F O X G L O V E

Elena's head pounded. She paced the room, a hand on the side of her head. She couldn't sit, couldn't lie down, couldn't relax without the throbbing pang in her head. After Tony found a suitable room for her, she had locked herself inside. The Avengers let her be, but she doubted that it was for long.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Elena swallowed down the bile that began traveling up her esophagus. She rubbed her wrist, leaning against a wall. Usually, she found headaches easy to handle. She'd find a dark, quiet room, and she would sit on the floor. This was different. Never had she encountered a headache that was so strong that she wanted her skull to crack open.

Elena pulled on her hair, sinking onto the ground. She gritted her teeth, steadying her breathing. Was this even a headache or was it something more?

Letting her head fall back, she sighed. Her eyes shut as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She just wanted to go home. She got what she wanted, to be a normal human, so why wasn't everything normal? Instead, she was stuck in a tower with strangers with a villain supposedly tracking her. Elena muttered under her breath. What could she do for someone that wanted to induce havoc into the world?

She opened her eyes, letting them wander across the room. Tony had given her a whole suite, and to her grudging relief, it wasn't just one color. She could have lived in the room if there was a kitchen. She had everything else: a bedroom, living room, and a bathroom. Running a hand through her hair, Elena jolted when a sharp knock interrupted her silence. When she didn't answer, the knock only came harder and quicker.

Elena stood, walking to stand in front of the door. She stared at it, arms slack beside her. Before the knock could sound again, she unlocked the door, opening it to let a sliver of light pass through. She stiffened when green eyes stared back at her. Of all people, she didn't expect Natasha to be the one to be at her door.

"Elena."

She gulped, opening the door wider. "Natasha."

Elena felt weird saying her name out loud. She didn't feel like they were close enough. She wasn't close to any of the Avengers, she supposed, but Natasha seemed harder to approach.

"We're briefing the situation in thirty," she said. "Figured you should be there."

"Alright." Elena moved to shut the door.

She stopped when Natasha's foot darted out to stop it from closing. Elena blinked, looking back up. "What?"

"We started off on the wrong foot," she said. Natasha held out her hand. "I'm offering you a new start. You're going to need someone sensible to handle those boys."

Elena stared down at her hand. She hesitated. "How long do you think I'll be here?"

Natasha winced. "I don't know," she said. "Hopefully not long, but Hydra is complicated."

Swallowing, Elena let her shoulders slump. "It wouldn't hurt to be on good terms with someone in this place, I guess." She forced a smile as she took Natasha's hand, shaking on it.

"You want a tour of this place?" Natasha crossed her arms. "Seeing as you'll be staying here, it'd be good for you not to get lost."

"Yeah," Elena replied. "That'd be good."

She followed Natasha into the elevator, and she pointed out the stairs before they stepped inside. Natasha glanced back at Elena, motioning at the floor buttons. "The bottom three floors are practically useless for you," she said. "Stark just likes to have a place that looks organized for the government."

She pushed the button for the top floor. "The top twenty floors are all R&D. Bruce likes hanging up here, and Tony does come up when he's not... troublesome."

"Has that ever happened?"

Natasha snorted. "No, but he likes messing around with his suits." She nodded when the doors slid open. "Here we are. You'll find that Tony has mostly everything if not all the toys."

Elena gulped as she stepped out of the elevator. She didn't need glasses to be able to see how massive just one floor of research labs was, let alone how big twenty must have been. She rubbed her wrist. She hadn't stepped one foot in a lab ever since she gained her powers. She pinched her nose, wandering deeper into the room, so Natasha wouldn't be able to see her face.

She remembered everything. Four years of time couldn't erase how she still remembered the screams and looks of terror. Elena looked up at the lights. She had only been an assistant in that experiment, following the orders of Dr. Lisa Hallman. She had been on a need-to-know basis, but from what she had been told by her superiors, the experiment could have been life-changing if successful.

Elena brushed her hair back. Something had been terribly wrong that day. They were nearing the end, and she was making her rounds, checking numbers and calculations. She sucked in a breath. She didn't know what had happened until a few seconds after. There was an explosion. The screams replayed in her head, and she distinctly remembered Dr. Hallman's orders. Stand firm. We must finish this.

And she had. She had stayed despite every muscle in her that fought to move. Despite the other doctors and scientists that ran. They screamed at her to do the same. They said that none of it was natural, that they were tricked. Elena remembered the way Dr. Hallman looked at her. She had smiled, told her that she would be praised by all.

Then, another explosion. A bright light similar to the sun flashed before Elena's eyes. It burned, and she could still imagine the pain. It was the first time waterfalls had rushed down her head, beads of sweat like heavy rain. This time, the blast was enough to bring the building down. There was not a single survivor with the exception of herself.

Elena blinked when Natasha called out her name. She shook her head, straightening. "Where to next?"

Elena found nothing special about the rest of the tour. The only useful thing she may have learned was the location of the suites.

At last, the tour was over and the briefing was starting. Elena sat beside Natasha, inclining her head when she noticed a new fellow. Natasha rolled her eyes at him, elbowing him in the ribs. "Wake up, Clint. It's past noon."

The man, Clint, grunted and blinked a few times. He looked down at his empty coffee mug with distaste. "Noon doesn't mean anything," he said. Standing, he shuffled into the kitchen. He returned with a full coffee pot, pausing in his step when he noticed Elena.

"Who's this?" he asked. "Did we add someone without me?"

"That's Elena," Steve said as he took a seat on the couch across from them. "She'll be staying with us."

"Did I miss something?"

Natasha smiled. "Sit down. Hawkeye. We have a new mission."

When everyone was settled, Natasha pulled out her tablet. She pressed a few buttons, and a hologram formed in the middle of the room. Elena gulped. It was her apartment.

"Lieselotte Whitehall," Natasha said. "She's the eldest child of Daniel Whitehall, a high-ranking officer of Hydra in World War II."

"Any idea what she's planning?" Bruce asked.

"No," Natasha said, "but she'll be at Elena's apartment tomorrow evening."

"I suppose you want my keys," Elena muttered, staring at the hologram. She didn't know how, but it was almost completely accurate. Even the glass shards were laid out on the ground. "I haven't cleaned up recently either."

Tony snorted. "Whitehall's going to break in, and you expect us to just walk through the front door? We'll need more tact than that."

"She's expecting Elena to be there," Steve said, leaning forward.

"Are you suggesting she be bait?" Tony asked. He grinned. "That's more like it. Dumpling can walk in with her keys and find out what they want, and then we attack. Wonderful plan."

"No," Steve quickly said. "It's too dangerous. She's staying here. I say we confront Whitehall, bring her in. No killing unless necessary."

"You're no fun," Tony whined.

"Any objections?"

They all shook their heads, even Tony who did so reluctantly. Elena sighed but followed their lead. The simpler the plan, the easier it would be. Then, she would be free to return home.

"Clint?"

Elena turned to watch him jerk awake, coffee spilling onto his pants, seeping into the couch. "Aw, coffee, no!"

"My couch!" Tony groaned.

Clint stood, the brown liquid staining his sweats. His faded purple shirt darkened. The coffee continued to spill, and Clint cursed. "No, no, no!" he gasped. "Not the pot!"

Elena watched in amusement as Clint raised the pot over his head. He tilted his head up, positioning his mouth under the crack.

Natasha stood, grabbing towels. Grunting, she moved to start cleaning the mess.

"Clint? The plan?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure. It's good. I'll be ready."

"Good."

Elena stood, slowly walking away. She rubbed her wrist, halting when the traces of her headache returned. She groaned. She must have forgotten it was there with Natasha. Scrunching her face, Elena gritted her teeth at the nausea. That was new. Colored dots danced in her vision, and propping herself against a wall, Elena regained her balance.

She saw black, and before she could realize what was happening, she saw a flash of white. Then, normal.

Not normal.

Elena looked down at her hands, and her eyes widened. Cells. She was seeing cells again. Her jaw dropped down, and stumbled back in surprise. They were blurry without her glasses, but they were there.

"Elena?"

She turned at her name, eyes darting between their different forms. She bit down.

"You okay?"

"I'm good, thanks," she said, turning. Her heart raced, and she punched the call button for the elevator.

She breathed heavily as she stepped in, her weight seeming to bring down the elevator. Elena screwed her eyes shut.

She was not cured after all.

...

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNN.

You didn't think she was actually a normal, average human being, did you? That'd be no fun. I've only just begun here.