Unforeseen¹

Chapter 27- False realities

17th February 2015

It wasn't until midday that Jayden awoke. She would later find out that JARVIS had informed the Avengers of her restless night, so they allowed her to sleep. Doctor Cho had given her the all-clear to move back up to the penthouse under close supervision for any further unlikely complications.

Once she forced her lunch down, Pepper and Tony gave her clothes to change into. While they were comfortable, they felt foreign; their soft material and bright colours rubbed her the wrong way. Similar to the looks of concern many would pass to her, they sat uncomfortably as though they no longer belonged on her damaged frame.

Stepping into the elevator, both adults finally asked the question on their minds since she awoke: where was Theo? They were met with silence as she stubbornly refused to answer, and their worried gazes dug into the top of her head for the entirety of the elevator ride. As much as she tried to ignore it; it quickly became unnerving and constricting.

She wasn't sure what to do when they arrived at the penthouse, everything was identical to when she was last there; from the extravagant skyline of New York to the small but notable deep scratch on the living room table where Theo had once landed on it too harshly.

Her room felt as welcoming as it did alien; the half-built Lego Millennium Falcon was still sitting on her desk, but perhaps with a little more dust, the sun shone in the same way through her windows and setting everything ablaze, Mini Thor still dutifully stood guard on her bedside table to fend against any unruly dreams.

She had forgotten how little time had passed; three weeks that crawled like an eternity. She would be correct in thinking Hydra was Hell for so many nightmares to be crammed into a measly twenty-one days.

Her gaze landed on a stuffed elephant hugging a black bear. She only stared at them for a moment before ripping them from the bed and marched them to the closet. She threw them in with some force and slammed the door shut. Sliding to the floor, she clutched her knees and bit hard into her lip to quell the bubble building in her throat.

"It doesn't matter," she hissed to herself. "The dream is dead."

Curls and J. Curly and JJ. They were supposed to be mirrors of each other. They were supposed to have a joyous reunion, one filled with warm embrace. Jayden was supposed to gift the elephant as a welcoming present, a token of celebration. Instead, her friend now saw her as an enemy, she would rip the toy rather than cherish it. The dream was dead. She wouldn't look at them, she couldn't.

Tony was by the doorway for a mysterious amount of time, and she flatly regarded him before returning her glare to her knees. He wouldn't have it, his shadow blocked out the ray of light and gently but firmly, guided her onto her feet and back to the living room. The silence was melancholic, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Stiffly sitting in her usual spot on the couch, she reminisced on the last she was there. She remembered rushing around the apartment, searching for her missing English homework. Pepper was in the kitchen, admonishing her for leaving it so late. Eventually, she had to accept the loss, leave it behind, and prepare herself for her teacher's reprimand. Miss Mandler ended up forgetting about it altogether, more concerned with Elizabeth's soaked, shaking frame from a lack of a raincoat.

In almost every aspect, she was happy. Life was good. Her abilities were better than ever, she was settling well in school and making a good friend in Oliver. She was almost confident in knowing that she finally belonged somewhere.

All it took was a little of three weeks in Hydra to render her views opposite. She despised her powers, she felt alienated and everything was broken, even the things that she believed would remain entirely fixed. Was it solely her fault? She couldn't be sure, but she knew the shambles of her and Theo's relationship most certainly was.