This is a really short chapter, but trust me there will be longer ones coming soon!
Thank you so much for your support on this story! Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Marvel and Annie or it's characters. The girls in the foster home and Ceri are based on the orphans from the musical Annie.
Chapter 8
When she woke, Lessa cried again. She felt weak, tiny, and helpless while crying. She wasn't a crier. Why was she? Something inside her snapped when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents took her. Something that she couldn't ever mend. The old Lessa was strong and snappy, the current one was weak and silent. Pathetic.
The mattress she laid on was solid rock. Her body ached all over as she tried to roll on her side. How did she end up in the room? It was empty besides the bed with the door cracked open. Who put her in here?
Lessa couldn't find the energy to lift her limbs into sitting position. In truth, she didn't want to move. She wanted to sleep forever.
"Since you care so much about her, how about she stays at the tower with you and Banner for the time being?" a deep voice suggested with a hint of irritation, coming down the hallway. Lessa's head perked up.
"Are you sure about that? Wouldn't you want her to be here so you can watch her for any abilities you're placing bets on?"
Lessa knew that voice. She knew him! It was Tony Stark! She put her excitement on pause. Why was he here? She could see Tony stop by her doorway talking to someone out of view. It must be the owner of the deep voice. She continued to listen in on the conversation and lied back down, pretending to sleep. It was a habit of hers.
Outside of the room, Tony shoved his hands into the pockets of his jean. "Yeah, I'll take her. But only until you get this mess with her mother under control." Fury walked off after informing that Lessa would leave that day. Tony stared at the door, nervous over the new responsibility.
Finding the incentive to move, Lessa sat up and stared at Tony who hadn't taken his eyes off her door. "I'm going to stay with you?"
Her voice snapped him out of his trance. He pointed inside the room, asking for permission to enter, and she nodded. Pushing the door open, he strolled in and leaned against the wall. "If you want to. I'm sure after all this the least thing you would want to do is to stay with a 'superhero'."
"I would like to," she said, cutting him off. "They said I could leave after telling them what happened."
"Do you not want to go back home?"
Lessa shrugged, playing with the corner of the sheet. "I do, but not yet. I'm not sure I would be able to take all the questions they will ask me. They are pretty nosy and curious. Can we leave?"
"Yeah, come on." Tony nodded to the hallway, leaving the base back to New York.
Lessa never realized how home sick she was until the skyscrapers came into view. Tears came to her eyes as they saw familiar buildings and streets. She was home in her city. A city that she felt safe in despite the amount of crime that took place everyday.
From her previous visit, Avengers Tower definitely had gotten an upgrade. What was once under construction, were now finished. The lights bounced off the glossy tiles, the dark gray wall matched the exterior.
"Wait here while I get your room set up," Tony told her, motioning towards the lounge. Lessa nodded and ambled up the short staircase to the sofas. She could not take her eyes off of the architecture of the open living space. Four sofas sat around two separate coffee tables.
Licking her dry lips, Lessa studied each piece of furniture, deciding which one to sit on. She chose one of the smaller ones on the end. The leather of the cushion felt cold against her palms.
Footsteps padded up the staircase she just came from and stopped at the top. She turned her head. The man was short with dark curly hair. He sported small glasses and a button up t-shirt. He stumbled at what to say when Lessa stared at him.
"Tony said you were up here," the man said. "I wanted to introduce myself to you. I'm Bruce-"
"Banner," Lessa finished, blinking. "I heard someone mention your name while talking about me staying here. Nice to meet you. I'm Lessa." She stood back up and held out a hand to him with a smile.
Giving a small smile back, Bruce shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Lessa."
She pulled her hand away and sat back down. "You're one of the Avengers, right?" Bruce nodded. "Which one?" She couldn't place his face anywhere on her memory of what the other Avengers looked like. Unless he was the giant green guy (The Hulk). Lessa spoke again before Bruce could give an answer. "Are you the giant green guy? The Hulk?"
" I am," Bruce answered, tense.
"That is so cool."
"Only if you make him angry," Tony said, jogging up the steps being Bruce. Tony patted him on the shoulder. "No offense."
"None taken." Bruce laughed, relaxing a bit. "How long will you be staying here, Lessa?"
Looking at Tony, Lessa shrugged. "No clue. Ask him."
"Until S.H.I.E.L.D. gets their priorities straight," Tony said. Leaving, Tony gave Lessa a quick tour, telling her where she can and can't go for safety reasons. "If you need anything, just ask J.A.R.V.I.S."
"What's J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
Tony pointed to the ceiling. "Only the best A.I. ever created. He runs everything around here. Say hi."
Lessa gave him a bewildered look. "Uh...Hi, J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Hello, Miss Perez," the A.I. answered.
Lessa jumped at the English voice. "Whoa."
Laughing, Tony crossed his arms. "It will take to getting use to. But you should have seen Capsicle's reaction. It was priceless." Lessa laughed as well, even though she had no idea who this 'Capsicle' was.
Lessa followed the directions to her room, hoping that she made the right decision on staying.
Nightmares of her time with Jennifer and the Hydra attack woke her up many nights. She woke up in tears. Her dreams started off with the late nights Jennifer would go over new information with her. Then the scene morphed into Jennifer threatening her if she messed any of their progress up. Jennifer screamed at her and she couldn't move. Lessa was frozen in place in the chair unable to breathe as tears streamed down her cheeks. Deep down in her mind she knew Jennifer never acted like this, but she always feared she would. The threats were distinguishable in Jennifer's voice.
After waking up, Lessa couldn't fall back asleep. She would just stare up at the plain ceiling of her room until the sun rose back up once again. On the tenth night, Lessa couldn't stay still. No. Not after the new nightmare she just had.
Jennifer and Lessa were about to sneak in to a base. In Lessa's hand was a gun that she held on for dear life with. This was the mission Jennifer prepared her for. This was where she was going to die to set a stranger free.
Lessa crawled into the small air vent, grateful that the air conditioning was on and not any heat. Her body scooted along the shaft, going over her mother's words.
Get in, free the prisoner, and get out.
She had no idea who the person was. Jennifer only showed Lessa a picture and went forth with the plans for the escape. Lessa had memorized the layout of the base, figuring out ways she can get in and get out without detection. Any alternative idea Lessa offered that could ensure her safety, Jennifer disregarded it.
It was sad to say that actually happened in real life too.
Lessa came up to the destination and peered through the vent before opening it. Her small body slid through the opening and laid flat against the ground. Getting up, Lessa searched for the door. The room was dark and empty except for a few tables and chairs.
Lessa made it to the cell holding the man of interest. The features of the man weren't distinct, but he had a beard. She unlocked the door, swinging it open.
The man followed without a word.
Someone shouted down the hall and Lessa clenched her eyes shut and fired. The kickback of the gun took her by surprise, jolting her hands up missing the target. The bullets flew into the lights in the ceiling. Sparks and glass showered down on her. Lessa screamed and covered her head.
Once no more glass fell, Lessa ran straight at the agents gaining up on her and fired her gun. Adrenaline pumped through her as she was in a daze, not taking in her actions. She wanted to live. She wanted to make it out alive.
Alarms shook the floor, creating a man-made earthquake. Lessa lowered her gun as another pointed its barrel at her head.
"Do it!" She wanted to scream. "Don't do it!" She wanted to plead. The gun fired.