Misunderstood

Twenty-Three

Sophie stood at the end of the table in the conference room. Bruce, Pepper, Happy and Tony were the only ones that knew of her past, but she wanted to tell the others.

'Thank you for coming in. I know you will all have questions, which I will answer after..'.. She took a deep breath, focusing on Bruce... 'Tony and I grew up together, our fathers were founders of SHIELD. As kids, we were inseparable, brother as sister is what we called each other. When I was 9, I began suffering with headaches, nosebleeds. I'd collapse, black out. My parents took me to a specialist who found that I had an inoperable brain tumour, gave me less than a year..'

She shifted on her feet, feeling anxious... 'My father and Howard..'.. She nodded towards Tony... 'Had began to run tests, experiments on me to see if anything would help. My mother was their assistant, she wanted to do anything they could to save me. They have me so many different injections, ran different experiments on me, that something triggered..'

She took a deep breath... 'I don't remember exactly what happened, but I remember they did one experiment on me, and I was in so much pain with my head, I started screaming. Next thing I know, I wake up in a glass cell, only to be told its been 3 days. My father told me the tumour was gone, and then he explained what happened. From then on, the three of them would test my triggers, as to what would make Tia surface..'

She looked to Tony, who was closest to her, and he reached out a hand for her to take... 'I was 17, and they had me in a room, where the floor had sensors, sending 1200 volts of electricity through, and shocking me. They would turn the dial up, bit by bit, trying to push Tia out. When they did, they wanted to test her skills, shall we say. 11 men were shoved into a room with me, and not one of them walked out..'

She sniffled, nodding to Tony to play the footage. She stood to the side, her head hanging down, as she listened to it play. She remembered every face, every detail of each man that was in the room with her. She didn't want to hurt them, but Tia was beyond angry at that point.

'Soph?'... She looked up at Tony as he spoke... 'Its finished. Do you want to continue?'

She nodded at him, and stepped back up to the end of the table... 'That, um..'.. She cleared her throat... 'Those experiments, they were not voluntary. My parents died a month after that happened, and Tony had helped me escape. Howard tried to search for me, but I was good at hiding. The only ones that knew about me, were my parents and Howard..'

She looked around at the others... 'I get that you may think of me as a monster, for what happened, and I don't blame you. I can assure you, Tia is no threat to anyone unless someone threatens us, or my family..'

Sophie swallowed hard... 'The men in the footage, they were SHIELD recruits, and I believe one of them, was Furys son. I remember his face, and I can see the similarities. I think that's why he's coming for me..'

Bruce couldn't take it anymore. He stood from his seat, and came around the table, pulling her into his arms... 'You suffered enough Soph, what happened was not your fault. What they did to you, you were just a kid..'

'He's right sis, and you know it. If I had known sooner, I would've gotten you out of there faster. I'm sorry it took me a while to realise what was going on...'... Tony stood too, coming to stand at her side with Bruce.

Hill took a deep breath. She couldn't blame Dr Connors for what had happened, Stark and Banner were right, she was just a kid. But now knowing the truth, she wondered how far Fury would go, and Pierce... 'Who else knows about that?'

'Honestly, I don't know. I believe Fury is the one who sold me out to the media. President Ellis already knew. I've worked with him in the past on a few things. I have contacts all over the world, but I don't think Fury would go far. He wants revenge, so let's give it to him..'... Sophie nodded to the woman.

'Wait, you're going to give yourself up to him?'.. Rogers asked, leaning his elbows on the table as he frowned at her.

'Yes. But it will be done my way. I'll be releasing everything about me and Tia to the public, and what I have done since then. Neither me nor Tia has killed since that moment. We have worked hard to make the world better, as best we could. When she begins to get bored or fed up, I go down to Mexico and let her out. She smashes a few rocks, screams out her frustrations and basically eats an entire buffet..'.. Sophie shrugs.

'Fury wants to show the world that I'm a monster, but I'll show them all, exactly what Tia is..'.. She looks around the room, and then steps back. She gives up control to Tia, wanting her to speak up.

Bruce stands to the side, watching as she drops to her knees. He felt the air shift, knowing that she had let Tia out. The others had stood, cautious, and ready.

'A little warning next time..'.. They recognised Tias voice, as she got to her feet. They all saw her skin was tinged purple, and her irises were black... 'Well hello boys and girls. Lovely to see you all again. Don't worry..'.. She raised her hands in surrender... 'I'm not going to hurt any of you, I have no reason to. Now, what would you all like to know?'

The meeting continued, with them all asking their questions, and Tia answering them. It did seem as though Tia had killed in self defence, not that anyone blamed her, not even Rogers.

'Fury will know you have all come here, and he will spin it with some bullshit. Be careful, and always be on guard. He will want to ensure that none of you stand in his way, when he comes for us..'.. Tia says, folding her arms.

'So, what's the plan you and Sophie have?'.. Romanoff asks, smiling st her.

'I'm glad you asked..'.. Tia grinned back, leaning on the table with her hands as she tells them everything. Tia would do whatever it took to protect her family, and Sophie had agreed, that if it came down to a kill or be killed situation, then Tia was to take over.

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