Before he even opened his eyes, Murut knew he was being watched. Several pairs of eyes boring into him, some hopeful, some grudging, some seemingly bored with the whole watching-the-alien-sleep business in general.

She shifted as slowly as he could, taking in the fact that his flute was still cool and smooth in his grasp, and that he remained unchained. So far so good.

He carefully cracked an eye open and scanned over the group that was scattered about his small room, none really facing him properly but all eyes undoubtedly on him.

"Good morning, Murut."

Murut homed in on the taunt smile that Steve offered him. It wasn't exactly reassuring, but it was better than nothing, he supposed.

Murut pushed himself to sit up and rubbed his eyes. "How long was I out this time?"

"About five hours." A shorter man with dark wavy hair replied. He wore a lab coat over a green sweater and worn jeans, and a pair of safety goggles hung haphazardly around his neck on a cord of elastic.

Murut had the feeling he'd come across this man before, but couldn't place him.

He scanned the room again, this time taking in details of every person.

The muffin-eating redhead from before was there, and she appeared to be in no better a mood than before. From the creases around those narrowed eyes, Murut wondered if she could even make any other expression anymore.

Standing next to her, arms folded and lips pursed was a man with close-cropped hair and what appeared to be no less than a medieval quiver on his back. His leathery vest and matching pants and boots made for a rather confusing sight, but Murut couldn't really judge, not when Steve had rescued him wearing a bulletproof halloween costume.

Then there was a man that Murut could have sworn he'd seen before, but couldn't remember - more notable than his particular features or messy raven hair was the fact that he was shorter than the other men in the room, by a decent amount too, but he stood with his back straight and his head high above his shoulders and a general air of authority that gave Murut the impression he was more powerful than he appeared.

Closest to Murut's bed was Steve, his blond hair out of place and his blue tee rumpled, like he'd slept in it. His jeans seemed fresh enough, but they wouldn't last long if Steve kept picking at loose threads like he was now. His worn hiking boots shifted a little as Steve rocked slowly from foot to foot, their thick soles adding at least another inch to his already great height.

The scientist (at least Murut assumed he was a scientist. Safety goggles seemed a little strange for a normal doctor to wear.) seemed the least threatening of the entire group, even though Steve had already swore a hundred times over that he was there to help, well… there was no way Murut could deny that it was a the body of a warrior that bore those puppy-dog eyes, and he didn't really want to risk it.

Yes, this… scientist seemed like a decent human. He was the only person in the room without the rippling muscles of a racehorse, for starters. Second, his hands - they fidgeted, in his lab coat pockets one moment and smoothing his sweater the next. It was a nervous fidget rather than a fearful one, and made him the best candidate for someone with a strong sense of empathy.

Murut found Steve's eyes and tried to return the smile. "Friends of yours?"

Eyes bright, Steve nodded. "Yeah. They're friends. Feeling any better?"

Murut felt behind his head, and found half-healed stitching where he had felt blood back in the Hydra base. "I… suppose. Define better."

The scientist rubbed his hands together. "Well you are awake and lucid and your major injuries are healing up nicely, so you'll be better shortly."

Murut tilted his head at the scientist. "I know your voice."

The scientist shrugged, not really looking at him. "I wouldn't be surprised - I've been in and out of here since you were brought in."

Murut hummed lightly, looking back to Steve. "You obviously have something you want to say or you wouldn't have dragged all your friends down here at once. What's going on?"

Steve bit his lip, brow creased, but before he could speak the shorter, raven-haired man spoke, his voice a little deeper than Murut had expected. "Basically Clint here," he waved to the man with the quiver, "wants to know why the hell you would have over a hundred people eaten alive by rats, and quite frankly I'm curious too."

"Tony," Steve groaned. "I thought we agreed you'd stay out of the conversation?"

"Hey! I was getting bored just watching you stand there and think!" The raven-head defended. "I thought we came down here to talk, not stare at each other!"

"Do we have to do this now?" The scientist pleaded, but he seemed too tired to put much heart into the complaint.

Murut took note as the redhead rolled her eyes and the archer man sucked in a strained breath, but neither intreviened.

"Do you two argue a lot?" Murut wondered aloud.

Steve and Tony momentarily composed themselves and once again faced Murut's bed.

"Uh…" Steve frowned. "I… guess so? I mean…"

"Are we gonna get to the point or are we gonna chit chat?" The archer interrupted. "'Cause right now it looks like chit chat."

Steve nodded and Tony gave a little huff, but stepped back.

"Sorry, Murut." Steve said, shaking himself a little and folding his arms loosely. "We just…" He had started to chew his lip again, and Murut knew Tony was about to jump in any second now.

Apparently the redhead saw it too, because she reluctantly spoke, in that deadpan tone of her's. "When we found you Murut the Hydra base was in complete devastation. Corpses everywhere, people eaten by rats - rats you controlled somehow. We need to know how and why."

"Why?" Murut blinked at her. "Wh...why?" He waved his arms, gesturing to himself as a whole. "Have you taken a look at me? I did what I had to to get out of there before they killed me!"

"And you waited seventeen years to do so when you had the power to slaughter them all?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like… I…" Murut looked her up and down, but could see no motives behind her stance where she leaned in the corner, arms crossed tight against her leather-clad chest.

"What?" She prodded stiffly. "You wait seventeen years to break out of there and it happens to be the day that we show up to bust the place? Forgive me if I find that a little suspicious."

"The timing was not my decision!" Murut explained. "Last week was the first chance at escape I ever got, and I took it!"

"So someone let you go on the same day we happen to show up to bust the place?"

"Natasha!" Steve chided loudly.

"No! No one-" Murut stopped cold.

She… she was right. Seventeen years and the one day he finally gets in reach of his flute is also the same day Steve and whatever show he's got running appears.

"Oh gods." Murut squeaked, his hands falling limp in is lap, his flute suddenly very heavy as it lay on top of his bandaged fingers.

"Did he say gods?" Tony asked. "As in plural, 'cause I swear I heard-"

Steve came up to the foot of the bed, bending so he was Murut's height. "Murut, what's wrong?"

Murut could only barely shake his head, too overwhelmed with the possibilities.

Steve bent even further, folding his arms on the mattress and looked up into Murut's wavering eyes. "Hey, it's okay. You're probably still really tired and Natasha just went too fast - don't worry about it."

"No, you don't understand." Murut looked up to him, trying to convey the sheer seriousness of what he was saying through the eye contact. "She's right, Steve. Seventeen years and I happen to be given the means to escape only a few hours before you show up?"

"Hey, I admit it's a little weird but-"

"It's not just weird!" Murut cried. "The whole thing feels like it was a set up now - escape Hydra just for something worse to happen!"

"Shhh." Steve put gentle hands on Murut's arms, keeping him from waving them and smacking Steve in the face with his flute. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"Steve, listen to me!" Murut was practically shaking as thought after thought fired through his head. "It's not me I'm worried about."

(A/N: I'm glad you guys are enjoying my story! To be honest I wasn't expecting much of a response at first and I'm so excited! Also thx Armae for leaving such sweet comments! They make me smile so big I think my face is gonna fall off! Anyhow now that it's summer I should be able to post more often. I still won't have a posting schedule, since whenever I have a deadline I panic and I don't want crappy writing coming out of it so just no, but I promise I won't leave you guys waiting for long! Thx again!)