Brooke threw herself onto the overly comfortable bed once they reached the mansion. It had been kind of an exhausting day, and she was more than ready for some deep sleep.

“How can that be healthy?” Steve asked from the hallway outside her door. “Wouldn’t all that caffeine just stop her heart?”

Brooke sat up in bed at the realization that he was talking about her.

“I don’t know, Cap,” Tony replied.

“Maybe she should limit how much she has in a day.”

“Come on, Steve. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

Brooke heard the door to Tony’s room close and her heart sank. Why would they talk about her behind her back, even if it was something as simple as her coffee intake?

She looked over her shoulder and stared at the darkened reflection staring back. She wasn’t pretty like Toni was. She wasn’t smart like CJ was. She wasn’t cute and adorable like Pamplemousse was. They were obviously concerned about her, but they wouldn’t even talk to her about it. What did that even mean?

The young lady stood and walked over to the mirror and looked closer at the teen staring back. She was thin as a twig with pale skin and big brown eyes. Five piercings graced her face; two lip rings, two nose studs, and a septum ring. She looked at herself in almost a scrutinizing way. Maybe she was too small? Too pale? Were her piercings too scary? Who knows!

The more she thought about all these things, the more desperate she felt. For as long as she could remember, she wanted to defy the norm, go against the grain. But now? Now, she felt like she had gone too far.

“Mama?” the little brunette girl asked as her brown puppy dog eyes gazed up at the older woman at her side.

“What?” she replied harshly.

“Can I be a cat when I grow up, mama? I want to be a cat someday.”

Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed sharply. “Why the hell would you want to be a cat?”

“Because cats are lucky. They get to lay in the sun all day and they can sleep where and when they want to. Can I please be a cat, mama?”

“Goddamn it, just leave me alone!” she screamed at the six year old. “Why can’t you be like everyone else?! You’ll never have any friends!”

Brooke started to cry as her mother’s hand made contact with her cheek with a resounding crack.

“Mama, that hurt!”

Brooke snapped out of her daze and saw her reflection in the mirror. She could see the scared little girl looking back, crying silently.

She sniffled and realized that she was crying too.

****

Toni woke up covered in sweat and tears, screaming. She plastered her hands to her mouth to muffle the sound as she sprang up to a sitting position. After she calmed down enough to stop screaming, her head went on an immediate swivel around the room with her heart ramming against her ribcage. Once she realized that she was alone, she removed her hand and started to cry silently. It was a dream, she thought to herself. Just a dream…

The teen was slightly startled by a soft knocking on her door. The door creaked open a crack and let warm light spill through. A head blocked some of the light as someone peaked into the room.

“Toni?” a male voice asked quietly.

“Come in,” she replied as her voice cracked.

The door opened fully and the man walked into her room, shutting the door behind him. She could hear him walking close to her and felt him sit on the bed. Then, a light blue light appeared from nowhere, illuminating Loki’s face and body.

“Are you okay?” he asked soothingly.

The girl nodded and wiped her face. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Just…a bad dream.”

“What was it about?” the god asked quietly and sincerely.

Toni shook her head. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Loki reached out to put on hand on her shoulder only to have Toni press herself to the headboard with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Loki slowly retracted his hand and looked at the young girl in front of him. Her eyes welled up with tears as she stared at him with a receding fear.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she let her head fall in defeat. “I’m so sorry, Loki.”

Her shoulders jerked and she drew her knees to her chest as she started to cry.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Antoinette,” he said softly. “I understand how real that dream may have felt.”

Toni looked up at Loki, tears still streaming down her face. “It was,” she said, voice breaking. “It was real.”

Loki watched as she started to break down again, feeling all too empathetic. “What happened, dearest?”

She sniffled and looked back up at the god. “It was him,” she muttered. “He did it to me.”

“What did he do?”

She looked away, as if she was ashamed of what she was going to say. “He…raped me.”

****

Pamplemousse curled to Bruce in her sleep as the scientist stroked her hair and back. He found it nearly impossible to sleep, and found solace in familiar feel of this little girl in his arms.

What if I ever hurt her? he thought to himself. I could never live with myself.

Pamplemousse stirred next to him and he froze. “Daddy,” she mumbled as she pressed herself closer to the doctor. He smiled at her. Daddy, he thought. I like that

****

Steve and Tony had fallen into the habit of sleeping together. It was comforting to Tony and reassuring to Steve, but neither of them would admit that the real reason they slept in each other’s arms was because of how they felt; the two of them were madly in love with each other.

****

Clint stared at the ceiling above him and Natasha. She had fallen asleep in his lap as they watched a movie in her room. Clint couldn’t sleep, not here and definitely not now. His mind drifted elsewhere. His mind was on Toni, and he couldn’t help it. Was she still mad at him? Would she ever give him a second chance? What lay in store for them was a completely mystery to him, and he didn’t like it.

But maybe she didn’t like it either. Change seemed to almost scare the teen girl, and maybe for good reason. Clint didn’t know what her story was or how her life had been. Maybe she was as broken as him. But above all else, he hoped she was happy.