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Chapter Three: The Begging of The Living Hell

The silence that settled between the two children was inevitable when Loki left minutes before to go after Tony, who was taking longer than expected. Hope and Peter stared at each other for a moment, but she immediately looked down at the floor, Peter's gaze however kept on her.

Hope never had many friends, even when her life was considered normal. She always had been extremely shy, to the point that she could not have a single conversation without stuttering. Besides, Hope was used to going unnoticed, so Peter's questioning look and the attention everyone was giving her made her extremely uncomfortable.

Peter was also uncomfortable with the silence. He wasn't used to being in the presence of someone who didn't speak. So he was looking for something, anything to say so he could break the awkward silence.

"So... how should I call you?" Peter asked awkwardly. Hope stared at him and then looked away. "Okay... FRIDAY, can you tell me Miss Jones' full name?"

"Of course Peter. Her name is Hope Rory Jones." FRIDAY's robotic, friendly voice echoed around, making Hope look up at the voice with a sour look, it still bothered her that they already knew her name, but it didn't matter much if she left that place as quickly as possible.

Peter guessed what she was thinking by the look on her face. "It has access to almost every database that exists; that's why she knows your name," Peter said with a small shrug. "Your name is very pretty, Hope."

Hope stared at the boy for a moment with a frown. He really did look like an innocent and caring person. This new friendly perspective she had upon him made her feel uneasy. Even so, Hope forced a small smile on him and then avoided his eyes again. Peter seemed to be pleased with this progress towards communication and this gave him an idea.

"Hey, do you like Star Wars?"

Hope looked at Peter with a curious expression. She nodded slightly, even though she never had watched one movie of the series.

"Seriously? Okay, okay! I have something to show you. I'll be right back!" Peter ran out of the room without looking back, with a bright smile on his face.

Hope shook her head and smiled a little, swinging her legs back and forth.

"What rotten luck ... Ending up here at the Avengers Tower of all places... I have to get out of here and go somewhere safe ... but I can at least eat something..."

Hope's thoughts were interrupted when she heard unfamiliar voices in the hallway of the room.

"FRIDAY said they were here..."

Hope panicked. They had called someone. They had figured it out. They were here. They would lead her back to them. She couldn't go back. "Stupid! You let your guard down! You let yourself be fooled. Now you're going to die!"

Hope had to run, and find a way to escape before it was too late. She tried to get up, but her bruised knee nearly made her fall and she had to lean on the bed to keep from hitting the ground.

"Tony? We arrived and- "

A pillow struck Steve's face, and he heard a scream.

Hope began to throw anything she could reach at them, shrieking with fear and her entire body shaking.

"Hey! Who... Who is this girl?!" Sam asked, placing a hand in front of his face to protect himself from the objects being thrown at them.

"Hey, hey, girl-" Steve deflected from a glass vase this time, aimed at his head. They moved to the back of the couch like retreating troops, as Hope kept yelling and throwing anything at them within reach.