Flawed Minds

Chapter Three

Subject 88 - P.O.V

An uncomfortably bright light greeted me as I struggled to open my eyes, nothing would focus and my head was pounding. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, trying to take a look around but I was really disoriented, I felt as though I was spinning. The first thing that I noticed was that I was strapped to yet another chair, but I didn't bother to struggle; I could feel that I had a bandage around my shoulder, and a pulsing ache coming from under it. I didn't have a chance to take in much else as more pain shot through my whole body, the electrical crackle loud in the otherwise silent room. It passed and I sat there breathing heavily, my headache worsening; but curiously the pain was noticeably not as bad. Confused, I looked around at my surroundings, a large circular room with one thick glass window all the way round, so that I could easily see there was no one outside. I let myself almost relax for a millisecond before I noticed-

"Who are you!?" I yelled, if it weren't for the restraints I would have jumped out of my chair in fear. A man was sitting in a chair opposite me and had bolted upright in surprise. He was large and muscular with blonde braided hair, and he wore strange armor with a bright red cape. I noticed a giant hammer at his feet, and was stunned when I looked up and met twinkling blue eyes in a warmly smiling face.

"Ah! My lady is awake!" He announced aloud to apparently no one. "Forgive me for startling you, I had intended to keep an eye on you but it seems I must have taken a nap." He chuckled, and it was a nice wholesome sound that I was unfamiliar with. "My name is Thor, God of Thunder, I'm sure you've heard of me," He stated proudly, now standing with his hands on his hips. I gaped in disbelief.

"You're Thor?" I managed to get out, and he nodded. My mind raced with concern as I realized I hadn't recognized him; there was something wrong with me. All of a sudden another surge of electricity passed through me and I cried out. Noticing Thor had stepped toward me, I tried to warn him from coming near but he ignored me and kneeled lightly grasping one of my hands in his without even flinching, which made the pain die down even more to the point I felt I could work through it. The confusion must have been very visible on my face.

"I can help you by absorbing some of this lightning while it affects you, And Stark built this chair to further increase your comfort- I believe it is supposed to act like a conductor and to store the energy- or something like that. I am not very good with technical things" He explained brightly.

"Stark?" I asked. "Tony Stark?" Thor nodded, still smiling. I know that name too. I hesitated for a second before continuing. "I've heard a lot about him from the people who- who worked around me. They didn't often have anything kind to say, and when they did it was when they were talking about stolen designs," Thor leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"I think he is probably used to that by now," He winked, and I let out a small laugh. The sound was foreign to me- I couldn't remember the last time that I had laughed. This was very strange, I hadn't any true experience of kindness and didn't know how to react, didn't know how to trust. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I was asked a question that took me off guard. "What is your name, my lady?" I just stared at him for a moment, also unable to remember the last time I was asked about my name, let alone the last time someone used it. I looked at the floor and guardedly decided on the label I had been given for over a year.

"Subject 88," I mumbled. Thor paused for a moment, then gently rephrased his question.

"My lady, I meant what is your given name, before that one was given to you?" I looked up again and met his eyes, then sighed. I fought to bring memories to the forefront of my mind.

"My name is Nova... Yeah, I think I remember my parents being astronomers," I mused quietly with a hint of anger. "But I don't really like it, and not many people call me that anymore- in fact nobody does." He broke into another warm smile.