The Healer
Teen!ReaderxAvengers
I think I kept it gender neutral, but if there’s a point that I fumbled it, please tell me.
This Antony is not Anthony Stark.
The powers are the same as in Graveyard
Summary: Steve ends up in Hydra’s most secure prison.
Warnings: Injuries, past trauma, conditioning, death, torture (punches), witnessing death of a loved one,
Word count: 4,274
Gn!reader
A man was unceremoniously tossed into the cell by two huge thugs. His face met the concrete with a wet thunk. Both cage-like doors closed behind him, although the thugs stayed to taunt him longer.
“Ой, посмотрите на маленького идеального американского мальчика.”
(Aww, look at little perfect American boy.) One said.
“Ха! Поймав Капитана Америку, это сломить их дух.”
(Ha! Catching Captain America, this will crush their spirits.) The other replied.
The man, apparently regaining some strength, reared up and slammed into the bars. He was strong, not as strong as the gate. The guards simply laughed and waltzed away. The man continued rattling the bars.
“Let me out!” Echoed in the halls.
“Stop.” You said, “Bitte.” He wheeled around, apparently seeing you for the first time. He quickly took a glance around the room, which consisted of the airlock-style door, two beds and one sink and toilet. You were curled up in the far corner, on your bed. He settled himself down on the empty bed.
“I’m sorry.” He said reassuringly, “I didn’t see you there.”
“Es ist okay.” You replied.
“What?”
“Oh, sorry.” You mumbled, “You only speak English?”
“Bits and pieces of other languages.”
“I can use English, it’s fine.”
“Thank you. My name’s Steven Rogers.” He extended his hand, “What’s yours?”
“Y/n.” You shook his hand.
“Do you have a last name?”
“Of course: It’s Y/l/n.”
“Hi Y/n. Do you have any water?”
“Not right now.” You said. Steve had a few scrapes on his hand, which you hadn’t yet let go of. He felt a warm glow in his hand, and the scratches disappeared.
“What?” He said, “How did you do that?!”
“Oh my. They really didn’t tell you anything, did they? I can take injuries from others.” You explained.
“That is incredible.” Steve marveled.
“There’s a cost.” You said quietly. He was too amazed to register what you said.
A few hours passed, in which Steve told you stories of SHIELD and the Avengers, a band of superheroes who he worked with. You told him your story, which was rather short. You were born, had a pretty good first two years of life in a normal family. Once your healing powers started to show, Hydra kidnapped you. You’d been stuck growing up in a prison, with only distant fading memories of something different.
“There was a really nice man for much of when I was little.” You recalled. “Antony and I shared a cell when I first got here. I think I was six when he was moved. After him, they placed the troublemakers with me.”
“I’m so sorry, did any of them hurt you?”
“My fellow inmates? Hurt me? Never.”
“Oh, why do you sound so sad about getting rulebreakers?” You shushed him. Footsteps carried down the hall.
“дворовое время.” Guard’s monotonous voice rang.
“Yay. Yard time.” You sighed unenthusiastically, “They’re not gonna let you go, since it’s your first day here, and you look ridiculously strong.” You stood up and entered the first door, swiftly closing it behind you. “See you in a bit, Captain Rogers!”
The guard opened the second door and you flowed with the crowd, through the corridors you knew like the back of your hand. The masses were funneled into a bottleneck where jackets were handed out. Nobody got shoes, a coat was enough to keep most from dying, so that’s what they got.
“Good morning Y/n” the man handing out jackets said.
“Hello Antony.” You replied. Anyone could do odd jobs for the thugs to get a little good will. Occasionally he’d get an extra scoop in his dinner bowl, or he’d receive some small trinket like socks or a scrap of paper.
“Check the pocket.” He whispered. He passed you a jacket, and inside there was a note that read ‘Is it true the Captain is caught?’ Years of living here had trained you to discreetly slip it back into your pocket as you put on your coat, while acting like nothing had happened.
“Thank you, Antony. We’ll talk at the stump.” You shoved on your coat and went into the Yard. You looked forward to yard time, since you could freely talk with whomever you pleased, and you got a little bit of fresh air. Life here was a living hell, and the landscape reflected it. Desolate tundra encompassed the prison’s structures for miles on end.
Today the weather was surprisingly good. The sun peeked through the clouds occasionally, and only small flurries of snow drifted around. Like the snow, you drifted, waltzing across the scraggly grass on the frozen ground. You went to your usual spot, a tiny tree stump that wasn’t quite as cold as the ground.
A crowd started to gather around you. Injured inmates would come to you, but only in dire situations. They knew the price of your power. They used one man’s shoulder dislocation as an excuse to collect.
Murmurs of “Is it true?” swirled around in a multitude of languages. French, German, Spanish, Russian, Latin, and occasionally Arabic.
Most of the inmates here were enemies of Hydra, good men, from all around the globe. Some of the older prisoners were in because they prematurely found out about Hydra’s infiltration of SHIELD and opposed it. Others were there because they posed too much of a threat. All wanted to leave, none had much hope.
“Yes.” You said, making it look like you were talking about the dislocated shoulder. “He’s here. Very strong too.” You moved the arm a little, and the man winced.
“Does he resist?” Antony, who had wandered over, asked.
“Yes.” You sighed.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok, he doesn’t know.”
“Does he have a plan for… You know…” One of the fresher inmates said. He had a french accent, and seemed to be struggling to find the right word. Eventually he resorted to his native tongue.
“Échapper?”
The crowd went silent. Even mentioning the word ‘escape’ could bring dire punishments.
“Not to my knowledge.” You hastily replied. You knew this was taking too long, and everyone else did too. They started to disperse, and you began to fix the man’s arm for real. Antony had relocated it twice already, but there was damage to the ligaments around it, which caused it to become dislocated very easily.
Antony relocated it for a third time, which caused the man to wince again. Immediately after, you laid your hands on it. He felt a warm glow, and his shoulder was completely healed. Your face was set in a grimace. Crouching to look eye-to-eye with you, Antony spoke.
“I need to relocate it.”
“I know, Ant.” You said, “I also know it’ll hurt.”
“The clock’s ticking. If the ligaments heal while the bones aren't in the right place, it’ll only cause you more trouble down the road.”
“Fine.” You allowed him to relocate your shoulder. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and he secured it fairly easily.
“Thank you.” The man you healed said, “Te daré mi pan en la cena.” (I will give you my bread at dinner.)
“What’s your name?” You asked.
“René Telesforo.”
“Only give me the bread if you can spare it.”
“I can.” He walked off.
“I’ve always wondered why you do this.” Antony said after a pause.
“Do what?”
“Continue to heal us more than they make you, even though it hurts.”
“Everyone here is nice enough.” You paused. “Plus it would take forever for something like this to heal on a normal person. Now that I’m the injured one, it should be fine in, like, an hour.”
That was the price of healing. You received the injury. Logically, it was the best way to handle it. You heal abnormally fast, and your shoulder was already feeling a bit better.
“What’s that?” You asked, motioning to his arm. He attempted to hide it, but your powers told you it was a complex fracture with a lot of bruising.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Liar.” You said, “Let me see.”
“No. I’ll never make you heal me again.”
“But I’m offering.”
“It’ll fix itself eventually.”
“Not on you, or at least not for a long time.”
“No.” He said, “And that’s final.”
True to his word, René gave you his chunk of bread at dinner right as you walked into the hall. They’d decided to allow the Captain into the dining hall, if only to lord his capture over the other prisoners. You assumed it was to discourage the other inmates, and it worked. Many were so disheartened at SHIELD’s loss that they neglected to eat. Naturally, others swept in to scavenge their scraps.
You and Steve were seated in the corner, and nobody was allowed to interact with him. You couldn’t really complain, at least you got to sit without being squished between a bunch of other people.
Steve stood up, which is a huge violation of the dinnertime rules, and started addressing the room. He gave a rousing speech about how they would get out of there, and how he would personally ensure everyone’s safety, but you didn’t hear any of it. The pure dread you were experiencing drowned it out.
“Steve,” You said quietly, “Captain, please get down. The guards… They’ll…”
“It’s okay Y/n,” He said, “I can handle whatever they try.”
“No…” You whispered, “You don’t understand.” He didn’t hear you over the cheers of the inmates as he continued describing how his friends were coming to save them, now that they knew where the prison was.
In a normal prison, the guards would have stepped in once they all got riled up. Hydra has some interesting alternate methods of control. A thin man in the corner simply scribbled on a clipboard and whispered with the man next to him. The moment he did that, all the inmates sat, and extended apologies.
Not to the guards, though.
To you.
Steve finished his speech, and sat to finish his food. One of the goons, the scraggly one holding the clipboard, sauntered up to the food counter, and started speaking.
“All of you are aware that behavior of this kind cannot be tolerated. Since there has recently been a disturbance to our schedule,” He glanced in Steve’s direction, “We are willing to be lenient.
“The usual punishment will be shifted to the one who inspired the behavior. Our newest arrival: Steven Rogers. Finish your meals, and then proceed to the Viewing Room.” He strolled to the door, and left. You ate quickly. Seeming very confident in himself, Steve did too. You finished before him.
“Why must you break the rules?” You asked.
“It seemed to inspire the others,” He paused, “For a bit at least. What's wrong?”
“It’s fine.” You said as the guards motioned for you to follow them.
“Nothing you can do about it anymore.” With the sleeve of your shirt you wiped your mouth and followed the directions given. Steve and you walked down the hall to a room you knew too well. It was set up like a theater, but the shows weren’t for the prisoner’s entertainment. Two chairs sat on the stage, in an auditorium-like room.
One chair had thick leather straps, it was built like it was meant to withstand the end of the world. The other was one of those flimsy folding chairs. You seated yourself in the second one. Without much complaint, the Captain was situated in the first chair.
“What now?” Steve asked. “Do we sit in complete silence for an hour?” The scrawny man glowered at you, and you in turn shot a warning glance at Steve. He took the hint and stopped talking.
A few moments later, prisoners started streaming in and seating themselves. They were all perfectly silent. Within minutes, the room was filled and completely silent.
“We have decided that recent incidents were heavily influenced by the arrival of Steven Rogers.” The thin man spoke while standing between the two chairs up on the stage. “Thus, he shall receive the punishment. The rules broken are as follows. Speaking out of turn.”
A second guard, who had been standing behind the chairs until that point stepped forward and dealt a heavy blow to Steve’s shoulder.
“Failure to heed instructions hastily.” The scrawny guard continued and another punch whacked onto his torso.
“Attempting to start a riot.” Thud.
“Failure to return his bowl to the proper collection site.” Whack.
“Standing during dinner.” Thump.
“Failure to properly report himself at roundup.” Another punch. Steve didn’t so much as wince. You on the other hand were internally calculating how long each wound would take to heal. They continued listing tiny infractions and beating him. Every small thing made his fellow prisoners look at him with more and more disdain.
“Is that all?” Steve brazenly asked.
“Failure to remain quiet during Example Making.” And a punch was the reply.
“Mx. Y/l/n?” The skinny thug asked with mocking respect. You scooted your chair closer to Steve’s and placed two hands on his arm.
“Whenever you’re ready.” Skinny thug said. You nodded and began to heal Steve. Funny thing about your powers, the other person still feels some pain from the injuries, so this was a perfect form of punishment for Hydra.
It not only hurt the perpetrator, it also made everyone else hate them for causing pain to a child. On top of that, the prisoners would be less likely to trust any of Steve’s plans to escape, because their idealistic view of him would be shattered.
The strike to his abdomen was especially painful, it most likely caused some internal bleeding, and you cried out briefly before catching yourself. The bruises barely had time to form on your skin before they were healed.
“Remember: Resistance means injury to you and them.” This is how they ended every session. They drilled this saying into your collective heads. You were allowed to leave before Steve was. After limping back to your room, you collapsed onto the bed.
You awoke at two AM. All your physical injuries were healed. No nightmares plagued you. No unusual noises rang in the halls. Steve noticed you were awake, and that nothing specific seemed to have woken you.
“Why are-” He tried asking.
“Sh!” You hiss-whispered. He followed you to the wall of the cell, where he looked out and saw every other prisoner was doing the same. For a moment he was confused, then you pressed the button on the sink.
“Didn’t you say it was broken?” He inquired, while the pacing guards were at the other end of the hall.
“No, I said ‘not right now.’ They do it to mess with us.” You said. “Now we all wake up at whatever time it is now, and we never get a good night's rest without getting dangerously dehydrated.” Your conversation quieted as the guards returned to this end.
The next day, they allowed Steve into The Yard with the rest of the inmates. You and Antony hung out with him. Yesterday’s Example Making made most people not want to risk contact with him.
“Steve, this is Antony.” You introduced them. “Antony, Steve. Although I’m sure you’ve already heard of him.”
“I have, yes.”
“Good to meet you, Antony. Y/n has told me that you two are close friends.”
“Yes, we are.” Antony smiled, “They are a wonderful person, and it sucks that they’re stuck in a place like this.”
“None of us will have to be for much longer.” Steve lowered his voice. “I managed to sneak a tracker in with me.”
“Woah…” You gasped. “How?”
“I had it implanted in my arm.”
“How long did that take?” Antony asked skeptically.
“Only half an hour.” Steve replied.
“Seems like you knew beforehand that you’d be caught.” Antony said.
“That was the plan.” Antony and you both stared at the Captain in amazement and confusion.
“You wanted to come here?” Antony asked.
“Calm down.” Steve said, “The other Avengers and I figured that there had to be another prison somewhere. Inmate numbers never added up, and the transcripts we found kept saying high-risk inmates were ‘Transferred to’ and then a redacted name.”
“Who are the Avengers?” Antony asked.
“They’re other people with abilities like me and him.” You replied, “They and Hydra are enemies.”
“Yes, and the other Avengers are going to be here sometime today – as long as the tracker didn’t break – and we need to be ready to fight. How many of them do you think will be willing to help us?”
“At any usual prison, a small disturbance starting would be enough to set off this group.” he paused, “But with the threat of torturing Y/n hanging over us… Y/n would need to show their support before the others would even consider fighting.” The Captain contemplated for a moment.
“I won’t force you to fight, Y/n.” He said, “It would be very helpful if you showed support. I know you have immense difficulty disagreeing with these people… And I understand that you might not believe me. I won’t force you to fight, just please think about it.”
“Okay. I’ll definitely think about it.” You said, “And you’re right, I’m not 100% sure that this plan isn’t some convoluted excuse to punish us more. It could be a twisted loyalty test for all I know.” You paused. “Once I see proof, I’ll fight.”
“That’s all I ask.” Steve said, “I promise, you’ll see proof.”
Two AM came and the facility went on lockdown. Everybody managed to snag a couple sips of water before they shut it off.
“Great.” A man down the hall said, “They’re depriving us of water over a rumor.” Getting whacked over the head with the butt of a rifle quickly shut him up. That was the first sign that something was truly wrong. Not another training exercise, a real threat to this prison.
And that excited people.
Nothing seemed to happen between two and five AM. At least, not from the prisoners’ perspectives. Five rolled around, and they were woken as normal, with a bowl of gruel slid through a special grate in the bars. They spent the mornings in their cells, talking quietly. The thugs were on edge, skittish.
Another good sign.
Yard Time came, and they were released. Antony didn't want to risk being roped in with Steve, so you two only shared a nod from across the Yard. It was just about time to go back inside when gunshots rang out. Luckily, they weren’t directed towards the prisoners. Chaos nearly broke loose, and if Steve and Antony were able to give it a little shove, it would.
A hook came over one section of the wall. One woman with bright red hair climbed over the wall and started taking down guards. Suddenly a man with – Were those wings? – soared over the wall. He dropped an armful of weapons into The Yard.
Despite the confusion, Steve picked them up and started distributing them to Antony and a select few others who would fight even without your approval. Now the shots from the turrets were turned inwards, towards the armed prisoners.
“Y/n, get somewhere safe,” Steve said, “Unless you’ve changed your mind.” You felt rooted to the spot, like the night you’d been abducted by Hydra. Years of their torture had reminded you that it is better to never try than to try, fail, and be punished. Steve could see you weren’t okay, but he also had to fight.
For a while you simply observed the battle unfold. Prisoners were vastly outnumbered, and scarcely any had weapons.
You watched as they took down one guard, just for two more thugs to take his place. You watched as countless men were mowed down. You watched as more prisoners and guards swarmed out of the building. You watched as Antony took a shot to the head.
Finally, the shock of seeing your second father-figure killed by Hydra broke something. It wasn’t a complete break, and it wasn’t a clean break, but it broke though the imposed compliance just enough for you to rally others around you to fight with whatever strength was left.
Somehow, it worked. The last push was enough to keep the battle going long enough for more of Steve’s friends to arrive. A huge aircraft with the SHIELD logo on it flew overhead, and dropped off numerous agents. Seconds later, the southern wall fell, and the prisoners started streaming out while SHIELD agents poured in.
You decided to go with the flow, and for the first time since you were two, you left the prison’s grounds. You didn’t really know what to do, and you wandered towards a jet full of injured people.
The woman with red hair who had first scaled the wall was brought in with a deep gash in her leg. Medics were too busy with other, more serious, cases to deal with her. She was placed in the seat next to you. She must have noticed you staring.
“Trust me, it’s worse than it looks,” She said through gritted teeth.
“It has scraped the bone.” You said.
“Maybe.”
“That wasn’t a question. It did.” You glanced at her, and held up your hands. “May I take a look?”
“Feel free.” She closed her eyes in pain, still trying to keep up the facade that it didn’t hurt. “I’m Natasha by the way.”
“I’m Y/n.” You placed your hands on her leg, and the familiar warmth emanated from them.
“Holy cow, that feels so much better.” She gasped, opening her eyes, “How…?” She saw that your leg now had an identical gash, which was healing visibly.
“Thank you. I’m gonna fight, but I’ll be back, Y/n.”
The fight continued, and before the sun went down they had taken the prison. You had spent your time staring at nothing, trying to block out the sounds and occasionally healing one or two people. After what felt simultaneously like a second and eternity, Steve and the woman returned. Nat… Nash… Natasha.
They seated themselves near you, but not suffocatingly close. While they were gone, someone gave you a blanket, and you'd wrapped it around yourself. A separate person had given you a bottle of water, and you occasionally sipped from it. Once the jet took off, you realized how tired you were, and lay down, utilizing the seats next to you.
You woke up at what would have been two AM to take another drink of water. Natasha and Steve were awake. Maybe they never went to sleep. It was hard to recall anything in the haze.
“Hey kid,” Natasha said, “How was your nap?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s okay.” She said, “Do you wanna talk? We’re only an hour out from Avengers Tower.”
“Sure.” You said.
“What’s the first thing you want to eat once we get back?” Steve asked. “I could go for some pizza.”
“I think my sister’s making mac’n’cheese.” Natasha said.
“I want those… What are they called?” You said, “The noodles where you pour hot water in and wait three minutes?
“Cup noodles?” Natasha offered.
“Yeah, those.” You said, “It’s the last thing I remember eating before… Y’know.”
“Y/n, did I ever officially introduce you to Natasha Romanova?” Steve changed the subject, “She’s one of the Avengers.” Throughout the next hour the three of you talked, but they always clumsily steered the conversation away from families and your time at the Hydra prison.
By the time you arrived at Avengers Tower, the other planes had broken off to go to other bases. Steve had radioed ahead so there would be a room set up for you. Natasha was walking you there, but on your way you two passed the living room, where most of the Avengers were hanging out, so you stopped to be introduced.
Spider-Man, Yelena, the sister Natasha mentioned, who did indeed have mac’n’cheese, Wanda Maximoff, Vision, who was a robot, Pietro Maximoff, Wanda’s brother, Clint Barton, the cool arrow man, James Rhodes, who was paralyzed from the waist down, and Thor, a literal god.
They also mentioned three other guys. One named Bucky, who was very antisocial and probably in his room. Along with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, who were both workaholics and were in their labs nine times out of ten.
Natasha gave them all a brief explanation of your powers, and that you’d be living with them from now on. Then she walked you to your room and gave you a short tour.
“Shirts here, bottoms here,” She said, pointing to drawers, “There’s your bed, a desk, a chair, and for some reason there’s a beanbag chair in the corner. Over there’s the door to your bathroom. I suggest you shower and come to the kitchen for dinner. We have more cup noodles as you can possibly imagine.”
She was about to leave when she whirled around, “Oh, I almost forgot! If you need help with anything just say ‘FRIDAY’ and the robot that lives in the walls can help you out with it.”
With that she was gone. With help from FRIDAY, you managed to figure out the shower. Your first shower with warm water in over a decade! After that you dried off and put on some sweatpants and a loose-fitting tee. You wandered over to the bed, just to see how soft it was. That turned into a half-hour-long nap.
“Hey FRIDAY?” You asked, “How do I get down to the kitchen?” You arrived and saw Steve sitting with Sam. Waiting on the table was a styrofoam cup of noodles. You could definitely get used to living here.
Part 2 here!
