Nick Fury is my Uncle -COMPLETED-

Chapter Ten: Monster

Chapter Ten:

Monster

*****

Bruce Banner: So you're saying that the Hulk... the other guy... saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?

Tony Stark: I guess we'll find out.

******

“What do you mean you can’t track him?” demanded Agent Hastings, glaring at the young woman in front of him.

He knew he shouldn’t be taking out his anger on Monica Blight, who was merely the person who monitored Ryder, but he was frustrated. He was losing control, and that was a thing he could not allow to happen.

Monica looked unruffled by Hastings’ outburst. “No, sir, Blue is not showing up on the radar.” Blue was the only name Monica had for Ryder.

“But that’s not possible,” muttered Hastings, mostly unintentionally. “The implant is irremovable.”

“I don’t know what to tell you sir. It’s either been deactivated or removed,” said Monica.

“It can’t be deactivated either,” said Hastings under his breath. “You keep this under wraps, Miss Blight, do you hear me? This is strictly classified.”

Monica nodded hastily. She was only Level 2. Getting involved with anything higher up was not on her to-do list. As a glorified secretary, all she did was answer calls. And that’s the way she wanted to keep it.

****

“It was a long shot anyway,” muttered Agent Hastings, pacing in front of Fury’s desk. “Can’t you get Coulson’s team on this?”

“They’re on a mission,” said Fury in response. He looked like he always did, calm and immovable like an anchor or a rock.

“We need the best to find Ryder Hasbrook. And they’re the best,” said Hastings. “Excuse me, sir, but isn’t this top priority?”

“The highest priority,” said Fury. “If he’s in enemy hands…”

“We can only assume that he is,” said Hastings. “As for what he could be used for…” he trailed off, like Fury before him. They couldn’t put the thought into words. That meant it was real.

“Has the family been informed?” asked Fury abruptly, changing the subject.

Hastings sighed deeply and pressed a palm to his forehead. He was a lean, middle-aged man with thinning and hair and permanent lines between his eyebrows and at the corners of his mouth, giving him an air of constant disapproval.

“Yes,” he said, returning his hand to his side and meeting Fury’s gaze. “They’re on their way now, being placed into protective custody until this is over.”

“They must be told nothing,” said Fury. “The brother already knows too much.”

Hastings nodded curtly, “Yes, sir.”

“You can walk with me to the meeting,” said Fury, standing up. “Think a way out of this nightmare.”

Hastings nodded, but he already knew there was no way out.  

*****

It must have been hours that Ryder sat there alone, unable to move, struggling to breathe. It was dark and he couldn’t tell where he was.

He searched for an escape from the pain, but something was blocking his mental view. He could find nobody else in the near vicinity. Ryder knew there must be someone here, someone watching, but he couldn’t feel them.

“Comfortable?”

Ryder’s head snapped upward, his eyes searching through the blackness. He could hear someone breathing very close to him, and felt their body heat as they approached.

“When this began, I bet you didn’t see this happening.”

Ryder shook his head, trying to dislodge the voice, struggling to make it go away. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be, because the voice belonged to Seth, his older brother. It was happening again.

“At first, I bought the fact that you only did this to save your life. Later, I began to think you did this for yourself, to become more powerful.” There was a sneer in Seth’s voice.

Ryder had heard this too many times before.

“Those little pranks you played on me aren’t so funny now, are they?” hissed his brother. No, it wasn’t Seth. It was all in mind. “How about now, Ryder?” demanded Seth, “How about now when people are getting hurt because of you?”

Then Seth leaned forward so that he was speaking directly into Ryder’s ear, and Ryder trembled as Seth’s jaw scraped his cheek. Why did this feel so much like reality?

“Do you remember his blood, little brother? Do you remember how it felt as it ran through your fingers? Can you recall waking up, seeing what you had done? Were you proud?” Seth spoke low and harsh, and Ryder could feel himself falling away, going back to the day he had…

No, he wasn’t going to do that. He couldn’t. He had to stay here.

“It took quite a lot for S.H.I.E.L.D to get you out of that one,” said Seth. His words took on a guttural, more broken tone. “You’re less than human, Ryder. You laughed after it happened. You were covered in red…” He stopped for a moment. “It was like a horror movie, Ryder, except it was my little brother and my best friend.”

Ryder bit hard into the gag, his head pounding harder than ever, his heart beating so fast he thought it may explode. All he wanted to do was run.

“They put you in solitary for that, remember?”

Seth didn’t need to remind him, Ryder recalled those days –weeks- better than anything, alone with his thoughts and what he had done, wishing he had died when he had had the chance.

“Mom and Dad never found out about that, security was so tight, but I couldn’t help knowing, because I was there. They still love you, Ryder, because they don’t know. They don’t know that their youngest son in a maniacal murderer.”

Ryder could feel the tears now, the uncontrollable sobs rising up in his throat. He had tried hard to remember what he had done that day, but it was just blackness. That, in the end, is what made S.H.I.E.L.D let him out again, under constant surveillance.

He wasn’t allowed to switch anymore, although they really couldn’t monitor or stop him. He had to stop with Project Delphi, but it didn’t matter. It had already been too late.

Then he had switched with Amber, unintentionally this time, even though he had been in control of his switches for a while. S.H.I.E.L.D had caught onto what had happened pretty quickly, and Ryder had known at once what had happened.

Amber had thought he was an agent. It was a clever ruse, really, close enough to the truth to hold up under scrutiny. It explained his ability to shoot a gun, at least. She was protected because of who she was, and once the switch had happened she had been put into danger, making it necessary to bring her in and tell her the truth.

In the end, though, he had lied to her, he had lied to everyone.

He knew what he was, what he had become.

“Monster…” whispered Seth.

He disappeared, as Ryder had known he would.

After that, he tried to regain control. He had just managed to slow down his breathing when a door creaked open.

*************

Hopefully, this answers some questions, although some things have been left obscure on purpose.

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