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[h2][i][b][center]Year One[/center][/b][/i][/h2]

The first year I spent with Athena and Oberon at DS Technologies was a surprisingly eventful time. Athena made me Head of Security. It was an interesting title to receive. I didn't expect to get one. I thought I wouldn't even be acknowledged while at DS Tech. I assumed I would have more than enough time to myself. I had plenty of things on my mind that I wanted to take care of, like Jiaying. I will never stop looking for her. Not after what she did to Lizzie. I won't stop until I've had my revenge. I've had years to prepare to fight her and I knew I was ready. Unfortunately, it seemed my hunt for Jiaying had to be put on hold when I became Head of Security at DS Tech. That title bestowed upon me many duties. Some that I enjoyed, others not so much. For instance, I had my usual patrols throughout the day, which were rather boring. The lack of excitement during my patrols was quickly made up, however, when Athena had Oberon and I go on missions to find and take down various Hydra cells. We went all around the world but noticed that there were always Hydra agents and smaller Hydra cells in places like New York and Washington DC. We were curious to know why but no matter how much Oberon and I theorized and tried to put various pieces of disconnected information together, we were unable to figure out why. We wanted to get Athena involved but at some point, she began working on a mysterious project that kept her busy 24/7.  So, that left Oberon and me to figure out what the hell Hydra was up to.

Before Athena took on this mysterious project and shortly after my first mission with Oberon, Athena had called me up to her lab. She wanted me to see something she had been working on. I felt confused and a little wary of the situation. Athena hadn't done anything up to this point to warrant any uneasiness but I found it hard to trust her. I think she knew that too. Granted, I find it hard to trust just about anybody and everybody, but something about Athena's incredible intelligence put her on my "possible threat" list. Or maybe I just felt intimidated by her and inferior, or perhaps it was both. I'm not entirely sure yet.

Once I made it up to her lab, Athena presented me with a brand new suit complete with state-of-the-art gadgets and weapons. Athena started to explain how she made it and what she used to make everything but I wasn't paying attention. I just couldn't stop staring at everything she created. I think she mentioned something called "vibranium" but I probably misheard her.
Aside from the new suit (which included something called "cryo dampeners" which are apparently supposed to help regulate my body temperature as well as help me have more control over my powers), Athena made me a new sword that could absorb some of my powers to create an even more deadly blade of ice. She also made this gadget that transformed my ice into black ice bullets. Athena said I could use them in just about any type of gun. It took me a little while to get used to all of these new gadgets and devices but eventually, I was able to control and wield them with the same ease I felt with what I previously used. It was nice having such high-grade weaponry and other gear. Especially coming from someone who didn't seem inherently terrible, like many of the people I've worked with in the past.

I felt similarly about Oberon, though I trusted him less than I did Athena. Still, it was nice to work with someone who had powers like my own. There were many nights we'd sit together in this lounge that was on the highest floor of DS Tech and just drink in silence. It was how we would recuperate after one of our many missions. During those times, I often felt compelled to strike up a conversation with the man, particularly about our powers. I wanted to know more about his powers, how he first discovered them, how he handles them, and his strengths and weaknesses, among other things. Partially because I needed to figure out the best way to defend myself against him if he ever tried to kill me but mainly because I wanted to know just how much we were actually alike. I've never found it easy to open myself up to people and be vulnerable. Especially since I've never met a single person who could possibly relate to me and what I've gone through. But a very small part of me felt like he might be the only person in my life that could have the smallest idea of how I feel. It felt very tempting to try and connect with him, especially in my drunken state. I never did say anything, though. I don't even know what I'd say to him. Most nights I was too tired to try and think of any topic that was substantial and interesting enough for us to talk about. If we talked at all, it'd just mainly be simple, not-so-exciting small talk like what our favorite alcoholic drink was or what kind of weapon we'd use in various situations we'd make up on the spot. They were fun conversations to have, even if they weren't the most sophisticated. I wasn't used to that kind of comradery. Most of the time, I kept things strictly professional with the people and organizations I worked with, especially Hydra. This was a nice, and surprisingly welcome, change. 
Our relationship when on missions strengthened the longer we worked together. I memorized how he worked, his tactics, and fighting style (which is standard for me to do with anyone I work with) and it seemed he did the same with me. Soon we were working in complete harmony, taking down Hydra cells with relative ease. Hydra had their own patterns too, some I knew about already and others I discovered while with Oberon. We took note of these patterns and always used them to our advantage when taking down Hydra cells. Our coordination and combined power were often unmatched by many of the people we went up against.

I began to use my powers more, as well. In fact, I feel as though they got stronger as time went on, once again with Athena's help. She created personalized training modules for me to help keep not only my body in shape but also to help me get used to fighting with, as well as to strengthen, my powers. 
As my connection to them grew, I slowly began to accept having these Inhuman powers. I went from not being able to even think about them without remembering Lizzie to using them with deadly skill, the thought of Lizzie sometimes increasing my strength and the damage I dealt. In a way, I began to feel like myself. I wasn't forcing myself hide behind a wall of guilt, shame, and anger. I was able to use my powers with complete confidence. A confidence I didn't have before. A confidence I might've been [i]afraid[/i] to have. It felt thrilling being able to use my powers so freely with no judgement. I was never able to bring myself to say it to her face but I was thankful to Athena. Had I not joined her and Oberon, I would still be forcing myself to hide a large part of who I am. I no longer felt that way. My main objective never changed, though. 

This newfound confidence kept the fire burning inside me, that burning desire to find and kill Jiaying, alive throughout my first year at DS Technologies when it could've easily been left to die. I knew I was going to find her someday. I also knew that with these growing powers of mine, I'd be successful in defeating her and avenging Lizzie. I just needed to find her first. 
I kept tabs on anybody that could be related to Jiaying or any Inhuman. When I occasionally asked Athena for a break, I would "check up" on these people. Most of the time, it just lead me to dead ends but some of them still held promise. I knew I'd find somebody that would lead me to Jiaying at some point if I was unable to find Jiaying myself. I wasn't ready to give up hope. Not yet. 
I was sure Athena could help me find Jiaying, probably faster than I ever could. I didn't want to bring her into this, though. This was my mission. My fight. No one else needed to be involved in this except me, myself, and I. That made my search rather tough. I had to try and find Jiaying the hard, and sometimes dirty, way. It had to be done, though. Since Athena was so busy with her experiments, I doubt she would've been able to help me anyway. As for Oberon, I didn't want him to get involved in this either. He had no experience with Inhumans before I came along. Having him help me with my search for one of the most powerful Inhumans out there would be too dangerous. I don't want something to happen to him. So, I must remain alone. 

It's kind of funny. No matter how many people I surround myself with, I always end up by myself in some shape or form. It's been that way all my life. I thought I was used to it by now but after working with Athena and Oberon for a year, I seem to have let myself get a little too close and attached to them. There I go again, breaking my own rules. No matter how hard I try to follow them, I always end up breaking them. I used to punish myself in small ways whenever I did that. I don't anymore. I've kind of gotten used to breaking my rules, despite how frustrating it always is when I [i]do[/i] break them. It's just something I'm learning to live with. It's all part of this love-hate relationship I have with… well, myself. At least I hate my powers less, now. That's gotta count for something, right? I just wish I wouldn't let myself get attached to people so easily. That's my biggest weakness. It's something I'm always trying to work on getting rid of. Athena and Oberon are, unfortunately, making that difficult for me. Many nights I've lied in bed contemplating running away. I can never get myself to do it. I tell myself it's because I'm needed here to help take down Hydra, however, another small part of me tells me there's more than just that keeping me here. I ignore that feeling, though. Why? I honestly don't know. Maybe deep down inside I know it's nothing I need to think about. Or maybe I'm afraid of the truth. I don't know which it is and I don't think I want to know. It's not that I'm not afraid to find out. It's just… I don't feel like I need to know.

I'm. Not. Afraid.