Voices Inside Me
An Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes FanFiction
Hey! I know, still a long time between updates, but on the bright side, I'm now on summer vacation, so I will have more time to write without worrying about sleep deprivation!
Also, a note: I have recently re-watched the DC show "Young Justice" and have fallen in love with it all over again. There may occasionally be breakout stories from this that deal with the Young Justice Team, but they would never be necessary for understanding the plot. Although, I already have a sequel for this story planned that would take place in that universe, so let me know if any of y'all would be interested in reading that story or not!
Warnings: Triggers related to depression.
Disclaimer: I do not own A:EMH.
Chapter Seven
The next few days flew by in a blur to everyone except Annabeth.
Tony had passed the task of building the girl a hearing aid to Hank Pym, because, in all honesty, Pym was better with the biological stuff than him.
Clint had scrounged up every book he could find on ASL and was trying to figure out the best possible way to teach someone something (a skill he had never been particularly proficient at before).
Thor was being, well, Thor.
Same with the Hulk.
Jan was busy working and saving the day because, hey, somebody had to do it and no one else seemed up to it.
Steve was still out there fighting crime, but that didn't stop him from giving Annabeth a pitying glance or two whenever the opportunity came his way.
T'Challa (whom Annabeth had never met before) returned. His attitude towards the girl was cool and understanding, one of duty and sympathy. He and Tony were instead working on the issue of sending Thor back to Asgard.
But Annabeth…
Her life dragged on, with only the ringing in her ears to accompany her. Music no longer flooded her life, offering her the relief from the sorrow and pain and suffering and repetition of the daily grind. Instead, she was stuck listening to the half-maniacal ramblings of an apocalyptic artificial intelligence, surrounded by people that she didn't know and couldn't even adequately communicate with. The more the communication gap increased, the less human Annabeth began to feel.
Annabeth knew how crucial having a form of communication was to the human mind. The identity of person was only known when a method was found to express it. This was proven by the fact that babies began to recognize themselves in the mirror right around the time they began to talk. True, Annabeth could (and would) write out anything she felt she absolutely had to say, and, if necessary, she could still speak (but it was unnerving, without being able to hear one's self), but…
It wasn't the same.
She didn't wake up the birds singing by her window.
She didn't hear the grandfather clocks chime the hour.
She couldn't hear Clint whistle as he cooked.
Couldn't hear the daily knock of the postman delivering fan mail.
Couldn't listen to the soothing voice of JARVIS to lure her to sleep.
Couldn't…
Couldn't…
She couldn't do anything…
Steve was growing progressively more and more worried about the poor girl.
Anna Elizabeth Rose. The whole issue was a mystery to him. He knew nothing about her past, knew nothing about what was going on in her mind. But the look in her eyes…
It was the thousand-yard stare. The look he had often seen in the eyes of battle-weary soldiers back in the forties, that horrible, despondent look that just seemed to say, Why go on? To see that look on someone so young, someone so bright, was…unnerving to say the least.
Steve knew that if something wasn't done to help the girl, that if they weren't able to stop the growing dissociation, if they weren't able to make the girl feel again, Annabeth might try to do something drastic.
Every morning, Steve would walk into the girl's room and shake her awake. There was the usual display of uncertainty and distrust in her eyes before she shook her herself fully awake and walked into the bathroom. Steve would then go down to the kitchen and begin cooking if someone else had not already. If someone was already cooking, he would sit and read the newspaper until Annabeth came down, dressed and ready to go.
Breakfast was an awkward affair. Annabeth couldn't exactly communicate efficiently with them, and none of the heroes exactly felt confident having a conversation right in front of her. Occasionally, Jan would write down a question for the girl, to which she would respond with a simple, concise, often one-word answer. Thor would occasionally boom a greeting at the girl, only to falter when the girl didn't respond, regret flashing briefly across the god's face.
After breakfast, Clint would lead the girl who-knows-where and teach her sign language. Ever since Annabeth had lost her hearing, Clint had taken to switching his hearing aid off, as a singular show of solidarity with the teenager. It helped the team realize just how truly extraordinary their teammate was. That he was such an amazing person, incredible archer, and reliable friend despite this setback truly impressed them.
Clint and Annabeth would then go to the kitchen yet again to scrounge up lunch. In actuality, Clint would quiz Annabeth on signs using gestures and written word while Annabeth prepped something for them to eat. Tony, oddly, would join them sometimes, and, miraculously, never failed to make the girl smile.
Sometime later in the afternoon, Clint would gather the team, minus one member (they switched off on who would watch Annabeth at this time. The rest of the team shared Steve's misgivings on her attitude), and teach them sign language as well. It was slow going, as Clint wasn't completely sure on how to teach adults, and Thor and Hulk were a bit of a distraction, but slowly, progress was being made.
After the first few days of this schedule, Steve noticed that as well as the growing detachment, the girl was going stir-crazy. From that point forward, the super soldier would take the girl for a run following the afternoon signing classes. These runs were enlightening, to say the least.
At first, they would just jog around the grounds, but Annabeth got continually distracted: stopping to feel the bark of an oak tree and climb to the highest bows; stopping and getting down on the ground to examine a dandelion (Steve later found out that dandelions were her "happy flowers." "How can such yellow flowers that follow the sun not be happy?" she wrote) ; and even stopping smack in the middle of the running path to watch a butterfly flutter by.
Steve quickly adjusted their route after a few days of this. Now, they would walk to Central Park and Steve would leave her on a run, guiding her with pointing fingers and sure touches. Because they were in public, Annabeth refrained herself from stopping at every little thing, but Steve still noticed the way her head tilted and her eyes spaced out as she watched as another afternoon jogger, or saw a mom pushing a stroller, or gazed at a young couple chatting happily on a bench. Steve didn't understand these glances; they were just another mystery associated with the girl. Following their run, they would walk back to the manor, with a cool-down lap around the grounds, during which Annabeth stopped as often as she pleased to do whatever fit her fancy. (Well, not whatever. Steve had forbidden her from climbing one of the older trees after she narrowly missed an harrowing fall from the top of the tree following a snapped branch).
They would then walked back in, shower and clean up, and then have dinner with the team.
A few days after Steve began taking the girl for runs, Tony began to invite her down to the lab for a few hours after dinner. Steve couldn't begin to understand what they did down there, but every time he walked down, Annabeth was smiling, messing around with the holos and touchscreens and oftentimes bouncing in place. Those were the only times that Annabeth seemed to be alive.
After around two weeks of this, the team felt they knew enough sign language to communicate with the girl. Clint surveyed the gathered heroes with a slight from on his face.
He knew that he was often seen as the immature, young hero on the Avengers, but he had faced his own fare share of trials. He knew better than anyone what the girl was feeling. He understood that drive for communication, and felt her frustration at the lack thereof.
If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he thought that this increase in communication could not come soon enough. Clint wasn't an idiot. Sure, he could be a bit obtuse and oblivious, but he had seen enough PTSD, depression, and anxiety to recognize when someone was potentially a danger to themselves.
Today was Tony's day to watch Annabeth during the sign language lesson. Quickly, Clint led the team to Tony's lab, where he was sure that the little cyborg (an affectionate term, like calling a little brother a dork or an older friend gramps) was hanging out with the genius. As Clint pushed into the lab, Annabeth was standing before a holograph with her back towards him. He watched as the girl appeared to be designing something, a suit of sorts. He caught a flash of silver and blue before Tony waved to catch his eye. "Time?" he mouthed. Clint gave him a nod.
Stark smirked before moving towards the girl. The team marveled at the sense of camaraderie between the two. Not three weeks ago, the genius barely acknowledged the girl, and yet now, there was an undeniable trust built between them.
Clint watched in strange satisfaction as Tony gently put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder to draw her attention. Unable to hold in a smirk of his own, Clint watched as Tony signed, Hello. How are you? He eyes lit up, as she shakily signed back at the man.
Communication. Finally.
Tony couldn't put his finger on when he actually seemed to connect with the girl. After Clint initially led the girl away after the loss of her hearing, Tony was at a loss of what to actually do. It at first stated with just having lunch occasionally with her and Clint, bringing a notepad up to communicate with the two of them. (Tony wasn't going to pretend that Clint turning off his hearing aid didn't annoy him; not being able to speak directly to your teammate in the middle of a supervillain toe-to-toe was infuriating). Tony quickly noticed that Annabeth was very sharp; her mind moved almost as fast as Tony's, and she was pretty sarcastic, much to his and Clint's delight. Before they knew it, Clint had become the brunt of many jokes. He later told Tony that he didn't mind, so long as it kept that blank stare off the girls' face. Not long after, he began inviting her down to the lab. If he was being honest with himself, Tony was doing it at first because he wanted to figure out the true extent of her mental abilities, but Tony soon found himself enjoying the company.
Hank was wrapped up in his own lab, fixing up a hearing aid, and so Tony's intelligent discussions were pretty much limited to the most random topics with Annabeth. The girl had a thousand ideas and questions buzzing around her mind. Often, they would randomly stop in the middle of whatever project they were working on and have JARVIS google whatever random questions popped into Annabeth's mind, some of which were "Who invented glasses? Like, did they expect the science behind it or was it just like, some random dude who held up some crystals to his eyes and was like, 'whoa, dude, you need to check this out!'?" and "Just how many religions are there in the world?".
Annabeth brought a kind of innocence into the lab. Sure, the girl had seen more than her fair share in her nearly fifteen years of life, but she still had a kind of purity to her.
Tony was also very happy with her ability to keep multiple projects running. From what he understood from their written communication, this ability came in part from reading multiple books at once, developing the needed ability to keep the ideas separate and yet connected in her head. As of now, he and the girl were currently working closely on three projects: developing a glove that would allow her to type and then project it through holographs to the intended audience; working on Tony's multiple dimensions project for Thor (surprisingly, the girl was invaluable in this project; she was right at the age where she knew what was possible but still had an incredible imagination; nothing was beyond the reach of her mind); and then, finally, a little pet project that served as a bonding point between the two that would most likely never be completely done.
Seeing the girl's face light up when Tony signed to her would most likely always be one of Tony's favorite memories. It helped remind him of why he became a hero in the first place; not for the thrill, but to protect and save innocence. Throughout the rest of the day, their communication had some rough bumps here and there as one would sign something odd by mistake and the other couldn't sign back from laughing so hard. Eventually, however, T'Challa came down, and, with his aid, Tony was able to finish the design for the dimensional portal.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye at Annabeth, he noticed her wrapped up completely in designing the special project. He watched her carefully eying every aspect of the design, making the smallest, minute changes. Shaking his head, he buzzed the team down, waiting for their take on the completion of the portal.
Quickly, the team filed in, with Thor and Hulk being very careful not to smash anything. Tony noticed Hank lugging in a small box, and curiosity overcame him. Tony made his way directly over to the scientist.
"What's in the box?" he questioned.
Dr. Pym gave him a tired grin. "Preliminary hearing aids. You mind if I speak to the team first?"
Tony raised a single eyebrow but motioned Hank forward. Clearing his throat, he made eye contact with each member of the team before beginning. "In this box I have the first preliminary designs for a hearing aid designed to help Annabeth. Even with these aids, she'll only be able to hear in one ear."
Tony quickly noted the frowns found on most of the team's faces.
"Also, at this point in the design, she'll only be able to hear as long as the speaker is wearing a microphone directly linked to her aid." He opened the box and began passing out small, black pieces of tech. "This is a modified design of our current comm units that are hooked up to the hearing aid. If you want to talk to Annabeth, make sure that your comm is on." Again, some frowns of disapproval located around the room.
Hank sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I know that it isn't an ideal situation, but on short notice, it's the best that I could come up with."
Carefully, so as not to startle the girl, he drew Annabeth's attention away from her design, ignoring the widening of her eyes as she noticed for the first time that the entire team was gathered in the lab. Hank grabbed a final piece of tech out of the box and, moving slowly still, began to fit the earpiece onto the girl gently. He eyes were wide with confusion that didn't abate when Clint signed, wait, to her. Pym quickly finished fitting the hearing aid, switch a switch, and then spoke slowly and clearly. "Annabeth. Can you hear me?"
A smile spread across her face. "Yes."
That smile quickly fell when she couldn't hear herself. Tony noticed the small wince from Pym as he drew the final piece of tech from the box, a tiny microphone like those used by newscasters, and clipped it onto the girl's shirt. "How's that?"
"I don't kno- Hey! I can hear myself!" The smile returned.
As Hank explained to her the same spiel that he had given to the team, Tony drew the rest of their attention to his own design. Nodding to T'Challa, he began explaining the portal, only to be put to a stop by Cap's mention that he had seen the device before.
Stunned silence swept across the room, save for Hank and Annabeth, and quickly plans were made on how best to approach the manor. Unfortunately, every Avenger would be needed, so Annabeth…
After the meeting was adjourned, Tony spoke to the girl. "The whole team is needed on this mission."
Annabeth looked at him, her head titled, her expression thoughtful. "You don't know what to do with me. For the past couple of weeks, I have wormed my way into the team's compassions, but there is still the small fact that Ultron could take over at any time. You are stuck between your growing trust in me and your need to protect people."
Tony sighed. Sometimes, the girl was too bright for her own good. "That's pretty much it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I know that our personal project is pretty cool, but that's most likely not going to be put into development anytime soon. So that means that you most likely will have to remain under house arrest until the team returns."
A little bit of the light left her eyes, but Tony tried to pretend that he hadn't noticed. The girl nodded. "I understand," she responded, biting her lip slightly before continuing. "I won't put up any fight."
Smirking, Tony ruffled her hair, ignoring the indignant squawk that accompanied the motion. "Good girl. Now, how about some cookies before bed?"
She smiled and grabbed his arm, dragging him quickly to the kitchen.
A few days later, as Annabeth was running around the mansion, she noticed JARVIS flashing a light to get her attention. There had been a few bugs with connecting the AI to her hearing aid, and so they had been forced to rely on visuals. She quickly found the closest screen and read the message that he had prepared for her.
THE AVENGERS SUCCEEDED IN DEALING WITH THE PORTALS, HOWEVER…
The text paused, and Annabeth motioned impatiently, willing the text to scroll on.
I CAN NO LONGER DETECT THEIR LIFE FORCES. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE ON EARTH ANY LONGER.
Annabeth froze. Her mind whirled, but soon most of the confusion, most of the anger, most of the fear, had fallen from her face, leaving behind only cold calculations. "JARVIS," she stated calmly, her voice completely cold. "Begin production on Project Belle, immediately if possible."
Tony was having a rough week. Getting stuck in another dimension, trying to gain the trust of it's inhabitants, forming armor out of a substance he had never worked with, fighting magic… He was pretty done.
Which was partly why he was so anxious to get home. After finishing Loki, the team had had to stay for the mandatory three days of feasting in Asgard. Tony really just wanted to get home into his own lab.
And of course, there was the manner of Annabeth. Tony was trying not to let his anxiety about the girl become too apparent, he did have a reputation to keep up after all, but she had been left on her own for a week. Who knows what she could have gotten up to?
Finally, he and the rest of the Avengers were sent back to earth. Arriving in the mansion, they found Annabeth lounging in her room, reading her book. JARVIS had not alreted her to their arrival per Clint's request, and the team all laughed at her startled face when he tapped her on the shoulder. At her eager questions, the Avengers told them all that had transpired in the other realms. Her smile grew and grew, and she constantly was asking questions and interrupting the story. The night was growing old when the team left her room.
On his way out, Tony was moving to close the door when a glint of silver and blue shoved in the corner caught his eye. Annabeth saw where he was looking and shifted guiltily in her seat. Making sure that the rest of the team was down the hall, so as not to embarrass or overwhelm her, Tony sat square to her, his voice betraying the seriousness of the situation. "Why is what looks to be Project Belle sitting in the corner?"