Author's Greetings Note: Hello to everyone out there. It has taken a lot longer than I had originally thought, but I am now at a point where I feel comfortable about releasing my Falcon/OC story that I mentioned I was writing. I don't see many of those so I thought about giving it a try. My inspiration for the two characters comes from two specific readers...TinyTerrorJustBecause (for Sam) and LycanLover411 (for our heroine). I hope that you are both out there and that this story meets with your approval.

This will take place between CA:CW and A:IW, which according to the MCU is a span of approx. two years. Eventually there will be some time jumping since not every day is an adventure. So please take this into account as our two main characters' feelings start to develop. Hanging out every day together, 24/7 for a year and a half. It is not an overnight thing.

If you've read my other stories, then you are familiar with the slightly darker themes that I sometimes like to go with...and this story is definitely no exception. There will be retelling & mentioning of brutal acts but no firsthand account of them. I hope that this story's premise interest you enough so that you stay with me through the chapter postings to the shocking ending.

There is a reason this story has a MATURE rating!
TRIGGER WARNINGS OF POSSIBLE/DEFINITE: Cursing, Beatings, Anxiety, Depression, Nightmares, Forms of torture, Implied Medical Procedures, Temporary Insanity, Implied Rape, Deaths...(sarcasm ~~}you know, all the usual fun stuff)!

Just Outside of Washington, D.C.
Unknown Hydra Base
Late March - 2014

Stepping proudly into the open doorway of the office, Hydra Base Commander Jeff Wilkes was glad that the man sitting behind the desk was one step closer to finally getting off of his base. For the past few weeks, his irritation had steadily grown thanks to the arrogant project commander that had been sent here by Hydra Command.

"What is it?" Marcus Keeling asked him without even having the courtesy to look up from his paperwork to respectfully acknowledge him.

On the desk next to him was the computer monitor that was linked into the cameras in the interrogation room. Even if he was not physically present, Keeling always made sure to keep an eye on his project. He had stated that watching numerous agents being asked the same questions over and over became too monotonous for him.

"The last of the helicarriers' flight crews have just finished their interrogations," Jeff informed him holding back the full answer on purpose.

"And?"

"They all passed," he answered putting just a bit of smugness in his voice.

He had told Keeling upon arrival that the crews were all loyal Hydra subjects, having worked with them for some time now. But they had still been ordered to undergo the questioning to insure it. Hydra Command was not about to take any chances when it comes to the launch of Project Insight. So he had found himself playing host to Marcus Keeling, head of Project Cherry Tree, and the single female prisoner that was its sole purpose for existing.

Keeling looked over at where the countdown clock was located high on the wall, seeing that it was still blank. But now that the crews had been cleared, once the final go-ahead was given in only a matter of days, it would begin the countdown to launching. That would also give the signal for his base's final remaining personnel's evacuation to begin. All the other prisoners and unnecessary agents had already been moved to the secondary location as of this morning. This base was inside the range of some of the initial targets and everyone would return after Hydra had taken control of the government.

"I want my project to be the first one evacuated out of here after the countdown begins," he flatly stated while Jeff wished he was leaving much sooner. The countdown starting was Keeling's signal to leave, having been ordered to remain here in case any other last minute interrogations were necessary.

"I had already planned to," Jeff answered but he then hesitated to leave the office.

Asking the question about the prisoner was on the tip of his tongue, but now the he had the chance he was hesitant about doing so. He had witnessed for weeks the horrible treatments that Keeling heaped on her, far worse than anything he'd ever had to order for his own prisoners here. But he was not the one in charge of her. Keeling answered solely to Hydra Command.

Noticing his reluctance to leave, Keeling finally looked over at him, haughtily asking, "Is there something else, Commander?"

Taking a steadying breath, "I was wondering if there was anything special to do with the prisoner?"

There was a noticeable change in Keeling's body language as he chucked his pen down, which quickly formed a nervous knot in his own stomach. Jeff knew he was not being disloyal to Hydra, in fact that was just the opposite. He now knew how much Command relied on the project and he was only concerned for the prisoner's well-being. He'd seen the bruises, the black eyes...how damaged her hands were.

What could Keeling be doing to her that he hadn't seen?

If Keeling mistook his concern as doubt for their cause, he could request from Hydra Command that Jeff be questioned as to his own loyalty. If they felt his thoughts untrustworthy, he would be removed from his station.

Sitting back in his chair while crossing his fingers together, a twisted smile crossed Keeling's lips as his eyes narrowed at him.

Keeling's voice was dripping with condescension as he asked, "What? Do you want to take her for a walk around the garden?"

Jeff's back straightened and his face dropped any hint of emotion at being so openly mocked. He had never been spoken to so by anyone.

"No," his voice becoming hard now. "I only wondered if there was a procedure not in the file so that she knows her job has been satisfactorily completed."

Keeling heavily sighed, as if hearing something for one too many times. Was he not the first to notice and say something?

Standing his brawny form up, he strode across the room for the door, forcing Wilkes to back into the hallway as he did not stop. The slight limp that Keeling walked with came from an injury he sustained years ago when he led a Hydra Strike Team. He had inquired into a brief history of the man that Hydra Command had granted full access of his base to, but the file was restricted as to the actual mission incident.

With a single wiggle of his finger to indicate for Jeff to follow, they silently made their way through the halls towards the prisoner's cell. Wilkes had already started to dread where this might be going. He had found out quickly that Keeling had a temper on him, which was why he had tried to avoid him as much as possible during his stay.

The file he had received before their arrival concerning Project Cherry Tree had explained the prisoner's powers, as well as the steps necessary to prevent her from using them on anyone surrounding her. That was why he had considered Keeling's requests a bit extreme since it would only take one of the three senses her powers relied on being restricted to render her helpless.

Or had she tried to free herself so often that the extra precautions were necessary?

Wilkes had been ordered by Command to basically bow and jump at any requests when it came to anything that Keeling wanted or needed upon his arrival. Mostly they were for more demands of stricter restraints for the prisoner or less interaction with Hydra agents or guards. It seemed that even with the little contact that she already had with anyone that Keeling was determined to overshadow even that.

He recalled their initial meeting, moments after arrival. The cell's open metal bars had been Keeling's first irritation but that could not be helped. This base handled low-level white collar prisoners or Hydra members who usually only needed a slight nudge to get back on track. They did not need the type of solid door, solitary confinement cell that Keeling had expected to hold her in.

The only concession Keeling had made was allowing the prisoner plates of normal food instead of the liquid ones. She was in great demand while here so inserting and removing a nose feeding tube was too much of a hassle twice a day just to keep the gag in when she was not questioning agents. Therefore, he'd allowed the plates delivered with the stipulation of making sure the locking blindfold was in place.

That had been how Jeff had learned of her damaged hands. One of the guards had come to him after delivering her a meal early on. Keeling had refused to allow any silverware, metal, plastic, or rubber. The guard had watched for a few moments and noticed that she was barely able to pick up the food with her fingers, then he informed him of what he had seen. Pulling her file back out, he found the answer inside of it under her medical information, and it had churned his stomach. Her bones had been mutilated to the point where her hands would never work properly again.

Turning into the security hallway, the guards which had escorted the prisoner from the interrogation room were just now locking the cell's door after putting her inside. Stopping just a few feet out of reach from the bars, their arrival caught her attention with the guards stepping off to the side just a few feet away in case they were needed. She wore the standard orange prisoner suit, making sure to cover her arms and legs.

On the back wall, the chain and collar which had been install at Keeling's request hung loose, not having been secured by the guards moments ago. They had been advised as to her powers and how to protect themselves from her, and it seemed that they agreed with him. Therefore they had only used one type of restraint which was necessary to protect themselves, hence the locked panel gag that surrounded her mouth and chin. Without being able to speak, she was as helpless as any other prisoner.

Keeling's deep voice suddenly boomed, "Is everyone in this base weak!?"

Jeff visibly shook at the startling outburst and the two Hydra guards backed up a few more steps, as if sensing they were about to see Keeling's darker side.

"I don't understand…" was as far as Jeff got before being interrupted.

"Obviously, you don't understand," he said turning on him. Pointing a finger at the lone, red headed figure in the cell now moving backwards to cower in a corner, "That is nothing more than a tool for Hydra to use. She does not get special treatment, she does not get told 'good job', and she does not go for fucking walks in a park!"

"I never…"

"And you never will!" Keeling bellowed. "Everything that you were given in that file upon arrival is all that you need to worry about…and you still didn't even manage to get that right! As of right now without being secured to the back wall, if she wanted, she could make skin to skin contact with anyone walking by this cell. Especially with the fact that her hands are not cuffed behind her back. Which leads to the fact that there is the possibility of removing the gag if she's given enough time. Your security here is laughable! This is the type of feeble handling that will allow this prisoner to escape! Now, since you were so eager for her to be given special treatment, inform medical that they are to start the transportation procedures on her in one hour."

Wilkes looked at him stunned for a moment recalling the overly harsh and painful restraints she had arrived here in before turning his eyes to the cell, saying, "But you may not get your evacuation approval for a few days, maybe even up to a week."

Being slightly taller than Jeff, Keeling used it to his advantage as he then leaned over so that he purposely loomed a bit menacingly at him.

With as much disdain in his voice as Jeff had ever heard, "Then you better make sure that you have plenty of liquid meals necessary to keep her alive until we leave here. Maybe if she looks more like a prisoner then everyone at this base will stop looking at her like a person!"

Wilkes finally managed to break eye contact with him, dropping them to the ground and not even bothering to look at the female anymore. This was the first time he had ever felt sorry for someone. It was not a good feeling.

Keeling was now looking at the stunned guards, his voice been booming, "Do I need to repeat myself? Because there are repercussions if I have to..."

"Of course not," he simply stated before turning to one of the guards. "You heard him. Go and inform medical. Now!"

With that yelled command, the guard turned and began to scurry down the hallway away from him. At least they both had been smart enough to hold their tongues. Hopefully Keeling had finished his tirade as his attention was now focused on the prisoner.

"Where is her arms' restraint?" he then demanded of the remaining guard.

"At the security desk," he told him before hesitantly continuing, "we couldn't figure out how to apply it."

Keeling narrowed an eye at him. Jeff had previously looked at the strange thick canvas device that would pin her lower arms behind her back. It did seem to take a bit of know-how to get it on and secured correctly with the numerous straps and ties. He understood why these new guards might find it difficult.

"Why not? She was wearing it yesterday," he heatedly commented.

Jeff knew that he was going to have to take responsibility for this mess up.

"These two guards are not normally from this floor. They were brought in specifically for her this morning. The ones who were assigned to her shipped out with the remaining prisoners," he informed Keeling. "They were instructed on her ability but must not have received the full instruction on all of your requirements."

Keeling did not look happy with that admission, which he probably should have made sure had been done properly by his head of security, who had already left with the prisoners. He had just been swamped with preparations getting ready to leave the base.

"Do you have zip ties?" Keeling asked the remaining guard, who quickly reached into a side pocket on his pants and removed a handful of them.

Keeling reached out and angrily took hold of them.

Reaching over, he punched in the code to allow the cell's door to be unlocked and opened.

Stepping inside, the prisoner backed herself further against the wall, as if trying to melt into it for protection. Jeff couldn't think of another time in his life when he had seen pure fear coming from someone. Keeling reached out and grabbed her wrist, roughly twisting it around and upwards, forcing her to turn and face the wall or have the wrist broken.

He watched as both her wrists were crossed to form an X behind her back while being zip tied from two directions, in a bisecting pattern to keep them that way. Next the metal collar was locked around her neck, the chain giving only a few feet of movement, enough to reach the bed but not the front bars.

What Wilkes did not expect was how Keeling then used another zip-tie linked between her wrists and the collar. Slowly he began to ratchet it smaller and smaller until her arms were forced painfully up her back, not stopping until her hands met the back of her neck. Her screams told him that the reverse prayer position of her arms had to be as painful as they looked.

The few mumbled words of sickened awe from the guard next to him matched his own thoughts.

"That is how you secure a prisoner!" Keeling manically stated as he pushed her away from him so that she was slammed into the concrete wall face first. There was no doubt that she would have a bruise on her temple later on from it. "Lesson over."

He then turned his attention back to him and the guard, both of them struck dumbfounded at the harsh display.

"Don't you have anything else to do right now?" they were frigidly asked.

Jeff Wilkes felt his body chill at the shrouded command to leave from Keeling. He may not have said anything malicious, but there was an undeniable evil tone to the words.

This man was pure Hydra.

Turning around to head back the way they came, his ears picked up on a protesting sound from the prisoner at their leaving, pleas of 'help' barely being able to be understood through her gag. She was actually begging to him, having seen some ounce of concern from him.

But Jeff didn't bother looking at her again as he left. He just wanted both of them gone so he could concentrate on keeping his base running.

When he reached the nearby corner, he disappeared out of sight from the hallway. But then stopped with the guard giving him an inquiring look before he continued on, looking glad to be away from the scene.

But his own curiosity was taking over again, and Wilkes knew if he wasn't careful it might get him in trouble one day.

What was Keeling going to do in there to her?

He had to know for sure.

For the next minute from where he stood, he listened as Keeling's deep voice reaching him through the echoing hallway. He was actually berating the prisoner for making the two Hydra guards feel sorry for her, asking if she remembered the punishment for 'trying to find a friend'.

But Wilkes knew that was not the case here. Their usual prisoners were politicians or scientists. Hydra Command wanted them turned, not tortured. The guards here were used to a certain type of treatment to insure that Hydra got their allies. They were only doing what was normally expected of them.

Hearing his own name drew him back to Keeling before he then stated, "It's been a while since you've misbehaved like that. Looks like you need a reminder that nobody will ever take you away from me."

Echoing from down the hall, there was then the unmistakable sound of a strong strike before something hit the ground.

Jeff's hands fisted as he remembered being told that Keeling had 'full control' over Project Cherry Tree, and due to the 'positive results' that his 'heavy-handed overseeing' had produced that meant 'anything he did was allowed', and to 'not interfere' with his treatment of the prisoner.

But how far did he take his handling of her…

"You want someone to give you attention, then I'll give it to you."

Then Wilkes heard it.

The muffled screams…over and over in the rhythmic pattern…followed by more wailing cries for help.

Jeff was sure his face blanched.

Keeling's angry grunts as he began to pant heavily made Wilkes sick to his stomach. Never had any prisoner housed on his base ever been sexually assaulted, but it seemed that record was now shattered with each weakening feminine scream and groan that reached his ears.

Hearing movement from the other direction, he turned to see the guard returning from medical but he quickly raised his hand and gestured for him to go back from where he came. He must have been able to hear the echoes of what was going on since he only allowed a moment to pass before doing so. There was no way he or any of his men would interrupt the spectacle that Keeling was making. Anyone passing the cell only had to glance to see everything. Luckily there were no other prisoners still located here, already having been evacuated, giving him just enough privacy for his debauchery.

Forcing his feet forward to move him away from the haunting sounds, he wished that damn countdown clock would activate so that he could get Keeling the hell out of here.

Hopefully Project Cherry Tree was gone before Keeling requested him be interrogated for his curiosity. Because right now, there was no way to hide his disgust at how Keeling was…handling…his project.

And he didn't know if Hydra Command would be angry or proud of his thoughts on the subject but he was not about to put his own career, or life, on the line for the female prisoner.

The Raft
June 2016 - Just Over Two Year Later

"It's about time you showed up," Sam told Cap who stood on the opposite site of the glass partition that formed one wall of his cell on the Raft.

"Couldn't find any parking," Steve joked as the walls suddenly started to lift on all three cells, freeing him, Clint, and Tic-tac.

They had not had any word of what had happened after Tony had left here just over a week ago. He had begun to think that it had been a bad idea to trust Tony, but he guessed that if Steve was here then everything had turned out alright.

"Wanda's being held in a different area," Clint pointed out as they started to quickly move out of their cell area.

"I already know where to go," Steve told them as they came to a T-intersection in the hallway. "You three head on up to the flight deck while I get Wanda."

"I'm coming with you," Clint pointed out as he followed Steve without looking back, knowing that the others might be joining them as well.

He knew how upset Clint had been when Wanda had been separated from their group upon arrival. Since he had been the one to bring her into the fight, he felt partially responsible for getting her into this mess. Even though he had told Clint numerous times that it was her own choice to be there, Sam knew that the gnawing guilt was not going to leave him until they were out of here.

"Figured that at least one of you would say that," Steve threw over his shoulder as the entire group hurriedly went down a flight of metal stairs.

In no time, they were at the higher-level security door that lead to the enhanced lock-up area. Normal humans, such as himself and the others who required equipment, had more basic cells. Steve stood outside of the door for only a few moments before it clicked, and the heavy bars retracted, allowing him to pull it open.

If he had thought their cells were bad, then these could only be described as miserable. All of the doors were solid metal with only a small hole for guards to be able to peek through which even had a metal door to close it off. There was no way for one prisoner to communicate with another. At least the three of them had been able to chat. A green light on the outside would indicate the cell was locked but there was only one with the interior lights shining through the small window so it drew his attention.

"Wanda!" Clint called out, rushing past Steve while focusing on the light. "Wanda!"

Seconds later, they all heard the sound of a faint banging coming from the lit room. Reaching it, Clint peeked through and Sam watched as his shoulders dropped, knowing he was relieved to see her inside.

"Give it a moment," Steve told him as Clint examined the locking system.

And sure enough after a few more seconds, the door slid upwards to reveal Wanda. She was wearing some kind of extremely heavy duty straitjacket with a collar around her neck. He could only guess that it was used to control her or her powers in some way. Steve reached out with his bare hands and grabbed it on the side, using his sheer strength to break it off.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, tossing the device back into the cell as Wanda turned so Clint could work on the restraints of her straitjacket.

"Yes, but I would not mind being anywhere else really soon," Wanda gave a weary grin at being free, stretching her arms.

"I think that can be arranged," Steve smiled back at her as they began exiting out of the cell.

"So what did one of you do to annoy Ross so much that he put you in here with me?" Wanda asked with a bit of humor, but her question stopped all of them in their tracks. They began to look around at each other for an answer none of them had.

"Nothing. None of us were in here," Scott asked her, looking at their group. "Aren't we all here? Is somebody missing?"

Wanda turned to look at the cell near the end of the hall.

Only then did Sam see that the door was also locked and occupied thanks to the green light, but the small door was closed over the window. It also seemed to be the only other used cell in this area. Propped up next to it was a long metal pole with an open ring at one end next to the door. He had seen similar items used on aggressive dogs and Sam hoped that his guess that it was some kind of lead for a human's neck was wrong.

"I could hear someone fighting with the guards on a daily basis," Wanda admitted stepping only a few feet towards the cell. She was curious as to who was there just as he was. "I thought that one of you were down there and that was why they never let us see each other. I heard the guards going around mealtimes down there. The collar prevented me from talking, shocking me if I did, so we never communicated."

Sam looked over at Steve's hearing that. He could see the anger building in him at hearing that Secretary Thaddeus Ross had used some form of shock control over Wanda, and possibly another prisoner if they had not tried to communicate with Wanda either.

Steve headed decisively for the cell, pulling out a small radio device from his pocket.

"Nat, what do you have on who's down the hall in a cell?" he asked into it, surprising Sam a bit that she was the one protectively watching over all of them during the escape.

It seemed that Nat had changed sides at some point.

"There seems to be only one other prisoner on the entire Raft," Sam heard Natasha's voice say. "The camera is on night-vision so the picture's not very clear. They are laying on the bed facing the wall so I cannot tell who it is."

Steve released the small viewing door but they found that there was no light on inside for them to be able to see the prisoner.

"Nat, could it be Bruce?" Steve asked catching all of their attentions.

Ever since Sokovia, Bruce had been missing in action with no sign of him anywhere. Had Ross, who hated Bruce with a passion, somehow managed to capture him and lock him down here?

"From this angle, I don't think so," they heard. "Even wearing a bulky prison jumpsuit, there's something about their body's frame that just doesn't fit."

They could see the disappointment from Steve.

"Either way, go ahead and open the door," Steve instructed her. "Then find their file so we know who we're dealing with."

"Hold up there, Cap," Clint quickly said, placing his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Our group is all accounted for. If they are in this area, they are enhanced in some way, like Wanda. We don't know who this person is or what they might do to us."

"No matter who it is, they are Ross' prisoner. You saw how he had Wanda restrained. There's no telling what he's done to this person. So I'm not going to leave here without at least knowing who is inside of this cell," Steve firmly stated even while looking at the bar lead. "Nat, open the door."

Seconds later they all stood looking into the room, but finding the totally dark cell a bit disconcerting. From inside, they could hear the sound of the prisoner starting to move.

"Can you give us some lights?" Steve requested into the radio.

After a few moments they harshly blinked on, giving all of them a shocking first look at the person.

Hearing the door opening, the lone figure inside had started sliding towards the furthest wall as they lay on the bed, probably having been asleep. They stopped only once their back was to the wall for support with a lifted bent leg ready to strike out, as if being defensive were their natural response.

What had they been put through to just automatically start fighting guards?

The prisoner's head showed a mess of poorly chopped, natural red hair. It looked matted and greasy, as if it hadn't been washed in days. Sam carefully examined the person, still trying to figure out if they were male or female. The smaller petite body frame was a more feminine size. The hardest part to deciphering their sex were the strange restraining devices covering sections of their face and part of the head.

Over the eyes was some kind of metal blindfold that seemed to have leather around the edges, probably to soften where it touched the skin. And over the mouth and jaw was some strange form of solid metal gag, preventing the person from speaking. They were linked by strips of metal that ran past both sides of the nose so it became one piece. Covering both hands were small, round metal balls with a single loop at the tips and which seemed to lock at the wrists, preventing any use of their hands. The person was crossing their arms in front of their neck area as if trying to keep guards from getting to it with the pole just outside the door. They also wore a shock collar just like Wanda's.

The most disturbing item was the feeding tube that was sticking out from the nose, telling Sam that the devices stayed on for longer periods of time if they guards had to use it for mealtimes.

"Cap," Clint quietly got everyone's attention. "If they've gone through those types of measures, there's a damn good reason."

"I have to agree with him," Sam said as Steve stepped into the room to get a better look at the other prisoner. "We may want to cut out from here before it gets us in trouble."

Quietly walking to stand at the side of the prisoner, Steve was now able to see the back of the strange headgear and his eyes grew wide.

"The blindfold and gag are secured by a padlock so they can't be removed," he told them as the prisoner suddenly swung their right hand outward, trying to strike at Steve, but instead the metal fist struck the back wall, producing a ringing sound in the small room.

"Steve, the file says the prisoner's name is Polly," Nat's voice stated. "She was a prisoner of Hydra's and was confiscated by authorities during some traffic accident."

"Hydra's prisoner?" Steve asked as she swung her metal fist again in the direction of his voice. "Confiscated? That doesn't make any sense. Why would a prisoner of Hydra's continue to be Ross' prisoner?"

"We are running out of time to discuss this, Steve," Nat informed him. "Our escape window is closing. Make up your mind and do it."

Steve brought his hand up to his chin as he stared down at the figure they now knew was indeed female. He could see that Cap didn't like having to do this so rushed but they needed a decision now, before none of them left the Raft.

Sam also saw something a bit different in the prisoner posture now that she understood they were not guards. She had quit actively trying to swing her arms at Steve, but she was still huddled on the corner of the bed.

"We are taking her with us," Steve informed them looking over and waiting for an argument.

Sam glanced at the others and saw that they were not going to, so he decided to state the obvious.

"Cap, if that's what you want, we'll go along with it, but at least consider this. She's here for a reason, and we need to be safe."

"We will be," Steve told him as he went to crouch down closer to her. "Polly? That is your name?"

The female, who had been listening to them, gave one nod, her head turning towards Steve's voice.

"We are escaping here and I want to take you with us. I do not know why you are here, or what Ross wants with you, but I am going to find out once we have escaped. So, do you want out of here?" Steve asked to which she began to nod a bit more eagerly.

"Are you going to give us any trouble?" Steve asked.

Polly slowly shook her head, indicating she would behave. Sam guessed that was the best they were going to get. Steve passed the radio over to him.

"Then let's get that collar off," Steve told her before reaching over and ripping it apart just as he had done with Wanda's.

Sam instantly noticed something different with the skin underneath.

Looking over at Wanda he saw that her neck looked unblemished. But Polly's neck was marred with different levels of red welts all the way around. It seemed that she had been shocked a lot more than Wanda to the point where they had not even had a chance to heal since the last time it was used on her. The murmur from the others told him that they noticed the same thing he had.

"Since we are running out of time, and I can't remove those objects on you until I know my team is safe, I'm going to have to carry you. Can you stand up for me?" Steve explained to her.

Without hesitating she slowly tried to stand, but not being able to see or use her hands, Steve moved to help her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he helped to guide her up from the bed. Sam saw her visibly flinch at the contact, telling him that it may have been some time since she'd been touched at all, or more than likely beaten a lot by the guards recalling what Wanda had mentioned about her fighting with them.

Once she was standing, Steve swept Polly up into his arms and they all now began to run up through the Raft towards their freedom.

"Nat, we are on the way. I hope you have our ride ready to go," Sam called over the radio as they headed up the flights of stairs.

"I'm just sitting here doing my nails while waiting on all of you," Nat quipped.

Sam glanced at Polly as Steve rounded the stairs. He could see that she had drawn up her body into a small ball in his arms and was resting her head on his shoulder. Not knowing who had her, along with her ability to not be able to see or speak, he knew it had to be extremely frightening. Once they were out of this place, he decided to see what he could do to help alleviate some of the numerous fears she probably had.

But she had easily agreed to come with them instead of staying here, telling him that her dislike of this place overrode her any immediate fear of the unknown group she was taking up with.

Arriving at the landing platform, he could see a tuff of familiar red hair from the pilot's seat. Sam had at least expected Bucky to be here guarding the jet. He hoped that it was not for the worst possible reason he could imagine, such as Bucky having been killed.

"Took you long enough," Nat called over her shoulder while closing the ramp door as soon as the last person was inside. "Getting slow in your old age there, Clint. Maybe you should retire."

"And here I was actually starting to miss you. What was I thinking?" Clint joked with her, but resting his hand on her shoulder in a silent greeting as they began to gain altitude. Seconds later, Nat leveled out the jet and took off in a very big hurry.

"Hey, my suit!" he heard Scott exclaim so he turned to see that all of their confiscated equipment had been pilfered by Nat and put into one of the open cargo bins. "At least Hank's not going to sic his paraponera clavata on me anymore."

"His what?" Sam asked not understanding the comment, but Scott only scrunched up his face and dismissively waved his hand for him to ignore him.

While they had been on the Raft, Scott had told everyone the story of how the two of them had met and it sounded like Hank Pym was force to be reckoned with if irritated. Sam was glad that he never had a 'trial-by-water' scenario from Cap.

Steve sat Polly down on one of the jump-seats, reaching over and pulling the safety strap around her body to secure her. He then headed forward to speak with Nat. Knowing that she needed to understand what was happening, Sam took the space next to her so they…or at least he…could talk.

"Polly," he softly said, letting her know that he was next to her, "My name is Sam Wilson. The man who was carrying you is Steve. The others are Nat, Wanda, Clint, and Scott. Once we get somewhere safe, we'll go through proper introductions. But our group needs to know more about you, and why you were on the Raft to begin with before we can free you. Do you understand?"

Polly turned her head towards the sound of his voice and gave a simple nod.

"I'm going to go read your file and let the others know what I find."

If she cared about what he said, she gave no indication. Polly just continued to sit in the seat, her head drooped a bit forward and not moving at all. He then realized that the device on her head was probably heavy and hard to hold up with her neck for too long. Maybe she had not actually been asleep but lying down to ease the pain. Hopefully with what he finds in her file will allow them to be removed.

Getting up, he made his way over to Nat in the pilot's chair.

"Do you have Polly's file handy? I want to find out what's going on with her as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure those things on her are not comfortable," he explained.

Nat reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a small thumb drive, handing it over her shoulder to him.

"The personal file is not very big and with the quick glance I took at it, it didn't seem to make a lot of sense," she told him. "But I saw listing for numerous interrogation videos associated with her. I'm not sure what's on them though."

"Hopefully I'll find out about her now that we have some time," he told her taking the device along with a tablet from a side console. Inserting it, he walked back to the opposite side of the jet from Polly, not wanting to risk sitting next to her for too long without knowing what she was truly capable of. Since everyone else was right next to him, it seemed that they were all of one mind.

Opening her file, Sam began to read.

Author's Note: It was a bit long but I hope that this starting point for my story was enough to interest you in the characters and their interactions. As you can guess, our heroine has dealt with a lot and will have to overcome what she's been through. If only there is someone in the group used to helping people deal with traumatic events…hmm….