9 - "bury a friend"

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My eyes snap open at the sound of a light beeping noise. I take a deep breath as I hear someone enter the room, and release it when they clear their throat. 

"Do you want to come to breakfast with us?" Romanoff asks.

I sit up and look at her. If I were normal, I wouldn't be able to know what she was thinking; she was very well trained to keep her face blank. But I'm not, so I could still tell.

'Be gentle. She's a child. Well, a very dangerous and highly-skilled child, but still a child. I'll take her under my wing, but only when she's ready.'

"Do not expect me to be the daughter you will never be able to have, Romanoff." I say. Her stoic face breaks, turning to shock. "Mind reader, remember?"

She smirks at me. "Smart mouth. I like it." Looking into her head, I could tell she was telling the truth, even when I was trying to insult her. She offers her hand to me, and I take it. It's the first hand I've held in a long time, and usually it's to alter the other party's memory. However, the long sleeves I was wearing ended with gloves, so I couldn't use my powers on her if I wanted to.

"I'm not a child, by the way. I'm 16." I say.

"Well, trust me, you bring the average age of the rest of us way down." She smiles as we walk out of my room. She leads me to a common area, with a large couch, coffee table, and huge TV on the wall. Currently it was off, but I could hear music playing over the intercom system. "Tada!" She cheers as we reach the kitchen, separated from the common room by a clear glass wall. I turned and saw everyone looking at me. 

"Erin. Good morning." Barnes greeted me. He was making food on the stove, and even though I couldn't see it, it smelled like french toast.  "I saw in your file that you liked french toast." I nodded, then sat on the opposite end of the table as everyone else, with my back to the wall, so I could see everyone all at the same time. Barnes and Romanoff gave me a knowing smile.

"So, Erin, how old are you?" Stark asked. I turned to him, looked into his mind, and frowned.

"Mr. Stark, you know the answer." I replied. I looked around the room, looking into everyone's minds, and saw the same thing as I had in Stark's. "You all know everything about me. You've all read my file."

"He's just trying to make conversation. It's okay." Rogers reassured. 

"If he wants me to trust him, he should not ask meaningless questions." I quipped.

'Wow, how badly did they mess up Y/N's mind?'

"Your thoughts betray your true feelings, so be careful what you think around me." I snapped.

"What?" Romanoff looked at me in confusion.

"One of you thought, 'wow, how badly did they mess up Y/N's head?'" No one answered. 

We just sat there in silence. 

"Well, this has been fun." I stood up and made my way to the door, but a barrier fell from the ceiling.

"Unauthorized access." Sounded over the loudspeaker.

I sighed, hanging my head. 'Calm down, Y/N. Close your heart. Emotion brings weakness, and weakness makes an unfit agent.' I turned back around, and slowly made my way back to my chair, keeping my eyes down. 

Barnes cleared his throat. "Um, breakfast is ready." I didn't move, and kept my eyes trained on my hands, folded neatly in front of me on my lap. I hear someone walk over to me. I noticed it was Barnes' shoes, and heard a plate and silverware placed in front of me. I looked up, my face blank. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

I know this is an important mission, but I'm going to need some serious rewiring once it's all done.

I picked up my fork and knife, and began eating. It actually tasted quite good.

"So, Erin. How do your powers work?" Hawkeye asked. "You can hear thoughts, but didn't know who it was."

"Clint." Barnes hissed.

"I can hear thoughts constantly. Most times I block it out, and it just sounds like a low buzzing. But I can also sort of . . . highlight words to listen for. Of course, it's not a very useful skill in a fight, because there is a slight delay. I hear the memory of a thought, but not as you are thinking it." I explained sharply.

"So you don't know who the owner of a thought is?" Clint asked.

"Not quite. I hear it in their voice, but when surrounded by many other people in close quarters as we are now, the overlapping noises are distracting. Just like when you're in a room full of people talking, and you hear someone say something, but you can't quite tell who." I explained.

"Oh." The room fell silent for the rest of the meal.

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It's been a week since I've been in this wretched tower. I only ever leave my room for meals, where I sit in silence, far away from the others. They all give me worried glances, and I know they are truly worried. It's all they think about when I'm in the room. It was all a boring loop. To make things more interesting for me, I began to stage "nightmares," and would pretend to wake up screaming. Usually Barnes or Romanoff would comfort me and stay until I fell back asleep, but I would occasionally see one of the others. Tonight was one of those nights.

My eyes snap open at whatever hour it is. I take a deep breath as I look at the clock, and release it as I scream. Soon, Stark stumbles into the room, hushing me as a father hushes a crying child.

"Hey, you're here. You're alright. They can't get you." He consoles.

I muster crocodile tears. "They can always find me. They can always get me."

'I've got to do something about her. I can't let her keep going like this, she's never going to be okay if we don't help her.'

"That's kind of you, Mr. Stark, but I prefer to be alone." I remark.

"Being alone helps nothing." A voice says in the door. Stark and I look up to see Barnes and Romanoff, both dressed in their gear.

"Tony, we've got this. Go back to sleep." Romanoff says. 

"Are you sure?" He asks, looking warrily at the two of them.

"In her file, she exercises extensively every day. It helps to keep the dreams away." Romanoff answered. She steps into the room, carrying something in her arms. Tony nodded, stepping out and closing the door. She sits on the floor in front of me. "Hey kiddo. I've got something for you." She holds out what I see is a bundle of tactile gear, all looking to be my size. I connect the dots from there.

"Based on Mr. Starks' thoughts, yours, and this present, we're going to spar." 

"If you're up to it, Erin." She says.

"Oh, I am." I take the bundle from her.

"Well then, gear up and knock on the door when you're ready."

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