Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

IRON MAN 3: CHAPTER NINE

TRIGGER WARNING - I just wanted to give a quick trigger warning for self-harm in this chapter and the ones following. 

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The cold night air hit Rhiley as she stood on the doorstep, the door clicking shut behind her. She didn't look back. Not at Tony. Not at the home that had been a temporary sanctuary.

She couldn't shake the sting of Tony's words, the finality in his voice when he told her to leave. "I can't do this with you here."

But as she walked down the street, away from the place she had hoped would feel like home, a new voice filled her mind. A voice that was older than time itself, primal, fierce.

"You don't belong here. Not anymore."

Rhiley stopped in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat. The voice was familiar, powerful. The Phoenix Force. It had been silent for a while, but now it surged to life, pushing its way to the forefront of her consciousness.

"You're weak."

"No." Rhiley gritted her teeth, willing herself not to give in. Not now. Not like this. But the voice was relentless, filling her thoughts with a blaze of power and destruction. "Weakness is why they all turn away. But you could destroy them, Rhiley. You could have everything."

Her head pounded, her vision blurring. The Phoenix was right. Tony didn't trust her. He had chosen to believe Dylan over her. He was afraid of the truth. And Rhiley... she was so tired. Tired of hiding, tired of feeling like an outsider. Her whole life, it had been nothing but pain, nothing but loss.

"Use the power. Let it consume you. They won't care until you're in control."

Rhiley's knees buckled. She braced herself against a lamppost, shaking. The fire inside her roared, trying to break free, but she fought it back. She couldn't. Not like this. Not when it meant she'd lose everything she cared about.

"Not again," she whispered to herself, her voice breaking. "I'm not like that. Not anymore."

But the Phoenix didn't listen. It never did.

And then she heard it. A voice. Cold. Calculated.

"You can run, but you can't hide, Rhiley."

She froze.

The voice was unmistakable. Dylan.

He was standing in the shadows, his figure barely visible in the dim streetlights, but his presence was undeniable. She could feel the tension in the air, thick and oppressive. His eyes gleamed with a hunger that unsettled her to the core.

"What do you want, Dylan?" she demanded, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound defiant.

"You know exactly what I want." Dylan stepped into the light, his smirk just as cold as his voice. He looked the same as always—calm, controlled, like he was in charge of the world. But there was something different now. Something darker.

"You told Tony." 

Dylan didn't even flinch. "I did," he replied smoothly, his smile widening. "You think he would've believed you if I hadn't? He would've tossed you aside as another confused, broken soul. But now? Now, he knows exactly who you are."

Her heart slammed against her chest, and for a moment, she felt dizzy. "You told him the truth."

"The truth is a matter of perspective," Dylan said. "But yes, I told him that you're his aunt. Howard's twin sister. The one he thought was dead." He paused, savoring the moment. "You've been lying to him this entire time, Rhiley. Hiding behind your powers, pretending to be someone else."