★彡[ ꜱᴀʀᴄᴀꜱᴍ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴛᴇʀʀɪʙʟᴇ ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀ, ᴛʀᴜꜱᴛ ɪᴢᴢʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ]彡★

Isabelle's vision was still a bit blurry as her hazel eyes slowly blinked open and scanned around the room. She was tied to a chair with her hands tied back together behind the chair.

"Seriously, this is your hideout? Are all the bad guys this cliché or do you just honestly suck at coming up with original ideas?" The words were a bit slurred and she then realised how stupid she was for saying that, but she blamed that on the fact that she'd had her head slammed against the sidewalk, right along with the pounding headache that came with it. 

And the coppery taste in her mouth that followed after she spoke was something she had expected. Isabelle wasn't even given a response as the man who'd knocked her out walked back off to the metal folding chair he'd been sitting on since she first saw him. 

He leaned back and glared at Isabelle. After a moment, he picked up the newspaper he'd been reading earlier from atop of the old metal desk at his side while she silently watched him with a frown. 

The guard was a mean looking man with a bulky looking build and dark circles evident under his eyes. There was a cigarette caught between his thin lips, the strong smoke nearly choking Isabelle. 

"What the hell are you staring at?" The man asked roughly after a moment, glowering at her, the cigarette still sticking out of his mouth. 

"I'm sorry, I've just never seen a smoking gorilla before," she found herself replying in a snarky manner. 

Honestly, Isabelle sometimes seriously hated herself, because even she could tell what she'd just said was monumentally stupid even if it was still true. But she'd still blame it on the annoying headache. 

"God, you're stupid," someone stated.

For a moment Isabelle wondered if it was her mind telling her how dumb she was. Her brain was honestly just scrambled and hadn't been functioning properly since she had gained consciousness.

She'd hardly heard the door open, probably because the pain was a good enough distraction. And as nervous as she was about who might be speaking, she was still glad when the mean looking guy turned his attention from her to whoever had just walked into the small, messy office Isabelle was being kept in. 

The large man that had been keeping an eye on Isabelle moved, and she got a good look at who had just entered the room. And for the first time in a while, Isabelle wasn't exactly sure on what to say. 

"Hey Izzy," the young man said with a lazy grin. 

Isabelle just stared at him open-mouthed for a moment.

"Hal?" She managed to say after a while, the shock evident in her tone.

Hal was a lean, dark-haired student just a year older than Isabelle. His bright hazel eyes gave him a friendly sort of look. And it was this that led people to believe that he was a decent guy or at the very least a fun guy to be around.

And those people had been horribly misled. Not that Isabelle could be counted among those people. She'd never been particularly close to Hal. She only knew him because Hal's roommate shared a class or two with her. 

It was that and the whole thing with Isabelle helping Kate and Peter out not long after the whole Avengers compound blowing up. And that's when she realised why Hal was there. For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, Isabelle wondered why her brain was so slow and why she was so stupid. 

Realisation must have shown on her face because Hal grinned. "You remember me?"

Behind him, the mean large man glared at Isabell one last time before leaving, his hulking shape disappearing behind the door. Isabelle would have been more relieved about that if she weren't still so surprised.

"Hal?" She said once again in a more shocked tone, ignoring the stinging pain from her split lip.

"Long time no see, right?" He replied, leaning against the wall. "Not since last time, when you ratted me out, remember that?" 

Isabelle definitely remembered that, trying not to look too nervous.

"Doesn't ring a bell," she answered, managing to sound surprisingly honest. 

If Isabelle hadn't been tied up to a chair, she would have jumped at the sudden laugh that left Hal's lips. He stood straight, pushing away from the beam he'd been leaning on, and walked towards her.

"You know, I like you Izzy," Hal told her. 

He stopped before her and leaned closer to her, looking at her with a smirk. "I still really want to shoot you in the knees, but I am quite fond of you."

"I'm very touched by that," Isabelle mumbled sarcastically, trying to keep her cool, but on the inside she was definitely freaking out.

"You're so lucky I can't actually shoot you," Hal stated with an annoyed expression. "Seriously, the Avengers have been a real pain in the ass. I had to spend some time locked up, so I have to say, I'm pretty pissed off at you right now." 

Isabelle wasn't really surprised, granted she hadn't known about what had happened to him. She'd been so busy dealing with work and university that she had forgotten all about the time she'd helped Kate and Peter out in one of their missions, and all about Hal, and now she saw what a mistake that had been.

"But how's that my fault?" Isabelle asked, knowing full well it was partially her fault. 

After all, she'd been the one to tell the two Avengers about him and his dealings.

Hal rolled his eyes. "Nice try, but I know you had something to do with that. You're hard to forget Izzy, and it was kind of surprising to see you walk into the dorm asking for me. And when two Avengers showed up not soon after it felt like a bit too much to be a coincidence." 

"How did you get out?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"The boss had a job for me, especially after I told him about a certain suspicious female. He bailed me out and all I had to do was keep an eye on you," Hal replied with a pleased look on his face. 

"Well good for you," Isabelle retorted. "I bet whoever you work for was really fascinated with my work schedule."

She really couldn't shut up her mouth and the dry tone she spoke in, her brain was just not cooperating with her. If she honestly survived the whole ordeal, she really needed to rethink about her response to danger because sarcasm was really a bad choice. 

"You have quite a past, Izzy. I admit even I was intrigued." He grinned while her eyes turned steely. "A broke nursing student, struggling to pay for all her expenses, and running away from her own family, too stubborn to ask for your father's help when he's literally one of the richest businessmen in America, hah."

Isabelle really wanted to punch that annoying smirk off his stupid face while he continued. "But despite all that, they were even more interested when I told them about your group of friends. You know, a couple of heroes, kinda famous with reporters."

"They're not my friends, I don't even know them," Isabelle replied convincingly. "You really think I sold you out because I wanted to?"

"I don't know, you seem friendly enough," Hal stated with a shrug. "But honestly, I don't care. Whatever excuse you have can wait until the boss gets here."

"Boss?" Isabelle asked, fully aware of the panic in her voice. "What boss?"

"Oh, you know, the man behind the whole explosion at the compound," he replied simply. "And he's now got his eyes on you."

That was not good. Peter and the others had briefly told her about the whole organisation that were trying to terminate the Avengers. And from what Isabelle knew, he was dangerous, very dangerous, someone who she really didn't want to ever meet.

"Anyways, he'll show up soon enough," he said, shrugging. "Probably to ask you about those heroic pain in the asses as well as you."

"But I don't know anything about them!" Isabelle replied, starting to panic again.

Hal flashed her a grin that told her that he still wasn't over the whole getting ratted out thing. "Then you better hope the boss likes you."

He then walked towards her while pulling something out of his pocket which definitely looked super sketchy.

"Woah! Woah! What are you doing?!" Isabelle's eyes widened, struggling against her restraints but it was no use.

"Nighty, night." He grinned and the last thing Isabelle felt was a sharp prick in her neck before darkness consumed her.