It only took a matter of ten minutes for her to succumb to the intensity of the silence. Peering closer at her surroundings, she eyed the TV remote on a table, out of her reach. She exhaled and reached out, and even though she was rusty, summoning the remote was easy enough.
Turning on the TV, she flicked through the surplus of channels and eventually settled on the news. Even if it were doleful, she would be glad to think of something other than herself for a while.
"Five days have passed in complete radio silence following reports of the Avengers' Quinjet flying over Luxembourg. Many on social media speculate that this is related to Zero, who was confirmed to have been taken by Hydra agents on January 18th," the blonde female reporter stated.
Zero?
"The young hero and their sidekick took the world by storm when a high school student posted video footage online, showcasing their efforts to save those under fire during the disastrous events in Harlem."
Footage on the side of the screen showed her deflecting the missiles, with Theo tackling an agent in the background.
Her mouth dropped. "Zero."
Theo couldn't stop himself from exiting his pendant in a golden flash, taking the form of his emerald dragon. His face settled into a silent scowl. "Did they just call me a sidekick?"
A pit grew in her stomach. What if she were seen with the Avengers in the future? It wouldn't take a genius to put one and one together. What else did the public know?
Beneath her panic, she was relieved that her past self had the common sense to pull her coat's hood over her head. Her complete identity was still under wraps. The video ended as the hooded Zero swiped her hand in the air, causing the phone to be yanked from the user's grip.
"The idiot," she groaned. Of course, the stupid phone survived.
"Users online deduced that the young hero's abilities consist of gravity manipulation and force field generation. They named her Zero, a title that quickly gained popularity worldwide," she explained, a hint of exasperation in her voice, clearly not the first time she had reported this.
Jayden scrunched her nose. It could've been worse. The internet could've deemed her something like Gravity Girl or Gravitation or another on-the-nose title like Captain America.
"Two weeks ago, the Avengers confirmed that they were aware of Zero before her capture and validated many troubling speculations regarding the hero's age," the news anchor continued.
She relaxed. Most of it was still speculation.
"During Zero's capture, she managed to save and protect over a dozen civilians. Unfortunately, others were not so fortunate; three weeks later, we can now confirm that forty-nine civilians perished in the attack, including eight children. Additionally, fifty-three people were injured across the seven affected areas of the city. Families of the victims are-"
She understood the words, but had trouble digesting them. Death, death and death. And all for what? Because a twisted cult desired her?
"The city can only hope to rebuild and heal from this horrific attack that should never have happened. America looks to the Avengers for answers: why did Hydra attack so egregiously? What has become of Zero? How could such an event occur despite the Avengers' promises of protection?"
"Thank you, Amanda. If you would like to hear more about the victims of the attack, then go to Channel 7. Now onto sports, where the-"
She numbly flicked to Channel 7, which showed another reporter with a ginger-haired man in front of a crumbled building.
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
