The Monster Within - Avengers

Chapter 3

    Fury ordered me out of the room with a flick of his wrist, and the soldier escorted me into a glass elevator. I unfastened my shoulder bandage, which was soaked through, and pulled the fresh piece of cloth from my hair, which I had used to tie back the dull, lifeless strands. After stuffing the bloody bandage in my pocket, I wrapped the bandage around my shoulder with the opposite hand, tying it in a knot at the ends.
    "Were you born with that?" The soldier asked. I almost didn't hear the question because of how softly he spoke. He gestured to the branding on my neck, a lightning bolt and a one side by side just behind my ear.
    "No." I replied, thinking of the burning iron that burned my skin. It was red for days afterwards. "I was branded."
    "Why is there a one next to the bolt though." He looked down after asking the question, as if he thought he was being rude by asking. Although I did not want to answer, he would find out soon enough, so there was no harm in the truth on this subject.
    "Fury wanted to create more of me. I'm the first. He experimented with my blood and DNA for a few years, but gave up. I was hoping he'd given up for good, but sadly not."
     The elevator ride was silent, and the soldier and I walked side by side down the hall to Mr. Stark's lab. I had been to the lab before, but not while this 'Mr, Stark' occupied it.
     A man with a goatee and metal wrapped around his hand was sitting at a table, and I saw sparks fly every so often from the machine he was working on. He muttered a few minor curses before the soldier coughed and he looked up from his work.
     "Hey Cap, and person I have never seen before.... Why are you bleeding?"
     The soldier walked me over to the table and motioned for me to sit in a chair, which I did.
     "Echo, this is Tony. Tony, this is Echo." He introduced us, before promptly sitting down next to me.         
Tony started to mutter to himself, pulling various things out of the many cabinets that lined the walls.
     "So, how old is this mysterious 'Echo' that I've been hearing so much about?" He took a needle out of a box and threaded it, before stitching my skin back together like patchwork.
     "Sixteen." I muttered, tapping my fingers on my leg to distract from the stinging.
     "Cap, you're telling me Shield's biggest secret is a sixteen year old girl."
     The soldier smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Well, Fury's been hunting her for a while, so . . . yes."
I rested my head against the back of the chair and closed my eyes, waiting for the sharp pricks in my shoulder to stop. After Tony finished stitching my shoulder he passed me the bandages, assuming I knew how to wrap my own wounds, which I did. I tore strips from the roll and brought one foot up to rest on the chair so I wouldn't have to bend down to reach the cuts. After tying the cotton tightly around the various scratches and scrapes, I sat up and listened to the two Avengers talk.
"We can't let the experimenting take place, that part's obvious, but training wouldn't be a bad thing, just not as harsh as I think she's used to."
"Well, Fury's going back into hiding, so he won't be around to tell us what to do, I think he'll just expect us to train and run experiments on her. As long as we keep him updated with false information, I think she'd do well at the compound, but we need to talk it out with the others."
"I agree. I can tell Natasha's already fond of her, I think the ones we really need to convince are Sam and Thor. I don't think they like her very much, but I might be wrong."
"Peter's visiting in a few days, he should probably be informed of Volt as wel-"
"My name's Echo." I stood, facing the two with a hand planted on the desk to keep from toppling over. "It's not, and never has been 'Volt'."
"Well, Echo, I have another question, if you don't mind me asking. What exactly are you?"
Electricity snapped in the air, and pulsed in my veins, and I thought I saw Tony back up a bit, immediately sensing the danger of his question. The soldier stood still, silently waiting for my answer. Memories of blood on the floor and lightning crackling filled my vision, and I tightened my grip on the table. "I'm not sure, and I truly hope that you never find out."