Changes | Marvel

FORTY ONE. Feeling Alone

I totally forgot to write about Avery's 15th (woops) so let's pretend it happened when they were on a mission and they couldn't exactly celebrate. I'm pretty sure the time doesn't exactly add up either, but it's a fanfic! So let's not point that out :)

Weeks passed and the more time I spent on trying to keep my powers from messing up. I worked with Lincoln most days, with him giving me tips on trying to work my powers properly without hurting myself. He admitted to me that he doesn't have that much self-control, but he tried his best on helping me with it. He did alright I guess, because I was finally allowed out of the room for the first time in weeks. I spent the day catching up with everyone and then helping Fitz with designing a new hand for Phil. We had plans of it being flexible and compatible for a secret agent. It had to work like a normal hand, and so that was our goal.

Over time, more Inhumans were popping up all over the world, then vanishing days later when we tried tracking them down. Phil mentioned that it might be a new agency that had been brought up. The ATCU which was run by an anonymous figure.

I helped with the design, telling them my preferences so they knew what to put in and out. It was a simple design. The small containment box in the corner that would enter through the top on the base, a small TV/screen on one wall. A bed and desk space on the other side and a small room leading to a bathroom. There was also a small cupboard that could be opened and closed manually to hold personal storage and clothes in.

At first, I felt that no one really felt safe around me. They would mumble their words, avoiding eye contact and try to make excuses on why they couldn't visit. As much as that hurt me, I couldn't really blame them because I wouldn't trust a newly exposed Inhuman.

"You don't trust me, do you?" I ask Simmons one day, when she came in with some food and snacks. She froze, shaking her head.

"No, of course I do. Avery, it's just..." she tries to tell me, but I smile.

"I get it, really. I'm trying my best to keep them stable, but I've had a couple of accidents." I admit. "I hope that we can go back to normal once I get a hold onto them." She smiled at me, coming over and sitting on the bed next to me.

"We've had so many people with powers that hurt us, and seeing one of our closest friends with some, it's hard." She admitted. "You're an icon, and now you're an Inhuman."

"I know." I tell her, grabbing some of the pasta and eating it slowly, savouring the taste. "This is really good." I tell her.

"It is, isn't it." She gushes." Fitz made it. He's trying to learn how to cook, isn't that sweet." She says. I smirk at her.

"I think somebody has a crush." I sing lightly, making her look at me horrified.

"What?!" She almost yelled. "No, I don't!" She quickly got up and sped out of the room, proving my point.

As the Inhuman population grew larger, the base decided that the best thing to do was build special rooms to hold people with powers. Mostly so they couldn't hurt themselves or anyone in the base.

Sighing, I place my phone on the bedside table, seeing that it was almost 12 am. No one had been in to see me since Tuesday which was almost a week ago, and I was feeling quite lonely by now. Tomorrow was my birthday. My 16th birthday and I was feeling lonelier than I have ever felt.

No Tony to wake me up, jumping on my bed and yelling in my ear.

No Pepper laughing and smacking him lightly.

No Happy picking me up and spinning me around.

No Rhodey teasing me about how he didn't get me anything.

No friends to smother me with over and happiness.

I don't even think the team know it was tomorrow, everything had just been too crazy. Phil designing the new Helicarrier, Lincoln and Daisy working together to find and save Inhumans with the rest of the team. Fitz and Jemma working endlessly on samples and updating Phil's hand whenever they could. They had recently finished creating these special rooms that could house Inhumans, of course I was staying in one since I hadn't exactly gotten use to my powers yet. I could say it worked because I haven't managed to accidentally hurt myself in accidental teleportation.

By what we've found out, my powers are like Gordan's which is annoying as that guy was bad news. Lincoln explained that sometimes when you went into Terrigenesis, there can be physical mutations and luckily for me, I gained one. Now it wasn't huge or anything, but it made me look twice every time I saw myself in the mirror. I didn't grow extra limbs or spikes out of my face, nor did I lose my eyes, my hair just changed colours. Yes. Literally that was all. My hair went from a dark brown to a very dark black, literally the colour of charcoal. Surprisingly, the difference was obvious, and everyone was always complimenting it, saying that it suited me. I didn't like it, I wanted my original colour back.

My alarm went off and I saw the notification at the top of the phone.

"My 16th!"

Like most years, I expected Tony to come bursting in, but the door stayed firmly shut. I lay down on my back, trying not to cry. I wanted my brother so badly, it had been 3 years and Fury still wouldn't allow me to go home. I honestly just wanted someone to hug me but obviously everyone was still oblivious to the fact that I'm not an adult. I'm a kid. I still need disciplining and love and happiness. All this SHIELD stuff was making my panic attacks more serious and it was happening every month or so instead of every 3 or 4 months. I turn to my side, grabbing onto the phone and scrolling through some of the photos I had saved from my old one.

The very last photo I had on there, was Tony and I a couple of days before I was "Killed". We were hanging out on the beach just outside the Malibu mansion, and he had me on top of his shoulder. We were both smiling widely, our eyes sparkling with happiness. I sniffle, not able to see the photo through the blurriness of my vision. My eyesight had gotten a little worse since my transformation, so I needed to get a stronger pair. I closed my eyes, deciding to just let everything go. I just wanted a couple of hours of peace and nothingness.