Seeker of Truth - Chapter 5 (Reader x Avengers)

Seeker of Truth - Chapter 5: Who am I?


The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was Tony's expensive table from France, but the glass was missing. You figured that must have happened during the attack. You heard voices in the distant and tried to focus your sight. You must have blacked out again. You guessed that happened a lot lately.

'What do you mean she saw it coming?' Tony’s voice echoed through the house. 'What is she a psychic?'

'I don't know,' you heard Steve say. 'She said that 'they' told her it was going to happen. Then she passed out into my arms.'

'How convenient,' Tony laughed.

'What do we do now?' Pepper said, her voice higher than normal. You could tell she had been crying.

'Oh, come on. You don't believe what he is saying are you? He just wants her to be different, like him.'

'What? No!' Steve said. 'Believe all you want, Tony, but I know what I saw. She told me to get out of the car befóre the building started collapsing.'

'Well maybe she heard something you didn't, mister Captain America. It's not like you are superman. Maybe you just fucked up.'

'Sure, blame it on me!' Steve said, you could hear the anger in his voice.

You straightened yourself and listened more closely to the conversation. You were curious what they had to say about you.

'Maybe Steve is telling the truth, Tony,' Pepper said. 'Maybe we should bring her to S.H.I.E.L.D. They can figure out what happened.'

'Oh God, not you too! Okay, let’s pretend for the sake of the argument that Steve is right. So we bring her to S.H.I.E.L.D they run some test and then what? I mean she is your niece for God sake. If something was wrong with her you would have known, right?'

'Actually, she is not my real niece.'

'Great,' Tony sighed, as he slammed his hand on a table. 'Just great.'

You walked into the kitchen with tears in your eyes. Steve was the first to notice you. His clothes were still dirty. He gave you a small smile, but his eyes told you he was as sad as you.

'What do you mean?' you said, tears burning in thr corner of your eyes.

Pepper turned around and walked towards you. She put her hand on your shoulder, but you shrugged it off.

'Sweetie,' she started.

'No, don't sweetie me. Tell me, what do you mean I'm not your real niece.'

'Just sit down, [Name]. I will tell you.'

You seated yourself at the kitchen table. Pepper took the seat opposite of you, while Tony and Steve stood on both your sides. Tony on Peppers and Steve on yours. You liked it that he chose your side.

'Look, it is not what it seems,' she said.

'Isn't it always?'

'[Name], please let me explain. Your parents, I mean my sister and her husband, never had any children. She couldn't. Because of their low income they were on the bottom of the list for adoption. They waited for years, until the agency thought they were too old. My sister was heartbroken, but as all the women in our family she saw the good in every bad situation. Without children she could put all her time in the charity she and her husband founded years earlier. All the money they had, they spend on helping others. They went to Africa to feed the orphans and they went to India to free girls from a life in the porn industry. Your remember the pictures, right?'

'What does that have to do with me?’ you said. ‘Wait are you going to tell me I was one of those girls?'

'No, [Name]. Just let me finish. They came back one day, from one of their trips. My sister was all nervous and she wouldn't tell me what was going on. Eventually she told me she took a child home. At first I was excited for her, until she told me she didn't actually have permission to take you. She thought that they could come for you any moment. I told her that if they made it this far without anyone noticing, then probably the baby would be fine. When she told me you weren't a baby, I didn't know what to do. But there you were. Not much younger than you are now. You still look exactly the same,' she smiled and sighed, turning her head towards the big windows. 'My sister told me they found you in some warehouse. Hooked up to a machine with weird looking drugs. There was no one around and it seemed they left you for dead. My sisters husband carried you out and they took you home.'

'I don't understand,' you said 'Where the hell do I come from?'

'She never told me where she found you. I never really asked her to be honest. She didn’t want to talk about it. I tried to ask you, but you wouldn't speak. When they died five years ago I went to see you in the hospital. The doctors told me you had lost your memory and that you were asking about your family. That was the first time I heard you speak. The doctor had already told you your parents had died, so I stuck to that story. You didn't seem to remember anything, so I just figured it would be easier for you to think you had lost your parents and your memory. I didn't even know the real story, what was I supposed to tell you.'

'In all those years you didn't think you should have at least told me they weren’t my real parents? I'm a journalist. I could have figured out where I came from!'

'I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't want to up set you, and after you passed your test to attend university you seemed so happy. I just didn't know what to say.'

'You could have started with ‘Your life is a lie’.'

'Now that is not fair, [Name],' Tony said. 'Pepper did what she thought was right. She gave you everything you needed to start your own life. What would you have done anyway? God knows where they found you or what the people who held you did to you. You should be grateful that you are still alive.'

'Calm down, everyone. Can't we talk this through?' Steve interrupted Tony. 'I mean I know how you feel, [Name]. It's hard not knowing what happened, but Virginia loves you. She just didn't want you to get hurt.'

'Well guess what: I am hurt. I don't know who I am. I don’t know where I came from. I don't even know what happened today.'

You sighed and looked at Tony and Steve. There was a long pause and you thought about all the things you wanted answers to. The only way you would ever get them was if you went to S.H.I.E.L.D.

'Bring me to S.H.I.E.L.D,' you said. 'Whatever it is that is happening to me, where ever I come from... They will figure it out, right?'

Pepper wiped the tears from her face and Tony nodded. Steve look at you with his deep, blue eyes. You saw your doubt reflected in his eyes. He gave you a small smile again.

'I do need to warn you,' he said. 'If they find anything, even if it is almost nothing, they are going to hold you there until they figure it out.'

'That’s what she wants right?’ Pepper said. ‘To figure everything out?’

You nodded and looked at Tony who had a grin on his face.

'That's the least of her problems, you know,' he laughed. 'What if she is like Steve?'

'That's impossible. The professor was killed a long time ago,’ Steve answered.

'And besides,' you added. 'I'm not that strong or fast.'

'You know what. I bet it just was one of those Deja vu things.' Tony looked pleased with himself.

'Well, whatever it was, they will find out at S.H.I.E.L.D,' you said determinately.


TO BE CONTINUED...