The Voices Of The Devil ~ Avengers **DISCONTINUED**

Chapter 3

special thank you to LunaWeasley0 for being the first person to vote on this story and BrookeWilcock for being the second! it really means a lot :D

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING⚠️️ there is a small description of a panic attack at the beginning. Other than that, I hope you enjoy :)

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Anger.

That was all Harley could feel as she screamed back at the man in front of her. His ugly face flushed red as he furiously argued with the poor girl. But this time it was different. This time she was done with his bullshit.

A dark mist began to surround Harley and her voice became impossibly deeper, as though a completely different person was speaking. The mist spread throughout the room, hurling various objects around and causing them to shatter.

The darkness swirled faster around Harley, to the point where it became impossible for her to see, until she heard a blood curdling scream which she assumed came from that wretched man that once stood before her.

Suddenly, she heard a chorus of loud bangs and crashes, followed by the feeling of an intense heat that grew closer every second. Blinded by the mist, she breathed heavily as she attempted to figure out what was  happening. It was all too much.

Was there a fire?

Did she cause this?

Was he still alive?

Did she kill him?

It quickly became harder and harder for Harley to breathe and she was soon gasping desperately hoping for someone--anyone--to come and save her.

Harley shot up from her bed as her lungs burned with the need for oxygen. Tears fell from her red and swollen eyes but she barely noticed them. It was a similar sensation to drowning. Confusion. Fear. All while her body subconsciously fought the urge to breathe.

"It appears that you are experiencing a panic attack. Would you like me to inform someone to come and help you?" Riley's voice echoed throughout the room.

"N-no Riley... I'm f-fine." Harley managed to squeeze out a few words as she attempted to calm down, but her mind was running a mile a minute.

What really happened?

Why was he there?

Was it just a nightmare?

It couldn't have been. Harley swore she felt everything as though it really happened.

After a few minutes, though to Harley it seemed like hours, her breathing finally slowed but the chaos in her head never did. It kept her awake thinking for hours until a knock on the door broke her away from her thoughts.

"Harley, Steve asked me to come and wake you up for breakfast." Wanda's voice came from the other side of the door.

"I'll be there in a minute." Harley's voice came out quieter than she had intended and Wanda only just managed to hear it. Harley waited until she had heard the other girl walk away before sighing and rising to her feet.

She walked over to the end of her bed to where she had left her trusty back pack which contained what little possessions she had, including the few clothes she owned. The bag had become sort of a comfort to her over the years, being one of the few things that had stayed with her throughout her time staying with different Foster families.

She unzipped the pin-covered bag and pulled out a simple pair of of black jeans along with a plain grey t-shirt and a red flannel, each item of clothing clearly being too big for her. She changed into the clothes and pulled on her battered black converse, not caring to do anything with her hair, and took a deep breath before exiting the room.

Harley followed the vacant chatter which led her down the hallway into a large kitchen and dining area, where all the Avengers from the previous night were sat talking.

Wanda was the first to notice Harley standing awkwardly in the entrance of the hallway and was silently thankful for her arrival, as it caused the harsh whispers around the table to stop.

"Good morning, Harley. Sleep well?" Steve asked politely as he gestured for her to take a seat next to him, where a plate of pancakes were waiting for her.

She kept her gaze to the floor as she nodded slightly and speed-walked to the table, suddenly feeling ten times more anxious with the all Avengers' eyes on her.

Though she believed her lie was convincing enough, Harley couldn't fool the group of trained individuals as the dark circles under her crystal eyes told a different story. Natasha caught on immediately but chose not to voice her worries as she could feel the nervous energy coming from the girl and decided to attempt to help comfort Harley instead.

"My name's Natasha, but you can call me Nat if you want." Harley smiled at her shyly before beginning to eat the pancakes in front of her. It surprised the other members of the team just how quickly Natasha had warmed up to the girl as they had never seen this motherly side of her.

One by one the other Avengers began to introduce themselves to Harley, Wanda only giving the girl a warm smile and a nod, until it was Tony's turn. The man seemingly hadn't been paying attention and only realised what was happening when Steve called his name.

"I'm Tony Stark, but I assume you know that already." The billionaire said obviously disinterested in the conversation. Steve glared at him but he simply responded by turning away to roll his eyes then getting up to refill his coffee.

The team broke into their own small conversations, Rhodes moving from the table to talk to Tony. Harley had never felt more out of place in the room full of Heroes.

Suddenly Harley flinched slightly, though not hard enough to attract the attention of the others. She shuffled around in her seat a little, looking up to see if anyone was watching her before pausing for a slight moment then sighing as an annoyed expression formed on her face.

Natasha noticed the odd behaviour of the young girl and watched her discretely while continuing her conversation with Wanda. The spy observed as Harley pushed her food around her plate with her fork, her discomfort evident in her actions.

"Would you just shut up?" Harley whispered to the air as though talking to a another person. She tensed, realising what she had done but relaxed again when she realised that nobody had heard, or so she thought.

"You okay Harley?" Natasha asked, drawing the attention of the others in the room.

"Y-yeah... excuse me."

Natasha kept her eyes on Harley as she rose to her feet and left back to her room. It was then that the red-head made it her personal mission to find out what was going on with the teenager so that she could help the struggling girl.

Fun fact: I write these chapters at like 1am when I can't sleep oof

I hope you enjoyed reading!

-Cat :)))