Cold-Blooded

[]Chapter 12[]

I woke before the crack of dawn, taking a minute to silently stretch and gracefully slip out of the bed, doing my absolute best to not wake up Bruce. After sleeping for a hundred years, I could afford to sleep for only a few hours every night. He, on the other hand, could not.

My bare feet silently strode across the floor and I picked up my snowy white boots and my matching suit, and quickly changed in the bathroom before heading back out into the halls. A few people scurried to different places, but other than that there wasn't too much activity.

Being me, I went straight to the cafeteria to pick up a donut and coffee before heading off to talk to Fury, and made sure to bring him one. He probably wouldn't eat them, but as the humans are fond of saying, "It's better safe than sorry."

Fury himself stood exactly where he was yesterday, and I wondered if he actually ever moved without reason. I guess I'd just have to ask him himself, because no one else was likely to know the answer. They were all asleep, and the Director was alone.

"Morning, Nick." I chirped, handing him the coffee and donut without giving him room to refuse. He took a long sip and a huge bite, then turned to me with a small smile on his face. Wow, this guy really had changed. Who could ever imagine Fury with a smile?

"Thank you, Astridr. I was actually about to go get something. So what are you doing up so early?" Now it seemed like something was wrong. Very wrong. Fury never made idle chat, and he most definitely did not say thank you when someone brought him breakfast. 

I don't think he had moved either. "I slept for a hundred years. I don't need sleep. What are you doing up so early?" I returned, turning up the heat. This was definitely not the Nick Fury I had known, and without proof of my own that he was normal- I was not going to buy it.

"I couldn't rest well, so I came here. Might as well, it's not like I have anything better to do," he joked. I immediately turned on my heel and strode out the door, now completely sure there was something wrong with him.

The thing that bothered me wasn't the fact that he was making jokes, or smiling, or even his small talk. What bugged me was the one thing I had forgotten to notice. His eyes were an unnatural shade of yellow. 

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"Bruce, I'm telling you, there is something wrong with him. You need to believe me," I nearly begged, after half an hour of trying to convince him that there was something seriously off about the Director.

"You need to believe me. Just because someone changes dramatically doesn't mean they are possessed or evil. The yellow eyes were probably just a trick of the light. I think you're just paranoid."

I felt like I was about to shoot myself. Everyone, and I mean literally everyone I had talked to had gone completely insane, and the yellow eyes stalked me like there was no tomorrow. It felt like there was never a pair of eyes not on me. And now it was affecting Bruce too. Just last night we were planning to go ice skating.

"I think you'll be fine after our date. You probably just need some time to get used to people again." I shook my head violently. That was not case, no matter how much I wanted it to be. It just couldn't explain what was going on. 

"No, Bruce. That's not it. And if you won't listen to me, I'm going to go find someone who will." I just couldn't sit here and listen to this. If I couldn't rely on the ones I knew and loved to help me with this problem, I'd just have to solve it myself.

He said nothing as I walked out and slammed the door in his face.

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