Ash Blackheart: The Blackheart

Meeting the Team

By the end of our long flight I had learned a little bit about my traveling companions, or captors, whatever you want to call them. They were apart of a team called the Avengers, what they avenge I didn't care to hear. The man who had been healing me was called Doctor Stephen Strange, but Tony told me to just call him The Wizard. Tony had to fall through an infinite loop for a while for that. Tony's full name was Tony Stark, and they called him Iron Man whenever he wore armor. Steve was the easiest to get along with. Both Dr. Strange and Tony called him Cap, short for Captain America. Whenever he and Tony argued, which was a lot, Tony just called him Rogers in a serious voice. When we reached our destination, I was asleep on the stretcher, my backpack in my arms. There wasn't much I could do anyway. Cap woke me when we landed, and helped me out. We were on the top of a tall tower in the middle of a city. An Asian woman wearing a light blue smock approached me. 

"Come, I need to finish healing your side." She told me, beckoning. I followed her. What choice did I have? I had a gaping hole in my side, and was on some strange planet somewhere in a separate universe stuck with a bunch of people who all thought I was very powerful. Clutching my backpack straps, I followed her down a hall and up a flight of stairs. I decided to try my luck with her as soon as the door was shut to the small room we were in.

"I need your help. They kidnapped me, and I don't know where I am." She just chuckled.

"You're safe, don't worry. Tony can be a bit of an ass sometimes, but trust me, he means well. We heard about you from an outside source, and that people are tracking you, to kill you for your power. So Tony sent Etat to keep an eye on you till he could come get you to safety." I sighed. 

"I keep telling people. I'm not powerful. If I was don't you think I would have avoided getting shot?" I asked, exasperated at how incredibly dense everyone seemed. The nurse shrugged, pushing me back on a table, and pulling up my shirt.

"Listen honey, this will all straighten itself out, just lay still while I fix this." I sighed and stared at the ceiling, allowing my brain to drift away into comic land as I made up stories in my head. 

"Kid. Hey kid, wake up." I sat up, and nearly bashed my forehead with Tony's. He handed me a cheeseburger and began to walk away. "Cummon kid, we're ready for you." I sighed again and looked into my back pack to find my water. Someone had obviously been through it. The glasses case was on the top. I opened it. Etat was inside. I put him on and followed Tony, eating the burger. 

"Etat, record this meeting or whatever I'm going to." I whispered.

"Alright, Ashley." He replied. At least he's useful for something. I thought as we entered a room filled with people sitting in chairs in a wide circle. At the head was a bald, black man with an eye patch and a long trench coat.

"Well, it's about damn time." He said, fixing his one eye on me. This guy is a nut. I thought resisting the urge to take a step back. "Do you know how hard it is to find someone like you on a separate universe?" I just stood there awkwardly, a half finished burger in my hand, and Etat on my eyes. He raised his eyebrow and I shrugged, taking another bite. He sighed, and I looked around the circle. Everyone had a name tag under their chair, which helped me identify them.

"Why am I here? I was just fine, before you kidnapped me." I asked, finishing the burger. Tony raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"Fury here thinks we need your help." A woman with a heavy accent on my right said. Her tag called her Wanda. The man with the eye patch, Fury, rolled his one eye. 

"I know you're tiny little universe hasn't really dealt with any sort of space shit like we have, but this new threat isn't overlooking anyone." 

"Fury, watch your language, she's a child." Steve said quietly. Fury turned to look at him with the most sarcastic look I had ever seen.

"She's seventeen you motherfucker. Now, kid, what's your name?"

"Ashley Victor." I murmured, feeling tension rise in the room. Before Fury could speak, another black man, Rhode spoke up.

"Listen Ashley, I know this might be different for you, but we just destroyed this immensely evil guy named Thanos, and now an even bigger threat is coming. We barely made it through Thanos, so Fury decided to try and find more powerful people to add to this team for when this bigger threat comes." My mouth went dry. They were obviously all fighters.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not powerful? If I was, don't you think I would have stood up to the people who tried to murder me on my own planet?" I snapped, exasperated at their stupidity. They all glanced at each other.

"It doesn't have to be a super power." A red haired young woman spoke up. "Take Tony for an example. He just has high tech weapons."

"So do you Nat. Look kid, I know revealing yourself can be uncomfortable, but it's for the greater good here." Tony said sipping something from a glass cup. How deaf can they be?  I asked myself, taking a deep breath. 

"Listen, if you think I have any sort of super power or skill or something like that, your wrong!" I snapped. "I don't have anything."

"This would not be a good time to argue." Etat whispered in my ear. Fury raised his eyebrow.

"You know what, I don't care what you think. If you won't help us, should we put you on the side of our enemies?" I shook my head, and before I could respond, he spoke again. "If you won't tell us, I'll find out. I'm good at that. Wanda, read her mind." I looked at the other woman, who kept her face blank. Red light began to twist away from her fingers towards me. Some of the people shifted uncomfortably in their seats, but didn't speak.

"Fury, no, she's just a kid. Don't you understand how hard this could be, give her time!" Steve snapped. 

"Yeah, and for gosh sakes watch your language." Tony put in sarcastically with a smirk. The light was reaching towards my head. I turned and ran.