beautiful cover by Burningbrightfire !! thank you so much!!

sunday, 17th of january 2016

Dishonesty is defined in the dictionary as deceitfulness shown in someone's character or behaviour. Usually dishonesty is shown through lies. Jessica-Diana didn't like the word 'lie'. She preferred to use words along the lines of 'fib', 'whopper', 'porky (or porky pie if she was in that sort of mood)', or sometimes she would even go as far as calling her untruthful words 'terminological inexactitude'.

She was good at telling when other people were lying. She had become an expert in picking up on motions, such as the wringing of hands, scratching of the head, tapping of the foot, and stutter of the voice. Though she hated to admit it, there were a few things that she did that could give her away, but had yet to.

This brings us to the present. A cold Sunday night it was, around ten-thirty if you were to look at a clock while in the comfort of your warm, safe home. Jessica-Diana could not relate to that whatsoever. That was because she was currently being questioned by her local police officer.

Her clenched fists had been shoved in her hoodie pockets and her curling toes were hidden inside a pair of grey running shoes. Her short brown locks had been tamed into a slicked back ponytail and her naked face had a calm expression adorning it. She stood tall in front of Officer Norton, a man she had met several times; a man who had grown suspicious of her.

"So, tell me again why I caught you with a pair of pliers not even a hundred metres from your school at ten o'clock at night?" Norton asked, his eyebrows raised, having trouble believing the words that came out of her mouth. Poor Norton, all he wanted was to get home to his wife and children, but he had caught the familiar fifteen year old girl strolling in the direction of the Midtown School of Science and Technology, better known as Midtown High, a large pair of pliers in hand and her hood pulled up so it rested atop her head, shielding her face from the staring eyes of the public.

J.D smiled politely, definitely avoiding getting on the Officer's bad side this late at night. "I was getting the tool fixed for Uncle Herb, you know how crazy he is when things get broken. Mason wrecked the sink again so he sent me to the hardware store to either get some new ones or get them fixed. As you can see, I got them fixed."

"You know, J.D," Norton began, looking up at her from his notepad. J.D raised her dark eyebrows, awaiting his words. "I would believe you, but there's one thing that doesn't match up with your story."

"And what would that be, Officer?" She challenged, her big blue eyes shimmering mischievously in the artificial light of the streetlamp.

"Your apartment building is that way." Norton pointed in the opposite direction. "So why are you walking towards school?"

"Well, if you must know," J.D reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a bus card. "I'd rather not walk home in the dark when the last bus of the night arrives in ten minutes."

Norton clenched his jaw, before nodding in defeat. She was right, the last bus would arrive at twenty to eleven, and it would stop right in front of her apartment. He placed his notebook in his back pocket and sent her a look. "Fine, you win this time, kid. Be careful, it's late and dark."

"Sure thing, Sir." She replied, raising two fingers in a mock salute towards the officer. Norton rolled his eyes and let out a small chuckle, turning around and walking back to his car. He knew she could take care of herself, gee, he had seen her take care of herself, which is why he didn't worry too much about her waiting ten minutes for the bus. "Enjoy your night."

"You too." He said, before turning the keys in his car. "Say hi to the family for me."

"Gotcha." She sent him a broad smile, watching as he drove off into the night, leaving her by herself. She let out a breath of relief, and her grin widened upon her lips, a wild look in her eye. As soon as she knew she was alone, she began walking towards the school with a quick pace. When she reached the entrance, she let out a deep breath before a tingling sensation overcame her body. She looked down and beamed when she couldn't see her hands.

Oh, another thing about Jessica-Diana that you might need to know.

She had the ability to become invisible.

seven months earlier

J.D hated summer. She gave her annual announcement three days after she had arrived in Surbiton with her twin brother, Mason. The grumpy teenager stood in the kitchen, looking sadly in the refrigerator that blasted cold air in her face. She relished in the moment, and then pouted. "Why is it that every time we come here there's never any milk? Does Grandpa not know what a store is?"

"I'm sure he does." Mason said, not bothering to look up from his phone, where he was tending to his cats on Neko Atsume, though he would never admit to having the app if anyone asked him. "He just doesn't stock up when you arrive and eat cereal four times a day."

"What else would I eat?" J.D sent him a blank look, and he tore his eyes from his screen to return it. "It's too hot to go outside, I hate summer."

"That's the twelfth time you've said that today." Mason called as she grabbed the house keys and sauntered towards the front door. "Buy me some sour skittles while you're there."

"Piss off." She grumbled, before shutting the door and stomping down the driveway. She was going to have her cereal, even if it meant walking in the blistering heat until she found a store that sold milk in the scorching town.

By the time she reached the store, her forehead was covered in perspiration and she was practically panting. Stepping in, J.D felt the artificial cold air smack her in the face like a frying pan and she let out a breath of satisfaction. She took her time walking to the back where the drinks were kept, and when she reached the fridges, she stared in longing at the orange juice sitting peacefully inside.

J.D reached into her pocket and felt the ten pound note inside. She grinned and opened the fridge door, pulling out the juice and a carton of milk. Then, she (being the lovely person she was) picked up a bag of skittles for Mason.

She stood in the store for a moment longer before she walked to the checkout, wanting to enjoy the pleasure of air conditioning before she would have to make subject to the sweltering conditions outside.

"Is that all?" The employee asked in pure boredom, and J.D almost asked if she could switch places with her, wanting to spend the entire day inside the cold building.

"Yep." She replied, a polite smile adorning her lips. She handed over the money and collected her purchases, before she unhappily began walking towards the exit.

She would've made it back home if she wasn't walking so slowly. Though the house was only a fifteen minute walk away, it felt like a million years, and she didn't want to run, she wasn't in P.E class, so why should she?

This is when the flashback gets a little interesting, as J.D had reached the corner of the street, looking side to side to see if there were any cars and lifted her foot up to start walking, but never touched the ground. A cloth soaked in chloroform was placed over her mouth, and hands grabbed her waist, easily taking her and throwing her into the back of a van.

Two men climbed into either side of the front and one pressed his finger to his ear. "We've got the girl and we're bringing her to the airport now."

I'm not going to waste time and tell you about the boring journey J.D's captors took her on on the way to the airport. I'm not going to tell you about how they ended up getting lost and had to ask a civilian on the side of the road for directions, the stranger unknowingly aiding them in getting a then fourteen year old girl to a particularly horrible man I'm sure many of you have heard of. His name was Baron Von Strucker.

He experimented on two other people you might remember, they were twins. One gained the ability of speed, the other gained telepathy, telekinesis and was able to manipulate energy. Their names were Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Pietro was silver haired and tall, muscular. Wanda had dark hair and dark eyes, and red wisps radiated from her hands, captivating to watch.

The twins could only watch in horror as an unconscious girl was hurled into a cell opposite them. They could only watch as she slowly woke up, her hair a mess, her eyes puffy and her chest rising and falling at the speed of light. They had to observe how each day for a month she was taken away and flung back inside like a rag doll, new bandages dressing her wounds. They didn't understand what had happened, it was clear she wasn't a volunteer like themselves, so what was she? Why was she so important?

They had grown to like her, though. Almost every night if she wasn't too weak and sore to speak, she would sing softly to herself, unbeknown to her that the twins would listen as well. Her soft voice was nothing like the likes of Beyoncé, but her raspy lullabies were calming and showed that there was still light, even in the darkest hours.

After about a week of trail, Pietro Maximoff decided that he would say 'hello' to the young girl. She looked up at him feebly, though it was clear she was shocked she was being acknowledged without being shoved or prodded. She could barely pull together the strength to reply, so she settled for an exhausted smile.

As the days went on, J.D built strength and found her voice. Though it broke after each word and felt like someone was pushing a metal rake down her throat, she wanted to respond to the two kind volunteers opposite her. They soon became close, and the twins practically brought her in as their honourary little sister, though they had only seen each other behind thick glass walls.

Through the torture and experimentation, she put on a brave face and told them jokes when she noticed they were sad. She would teach them American slang and they would teach her their native tongue during the evening and into the night when they couldn't sleep.

Just before the month was over, the scientists had perfected J.D's abilities. She had gained the power of invisibility and rapid healing. Though the scars of all the needles in her arms and stomach had yet to disappear, she had gotten used to the feeling of unknown chemicals surging through her. It had become a normal thing to disappear in thin air to amuse herself. She had gotten used to being a lab rat.

The scientists had also designed a prototype tactical suit that used her DNA to attune to her ability. She had overheard that the next suit would be able to track her vitals and also her location.

On days when she wasn't being experimented on, she was given lessons in fencing and fighting. Baron Von Strucker had reluctantly allowed her to learn a way of self-defense, even though he had been the one to take her away from her life in the first place. She picked up the skills almost instantly and showed incredible progress in her health and physicality tests. She was best at using the dagger, and used the exact same one each time. Pietro said she should name it, but she could never think of anything. 

She had also built up walls she didn't intend on knocking down. She had dealt with pain before, but nothing like she was experiencing now. She was away from her family, her friends. She hadn't spoken to Mason in a month, and she missed him so much. She hadn't cried since the second week, and she didn't plan on showing the sign on weakness ever again. Though she still laughed and joked around, she became more closed off. The only people she could bare to even look at were the twins, who were perhaps even more scarred than she was, and they had chosen to be there.

It wasn't until one day, two months after her capture, when the three assets had been let out of their cages that a team from America named the Avengers came to attack their base. While Pietro and Wanda were adamant on fighting Tony Stark, or Iron Man, as you would probably know him, J.D was left to steal the dagger she had grown to love and a file on Dr. Adalgar Krüger's desk with her name on it, hesitantly insisting that she would fight alongside her friends.

"Like hell." Pietro muttered when she voiced her intentions. This was when he took his sisters (both biological and non-biological) in his arms and escaped the base, where they appeared outside in the snowy forest of Sokovia. It was the first time any of them had been outside in a long while. Wanda disappeared to ward off Tony from the inside, and Pietro was going to fight in the cold snowy woodland. "We need to get you somewhere safe, somewhere you can return to America."

"But what about you?" She asked him, and Pietro smiled softly, taking her face in his hands and pressing his lips to her forehead. "What if you get hurt and I can't help you?"

"We will be fine, I promise." Pietro assured, and lifted his head to looking at the surroundings, to see if there was any way out. "I can run you to the nearest airport."

"I don't have a passport." J.D muttered, and Pietro rolled his eyes.

"You are invisible, genius." He chuckled, and looked down at the girl he considered his little sister with the utmost love. "You'll be okay, Wanda and I will find you once this is all over."

"Promise?" J.D looked up at the young man, who placed his hand on the back of her head, where her short hair hung to just above her shoulders. It had been burnt off in an assessment, and the ends were singed.

"I give you my word." He said, and bent down to pick her up. "Are you ready?"

J.D nodded wordlessly and moved her head so it was pressed into Pietro's chest, and she instantly felt the rush of the wind when he took off running.

Within seconds she was inside a plane which she could only assume went to New York; Pietro must've read the signs when he entered. She was dropped onto a chair and Pietro paused to look at her before he left. He pressed his lips to her head again before whispering in her ear. "Be safe, my bladerunner."

"I hate that name." J.D said, though she smiled when he said it. He had called her that for weeks after hearing that she had started sword-fighting. He thought it fit with her quick-witted personality and precious weapon. "I love you, Pietro."

"I love you too." He smiled and J.D felt a squeeze on her arm, a gust of air, and she was left alone.

When the first flight attendant walked past her, she felt herself turn invisible, her suit disappearing along with her body. Nobody came to sit next to her luckily, and she was left in peace for the first time in two months. She felt her eyes close, and her body welcome the comfort of an actual cushioned chair. She hadn't felt so content in a long time, and it was only from a chair. She watched the trays being wheeled around with food stacked on top, and her mouth began to water. She hadn't eaten much, as the scientists didn't see it as a priority to feed her that often, like she was some sort of animal.

She stealthily moved towards the discarded tray of sandwiches, and picked one up, before she vanished into the bathroom to eat it. She took pleasure in consuming the food, and breathed deeply. She had been liberated. She wasn't a captive of cruel human beings, she could see her brother again.

But one thing that stuck in her mind was: would she ever see Pietro and Wanda again?

present

J.D scoffed at how easy it was to break into her school, and though she knew she would never be caught, the security was shitty enough that a inexperienced criminal could get in without trouble.

Her dagger hung at her side, the only visible item in the dark linoleum hallways. She strolled casually, feeling at ease and unthreatened by her surroundings. Her feet took her through the main building until they reached the Math office. J.D reached for the doorknob, already knowing that it wouldn't be locked. She quietly opened the door and stepped into the tidy workplace, her eyes scanning over where the math teachers kept their work during the week.

Chewing on her bottom lip, J.D walked through the small area until her eyes laid on a stack of paper in the corner. A grin fell on her face and she advanced towards it, picking it up in her arms.

That was really all she wanted to do. She snuck back out of the institution unseen and retreated to the streets of Queens. She looked over her shoulder to see if there was anyone watching before she grabbed her hoodie and sweatpants from the bushes and pulled them back on over her suit. Now, all she needed was to find a bin to dump the papers.

Within five minutes she saw a group of homeless people gathered around a bin with fire inside in attempt to keep warm. She made her way towards them and to grab their attention, she dropped the pile on the ground, igniting a loud thud that turned heads in her direction. "Evening."

"Who the hell are you?" One of the men asked. He was middle aged and had thinning hair. His skin was covered in tattoos and he had a blunt between his lips.

"Doesn't matter." She replied blankly, before nodding at the papers. Snow fell lightly in the sky, and landed in her hair, making a sort of crown upon her head. "Your fire's dying. These'll make it last through the night."

A thirty-something woman approached her, and J.D stood tall, clearly not intimidated by the people or atmosphere. She reached for the papers and picked them up with her bony arms. On the inner part of her elbows were bruises and needle marks, and J.D looked away, feeling almost sick. Some of them willingly put needles in their bodies to bring happiness, whereas needles were shoved into her for the benefit of evil. She bit the inside of her cheek and watched as the paper was brought over to the group, who began picking it up and throwing it into the blazing fire.

"Thanks, kid." The man said, his voice slightly muffled from the cigarette in his mouth.

"Not a problem." She replied with a polite smile, before turning on her heel and walking out into the open road. Her sneakers hit the asphalt and she kept her eyes forward, though her ears were extremely alert. She walked quickly, though not quickly enough to make her seem like she was in a rush. She heard whistles from drunk men that were staggering around, but she just ignored them, they didn't look like they could walk in a straight line without dropping to the ground.

As she walked into the darkness of the road, a smirk grew on her pink lips. She knew that when she got home she'd watch her brother frantically race around studying for their math exam.

She'd sit back with an amused smile, because now, there was no math exam.

hey guys this is a lot longer than i wanted it to be

and it gives a lot more away about j.d than i wanted to

oh well i think it turned out okay

bye for now