A/N: Again, sorry this took so long to publish. :/  School, making my Halloween costume, and laziness sort of got in my way, but it's finally finished! I hope you all enjoy!

"Jarvis, talk to me, buddy. What's going on?", Tony yells over the alarm.

"I'm not entirely sure, sir. You'll have to see the footage for yourself, but it appears that we have an intruder."

A view of your bedroom pops up on the holographic display on the table behind Bruce. They both watch as a shadow seems to detach itself from the wall and solidify into a girl about your age. She's tall with short, black hair and is dressed in a skin-tight, black body suit with the Hydra insignia on her chest. Grinning evilly at the camera, she melts once more into the shadows and slides up the wall, into a vent.

"Just what we need, another freak loose in the tower," Tony steps into his suit, "Jarvis, keep tabs on our friend in the air ducts. Send her movements directly to my display."

His faceplate slams down and the display boots up. In the lower, right hand corner is a map of the building and its ventilation system. The intruder is labeled with a red dot. The map has also replaced the holographic video feed that they had been watching before.

"She's moving pretty fast," Bruce observes, "She must still be using the shadows as transportation, seeing as no one could ever crawl that fast."

Tony radios the rest of the team, "Guys we have an intruder. Very pretty, but with some serious voodoo abilities. She can melt into the shadows, so who knows what else she's capable of doing. She also had a big, fat 'property of hydra' stamped on her, so I'll just say that I did tell you all so."

"Yeah, we get the idea, Stark," Steve says as he grabs his shield, "Everyone suit up and assemble at the intruder's location. Except for you, Nat. Take _______ somewhere safe."

"Rodger that."

"Stark, where's our intruder headed."

"She's making a beeline straight towards my lab. Bruce and I are there now, but you guys had better get down here soon."

"I will be there in but a moment, my friend," Thor thunders.

"Heading your way now," Clint says with far less volume.

Tony turns to Bruce, "You'd better do you thing, big guy, or get out the way."

Bruce nods and his face contorts as his skin turns green and he grows to over twice his previous size. Luckily, the ceiling is high enough to accommodate the Hulk's height.

Tony grins. "Welcome to the party."

The Hulk just grunts and peers around, watching for the intruder.

Steve, Clint, and Thor burst through the doors.

"How far away is she, Stark?", Clint asks. He still looks a bit pissed about earlier.

"She's about five seconds from bursting thorough that vent," Tony says, ignoring Clint's angry look as he points towards a vent across the room. Clint nocks an arrow and draws his bow as Steve raises his shield and Thor hefts his hammer. Tony aims his repulsors across the room and the Hulk growls and crouches, getting ready to charge the approaching assailant.

Everything is silent except for the Hulk's breathing. The next second, the vent cover goes flying across the room and shadows like melted rubber begin pouring out onto the floor.

From the mass of darkness rises the girl from the security feed. Her grin chills everyone's blood as the shadows rise up like tentacles around her.

"Tell me where she is and I might just kill you quickly."

A few floors up, Nat has finally gotten you moving and hurries you into the elevator. She presses the button for the floor that Tony's lab is on. You look at her with a mixture of confusion and a bit of panic.

"Why are we going towards the dangerous mutant Hydra agent?"

"I'm going to put you in Bruce's panic room. It's for when he needs to hulk out and can't contain it anymore. It's down the hall from Tony's lab and it's the most secure room in the building. Once I drop you off there and seal the doors, I'm going to go and help the boys. Something tells me that they're going to need all the aid they can get."

You nod as the doors slide open. Nat hurries you down the hall and into an empty, white, padded room. You try to ignore the fact that it looks a lot like a large cell for psychiatric patients.

"Stay here. When I leave, hit this button to lock the doors," she points to a red button on a panel next to the door, "When I come back to get you, I'll knock like this in order to let you know that it's me," she raps he knuckles on the door twice, pauses, then gives it three more knocks, "Do not open the door for anyone else, even if it's someone that sounds exactly like me. To open the door, press the button again."

"How do you guys keep Dr. Banner in here when he's hulking out? Wouldn't the Hulk be able to hit the button and get out?" At this point, you're just trying to stall for time. Nat's teammates probably need her right now, but you don't want to be left alone.

"It's specially designed so that once the doors are locked, they can only be unlocked with a human finger print."

From down the hall, you can both hear the sounds of a fight, signaling the fact that the intruder has reached the lab. Nat glances behind her, then turns back to you.

"I'll be back soon."

The door slides closed behind her and you press the button, hearing the lock click into place. You pace for a few seconds, listening to the sounds of battle, then decide to sit on the floor against the wall.

You're close enough that you can easily hear the explosions and booming of thunder. Every once in a while, the Hulk bellows, shaking the whole building, but you never hear a single scream. Whether they were the product of pain or fear, you had always heard them on your missions. This one almost seems like a fake battle to you, you're so used to hearing screams.

Your morbid train of though is suddenly interrupted by a profound silence. You strain your ears, even turning so that you can press one to the wall, but you can't detect a single sound. It's almost as if someone has cut off your hearing. You snap your fingers next to your ears, but you can hear just fine. Worry begins to claw at your heart, making it pump faster and faster. Did they defeat the intruder? What if they've all been killed?

Finally, the curiosity gets the better of you and you push yourself up to a standing position. You cautiously walk over to the door and hit the button. The door slides soundlessly open and you stand to the side, peering around the door frame into the hallway.

Using your stealth training, you advance down the hallway towards the lab. You're struck by the thought that, if the attacker did succeed in defeating the others, they could come into the hallway at any moment and spot you. Without your powers, you would be sitting duck for any attack that would follow.

Despite these thoughts, you make it to the area outside the lab safely. Pressing against the wall, you peer around the corner into the trashed lab. There are work tables smashed against the walls and scorch marks on the floor from Thor's lightning and Tony's repulsors. The fluorescent lights are flickering and hanging from the ceiling, adding a creepy, haunted look to the already heart-stopping scene.

Lying around the room, encased in what look like shadowy, black ropes with matching gags, are the fallen Avengers. Even the Hulk is immobilized. They struggle against their bindings and Tony seems to be trying to yell some very choice words at the intruder, but none of them can move or make a sound.

Standing among them is a girl with short, black hair and a Hydra jumpsuit not unlike the one that they used to make you wear. Curling around her are what look like black tentacles, but they're not exactly black. They almost look like holes in your vision, like they're made of pure darkness.

However, the tentacles are not what disturb you about the scene. You aren't even very disturbed by the fact that the Avengers have been defeated. It scares you, but it doesn't disturb you, making you feel like something isn't right, like something's changed and you can't tell what it is. What disturbs you is that the girl looks familiar, like you've met her before.

You watch as she begins pacing among your fallen friends, grinning manically as her tentacles follow, trailing from her shadow.

"I assume that you've all heard of me. I am the darkness that comes before death, slow and suffocating and silent. I am the deepest depth of the ocean and the darkness of space high above you. What? You haven't heard of me?", she pouts, looking around at her quiet captives. "Well, I'll just have to jog your memory, then. The name's Abyss."

All of the Avengers' eyes widen and they struggle a bit harder against their bindings. Steve in particular looks like he's about to throttle anyone and anything that gets between him and decking this girl.

She laughs, throwing her head back in the classic villain style. "So you have heard of me. I knew it! Now," she suddenly becomes very serious, the look in her eyes as dark as her shadows, "where is that piece of trash that you picked up at your last raid? Anyone want to volunteer the information? How about.... you," she points at Tony and the shadows disappear from around his helmet.

Your heart skips a beat. Knowing how distrustful he is of you, Tony probably has a tracking device in your cuffs. He's probably been aware of your every move since you first arrived. All it would take is for him to say the word, and you're as good as dead. You hold your breath as he silently regards Abyss.

"I don't know."

You let out your pent up breath, equal parts relieved and confused as to why Tony of all people would help you.

Abyss's expression turns positively icy and murderous.

"Now why don't I believe you? Oh well, I'll just have to pry you out of your flimsy little crab shell. Maybe then you'll be more willing to talk."

She stretches her hands out towards Tony, her fingers like claws. The tentacles around her lift from the ground and stiffen, turning into menacing spikes. Abyss positions them over Tony, poised to pierce his armor.

"No!", you scream and rush into the room, forgetting about your lack of powers and the fact that you're supposed to be hiding right now. Your only thought is that Tony is about to be exposed and probably hurt and most likely killed and you refuse to let anyone get hurt just because they helped you.

On instinct, you fling your hands towards Abyss, fingers outstretched as if you were going to summon a laser. For the tiniest fraction of a second, nothing happens and the room goes completely silent. Abyss starts to turn towards you, but she's moving in slow motion, along with everyone else in the room.

For the smallest moment, you think I'm dead. This is how I die.

Then, you feel your power welling up inside you, slowly at first, then in a tidal wave of light. It sweeps up from your chest, down your arms, and shoots through your fingertips, hitting Abyss in the center of the chest.

Suddenly, everything goes from slow motion to hyper speed and before you know it, Abyss has been flown across the room and through the window, falling out of sight.

The shadows disappear from around the Avengers and the tentacles melt into the floor without a trace. The heroes sit up and stare at you, equal parts confused and amazed that you were able to use your powers. Nat, on the other hand, just looks like she's about to wring your neck for leaving your hiding place.

You're also confused as to how you were able to use your powers, until you look down and see that the cuffs are completely fried. They've both stopped glowing and are emitting smoke. One even falls off under your gaze.

You start to hyperventilate, dangerously near true panic. Without the cuffs, Hydra can take control of you again. What if the chip's influence is still there, lurking in the back of your mind? What if you suddenly go crazy one day and decide to hurt the people who had saved you, despite being the monster that you were? You can't let that happen, you can't let your powers endanger anyone else ever again.

In your worry, you imagine that you can feel the chip urging you to attack the Avengers. You know exactly how you would do it, too. You'd start off with a sonic scream and a flash-bang to disorient them, turn invisible, and bombard them all with lasers until they're bleeding out on the floor. It would be so quick that even the Hulk wouldn't be able to stop you.

No! You can't even think of doing that. You would never do that. Right?

Finally, the panic takes hold of you and there are tears streaming down your face. You bring your palms up next to your ears and prepare to send another shockwave through your skull. You know it might kill you, but you're tired. You're tired of being afraid, you're tired of hurting people, and you're tired of life itself. Everything is just too painful, so why not end it.

You close your eye, but before you can do it, you feel Nat's arms around you and her voice in your ear whispering that it'll be all right. You grip her and cry, collapsing against her chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you sob over and over again.

She rubs your back and shushes you softly, lowering you carefully to the ground.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, ________. You saved Tony, and probably the rest of us as well. There's no reason for you to be sorry."

You don't have the energy to respond and after a few minutes, your sobs die down to hiccups and you fall asleep against her, exhausted.

Nat looks up to see Thor, Steve, Tony, Clint, and a recently-returned Bruce standing awkwardly around her, unsure of what to do.

"She saved me," Tony says, flipping his faceplate up. He doesn't say it with surprise or confusion, just as a statement of fact. Maybe, just maybe, this girl isn't as bad as he used to think.

They all nod. Nat gently lifts you and carries you back to your room with the others in tow. As she sets you down on the bed, Tony steps forward.

Gently, so as not to wake you, he unlocks your remaining useless cuff and takes it off.

"I don't think she'll be needing this anymore, not that they actually worked."

The others smile, happy that you've finally been given the full Avengers approval. As they all quietly exit your room, Thor is the only one that seems unsettled.

"My friends, I do not think that our troubles are over. I took a glimpse from the window that lady Abyss flew out of. Her body was nowhere to be found. I fear that she might have survived her plummet."

The smiles fall from their faces.

"Great," Steve growls, "just what we need: Hydra's number one secret weapon running loose again. From what we read in those files that we got from ______'s base, we're extremely lucky to have survived our earlier encounter."

"Yeah, she makes _____ look like a harmless kitten. Speaking of which, I'm worried about that whole episode a few minutes earlier," Clint says, referring to your psychological breakdown, "Why was she so panicked about being able to use her powers? If I was her, I would be excited to finally get them back. Do you think she was worried that we would be angry?"

"No, think about what she's done with those powers," says Bruce, "When you have the power to kill people, you might be scared of that power and prefer killing yourself to being given the opportunity to use it."

They all go silent at that. Steve heaves a stressed sigh and addresses everyone.

"Alright, Tony and Bruce, I want you to start tracking this girl. See if you can find out if she's emitting any energy signatures and scrub social media for any reports of falling girls or weird shadow activity. Everyone else, I'll radio you if we find her, but other than that, you can go about your usual business."

They all nod and go their separate ways.