Emily smiled. "You won't believe a word of it, but I will tell you anyway. Even Bruce doesn't even know the whole story. It's a strange one" She looked over to her brother for support. "There's a... darker side to what I can do. Not only can I put thought in someone's head to talk to them, I can fill it. Overload it. Bring the strongest to their knees in pain. A grown man will be screaming for mercy in two seconds. I simply need to let others hear what I hear and compress it in their tiny minds. It can even kill without a trace.
"As a child, I had terrible nightmares. I couldn't control my abilities, so as I slept, I would see the worst part of humanity. The dark things that swim at the edge of our consciousness, but we don't want to acknowledge. I would toss and turn, screaming, unable to wake up. Our mother would wake me up. One night, my dreams were worse than usual. My mother had to shake me awake." Here she got quiet. "I woke up scared. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know anything. I was so afraid. I lashed out. I pushed out everything in my mind, in my dream, I pushed it into the nearest mind, thinking they were trying to hurt me. I... I killed our mother." This last statement came out as a sob as she buried her face into Bruce's shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her to calm her down, crooning soothingly into her ear.
The others sat, stunned, staring at this weeping woman. This.. this child killed her mother? With her mind? Yet she seemed so gentle, so carefree even, how she played with the children and joked with the adults. It just didn't seem possible. Yet as they watched her, they knew it was, purely because no one could act that sorrowful. Steve took the blanket beside him and spread it over her body in a small act of compassion. The others sat in silence, unsure of what to do or say.
Soon, she composed herself and dried her eyes. Trying to smile, she looked around. "I'm sorry. You would think I would have come to terms with it by now." She sat up, took a deep breath, and continued her story. "I was seven at the time, and our father blamed me. I saw it in his eyes every time he looked at me. Soon after the funeral, I made the decision to run away. I never heard or saw from my family again, until now." She smiled at her brother, who hugged her tight as though he was checking that she was indeed still there. She hugged him back and continued. "I traveled from Florida where we lived along the coast to New Orleans. I lived there for a couple years. I worked in the bars on the docks cleaning up. I even sang a bit. The men loved a good song. They treated me well too. Protected me from newcomers with bad intentions. Tell me of their travels and bring me little gifts from afar. I was ten when I moved onto one of the ships of a particularly kind captain as a cabin boy. I would clean and cook and entertain. They taught me everything. English, math, science, healing. You name it. If they didn't know it, my sea-dad, er, the captain would buy my whatever books on it he could in the ports. Oh the places I saw! The things I learned. They taught me to fight and take care of myself, but also how to care for others. They knew about my abilities, and never rejected me. They never once made me abuse it. Instead, they tried to help me understand and learn to control it. I miss my old crew.
"When I was 16, I left the ship to make my own way in the world. I got off at the port in Curacao. I didn't have much, though Dad did what he could. I tried to find a job and lodgings, but no one wants to hire a no-name stranger, especially a white girl. Not in those parts. I ended up on the street. I learned to survive though. I fell in with a group of street kids. I was second oldest, so I did get some respect. I acted as mother to the younger one. I learned to pick pocket and I became the perfect con woman. But that life wasn't meant for me. A couple years later, at 18, I traveled on foot, trying to find a home. The animals helped me learn to adapt. I quickly learned how to find water, what's bad to eat, and which plants and animals to avoid. It was difficult though. The animals here, not all of them have seen humans before, so they're even more wild, nearly impossible to communicate with. But a particularly sweet capuchin I called Armin showed me the way to this little village. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since I've returned… But I'm being distracted. The villagers were wary of me at first, but I helped where I could. I chose not to meddle with theirs minds. I prefer earning trust the honest way. They saw I was different. I became a doctor of sorts, both for humans and their livestock. Even taught them a few things they didn't know. I've been one of them ever was, oh.. three and a half years ago. Now you know my story. I said it was strange." She sat in silence, waiting for the others to judge her. She knew that her tale was a fantastic one, and only hoped that these newcomers wouldn't think it false.
The others sat, thinking over what they just heard. The story was so bizarre, it had to be true. No mind could make it up and seriously expect one to believe it. No, it was far more likely to be true simply for how weird it was. Tony still had a question, though.
"How did you find Bruce though? And get my number? You've been living here, and it's not exactly a hub of information." He said. She smiled slightly and shrugged.
"I live here. I'm not trapped here. I can come and go as I please. I travel to Maripa now and have a few computers, and with a little tinkering, I managed to get free internet. I've been keeping an eye on Bruce. He dropped off the radar for awhile, but after the New York incident, I knew it was him. He seemed to be close with you, not to mention considering your opposite personalities but equal intelligence, you would be great friends. So I did my research and a little hacking. It was relatively simple. You should really update your firewalls. Jarvis didn't even detect me." Tony's jaw dropped as the assassins and Banner chuckled and the captain just whistled, impressed.
"When we get to New York, you are going to show me how you managed to hack the most secure system in the world with one computer and a makeshift internet connection in a small town in VENEZUELA." He paused, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm not sure how to feel about this. I'm having Jarvis run a scan tonight. There's no telling how much havoc you've caused in his system." He glared at Bruce. "She's your sister! Control the damn thing! You did this." He accused and huffed angrily. The others did their best not to laugh aloud at how deeply offended he seemed over having his network hacked. He glared at them all for their badly hidden chuckles and crossed his arms like a spoiled child. "This could get old real fast."