The Soldier

a liar demands the truth

'You will not like this, Tessa.', it echoed in her mind, when she woke up the next time.

It was day, and the lights were not that bright anymore. Her stomach itched, but her hands were still fixated on the bedside. She needed to get out of here.

'But it is necessary.', she shook her head, trying to forget the picture of Loki stabbing her.

She wanted to forget that as soon as possible. She would stuff it back, far, far back inside her mind where she would not find it anymore.

She shook her head, decided to not stop until her headache went so bad and she felt so dizzy she could sleep again. Escape that memory and the fact that she still did not know, where she was.

How could she? She was alone all the time when she woke up.

„I know you are awake.", a man said, staring at her shaking head.

Who was that? She knew that voice from somewhere, he had something to do with the army, Tessa thought.

She stopped immediately though, looking up at him as far as that was possible without sitting up. She would not make that mistake again, minding her wound.

She glanced at him, so cold Loki would have probably been proud at her. To hell with Loki. She trusted him, and he stabbed her.

Tessa cleared her throat, getting herself and her emotions under control.

She focused on that man, trying to find out who he was. She saw his face before, she was sure and his voice sounded very familiar too, but she could not remember who he was.

Maybe that was not the most important thing though, if Tessa guessed it right, he would be one of these Avengers.

That so, if Loki's plan worked. That stupid, mean betrayal he called a plan at least.

„Where am I?", she managed, her voice only a little cracking, trying to sound braver than she felt at that moment. Feeling unbearably vulnerable.

„My place. Who are you?", Tony asked, searching for something... homocidal, but she was not appearing to be a threat for now.

It was a strange coincidence that she was here, but Steve, Thor, even Pepper tried to convince him that she would not be dangerous.

Or at least less dangerous here than anywhere else.

Tony was not sure about that, he found out that she was a former soldier, not a bad one either.

She was kicked out, due to 'problems with discipline' or something along these lines.

When he remembered her behaviour back in Stuttgart, he was sure she did not really fight back the way her commanders thought she would have been able to.

She did not even try to run away, of course Loki held that weapon on her throat, but she gave up long before that. Or maybe she was not that interested in getting away from him in the first place.

Either way, he did not trust her, did not even know her.

„I'm Tessa. Why am I here?", she asked, trying to sit up only a little, but being held back by that strange blue light around her wrist and a sudden, short pain in her stomach.

She flinched, lying back down and focusing on her breathing. She was here because Loki wanted her to be here. The way he did it was not fair, and Tessa knew she agreed and trusted him in advance, too fast and too naive.

His plan worked, he only forgot that Tessa maybe would not play the part he wanted her to.

„Someone stabbed you and left you on my doorstep. Any idea who?", Tony asked, letting the blue lights vanish from her wrists.