AELLA TEMPEST used to be a happy and innocent girl with parents who loved her and gave her everything she wanted. Their house was filled with love and laughter, even if her real dad never came back - she had her stepdad. She didn't know what happened between her mum, Diana, and her unnamed father. Only that he left when she was just a month old and never came back.

When she turned 6 she started manifesting her powers, which would bring more pain than joy for the next 7 years. She was so excited that she could now use magic like her favorite cartoon characters that she couldn't help but show her best friend, Kiara. This decision is what brought her to Hydra's attention. They clocked her power and a few nights later they were at her doorstep.

It was just before she was set to be in bed, her mother and stepfather (who for some reason always smelt like he bathed in cheap cologne) were both reading her a bedtime story about superheroes and villains when their front door burst open. Their home was overrun by Hydra agents whose only orders were to bring the girl in alive, casualties accepted. Her parents tried to protect her but they were quickly struck down and despite how hard she tried to use her powers to defeat them like the heroes she read about, it wasn't enough. Her parents were killed and she was knocked out only to wake up a day later strapped to a table in a dingy lab in some Hydra facility in Russia. There she would spend the next 7 years being experimented on, tested, beaten, abused, and sexually assaulted.

The only light in her dark life at the Facility was Cthulu, Illyana and Daniel. Illyana was one of the older girls who liked to be tough in front of them to protect them from the guards and the white coats but Aella knew she was hiding how scared she was. Daniel was her neighbour, he liked to hum after every beating, test and experiment and he was good at it. They liked talking about their families.

Cthulhu was the only animal in the entire facility. They all thought he was just a simple white fluffy ragdoll cat but they came to realize soon after arriving at the facility that he was no ordinary cat. He was a Flerken. None of the children that were stuck there really knew what a Flerken was but they were happy he was no ordinary cat because he took every chance he could to protect him from the horrible Guards. He would use whatever strength he had in the moment to eat any guard that wanted to cause the children harm, especially Aella. He was her best friend and her protector.

While in the facility, she came to know about her true heritage. Her unnamed father now had a name as the god of the north wind, storms, and winter Boreas. Between her fathers domains and her mothers own mutant affinity for water magic Aella learned to control wind currents and freeze water. During her time in the facility, the white coats experimented heavily on her, enhancing her natural powers which made her one of the strongest children kept there, which is why they kept a power dampening collar on her.

She had given up hope of escape years ago, until two siblings infiltrated her hell, rescuing her and her friends.

AELLA sat in her cage, mentally adding another line to the metal wall of her home due to not having anything to carve the wall or her captors to compensate for the new day. The day was normal, nothing different happened. That is until unfamiliar noises start breaching their metal room. Aella sat up just a bit as the door to the room that held their cells burst open. On the other side stood a woman with brown hair littered with maroon highlights. Aella cowered back, scared that this would be another test where they would have to fight this enhanced woman.

Her fears were quickly shut down as she watched and listened to the woman demand the children's release as she forced one of the doctors to open their cells. The doctor reached for her cell first and it wasn't a shock when she saw him pull out a gun with his back turned, a wicked glint in his eyes before he pulled the gun on the woman. It was a shock though, when the woman's eyes flashed a dark red and the white coat began doing everything she demanded, opening her cage without another protest.

Aella was hesitant to trust this woman but she could already feel a bond forming between them the longer they stared in each other's eyes. The maroon haired woman took her collar off, a sign to Aella that this woman may be trustworthy but she wouldn't listen to it until she was absolutely sure. The two gave each other their names before Aella was led out of her cell and the doctor was forced to open the rest of the cages.

Aella stood with Wanda at her side as the rest of the kids slowly surrounded them after their cells were opened and the five with collars had them taken off. After Illyana's unneeded show of strength and hostility the children all told Wanda their names one by one, each of them slowly getting more relaxed the longer they went without being attacked.

"Those are all wonderful names. Are you all ready to go now? We should leave before reinforcements get here," Wanda said. The taller man with silver hair, her brother, Pietro started walking out of the room with a few children following him and then Aella remembered someone was missing.

"We can't leave Cthulhu," Aella told Wanda firmly.

"There's another child here?" Wanda asked her, trying to sense anyone in the base that wasn't them and coming up empty.

"Well he's not a kid but he's my best friend," Aella told her and Wanda nodded hesitantly and turned to the blonde Russian. "Illyana can go with you and grab him. There's no more guards or doctors to bother you. Any of you can grab anything you want from here while we sort transportation out," she told the blonde pair who nodded and scoffed (you can guess who) and walked off quickly with Aella rushing after them.

"Why are you so quick to trust that woman and her brother?" Illyana finally spoke to Aella as they went to find Cthulhu.

"She's nice and she freed us, why don't you?" Aella asked her, she understood the older girl's hesitance to trust again but she could feel Wanda was different than the other HYDRA people.

"Looks can be deceiving just like the...smiley men," Illyana responded with a haunted look, a full body shudder took over her at the thought of those men.

"I don't know, Ana, it's just weird. It's like I can feel a connection to her. Like she was meant to save us. I don't fully trust her yet but deep down, I know she won't hurt us," Aella said, a tired sigh leaving her. "You don't have to trust her, but trust me. I've never steered you in the wrong direction, have I?" she asked her, glancing at her from the corner of her eye.

Illyana was quiet for a moment, her eyes flicking around the hall as they quickly made their way to the room where Cthulhu was being held. "No... I just... The last time I trusted someone I was taken and put here. I can't go through that again, Aella. I just can't," Illyana said.

Before Aella could respond they were in front of the room where Cthulhu would be experimented in. She tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. She groaned in frustration and raised a hand, summoning a gust of wind in front of it before she shoved it at the door making it blast off its hinges.

Aella shot a grin at Ana over her shoulder and she rolled her eyes at the display but it was good seeing her friend happy and being herself for once. The medical room was empty, not a soul lingered. Ana and Aella searched around, ignoring the trail of blood and papers all over the place. Then a meow echoed through the room and Aella's head shot up at the noise and rushed over to it. In the corner there laid a cage with a sheet over the top of it.

Cthulhu was up prowling around the small confines of the cage and when the sheet was pulled off he meowed happily at the familiar face. Aella smiled down at her best friend only to frown at the tight chain tied around his grey fluffy neck. Illyana walked over with a key in her hand that she had picked off one of the tables and unlocked it quickly.

"Hey Cthulhu, it's okay. All the bad people are gone now," Aella told him softly, her voice seeming younger as she spoke to him. He had immediately jumped up into her arms once the collar was off and nudged his head into her collarbone with a purr.

"Good to see you too. It's not like I'm the one that got you out," Illyana huffed, a little jealous at the companionship between the two. Cthulhu pulled his head up, glanced at her and meowed again before he went back into the safe confines of Aellas arms.

"He means thank you," Aella interpreted for Cthulhu and Illyana pushed her long dirty blonde hair over her ears while her mouth crinkled in a smile.

Once Illyana, Aella and the new addition of Cthulhu had met up with Wanda, her brother and the other children, they had already left the entrance of the base. The children huddled around the older twins, waiting for instructions on what they were going to do now. They had no idea what they were going to do now that they were free and they hoped that the Maximoffs had answers for them.

"We're not going to force any of you to come with us but if you would like to, then you are more than welcome," Illyana heard Peitro tell the children. The girls shared a glance before making their presence known to the small group.

Pietro glanced over, hearing their soft footsteps and a smile slipped onto his face at the sight of the animal. "Who is this?" he asked, kneeling down so that he was eye level with the small creature.

"This is Cthulhu," Aella said, a smile stuck to her face. She knew deep down that the twins wouldn't harm her or Cthulhu so she didn't see any problem with being upfront and honest with the older male.

"Well, hello Cthulhu, I'm Pietro and this is my sister, Wanda," the white haired man introduced before reaching a hand out slowly for the creature to sniff.

Cthuhlu lifted his head from against Aella's collarbone and stared at Pietro. The cat took a moment to look over the speedster before he reached his head out to sniff his hand. After he familiarized himself with his scent he pushed his nose into Pietro's palm, allowing the Sokovian male to pet his matted fur.

Pietro smiled at the small gesture of friendship before moving back to let Wanda do the same. Moments later the twins began leading the kids out of the HYDRA base. Once they were outside, they were met with a multitude of Russian policemen and women.

Before they had rescued the kids, Pietro had taken one of the doctors phones, after killing them all, and called the local police station anonymously to let them know what was going on. He figured it would take them a while to get there so they had time to get everyone relaxed and calm before they would meet them outside.

It took them an hour to give the police officers their statements and information on what happened before they were allowed to leave, with the warning to not leave the country for a few days while they investigate. The twins would not be listening to that warning though as they had a more important mission to accomplish.

The twins sat on the hood of the jeep with Aella, Cthulhu, and Illyana standing beside them. All of them watched the children be taken off one by one to the station to focus on finding them all homes for the time being.

"I don't... Where am I going to go?" Aella's soft voice broke through the silence the five of them had lapsed into.

"What do you mean? They're going to find your family," Wanda said, glancing at the young girl.

"I... I don't have any family left... They killed them all the night I was taken," Aella looked down at the snow covered ground as she spoke. Despite the temperature being in the negatives, she couldn't feel it. Her ice magic made her numb to the feeling of extreme cold.

"Oh, sweetie, it's going to be alright. We'll take care of you," Wanda told the girl softly, pulling her in, hugging her and lightly rubbing her back. The girl sniffled a little and nuzzled into the warmth that Wanda provided and her heart felt a little lighter at her words.

"I'll come with Aella, make sure she's safe," Illyana told Wanda with a stern frown, not about to take no for an answer.

"But what about your brother?" Aella asked in shock, holding Cthulhu tighter against her.

"We're not that far from home. I need to make sure you're safe before I can go see him," Illyana answered, thinking about facing her only family member left and shuddered.

She yearned to see him and hug his strong body but she couldn't face him just yet. She wasn't the young girl she was before she was taken by the smiley men. She didn't know if he would recognize her, she could barely recognize herself sometimes. Anger and mistrust were the only emotions she possessed now and she didn't want to burden Pitor just yet. She needed to heal - Aella and her both did.

Avengers POV — two days later

"Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spending time with you guys but why are we watching a cat video? One of us actually has a job besides being an Agent Agent." Tony Stark, the playboy, philanthropist, and billionaire joked pointing to a screen where a mugshot style picture of a grey cat sat beside a surveillance photo of a stunning redhead with her arm around a lean man with silver hair.

Steve Rogers let out a sigh at Tony's usual antics and waited, like the good soldier he was, for the next mission.

"Widow and I are Agents of SHIELD too," Clint Barton huffed, feeling left out but also confused about why they were having a meeting that started with a cat. It was cute don't get him wrong but Fury said it was important and their next target. "Do you know why we're here, Nat?" Clint whispered as he leaned over to her, getting right into her face and the only sign she was annoyed was her eyebrow twitching. She shook her head, her eyes roaming the surveillance photos as she watched the large screen across the long glass table.

Fury walked toward the screen pointing at the man and woman. "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," he started nodding to Agent Maria Hill, a video of Wanda and Pietro at a protest started playing. "Sokovian twins who were orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building," he continued.

"Damn, not a good vacation area I suppose?" Tony joked, his defense mechanism coming out strong.

Maria Hill looked at him blankly and replied, "With your bombs."

That shut him up as guilt covered his face and he sunk into his chair, not looking at anyone.

"What are their abilities?" Doctor Banner asked curiously, clearing the atmosphere as he looked over the fuzzy camera recording of the woman with red wisps shooting off around her.

"From what I gathered she has neural electrical interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation but there could be more. He is a lot simpler with enhanced speed and increased metabolism." Hill answered the man looking over a file she had trouble getting her hands on.

Captain America looked at her blankly while Tony let out a low whistle at the ability list. Seeing the look of confusion on the Captain's face she rephrased so he could understand. "He's fast and she's weird."

"She's got magic abilities from the looks of it," Clint said aloud, hunching in on himself at the memory of being mind controlled by Loki. Natasha patted his thigh under the table in support while the rest grimaced at the reminder of the reindeer god.

"How did they get like that"? Natasha asked wondering where someone developed those abilities.

"Intel from a raided HYDRA base has them signing up for Baron Von Strucker's experiments with the scepter," Fury relayed. "But this is footage we later collected from that same base." A video of Wanda killing Strucker while various guards and doctors take their own lives are played across the screen for the Avengers.

"Brutal," Clint whispered, glancing around the table at the others. Steve looked queasy and turned away from the screen while Stark and Banner seemed like they were staring at a puzzle they weren't quite sure how to solve but perhaps the most concerning was the mildly impressed look in Nat's eyes that had him carefully scooting his chair away from her.

"We looked through numerous traffic cameras and shops to find them but after they destroyed the second base they were gone until a few days ago," Hill told them while playing a new video on the screen. The Avengers watched as Pietro bulldozed through guards while Wanda commanded a doctor to open a cluster of rusted prison cells.

"From what we've gathered off of the base's servers so far the members there specialized in human experimentation alongside human trafficking, more specifically child trafficking," Fury informed them as the file photos of over ten recovered children took over the screen.

Steve, Bruce and Tony watched the screen in poorly restrained horror. Clint reached for Natashas hand underneath the table in an attempt to comfort her. "Where are they now?" Nat asked, squeezing Clint's hand in thanks.

"Most of the children have been found and were placed in government care, some were relocated to existing families, the Maximoffs were a help in that regard. These two blondes went with them. Aella Tempest and Illyana Rasputin. We are still decoding the recovered hydra files for more information on them," answered Hill as pictures of Aella, Illyana, Wanda, and Pietro took over the screen.

"How do we know the kids stayed with the Maximoffs?" Nat asked again with concern as blood splattered pointe shoes performed in her mind.

"Because of this," Fury stated, showing new security footage of a small parking lot showing a grey ragdoll cat sauntering into frame followed by a skinny blonde girl. Aella, Wanda and Pietro while another taller blonde girl, Illyana follows from behind, observing her surroundings.

The Avengers watch closely as the group approaches a dark sedan. The cat jumps up to perch on the trunk of the car while Wanda turns to Illyanna. "What do you think they're talking about?" Steve asked, squinting at the screen as if trying to read their lips.

"Looks like they are splitting up." Clint answered as Illyanna took a step back from the car.

"They're being watched," Natasha pointed out as a lone hooded figure entered the bottom frame.

"This won't end well," muttered Bruce, his eyes locked on the screen.

As the figure draws nearer, a gun is drawn and aimed at Wanda Maximoff's chest. Tony Stark sits uncharastically quiet as Pietro pulls Aella behind him. Agent Hill makes a note in her files as Wanda raises her hands, not in submission to the man with the but to signal her companions to stand down. Once Maria turns back to the screen is when it happens.

The ragdoll perched regally upon the trunk yawns, or at least that was what they thought. The cat's jaw seemed to unhinge as fleshy tentacles shoot out of its mouth snaking around the would-be robber lifting him into the air and swallowing him whole.

"WHAT THE FUCK," Tony screeched, falling out of his chair in shocked horror from what he was seeing on the screen before him.

"Mary, mother of Jesus!" Steve whisper yelled, clutching his neck like there was a chain of pearls around it showing off his age.

"That's not a cat, definitely not a cat!" Clint yelled, jumping and hugging Natasha who was unimpressed at the display of the men in the room but Clint knew she was surprised.

Amidst the Avengers shocked replies Fury was clutching his eyepatch dramatically, a heavy shadow over him despite the bright lights hanging from the ceilings. Bad memories crossed his dark face as he watched the cat and he grimaced. That thing was dangerous. They all knew that, especially Fury, and they all knew that that thing would be coming with them, no matter what they had to do to retrieve it.

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Not much of a road trip but we struggled so hard writing it so we scrapped it lol. Next Up! We meet Yao, the ancient one, some more backstory is revealed and whatnot. 

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