The Other Symbiote

JARVIS?

Scenes ahead contain triggering factors. Please be careful when reading.

Almost a Year Later

Besides being transferred back to Stark Tower, Nemesis had forced Raiva to stay in her cell since they entered. Nowadays, it was more common to see Nemesis in control than Raiva. If she was, she barely ate, and what she did eat was immediately absorbed for Nemesis. Both of them were extremely tired, from lack of food and sleep.

But also lack of interaction. The only person they saw came once every week, to try and talk some sense into Raiva and bring her away from this mindset. Like they spoke of the devil, the clatter of boots echoed down the hallway before coming to a stop on the other side of the glass.

"Natasha fucking Romanoff. What a surprise." Nat nodded and the door opened, Raiva's eyes widening at her small window to escape, but her symbiote held her down.

*Nemesis, what are you doing?*

*This is for your own good, Raiva.*

"Raiva, you need nutrients." Nat sighed, looking at the needle in her hand that was connected to an IV bag in the other.

"N-Nat, think about what you're doing here. You don't want to put that in me. It's not going to work anyways, I'm invulnerable."

Her voice became hurried, her actions more frantic.

Like she had done all those months ago, Nat looked through Raiva's eyes and Nemesis knew what to do.
She took over Raiva's motor skills and made her walk over to the bed in the cell, forcing her to lie down. She then made herself as quiet as possible in Raiva's mind, making her host as vulnerable as the human before her whilst still holding her still.

"I'm sorry, kiddo."

She stuck the needle into the vein of her arm and taped it down firmly and Raiva screamed for help. She didn't want this - she wanted the opposite. Instead of feeding her life-saving nutrients, she wanted it to take everything living out of her. She was hanging on the edge of the cliff of life, only holding on because of Nemesis.

She couldn't leave her alone and vulnerable in this cruel world. That was her only promise to herself before she would go. She would find a suitable host for her symbiote, one that wouldn't abuse her power like Carlton, but use it for good... like she did.

As soon as Nat had the drip flowing, Nemesis let her host go. Raiva launched her hand at the syringe in her arm, but Nemesis was one step ahead of her. The symbiote wrapped herself around the area of the syringe so that Raiva couldn't rip it out.

She tried to go for the IV bag that lay next to her, but Nemesis held her back.

*I will not let you kill us both.*

Nat quickly walked out as she knew she would cry her eyes out if she left a moment later.

She paused as Raiva's cries for her echoed into her ears and she sniffled.

"JARVIS, activate soundproof containment on Cell N."

"As you wish, Ms. Romanoff."

She heard the cries fade away before she only heard light banging against the glass.

"I'm sorry, little one."

---

Raiva looked out of the other side of her cell and onto the city below, banging on the glass pane that sat between her and her relief every few seconds.

Suddenly, the lights of the city went out briefly, almost creating a ripple as the wave of overloading electricity flooded over the buildings.

*That came from this building.*

*Glad you still have a brain.*

*That means Nat or Maria could be in danger.*

Raiva turned to look at the door and noticed it was hanging open, the lights inside the cell flickering every so often.

"JARVIS?"

She called out but there was no response. She walked out of the room and felt the air thicken with electricity.

"Something's not right."

She sprinted up the stairs and heard multiple gunshots bounce around in her ears. She eventually gave up and webbed to the top of the stairwell, only to land in a fight with multiple Tin Man-looking robots, shooting at a vulnerable Maria and a Korean woman next to her.

Raiva reacted immediately and pulled Nemesis forward for the first time in a while, leaping over the fight and tearing through a robot that was creeping up behind her.

"Raiva?! How did you get out?!"

Maria yelled over the gun fight but the teen was too focused to listen. She heard Nat before she jumped up from behind the bar, sheltering Bruce from gunfire.

Raiva immediately leapt over and blocked the blasts from the Iron Legionnaires. She morphed her hands into weapons, one as a sword and the other as a chain mace.

She hammered through five of the ugly robots before more burst through the walls, grabbing her and dropping her on the tiles that cracked beneath her weight.

Nemesis roared at them and shot a deadly spiked web at each one, stabbing through their metal cores all at once. She looked around and saw nobody else was in danger.

"Raiva."

She turned and saw Nat walking towards her slowly in a black skirt and a plain white blouse, her heels off as she had to run earlier but her walk was off-balanced.

Raiva carefully looked behind her and saw small blotches of blood trailing, to which she scooped up her fun aunt and carried her to the room all the men were walking to.

She carefully placed her down on a barstool and pulled Nemesis forward.

She slowly ran her hand over Nat's left foot, carefully removing the shards of broken glass and pouring them into her free hand. She then proceeded with her right foot and threw the shards into a nearby bin.

She hadn't realised where they were until she properly looked around. She knew exactly what was on each piece of paper that was splayed across the table, where each pen was located and where the first aid kit was.

They were in her lab, everything in the exact place she put it all those months ago.

She reached down into the cupboard that held the first aid kit and moved to Maria who was clutching her wrist.

She pulled out a bandage and took care to wrap her wrist carefully, trying not to pierce through to her skin as she clipped the end.

She quickly looked around and saw Clint holding his shoulder, to which she pulled out a sling for him to rest his arm in.

"Tiny, what are you doing?" Tony spoke up as she moved to put the first aid kit away.

"Helping those who need it." Her voice was tinged with sadness.

"You know what? No more cell." Nat declared but it didn't change Raiva's mood.

"We will need your help for the next mission." Steve moved off the table he was leaning on and only then did Raiva's head perk up.

"Are you sure?" She asked him softly and he nodded.

"We will be going to Sokovia in the morning."

"Come on, Rai. Let me show you a room." Nat gestured to Maria to follow and she did, no longer clutching her wrist.

As Nat led her to the spare room, she watched Raiva get more of a spring in her step. When she had a mission, she focused solely on it. She pushed away her feelings and got the job done.

"Here." She opened the door and Raiva planted herself on the queen mattress in a star.

"You have a shared bathroom with the room across, but there's nobody in it so its all yours for now." Raiva didn't respond but Nemesis rose from her back.

"She's asleep, for the first time in forever."

"Good. She'll need it." Nat and Maria both placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving her to sleep.