Rebirth (Completed)

The Puppet and Her Master

The dark trees surrounded on either side of Steve, closing in on him which caused him to panic and run to the end where the light shined brightly on the other side.

Once he broke through the forest he saw standing in the middle of a meadow was Serena wearing a pearly white dress that flows gently in the breeze. Her arms were bare and there was black string tied to both of her wrists. The posture she was in reminded him of a doll as her limbs hung still.

Steve watched in horror as the black strings snapped upward causing the girl's arms to rise above her head and her eyes flew open revealing lifeless dull eyes staring at him.

He shuddered in fear when the black strings began to lead her towards him in a zombie state. Fighting to hold back the scream that was working its way into his chest, Steve backed away from the girl and he literally jumped a few feet when dark laughter floated in the air.

"Oh poor Captain Rogers," the voice taunted in an eerily tone that sends shivers down his back, "your forbidden lover's soul is chained to a darkness that lies deep inside her. Her wings have been clipped and her broken heart lies in pieces at your feet."

Steve looked down and he saw the blood red pieces of glass lying close to his feet. His mouth dropped in repulsion as he watched the glowing pieces turn to flesh and blood covered the ground. Gagging, he turned away from the gruesome sight and wept softly as the sun blackened.

The doll-like Serena, slowly spin on the spot as the strings control her every movement and her beautiful dress was in shreds barely covering her body. Her once golden hair darken into midnight black and her eyes glowed demonic red as a twisted smile distorted her once lovely face.

"Steve," her voice carried across the area in a haunting tone, "do you love me?" The girl who resemble Serena was facing him with a pleading look that drowned in her fiery eyes. "If you love me please kill me," she moaned in anguish, "The pain is just too much to bear."

"Watch as I tore her apart in front of your eyes, soldier," the voice of darkness laughed as the strings turned into black serpents and began wrapping themselves around the girl squeezing the life out of her.

"NO! PLEASE STOP!" Steve cried in vain and he tried to run towards Serena but his feet was trapped in the thick blood, "SERENA!"

Someone was shaking him on the shoulder and his eyes met green eyes filled with concern and worry. Serena's face hovered above his and he could see a slight tremble in her legs. She was still weak from her dizzy spell. Steve sat up and pulled her into his strong arms, crying into her black shirt. Serena stiffened but then she relaxed.

"That must have been one heck of a nightmare, Cap," Tony's voice spoke just a few steps away from the couch, "I have never heard you scream like a banshee before."

Steve blushed and pulled away from the married woman. "Sorry," he muttered quietly as he tried to shake those vivid images out of his head. His whole body was shaking violently like a leaf caught in a wind storm and his heart raced like a herd of horses running wild.

"You kept screaming my name," Serena whispered in a worried tone as she gazed into his eyes. Steve winced for he never meant anyone to hear him cry out her name, but it was already too late.

'That's right, soldier boy, she already belongs to me.' The voice from his nightmare whispered in his mind and Steve's his paled as he heard the dark chuckle again. 'No one can save her now.'

"Steve?" her gentle voice pulled him out of his fear and poured over him like a soothing balm. He sighed as he felt her small arms wrapped around him holding him to her chest.

Eventually he felt peace flow into his mind chasing away the darkness of that hellish nightmare. He felt Serena's fingers run through his hair and it reminded him of when his mother would comfort him from nightmares.

'You can't escape from me,' the voice returned, 'your fate will be tied to hers if you get too close to her heart.'

Unwanted the image of her broken heart formed in his mind and he pulled free from Serena's embrace with a sharp gasp.

The voice chuckled cruelly in his mind, 'That's right, Steve, you will be the death of her if you communicate the three words that you hold deep inside your heart. Serena is my puppet and I am her master. Her strings are being pulled and her wings have been clipped. Freedom is lost and in the end I will have the last laugh.'

The voice's laughter shook Steve's mind and he covered his ears hoping to drown out that horrible noise. Reality hit him hard as he realised Serena's life was in danger and not even her husband, Loki, knows that her life was literally hanging by a thread.

'TICK TOCK TICK TOCK,' the voice of a child filled with innocence sang, 'Serena's time is running out. TICK TOCK TICK TOCK. The child of darkness has been born. Who will save both the child and her soul from the darkness that demands their obedience? TICK TOCK. Better think fast, Rogers before the clock is silenced from even ticking.'