Black Sheep (4/4)
The people in the massive metal tower (easily the biggest thing Irene had ever seen) did not seem very bothered by the fact she was a bad person. They gave her smiles and sedatives, and when she woke up Thor was at her bedside, to gently explain to her that she would be asked some questions and kept in the tower until her health had stabilised. He called her brave, strong, and he used her name in such a gentle way that Irene began to feel human again.
A woman interviewed her about what she knew of HYDRA; most of her knowledge, which was of the facility itself, was useless to them, but they seemed particularly interested in the glowing golden stick. A different person came to ask her about the nameless soldier, whose name she learned was Bucky. At the end, they asked her for questions, so when she wondered aloud if she was going to get into trouble they laughed, and told her about their civilian rehabilitation programme.
"What do you want to do?" they asked her, and when she said she just wanted to be useful they asked again. "What do you enjoy? What makes you happy?"
"I don't know."
"There must be something," they protested, and she thought harder.
"Freedom," she said at last, "freedom makes me happy."
"Well, Irene, you're in the right country for that. Anything else?"
"I like… knowing things. Learning things," she added, and the Avengers and their jumpsuited friends exchanged looks.
"Erik," Thor said after a pause, "he resides at a university in England, surrounded by open land. We can send her there, and I'm sure he would be glad of the assistance."
"What about it, kid?" Stark asked. "You wanna work under the delightfully dotty Dr Selvig?"
"Sorry," she said, "I do not understand him." She turned to Thor, in the hope he would translate.
"We can give you a home," he said, "freedom, knowledge, and the chance to help a good man."
Her eyes welled up, and she nodded quickly. "Thank you," she said to all of them, "thank you so much. You are all angels."
The redhead woman laughed. "I wouldn't go that far," she said.
"No, you must understand. I prayed- every day- for so many years, and nothing come for me until one day, you turn up and you offer me this… I am sorry, I do not know the word. Erlösung."
"Redemption," Thor translated for the others.
"Yes, thank you Rosetta Stone," Stark muttered, "I understood. I am a certified genius, y'know."
"Really? You hadn't mentioned," the archer said under his breath.
"Tony, we don't all speak German as well as you do-"
A dark-haired woman with an air of authority cleared her throat, and they all fell silent.
"You save me, all of you," Irene continued. "I have new life now, good life. Because of you. Grazia, thank you," she repeated, and they all looked more than a little mollified.
"We're not done yet," Stark added, "you can hardly run around after Selvig all day with one foot, can you?"
She blinked. "Sorry?"
"How do you feel about prosthetics?"
%
Six months later
"Doctor Selvig!"
"Miss Neumann!" the astrophysicist replied cheerfully, "what do you have for me today?"
"Your trousers, doctor sir." She held them out to him, and he stared at them a while. "There have been complaints, and they say you have to wear them, now. I am very sorry."
Selvig sighed deeply and pulled them on, not having any trouble getting his feet through the legs because he wasn't wearing shoes, either. "You're much too good for bringing me my pants, Miss Neumann. Get back to the labs where you belong, you lovely thing."
She nodded, smiling widely. "Yes, doctor sir."
"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Erik, sweetheart?"
Something inside her shifted, the memory of an old habit rising to the surface. But that was the memory of a Hoffmann, the HYDRA girl who kept her head down and only learned what would make her useful. She was Irene Neumann now; not Nazi, just a girl. A wonderfully ordinary girl.
"I think you've hit it, Erik."
He chuckled, and patted her cheek affectionately. And for the first time in her life, Irene felt free; she felt as though she could fly, like she could run for an eternity, faster than light and sound. In her lunch break she went and sat on the stone outdoor steps of the university, looking out at the forests and the fields beyond, unfolding for ever and ever and an infinity more, a world without boundaries, a world without end.
Thank you, she thought. And was happy.
A/N this was more of an epilogue than anything. I like Irene though, and she'll probably crop up in other Civilian Chronicles now she's hanging around with Selvig.
NEXT: 'Coulson pushed open the door and assumed a place by her messy kitchen side, hands clasped behind his back and still with that annoying little smile. "Lilith," he said, "we need you."'