( warning! there is blood and violence in this chapter! )

"DO YOU want to talk about what happened to you three months ago?" Dinah asked, notepad set aside, but still twiddling a pen around in her hand. Eli shrugged slightly, staring anywhere but at the psychologist. "I understand it's hard, but so far all you've stated is how the Avengers saved you, in extensive detail. Your memory of that week is incredible, which means instead of blocking it out, your mind committed every single detail and action to memory." Dinah explained, eyes trained on Eli, gauging her reaction. The blonde flinched slightly, barely noticeable.

"I don't remember posting the picture beforehand," Eli said, the first words she'd spoken since the session began twenty minutes ago. "I know that doesn't matter, but I don't remember posting it. I know I did, can see it every time I go on Instagram. But whenever I try to think back to that moment, I never remember actually posting it. I think it's the only think I can't remember." She explained, eyes finally meeting Dinah's.

"Do you remember anything specific before waking up in that cell?" Dinah asked, treading lightly with her words. Eli liked to focus on her rescue, on the happy ending, but that wasn't helping her process.

"Bits and pieces," Eli muttered with a shrug, rubbing subconsciously at her left hand. It had healed, but it still ached often.

"Then let's focus on what you do remember." Dinah suggested, the pen stilling in her hand. "What do you remember?" Eli shifted back in her seat, eyes trailing from the floor to out the window. The New York City skyline stared back at her.

"There was a party."

–•–•–

THREE MONTHS AGO

"Shit," Eli grumbled, realizing she'd just locked her keys inside of her apartment. After a moment, she decided to leave that problem for the future. She was already running behind, and if she didn't hurry, Eli was going to miss her train. With her wallet and phone in hand, Eli quickly slipped on the jacket she had grabbed before hurrying down the stairs, and out of her apartment building.

Eli was glad that the boots she was wearing didn't have too high of a heel, because she knew that she would've gone tumbling down the sidewalk the moment she tried to run. Quickly dodging around a couple, she ran nearly a block before checking her phone. The subway was a few minutes away now, and she still had twenty minutes before her train. Slowing to a walk, Eli unlocked her phone, eyes glancing over the messages she received from her friends already at the party — Tony Stark's party, because apparently she was friends with the Avengers now.

Something hard hitting the side of her head made Eli stumble to the side, dazed for a moment. Her left hand came up to touch her head, pulling it back once she made contact with something wet. Blood coated her fingertips, and while she was confused, Eli knew that it was a bad sign. Someone shoved her roughly, sending her tumbling to the ground on the wet pavement, her phone and wallet clattering to the ground with her. She looked up, realizing now that in her momentary daze, she had stumbled into an alley. Two figures stood over her, but she couldn't really make out what they looked like. One figure spoke to the other, and Eli realized it was a woman's voice, and that said woman was holding a gun in her hand.

"Who are you?" Eli managed to splutter out, the pounding in her head beginning to set in. The only response she got was the strange woman striking her across the face with the butt of her handgun. Eli crumpled to the ground, groaning as she gingerly touched her hand to her lip. She felt the blood that was now flowing from her split lip, and hissed in pain at the touch. A rumbling sound broke through her distracted thoughts, and Eli slowly turned her head to look at her phone on the ground, vibrating as someone tried to call her. She recognized the contact picture as it appeared on screen — it was Steve.

Slowly, Eli rolled over into her stomach, reaching out for her phone, but it was out of reach. She crawled forward slowly, glancing over at the woman, who was now talking to the other person who had returned. If Eli could just grab her phone, could just swipe the screen to accept the call, then she would be okay. She just had to let Steve know she was in danger. Her fingers were nearly grasping the phone, before a heavy boot came smashing down on top of it, shattering the screen. The phone continued to vibrate, so the woman stomped down again. This time, the phone flickered and promptly died, leaving Eli with nothing. The woman crouched down, and Eli could see her now — she had black hair, dark eyes, and a smile that crushed any hope that Eli had left. She leaned in, grabbing hold of Eli's hair, and yanking her head up so she could lock eyes with her.

"There are no heroes here."

–•–•–

It hadn't quite been a day, and all Eli knew was that her head hurt, and that these people weren't interested in killing her — at least not yet. They had brought her to a warehouse, with the Stark Industries logo printed boldly on the front. Eli assumed it used to house weapons, back when they were still being produced, but it was empty now, except for some old shipping and storage supplies.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," The woman from the alley said, walking in a slow circle around Eli, who was chained with her hands above her head. She briefly heard her be called Nadine before. "What is your entrance code for the Stark facilities?"

"1-800-None of your business," Eli replied with a short laugh, which quickly died in her throat as a familiar curved blade was dragged down the side of her face, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

"Your wit was fun at first, but it's just tiring now." Nadine spat, taking a step back. Cuts and bruises littered Eli's skin, along with the split lip that was beginning to scab over, and the small wound on the side of her head.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Eli muttered out, her wrists aching as she twisted them in the chains again. Nadine scowled, before walking behind Eli. She heard the clinking of chains, before she suddenly fell to the ground, the chains no longer pulled to keep her hanging.

"Maybe I can convince you to stop talking." Nadine growled out, and Eli closed her eyes the second she saw the metal pipe heading directly for her face.

-•-

The third day was the worst. Whoever Nadine was working for, whatever they wanted, had arrived. The man wore an expensive-looking suit, and he exuded power. He had Nadine stop asking for Stark facility access codes, and instead wanted her to focus on everything she knew about the Avengers, and anyone connected with them.

One of Eli's eyes was black and blue, and swollen to where it could barely open. The rest of her face wasn't looking that great either, and she was sure that she had at least one fractured rib. The only good thing was that, because of all the time she spent pulling and twisting her wrists inside the chains, her left hand was beginning to get loose. They didn't leave her hanging all the time, just when they needed to try again to get information out of her, which meant she could sit and try to wriggle out of the chains.

After some painful twisting, Eli's left hand finally slipped free from the chains. She could properly see the horrible bruising around her wrist now, and held back the wince that threatened to jerk through her body. As quietly as she could, Eli began working on getting her other hand free from the chains.

"What do we have here?" Eli froze at the voice of the powerful man behind her. She turned her head, looking up at him from where she sat on the ground. "Trying to escape?" He asked, moving down into a crouch, an amused smirk on his face. "I admit, I like your spirit. Feisty, brave, you refuse to give up your friends. It's admirable. I do like you, Elizabeth," The man said, standing back up, gesturing to Nadine and the other man who helped take her the night of the party. "Unfortunately, my dear, I can't have you thinking escape attempts go unpunished."

Eli was hauled to her feet, and all but dragged towards a table. The man held Eli in place, while Nadine grabbed her left arm, placing it on the table, pressing her hand palm-down to the cool metal. Eli was confused, until she saw the man walking back over to them. In his hand, he held a hammer.

"No! No, please!" Eli screamed, trying to pull away from Nadine and the other man. They held her firmly in place, and Eli couldn't look away as the man brought the hammer down on her hand.

-•-

Her hand was broken. It was the fifth day, and her hand was excruciatingly, extremely broken. The only saving grace was that her fingers were still set correctly, so they wouldn't begin to heal wrong, and cause further damage. The same could not be said for the rest of her hand. It was deep purple and blues, swollen and painful. Even with her broken hand, they had her hanging up again — she wasn't allowed back down anymore. Again, all day, Nadine asked her questions about her friends while the powerful man watched, and again, Eli gave them nothing but attitude and witty comebacks. The responses felt automatic, which Eli was grateful for, because she didn't think she had enough energy to properly think about anything anymore. She's hardly slept, and was only given some food yesterday to keep her going. She was given water every day, though only in small amounts.

Eli would be lying if she said that a part of her wasn't dying to just start spewing everything she knew about the Avengers. The worst part, was that she knew they wouldn't blame her. She knew that they'd give her a knowing smile, and tell her it was alright. It was that thought that steeled her resolve — she wasn't telling these assholes anything, even if it killed her.

"You bore me." Nadine spoke bluntly, approaching with the same curved blade she favored. "You make so much noise. I wonder if we can get anything new out of you." She said, before burying the blade in her side, and twisting it sharply. Eli screamed, thrashing around to try and get away from the woman. She only succeeded in moving the blade around more, and further damaging her broken hand.

-•-

It was fifteen fours into the eighth day, when Eli seriously considered giving up. She was holding on, and for what? To be tortured more when she wouldn't tell them anything? Her entire body hurt, more bruises and cuts than actual skin at this point. Her black eye had only gotten worse, now completely swollen shut, and her fractured rib had definitely upgraded to broken. Her hand didn't get the chance to begin to heal, with Nadine stomping on it every chance she got, grinding her heel against it for good measure. Eli's throat hurt from screaming, her body ached, and she was surprising herself at how long she's been staying conscious with the amount of blood she had lost.

She was alone, when Eli felt something slither over one of her exposed ankles. She jerked in surprise, looking down to find a black tendril withdrawing from its place. Her eyes followed it, until they landed on a large black mass hiding in the shadows.

"Venom," She breathed out, nearly crying at the mere sight of him. Venom quickly faded away, leaving Eddie in its place. He clicked something in his ear, before speaking.

"I have eyes on Eli, she's not looking great. I don't know how many men there could be in here." Eddie said, hurrying over to Eli. He rushed behind her, releasing the chain and gently lowering her to the ground. Eli tried to best to stand but quickly collapsed, landing on her broken hand. She cried out in pain, which was her last mistake.

The door to the room kicked open, and Nadine came walking in, her eyes narrowing dangerously when she saw Eli on the floor. Pulling a gun from her waistband, she wasted no time in firing two shots, aiming for Eli's shoulder, a nonlethal place. As long as she was kept alive, there wouldn't be a problem.

There was a swift breeze, and the bullets disappeared. Growling, Nadine fired again, but those bullets disappeared too. Eddie had dropped down, beginning to undo the chains around Eli's wrists. Nadine let out a huff of annoyance, readying to fire again, when she was suddenly tackled from the side, sending her slamming into the ground. A man with silvery-white hair stood over her.

"You didn't see that coming?" He asked, kicking the gun away from her. "Clear for incoming." He spoke into the comms, speeding over to help a now-free Eli stand. Suddenly, the doors kicked open, and a few dozen armed men rushed in, guns raised and pointed towards the trio.

"We got this," Eddie said, completely handing Eli over to Pietro, Venom enveloping him again. "I'm hungry." Venom growled, showing all of his teeth.

There was a faint blast, before a large section of the the roof was blasted open, and figures began dropping down onto the debris. Gamora and Nebula took up their stances in front of and behind Eli and Pietro, covering them from both sides. Wanda quickly joined her brother, helping hold Eli up, with Peter perching up on the rafters directly above them. Natasha and Clint paired off, facing several men, geared to attack. Hulk roared, and Valkyrie elegantly landed next to him, her sword drawn. Tony, Rhodey, Pepper, and Sam kept to the air, making sure no one could escape. Thor and Bucky dropped in, eyeing a good dozen of soldiers. Steve dropped in last, radiating a kind of authority that the man who orchestrated all of this could never even hope to achieve.

"Avengers!" Steve called, looking over at Eli. "Let's kick some ass."

–•–•–

"When I got back to the compound, T'Challa and Shuri were there to help take care of my wounds. They brought Wakandan tech with them, but I was too touch and go in the beginning for them to really use it at first. They could take care of most cuts without scarring, but my hand had to heal naturally, and some of the rougher ones left a scar. Mantis was there to help me rest a lot. Every time I closed my eyes I was just back in that warehouse." Eli explained, and Dinah nodded along, having been paying intense attention the everything the blonde was saying.

"You went through a lot. But you survived." Dinah said. This was progress, more progress than she had made in the past three months. Eli was quiet again for a moment, her hand instinctively going to her side, rubbing the spot where a knife was twisted into her.

"Yeah," She said with an attempted half-smile. "I survived."

( and the character arc has begun. also, i'm making a spotify playlist for eli! i'll be adding more songs as i go, and i'm just adding any that i feel suit eli, or this story. all you have to do is scan the code on the picture below, and Spotify will take you to it! )