Thor seemed to be the only one who could keep his head as Carter's every word rocked the Avengers' world, "Young Stark you intended to have your family harm you?" boomed out the god.
At his pronouncement Carter fixed him with an appraising look, eerily similar to Tony's when he was carefully considering an answer, "There are times in everyone's life when one has been knocked down low enough to contemplate doing what I need done. I wasn't supposed to show up here – in this time you're fixed, you're a family – I needed everyone when they were broken. As selfish as it sounds I needed you at your weakest to keep me alive."
"Why?" asked Thor, the timbre of his voice warning the others to not interrupt, "What happened?"
"Wouldn't I like to know," responded the young woman looking at him with tired eyes, "It was a routine extraction call – I didn't even know you guys were called in until much later – I went because there were children involved and I wanted to help. I was out of practice and they jumped me as I was getting the last child to safety. No one knew it was me in the field except for Nick." She sighed loudly, "Apart from those details all I know is what they showed and told me," placing two fingers from her right hand on her temple she grimaced then closed her eyes as if concentrating. Her left hand closed over her watch, which suddenly lit up encasing the room in the harsh mechanical blue of the arc reactor, "It'll make more sense if I show you," murmured Carter. The living room melted away from all of them as the Avengers tried to grasp what was happening their environment came into focus.
FLASHBACK
The warehouse was bleak, the only windows that existed were broken and up high – the room was dimly lit by the orange glow of what looked like street lamps outside. An industrial strength steel door glowed a sickly yellow marking the only exit as inaccessible. A scream pulled their attention to the centre of the room where three metal constructions, they could hardly be called cots, were arranged. Two young boys, maybe fifteen were struggling with each other – as the young woman, Carter, yelled at them from where she was restrained to the third bed.
"Nathan! Go!" she tried to scream, her voice barely a whisper as if she had been screaming for hours or days.
But the boys wouldn't separate – it was clear that one, Nathan likely, was holding the other in a tight hug, crying as the other tried to shred his sides with his nails. Rivulets of blood trickled down Nathan's side but he wouldn't let go.
It became clear to the Avengers that Carter was showing them her memories as she walked over to the three cots, stopping just two feet away from the two boys. "They were brothers, twins. Nathan and Trevor, they brought them in to show me the effects of the drug – Trevor went mad only a few days after they administered it. The only way out is to have the people in your mind hurt you – but Nathan wouldn't." She spoke neutrally as her unfocused eyes gaze at the scene unfolding in front of them, "He bled out eventually. It's surprising how supple and malleable flesh can be."
"The funny thing is they didn't want me – not really – what they wanted was you," she turned to face the group behind her, eyes connecting with her fathers, "They wanted to break you – from the inside out. They knew you would never be able to save me so they had a guaranteed victory." Carter took her hand off of her watch not sparing the scene behind her another glance before it winked into oblivion and the Avengers found themselves back in the living room, "That's why I left. This time travelling was a last ditch effort, a swan song, but I knew in my gut that it wouldn't work," at her last words a brief spark of light appeared in her eyes, "I don't suppose I can convince you not to have a kid eh?" she asked her fathers. She laughed coldly to herself, "I suppose not."
"Well, I should go – there's nothing left for me here," she stated in a matter-a-fact tone and made her way to the elevators.
"Jarvis initiate lockdown procedures," spoke Tony's voice from behind her and she paused, hand poised above the down button.
"Really?" she asked, "Do you want to watch me die?" Carter spoke to the wall not daring to turn around, not daring to hope. She didn't hear a word in response only shuffling feet on her left, she turned to her right bracing for an attack when a needle connected with the left side of her neck. Her world went black. The last thing she was conscious of was being carried by Bucky down towards the lab.