"How long were you in that cupboard?" Lieutenant James Gordon asked me once we arrived at the interrogation room. He had taken me from Shannon and Jameson's house, that terrible hell hole.

"I don't know, a while I guess." I shivered in the air conditioned room.

His dark eyes began to fill with worry. "Are you cold?" I nodded vigorously. "I'll be right back okay?" Again, I nodded, and he left the room. He came back a few minutes later and set down a small pair of scrubs in front of me. "If you give me the clothes you're wearing, you can wear these." He bargained.

"No."

"Why not?"

Every muscle in my body tensed. "I will never undress for anyone. Ever." He heard the anger in my voice.

He nodded. "What if I left? Would you change clothes then?"

I sat and thought about it for a second. If he left, it would be like I was getting ready for school. I reluctantly said, "Fine."

"Alright. Just open the door when you're ready." He left again, and I changed as quickly as I could.

The navy blue scrubs were way too large for my tiny body: the shirt was more like a long sleeved dress, and the pants were about a foot too long. I put my old clothes on the table, went over to the door, and opened it just like he said.

"I'm sorry about the size." He apologized when he came through the doorway. "That was the smallest set we have."

"It's okay." I said, sitting down in my chair.

"Would it be alright if I asked you some questions?" I nodded and he pulled a notepad and pen from his coat pocket. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Andrea Lotus Hojem." I said barely above a whisper.

His eyebrows knitted together, as if he was contemplating something. "How old are you?"

"Almost seven."

He scribbled my answers on his paper. "Is there anywhere you can stay while we get this whole mess settled?"

My eyes became tight. "I'm not going back to the orphanage."

He wrote it down, and looked at me for a few minutes, silent. After what seemed like forever, he said, "Are you hungry?"

I nodded. "Yes." He stood up again and before he left I asked. "Can I have a pen and paper?"

"Sure." He ripped off the paper he wrote on and slid the notepad and pen over to me. "I'll be right back." And he left.

I started doodling, just drawing lines connected to each other. Unconsciously, I drew a 'B' and started coloring it in. "Hello again." He said, setting down a bottle of water and a bag of chips in front of me. He looked down at the paper and asked, "What does the 'B' stand for?"

I smiled slightly as I continued to color. "Bruce."

"Who's Bruce?" It's her, he thought, it's got to be her.

"My best friend."

"Does Bruce have a last name?"

I nodded.

"What is it?"

"Wayne."

The man sighed with a smile on his face and touched my shoulder. "May I see your arms?"

"No." I said defiantly.

"No?" His shoulders fell along with his hope.

"Not until I know more about you."

"Okay." He moved to the other end of the table and sat down. "What do you want to know?"

"What's your name?"

"James Gordon."

"Do you have a family?" When I finished the 'B' I moved on to a 'W', interlacing the left point of the 'W' with the bottom curve of the 'B'.

"Yes."

"Where do you live?" I took a sip of water and opened the chips.

"In an apartment downtown."

I contemplated letting him see for a few moments. "Okay." I rolled up my sleeves and his face brightened. "Please don't turn me in."

"Miss Hojem, it's time for you to go home." He tried to convince me.

"I'm not ready to face them."

Gordon sighed. "Miss Hojem, my job is to return missing children to their home."

"I'm doing fine on my own." I pleaded.

He was quiet for a while, probably thinking about what to do with me. And then, he completely changed the subject. "How long have you lived with Shannon State?"

I shrugged. "A couple weeks."

"How long were you in the cupboard?"

"A long, long time." Gordon continued to write on his paper.

"Did you hear or see anything while you were there?"

My mind immediately shifted to the mysterious man in red. "No." I lied. "I didn't hear anything."

And so that's how it went, him asking questions, me answering them without breaking my promise to the man. We were in that room for a few hours, even after the interrogation was over.

"Do you have a place to stay?" He asked after I started yawning.

I shook my head. "No."

"Come on. You can stay with me for the night."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Sure."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I awoke and stared at the ceiling above me. Wow, this was one of the first times I've ever woken up and no one was staring at me like an exhibit in a museum. Moments later, I heard a clock chime. I sat up, saw the clock, and mentally slapped myself. "Oh, shit!" I threw the covers off me, and started running towards the door. The moment I reached the closed door, I teleported out of whatever place I was in.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nick Fury was sitting in the infirmary next to the bed in which Natasha Romanov was laying. He was silently praying, although he'd never admit it, for me to show up.

His prayers were answered. "Hey, Nicky."

Fury turned his head and sneered. "Andi."

"Sorry it took so long, I had a small mental breakdown." I went over to random drawer cabinets and started opening them and closing them, searching for a syringe. Once I found one, I rolled up my long sleeve and drew some blood.

"She owes me big time, you tell her." I said to Nick as I went over to the idle woman and injected the contents of the syringe into her.

"She's going to be okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She'll be fine in a couple hours."

"Why are you being so nice to her? You hate her."

Good question. I sighed and shrugged. "I don't know."

Fury scoffed and grinned. "You know, you might be a 'bad ass' on the outside, but you're actually pretty nice on the inside."

I blushed. "Don't go spreading it around."

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I think you'd be a good addition to S. H. I. E. L. D."

My blush deepened. "Well…I'll think about it."

"You will?" His spirits seemed to brighten.

I nodded. "Yeah. But seriously, don't tell her." And I teleported to the Stark Mansion, I think that's where I was before.