Project H.I.D.E (sequel to Newest Recruit)

Chapter 5 - Lightning

"Where is she now?" A woman asked, to no one in particular. She stared up at the large computer screens in front of her. Most of them monitored the rest of the experiments at the lab but one in particular showcased a map of the United States, a blinking red light blipped on the screen.

"She's in New York now sir." A computer technician responded, the woman didn't know their names, nor did she care. Her heels clacked on the linoleum floor as she walked closer to the screen. She stopped in front of the screen, staring at the little red dot that had become her livelihood, she wasn't going to let her slip away.

"And the boy?" She asked.

The computer tech that had answered her before stood up from the chair he had been sitting in, controlling the screens on the wall, "Well, sir, we can't be sure. But we can only assume he's with her in New York."

The woman nodded, her tight bun glued to the top of her head. She pulled down her navy blue pantsuit jacket, straightening it out and sighed, "At least her tracker is still working. Connect to it and show her we're watching."

"Yes sir!" The computer tech saluted the woman and rushed out of the room, going to find the people that could actually do this part of the woman's task.

The woman turned back the computers lined up on tables in front of the screened wall, and zoomed in on the blinking red dot, "New York huh? That's a long way from home sweetie. Mommy's gonna bring you back."

*****

Kelsey couldn't sleep, and it wasn't like she usually did anyways but she figured that the queen sized plush bed and comforters would help. She rolled on her back and sighed, staring at the white ceiling. She flashed back to HIDE, the white ceiling and walls closing in around her, the white coats surrounding her, suffocating her. Kelsey squeezed her eyes shut and blocked out the images from her head.

"It's ok Kels. You're safe now. The Avengers will protect you. You know this." She spoke aloud to herself, hoping that it would calm her down.

As soon as Kelsey had woken up from her trip from the desert she had unconsciously scanned the minds of everyone in the room. She hadn't meant to, but she had been a little disoriented. The first few voices had snuck into her head and then suddenly the entirety on New York was whispering in her ears. It drove her mad, hearing everyone and everything at once, but she had never experienced that many voices at once, hence her mild panic attack. Back at the lab, she hadn't been exposed to many people and it was easy to block them out most of the time, except when the white coats forced her to open her mind and strengthen her 'powers'. Kelsey shuddered.

But during her accidental loss of control she had heard the minds of Tony, Nat and the hundreds of other SHIELD agents, and knew they were the good guys. Sure, she had heard a few people who were weary of the cause, but Kelsey knew that they were consciously evil.

When Kelsey was ten, the white coats had begun training her how to block out the voices, the nicest thing they've done to her. After she had mastered it, she had made a mental promise to herself that if she had ever gotten out of that place, she would never read the minds of the people around her. That she would try to live a normal, powerless life. Only now did she realize how hard keeping that promise would be. Thousands of voices scratched at the back of her mind, threatening to break through the wall that Kelsey had built to block them out.

After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, Kelsey realized that she wasn't going to go back to sleep, she stood up, the doctors had deemed her fit enough to be out of the wheelchair hours ago, and slipped on the black hoodie that Tony had given her, a red Ironman logo was printed on the front. She quietly padded to the door of her room and hesitantly placed her hand on the doorknob.