The Elgen's Lilith

Chapter 4

The light was so blinding, Steve couldn't see anything.

He hurt everywhere. It wasn't just soreness this time, either; more of a deep pain that was eating him from the inside out. Steve tried moving, but failed.

"I see you've already woken," a familiar voice said. "It's a shame we'll be putting you back to sleep so soon, though..."

"Doctor, I've received word that the machine is ready."

"Good, Cecilia. Be a dear and get the captain down there for me."

"Of course, sir."

Internally, Steve began to panic. He still couldn't move, and then he heard a mechanical whirring...his heart began to hammer.

"I'm sorry about this," Steve heard the woman's voice say.

Then everything went dark again.

Tony heard the screams from his prison. He recognized them. Steve.

Oh my God, they're hurting him.

Meanwhile, Mara Lil had just arrived back at her bedroom, sleepy after a full night of training. It'd been going on for about a week; Peter would pick her up at her bedroom just after eleven, and take her to the safehouse where Michael and his friends lived. (No one had fully recovered yet from the bullet Mara had taken. It had been a surprise for everyone, even herself, and they were still doing research.)

"Mara, are you awake?"

Groan. It was Miss Cecilia coming to wake her up for school.

"Uh-huh," she yawned. Mara didn't have to act for her caretaker to believe she was tired.

"Good, because we're going to leave in twenty minutes. Your breakfast is ready when you are, dear."

Mara waited until Miss Cecilia was gone. Then, she looked down at her filthy hands, vowing to wash them before eating breakfast. And even though she'd planned on wearing this purple shirt today, it was gonna have to go.

She changed into gray leggings and a green sweater so Uncle Hatch or Miss Cecilia couldn't see her dirty arms. Mara's little shoes clicked down the hallway as she made her way down to the dining room, trying to sound as awake and lively as possible.

"I see that someone's full of energy today," Miss Cecilia laughed.

Mara nodded and started shoving toast into her mouth, again forgetting the rule about chewing with her mouth closed. She was relieved that her act was working, but she couldn't wait until naptime.

"Uncle Hatch will be here in a few minutes." The caretaker checked her watch. "He'll drive you to school, but Kate's mom will pick you up and bring you here. Okay?" She smiled before taking Mara's empty plate as the young girl furiously nodded.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Uncle Hatch, his arms spread open wide for a hug. "How's my little eagle?"

Mara didn't want to say not a chicken, but she did anyway and laughed after like what normally happened. She would never look at Hatch the same after seeing what he'd done to those people.

"You ready for school?" Uncle Hatch asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, there's been a change of plans. You're not going to go to school today."

This shocked Mara. What? "Why not?" she asked stubbornly. She'd been looking forward to seeing her friends, especially Kate.

"I thought I'd show you around my job. You know, to start you off before you start to work with me. Okay? Does that sound fun?"