Night Flyer

Chapter 20

   Namara followed Fury down into the depths of the hellacarrier. She'd never been this far into the lower levels before, she didn't have the clearance. There were several cells down here, without windows.

 Fury stopped in front of one cells, swiping an access card. The door opened with a click. Inside the wide cell was the small black box, the same machines pumping the oxygen and sedative into it. Namara shuddered internally. 

 "We've been keeping it sedated, it'll remain that way for transport."

 Namara stiffened, "He's not unconscious. He's still awake in there. He'll be terrified."

"The sedative keeps the Asset from lashing out, we were told that to render it completely unconscious for too long might kill the Asset." Fury turned to the SHIELD team outside, "Prep the asset for Transport to the Avengers facility."

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 An hour and a half later, Namara was walking beside the box as it was rolled out of the plane and into the Avengers facility. Steve was waiting outside, his arms crossed over his chest. The rest of the team stood behind him.

  His eyes narrowed when he saw the box that the kid was being kept in. Steve stepped forward when he saw Namara, walking beside her as they followed the crate into the Avengers facility. 

 "You told me they were keeping him in a box, but this wasn't what I was expecting."

"I couldn't really describe it Steve."

"Fury told me that SHIELD needs to conduct several tests to properly index Asset 7723. Blood samples, stuff like that."

"It's awful," Namara snapped.

 Steve sighed, "I know Namara. But I asked Bruce if he'd do it, I thought it'd be less traumatic for the kid to have Bruce instead of a horde of SHIELD doctors in suits."

  Namara smiled slightly, it felt odd smiling after months of having the same angry expression plastered on her face. "Thanks Steve."

"I know how important helping this kid is to you. I want to do whats right by the poor kid."

  By the time they were done talking, they were standing in front of the door to Bruce's lab. Steve opened it, holding it to one side as the SHIELD soldiers pushed the crate inside. They dropped it with a loud bang, and then walked out of the room.

   Fury stood in the doorway, "We'll wait outside for you to give us the information required, it's on the clipboard I have Dr. Banner. If the Asset kills you, it's your problem."

  As soon as Fury had left, Bruce bent down to examine the box, "Wow. They've got him locked up nicely. They worried he's gonna hulk out?"

 "Something like that. According to the HYDRA files, the kid was experimented on until the mutant gene that gave him strength greater than any other human was awoken. Asset 7723 has superhuman strength and endurance, and an animal like ability to heal. Does the last one sound familiar Namara?" Steve asked.

 "The healing thing, yeah. The superhuman strength, not so much."

 "Let's let him out and get these tests done so we can get SHIELD out of our Facility," Bruce said. He unhooked the machines pumping the sedative/oxygen mix into the box, and began unhooking clasps. He opened the box and revealed the person inside.

  Namara gasped quietly, a hand over her mouth as she peered in at the kid she'd been trying to hard to save. He was tiny, sitting against the wall, his legs drawn up to his chest. Shaking like a leaf in the wind. He had tangle blonde hair that hung down around his face like a curtain. He was so thin that his bones seemed to stick out of his skin. 

 When he saw Namara, Bruce, and Steve standing and staring at him, he scrabbled to get farther into the box. 

 Kneeling down next to the boy, Namara spoke quietly, "Hello. I'm Namara, I talked you on the plane, remember?"

 The boy nodded.

 "Can you come out the box? I have some friends here, they want to help you."

 "Wh-wh-What about the men in uniforms?" The boy stuttered.

"They aren't here. It's just me and my friends. Bruce and Steve are their names. Don't worry, we're your friends. Just come out of the box, okay?"

  The boy nodded again, very slowly edging out of the box.

 Namara held out her hand to the boy, and he grabbed it with one shaking hand. She pulled him to his feet. He was so thin, the HYDRA prison uniform was ripped and hung loosely on him. 

  Namara stayed on one knee, so she could stare directly into the boy's big blue eyes. "Do you have a name?"

 He shook his head.

 Of course he didn't have a name. HYDRA wouldn't have bothered to give him a name, and he had probably been too young when they took him from his family to remember his name. Namara had been 15 when HYDRA took her from the Circus, so she could remember her own name. Namara put on a fake smile, "Well, we'll find you a name. How about that?"

 He nodded eagerly.

  Namara knew he wouldn't be so happy about what Namara had to say next, "Before we find you a name. We have to run some tests. Nothing bad, it won't hurt. Just to make sure your not sick or anything."

 He shook his head, his eyes beginning to cloud with tears, his voice barely above a whisper, "No. Please. I did what they told me, I didn't try to run away. Please don't. Not again."

  Namara cast her eyes up toward the ceiling, fighting the urge to grab the boy and make a break for it. Get him as far away from labs and testing as possible.

  The boy tried to wriggle away, Namara grabbed him, "No. We aren't going to hurt you. I promise. I'm your friend, you need to trust me, okay?"

   "Promise?" He whispered.

"Promise."

 "Namara, you need to get him to lay down on the table so I can take an X-ray," Bruce said quietly.

 "Come here and lay down, okay?" Namara asked.

 The boy nodded, and it broke Namara's heart how blindly trusting he was. As he laid down on the table, Namara saw roping scars around his wrists. He'd been restrained, and multiple times judging by the layering of the injuries.

  The boy kept an ironlike grip on Namara's hand as Bruce took an X-Ray and did a few other scans. But he didn't freak out. Namara could remember when she'd first been taken from HYDRA, when SHIELD had done scans on her. She hadn't been at the Avengers facility, she'd been strapped down on a table in a SHIELD lab, with several doctors holding her down. Namara remembered screaming until her throat was raw and lashing out at everyone near her. Which was why she was trying to keep the boy calm.

   The problem came when Bruce needed to draw blood from the kid. He freaked out, knocking over a table full of equipment and hiding behind Namara. He grabbed her arm, clinging to it like he thought she could protect him. She wished she could.

  "Hey, hey. Buddy, listen. I just need to take a little blood," Bruce said.

  Namara grabbed the boys arms and made him stand still, "Hey. Look at me, look at me. Let's talk about what you want your name to be, how about that?"

  Bruce shot her a grateful glance, and the kid's eyes focused on her, temporarily distracted.

 "I'm gonna call you Buddy for a while. Just until you pick something else. How does that sound?"

    While the boy was distracted, Bruce jabbed him in the arm with a needle, and Namara grabbed his wrists and held him still while Bruce finished drawing blood. 

  "There, that's done now," Namara said softly. "You need to get some rest. Steve's going to take you to your room."

  Steve stood up, holding a door open for the boy, "Come on, this way."

 He shook his head, hiding behind Namara and peering out from behind her. 

 "Alright, we'll all walk together," Namara said. The boy grabbed her hand, and allowed her to lead him out of the room.