Chapter: 3

The only thing she was aware of when she awoke was breathing. In, Out, In, Out…

Gradually other senses started functioning. First it was smell; the sterile air was refreshing. Then sound; faint beeping and silence; it soothed her drowsy mind oddly. Next, touch; the coarse fabric under her fingers felt pleasant. Finally, it was sight; dim strip lights in the dark grey ceiling.

Something was wrong. She couldn't remember anything. What was her name? Karen…Kasey…Katherine…Kate…yes that was it, Kate. Now the girl knew who she was, but where was she and how did she end up here?

Her memory was muddled. All Kate could come up with were colorful blurry shapes and a baseball cap; a green one. The cap was important, but she couldn't remember why. She tried to lift up off the bed she lay on, but couldn't. She was strapped down. A thick brown band pressed on her stomach. Two similar ones pressed on her legs and chest. Kate's breathing sped up considerably. How did she get here? What was going on?!

"Help!" she screamed to no one in particular. "Help, please!" she finished weakly. Tears ran down her face in rivers. This was too much, too much!

She looked up to the ceiling. Kate forced herself to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help. Her eyes squeezed shut. The last tears slithered out. Her eyes slowly opened again.

When, Kate had got a hold of herself once more, she looked at her surroundings. An enormous mirror made up most of the wall opposite her. Wait, why would a mirror be so large? It wasn't a mirror at all she realized but a window that reflected on her side. Anyone could be watching. How creepy. Her scared face looked back at her. Then she noticed her hair was brushed. It hadn't been brushed for six weeks. The weight of Kate's head felt considerably lighter.

The bed she lay on was shoved in a corner of the little room. There was a sliding door on the wall to her right, with a large eagle logo in the middle. She didn't know if it was locked. She couldn't very well get up and test it.

What she did notice was that everything was grey. Grey walls, door, ceiling, floor, bed, and even the loose shirt and pants she was clothed in were the same dreary shade of grey. Near her head was a towering pole holding bags of fluid. One was clear, another pale green, and the third a freaky shade of purple. Small machines gave readings on her heart beat, blood pressure, blood sugar, and whatever her body was doing at the moment. Kate didn't understand any of the alien numbers, letters, and symbols flashing on the screen.

A feeling of unease swept over her when she noticed that her coat was gone. Not that it would be much use here, but she would've felt better. It would have been something familiar in this cold, monotone room. She lay on her back for what felt like hours. (The cramps she would experience when she got up back on her feet!) Her terror degraded to anxiety, then edgy, and finally bored. As much as she wanted to, Kate couldn't sleep. The nightmares that plagued her during a normal sleep would be even more appalling here, in this new place, especially since she couldn't remember how she got here.

When she did almost drift off, the door slid open. Kate instinctively tried to get away, only to be kept in place by the restraints.

"Good to see you awake, Kate. How do you feel?" a nurse asked lightly. She had a simpering smile on her face, but Kate wasn't going to fall for it. The lady's movements where quick and efficient.

"Where am I?" she asked. The nurse pushed a tiny cart into the room. Her heart sped up when she saw multiple needles arranged on a tray. Kate didn't like needles. "What are those needles for?" she asked. Her voice seemed a little higher than normal. The lady smiled at her coldly, but didn't respond.

Next to the needle filled tray, was a plate of food. A steamy bowl of rice, a Styrofoam cup of water, a chunk of bread, and strips of chicken lay arranged neatly. It looked delicious. The food's aroma outshone the appearance by a long shot. She was salivating profusely. Rumbling from her stomach confirmed her appetite. The nurse noticed her looking at the food eagerly. A sly smile spread across her face.

"Well, Kate you can eat if you promise not shout, hurt anyone and that includes yourself, and if you will answer some questions for Director Fury." She said severely. Apparently she wasn't as nice as she had tried to seem. Kate nodded as fast as she could; she didn't care what the nurse was saying, as long as she could have the food. The nurse unclasped the strap holding her chest down and adjusted the binding at her waist.

Kate snatched the plate out of the nurse's hands and greedily stuffed the bread and chicken into her mouth. The bread was heavy and filling. Moist chicken was rare to come by on the streets, and this was incredible. It didn't matter that there were no seasonings; the meat had always been stolen from her by other starving homeless before she ever got a chance to even smell it. And yet here it was, sitting patiently on a platter. Kate almost expected the nurse to snatch the meat away from her and say it was not for Kate. She eyed the nurse as she munched. The woman just fidgeted with the platter of needles and typed something on a small tablet-like device.

She hadn't eaten this extensively in months. She had always carried a bag of dry rice in her coat, but it was no more than a handful. She would only have eaten it in an emergency. It didn't even cross her mind that the woman hadn't answered her questions. All that filled Kate's head was the knowledge that this food was hers, and no one would dare take it.

When the food was gone, Kate leaned back on her elbows; a contented sigh escaped her lips. Her stomach was full for the first time since… well she couldn't remember and she felt warm all over. The only thing she wanted to do now was sleep, but she wasn't allowed to do that. The nurse pushed her cart into a corner and left. Even the thought of those needles jamming into her skin, couldn't keep her from enjoying the feeling only a full stomach could give. Kate didn't have to wait long before her second visitor came.

It was the tall stranger from school. He loomed over her. Now that she was so close to him, he didn't seem so daunting anymore. If anything he seemed serious and solemn. His eyes…uh eye demanded she pay attention. It was slightly unnerving to see him wearing an eye patch, yet it suited him. Kate could sense a story. What had happened to his eye? He wouldn't tell her most likely. That was his secret to keep. She respected secrets; she had more than a few.

"Good to see you awake. How do you feel?" he asked. He crossed his arms, waiting expectantly.

She contemplated answering his question. She didn't have anything to lose by answering. "Good thank you. Where am I?" she asked again.

"Well, I can't tell you where you are yet, but you are safe. What do you remember before you woke up?" he questioned.

Kate's brows knitted together in concentration. "I remember the fight. I was sent to the Principal's office. I took a nap in the bathroom, but woke up. Then…then…I saw you." She looked at him oddly. "What were you doing at my school earlier today?" she whispered. His brow creased and he looked at her, for a moment. She could practically see the gears turning in his head.

"I will answer any questions after you tell me what you remember." He put a hand out to stop her from asking anything else. She closed her mouth and glared for a moment at the wall before looking back at him wearily.

"Then I sat on the pipes until you had gone." Fury interrupted her. She gave him an accusing look. "So that's where you were hiding!" he said. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Kate opened her mouth to ask about the rock, but knew he would just stop her, so she shut her mouth and continued to tell him what she remembered.

"After that you stopped me, and then I ran to the library to see what was on the USB." Her pulse quickened, it was all coming back now. All the terror for a second time, except now it was worse. The man, who had ordered her abduction, was so close and he could do whatever he wanted to her now. "I opened the first file and it said that…that…that…" Kate had to stop because she started to sob uncontrollably. She looked at the man above her. Her gaze was full of panic. Fury's face tightened. Was he going to hurt her? He was she just knew it!

"Let me go! Please! I won't tell anybody! Please let me go!" she sobbed into her hands. She heard Fury stomp away. At some point the door opened again. She continued sobbing and howling. Her shoulders hit the bed with a soft thump each time a fresh wave of sobbing swept over her. At some point the door slid open again. She didn't even look to see who it was. Kate no longer cared. Couldn't they leave her alone? If they wanted to turn her into a monster, a demon, or a pawn, why didn't they? Did they have to condition her? Was that why they were being so 'kind'? Had Fury put something in her food and water? What if… Paranoid notions chased each other in her head; each nastier than the last.

Then a wave of calm breezed through her. A hand gently stroked her hair and the parts of her face that weren't covered by her hands. The repetitive motions stilled her racing heart. Kate's panicked sobbing stopped. It was changed into quiet tears.

"It's alright sweet heart. Look at me please." A voice murmured gently. Kate shook her head. The person would only scorn her and question her. "Okay. It's alright." It sounded like a woman. She continued stroking Kate's hair until she stopped crying. Kate refused to move her hands. After a while the woman again asked her to move her hands. The fingers covering her face parted slightly, so she could see the stranger.

The woman sat on a chair next to her. She had long red hair. The lady wore a pencil skirt and a chic blouse. She smiled at Kate tenderly. The woman sat relaxed in a chair, one hand stroking Kate's hair, the other resting in her lap. Kate noticed a glittering bracelet hung off her wrist. There was a single pendent; a small circle with a capital P.

"My name's Pepper. What's yours?" she asked gently. Kate was startled into silence. Had she heard her right? Pepper?

"Don't you know it? Everyone else does." Kate said rather harshly. Her voice was croaky. Pepper didn't seem offended by her tone.

"I thought you would like me to ask you instead of having me already know it. Kate's a pretty name." she commented in the same gentle voice. Pepper's hands smoothed out Kate's knotted hair. Her hands were soft and gentle.

"Thank you." She said. "Pepper is very different." She added. Much to her reluctance she was starting to trust this vibrant haired woman, but she knew she shouldn't… except her eyes displayed genuine warmth. How can you not trust that?

Pepper gave her an amused smile. "My name isn't really Pepper, but I prefer it to Virginia. I know you're scared and mad, but would you like anything to drink?" she asked.

"Water please." Kate asked. Her throat was very dry. Pepper left the room and Kate thought about her. She seemed genuinely nice. Did the woman really care about Kate or was this just a ploy to get her to open up about the USB? She would ask Pepper.

The red head gave her the cup and she drank the water rapidly. The cold liquid soothed her aching throat and helped settle her nerves. The thought never occurred to her that it could have something in it until after she drank it. Well, can't do anything about it now. She thought heavily.

Kate hesitated to ask the question, not sure how to word it. Pepper looked at her keenly. "Why are you being so kind to me?" she studied her cup, not wanting to see Pepper's reaction in case she would see resentment or coldness there. Finally she gave into temptation and peeked at Pepper. She was stunned to see sadness in her eyes.

"Because you seem lost and scared. I can't imagine what this must feel like. There are people here who care about you though. Director Fury, or Nick as you probably know him, does care about you. I know for a fact that Captain America was furious when he found out what happened with you and Natasha." She told her.

"If Nick cared about me he would never have kidnapped me. If what you're saying is true, why am I here?" She said venomously. Pepper looked down at her uneasily. "I can't tell you why you're here, because frankly I don't know why either."

"Who's Natasha?" she added. A sneaky suspicion formed in her mind.

Pepper remained silent. She bit her lip and glanced at the mirror before replying. "Natasha was the one who cornered you." Kate just stared at the glass and glared at it. Her breathing increased. Her suspicion was confirmed.

"Who is watching me?" she demanded suddenly. Kate never stopped glaring at the glass. The rage she felt for Fury ignited a terrible hunger to harm him. He wanted to experiment on her. His cruel, horrible plan was wreaking havoc on her life. He needed to pay for what he had done. In a small corner of her mind, she knew that there was more to this, but the other parts quickly hushed the corner.

In the corner of her eye she saw Pepper raise a hand to her ear and listen to whatever was being said to her. Pepper nodded slowly.

"Right now Director Fury, Captain America, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Loki, Thor, and Natasha Romanoff are watching and listening." She replied quietly. Her hand tentatively reached out to rest on Kate's shoulder. She shrugged her hand off, giving her a small scowl.

Kate resumed her hateful stare. She willed her eyes to see past the glass and into the room, but it never worked. "Go away." She said to the glass. She lay back down and tried to curl into a ball before realizing she couldn't. She turned her head to look Pepper in the eyes, trying to understand why she was so genuinely kind, when she must work for Fury. The woman bent over her and kissed her forehead gently before leaving.

Then she lost it. Kate screamed and yelled at the glass. She yelled to it how much she despised this. She screamed at the people she couldn't see to let her go. She threatened it. She made rather rude insults. Kate said anything and everything she could to get across to them all the pain she felt. It seemed she could never stop. Why should she?

A nurse entered the room and Kate hissed at the young woman as she approached. The woman wasn't even fazed when Kate growled at her when she re-adjusted her restraints. The band on her legs tightened slightly, only partially cutting off her circulation. Before leaving the nurse typed something onto a small screen attached to the pole.

Green lights flashed into Kate's face, forcing her to squint. Her ranting continued until her voice started to die in her throat. A liquid rushed through a tube and into her veins. Kate's hearing faded away and her vision blurred. In seconds she was in another drugged sleep.

Loki watched the proceedings with interest. When the girl had woken up he was curious to see her reaction. He saw how she panicked then got a hold of herself. Fury didn't want anyone to go and talk to her for at least an hour. Loki waited with the others. With the exception of Hawk Eye, all of the Avengers were present. They all gave him distrustful looks.

He knew he shouldn't care about the girl. She was just a weak mortal who would be dead soon enough. All though he couldn't understand why, whenever he looked at her, he felt this horrible feeling of guilt. Maybe it was because she was just a child; maybe because she was so weak. This was the main reason he wanted to remain. To not just see how this disaster turned out, but to sort out his feelings. If he went back to Asgard he would constantly be reminded of her terrified, pleading face.

Loki had enjoyed the reaction of Captain America, when he had found out about Kate being on the Heli Carrier.

"What have you done?" he had shouted at Romanoff.

"I followed orders!" she had retaliated.

"No you didn't Romanoff. Kate isn't ready. She wasn't supposed to start being introduced to the idea for another couple of months." he seethed. "Because of your actions, you are forcing her to make a choice no twelve year old should have to make."

"Oh, so how was I supposed to get the USB then? What would you have done?" she yelled.

"I would have followed orders! Did it ever cross your mind, that knocking her out, could've worked?" he lowered his voice, but he continued to seem agitated. Loki hadn't been intimidated by the Captains appearance, but the look in the Widow's eyes told him enough that she was slightly weary of him.

"Traumatizing her would only result in Kate never trusting us to help her." Romanoff said.

"You may be right, but she is just a girl."

"So? I was trained early on as well. I was younger than her!" she had said. Rogers had shaken his head and walked away muttering something about insufferable agents. Romanoff had of course glared daggers at his back before walking off to go shoot something.

After their little spat, the party of superheroes had gone to the observation room; Romanoff and Rogers, staying as far from each other as possible.

It had been two days since Kate had been taken. A team of doctors had been horrified at the state her body was in. They had been equally shocked at how healthy her feet were compared to the condition the rest of her body. Loki chose not to disclose the fact that he had healed her feet. She had been cleaned and her hair brushed until it shone like burnished gold.

"Would you like a drink now?" Stark asked innocently. Loki turned to him and sneered. He had offered Loki a drink right before his defeat in Stark Tower. Loki would love to see that infuriating tower burn. He felt the urge to punch the ego statistical man in the face. A hit from the god could possibly kill him. What an incentive.

"Would you like to be dead?" he asked, just as innocent. Stark shrugged and walked over to his red headed lover. The woman watched the girl eat and seemed rather concerned for Kate. The way her face creased in pity, made Loki sick. Sentiment was for fools, a fact he had learned in the abyss. He noted that the other men and women gathered had no emotion on their faces what so ever.

He watched intently as Fury questioned her about what she remembered. The girl didn't know that she had been asleep for two days. The deep sleep she had been afforded must have made her memory foggy because her brows were creased in concentration for quite a while. When she started to sob, he felt a twinge of pity, but ignored it. She sobbed and wailed for half an hour before Pepper entered, ignoring Fury's order to leave the pitiful creature alone, and tried to calm Kate down. He heard her tell Kate who was watching. Loki knew the girl would hate him in particular. If she hadn't run into him, she would most likely never have been abducted with as much force.

When Pepper had left, Kate started to shriek. But it wasn't screams of terror. Her screeches were filled with a rage that Loki would never have suspected of a child. He felt the rest of the room shift uneasily. They hadn't thought it possible of her either. Pepper raised a hand to her mouth in disbelief. The obscenities flowing from her lips were directed mainly at Fury. Loki had expected most to be targeted at him, but only Fury was singled out. No emotion crossed his face. He continued to watch her impassively.

Fury told a nurse to sedate Kate again. Her feral reaction to the nurse's proximity amused him, oddly enough. She had stopped shouting. Loki looked away when the fluids rushed into her weak body, not wanting the guilt to start gnawing at him. They all filed out of the small observation room, going their separate ways.

Loki wandered through the halls for a time, thinking about the girl, not too far away. He was just thinking about if he should talk to the girl, when an announcement over the intercom listed several names to report to the conference room. Loki's name was called last. He took his time getting there. It wasn't like he would be asked to discuss, they probably wanted to keep an eye on him even though he couldn't do very much magic.

Odin had fitted him with a special collar that only allowed him small bursts of magic. If he ever needed more than the amount to lift a table, the collar would cut his tie to his reserves magic. Only the All father could grant him access again, so Loki was careful when he used magic.

His entrance was met with exasperated looks from most of the assembled mortals. As he took his seat, Fury turned to glare at him. "I see you decided to show up. I highly doubt you got lost." He said, crossing his arms.

"For your information, mortal, it would be impossible for you to make anything that would make me feel lost. Your experiment does not concern me, but I am mildly curious as to how this disaster resolves itself." He said smoothly. Fury's misjudgment on using a child for his experiment amused him greatly. The man had no idea what would traumatize a child; this certainly would. Loki wouldn't be surprised if the girl was already broken, but he doubted it. She didn't seem like the type to break easily.

"Now that we are all here, we can begin. As you are all aware, Kate Smithton is here much too early. The original plan was to perfect the serum, get her, and then train her. Well, the plan was compromised early on. The USB containing all the information was stolen. We don't know who stole it or how it was stolen. We know that she somehow got her hands on it. Kate was to be brought here at the end of the summer, fully prepared for what was going to happen to her. Obviously, that will never happen.

"I went to go and check on her behavior at her school two days ago. It came as no surprise to me that she attacked a student. Frankly I thought it would have happened more often. I was unaware of her presence in the building during my conversation with her teachers. She dropped a rock with writing on it and when I gave it back to her, she seemed terrified. I don't know why, I suppose it was because she assumed I was taking her away.

"I need you to decide what to do with her. The only options I can think of are to, either wipe her memory and send her back home until she is ready, or keep her here and prepare her sooner. I will let you all decide as you will ultimately be her mentors and trainers." He finished. Fury leaned back in his chair and looked around. The gathering of heroes looked at him for a minute. Loki watched them process this. He already had his opinion, but didn't feel like sharing it at the moment. He was slightly annoyed by the fact that the guards in the room kept glancing at him like he was about to explode.

Captain America broke the silence. "I don't like the fact that she's here, but as she is we may as well prepare her now."

"No. I think we should send her back. You saw what she was like earlier. This would break her." Romanoff shot back at him. The Captain seemed shocked at her ferocity.

"You were the one to bring her in early, Romanoff. I would think you would agree with me."

"I told you there was no other way!" she slapped her hand on the table.

"There is always another option!" he shot back.

"Natasha's right, she's not even a teenager yet." Pepper said calmly.

Loki rolled his eyes as others joined in on the argument. None of them seemed to agree. He glanced at Fury. The man's expression was of boredom. The group of heroes wouldn't work together. He understood the only reason they had come together in the first place was to defeat him; a common enemy was a good incentive.

Loki was tempted to add to their quarrelling. He let the magic flit around his fingers, and then glanced at Fury. The man looked threatening. He laid his gun on the table and pointed his finger at the gun, then Loki. Loki returned the magic to himself, and tilted back in his chair. He couldn't have any fun.

Then Banner said, "Why don't we let her decide?" the group just stared at him. Rogers had his hand in the air, Stark's mouth was open slightly, and Romanoff was half standing.

"Let her decide?" Stark repeated. He finally closed his mouth.

"Well, why not? I mean she might be ready, but we wouldn't know it because she's so shocked and scared by the news that she was chosen to be the subject of a revolutionary serum." He reasoned. Banner waved his hands in the air for emphasis.

"But she is just a child." Thor cut in. "She doesn't know what's good for her. I say we wipe her memory." At that point everyone started arguing again. Loki just watched. He smirked when Pepper started to shout at the Captain for being insensitive. Stark argued with Banner about the affects the serum would have on her unprepared mind. Banner asked him if he knew his serum better than he did. The bickering continued. Why must all mortal communications evolve to this? He thought. Boredom filled his mind. What could he do to make this more entertaining? Mischief filled his eyes. He could turn Thor's cape orange again, or make Stark's hair turn white or even make the Widow slip onto the floor. All harmless pranks, but with so much tension in the air, it would be much more entertaining. Loki hardly noticed that green magic was fluttering around his fingers when someone said his name. The magic instantly vanished.

"Brother, what do you think?" Thor asked loudly. The quarreling ceased and they all looked at him expectantly, including Fury. Pepper's reaction was to stare at him distastefully. He would make her understand he wasn't the monster he once was. Maybe he should volunteer to be Kate's mentor. What idiotic notions! What was he thinking!? He didn't care about her. So what if most of the mortals hated him and considered him a monster. He didn't care. He had changed, and if the mortals didn't want to believe it, then so what.

"Well, to be honest, I don't care. But if you really want my opinion I agree with the great green monster. Let the child decide when you want to turn her into a monster." He smiled mischievously at Banner who scowled at him in return. Fury nodded his head slowly, ignoring the Loki's last statement. Pepper made an outraged noise across the room. A smirk lit up on his face.

"Well, let's take a vote. All those in favor of asking her, say aye." Most the room said aye, including Loki. If he was going to stay and watch, he may as well have a say in the decision. At least here his views were considered and valued to a degree. The council men on Asgard wouldn't consider any of his ideas or views.

"Now that that's settled, who's going to ask her?"

Kate's drowsy thoughts clarified faster this time. The ceiling came into focus with greater detail. She became aware of the two women sitting at her bedside almost as soon as her eyes had opened. She recoiled away from them slightly when she saw the woman who had had her under her gun. Her weary eyes traveled between their faces, searching for anything she could take advantage of. Sadly, they both had no emotion.

One was Pepper and the other must be Natasha. Pepper smiled at her kindly but Natasha frowned slightly.

"You okay?" Pepper asked. Kate nodded. Then she asked if she could sit up to talk. Pepper adjusted the thick straps. Kate felt slightly sheepish for yelling the way she had the last time, and she was angry she felt that way. They deserved to know what she thought of them! But why did she still feel as if she had done something horrible?

"Thanks. What's happening to me now?" Kate asked bitterly, all embarrassment gone. She knew what they were going to say. They were going to experiment on her now, change her into a monster. She wasn't going to cry again. It wouldn't fix anything.

"Actually we want to know what you think." Natasha said. Kate just gawked at her. "What I think?" she asked perplexed. The woman gave her a cold look that said plainly 'You should have expected this.' Kate gave her a reproachful look. This only made her smirk.

"Do you want to go back to the city or do you want to go ahead with the injection?" Pepper said.

"Why would you send me back?" Kate wondered, her mind whirling. When she had screamed and begged them to release her, they had ignored her pleas. Why would they suddenly ask her if she wanted to leave?

"Some of us, the Avengers that is, believe you should go home until you are ready to begin the training, but most think you should be allowed to choose." Natasha explained. "If you went back, you wouldn't remember any of this. You wouldn't remember finding the USB. We could also arrange it to where you could keep attending Jackson Middle."

Kate thought this over. She could go back to the city. She could continue to get handouts and she would be hungry again. The cold nights would nip at her bare skin, even in summer. The soiled blankets she slept in would still smell terribly like death and sour milk. But she would be safe. She would be ignorant to the coming torture. Was that better? Did she want to be unaware again? No, she didn't. Maybe she wanted to stay here, at…where ever here was. Here she had food and she was taken care of. If Pepper was to be believed, even Fury cared for her. Now that she thought about it, were these people her kidnappers, protectors, or masters? Right now they seemed partially kidnapper and partially protector. This was a lot to take in, but so had the news of her family. She could take this, she just needed time.

"What happens if I choose to stay?" Kate asked. Now, she was intrigued. If they wanted her to choose, then not all the Avengers could be all that bad.

Natasha looked at Pepper. "You would be injected with a serum that would enhance the more animal like genes in you. The end product could vary. You may have enhanced senses, wings, or a tail or a combination thereof." She finished. Kate gaped at her. What?

"I would sprout a tail?" Kate stared at them blankly. "That's not possible is it?" she asked. Having wings would be cool. Having a tail would be…strange. She could see the headline now, 'Girl strangled by own tail' and with her luck that would probably happen. The tabloids would have a field day.

"You'd be surprised at how far science has come. Most of the public has no idea about half the stuff we use." Natasha smiled. It was the first time Kate had seen her smile, if it was just a smug one. Then Kate realized she was goading her on to ask questions. This cold, detached agent wanted her ask, to question, to criticize. Kate suddenly started to like her.

"How long do I have to think over it?" she asked. There was no way she could decide in so little time.

"Until tonight, then we decide whether you remain here or go home." Pepper answered. Kate lay back down and started to think. A million questions flew through her head. There was one she really wanted to know the answer to, even if it wasn't relevant to the current topic of conversation.

"Who was the man wearing the green baseball cap?" Kate asked Natasha. His face had been lurking in the corners of her mind, daring her to remember, to question. Natasha had wanted her to ask, so she might as well take the bait.

Natasha's small smile faded. Kate supposed this was not the question she had had in mind. She took a minute to answer. "That was Loki."

"Isn't he the guy who destroyed New York all those years ago?" Kate asked. She had collided with a god?

"Yeah."

"He's also the reason I'm here, isn't he?" Kate glowered at the ceiling.

Natasha smirked. "I suppose he is." They told Kate that some other people wanted to talk to her if she was okay with that. She said yes as long as one of them was Loki. She had a bone to pick with him.

Kate was on her back glowering at the ceiling when a man walked into the room. He was tall, fare haired, and wore a serious expression. Secretly she thought he was rather handsome. His clothes seemed normal enough. When she looked at his face though, a small inkling of pity washed over her. His eyes were old. Not age wise but he had seen much. Ghosts of his past lingered in the pits of his eyes. He also seemed spent. Why was everyone here so tired?

He sat on a chair with his chin resting on his fist. His eyes studied her face. She studied his.

"Hi, my name is Steve Rogers. I'm also known as Captain America." He said. A feeling of awe and embarrassment washed into her stomach. She had a crush on a guy from the 1940's; it hadn't even been five minutes since they met. Typical.

He didn't smile. His expression was natural. Kate liked that. "Hi, I suppose you already know my name and everything else about me?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah I do. I am here to talk to you about what would happen after the serum, which is if you survive the process." He said blandly.

"Wait what? I might die during the injection?!" she said incredulously. Maybe she would go back to the city after all.

"Yes," he said slowly, "You know my story right?"

"Yeah, we had to learn about it in school. You joined the military even though they didn't want you to. Then you were injected with something. You became tall and superhuman. Then you were buried under ice, recovered by SHIELD, and you fought in the Battle of New York." She stated. That had been the one time in school she had actually paid attention. She never mentioned that the textbooks hadn't had a picture of him.

"You learn about me in school? That's weird to think about. Did you say Battle of New York?"

"Yeah."

"So that's what they're calling it." He stared at the wall for a moment. Kate waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. He looked back at her. "When I was injected, I had a very good chance of dying or ending up handicapped severely for the rest of my life. This new injection if much safer, but there is a chance your body won't except it, making it fatal."

"So what happens after the serum?" she asked again. Unease dropped like an ice cube into her stomach. But if this serum was safer than the one he had been given, maybe she would be okay. Kate decided to worry about dying until it happened…which could be very soon.

"You would start training with us, the rest of the Avengers at least. It's probably possible to have others come and train with you." He said. "Would that make me an Avenger?" she wasn't very excited about this. Heroes always got a bad rap. Kate remembered her history teacher ranting about how evil Hulk was. Kate couldn't see anything evil about a man who had helped save Manhattan from the Chitauri. If anything Kate was confused.

"Maybe someday that would happen." He smiled slightly at her puzzled look. He must have thought she was ambitious, because she started to explain why she had asked, but he continued anyway. "Since we don't know what effect it will have on you, I can't really elaborate more than that." He finished.

"Oh ok. So, why does everybody want to talk to me?" she asked. This was, to her at least, the most bewildering thing. She was just a homeless twelve year old. They were the Avengers.

"Because we are all curious about you. This is something new." He didn't make it out that they were all sorry for her. She liked that he told the truth as it was.

"They're all watching us aren't they?" she asked, staring pointedly at the glass.

"Yeah, probably."

"It's really unnerving not being able to see who's watching me. Can you make the glass not reflective?" she asked the mirror. She heard Rogers chuckle. She waited a little while, her gaze never leaving the glass. Then suddenly the reflection faded. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw how many people were in the room next door. Fury was standing in front watching her intently. Natasha stood a little behind him chewing some gum and somewhat smiling. She saw some other people she only vaguely recognized. They all watched her carefully. Pepper waved at her faintly. Kate waved back; only to have half the people in the room return the gesture. Well, that was awkward.

As she studied the group just as intently as they studied her, she noticed a man sitting in a corner, examining his nails. He wore a green baseball cap. That must be Loki. He looked uninterested. She glared daggers at him. Pepper nudged him and he glared at her until Pepper pointed to Kate. He smirked at her furious expression, and then turned back to his nails. A faint green surrounded them. It must have been a trick of the light because when Kate went to look at his hands further, she noticed nothing unusual. She shrugged it off.

"Alright, so that's my interview done, get ready for the next one." He said and left. Steve extended his hand and Kate made to shake it, but he instead kissed her knuckles. She blushed a deep shade of red. He smiled at her, and then left.

The other interviews passed by relatively quickly. Doctors and scientists alike came to get a good look at her. The interviews themselves went something like this: Both studied each other, the adult asked some questions. Kate asked a question or two. The adult explained a section of the procedure.

Her fifth interviewer was Tony Stark. The first thing she felt was excitement. Tony Stark! He was so cool! She loved watching the documentaries on his suits at school. She would love to ask him a million questions on mechanics but she had an interview first.

He at first seemed to consider her, and then he started making faces at her. She sat there for a minute astonished. Then she made some faces back. He laughed, and she giggled.

"So what are you explaining to me?" she asked. Her serious expression was back. It was strange with the mood less somber, almost like this could be a great adventure, instead of torture.

"I'm here to explain why. We needed someone new to help defend SHIELD." He said.

"Wait, you need a twelve year old to defend SHIELD?" she asked. This was ridiculous. The Hulk was a much better protector than she. He could probably push her over just by tapping her, in the state she was in.

"You won't just be twelve after the procedure. This experiment will do two things. One, it will prove that the human body can be manipulated, and two, you will someday be the next Avenger's leader; sort of what Cap. is right now." He said. She gaped at him. "They said I wouldn't be an Avenger."

"No, he said you might be. You wouldn't have his responsibility for many, many years." He frowned at her slightly. "Do I really look that old to you?" he asked with mock offense. Kate smiled faintly. "Well, you do have gray in your hair."

"Ah. I knew my stylist missed a spot with the dye." He smiled at her again. They both started laughing. "Well, that's my interview bombed." He got up, shook her hand and walked to the door. Before he left he turned around to look at her. He hesitated for a minute, then, "Do you like building stuff?" he asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, sort of. Why?" she asked shyly.

"When this is over, come to Stark Tower and we can build something. I read your art file. Did you really build a robot you could move just by moving a few wires?" He said.

"Yeah. I got bored and I used it to break a kid's pencils." She said. Some guilt trickled into her stomach. Why did she feel guilt in front of these people?! It wasn't in her nature.

"What kid? Bryce?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, ok. Take me up on my offer. It would be cool to see what you can do with proper tools instead of pliers."

"Okay, thanks. Oh and Mr. Stark-"he cut her off immediately.

"You can call me Tony, Iron Man, or Mr. Awesome. Not Mr. Stark." He said seriously. Kate couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, Tony, Pepper is really amazing." She said.

He smiled. "I know." He left.

She stared at the glass. Fury seemed to be writing something down. No one left the room, but Tony did enter. She watched him walk over to Pepper and kiss the top of her head. Her blush was a deep shade crimson.

Kate had to wait another minute. She didn't have anything better to do, but watch the people on the other side of the window. Tony stuck his tongue out at her and Natasha jabbed him in the ribs, and his look of mock pain made her laugh. Kate didn't doubt Natasha was telling him to be mature. To Kate, it seemed like all the Avengers treated each other like cousins. You hated them for a while, but they always had your back in the end.

After another few minutes, Thor came into the room. Kate knew who he was immediately because of his hammer and armor. Unlike the other Avengers, he didn't intimidate her. Thor was what she had expected; Strong, big, and blonde. He talked to her about Asgard, which sounded pretty cool, in Kate's opinion.

He talked about stuff like the bifrost, bilgesnipes, and the Warriors Three, which sounded rather familiar, but she couldn't place anything. Kate asked questions about Jane and his daughter, Torunn. He seemed sad to be away from them. She asked what Torunn looked like.

"She has pale blond hair, she is rather tall for her age, and she loves horses." He smiled at her. "You remind me of her." He added. Kate was taken aback. Not sure what to say, she stared at him. Kate was mortal and Torunn was an Aesir. Naturally, Kate thought Torunn sounded way cooler. Oblivious to her shock, he said good bye and left.

Her last visitor came into the room. It was Loki. She didn't waste her time studying him. She had gotten a great look at him when he had been in her way at the library.

"You're the reason I'm here!" she didn't raise her voice but she was angry. He sat in the chair and looked at her. Kate still glared at him. Why did he sit there so relaxed? Didn't he realize what he had done?

"You look no different from when I ran into you." She stated. Kate mentally slapped herself. Out of all the angry remarks she could have made, she had to start off with his appearance? How stupid am I? She thought.

"And you smell better than you did." Loki smirked at Kate. This made her angrier. She was tempted to claw him. She glanced at her nails. It was then that she realized they had been clipped. All thoughts of the god in front of her were swept out of her mind. The only thing she had of her nails was a little bit of fragile white. All she could do was ogle at her once long nails. She whipped her head to look at Fury.

"You clipped my nails?!" she shrieked in horror. He looked at her and shrugged.

"You just now noticed? Forget about what I said about how mortals are dimwitted, mortals are oblivious to the most obvious things." He said, laughing coldly. Kate ignored him. She'd deal with him later.

"Do you realize they were my only defense?" she continued to shriek.

Fury reached down and held up a microphone to his mouth. "Sorry Kate. We couldn't have you do what you did to Bryce happen again. Did you know that health insurance doesn't cover severe clawing? Trust me I know. I checked." Fury gave her a warning look. He put the microphone down. She growled at him. Her gaze drifted to her hands. They looked so foreign to her now.

"So what do you want to talk about with me, little mortal?" he stared at her lazily.

"Don't call me 'mortal'. I am not as weak as I look. Just ask Bryce." She spat at him. Her gaze lingered on his hat. It made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because he looked so normal wearing it, not like the murder he was supposed to be.

"Oh really? You didn't seem so brave and strong when you were cornered. What did you say? Oh I remember, 'Please don't take me!'" he said in a cruel but accurate imitation of her. Her breathing quickened slightly. A dark gleam flashed in her eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare. Mock me. If you had-"she stopped. He had no right to know her past. Loki must be trying to get information out of her, it had almost worked. Kate glanced at the mirror. It surprised her slightly that only Fury and Natasha remained in the room. Where did everyone else go? That didn't matter. What mattered was this man-god keeping away from her past.

"If I had what? What is so important that you would crumple under a gun's aim?" he asked slyly. He was trying to get her to spill!

"You wouldn't understand rat." She snarled.

His face darkened. "You are wrong girl. I have had an arrow pointed at my face. I have fallen through nothingness for months. I was tortured for years in Asgard's foulest prisons. I was mocked. Don't tell me I wouldn't understand. I don't like empathy." Kate couldn't help but think he looked like a panther, ready to pounce. It rendered her uneasy. Surely he wouldn't hurt her…would he? She didn't want to find out. In the time it took Fury to stop him, Loki could easily kill her.

A long heavy silence pervaded the room. Loki's brief anger fizzed down and looked the floor. He looked annoyed.

Then she surprised him. "Thank you." She murmured. Kate realized then and there she meant it. She honestly was thankful he had been in her way.

"What?" he asked, taken aback.

"Thank you." She repeated. "Are Asgardians deaf?" now it was her turn to smirk. He didn't seem to hear the last part. That just proved her point.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because if I hadn't run into you, I would be starving, I would have bled to death and if I hadn't, I would have died from infection, and I wouldn't have this opportunity at a new life. Thank you." She finished finally. "I agree to do the injection." She added, looking at Fury. He nodded to her. Loki just stared at her, his face was utterly bewildered. She astounded him even more by leaning over and hugging him as best she could. He didn't return the hug, but Kate hadn't expected him to anyway. What she hadn't expected was how cold he was. His armor was much colder than it should be. But, now wasn't the time to ask. Exhaustion was slowly seeping into her. Talking to everyone had really drained her.

Kate pulled back as she felt the tranquilizer pulse back into her veins. This time she was glad, she felt thoroughly exhausted. Her body went limp. Kate never heard Loki murmur "You are welcome." after she was swept into a soft void of nothingness.