're not even trained. You can't make that call-"
He glares in response helping the young girl to her feet;
"I just did."
Romanoff lowers her head, turning to see the empowered children with their eyes on her. She can do nothing but accept Banner's action as his eyes flicker from their natural brown. Brody looks up hopefully as she steps closer;
"How are you feeling."
He shakes his head, "They took her Nat. She's just gone."
"No one is gone,' her voice is soft in reply, 'Can you tell me exactly what happened."
He shakes his head thoughtfully. Bruce shifts toward the boy, adjusting his sling to a more comfortable position;
"We were on our way back from the strip mall across the street."
Banner growls, "Where we told you not to go-"
Natasha lifts a hand over the arm of the doctor;
"Bruce...keep going Brody."
"I...we saw smoke. Lucy went in first and then John turned on Izabella. He grabbed her and shoved a mini pillow in her face. I went after him but Bella was already unconscious. Riley and I thought we could take him but his dad came out of nowhere and grabbed Lucy-"
Banner snaps, "John who."
"John Murphy...we knew he was trouble. Well, everyone but Bella."
Natasha tightens her jaw, making eye contact with Banner;
"I know where he is."
The doctor nods over her silent direction. She was leaving and Bruce would stay behind. His eyes and voice soften as he calls to her;
"Be safe. I'll meet you when I can."
She nods, breaking away from his gaze. Natasha holds her com as she makes her way back down the hall;
"I know where to find the girls. Don't follow me."
Barton's voice comes in clearer;
"I can hover in the area-"
"No,' she retorts, 'The kids need you here. Help Bruce with the clean up so he can get to me sooner. Tony, you and Steve need to get back to the tower."
Stark answers abruptly, "On it Little Red."
"With Thor away it's far too unsafe to leave it unguarded."
"You need backup Nat!"
She shakes her head as she arrives back outside, unlocking her car;
"If they took Izabella, Antonia could be next. They're trying to lore us away from the tower so don't let it happen. Send my coordinates to Fury and get additional security to the center."