"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before„

- raven by Edgar Allan Poe

******

Natasha walked up the stairs slowly. Taking a deeper breath each time. The lights in the house were open so she knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open.

He was tall, black hair, blue eyes, she hadn't seen him for so long.
"Jonathan!„ she smiled. He would smile too but he knew that Natasha being in his doorstep was no good news, it meant that Anastasia was in danger.

He replied simply by telling her to come in and then led her to the living room where his parents were. All three of them had been assigned to protect and watch over Anastasia while she was living her 'normal' life. The car crash and England were just part of a story that SHIELD had come up with. Anastasia's real memories had been replaced by that story.

Natasha told them about the events that had happened earlier. All of them, even if they weren't Anastasia's real family, had come to love and care for her with all their hearts. They were sad for her and the life that she would have to lead now.

"Guess it's true...no one can defy destiny„ Jonathan said, shaking his head in disbelief. He honestly thought that they had made it through, that they would live their normal lives but he was wrong.

When Natasha was about leave the house Jonathan stopped her. He gave her Anastasia's drawing notebook and pictures Natasha saw terrified her.

It was filled with drawings of the avengers and shield agents that Anastasia had meat. Of course they weren't 100% specific but it was like her mind had drawn her entire life on that notebook.

***

   When Steve arrived with Anastasia on the compound, Bruce and Tony rushed to help. They put her in a shield room and started examining her to see what happened to her.

"This was bound to happen sooner or later„ tony explained, after having examined Anastasia's body. She was still sleeping peacefully, everyone fearing the moment she would wake up asking for answers.
Banner stepped away from the body as well. Taking off his glasses he looked at Steve.

"I thought this was build so that wouldn't happen„ Steven replied to Tony's comment, pointing at the chip that tony had pulled out of Anastasia's hands.

"It's a machine captain! Machines break sooner or later! They can only take so much!„

"When Hydra brainwashed her and erased her memories, silenced a part of her but that part has always been there nonetheless. Just like Bucky, when he saw you, he remembered, not everything but he started waking up and after the shock his memories started getting pieced together. She was living a peaceful life in New Orleans, no avengers, no agents. I suppose every time she would get angry or sad, her powers would start burning up her body, trying to get out of her skin.„ Bruce Banner started explaining "like tony said machines can only take so much. Seeing people trying to kill her...terrified her. Her powers took the best of her and if it wasn't for this little machine the whole building could have burned down, if it wasn't for you injecting her with the haloperidol, her insides might have burned up. Either way we were only seconds away from her exploding in flames.„ he paused before continuing "...the poem, she started saying it because it was what she always used to do when she would use too much of her powers...she remembered it because in her mind she felt that sense of home...it made sense, it was her instinct„

"So has she fully remembered? When she wakes up, will she remember her past?„

"No I don't think she will remember everything but in time.. Steve it was like she was standing in front of a gun for the last 3 years and someone finally pushed the trigger. We can't stop it now„

"And we wont!" Jumped in Tony, earning a dangerous look by Steve 

***

First there was pain, then there was confusion. Then there were lights, shining and cutting through her eyes and a heat that she could slowly feel growing from her chest, burning her fingers like she actually holding fire.

Steve had been holding her hand when he realized her skin was starting to warm up again. It meant that she was waking up, he raised his chin and looked at her cheeks, pale and white as snow slowly turning red. He made his hold tighter, got up, when she started screaming in pain.

"She's awake?!„ Tony ran in the white room with Banner behind him. Banner was wearing his white lab coat and his white gloves.
All three of them stood above Anastasia, waiting for her to stop shaking, she was in a shock. Banner, took a step in front of Tony and clutched her face and moved it from the right to the left, looking in her eyes carefully.

"She's going to be ok!„ he spoke loudly, above her screams "it's either the pain or just the shock...„

"Ah!„ both Tony and Steven uttered a yelp, while they moved their palms away from Anastasia's skin after being burned  "well that burnt..„ tony pointed out annoyed. "she's not going to explode is she?„ he asked

"No...I mean...I don't think so...„ banner spoke, doubting his own answer.

"I don't think so...is not good enough!„ said Steve shouting.

Banner noticed her palms starting to bleed. He looked to his desk and grabbed two bracelets, putting them around her hands. "These should absurd most of the heat." He explained. The girl after a couple of minutes stopped screaming, she breathed out a heavy breath and looked around in confusion.

The three men looked at each other quickly, at the same time and then hesitantly Steven touched her arm again, it burnt a little at first but he decided he could take it. He sat back down on his chair and brushed the strands of hair out of her sweaty face, stroked her forehead, Bruce put a wet towel on her forehead to help her feel better. Tony looked at the girl expecting her to curse him or shout at him like she always did.

"You're...iron man...„ she whispered, in between her long and loud breaths.
Tony turned to Banner and crossed his arms "well one thing is for sure..if she had remembered she would call me asshole.„

"Hey...„ whispered Steve, Ignoring Tony's quick remark. 

In the sound of his soothing voice she slowly moved her head and eyes towards his direction. Still breathing heavily, she opened her mouth to speak but she was at a loss of words. 

"How you feeling?„
"Confused„ she replied quickly.

Steve gave her a sympathetic look, he didn't even know where to begin and what to say. He kept stroking her head, wishing for that smile to come back on her lips. He was taken by surprise when Annie lifted her hand and touched his skin. She was so warm. She caressed his nose with her finger and then the lines under his eyes, looking deep in them. No one really knew what she was doing except steve. This wasn't the first time she did this to him.

"what are you doing" He asked her laughing, while laying in bed with her on top of him, smiling.

"I am drawing your face, obviously."

"what?"

"So I'll never forget it. You know, the lines under your eyes and your nose. Your lips." she smirked.

"I have a better way for you to remember my lips."

Steve woke up from his little memory when Annie removed her hands from his face. She had just noticed the scars on her skin and the blood, her heart started beating faster again. Steve grabbed her hands and held them tight, against his chest. The poor girl looked so scared she had no idea what was going on around her. "Sh, sh sh, it will be alright it's ok, it's ok I promise. I'm here, I'll explain everything."

Bruce nudged Tony on the soldier and signaled him to go out with him. Tony of course didn't want to go just yet but bruce pulled him out of the room without asking twice.

When steve was left alone with her, he leaned his head and kissed her forehead, still not letting go of her hands. 

"Where am I?" She asked in a tired whisper.

"You're home." He answered simply

"This is not my home, where is Jonathan."

"He is fine, I promise. I know this is difficult for you to understand but this is your home."

"With the avengers?."

Steve sighed. "have you ever wondered why you can't remember anything from your past?"

"I remember people, Germans, their eyes. I never looked into it I was too scared. No one came looking for me so I thought it was for the best to not look either, at least not until I was ready. I saw nightmares about it many times and I know that no matter what kind of life it was, it was mot a happy one" she paused "and now I am pretty sure I was right."

Steve let out a quiet scoff, nodding "And I am sorry we had to drag you back in it but-"

"Someone tried to kill me in the Cafe, who was it?"

He hesitated "We should take this from the top, in time you will remember everything so I will skip the details."

"No. please don't, the only thing  I wanna know is how I lost my memories and everything else, I rather if I just remember it by myself slowly."

Steve nodded, agreeing with her. "Well you should know that you're an Inhuman, you control fire and it kind of comes out of you as well."

Anastasia gulped

"You were fighting with us in Sakovia. Your actual name is Anastasia Jackson. Things..." He paused remembering everything that happened that day. "Things went really bad, we beat Ultron but you were taken by HYDRA. They erased all your memories and tried to use you. We found you but when you woke up in the hospital you had no idea who i was."

"I remember" she whispered "I remember you from that day, everyone said i was crazy."

"Annie you looked so calm that day. No idea of your past, free of pain. Bruce created these chips and put them in your body, that way your powers were controlled. The team thought that maybe it was for your best to not remember, to live a normal life-"

"Ms. Pond-?"

"She and her family are SHIELD agents, assigned to protect you."

"From myself?"

"And from others. We knew that what we did was dangerous-"

Annie pulled her hands away from him finally, she felt burning anger rising in her chest.

"Whose idea was it?"

Steve stayed silent. Annie looked at him, deep in his eyes. Tears started welling up on hers.

"mine." he answered.

"Why?" her voice broke.

"You don't remember this but I cared about you a lot-"

"You had NO right!"

"You were not in a position to make a choice."

"well I am now, and now I want you to go" She spat.

"An-"

"GO!" She repeated even louder. 

Steve nodded, fighting to hold back tears "I'll tell Bruce to come check on you-"

Before he finished his sentence, someone opened and closed the door. Anastasia looked at the direction of the entrance and saw a redhaired girl with green eyes. She had tears in her eyes and a painful look. Steve stood up from his chair immediately "Wanda you shouldn't be here."

"Wanda?" annie's voice echoed as she repeated the name.

"I needed to see her" She replied.

"You have to go." He insisted.

"I know you" Mumbled Anastasia. Wanda looked at her and stepped closer to the bed. Steve walked quickly towards her and grabbed her arm "Wanda let's go! Now!"

Annie closed her eyes. Her head started to burn again. She remembered the face of a young boy, bleeding. "No" she mumbled "Anthony..." She shut her eyes tighter, the picture of the boy bleeding was too hard, she wished she could stop it.

"WANDA GO AND CALL BRUCE! NOW!" He shouted and then returned his attention to annie. He held her arms. "Annie, open your eyes, Look at me please!"

"I can't! I can't! He- where is he? No.."

There was pain, fear, darkness. She screamed. It hurt. It was like her whole body was burning up all over again and in little flashes she was seeing dancing pictures, pictures of her past. It was like she was living in a dream. She was looking around. The places were changing with each second, she was lost inside a path and then she was in a building. Wanda was there, next to her brother's body, oh her brother...  she could feel the loss of her brother in her body now and Steven's arms holding her tight and someone else standing just a few steps away from her, long hair, dark face and then an explosion and then...

darkness.