"Do you need to meditate? Peace and balance, all that jazz. The Jedi way."
"No, I've been doing this for so long-." Iz murmured. She settled across from him, less than an arms length. "It hardly takes an effort anymore."
Clint turned to face the pool. Giving Iz privacy? Tony watched her hand placed on either side of his head. He felt warmth and familiarity of Iz. Her eyes slide shut and without warning he felt her. That was the only way he could describe her. Bright blue and silver. Blazing so bright... Yet, Tony knew it was undeniably Iz and this suited her. Behind Isabella was the bridge between them. A doorway that Tony's curiosity about Iz's past urged him forward and through. And the world shifted-...
"Huh." Tony stood in a dark windowless room. A barren room with nothing inside but grime and a young woman. Her hair was uneven and appeared grey with dirt. This must be Isabella's memory. "Iz." He breathed. Her impossibly blue eyes looked dull and hopeless. Yellow and purple bruises littered her face and on what Tony saw of her body. She curled in a corner and shivered. Filthy hospital scrubs was the only thing dressing her. Too thin and splotched with rusty red and dirt brown.
A door swung open and two men entered to drag Isabella out. Iz stumbled and they drug her by a thick collar around her neck. Furiously, Tony followed. The men brought Iz to a larger lit room and hung is in shackles. She just hung there, suspended in midair. Tony felt sick. His best friend who was a spitfire. Who was always full of life and never failed to piss him off. Always brought him coffee accompanied by baked goods or snacks because she knew he'd get busy and forget to eat. She looked like she was waiting for death to catch up with her. How long had it been for her since the fire? A month or two? Longer than he had been held captive?
A dark haired man entered dragging a smaller girl, Jasmine. The two men took and retrained Jasmine. "Your father listed you both as receiving the x gene. You haven't expressed anything and undoubtedly you are a woman." He looked at Jasmine and waved a packet of paper. "Here is a recently published article by a doctor explaining how mutations can potentially express themselves if not for puberty. Through various forms of trauma... So, I believe an experiment is in order to test the hypothesis..."
The man brought a heavy worn club and Tony saw a sickening gleam in the man's eye. Iz looked to Jasmine and she could see the fear in her sister's face. Tears welled up and spilled freely on her younger sister's face. "It'll be okay, Jasmine. It's not on you, alright. It's okay." Iz's words only sent Jasmine in a spiral of hiccuping sobs. Isabella's blue eyes hardened as she stared at the approaching man. "I'm not giving you any satisfaction."
"You will."
Tony jolted forward as the first swing smashed into her leg. True to her word, she barely made a sound. The next and the next and the next, Iz hissed but no screaming. Tony couldn't look but he could not avoid the sounds of wet smacks or cracks of bones. Jasmine screamed and shouted. She fought against them but she was too small and too weak. Nails couldn't beat canvas and Kevlar. Iz held out until the man tired and another stockier man took over. A scream tore through her throat and Tony spun to leave the memory behind and fell into another. Tony's throat tightened. Back in the cell and Iz looked more weary. Why was he here again?
The metal door was ripped off the wall, hinges, screws and all. Tony knew it was a memory but he stood center, blocking Iz. A sliver haired man stepped inside the cell. "Hello, child." Iz lifted her head to stare at the man and the woman standing in the doorway of her cell.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Eric Lehnsherr."
"Are you real?"
"I am as real as you, my dear." The older man smiled and reached his hand out. Iz flinched. A flick of his hand the metal collar split and fell. The echoing clatter froze Iz. Disbelieving eyes flew to meet Eric's. Freedom that she had dreamt for so long was hard to believe once within reach. "Come and join your sister. You are no longer in chains."
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Carry On My Wayward Avenger
FanfictionIsabella Wolfe is a part of a population that society looks down on and organizations seek to use. Organizations such as HYDRA. Time with them has instilled deep fear in Isabella and she runs and hasn't stopped until SHIELD shows up on her doorstep...