Lorna Dane, Polaris, hated her cell. She hated the constricting collar around her neck even more. Lorna didn't deserve to be in prison. She was just trying to help another mutant get to a safe place. One where she wouldn't be looked down upon because she was a mutant. A place that could be a home. The Mutant Underground; a place where all mutants could call home.
Lorna groaned, hitting her head against the wall behind her, a restlessness simmering under her skin. She wanted out. She needed out. She took a deep breath, reaching up to clench her fingers around the collar blocking her abilities and pulled. She tried her hardest, focusing on mentally wrapping around the metal and pulling it apart.
Blood dripped from her nose and she screamed out her frustration and pain. Through her closed eyelids, Lorna could've sworn she saw a brief sheen of green mist, but she was too tired to keep trying. Collapsing back into the wall of her cell, she breathed hard, spitting out some blood that dripped into her mouth.
How was she going to last in here? For years? She was already going crazy and it had barely been a couple weeks.
"Dane!" A guard shouted sharply making Lorna flinch in surprise. Her cell door opened, and two armed guards entered the tiny room and lifted her almost effortlessly. Not knowing what was going on, Lorna screamed and thrashed in their hold.
"Let me go!" The two guards flanking her ignored her struggles and took her to a room with a big window and a metal table inside with two uncomfortable looking metal chairs. They sat her down, her cuffs clanking harshly against the table.
Lorna wished that she could feel the hum and vibrations of the metal under her fingertips. It was like having a limb cut off.
She sat there, waiting, for what felt like hours. She tried again to access her powers, little green sparks misting around her pale fingers for a second before her collar beeped at her, giving her a short shock. "Damnit," she cursed, waning to claw at the collar again.
"Hello, Miss Dane," a deep voice echoed through the room. Her light green eyes jumped to the door. A man in all black leather with a matching leather eye patch over his left eye was standing there. Lorna stayed silent, raising a dark eyebrow. "My name is Nick Fury, and I'm about to be your best friend."
"Is that so?" She questioned, narrowing her gaze at him as he sat down across from her. "Are you going to get this collar off me?"
"I'm going to do you one better; I'm going to get you out of here," he offered.
"And how do you plan on doing that? Smuggle me under your trench coat?"
"We will be waking out the front door, Miss Dane." Her eyes narrowed again, and she tried to clamp down on the little burst of hope that bloomed in her chest.
"What's the catch?" Fury leaned forward; hands clasped in front of him on the table.
" I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger's Initiative." Lorna stayed silent as the man went on about what was at stake for the world; both normal human and mutant kind.
"I'd be out of here? I wouldn't get arrested for using my powers?" She questioned.
"As long as you don't try to kill an innocent, I don't give a fuck." She didn't need any time to think it over. If this threat was as big as Fury predicted, she could change the majority view on how mutants are looked upon by government agency's and normal, ever day humans.
"I'm in," was all Lorna said before holding out her cuffed wrists to the guard still in the room. The guard hesitated, looking at Fury.
"Sir, are you sure? She's dangerous," he tried to warn.
"I'm well aware she's dangerous, that's why she's coming with me - without handcuffs and a collar, so if you'd please stop wasting all of our mother fucking time, I'd appreciate it." Lorna was impressed with how casual yet in control he sounded. She definitely understood why Fury became the director of SHIELD. Lorna jiggled the cuffs again, and smirked when the guard made some unflattering comments about Fury's mother as he undid the cuffs. "Collar?" Fury prompted, raising a dark eyebrow over the eyepatch.
"She's going to try to kill us if that comes off and you know it," the guard protested. "Mutants deserve to be locked up." Suppressing a flinch, Lorna schooled her features and looked at Fury.
"I will not hurt either of you," she promised.
"Good enough for me," Fury shrugged. "Now, get the Goddamn collar off, now." The guard took a deep breath and leaned towards Lorna. His hand shook as he reached for the collar, passing the key over a section of the collar. It beeped twice before unlocking. Once the collar was off from around her neck, Lorna felt like she could almost cry; that was the first time she'd ever been cut off from her powers. Feeling the hum of the metal around her, she pushed out with her senses, wanting to feel as much as she could around her.
"Is there anything else?" The guard asked, voice shaking a bit as he warily looked at Lorna with badly veiled distaste.
"I highly doubt she was arrested in a prison uniform. Her personal belongings would be great." The more Fury talked the more Lorna was liking his sarcasm. The guard nodded, scurrying out the room.
"Please teach me how to do that," Lorna chuckled lowly. Fury just looked at her with his one eye, unnerving her again. Was she making a mistake?
The guard was back in only a couple minutes and he escorted her to a bathroom where she could change back into the clothes she was wearing when she was arrested. She slid on her black jeans, black band t-shirt that was so worn you couldn't even see who the artist was – though she was pretty sure it was Metallica. Maybe Iron Maiden – and slipped her black leather jacket on over the shirt. Lorna grabbed her steel-toed boots with thick, inch- high heels and slid them on and wrapped her metal bracelets back around both wrists.
She had a small make up kit in the bag she had been carrying so she quickly applied some dark eyeliner with some gray eyeshadow before deciding she was done. She looked more like herself that she had in weeks.
Exiting the bathroom, she saw more guards stationed by the door and she shot Fury a look as she made her way over to him. "They think you're going to try to kill everyone here," he supplied, bored.
"If only," was Lorna's reply as she glared at the people that had hurt her while she was in prison.
"Let's go."
They exited the building, Lorna feeling the glares being shot at her back. She resisted the urge to turn around and wave, maybe blow a kiss, but decided against it. "Where to now?"
"We're going to meet some of the team."
So far, the rest of the team were two spies; Agents Barton and Romanov. Barton didn't seem to have any issues with her, but Romanov kept giving Lorna distrustful looks. She must have had a bad run in with a mutant. Or maybe she just didn't like new people. Lorna hardly cared. If the redhead spy tried anything, she could take her down. Romanov was carrying enough metal on her that the metal manipulator could lay her out in a matter of seconds. And, oh? Was that a metal rod in her leg Lorna could feel the hum of? She thinks so.
"Oh, good, you've met," a man said, coming up behind Lorna. She turned, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson. I see you've met Hawkeye and Black Widow. Agents, this is Lorna Dane; Polaris."
"We know," Romanov replied, voice clipped. "We've seen her file."
"Lengthy read," Barton piped in. "Makes you interesting."
"Or dangerous," Romanov added, staring at her with icy eyes that could easily rival Lorna's own. The green-haired woman smirked.
"Why not both? I'm sure we've all been through some shit that's shaped us into who we are. I know for a fact that both of yours must be as colorful as mine," Lorna defended. Both spies were silent, but Romanov's eyes narrowed. Wow, she really didn't like Lorna.
"Miss Dane? Come with me. I'll show you were you'll be staying for now." Lorna nodded, and followed the man into SHIELD HQ. "Normally, trainees don't stay here, but you aren't going to be here for long. Fury has it scheduled for you to be here for two months. During that time, you will strengthen your hand-to-hand and weapon combat skills. You will train with Agents Barton and Romanov." Oh, joy, Lorna thought. "Once the two months are up, you will be moving to another facility; one headed by Professor Xavier." Lorna's eyes widened.
"You're sending me to the mutant school? I'm not a child."
"No, but we believe with Professor Xavier training you, you can become more powerful and have better control." She frowned, understanding where he was coming from, but not liking it. "Get some rest. Your training starts tomorrow." Coulson left after a sharp nod in her direction and left the room.
Lorna dropped her things on the twin bed and looked around. The room was pretty plain. White sheets with a gray comforter. Light gray walls. A small desk in the corner. A small closet that could probably hold a few outfits, if Lorna had any more. A small dresser with a lamp next to the bed, and a bathroom opposite of the closet. The bathroom was plain, too. White tiled floors, a standard shower stall, a white sink, and a toilet.
She should really talk to Fury about who was hired for internal decorating. Lorna slid off her jacket and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked down at her hands, smiling as the green mist wrapped around her fingers as she focused her energy on the steel in her boots and the metal bracelets around each wrist, and lifted.
Lorna reached the ceiling much faster than she meant to, but she still let out a laugh of pure relief after feeling her power ebbing and flowing through her, eyes closing in pure contentment.
Of course, that was broken with a knock on the door. Pale green eyes opening, Lorna lowered herself slowly, and once her feet were on the ground, she made her way to the door. She was surprised to see Romanov standing there. "May I help you?" She questioned, regarding the woman a bit coldly for earlier comments. Romanov said nothing, just handed her a bundle of clothes.
"Something to sleep in," was all the redhead said before turning. "Oh, and don't think we'll be taking it easy on you tomorrow," she added before silently moving down the hallway without a backwards glance, her red curls bouncing down her back with each movement. Lorna looked down at the clothes and saw it was a plain white tank top and some gray leggings. Nice of them, she supposed.
Lorna took a quick shower, noticing that the room came equipped with some basic bathroom necessities, like shampoo, conditioner, and a body wash. None of them had relatively pleasant scents, but they got the job done and that was all that mattered.
After getting dressed in the clothes provided by Romanov, Lorna climbed into the not-so-comfortable bed. Reaching over to turn off the lamp, she burrowed down into the thin pillows.
Well, at least it beats prison.