Ashley wants the toy so badly, but there are none left. She's disappointed, and disappointment turns to anger, and anger into rage. She knows how this ends.
"Ashley, no!" her mother screams, as she helplessly watches the ruby red glint fall into her daughter's eyes, "Ashley, please! Please, sweetheart, not here! Calm down!"
But Ashley can't hear her - her body goes rigid and she feels her feet begin hovering off of the ground. She doesn't mean for it to happen, but she can't control it. Her face drains of all colour, her eyes are a dangerously swirling red and her palms are outstretched. Her back begins to bend - now people have stopped to gawk, a few in awe but most in horror. The supermarket security guards are running over, thinking this is a joke, illusion, or elaborate set up.
"Madame!" one shouts at Mella, who can only stare on at her young daughter in horror. "Qu'est-ce qui se passe ici?"
"Please don't hurt her!" Mella shouts back with tears pooling in her eyes.
"She must come down, she must come down! NOW!" the security guard continues to demand as shoppers begin taking a few uncertain steps back. Mella shakes her head, desperately tugging at her daughter's foot although she knows that by now, there's no use.
"She can't…she can't get down, please, please you must clear the store!" she screams at the guards surrounding her. "Get everyone out, now!"
"For-"
"JUST DO IT! Just…n-no, Ashley, no….ASHLEY, NO!"
"Ashley! ASHLEY? ASHLEY!" came a firm but panicked voice from somewhere in the distance.
Ashley gave a harsh gasp and shuddered herself awake, soon finding herself pinned down by a pair of strong hands. Her hazy vision soon focussed on the figure hovering over her. It was Steve, staring down at her with wide eyes in his black hoodie, whilst his thick rugby player-like legs were straddling her hips. The density of his weight immediately caused Ashley to panic. She absentmindedly began struggling against his grip, still half asleep. "Relax! Relax, you're okay!" Steve rushed out comfortingly, his grip still tight on her shoulders. "Hey, don't cry. It was just a dream - you're okay, Ashley."
Ashley blinked at his words, not realising she'd been crying.
"S-Steve…?" she began shakily, her red rimmed eyes darting around her. But the sights surrounding her made it even worse. There were four agents dotted around the room with guns poised, and Tony was stood rigidly at her bedroom door with his suit glove risen in her direction. Ashley then glanced to the right to see Clint perched on her balcony railings with a bow and arrow aimed in her direction, too. Then, the state of the room. Holes in the walls from her fiery fingertips, scorch marks on the ceilings and steam rising from the (once again) sodden mattress. Ashley's eyes flickered back up to Steve in shame, but he shot her a warm look of comfort.
"You're okay," he repeated, a little softer this time. She felt his grip loosen slightly. "Are you with us?" Ashley opened her mouth to respond, but she was far too ashamed. She wanted to disappear from the scene, both utterly embarrassed and devastated at the mess she'd made again. Steve glanced over his shoulder, following her eye line, and rolled his eyes once he saw how braced everyone looked. "Okay, why don't we all ease up a little, huh? Give her some space, she's awake." The agents blinked at each other in uncertainty before reluctantly lowering their guns - but Tony didn't want to take any chances. Steve picked up on his hesitance and stared him out stonily. "Stark, I said ease up."
"Yeeaaah Cap, with all due respect, she nearly destroyed my home whilst crying tears of blood - pardon me if I'm being too careful," Tony muttered back through gritted teeth. Ashley blinked at his words, before lifting a finger and dabbing under her lower lid gently to see spots of fresh blood stain her fingertips.
Oh - this was a bad one.
"Yeah, she did - but in her sleep. She's awake now Tony, so ease the hell up," Steve demanded a little louder. Tony raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by the sudden change of tone.
"Just do it, Tony," came a voice that Ashley immediately recognised as Pepper's. There she stood in the hallway with an unreadable expression on her face. Tony sucked his teeth before finally doing as he was told - and it was only with the shaky breath that Ashley exhaled that everyone in the room realised how scared she was. Steve released her and leaned back so that she could sit up. Her head was pounding and her eyes were beginning to sting. Her whole body felt hot, but cold, wet and heavy at the same time. Her muscles were aching as if she had just a hardcore workout session.
"Here, drink some water," Steve murmured to her as he handed her a sealed bottle. Ashley raised a trembling hand and took it from him, trying to unscrew the lid - but failing. Her hands were too slippery, she felt too weak - it just wasn't working. "I got it," Steve hummed, unscrewing it for her. He placed a sturdy finger beneath her chin and gently tilted her head upwards, carefully trickling the water through the opening of her plump lips. After a few seconds she nodded her head to imply it was enough.
"Did…I…I am so sorry," she then croaked out to Tony shakily. He simply let out a sigh and took off his glove.
"It's whatever, Red. It was actually pretty cool - until the whole…property damage thing," he winced.
"Was it another one of your nightmares?" Steve murmured under his breath, his lips barely moving. Ashley swiped the streaks of tears and blood from her cheeks and nodded stiffly.
"Does that happen often?" a new voice asked. Ashley's head snapped up to see Director Fury also stood in the doorway with an expressionless look on his face.
"Only if I'm anxious," Ashley sniffed back. "How…how long was I out for?"
"A solid ten minutes or so, we turned up by the time you started going all Emily Rose on us," Tony yawned.
"Hence your boyfriend over there straddling you like a horse," Clint jumped in cheekily as he shoved his weapons back into the holster. Ashley was too drained to retaliate, whilst Steve's cheeks had a slight flush as he hurriedly hopped off of the bed.
"Agent, why don't you get yourself cleaned up and we'll talk about it later," Fury gave her a tight lipped grimace before departing from the room with his agents behind him.
"See you in a bit, Red," Tony saluted her as he and Clint slipped out too, leaving Ashley and Steve staring at each other awkwardly.
"You've never actually told 'em about the nightmares, have you?" Steve finally sighed, watching Ashley peel the sodden duvet back before heaving herself out of bed.
"I've had no time…Fury sent-" Ashley's words suddenly stopped once she realised that Steve's face had flushed red, and his eyes had dropped onto the floor. She frowned and looked down in confusion, before realising what had embarrassed him. The water she'd secreted in her sleep caused her black nightslip to cling onto her form for dear life, accentuating every curve and dip in her body - leaving nothing to the imagination. She let out a weak giggle and continued to walk over to her bathroom, unfazed. "It's okay, Steve, we can talk through walls instead?" she called out as she started up the shower.
"No no, i-it's fine," Steve quickly called back over the running water. "We can talk when you get out." And with that he crept out of the room, whilst Ashley just bit both her lips and tried not to cringe.
Meanwhile, Bruce had taken Fury and Tony aside in the living room whilst Pepper made them coffees. "Okay, why did I see S.H.I.E.L.D agents coming down on my way up here - and why did they all look so…freaked out?" he yawned, leaning up against the wall in his dressing gown and slippers.
"Ashley started going ape in her sleep," Fury grunted back, sliding the holographic CCTV footage over to Banner. Bruce stared the footage in awe, watching Ashley's body levitate from the bed, with fireballs pelting from her fingers and water dripping from her limp body.
"That water was scorching hot, by the way - but there wasn't a blister on her skin," Tony murmured confusedly as he took a seat on the sofa.
"Incredible," Bruce murmured under his breath.
"Yeah, for a war - but until then, I'm not too sure what to make of it," Fury scowled.
"Hey, here's an idea! Why don't we ask Christie? Ya know, given she's family and all?" Tony mentioned casually, as Bruce winced and awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck. Fury stared at Tony in brief disbelief - before rolling his eye.
He should've known he'd go snooping eventually.
"How long have you known?" he sighed lowly.
"Since last night - I don't know why you're tiptoeing around it, though. And her, too! I mean she's gotta know that Christie's a friend of ours," Tony shrugged back.
"Can ya blame her?" Fury frowned back.
"Okay did you see what she did in there? I hardly think hiding the family tree should be on her list of things to do," Tony scoffed back, just as Pepper joined them with the tray of steaming hot coffee mugs. "Seriously though, have you tried asking Christie about the whole nightmare stuff?"
"Did you say Christie?" Pepper suddenly piped up with a frown.
"Oh! I didn't tell you - your new bestie is Christie's sister," Tony gave her a tight lipped smile before taking a sip. Pepper's mouth hung open and she threw her head back in realisation.
"I'm sorry - 'bestie'?" Fury repeated as he squinted over at her. She flung her head back and cocked a perfectly shapen eyebrow at him.
"Before you even try - I refuse to pry into Ashley's life unwarranted to get some answers! Plus I think you got more luck getting Cap to figure it out. He was the one that implied there was 'another one' in the first place," she scoffed, nudging her head towards Steve who'd just settled himself on one of the sofas. Fury, Bruce and Tony turned to look at him before glancing at each other in silent agreement.
"Hey, Cap!" Fury waved him over before anyone else could. Steve glanced up and speedily joined them.
"What's going on?" he frowned innocently.
"D'ya think you could probe Ashley about her…reoccurring situation?" Fury spoke lowly.
"'Reoccurring situation'?" Steve repeated with a lightly amused chuckle. "You mean the nightmares? Why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Cos I'm not tryna p*ss off the unpredictable walking talking weather machine in there," Fury hissed back, making Tony snort into his coffee. But Steve was less than impressed by Fury's analogy, staring at him disapprovingly.
"So then…why me?"
"Because she clearly trusts you - not to mention that you were the only one willing to risk your life to get on top of her and shake her scary ass out of it," Fury reminded him simply. Steve let out a short sigh before releasing a reluctant,
"Fine."
Fury watched him make his way back over to Ashley's room whilst doing up his beloved black leather jacket.
"So where are you off to whilst Steve does all your dirty work?" Bruce frowned at him.
"She's clearly ashamed of the nightmares, so Cap gets info outta here, she's gonna sugarcoat it. So I gotta go speak to the one person that would tell me the grim truth," Fury replied firmly, before turning on his heel and heading for the elevator.
Meanwhile, Steve had reproached Ashley's bedroom door once more, taking deep breaths before placing a soft knock against the polished wood. Within a few seconds, Ashley had cracked the door open and her eyes clearly lit up at the sight of him - but once again, Steve found himself in a little daze as he looked at her properly. She was now dressed in a black stretchy unitard and fluffy socks, her long auburn loose curls were tied in a messy mid ponytail with a few strands falling at the front, and her soft skin was now completely rid of all tear streaks and blood stains. She looked refreshed, but her eyes were drooping a little - so she was clearly shattered. "Steve?" Ashley prompted him lightly, suddenly snapping him out of his small daydream.
"Oh, sorry," he blurted out once he broke his gaze. "I just wanted to know if you…you know, wanted to talk? Further talk, I mean?"
"Not particularly no," Ashley replied swiftly. Steve's face completely fell.
"Why not?" he frowned.
"Because, Steve, this morning I woke up with you pinning me down by my shoulders - and not in the way that I'd like, either" Ashley explained as she nibbled her bottom lip cheekily, biting back a smile. Steve couldn't help it - he let out a light chuckle and shook his head. He didn't mind her little comments - it was pretty endearing to him.
"Smooth - but seriously, you need to talk about it with somebody," he continued to encourage her persistently. Ashley twisted her mouth to the side as she considered it.
"I really don't wanna tap back into that memory, Steve," she admitted quietly, her confidence now slipping. "It's…not a nice thought."
"And I both understand and respect that," Steve assured her calmly, "but I also think you're stronger than you think. Physically and mentally - I don't know how long you've lived with those nightmares, but isn't this the perfect time to deal with it? Promise me you'll at least try?"
Promise him? She barely even knew the guy.
"Who exactly am I meant to talk to?" Ashley finally muttered out. "You?"
"Well…I'm not exactly qualified in the PTSD field," Steve pointed out - but it was clear from Ashley's face that his words weren't working, so Steve racked his brains as quickly as possible. "Hey, how about Banner? He's definitely got qualities not dissimilar to a psychiatrist. I mean, Tony uses him for that exact reason."
"I….I don't know, Steve. There's a lot…a lot to unpack in front of someone that I don't know but will eventually be working with," Ashley sniffed quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor.
Steve had to try a different angle.
"Ashley - you wanna be a part of this team, right?" he asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. She glanced up and gave him the smallest of nods. "Then at some point, you gotta trust us. We lift each other up, we help each other out. That's just how we operate. I don't know how they did it in your last place but this is how we do it here. We're a family." Ashley felt a smile crawl onto her lips at the purity of his speech.
"That's sweet and all…" she sighed. Steve could see that she was still on the edge.
"Hey - if you do it, I'll even stand in on the counselling sessions to make you more comfortable?" he finally suggested. Ashley's eyes lit up and she gave him a dazzling smile of success.
"Deal!" she beamed, before backing up into her room and gently shutting the door. Steve smirked to himself and made his way back into the kitchen bar, where Bruce and Tony were chatting to Pepper who was blending her morning smoothie. Her face lit up once she saw Steve again.
"Oh, how'd it go?" she gasped, causing Bruce and Tony to glance over their shoulders too.
"I just got Banner here his newest patient," Steve beamed with pride before clamping a friendly hand on Bruce's right shoulder. Tony's eyebrows shot up whilst Bruce almost choked.
"I-I-I'm sorry?" he spluttered.
"Well I know that Tony goes to you for counselling sessions, so I just thought that maybe Ashley could do the same," Steve shrugged casually.
"Oh bless him, he's so pure!" Tony cooed as Pepper bit back a smirk and Bruce slumped his head onto the bar surface. "Rogers, the guy can barely stay awake as I tell him my life woes. He's hardly Dr. Phil-"
"That might be because I'm not a qualified psychiatrist?!" Bruce half hissed, half yelped with his hands thrown into the air. "Just tell her there's been a mistake and we'll get one of the real psychiatrists from S.H.I.E.L.D to-"
"Look it doesn't matter if you hold the qualifications, I don't think she needs regular sessions," Steve argued back, "I think she just needs one so we can figure out what the hell makes her tick like that."
"And if she freaks out again when retelling the story?" Bruce challenged him with a few rapid blinks.
"Then who better to deal with it than The Hulk?" Steve smirked slightly, watching him struggle to find a counter argument as Tony let out an amused,
"Touche, Cap. Touche."
…
Professor X was startled by the sound of his phone ringing through his office. Once he looked at the receiver and saw Director Fury's name, his eyes grew wide and he slammed his finger on the answer button. "Director?"
"Professor," Fury sighed back.
"What's happened?" Charles mumbled with worried eyes. "It's only been a week, have you lost control of her already?!"
"I bet you'd really like me to say that we had, wouldn't you?" Fury drawled.
"What happened?"
"These 'nightmares' of hers," Fury began, "they can get kinda violent, huh?"
"…Her nightmares are back?" Charles muttered worriedly, feeling his stomach go into knots. "What happened?"
"Last night we had the likes of fireball blasts, crying blood, boiling hot water etc," Fury explained wearily. "I'll just send you the footage. Sh*t was crazy."
"She was crying blood?" Professor Charles repeated lowly.
"Yup - all whilst sleeping."
"Director Fury," Charles began shaking his head, "you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but-"
"No no, let me guess - you want her back home?"
"Not only do I want her back home - you're going to want her back home. She's not safe and neither are any of you for as long as she's like this," Charles insisted firmly, unable to sound any more stern. "Everyone thought that me not sending her on those missions was so unreasonable and wrong, but now look? She's still not ready-"
"Not ready?" Fury suddenly repeated with a scoff. "She went on a mission last night by herself and got the job done!"
"You sent her on the field alone?!" Charles practically yelped.
"Yup! The bunker was underwater and everything," Fury couldn't help but smirk back.
"Under water? She can't…well, she hasn't learnt to control elements that aren't from her own fingertips, you know that right? So she could've drowned as easily as any other person - this is completely irresponsible!" Charles told him through angrily gritted teeth.
"And yet she managed. What is it with you not having faith in your own blood? Is this why Christie ended up the way she did? Because she's really messed up, Prof.," Fury frowned disapprovingly. Charles winced at the mention of his youngest's name and moved directly past it.
"Listen, Fury - I understand that you have the best of intentions, but that doesn't mean that you can keep risking Ashley's life on the possibility of her doing well," he explained calmly, regardless of the fact that he felt his hands had started to shake.
"Look, Professor. Are you gonna explain where these nightmares came from or not? Because if not, I think we're about done here," Fury challenged him, bored of the back and forth. Charles gave him one last fleeting look before taking a deep breath.
"Fine. Ashley was young, maybe seven or eight years old. She and her mother with in France with her mother's sister…there was this doll…"
…
"How many casualties?" Commander Mikel Munchwitz muttered at the meek HYDRA agent clutching a report against her chest.
"It's…it's all here in the report, sir," she blinked back. Mikel stared at her in silence, his deep blue eyes boring into her frightened toffee ones. The agent cleared her throat uncomfortably and shook off his gaze. "Twenty three casualties, bodies all accounted for. Death by drowning, every l-last one." Mikel clenched his jaw so that his thick muscles protruded.
"And how many were working?" he growled out again, snatching the report from her shaking hands.
"T-twenty four, sir," she stuttered back.
"Twenty four…and the one person that hasn't been accounted for…who is that?" Mikel asked slowly. The agent took a large gulp before answering.
"Y-your son, sir. They h-haven't recovered Derek's body yet." Mikel fell into a few moments of silence, his face completely expressionless.
"I knew Pierce shouldn't have signed off that damn underwater bunker. It was doomed from the beginning and I should've never sent my son there," he muttered bitterly. "And what's this about the prisoner? The girl they took from S.H.I.E.L.D?"
"The only footage we recovered showed a young woman enter the bunker with your son, sir. It looked like he led her to the cells where the prisoner was held. The prisoner appeared to crack the glass, then the woman put her hands on the glass from the other side and…she broke the entire thing and all the water came out, that's how the flood started - we're trying to figure out how it happened," the agent explained shakily.
"Well, that's just common sense, you stupid girl. Too much water pressure will crack glass easily, that's why that entire set up was stupid," Mikel spat, making the agent flinch at his tone and duck her head ashamedly. But then he considered something else. "So the two women, the prisoner and her special hero - how did they get out?"
"That's just it…the woman who delivered the final blow to the glass created a bubble, taking both herself and the prisoner up through the water vents. We don't know how," the agent whispered. Mikel blinked at her words before leaning back into his leather swivel chair, all his fingertips pressed together and his stiff stubbled chin resting on top of them.
"It can't be…can it? The legend herself? The little mutant girl from the supermarket, all grown up?" he breathed in utter awe after a few moments of silence. The agent blinked at him, unsure of what or who he was talking about.
"Sir? D-d-did you want us to track her down?"
"No," Mikel muttered back, tapping his fingers on the desk in front of him. "When the time's right, I'm sure she'll find her way to us."
…
whewww! a lot of stuff uncovered in this one! can't wait for you to sit in on Ashley and Bruce's therapy sessions!
