In the end, despite a heavy dose of Tony's charm and the promise of upgrades to the apartment in his wing, Marley chose the one on the top floor. It had a beautiful view of the city and was apparently in between Steve Rogers' quarters and those of Bucky Barnes.

While the view was something she appreciated, Steve's concern about her powers and her ability to control them was more valid than anyone knew at this point. Whatever dwelled within Marley was strong and it had only ever surfaced when she was scared. And when she was scared, and that power was unleashed, the results were horrific.

It had been tempting to stay in the same area as the famous Tony Stark and be close to Wanda. But she knew she needed help and didn't want to terrify a potential friend. In her mind, Steve represented that help and safety she sought. In charge of training within the Avengers' Initiative, Steve needed to see what she could and couldn't do. Staying here would probably help that along. And if he couldn't help her, who could?

Besides, he and Bucky were both super soldiers. If something really got out of her control, they were probably better suited to deal with it and harder to injure.

The last thing Marley wanted was to hurt anyone else.

Her two small suitcases had been delivered to her room and she was quietly finding places for the few things she had when someone knocked quietly at her door.

She opened the door to find Steve there, a file clutched in his hand. "Hey, Marley, how's it going?"

"Good," she told him.

"Can I talk to you for a few moments?" Steve was to the point. She appreciated that.

Opening the door to allow him into her apartment, Marley followed him to the main living room area and he motioned to the sofa. She had a seat while he took the stuffed chair next to her.

"Is the apartment okay? Do you need anything?"

Marley glanced around the enormous room with all its shining glass and light.

"I've never lived in a place like this," she admitted. "It's a lot of space for one person."

"That it is." Steve nodded.

"But I like it. I'm grateful to be here."

"Good." He took a deep breath. "Marley, if you're feeling up to it, we can start your physical training tomorrow."

Marley nodded in agreement. She wasn't in amazing physical shape as he was, but she was healthy. That had to count for something.

"I've, uh, read your file," he started slowly.

Here we go, she thought.

How am I going to approach this? He thought. What a life this kid's had.

Marley would have taken issue with the kid part, she was almost thirty, but then she remembered he was in fact, nearing one hundred years old.

"You've seen this?" he asked carefully, holding up the file. "You know what's in here?"

Marley blew out an exhale. She'd seen it. It had almost everything on her past and the pyrokinesis. And now Steve Rogers knew most of that story.

"That I thought I was an orphan until adulthood when I learned I was the product of a dismantled HYDRA program after I torched an apartment building and killed several people? Yes, I know."

Steve's expression was completely sympathetic. "I'm so sorry, Marley. I can't imagine what that was like for you."

It was the cross she'd bear for the rest of her life. She didn't regret taking out Grant. After what he'd done to her, she never would. But the other fifteen occupants of the building the rescuers couldn't get to that night? Mostly women and children…

"It wasn't your fault, Marley. There's no way you could have known."

"Everyone tells me that," she whispered, feeling the tears stinging the backs of your eyes. "But it doesn't change the fact that I killed them. Nothing can fix that."

He started to reach out for her hand but pulled back.

"Can… Can you…" He was considering his words very carefully. "Sense of touch…"

Marley laughed though there was little humor in it. It was a smart question. "I won't burn you. Promise."

"Good to know." His smile was friendly.

"Unless I'm upset."

"Is that the trigger for your abilities?"

"It's only happened twice," she explained. "Both times I was afraid. So, I guess it's closer to the truth to say that fear is my trigger."

"Fear," Steve said slowly. "You said this happened only twice. Only the apartment building is in the file. What was other time if you don't mind my asking?"

Meeting his gaze head on, she wrapped her arms around herself. "It's how I ended up here."

Steve waited patiently while Marley tried to decide the best way to explain the last six months of her life.

"I've known about my abilities for five years," Marley explained. "After the apartment building incident, they said in the papers that it was faulty wiring that started the fire. I thought I was the only one who knew that I was the one who started that fire, even if I didn't mean for any of that to happen. Not too long after the fire, strange people would find me. Now I know they must have been agents for S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA. I didn't know the difference. I didn't know anything about it all or who was good or bad. I was scared. And all they wanted to talk about was the fire."

"I moved around a lot," she went on. "I stuck with minimum wage jobs, low cost apartments. Eventually they'd find me. They always found me."

Steve continued to listen silently.

"One night I left work. I was a cashier at a gas station. I'd just locked the door when a man in a really nice suit approached me. He said he wanted to talk, I told him I didn't. I tried to get around the building to my car and two more really big guys in military outfits were there, waiting. They forced me into the car."

Bastards, Steve thought.

"They took me to some building out in the middle of nowhere. I thought they took me to some remote location to kill me, but the building wasn't deserted. There were a lot of people in there, offices, labs. They pushed me into a cell and kept me there for days. They took my blood, they fed me once a day. They took my phone and the other stuff I had on me when I left work. I had no way to reach help and no one except the gas station owner would even know I was missing. He probably just thought I didn't come back."

No one filed a report, Steve thought.

"One morning, one of the military guys pulled me out and put me in a room filled with big metal panels."

"Lead shields." Steve said in more of a statement more than a question.

Marley nodded.

"They ordered me to start a fire. When I couldn't, they started… beating me. Cutting me. It went on for hours."

Steve's expression darkened. Did they…?

She was in tears now. They hadn't raped her but the threat of it had set her off that day.

"When I still couldn't start a fire after all of that, they told me… they were going to take me out back and take turns… and then shoot me in the head. I was… wasting their time and they were going to kill me. The man pulled me off the floor by my hair and started dragging me out of the room. That's when it started. He let go before we made it to the door. His arm… his arm was on fire."

Steve knew she was struggling with the rest of the story.

"I looked at the other two men and they just… burst into flames, their entire bodies… I couldn't stop it. Then I focused on the one who had been dragging me… and I made sure, made sure, he was on fire…. Then I just ran. I ran out of the building, and every person I met, I…"

Steve nodded, no judgment coming from him.

HYDRA has to be stopped once and for all. Look at all the damage they've done to people like her. To Bucky.

"I'd given up by the time someone picked me up on the road. I didn't run. I just… I'd decided to let them kill me…"

Absently, she swiped at her tears, trying to regain composure.

"It wasn't HYDRA that picked me up on the road… It was S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson. That's… that's why I'm still alive."

Steve seemed to be considering what to say. Marley took advantage of the opportunity to finish what she wanted to say.

"I understand that Mr. Fury brought me here to keep them from killing me. I know that, but –"

"HYDRA isn't trying to kill you."

Neither Steve nor she had noticed that Bucky had walked into the apartment, standing by the door, arms crossed over an impressive expanse of chest in the t-shirt he wore. Marley didn't know how much of her story he'd heard.

"They want to use you as a weapon," Bucky said, meeting her gaze.

How powerful is she then? Steven's thought was loud.

Bucky's blue eyes… their intensity forced her gaze back to Steve.

"Me? A weapon?" Marley shook your head. "The joke is on them then. I'm not… I'll never be like you two. Like the others."

Steven exchanged glances with his friend. "If what Bucky says is true, and HYDRA considers your abilities of value, why not figure out what you can do and how you can use them for good? If you can learn to use your talents, and control them, you'll be better able to protect yourself and just maybe you can help us stop them."

Steve was hoping to inspire her. Marley got that. Bucky's expression didn't mirror that hope. He looked at Marley with a wary expression.

"What if I do more damage than good? Whatever this is that I have, they gave it to me. They made me."

She's right. Bucky lowered his glance to the floor. Smart.

"Maybe that's where your abilities originated," Steve spoke now with conviction, "but what you do with them is your choice. If you want to turn them on HYDRA and use them for good, we'll help you. You just need to be willing to try."

Steve watched her so intently now.

This is a bad idea. Bucky kept his gaze on the floor.

Marley nodded to Steve. She was willing to try. She knew she'd disappoint them all, but she would try.

Good. I know she's scared but we can teach her. Steve's confidence grew by the minute. We can keep her safe.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Steve asked, already working out a plan in his head.

There was something and since she was there in the middle of their quarters, better to tell them now.

"If you hear anything at night, I apologize. I think… I have nightmares sometimes."

At that, Steve glanced back at Bucky.

"I'm fine. You don't need to check on me or anything and I haven't set anything on fire," she wanted to assure them. "Not yet."

"That's good," Steve's smile was warm as he tried to lighten things up. "We haven't gotten the new fire extinguishers yet."

Marley couldn't help but laugh with him on that.

That's when she noticed Bucky staring at her, his expression was controlled but his thoughts were a mad whirl and she could only pick out a word here and there. Dangerous. Pointless.

Sweet.

Marley had no idea what was going on in his head, and that was rare for her, and she couldn't worry about it for the moment.

Between the Captain's conviction that he could help her channel what she considered to be a curse and Bucky's obvious reservations about her and what she could do, it was going to be an interesting experience living at Stark Tower.