The Reluctant Hero

Curiosity - Chapter 3

     "So what do we know about her?" Fury asked. 

     Hill opened the dossier and rattled off unimportant information about the woman's past and then the very little they had about her time in Hydra. The woman's work was so discreet and seemingly unimportant that they didn't have any information on her except what came in the new files the informant procured. 

      "So basically she's a trained thief for Hydra," Natasha suggested. "Odd that she had a handler though. Seems like overkill just for a pickpocket. Do we know what, if anything, she made off with recently?"

     "It says here just some lab samples, but it doesn't specify what they were from or for. They had been in storage for a while and moved a few times. Doesn't seem like a typical Hydra move," Hill speculated. 

     "Then we need to figure out what their sudden interest is, what the samples are, and why her? Romanov is right. A handler means this woman has been a Hydra puppet for a while and we need to know what they've had her doing and why her," Fury said to everyone in the room. 

     "So I'm assuming you want me to see if I can back work the brainwashing, assuming there isn't too much damage to her mind?" Tony asked while flipping through the dossier himself.

     "Well unless you think you can charm the answers we need outta her, then yeah. We have other methods, but if she's been worked over like Barnes, then we'll probably get more answers trying to undo the damage," Fury quipped. 

     "I'll need his help. Well, I don't need his help, but this works better with him, though I'm not in love with the idea of bringing him in despite what Point Break promises," Tony rattles off in reference to Loki and Thor.

     "Well no one is asking you to marry the guy, and it's not like we'll just let him waltz about Earth on his own. Consider yourself a babysitter to both, and Stark, get me some answers soon before this all blows up in our face!" Fury emphasized as he turned to leave, done with the matter for the moment.

     After Fury exited, Bruce casually asked, "So are we treating her like a hostile or a friendly? I mean if she has a controller, she's been forced and likely tortured, just like Bucky. Does her file even say how long she's been with them or how they acquired her?"

     "No." 

     Tony tossed the file to Bruce and wondered out loud for a minute. "I mean sure it seems likely from that thing, she was probably a teenager, but no idea how or why they got her or chose her. You wrangled with her," Tony said looking to Natasha. "What was she like?"

     "It's not like we had a long chat. We were both a little occupied. She is quick-witted, spry, and willing to do whatever it takes judging on her leap two stories, despite her injuries. I liked her."

     "Have they discovered anything since she's been in the infirmary?" Steve finally asked quietly. He already sympathized with the girl based on Bucky's experience. Guilt still pulled at him for his friend and to wonder how many others suffered similar fates with no one aware or coming for them made him uneasy. 

     "You mean have they discovered she's a weapon or has three heads or something, no," Tony offered sarcastically. "They've barely been able to get the equipment to work properly on her. For some reason, she mucks up the machine's signals. I mean that's telling on its own. She's definitely had a taste of their experiments and their signature tortures, but besides a lot of scaring and healed breaks, we have nothing definite yet."

     "Do we even know her name?" Steve asked.

     "Y/N."