Growing up, you were expected to achieve great things.
Your dad was a one of the top surgeons in New York and your mom worked for NASA in the astrophysics field. Your brother went off to university to become an engineer and after the terrible accident involving the chitauris, you tried to follow in your father's footsteps, but you soon found a quicker way to be able to help people after his heart attack.
When the accident did happen, you were in Brooklyn, the bulk of the attack happening in Manhattan, but you still hunkered down with Cory in their and Val's apartment building's basement. It was a terrifying time and when everyone was cleared to come out of hiding for their safety, it was like disaster struck New York all over again and then some, with people claiming their loved ones from morgues across the boroughs, trying to put their lives back together.
A cloud of darkness fell over New York for months following that day and the only ones that got you through that horrible time was your three friends and a stray dog that lost his owner in the catastrophe. Your dad was closed off and hard to talk to in those first few months and you couldn't blame him, but then he had a heart attack.
And you couldn't save him.
So, when the witch doctor came for that stone, you were drowning in grief at that point and did the only thing you thought you could do.
Your whole family was dead and some stupid, glowy rock was the key to make it so less people suffered in this city, so you promised yourself to ease the pain of Brooklyn in any way you could, to start with. Because you knew the endless pit of agony that grief could swallow you up in and you didn't want that for anyone else. But there were also the little things you did like fixing broken bones, healing bruises, and clearing up scars that put smiles on peoples' faces and made their lives just a little bit easier too.
Losing your mom and your brother in that accident, resulting in them barreling over a bridge and into the Hudson river, was something you and your father would never get over until the days of your last breaths. Your dad left this world with so much pain weighing heavy in his heart, instigating a heart attack when he was too young for one, and it left you to pick up whatever you could, trying to carry on.
So, when the people who kidnapped you brought in not truly your mother, but a younger, more barbaric version, you completely lost it.
"Cure her!" The man shouted, slapping you across the face when your eyes glazed over and your body tried to shut down, wanting to completely shield you from anything so wretchedly painful.
But then your attention snapped to him, your eyes baring into his very soul, and he almost shivered in fear with the look you suddenly sent him, still scared you had other god-like powers that could harm them.
"I'm not touching that thing." You sneered, not even sparing a glance at the small girl who now sniffled in pain on the floor nearby, clutching her knees to her chest.
Because the more you looked, the easier it would be to see past the neanderthal movements, the girl who looked about twelve but was once middle aged, and you didn't want that. You refused to feel for the person shaking in pain because that might've been the body of your mother they messed with somehow, but your mom was dead and there was no getting her back.
"You will," He growled, putting the barrel of the gun under your chin and pushing it up so you were forced to face him, "Or you'll die."
"What'd you do to her?" You gritted out when he released you to walk away, probably to get his buddies to come wail on you again, the bruises to your middle still burning.
"New York was in chaos," He spoke with his back to you, admiring his gun for good measure, "It was easy to pluck bodies from the morgue and when we heard one of NASA's was in there, with the Stark tech we...acquired, it was a no brainer."
"Stark doesn't make anything that can...do that." You finally let your eyes trail over to the little girl clutching a dirty teddy bear, but then you cringed in disgust when she started chewing on it.
"It can if it's altered in the right way."
"What good is she to you?" You couldn't help but to ask, fiddling with the restraints as you caught your credit card from the pocket of your pants that they must've missed when they took your phone, but to cover the noise of splitting it in half, you loudly asked, "What could she possibly offer to you that you couldn't have stolen from NASA itself? Especially since her mind seems to be mush!"
"Enough talking," He snapped, going for the door again, "You'll cure her, or we'll kill you."
"You Frankensteined my mother, asshole, I think I'm allowed a few questions!" You shouted out, your voice raspy as it was dry and overused.
He whipped around and shot his gun off in one quick motion, the bullet suddenly buried into the wall inches from your head as debris hit your hair. You were breathing heavily, scared to death in that moment, and he smirked, satisfied with the reaction, before he slammed the door shut behind him after leaving.
You took a deep breath, remembering what Happy showed you the first time, and soon enough, you were back to focusing on scratching the rope down with your broken credit card.
"He hates you." The girl, you refused to name it anything like your mother, told you, brushing the teddy bear's hair, but there was no hair and there was no brush.
"Go to hell, brat." You grumbled and she giggled.
"If you don't help me, I think you'll be going there first."
You were halfway through the rope that would get you out of this and you didn't have a plan of what to do after since you had no idea how to get out of here without getting shot, but in a second, the little girl was in your face.
She kneed her way into your lap again and you groaned in pain, but she didn't flinch, not caring in the slightest. Then she took the tip of the teddy bear's paw and rubbed it up and down your cheek softly, even after you moved your head to the side, trying to distance your face as much as you could from her.
"Do you mind?" You spat angrily and she shrugged with a sinister smile.
"You're like a big doll I can play with and no matter how much you scream," She chuckled, and you side glanced her warily,
"No one will come to help you."
