Nightingale | An Avengers Tale

Chapter 15 ~ weakness

Several hours had passed since I had come to the revelation that Jack had to be the one feeding Hydra information. But unfortunately, I was again too late. He was gone, and had taken the knowledge of our location with him. The worst part about all of this was that I didn't believe he truly even knew what he was doing.

Before the decimation, Jack had been forced to do the biddings of his crazy uncle, Jonas Harrow. The only way to describe Harrow was as a mad scientist, emphasis on the mad. He made the Mad Hatter look normal.

Jack's parents had died because of an experiment gone wrong by his uncle. The electro-magnetic chamber hadn't killed him though, but it had left him with the ability to control his body density; at the time, Jack was less than unenthusiastic about his newfound ability. However, his uncle had seen this mutation as a way to expand his own wealth; he then lied to his nephew by telling him he knew of a procedure to remove the ability. In reality, he had inserted a receptor in Jack's brain so that he could control him. While Harrow had died during the decimation, unfortunately no one had been able to remove the receptor. It hadn't been a problem, or so we all thought.

I shook my head, wanting to ignore the dilemma at hand. This house was almost stifling. Clint had told me that someone named Fury was going to be coming to talk to me about everything that happened. Deep down I knew it was actually an interrogation. Bucky trusted me, but no one else did. I honestly couldn't blame though. I had lied, stolen, and stabbed some of them.

I glanced out the window from the second story window; the woods were so close and yet so far away. I had been strictly told to not leave the premises of the cabin, but then again, I had never been the best at following the rules.  Clint, Bucky, Sam, and Bruce were all downstairs trying to come up with a plan; I had no clue where Peter was.

I slipped a blue flannel shirt over my shoulders. I glanced down at the loose white T-shirt and cropped jeans that I had been given. I winced as I jostled my shoulder; I glanced down to see it had mostly healed. I slowly slid off the bed and tested my ankle on the cold wooden floor. Not sensing any pain, I let my whole weight rest on both my feet. I shoved my feet into a pair of navy blue cloth sneakers that I found at the foot of the bed.

I glanced at the door, trying to decide whether I should ask about leaving the cabin or if I should just go. I shook my head and silently shoved the window open. I slid out onto the ledge and quickly climbed down the tree that was conveniently right next to the now open window. Whoever thought leaving me in that room by myself was absolutely crazy. While my escape was cliche, I didn't mind; I was free for a few minutes.

I glanced behind me to make sure no one had heard my escape. I then began to wander into the nearby forest. After a few minutes, I had completely lost myself in the wonder of the woods. I slipped my shoes off my feet and discarded them next to a large tree. I let a small smile spread across my face as I let my toes squish in the soft, green moss that lined the forest floor.

I closed my eyes and held out my arms, allowing the gentle breeze to flit around me. The birds began to sing as they seemed to decide that my presence was no threat to them. I slowly began to dance to the songs that began to play in my head. While it had been something I had learned from my time with Hydra, it was one of the few things about my past that I didn't hate. Dancing was a strange mix of exhilaration and relaxation.

I continued the steps until I became aware of someone else's presence. I opened my eyes and glanced up into the trees to see that Peter was watching me. "Ever heard on privacy, Parker?"