Lieutenant - Daughter of the Captain

Chapter 9.0 - Tesseract

They've opened multiple containers, all proving to be nothing too exciting.

Steve pulled open one that held pistols and other handheld weapons. While he bent down to grab the lid again, she managed to tuck the smallest into the back of her pants without him noticing.

After a few more minutes, the came to a few crates in the corner. Steve froze suddenly, having just pulled the lid open. Confused, as she was too short to see inside, she reached her arm in and removed one of the guns. It was bulky, and heavier than any gun she'd used. It was almost like it was an older model.

Then she spotted it.

The skull...the tenticles...all in sickening red ink...

The gun clattered to the ground, and she took a few steps back.

Steve watched as she stared at it, her breaths were heavy and her eyes zoned out. Slowly, trying not to startle her, he picked up the gun and placed it next to the container, out of her line-of-sight.

He recalled Fury's words when he first brought him to her room.

"She had some sort of panic attack before she got here, triggering a fight or flight response..."

Fight or flight...the soldier thought, before closing the container and crouching a few feet away from her. Her breathing was becoming more erratic by the second.

"Hey, kid?" He whispered, once again afraid of startling ber, but hoping to get her out of her head. He had no idea what kind of horrors seeing that symbol would've opened up from her past, but he was sure they were ones she didn't wanna relive.

But she didn't hear him. The images kept coming. Every weapon, every agent, every instance that she had seen that symbol...worn that symbol...she recalled them all. She seemed afraid on the outside.

But she was furious.

Sure, she had known that despite claiming to be the good guys and believing what they were doing was right, there was a chance S.H.I.E.L.D. would be just as bad as H.Y.D.R.A..

However, she had allowed herself to hope, just this once. And she told herself that if she was wrong, she would escape just like she had before.

But to be so wrong.

So see those weapons, with those symbols, sitting in a locked room.

She of all people knew that nothing good came from H.Y.D.R.A., so she believed nothing good would come from using their technology. She had hoped S.H.I.E.L.D. would know that too. She had hoped they would be her fresh start. Her freedom.

To be so wrong...

"...Kid?" Steve's voice finally broke her stupor. She felt the cramp in her fists from how tight she curled them, and the intense crease between her brows. This was the most emotion she had shown in front of...well...anybody. Steve looked concerned.

After a few moments of blue staring into blue, rather than acknowledging him, she turned on her heel and began walking towards the entrance.

"Shit..." Steve muttered, grabbing the H.Y.D.R.A. weapon and following after her.

*************

"What's phase 2?"

"I'll tell you what phase two is..." a small voice interrupted from the doorway, and the three men turn to see the familiar young girl standing in the doorway with Steve walking in the room passed her. Her expression was filled with unrestrained disappointment, almost to the point of disgust. And it was aimed directly at Nickolas Fury.