Voices Inside Me

An Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes FanFiction

Hey ya'll! I'm back! Thanks to everyone for the reviews/favorites/follows! It makes my day to see those in my email.

So, it's my birthday, and I'm in a really good mood right now. You all get another chapter as a result.

And maybe I can get a few reviews for my birthday? :)

Disclaimer: I do not own A:EMH.

"Meprobamate."

Thor, Jan, Clint, and Hulk all looked at Annabeth uncomprehendingly. Hank paused, before nodding and muttering to himself. "Uh, what?" Jan asked.

Annabeth looked her square in the eye. "JARVIS found traces of the sedative Meprobamate in my system. It's a common sedative." Turning to the screen, she quickly pulled up a couple of windows. Annabeth read, "Most commonly prescribed for anxiety, Meprobamate is both a sedative and a tranquilizer that can cause drowsiness, dizziness, slurred speech, headache, vertigo, weakness, paresthesias, impairment of visual accommodation, euphoria, overstimulation, and paradoxical excitement." She frowned. "Whatever the heck that means."

Hank stepped in. "It also shares traits with other sedatives, like nicotine. With repeated exposure, humans become increasingly tolerant as well as dependent. It would explain why Ultron is having a hard time controlling you. It would take increasingly large doses to subdue someone, even a girl. But where did it… oh."

Annabeth nodded. "Yep. Think, Doctor. This drug targets the brain and nervous system."

Hank pulled up the scans he took the day before. Not even glancing at the frames of the head, he immediately skipped right to the back. Zooming in, little capsules of something were visible, embedded in the muscle right next to the spine. "Capsules of Meprobamate strategically placed for maximum efficiency. But that makes no sense. Either Ultron just totally looked over the fact that you would quickly become tolerant, or he wanted you to become addicted to the drug for some reason, because those little capsules are going to run out soon. I'm thinking it's probably the latter."

Clint, Thor, and Jan had just been staring blankly at each other this whole time. Clint rolled his eyes. "Translation, anyone?"

Tony answered, "Ultron couldn't control Annabeth while she was fully conscious, so whenever he wants to take over, he has to pump drugs into her system to knock her out. However, her body is slowly becoming used to the drug and is becoming addicted. Got it?"

Clint frowned. "Maybe."

Ton ignored him and instead tapped his foot pensively. "That would also explain the unfocused eyes… that silver one is pretty unnerving."

Annabeth gaped. "What do you mean, silver eye?"

Thor looked at her strangely. "You mean that your left eye has not always shone silver like the moon?"

She started freaking out. "No! I've always had grey-green eyes!" She kind of shut down, her face going blank. "They were my only feature that I liked."

Tony grimaced. "This could be more complicated than we thought." He paused. "How did you not notice it before?"

Annabeth glowered at him. "I don't make a habit of looking into mirrors. I try to avoid it when possible." Her tone ended the conversation thread there. Everyone looked at her uneasily.

"Uh, alright then!" Tony started, trying to alleviate the sudden dark turn the conversation had taken. "So, we know how Ultron is controlling Annabeth, The question is, what do we do with this knowledge now?"

Jan raised her hand slightly, as if she were back in grade school. "If I'm understanding this correctly, we need to find a way to wean Annabeth off of this mep-stuff. Those little canisters are tiny and can't possibly hold a lot more of the drug."

Hank nodded. "We need to curb this addiction before it becomes an issue. No addiction is good. It messes with the body's chemical make up." He directed these last comments at the girl, who nodded.

"What are we going to do about Ultron though? I mean, he practically made Annabeth kill herself," Tony inserted. "C'mon, Hank. I may be a tech wiz, but all things biological are your gig."

Dr. Pym looked down. "I don't know. I'm sure I'll think of something, but right now? I'm drawing a blank." Jan placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

Annabeth looked contemplative. "What if we were to install another AI into my system? Would it be able to counter Ultron?"

There was a moment of silence as both Tony and Dr. Pym considered the thought before they simultaneously shook their heads. "No," they said together.

"Why not?"

Dr. Pym answered, "The addition of another voice to your mind would most likely be enough to drive you insane."

"Not to mention the strain on the system could cause it to short-circuit and possibly electrocute you in the process," Tony tagged on. Everyone stared at him. "What? I call them as I see them."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Ok, so that's out of the question." Her stomach rumbled and the corners of her mouth pulled up slightly. "Looks like its time for food. Anyone care to join me?"

Hulk nodded without a second thought. "It's always time for food!"

"Very true, big buddy. Anyone else?"

The team (minus Hulk) glanced uncertainly at each other. "No thanks," Jan said. "I'm not hungry."

Annabeth shrugged. "Suit yourself. Thor? Mr. Stark? Dr. Pym?" When she received an answer in the negative from each in turn, she left, pulling Hulk along by one massive arm, his giant frame dwarfing that of the teen.

The team waited a little bit, until they were sure she was out of hearing range, before starting up again. "I just don't get her," Jan said.

Thor nodded in agreement. "Lady Elizabeth is more mysterious than the dreaded Fylgja."

Tony shook his head. "JARVIS?"

"The Fylgja is a creature from Norse mythology that, when seen in the form of a man or animal, is said to foretell one's impending death," the AI responded quickly, having grown used to translating Thor's references.

"Thank you."

"I'm more worried about how this is going to affect Annabeth's mental state than anything else," Hank said. "Let's face, in the form of a teenaged girl, Ultron can't do very much. But putting that added strain on a mind that is still developing? It could have some serious long-term affects."

Jan added, "She's just a girl. She must be confused and scared."

Tony shook his head. "She might be confused, but she is definitely no ordinary girl. A normal girl would probably be catatonic right now, hardly able to function with the shock of what was happening to them. But Annabeth? She's still sharp enough to figure out that Ultron must be sedating her. This girl is a genius, that much is plain and simple, but it remains to be seen whether she is mad, evil, or good."

Dr. Pym slammed a fist on his thigh in frustration. "Which again brings us to her mental state! Ultron can only control her body, but he can still speak in her mind. If he can drive that mental capacity insane, who knows what might happen."

Thor frowned. "Maybe the lady is stronger than you give her credit for. I know very little about her, but I doubt she is of the kind that just kneel and bend to every authority."

Tony pulled up some of the security footage of Annabeth since she had woken up. "I think Thor might be right this time."

After her meal, Annabeth thought she had better haul her trunk up to her room and unpack, as it seemed that her stay at Avengers Mansion was to be an extended one. Crinkling her nose, she carefully dragged her stuff up to her room, huffing with effort by the time she arrived.

She quickly set about organizing her stuff. The books she set out in neat piles on the desk. She set the books out alphabetically by author. Among the collection were popular series like Eragon, Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, and Harry Potter, but some obscure titles were also present, such as Dragon Slippers, Throne of Glass, and the Thirteenth Reality. Crinkling her nose, she set Divergent and The Hunger Games on the ground next to the wall; she would never be a fan of dystopian fiction. Unless it was Fahrenheit 451.

Annabeth couldn't help but grin at her nerdiness. Before stuff, her dad had jokingly called her the queen of the nerds.

The thought sobered her, and she returned to her trunk, quickly placing toiletries and hair supplies in the bathroom before examining the clothes. She shook her head; nothing was going to fit her. She hadn't received new clothes in over a year and, well, puberty happened. She placed the clothes in the drawers she had found beneath her bed and the reading nook and finally looked to the rest of the contents in her trunk.

Everything that was special to her resided at the bottom. Carefully, she pulled out a few family portraits. The first showed her mother and father on their wedding day, their parents standing proudly beside them. The second was of Annabeth, the day she was born, being cautiously held by Aaron, her brother, while her other brother, Sammy, peered at her curiously. Finally, the last had been taken a little over a week before the fire, the whole family grinning happily in front of a Christmas tree. Annabeth gingerly placed these on the nightstand.

Next, she pulled out sheet music and piano books, among which were four Reader's Digest books that had belonged to her great grandmother. Whenever she had access to a piano, Annabeth loved playing the hits from the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Something about that time of music seemed much more meaningful than anything played now.

Finally, at the very bottom of the trunk, was a pile of journals. Some of them had belonged to her mother, but must were written in by Annabeth herself. She had learned at a young age that she could confide in a journal what she wasn't comfortable telling anyone or anything else. These journals hid all of her thoughts and feelings from the time she was six. Pulling open the most recent one, she quickly glanced over her last entry, dated on Halloween a year ago, trying not to wince as she read it over. Shaking her head, she pulled out her pen and wrote the date.

Before she knew it, the journal once again had become her confidante.

It was Clint's turn to cook dinner again.

With barely concealed complaints and criticisms, everyone sat down to what was sure to be a mystery delight. The table was already full of questionable dishes and slightly bruised apples. Tony was staring at a brown mush with straight up apprehension.

Whistling a merry tune, Clint walked up and set the last dish on the table just as Hulk plopped himself down on the ground. Glancing around, he saw that the whole team was assembled, some albeit reluctantly, but their new charge was nowhere to be seen. He frowned. "Hey, where's Annabeth? I wanted to show off my mad cooking skills."

Jan nearly gagged. "Mad is right. Skills, not so much."

Clint huffed indignantly but decided to take the higher road and ignore the comment. "JARVIS? Where is the little cyborg?"

Steve grimaced in disapproval. "Clint, she's not a cyborg. She's a normal teenage girl."

Tony added, "A normal teenage girl who has an artificial intelligence trying to gain control of her entire body."

Steve gave him a look that clearly said, not helping.

"Miss Rose is currently writing right now."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Voluntarily?"

"It would seem so."

Tony just shook his head. "Whatever. JARVIS, send a notice to her screen that we are having dinner."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. She is using pen and paper."

Tony scowled. "Why on earth would she do that? It's so much slower, and so much less efficient."

If it was possible for Captain America to smirk, it was happening. "Some people prefer hard copies, Tony. Technology is not always the best option."

Tony returned the smirk. "Sure it is. And if it isn't, I just haven't gotten a hold of it yet."

Hank hardly looked up from his data files. "JARVIS, just tell her that dinner is ready."

Not long after, the slight sound of light, quick steps echoed down the hall, and Annabeth skidded in, only socks on her feet. Her face held a real grin as she slid on the tile. "Woo!" Slipping to the table, she caught herself on the back of a chair and pulled herself to a stop. Everyone just stared at her. "What? I'm just a kid. I can still act like one."

Jan gestured to an empty seat, and as the girl moved to sit down, she began, "What's for…" Much to most of the team's amusement, she trailed off, only to start again. "What is for dinner?"

Tony ducked to hide a smirk, Hulk grinned, and even Steve was straining against a smile. "It's a surprise," Clint snarled.

Annabeth prodded the brown mush Tony had been staring at with a fork. "Well, I think the surprise just growled at me."

Thor gave a hearty laugh, startling the girl. His laugh was infectious, so much so that soon even Hank was chuckling a little bit. Clint rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just shut up. You're going to eat the food, and you are going to like it!"

Turns out, Annabeth did not like it very much.

An hour later, Clint was knocking on the bathroom door, trying to apologize (most likely because Steve forced him too) while Jan patted the poor teen on the back as she knelt in front of the toilet, tasting the surprise one more time.

"Don't worry," Jan said consolingly, "You'll get used to his cooking eventually."

The girl shivered, whether from dread or from illness Jan wasn't sure. "That's comforting," Annabeth mumbled under her breath.

One final heave, and the last contents of her stomach went down the drain. Sitting back on her heels, her nose crinkled in disgust. "Thank you, Miss van Dyne, but I can handle myself from here out."

Jan looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying."

"Yes, I'm sure," Annabeth replied shortly. "I would really just like to shower and go to bed."

Jan looked unconvinced but dragged Clint with her on her way out of the room. Once the door was shut soundly behind them, Annabeth let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "I can't people today."

"Miss?"

Annabeth jumped; she had forgotten about JARVIS. "It's nothin'. Just lock the door please. No one gets in unless it's an absolute emergency."

"Miss, what constitutes as an emergency may not necessarily comply with my current programming."

She waved a hand dismissively. "Use your best judgment, sugar." She froze. "Dang it, my drawl is comin' back. I need more sleep."

"Drawl, miss?"

She shrugged. "I grew up in Texas, JARVIS. It may not have a strong drawl, but whenever I'm tired or distracted it always sneaks its way in." If JARVIS had a physical body, she would be staring him down. "Not a word to anyone."

Without waiting for a response, she slipped into the bathroom. "Remember, only if its an emergency!"

Standing impatiently outside Annabeth's room, Tony Stark bounced on the balls of his feet, the little bottle of Tums in his hand jiggling along with him. "JARVIS," he started irritatingly, "Is it clear yet?"

The AI paused a second, and then responded, "Miss Rose is now in the bathroom."

"Excellent," Tony stated, before quickly entering the room, placing the stomach medicine on the nightstand before exiting. Underneath, he left a note that read:

Here's some Tums for your tummy.

Feel better soon.

Grinning as she stepped out of the shower, Annabeth sprang into what once was an oversized t-shirt from her trunk, pulling on the pj pants Jan had lent her to compensate for the lost length. Humming slightly, she paced the room as she brushed out her hair, unable to sit still for the time being. It was only when she went to set the brush down on the stand beside her bed that she noticed a small bottle of Tums and a note.

Reading it, she smiled softly. "I wonder who my mysterious benefactor is," she thought out loud.

Popping a tablet in her mouth once she was sure that the factory seal hadn't been broken ahead of time, she gazed at the note. I wonder whose handwriting it is.

After all, everyone at the mansion only seemed to type.

She glanced at the ceiling of the room. "This constituted as an emergency, buddy?"

JARVIS did not respond.

Working down in the lab, Tony blasted his music as he tinkered away at some project or another. His mind wandered, bouncing back and forth between different questions and problems. He often talked out loud to himself.

"Wonder why all the villains were quiet today… It is a Sunday. I guess even villains need holidays."

"Where is that wrench? Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum-ba-daaaaaaaaaaa!"

"JARVIS, where are those blue prints? I don't even-"

"Sir," the AI interrupted. "Miss Rose is on the piano."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "And this concerns me how?"

"I thought you would like to know, as you sight outside the door for the entirety of her playing last night."

Tony scratched his goatee. "JARVIS, love, no one likes a tattle tale."

"And no one likes condescending nicknames, sir."

Tony chuckled. "The sass is strong tonight." He gestured roughly with the screwdriver in his hand. "Pull up video of the music room, turn audio up all the way."

The blissful sound of skillful piano filled the room as Tony continued on with his experiments, simulating different ways to cross between the realms. Song after unfamiliar song was played, until she suddenly began "Canon in D" by Pachabel.

Tony paused to listen for a moment; his mother had always played this song.

Canon in D… D…

His eyes widened. That was it!