Past Friends

Part 98: Fusion

The Avengers storm the base, they arrived and immediately separated into three teams, the Ground Squad, the Heavy Hitters, and the Stealth unit. The Ground Squad consisted of Bucky, Steve, Pietro, Falcon, Vision, and Tony who lured out the initial wave of guards, while the Heavy Hitters, Thor, Wanda, and Hulk headed in, destroying the place, tearing it apart, drawing out the rest of the guards. While all the guards were distracted, the Stealth Unit made up of Natasha, Peter, Loki, and Hawkeye moved in to search the rest of the facility for you. They ended up splitting up, Natasha went with Clint while Loki and Peter went off on their own, not the safest plan but they could cover a lot more ground that way. 

Meanwhile, while the Avengers were making their way through the base to find you, the spell was nearly complete, you could feel the power coursing through your veins. No matter how hard you tried to break free you got nowhere but when you glanced back at Prometheus, seeing him and thinking about what he had planned, you knew you couldn't give up. When abruptly, you feel something new, something different, you begin to hear a voice, it was the Fire Crystal reaching out to you. You didn't think that the Crystal was sentient, but it had a spirit and it was calling out to you. It felt the same as you, the crystal didn't like being used like this, against its will and neither did you, perhaps together you could find a way out. 

The Crystal didn't have legs or the ability to really move on its own but you did, and while you didn't have the strength or power necessary to escape the crystal could give it to you. You were out of time, you didn't know the Avengers were in the building, or how close they really were, you didn't see another way out so you whispered "together". At the moment the spell ended you didn't really know what to expect but by Promutheus' reaction you had the feeling something awesome was about to happen. The Fire Crystal started glowing like it never had before, Prometheus and the few other guards who stayed looked confused and nervous. 

The Crystal then burst forth from its glass prison and attached itself to your back, right in the center between your shoulder blades. You felt an overwhelming amount of energy as the Crystal became temporarily fused to your body and you began to twitch and glow from the Fire Crystal's power. You couldn't hold it for long and soon let it all out, releasing with it a mighty scream that echoed throughout the entire floor, it could even be heard in the elevator shaft at the end of the hall. The blast destroyed everything around you, the chains, the platform, even your clothes were gone and anyone standing near was nothing but ash now, the only one left was Prometheus. 

Prometheus was able to use his own fire magic to block the blast of energy but even though it didn't burn him to a crisp it still sent him flying against the wall. You floated down off of what little remained of the platform, reaching down to pick up a piece of metal, it was a thick, long and sharp rod, perfect for what you had planned. Before Prometheus could recover, you flew forward towards him, piercing the metal rod in his upper abdomen, going right through his liver. You then leaned in close, whispering, "No one threatens to destroy my family and live to tell the tale, my dear," as you plunge the rod deeper into him until it went all the way through.  

You then ripped it out, tossing the metal rod aside as you felt the initial burst of energy begin to fade away, as you started to feel tired all over again. You let Prometheus drop to the floor, pulling off his jacket, putting it on yourself so you wouldn't be escaping naked as you promptly headed out the doors and over to the elevator. Luckily the jacket was big enough to cover all of your private parts, the bottom hem hitting at about mid-thigh but you did have to roll up the sleeves, slightly singeing them a bit in the process. You pulled out the keycard, remembering what pocket he had it in, activating the elevator before you unintentionally melted the card, you hit the button for the ground floor and it promptly shot off taking you up. The sudden jolt knocked you on your ass but instead of getting up right away you just laid there on the floor and laughed for a moment, you did it, you got away. You then started to cry instead of laugh, you didn't know the blast of energy you released would turn those people to ash, that was technically an accident but you did also just stab a guy. Villain or not, you made the choice to end someone's life, you killed somebody and it was starting to freak you out.  

You stood back up and try to regain your composure, seeing as you were less than thirty seconds or thereabouts from reaching the ground floor, assuming you timed it right that is. You hid off to the side as the doors open, checking to make sure the coast was clear before bolting in the direction you thought the way out was. You then felt the whole building shake and heard the loud terrifying roar of the Hulk, it might have been the most beautiful thing you've ever heard in your life. They were here, they came to save you and they actually found you, never in your life were you so happy. You promptly changed directions, heading off instead towards the sound of the Hulk and what was clearly gunfire. 

It wasn't the Hulk you ran into, it was Wanda, you caught a glimpse of her at the end of the hallway you just passed by, you backed up and double-checked it was Wanda before rushing as fast as you could towards her. You could see she was starting to get overwhelmed by guards and you felt the Fire Crystal's energy bubbling up inside you again, the need to protect your friend and sister became all-encompassing. You yelled at Wanda, telling her to hit the deck, unable to control the fire growing inside you, thank the gods she saw you in time and got out of the way before you let out a deadly blast of fire with your hands. 

You turned back to look at Wanda, totally unaware that parts of you were still on fire, that your hands were glowing and holding flames of their own. How the sudden blast made your rolled-up sleeves catch fire but when you finally noticed and tried to put the flames out, you found that you couldn't, only spreading the fire further. You were freaking out and unsure of what to do when suddenly out of nowhere Wanda dumped a bucket of water on you. You didn't know where she got the water or the bucket from but you were just grateful to no longer be on fire.  

Unfortunately, by the time the fire was out the jacket you stole was pretty much burnt to a crisp, one wrong move and it would fall apart and turn into a small pile of ash. You let out a small high-pitched squeak, running behind the nearest door, it was a utility closet, with a sink and you realized this is where Wanda must have gotten the bucket and water from. You stick your head back out saying, "I love you Wanda and I missed you but I probably shouldn't hug you, as much as I want to," you really looked like you were about to cry, realizing you couldn't give anyone hugs right now.  

"Thor, your cape is fireproof isn't it?" Wanda calls in over the comms, the answer she must have received was yes seeing as what she said next was that she needed it. Wanda told you to wait right there, she would go get Thor's cape and be right back, you nod your head and shut the door, waiting anxiously for her to return as the jacket did indeed fall apart. She knocked on the door before coming in, using her magic to create a make-shift dress to cover you up. If it were an actual dress it would have been super pretty, it looked like a cute little toga gown.  

You run off with Wanda and met up with Thor and Hulk on the way, you promptly tried to give them hugs before stopping yourself, telling them not to touch you before running behind the nearest corner. You popped back out around to explain why you were hiding when more guards appeared and you got all worked up, making fire return to your hands. Wanda tried to calm you down while Thor and Hulk easily took care of them but they returned to see the flames in your hands. Thor comes over and takes your hands, the fire not bothering him at all as he pulls you into a hug, telling you how much he missed his little sister.