BOOK 1 (See sequel Under Control)
When the Avengers are given a mission to adopt and protect a fourteen year old girl who has a connection to a new, undercover Hydra organisation, they don't know what to expect.
Enter Arielle Doe. The newly adopted...
Over the past couple of weeks, my privileges have changed from being under constant observation and literally locked inside the medical bay to being free to roam around the Avengers section as long as someone is trailing me.
Today, it happens to be Natasha's turn to play 'babysit the unstable hydro-soldier'. Lucky for her(!) We spend the first half of the morning in the gym doing basic training exercises.
"Tense your leg to put more power into your kick!" Natasha yells at me.
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For the last two hours, she's been getting me to develop my combat skills. Which would be useful - if I ever had combat skills in the first place.
I grunt and try knocking her down with my high kick for the hundredth time. This time, I barely tilt her off-balance. I lower my leg and sigh, wiping my sweaty forehead.
"It's no use, Nat. I'm nothing without these powers. The only way I can beat someone is with these powers, and unless I want to kill someone - they're useless as well." I complain.
"Arielle. Look at me."
I ignore her instruction, too caught up in my own misery, so she resorts to going to punch me. As Natasha's fist swings near to my face, I quickly block it in the exact way she has taught me to.
I glare at her but all she does is smirk, knowing that she has got my full attention now.
"Quit nursing your ego and look at me for a moment! What do I look like to you?" Nat questions me.
I roll my eyes, "A bad-ass women who could beat the crap out of the Hulk if she tried?"
Natasha sends a withering look my way.
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"No." She says sternly, "I could be that person if I tried. And yeah, sometimes I am that person. But I'm not that person. Behind all of this, there's the real me. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a heart." The corner of her mouth perks up into a half smile. "What others see on the outside isn't who I am on the inside. If you had asked me years ago, I would have also said that I'm worth nothing on the inside.
