Oi, writing this right now is a pain. I'm so excited to write new chapters on this book, but there's too much that I need to go back and include in my previous chapters. Let's just say that I actually came up with a decent plot for this book a bit ago, but I had way too many plot holes after I came up with it so I have to rewrite several chapters.

So, basically to sum it up, I can't move much farther on this book until I finish revising the earlier chapters :/

Therefore, this chapter is gonna be forced to be short for today

Everyone's got their bad days in the city. Lillian just got dumped by Jacob, so she's lying on the couch crying her eyes out. Mr. Kempt's dog just passed away, so he's sitting on the park bench and staring wordlessly into the horizon. Conner's best friend since childhood is having to relocate after her parents got divorced, and even Shane is having his fair share of tears after finding out that his girlfriend of three years has been cheating on him with his rival.

Though, it was pretty safe to say, there was only one person who was having to cope with the fact that his best friend slash huge crush was just abducted by Hydra agents who are way too good at their job, and that oh-so-fortunate person just happened to go by the name Peter Parker.

    Yeah, apparently Mr. Stark vaguely knew someone who were a potential ally in tracking down Ashley. However, it had been a painstaking six minutes since Mr. Stark had removed himself from the room to go make a call, and Peter's side was still lacking of his other half. Yeah, okay, maybe he was a little bit impatient, but could you blame him?

    "Kid," Mr. Stark's voice shattered the silence of the room. The billionaire was no longer on the phone with Mister-Top-Secret-Helpful-Man and had reentered the area he had abandoned Peter in. Mr. Stark jerked his thumb in the direction of the door, but Peter awkwardly remained rigid in his stance. "Let's go," the man added in exasperation.

    "Oh, right! Sure thing Mr. Stark," Peter yelped and threw himself into a jaunty walk. "Where are we going, again?"

    "Meeting up with an old 'friend' of mine. A cranky, bossy old pirate."

    "Pirate? As in like swashbuckling pirate? Mr. Stark, is he like that guy from those movies called the Pirates of the..." Peter excitedly rambled, which was abruptly cut off when Mr. Stark groaned and held up his hand to stop Peter.

    "For the love of God Parker, Jack Sparrow is not saving your girlfriend from Hydra."

    "I never said she was my girlfriend-"

    "Irrelevant," Mr. Stark interrupted. "Now be quiet or I'll gladly ditch you on the side of the road."

    Peter huffed but ultimately obeyed Mr. Stark's command. The pair had hastily made their way to the Avengers Tower landing pad, which was currently occupied by a Quinjet. It was only a matter of seconds before the jet was abandoning the ground and cutting through the crisp afternoon air. Where they were going was far beyond Peter, but he couldn't care less. As long as it meant that Ashley would be saved soon, he was content.

"So, kid, have ya ever been to D.C.?"

~

Ashley couldn't ignore the pulsating caution that laced her thoughts. Her stomach was twisted and churning as she sat at the desk in uncomfortable solitude. Jasper and Fitzsimmons had long since abandoned her quarters so she could contemplate their offer. Her immediate instinct was to jump at the beautiful opportunity that had been so graciously presented to her, but as time wore on, there was something she couldn't explain that was gnawing away at her confidence.

The only way she could put it to words was in a comparison to that hesitant feeling that when you want to do something that your legal guardians probably wouldn't approve of you doing and it was next to impossible for them to figure out that you had done so, yet something in your gut was telling you not to test it. You couldn't explain how you knew that your plans were going to turn awry, but you knew.

"You're so close to figuring out where you came from, though!" Ashley argued with herself, then groaned as she realized that she had resorted to talking to herself. What was next? She'd start narrating her life out loud? She scoffed.

Something is off about all of this. Maybe the room that they put me in isn't locked and I'm not tied up, but that doesn't change the fact that they kidnapped me, Ashley thought to herself. On top of that though, there was something abnormal in the way that Fitzsimmons responded to Jasper. Maybe it was the slight tremble in their hands when they were drawing her blood, or maybe the way that they bit their tongue as though they were used to speaking much more than what Jasper let on.

And, of course, there was that elephant in the room that she hadn't addressed yet.

They had embedded an inhibitor on the nape of her neck, which restricted her from her telekinetic abilities and enhanced knowledge. She knew better than to try and tamper with the technology however. If they had somehow fused it with a nerve, or rigged it with her spinal cord, then one wrong move and she'd be as good as dead. For now, she would just have to manage without her powers.

Ashley gently made her descent from the plush mattress and padded across the floor. Her hair—which she had found to be lacking of the wig that she was wearing at the time of her abduction—fell softly upon her shoulders as she reached towards the doorknob. Her hand faltered midair when her mind wandered towards what might be waiting for her on the other side of the door. Was she really free to roam as she pleased? Or would guards tase her the second she pushed her boundaries?

She shook her head of these thoughts and boldly grasped the cool steel of the doorknob. As expected, it opened without much resistance and gave way to a bleak  hallway. She cringed from the sterile nature of the whitewashed walls and ivory-tiled floors. It bore an unsettling resemblance to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities that she woke up in after her mission with Natasha, Steve, and the S.T.I.K.E. team.

    The first step into the barren hallway felt illegal. Her muscles quivered in nervous anticipation as she waited for someone, particularly a guard or an irate Jasper eager to apprehend her. Although, with each step, she gained momentum and confidence. Perhaps Jasper and Fitzsimmons did have her best interest at heart? Why else would they treat her with such comfort and give her such leeway? An unlocked door and no guards posted in the hallways didn't exactly scream ill-intention.

    Just as Ashley was about to round the corner of the hallway, a new sound echoed throughout her ears and caused her heart to drop straight to her feet.

    Footsteps. Multiple sets of them.

    That anxious feeling quickly overwhelmed her once more and she hastily spun around to withdraw to her room. To her dismay, the door had closed behind her. The teenager's hands shook with nervous and she fumbled with the doorknob to minimal avail. By the time she had finally swung the door open and got one of her feet inside the room, a voice rang out and stopped her dead in her tracks.

    "Ms. Tanner!"

    Jasper. For the better or for worse, she wasn't entirely sure.

    Ashley winced and waited for the repercussions of her actions.

    "I'm glad to see that you're feeling well and moving around," Ashley turned to see Jasper say with a smile. Once again, it was hard to decipher whether it was genuine or not, but nonetheless, she was relieved that he wasn't angry, "because there's someone in the meeting room who is interested in continuing the conversation we were having earlier. Would you mind accompanying me there right now?"

    "I..." she stammered, taken aback by his abrupt energy. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

    If Jasper took notice of her accusing tone, he didn't show it. "Well then, we should not keep him waiting."

    Ashley couldn't conceal her frown at the sound of meeting this dubious character. "I guess not."

    ~

    "Ashley Tanner, welcome. Well, that is assuming that you'd prefer me call you by that name. Or, would you rather me address you with your real name?"

    She couldn't help but silently congratulate the man who sat at the opposite end of the table. Only three sentences in and he had managed to successfully ensnared her entire attention. She tilted her head in curiosity and took a seat across from him. Jasper nodded in reassurance and sank into a seat further down the table. Men dressed in dark clothing stood posted at every corner in the room making the atmosphere tense and thick.

    "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Baron Strucker. It is a pleasure to finally get acquainted with the famous girl who saved children from falling to their death."

    He paused to gauge her reaction to his words in amusement. Ashley was once more left gawking and scrambling for a response.

    How could he have...

    "I have to admit, your attempts at hiding your power then were very impressive. If I didn't have an eye for that sort of thing," he paused, gesturing to his monocle in jest, "it would've gone unnoticed."

    Ashley looked down at her fingers and delicately flexed them in remembrance of her actions that day. She had performed the smallest of movements, yet had been able to save an innocent life. That alone felt more rewarding than anything else that had come as a benefit from her enhanced abilities. To her, the capability to save lives without thinking twice—yet never expect anything back from them—was a trait more valuable than gold and good looks.

    Finding strength in her thoughts and a burning curiosity for what this man claimed to know about her, she returned her gaze to Strucker assertively. She slightly bared her teeth in resemblance to a smile before responding to his words.

"What is it that you want me for?" She demanded. Ashley wanted to make it obvious that she wasn't going to play around. If she could somehow make them respect that and cut to the chase, then she'd be able to understand what was going on sooner.

"I thought that Sitwell would've explained this to you already," Strucker said as he turned his attention to Jasper.

"He already tried to sell me that whole 'you're the only one who's smart enough to understand' crap. I want real answers."

Ashley looked to Jasper, who she now assumed either had the last name Sitwell or lied to her about his name, as she said these words. A look of betrayal at her lack of trust in his words painted his features, but she rolled her eyes. She needed some reason to believe either of them and so far she had been given very little to work with.

"You want the truth?" Strucker chuckled, bringing his drink to his lips before taking a swig. "Straight to the point, I like it. Fine, I'll give you the truth. We need someone with your skillset to help us. And, as we've mentioned, we've got more than enough to bargain with that would be of your interest."

"Then show me," Ashley scoffed as she leaned back in her chair. When nobody made an immediate action to her words, she added, "unless, of course, this is all a lie?"

Sitwell and Strucker shared a glance before the older man turned and nodded to a guard standing near the door. The guard promptly opened the door and ushered Fitzsimmons into the room. Ashley narrowed her eyes at the two as she studied their every action.

The teenager scowled as she discerned their actions and behavior. Leopold's fists were clenched around the handle of a briefcase so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. His eyes flicked back and forth between the guards and Strucker as though he was waiting for one of them to lunge at him. His habits reminded Ashley of her own whenever she had ventured into the hallway.

Jenna, on the other hand, was making a much harder effort to conceal her emotions. She stood motionless at Leopold's side with her arms clasped behind her back and kept her facial features impassive.

However, as Ashley looked closer, she finally caught on to an almost invisible trait that she was somewhat impressed with herself for picking up on. Her pupils were dilated despite the fact that the lighting in the room was scintillating. Pupil dilations in situations as such could either be caused by alcohol, which she was sure wasn't the case, or by adrenalin rushes triggered by anxiety.

Now that she had confirmed that Fitzsimmons were very uncomfortable with the people around them, that led to two options. A: they were captured by what she assumed were enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. and were being forced to work, or B: they were previous enemies who the people around her had incarcerated and punished them with assisting them instead of jail time. If this was the case, then they might be nervous of stepping out of line or making an error that would get them thrown back in imprisonment.

Option A certainly felt like the more plausible theory, but she decided that it would be better to not presume things before she was certain.

"Explain to her, my friends," Strucker calmly, yet firmly, demanded Fitzsimmons and earned a nod from the pair. Leopold abandoned his rigid stance near the wall and walked up to the side of the table near Ashley, then placed the briefcase on the tabletop. A soft click sounded from its locks as he punched a code into the side and it slowly opened. From it he withdrew a laptop and vial of

Charts, statistics, and data