Harley had fallen asleep halfway through one of Rhiley's stories—something about her time in World War II and how she once beat the hell out of most of the men in her squad after they made a snide comment about her being "too pretty to fight." He'd asked about James, and it was nice—for the first time in a long time—to talk about him.
To talk about Howard.
She didn't flinch when Harley's head dropped onto her arm, fast asleep. There was something comforting about it. But that comfort didn't last. Later, as the Phoenix Force stirred deep in her chest, a warning flared—sharp, sudden, wrong.
"What's wrong?" Harley had woken with a start, like he'd been zapped. He sat up, blinking rapidly. "Something on you just... shocked me."
"Something's wrong," Rhiley murmured, scanning the dim barn. Her voice was low, clipped. "Do you have a weapon?"
Harley looked around. "I've got... stuff to throw?"
"That'll work."
She tried to stand but failed. Her strength wasn't back yet. Too many wounds. Too much lost blood. The couch held her captive. Around her, small objects began to rise—wrenches, screws, scattered debris—all lifting into the air as Harley watched, eyes wide.
"Bad guys?" he asked.
"Bad guys," she confirmed.
And then—"Stop."
Everything dropped.
Dylan was the first to walk in.
He stepped through the barn door like he owned the place, a few armed men trailing behind him. Pawns. That's all they ever were.
He smiled at the sight of her condition. "Still not fully healed? That's... pathetic."
He pointed lazily at Harley. "Grab the kid."
"You stay away from him!" Rhiley shouted, trying to rise again. Her knees buckled. She crashed to the floor.
"Harley, run!" she yelled.
"What about you?!"
"Run!"
He didn't hesitate again. He bolted toward the rear of the barn, vanishing through the exit.
Dylan watched him go, then casually turned back to her.
"So... how's your partner doing taking down Stark?" Rhiley spat blood.
Dylan shrugged. "Fine enough." His eyes dropped to the knife on the table beside her. "Ah, I see. You were trying to resist again. Good girl."
"I see you're still a little bitch."
He grinned, crouching beside her. "I can feel it, you know," he said, almost reverently. "The Force inside you. Alive. Hungry. It wants freedom. It wants control. And it knows I can give that to it."
"What's the plan this time?" Rhiley asked through clenched teeth.
Dylan flipped her onto her back with one hand and pressed hard on her stomach, right over her half-healed wounds.
She bit her lip so hard it bled. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
Dylan leaned in, savoring it. "How are you alive?" she gasped.
"Frozen," he said simply. "Like you, but... cleaner. Controlled." He grinned. "If you just let me have what I want, I could give you everything you want."
"I've already had one villain say that to me," Rhiley ground out. "He was way hotter."
"I just thought I'd ask," he said, standing. Then, he stepped on her stomach with a sickening crunch.
YOU ARE READING
Radioactive | Bucky Barnes
Fanfiction"I want to go back to the time you first told me your name." Rhiley, the twin sister of Howard Stark, finds herself wrapped up with the one and only James Barnes. The next time she sees him is on her new assignment with the 107th Infantry Regiment...
