A Failed Experiment

Chapter 12

" What ?" I mean, Jarvis calls Tony Sir, which makes sense that Tony needs yet another thing to establish authority over, so does that mean ?
" I know what you're thinking, and I think it's true, and I'm not often wrong." I thought over this, " Well, what do you want to know ?" I asked,
 " Where and when was she born ?" He asked,
" Edinburgh, on the third of December 1989, I think." I waited,
" Ok, and she was shipped off to America to be experimented on by HYDRA for the money, correct ?" I frowned, remembering the night she broke down and told me that through sobs,
" Yeah." A light flickered on over a picture frame,
" Go look at the newspaper clipping, tell me what you see." I wandered over. It was a picture of a young man in a typical Scottish countryside bar, apparently called the unicorn's horn. He had a young, pretty woman on his arm, she looked wild and untamable with frizzy, bright ginger hair flowing down her back and freckles dapped across her flushed face and bare shoulders. Her eyes were clenched shut in mid laughter. The headline read, " Tony Stark makes first trade deal in Edinburgh. "  I couldn't help chuckling, I never even thought Aideen having a legal last name, " Aideen Stark, it has a ring to it, doesn't it ?" I asked Jarvis, an entity I had just earned a lot more respect for.

Once Tony arrived with the others, Jarvis shut up as I had asked him too so I didn't get caught stirring shit. Despite my efforts, Bruce noticed my terribly made bandage. I quickly came up with a cover story and he offered  to properly clean it, I accepted gratefully. Tony went through the list of names , some people liked, some flopped like a dead fish, but finally he got to the last one, " Last but probably least, Mercury." A flurry of hands shot up, including Bruce, which caused him to stick an entire safety pin into my arm.

Wanda nearly immediately offered to get me a superhero outfit, but I promised I'd make it myself. I pulled myself off of the couch, wincing at pain from the pressure I had to put on my arm, "  Hm ?"  Vision seemed deep in thought,
" Alright what is it ?" I asked with a sigh,
" Oh ! Um, is that a reaction I'm too manufactured to understand ?" I laughed,
" Sort of, it's pain." realization lit up on his face,
" Oh, ok !"  I smiled at him and went to design this hero outfit I needed so badly.

I decided on a relatively simple, protective design. Black fabric with metal plates fused into the shoulders, a silver armor piece for the top and black trousers. I rummaged for materials and scrapped it up quickly  and tried it on. It wasn't bad. the farthest thing from it, but this was definitely a first draft. I walked into the living room, " Well ?" I asked the group, Everyone turned to look at me. Wanda grinned,
" Definitely a possibility." Bucky muttered, with an analytical tone in his voice, but a proud glance contradicted that tone. I looked at Aideen, a smile was contained in those familiar eyes, and that look told me everything I needed to know, " We made it.". Tony suddenly made himself known,
" Hey Astor, I need you to get changed, we need to go see someone, you too Aideen." A hint of hope lit up in my heart,
" Who ?" I asked,
" Nick Fury."

We were taken to a large, almost corporate like building. I didn't have time to look around, I was too focused on keeping up with Tony and Aideen . Now I know the connection, the similar mannerisms make a lot more sense when I notice them. We had made it to a conference room of sorts, and there was a bald, dark mannered man facing the large window, " Nick." He didn't turn to being addressed,
" Tony, why have you come to bother me today ?" Aideen was reaching towards a plate of cookies, I slapped her hand on instinct,
" Not yet." I whispered, now he turned from the window, "
 Ah, new toys to play with." He started walking towards us, and I found myself reaching for a non-existent dagger,
" I assure you, Sir, she is no man's toy, and neither am I. " I glared at him with all the malice I could muster.  A sadistic grin cracked out on his scarred face,
" Oh I like her!" He turned to Tony, who had an amused glimmer in his eyes,
 " I thought you would, and let me tell you, their both as useful as each other." He boasted, as if he had discovered it, Nick Fury turned back to me,
" Nick fury. You are?" He offered me his hand, I slapped it away,
" Astoria." This man had done little to nothing to earn my respect, but based on Tonys face when I slapped him, I knew I'd have to tolerate him.

Once we got home again, I went straight to the kitchen, as I was starving. I ate, grew very bored, and I heard a scream. It sounded like it would be Thor's, as it was barbaric and overly loud. That's the funny thing, Thor and Loki, brothers not that far in age and yet they act so different. I rushed into my room, Thor was holding his hammer up above my bed, clearly about to hit something, then I caught a glimpse of familiar silver, " No ! Stop ! That's my artifact !" I scooped it up and put it on. I had put it away so it didn't get damaged in this chaos of a home and Thor must have found it, he dropped the hammer,
" My apologies, I did find it moving of it's own accord."  Thor protested as he left the room. Stephens voice rang in my head,
" It reacts to your emotions, every artifact does." I smiled, it must have tried to get to me when I got mad at that Nick guy.

I spent most of the next few days watching Aideen and Bruce tinker with Tony's technology, asking Jarvis riddles ( which he got easily), and eavesdropping conversations, one of my specialties. Eavesdropping was a way for me to learn when no one had the patience to teach me , but it was also a way to cure the crippling boredom between events. In the lab, you were either worrying if your gonna survive tomorrow, or you were simply bored out of your mind. For a while, most of our time was spent in solitary confinement, but when they discovered why that isn't such a good idea they moved us into pairs. I used to overhear scientists arguing with partners, snippets of future experiments, all sorts, as I was sleeping in the busiest hallway in the lab by far. Now, all I heard was Tony yelling at a robotic arm and Bucky and Aideen talking about nothing, which was kind of sweet. I walked around, wondering what I could do, when I heard a hiss. I snapped my head around, " Hello ?" I called out,
 " Prepare, 1,190, you will lose so much for so little reward at my hands." I reached my hand up to the side of my head. That voice was sickeningly familiar, yet I couldn't give it a name or a face. The hiss had turned into an unexplained static, paired with a taunting cackle. I rushed down the hall, looking for someone, anyone. This static only got louder, filling my ears with the maddening noise. I flung myself into the nearest room and smashed my head against the wall,
" GET OUT OF MY HEAD !" I screamed at the top of my lungs,
" Uh, hello to you too?" I snapped my head in the direction of the voice, it was Loki,
" Oh, hello. " I muttered, slightly embarrassed. He was in a glass box with a white floor and no furniture,
" Are you alright ? Bumped your head pretty hard there. " I turned to him, noticing the static had gone,
" Yeah, your Loki right ? god of mischief and trickery ?" He nodded and grinned. I've seen some petty sadistic smiles in my day, but his has to take the cake,
" Yes, it is." A sense of dizziness came over me. A familiar one, I'll be fine,
" You look sort of, how do I say this politely, dead faced," He commented, " I think you may have given yourself a concussion." I nodded, swaying on my feet slightly, and falling,
" Someone come get your latest idiot !" Loki stared up at a security camera of sorts, and Tony came waltzing in,
"  Good god Astor, what happened ?" All I could really manage was a shrug , " Whatever happened you're hurt." He stated,
" No shit Sherlock." I managed a weak laugh.