Rising Hope

Halloween

Well, tonight is the night freaks and mutants run through the streets since everyone is in costume. That also means the Avengers will be harder to spot. I am cooking some pumpkin pie, and I hear a knock at the door.

"I'll be right there!" I call to the person or people waiting. I walk to the door, and look through the peephole. Well, they're here. To make things worse, this Halloween is a full moon, too.

"Alessa, we know you're in there!" Steve yells.

It's the main few from the café, and I feel a shiver go down my spine. They know where I live, but how! They probably follow me home, just for 'research' so that they can stalk me. I fall asleep on the bed to drown out the noise of pounding.

I'm thirteen, sitting on the rocks near the Moon Pool. Cleo, Rikki, and Emma were nearly taken by divers, and they needed a plan to stop the divers.

"What if you sabotage their boat?" I ask, getting near the Moon Pool. The full moon is nearly above the pool, and I slip.

"Alessa!" Rikki screams as I fall in. I feel the sting of the water as it hits by back. Rikki lifts me from the water, but it's too late. The full moon had passed over as I fell in, and my legs were now a shimmering copper tail. The other two were looking at me in shock. Rikki kept a cool face, but she was probably internally panicking.

I snap awake, and they're still there. I walk to the door, but I stop to get some water. I open the door, but the water spills down my shirt.

One, two, three, four, five

My heart races, and I pull at my shirt. They can't see it.

Six, seven, eight, nine

I stare at them in shock.

Ten

I fall in the floor, and my legs are a tail. They all look like I broke their brains. I stare at them in horror, and flick my wrist. The water evaporates, and my legs return. I get up and they're still staring.

"You-you-you're a fish?" Steve asks, so thanks for that, Captain Obvious.

"Wow. A room full of Avengers and none can recognize a mermaid." I say, annoyed. I can't believe they stalked me, and then they saw my tail. They're all in uniform, except Tony and Bruce. I guess a suit of armor and the Jolly Green Giant would look too unrealistic. I'm guessing they switched from friend mode to scientist mode immediately, because they look like they're ready to take me apart to try and see what makes me work.

"How can you transform?" Bruce asks. I give him an 'are you kidding me?' glare and I decide to ignore his question. Tony, has a cup of water, and he has a mischievous look on his face.

"Well, are you going to answer him or not?" Tony asks. No, I didn't respond to him, either.

"Answer me, or I'm pouring this down your back and figuring out how that works for myself." He snaps. Well, the Avengers want me to be a lab rat for them.

"Ugh, fine. It's magic." I say, incredibly annoyed. They just stare at me like I'm stupid. Tony walks towards me with the water, and I back up.

"Get away from me, Stark!" I scream. He splashes it in my face, and within seconds, I fall onto the ground with a tail.

"Incredible." Bruce says, and he walks towards me. I'm terrified by now, but that isn't half of what I'm feeling. I prepare to flick my wrist and get rid of the water, but Steve grabs my hands. This feels like kidnaping, and I feel like I should try to get help, but who would help someone with a tail?

"Are there any others?" Steve asks. Well, I wish I could tell you that, because your grip makes my wrist feel like it's broken.

"No. I'm the only living one." I lie. I can't expose Rikki, Emma, and Cleo, not to mention Sirena, Mimmi, Nixie, Lila, Evie, and the rest of the mermaids. He lets go, and I flick my wrist. The water evaporates like all the other times, and I gain my legs again.

"Fascinating." Bruce says. I can feel his curiosity, and I feel like he is going to grab me at any time. Without thinking, I punch Tony and run for the door. Too bad Steve got there first, and he's blocking it. It's not dark yet, so maybe I can jump out of the window. Then again, I'll be on the streets during a full moon. I walk backwards, and right into Clint.

"We have you now, Heartwood. Just come with us and nothing will happen to you." Clint says. Like he's got any chance of me saying yes, especially after they attacked me.

"No way. You tricked me, and made me change form twice." I snap. I can't say everything on my mind, because they would probably think I was crazy.

"We won't hurt you." Tony says. Yeah, like I'll believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

"You just forced me to change form! What makes you think I'll ever go with you!" I yell. He steps back, and I hear footsteps walking away from the door. I feel a hand on my shoulder, but I quickly brush his hand aside and run. The door is wide open so I run down the stairs. I leap over the railings in some places.

"Leave me alone!" I shout when I reach the bottom. I can hear them running.

I run through the door, and through some alleys. I finally see the best place to hide.

"Alessa?" A voice calls. I am running out of time. I run to the back door of the warehouse and kick it open. I can hear their footsteps grow louder. I close the door and hide near some crates.

"Alessa, we know you're in here. Show yourself, now." Steve yells through the warehouse. I guess he just wants to be the person to discover that mermaids exist. I find an open crate nearby, and wiggle myself inside of it.

"Alessa Heartwood get out here right now!" Clint yells. I hate my full name. I think it connects me to a possible murderer. I finally got myself into the open crate, and it was just big enough that I'm not uncomfortable. Their footsteps draw closer, and I can hear them opening every crate. I have mine closed, but it won't be long until they open it, too.

"Last one." Tony says. I can hear the broads being pulled off of the crate, and I cover my face. They open it, and I have my eyes closed and my hands covering my eyes. Someone grabs my arms, and pulls me out. I open my eyes and several Avengers are standing in front of me. There is nowhere left to run, nor is there anywhere to hide. I just stare at them with a look of shock and horror.

"How about you all leave me alone. I think this is why Arena and Lara died twelve years ago. To get away from you." I snap at the Captain. His face is a mix of shock and anger. I shouldn't have brought them into this.

"How do you know them?" He demands.

"I was in the woods, it was right before Rikki took me to live with her." I cover my mouth. I shouldn't have said that name. Now, they'll come for her too.

"Who's Rikki?" Bruce asks. I guess now I have to make up a lie.

"My adoptive mother. She raised me in the city after my sister was murdered by you and your goons." I snap. Only half was a lie, though. They stare at me, shocked. Only Tony seems to have recovered.

"Well, where does she live?" He asks. I wasn't prepared for that.

"Somewhere far from you." I tell them. I can not expose her, not after how she cared for me all those years. She still helps me with my rent, too.

"I'm serious, kid. Tell me where she lives." Tony snaps. I suddenly feel terrified, like that morning in the hotel room all over again.

"Tony, stop. She's had enough, and she's shaking." Steve says. I don't trust him, but he obviously cares about my safety. I get up, and Clint grabs my arm.

"We aren't letting you leave. For all we know, you could be lying." He says as he pulls me towards the exit. Wow, so I went from barista at a Starbucks to mutant freak to mermaid runaway. All in one week, too. That has to be a new record.

"Let her go." Bruce says. For a minute I think he's on my side.

"Thanks Bruce." I tell him.

"She can walk on her own." He finishes.

"Yeah, she isn't disabled. She can walk." Tony says. I can't believe I trusted any of them. They just wanted to learn my secrets, and use them against me.

"Alright. Let's go." Steve says. His betrayal stung the worst. I thought he cared. I thought I could trust him, but I couldn't. I was so naive, in fact, I was too naive. I walk out, Steve and Tony are behind me, and Bruce is with Clint in front of me.