Avengers Generations

Chapter 7

Jake blinked his eyes and sat up holding his head. He didn't know where he was, but judging by the ceiling, it looked kind of like a hospital room.

"This is getting old." He muttered to himself. Looking around, he saw two other beds in the room, one on either side. There were kids in these beds too - young teenage guys - and they both slowly groaned and rubbed their eyes.

"The heck?" Said the ginger one "Where am I?"

"Welcome to my life." Jake said.

"Who are you?" He responded wide-eyed.

"Jake."

"What are we doing here?" The other one asked.

"Yeah..." Jake said "I'm pretty confused too. As far as I know, I think we're all, like, mutants or something." He was trying to sound cool and collected, but inside he was panicked. The last thing he remembered was being in Sharon Rogers' car - and now he was here.

The third boy, a young middle-eastern kid, muttered something in another language.

"Hi." Jake said back "You guys have names?"

"Uh, Anthony." Said the redheaded guy "But what do you mean, mutants? Like superheroes?"

"More often like a human with modified DNA that make it an outcast from society, and potentially dangerous to humanity."

Jake and Anthony stared at the other boy.

"My name's William." He muttered, regretting saying anything.

"So, modified DNA... like Flash? Or Killer Croc?" Anthony mused, still confused about his surroundings.

"You watch a lot of superhero shows, don't you?" Jake said, not sure whether to be impressed or amused.

"They're cool..." Anthony stammered defensively "They're like-"

"Like modern mythology." William finished.

"Ok, whatever," Jake said, squinting his eyes and karate-chopping the air next to his head. He didn't like that he had no idea what these kids were talking about, but from what Sharon had said - before apparently knocking him out - these guys could be superhumans gifted with ultra-nerdiness.

"So, where are we?" Anthony asked.

"At a shield...place - or something..." Jake said.

"What?"

"Well, this lady explained everything to me, but... I was tired, man. It didn't make sense." Jake said, grudgingly.

"We are in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics, Devision."

Again, Anthony and Jake turned and gaped at William.

"Ok, Mr. Wizard," said Jake "What else do you know?"

William gulped, the attention made him even more nervous than he had been. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a sudden noise.

All the boys jumped involuntarily as the door opened, and blushed or coughed cooly at their lost manliness as Agent Sharon Rogers walked into the room.

"I see you're all awake." She said in her English accent, the corners of her mouth betraying a small smile.

"Hey, Sharon." Jake said "You have any more ass-a-coma, whatever?"

"I'm sorry, no." She said "That was a one-time luxury. Asatoma isn't easy to make."

Swallowing hard, Jake tried not to freak out. He was already starting to feel the effects of the heroin withdrawal faintly creeping back into his system.