A/N; Okay, just to clarify, using the phrase 'what the hell?' as an example.

For this chapter and onwards;

- the writing in italics are Daphne's thoughts. Or Steve's, depending on the change in perspective. Eg: what the hell? (Or when someone emphasises something; "what the hell?")

- the speech in bold is the creepy voice in her head. Eg: "what the hell?"

- the bold, italicised writing, inside the square brackets, are the flashbacks. Eg:[what the hell?]

Hope this made sense. It sounded better in my head.

"Maybe I have brain damage..."

Stark Penthouse. Day. Daphne

The Avengers entered Tony's penthouse, searching for Loki and finding him inside a small crater, looking like utter crap. He was covered in dust and had a multitude of cuts and bruises, groaning out in obvious discomfort and pain. Daphne looked over towards The Other Guy.

"You did this?" She asked, pride lingering in her voice.

The giant, green man nodded his head, grinning widely. "Hulk smash puny God," he boomed.

The mutant woman laughed loudly. "Good job, Hulky!" She praised him. "Fist bump." She held up a fist, waiting for him to reply.

The Hulk lifted his fist and carefully bumped it against hers, being careful not to break any of her bones. They both grinned at each other before averting their attention to the beat-up Asgardian.

Loki slowly raised himself up by his elbows, looking at the team of superheroes. "If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink."

"Yeah man, you're gonna need it," Daphne scoffed at the God of Lies and Mischief.

"Pathetic mortals," he grumbled.

"It's 'pathetic mortals that kicked your measly little ass' actually. You might wanna get your facts right." She smiled innocently, though there was an underlying challenge in her expression.

Steve coughed to cover his laugh while the others smiled at Daphne's attitude. Thor lifted his brother up and restrained him, making sure he couldn't escape.

"So," she started, clapping her hands together. "Time for some shawarma."

"What about him?" Clint spat out, gesturing towards Loki.

"Tie him up, gag him, fly him to the moon. I don't care. I'm hungry and I need food." She skipped towards the lift, pressing the button that would take them down.

The lift door opened and the group stepped inside. The elevator groaned under the weight of the Hulk, Thor and muscled super- soldier, but held firm for the silent journey downwards.

"All we need now is some tacky music and this'll be a scene out of a really bad movie," Daphne stated dryly.

"Man, you're cranky when you're hungry," Tony observed playfully.

"Yeah, or maybe it's the fact that a building fell on top of me. Maybe I have some kind of brain damage."

"You sure you didn't have brain damage to begin with?" The billionaire asked, chuckling.

She laughed with him as they reached the bottom level of the tower. The doors slid open to reveal a tall, dark haired man. She glanced up at his face and almost gasped out loud. His eyes were pitch black with no whites. He smiled at the group, but his eyes travelled towards Daphne, sending chills down her spine. She mentally screamed at herself, her survival instincts wanting to take action.

They all stepped out of the elevator as the mystery man stepped inside. She turned her head to glance at him, seeing that he was already looking at her. His eyes were brown. They were normal.

"See you soon, Daphne," an ominous male voice resonated around her skull.

He continued to stare at her until the door closed completely.

What the hell?!

She had a calm and controlled exterior, but inside she was freaking out. Did he just speak inside her head? Despite his freaky eyes, she found the man vaguely familiar. She frowned, straining to remember.

[Daphne felt a prickling sensation run down her spine and turned, scanning the area quickly. Directly across the road from her was a tall man, dressed all in black with sunglasses on. Through the shades, she could swear that he was staring right at her.]

He was the man she had seen when Phil had recruited her. A feeling of pain stabbed at her heart when she thought of Phil, her eyes stinging.

[Glancing at the battle in front of her, she caught a glimpse of someone inside a wrecked building, staring at her through the rubble. He was gone as suddenly as he appeared.]

The same man had been looking at her inside the building that had collapsed on top of her. She swallowed heavily, her senses spiking with fear. Why? Why had he shown an interest?

Was he one of the mutant-haters? But he must have some kind of power. Nobody normal could disappear that quickly.

She looked over towards the other Avengers, who were walking next to her, down the rubble-filled street. She didn't even realise they had made it outside.

The group didn't seem perturbed or suspicious of the man, which means they didn't see his black eyes or hear his voice. Maybe she was seeing things.

Oh, that's just brilliant. I'm crazy. Yay! A free one-way ticket to a mental institution. Maybe I do have brain damage.

Her thoughts consumed her so completely that she didn't hear someone repeatedly call her name, until a hand made its way onto her shoulder.

"Daph?" A concerned voice asked.

She glanced up to see a worried-looking Steve. "Yeah?" She replied with fake enthusiasm. Daphne realised that they were outside of the shawarma joint.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course. I was just daydreaming."

She didn't know exactly why she lied. Probably because she wanted more evidence before she started crying 'wolf!'. She didn't want to seem crazy to her team mates.

His facial expression showed that he didn't believe her, but thankfully, he didn't push it. She smiled softly at him, and entered the restaurant.

Shawarma restaurant. Day. Steve

The team were currently sat inside the shawarma restaurant, waiting for their food to be delivered. Steve sat at the head of the table with Daphne one side of him and, a now human, Bruce the other. Stark and then Thor were next to the Doctor and the two assassins were next to Daphne. Loki's arms had been bound and his mouth was gagged. He had a look of indifference as he slumped in the chair next to Thor.

Steve had noticed that the young brunette mutant had been acting very strange since they had left Stark Tower. She had become quiet and withdrawn, seeming to be floating around in her own thoughts. He assumed that the scale of battle had finally caught up to her.

A waiter had brought their shawarma up to the table. It looked like a type of wrap with an assortment of fillings. There seemed to be many different meats inside, mixed with herbs. Tony was the first to take a bite and moaned in, what Steve hoped was, liking for the food.

Daphne chuckled at the billionaire, taking a bite of her own.

"Mmm, this is like heaven in a wrap! Tony, you are a food God."

He laughed with her. "One of my many talents."

After that, the group had been pulled into separate conversations. Clint, Natasha and Thor were talking amongst themselves, probably discussing battle strategies. Tony and Bruce were speaking about some scientific experiments. The only ones who remained silent were Steve and Daphne.

The brunette seemed to consider something, opening her mouth before closing it, repeatedly.

"That man. The one inside the elevator, I mean. Did he seem strange to you?" She asked him slowly.

He frowned at her question, wondering what had brought it forward. He thought back to the man they had bumped into, when they were inside the elevator. He seemed normal.

"No. Why?" He questioned, slightly confused.

"I don't know. He just seemed really familiar to me. Never mind." She sounded and looked a bit downhearted at his answer, making Steve even more curious.

"Come on, Daph. What is it?"

Her faced went blank before she queried playfully. "Do you think I have brain damage?"

He couldn't help but laugh. "I am sure that you don't."

They smiled at each other, silently eating their food. Underneath the smile though, Steve's worry had escalated. Daphne wouldn't put that much thought into something as trivial as a familiar person. Something was wrong, and he was determined to find out.

Daphne

"Join us... You could be so much more."

Daphne excused herself from the table with the explanation of needing to go to the bathroom. She schooled her features into one of comfort but showing a tinge of the tiredness that she felt. She could feel Steve's stare on her back as she walked away, knowing that he knew something was wrong.

She entered the bathroom and went straight to the sinks. She rolled up the sleeves on her suit, splashing water on her face.

"So much more..."

Daphne looked up at the mirror above the sink and yelped loudly. Her eyes were pitch black like the weird guy's were. That, coupled with the scar on her face, made her look uncharacteristically evil. Like she craved destruction. She shook her head, her breathing speeding up. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten hoping that she was hallucinating. On the number ten, she opened her eyes and sighed in relief when she noticed they were their normal ice-blue again.

"What is happening to me?" She whispered to herself.

"You're becoming more."

"Who are you?" She demanded, looking around the bathroom frantically.

"Someone like you. Someone more."

"More than what?"

"More than ordinary... Extraordinary."

Extraordinary? Like a mutant? Her brain rattled through suggestions.

"Correct."

"How-how did you do that? Know what I'm thinking, I mean."

"How do you create true illusions? I was born like this, like you. We have a higher calling, Daphne."

"I don't understand."

"I'll help you to understand," a voice behind her answered.

Daphne froze. She turned around slowly and saw the guy from the elevator. He seemed around her age. His brown hair was short and neat and he had a scar on the left side of his throat. He was wearing a suit and could've been confused with a normal, successful businessman... If it wasn't for his eyes. Those unsettling coal-black eyes. He had a mischievous smirk on his face, as if enjoying her reaction of fear.

"My name is Adrian Garnett," he informed, his voice low.

"You seem to already know mine," Daphne replied, seeming more confident than she felt. "Now answer this; what do you want?"

"You. Your abilities. You'd make an amazing contribution to my little group." He circled her, like a vulture.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Your group?"

"Yes. It's a little hush-hush but I believe you can keep a secret."

She kept silent, confused and slightly fearful.

"It's a group of mutants," he elaborated. "Mutants wanting to make a difference to the world. I'm sure you'd like to help, right?"

Daphne scoffed. "Well, that depends on the difference you want to make."

He just smiled, drawing closer to her. He leaned in, inhaling the scent of her hair, grinning wider against her neck as she stiffened.

"I'm sure you've always dreamed of a world without humans persecuting us for what we are. Without them wanting us dead for being different."

"Where are you going with this?" She asked quietly.

"Change is coming, Daphne. And I'd like you on my side."

Her brain was buzzing with thoughts. She stared at him intently, trying to influence the truth from him.

"Too bad. I don't trust you."

"You will in time," he said in a reassuring voice.

"And if I don't?" She challenged him, unsure if that was a wise decision.

He moved closer so his lips brushed her ear. "I'll convince you," he whispered.

Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed hold of her right forearm, squeezing it tightly. Daphne glanced down at his hand in confusion. Slowly, a fiery sensation ran through her body and the smell of flesh burning filled the air. She stuggled to get out of his grasp, imagining him spontaneously falling asleep. Nothing happened...

"The funny thing is that I'm immune to your illusions, darling." He grinned at her, laughing as she writhed in agony, trying not to yell out in, before completely letting go.

Daphne looked down at her arm in horror, seeing a black hand-print scorched onto her skin. She gasped out in pain as the cool air hit the burn.

"I'll be in touch. Oh, and I wouldn't tell your friends about that, if I were you," he said, gesturing towards the mark. "I have an group of powerful mutants willing to do anything... Remember that."

A flash of black, flickering flames and smoke engulfed him, and, as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone. Daphne rubbed the sizzling burn, wincing in discomfort.

Well, shit. What have I gotten myself into now?

End of this little chapter. Sorry that it took me so long. I kept on changing and changing it, and I'm sorta happy with this one.

I've also made it so Loki and Thor go back to Asgard the day after the Battle of New York. Anything after that will be of my own plot. Whooo!

Hope you liked it. Thank you to all who've reviewed, followed or favourited either me or the story. It's very appreciated.

Love you all,

-Jess xo