The Monster Within - Avengers

Chapter 8

    Under the cover of night, I ran to the nearest town, which was only a few miles away, and hopped onto the next bus to Los Angeles. After murmuring a hello to the driver I took a seat in the back and pulled a book out of my bag and began to read.
    As the sun rose over the horizon I watched in amazement as the city came into view. The bus stopped at a station in the center of the city and I collected my things, stepping out of the vehicle and onto the concrete. With my luck, I spotted a brightly-colored hair salon a few blocks down and made my way there. I tried to avoid peoples' stares as I walked down the street and strolled into the parlor. A young man with spiked green hair stood at the counter chewing a piece of gum, and looked up from a magazine as I walked in.
    "Hey there, how can I help you?" He said in a drawn-out tone, possibly a southern accent.
    "I'd like my hair cut and tempi-dyed please." I wanted my hair cut short and colored a dark, rich brown. I could not have long silver hair with Shield on my tail. I needed to blend in, and I felt like changing my features would draw attention away from me, so I did.
    The person that stared back through the mirror was completely different than me. The girl in the mirror had shoulder-length, chocolate brown hair with turquoise highlights, and two cartilage piercings. I had used my fake I.D. to get a small tattoo on my collarbone, since no one would expect a sixteen year old runaway to have one. A small dragon crawled across my collarbone, looking up towards my neck. After saying thank you to the piercing woman I walked down the street towards the outskirts of town.
The motel obviously wasn't the best, with its peeling wallpaper and missing shingles, but it would do. I sat on a worn mattress eating from a box of pizza on the bed. I had changed my clothes into my 'silent boots', a pair of black lace-up hiking boots, a navy blue crop top, and a pair of dark jeans. My piercings were no longer red and the tattoo was barely pink. Yesterday, after I had arrived in the city, I had seen two Shield agents walking down the sidewalk behind me, but they didn't pay me any attention as they strolled by. The tv was turned to some game show and sound filled the quiet room as I doodled on a sheet of paper. But, a knock on the door a second later made me look up. I froze, dropping the pen and folding the shadows over myself until I was nothing.
"Volt?" It sounded like the soldier, although it was different somehow. I quickly turned the tv off and shoved the bundle of money into my pocket. That, was not Steve.
I calmed myself and backed into the corner closest to the door as Not-Steve spoke again. "Look, Volt. You can come out unarmed and peacefully, and we will transport you to Tahiti in a civil manner. Or, you can stay in there and we can drag you there. You have ten seconds to decide."
No way in hell was I going to Tahiti. I summoned all the courage I possibly had, flicked a shadow into my hand, and opened the door, stepping back into the corner. Shouts echoed from outside, and I heard one above the rest. Then, I recognized the voice. Sam.
Sam knew about me, he knew what I was, and he was the one who I saw in the training room every single day I was put through test after test after test. And he wasn't going to let me escape.
"Echo, I don't want to have to do this!" He yelled, walking into the room. As soon as I had the chance, I bolted.
"Light it up boys!" Sam shouted from the room, and two enormous helicopter lights shined down on the parking lot. And I still had a shadow.
"Shit." I muttered, shoving through the dozens of guards stationed in the lot. Once they realized I was running past them, they attempted to grab me but ended up stumbling over each other instead. One soldier caught hold of my arm and pulled, but after a shock he fell back screaming.
I heard wings over my head and saw Sam on my tail, following my shadows. I stopped running. He landed in front of me, aiming a gun at where my head would be. "Give me one reason I shouldn't shoot."
    I let the shadows leave my body, and watched as they retreated back into the earth. As I looked up, I was met with a stone cold glare. I returned it. "I deserve to die. Pull the trigger Sam, I dare you." And he did.
    He stuck the gun in the air and pulled the trigger, notifying two guards to restrain me. I stood silently as one put cuffs on my wrist and the anklet back on my leg. But this time one pulled out a syringe and jabbed it into the side of my neck. I already knew what it was. A steel circle was latched in place over the tracker and a blindfold was tied over my eyes. The other guard tugged on the chain linked to my handcuffs and I walked slowly, trying to sense the terrain around me. My feet were soon met with a ramp, and I was shoved into a seat on the aircraft. Before I could brace myself, the plane took off and I fell back in the chair. Well, Tahiti's about to receive hell herself, I suppose.