Rip My Heart Out (Avengers Age of Ultron)

Chapter 6

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the smell of mildew. The air around me was thick with it, so when I opened my eyes, I was not surprised to find myself in a damp, decrepit, concrete room. There were no windows leading to the outside. There was, however, a wall completely made of glass that faced a room with several uniformed men sitting at desks. A few rushed in between them, delivering news or pieces of paper to other uniformed men.

I sat up, holding my head to realize that I had been lying on a faded green cot, with one thin blanket draped over me. Other than that, there was nothing in the room. My head pounded every few seconds in line with my heartbeat. I took a few deep breaths trying to alleviate the pressure that seemed to be permanently fixed there these days.

I succeeded mildly enough to pull myself to my feet weakly. I stumbled to the glass wall and stopped just before reaching it. None of the men looked at me or even really seemed to notice my presence.

I waved my hands over my head once to test their dedication to whatever was in front of them. No one responded. I sighed and turned back to the room that was apparently going to be my home until further notice.

The walls were watermarked and stained more than they were their original color. The floor was the same, but it was covered with a thick layer of dust.

As I continued to look around, I noticed a small black box in the upper left side of the room. I walked towards the corner, craning my neck to get a better look. I quickly recognized the piece of equipment as a camera.

So not only was I being held in a cage with glass for one wall with literally no privacy to speak of, but I was being recorded around the clock too?

I took in another deep breath and looked down, shrugging. What could I do about it? All I could do was survive and hope and pray that Steve was looking for me.

I turned around, planning to go back and sit on the cot. Before I got the chance to though, everything around me changed. I saw a flash of red and then I was floating in space. I was in my dream. Galaxies swirled around me coming seemingly out of nowhere. It started replaying as it had a dozen times since I was first attacked.

I couldn't remember falling asleep this time though. How could this be happening while I was awake? I resisted the urge to begin playing with the planets, knowing the destruction that would follow, but I was as helpless as a puppet on a string. Without my consent, my wrists began flicking one way, then the other, sending planets halfway across the galaxy with hardly any effort from me.

"Stop!" I yelled, not wanting to feel the guilt that I knew was coming. I put all my strength into holding my arms firm, into stopping the manipulation of planets. I couldn't do this again. I wasn't asleep, I was awake and everything I did was my choice.

I kept telling myself that over and over again. I'm not asleep. I am in control. I felt sweat beginning to run down my forehead in beads as I tried to resist, only reaffirming my stance on being awake.

I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that it was now or never. I had to stop this now or else the results would be irreversible. My entire body was shaking with conviction. I felt energy pulsing through my veins, getting stronger and stronger as I regained control to my limb's movements.

It was as if I was burning the strings pulling me one way or the other one by one. I was not a puppet. I could stop this. I would. The energy built in my body until it threatened to overflow.

That's when I raised my head and my eyes snapped open. "NO!" I yelled, thrusting my arms in the opposite direction that the strings were pulling them.