Tili Tili Bom (An Avengers fanfic)

Chapter ten

As I enter the training room, the only two people I see are Stark and the Captain. Their words ring off of the walls as they shout. I step back and press myself against the outside wall so I can listen.

"She's a teenager, Tony! A teenager! You can use the repulsors against Nat, you can use them against Thor, you can use them me! But not her! HYDRA has broken her enough already, and she doesn't need burns on top of that! What is wrong with you?!" Why is the Captain defending me? I cock my head as Stark snaps back a retort, something choking him up. "What's wrong with me? Oh, I don't know, the fact that I grew up without parents? That I'm an alcoholic because of it? I didn't break her. She broke me. She said she killed them, right to my face. That... Thing is a monster! I don't care what happened with your World War Two buddy! She is not him. She is a monster, and it's not my fault you're too blinded by your 'friend' to see that!"

I close my eyes slowly. Why do I care what he's saying? I open my eyes and resignedly step back into the elevator, their argument replaying in my head. HYDRA has broken her enough already... Am I broken? Jarvis begins to speak. "Where do you want to go miss?" I shake my head. I don't feel like moving as I think of what HYDRA has done to me. They wiped me, put me in cryo, forced me to kill...

But they gave me Racks.
They gave me Racks.

And...

Nothing.

I vaguely realize that the elevator is moving as this sinks in. The only thing they gave me was Racks. The elevator doors open as I regain my hold on myself. But the Captain took him away, so he still needs to be taught a lesson. And then I can go back and be happy again. I try to make myself believe this as I step into the room Jarvis has brought me to. It's filled with a huge pool, and, to my relief, is completely deserted. "There's a bathing suit on the closest pool chair, miss. I'll keep the others away for as long as possible, but they'll get suspicious eventually. There's a changing room on the far side of the pool with showers, a sauna, and bathroom stalls." He cuts off as I grab the one-piece and dart into the bathroom to change.

When I emerge, I run into the pool, diving off of the deep end with a sense of weightlessness. As I hit the water, sound fades to a vague ripple. I sink to the bottom, laying myself out on the cement bottom, gazing upwards. A last bubble of air escapes my lungs, and I close my eyes. It's calm, here. That's rare. I wait a while before kicking out and calling upward to Jarvis. "Can you throw some pool rings at me? I want to try and get them before they hit bottom." Jarvis' voice echoes in the wide room. "Of course, miss. Just a moment." I dive back down, my eyes burning slightly from the chlorine. I hold my breath as I descend deeper and deeper, my lungs beginning to burn. I finally kick upward in a relaxed way, the pressure slowly leaving my chest. As I surface, sucking in air, the first plastic ring hits the water. It only goes a few feet before I catch up to it and throw it out of the pool. Another lands a few feet away, and I race towards it, skimming the surface of the pool. Jarvis, in total, throws in thirty-eight rings, and only two hit bottom.

I finally pull myself, sopping wet, out of the pool and grab a towel off the rack on the wall. I wrap it around my shoulders as I go back to the bathroom to pull on my clothes. As the spell cast by the cold, calm water begins to vanish, my thoughts revert to the argument between Stark and Cap. I stop with my shirt halfway on to ponder if they're still fighting when my thoughts are torn by a blinding, mauve screech. Water begins falling from the low, woody ceiling as I cover my ears. Jarvis shouts overhead to be heard. "There's a set of fire stairs by the sauna! Go! I'll get the others out!" I pull my shirt on the rest of the way and slam into the door. I almost trip on the first step, the incessant mauve explosions and rain are so disorienting, but as I race down the steps, the alarm stops. I immediately breathe a sigh of relief as the mauve vanishes. Jarvis' voice returns as I trudge back up the steps. "I'm sorry, miss. Agent Barton left his food on the stove for too long. There was some smoke, but no actual fire." I'm out of the stairwell by now, and I grab my towel and bathing suit, walking back into the pool room. I step into the elevator. "Jarvis, could you please take me to my floor?" "Of course, miss," he replies as the doors close.

When they open, I step out, drops of water rolling out of my hair onto the thick carpet. As I look around, I'm suddenly struck by a small problem:

I don't know which room is mine.