Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

AOS 7: Psychological Examinations

Set just after the events of Blood Phoenix 5 

Adelaide Lehnsherr's POV 

I had no idea that they would actually do it. Shortly after the battle of New York, after all the adrenaline and stress had gone away, after we'd assisted in the cleanup and attempted to make something of our new lives after we became the Avengers, SHIELD brought me into one of their facilities and promptly locked me in a white padded cell that was completely soundproof, wearing nothing but a white shirt and SHIELD-issued sweatpants, with a power-restraining collar around my neck. 

They told me it was for psychological evaluation. 

I knew they were lying to me. 

I was constantly assured that they were making sure I wasn't a threat, but I couldn't listen. I couldn't think straight. I was near ready to punch Director Fury in the nose for locking me up in here. 

I sat there, still, constantly, just on the cot, not minding the camera in the corner keeping an eye on me. I didn't mind anymore. 

Third Person POV 

In another room, Captain Steve Rogers, Director Nick Fury and Agent Maria Hill were watching Adelaide Lehnsherr through the camera feed. 

'Has she moved at all, or spoken?' Director Fury asked Agent Hill. 

'No. The only time she talks is to swear at the guard who brings her food in Russian.' 

'She shouldn't even be in there,' Steve said, still watching Adelaide. Not even a week after New York and she'd been locked up in a cell. A spacious cell, but still confining. 'She's not doing anything wrong.' 

'She's a threat to everyone here, Captain Rogers,' Fury replied. 'We just need to make sure that she isn't a threat, that she's not going to kill anyone the moment we let her off the leash.' 

'Keeping her in a cell might not be the solution,' Agent Natasha Romanoff said, coming in and dumping a file on the table. Adelaide's file. 'If we keep her in there for long enough, it's a guaranteed solution for her to become volatile. If we let her out, give her a psych exam to see where she's at, test her physically to see where she's at, at least put her somewhere that isn't a cell, take off her collar and actually give her clothes and a proper room, she'll be more compliant.' 

'And where would you suggest we put her?' 

'The Tower,' Natasha and Steve said at the same time. 

'She isn't a dog, Fury,' Steve said. 'She doesn't need to be kept anywhere. That's not showing her we want to help, that's isolation.' 

'Do you think Stark will want her in the Tower?' 

'We're all moving there soon,' Steve replied. 'She can come with us. We'll give her a room, make sure she feels at home, and SHIELD can keep examining her, making sure she's okay. Unless you've got something else in mind...' 

'I want to make her an agent.' Fury's deadpan reply stilled the room. 

'An agent?' Maria Hill asked with concern in her tone. 

'I didn't mumble, Agent. Yes, I want to make her part of SHIELD. It's why I'm going ahead with the examinations. She has skills we can use, and if she's going to be part of the Avengers in the near future, might as well make her useful when she's not saving the world. Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers, you will oversee her move to the Tower and making sure she is comfortable and at home. I will make sure she gets her psych eval soon, as well as her physical.' Steve stood. 

'Thank you, Director.' He began to walk out with Natasha, but then Fury spoke. 

'Just a warning... she screws up once during this period of time, during the evals, she's going back in that cell.' 

Adelaide Lehnsherr's POV 

I heard the door to the cell block open and looked up to see Steve Rogers press the button to the outer doors of the cell, then step forward and press another button to open the doors to my actual cell. The space in between freedom and my cell was in case I actually did attempt to escape. If I did, the space between would send several powerful electric shocks into my body to knock me unconscious so SHIELD agents who would be watching my door could subdue me. The door opened and I met Steve's eyes. 

'Congratulations - you're free.' I stood slowly. 

'I'm sorry... what? How?' 

'Don't ask, just follow me. You've got a short psych eval before we take you to the Tower.' 

'You mean Stark Tower? Why there?' 

'It's gonna be your new home, at least until SHIELD can figure how best to make you an Avenger.' 

'I don't understand.' Steve turned. 

'Just don't ask me. Fury has plans; I'm not supposed to share them. Come on.' I followed him through the halls, silent for the rest of the walk. He opened the door to an interrogation room. I followed him in, and he produced handcuffs and locked my hands to the table, which I begrudgingly let happen. Then he left. After a few seconds, a young woman came through with a high-tech tablet in her hands. She had white-blonde hair and piercing green eyes, much like Natasha's. She sat down and brushed some of the hair out of her eyes and met my eyes. Pulling out a black box device, she set it on the table and pressed a red button on the top of it. 

'State your name for the record, please.' 

'Adelaide. Adelaide Lehnsherr.'

'When were you born?' 

'August, no - June.' I stared off in the distance, at the one-way observation mirror that I was sure Steve was standing behind. 

'Do you know when you were born or where you were born?' My eyes flicked back to the woman. 

'No. I don't.' She typed something down on her tablet, then looked at me again. 

'When do your memories start getting fuzzy? At what point in your life do you not remember anything?' 

'There's no defined point. Everything's jumbled. I get a memory, a fragment in my dreams, but I can't tell if it's real or not. But everything - with HYDRA, it's clear as day.' 

'Do you remember the experiments they conducted on you?' 

'Yeah... a little bit. So much - pain. So much blood. I know that's real. I know it is, because I saw the scars.' She typed something else down, and met my eyes again. 

'Do you know who your parents are?' 

'I remember a man. He - he, he has a red suit like mine. I think he's my father. He was special to me... I think.' She placed a file on the table and slid a photo in front of me. 

'Do you know who that is?' I reached my cuffed hands and pulled it towards me. 

'No. The face - it's fuzzy, but - I don't know who that is.' The image was of a young man, possibly in his early twenties, with short dark brown hair and pretty blue eyes, with a smile on his face. A memory suddenly shot into my mind in a burst of searing pain, making me flinch.