Elemental {Avengers}

34. No

They were standing in the alleyway, like they were waiting for someone, like they were waiting for me.

But who were they?

A black hooded creature, bulky and menacing took a step towards me, confident, lazy. With one swift motion, he and his two associates took of their hoods, exposing themselves for who they really were.

" What the-"

It was Ragnar, and Kai. Both standing on either side of... the man who nearly saved me from a pit of despair. 

Andrei

The man whom I thought I loved once, who I thought would save me from the Red Room, who instead indulged me, taking my mind off of the torture and killing, for a few seconds. And I thought I loved him, only for him to turn his back on me, ignore my past, ignore what was my present. 

He was older than before, of course I shouldn't have been surprised. There wasn't that boyish playfulness in him anymore, none of the stubble, or the slightly lanky limbs. No, he was a gentleman now, tall, muscular, heavy but neatly shaven stubble and mousy brown hair, combed to perfection.

My breath came out in puffs, no, this couldn't be possible.

"You're surprised, Experiment?" he chuckled. Looking me up and down, like how he used too, he smiled, with a hint of sickly sweetness. " I'm glad the suit fits you so well"

My mouth gaped open, and I shut it closed, scolding myself. " If this is some kind of revenge plot against me-"

" Oh, no darling. Not at all. You really think I would be that petty? Revengeful, yes. But not petty. You don't know me at all"

" Then why." I stated, shaking my head. This couldn't be true. " Tell me why you are here."

He grinned, motioning to the others, who both disappeared. " You know, no wonder why you have fallen for that dear Loki. You've always been enchanted by the dangerous ones, eh?" Andrei dusted off the shoulders of his black suit, always a sucker for cleanliness. " Well, If you must know, it has nothing and yet... everything to do with you. I'll get straight to the point, shall I?"

"When they experimented on you, halfway through the process, they knew you were going to survive. None of the other suitable candidates did, so, we took extra care in giving you the highest quality ingredients of course. Including a fairly diluted extract from the Sceptre, made a millennia ago, sourced from god knows where. We knew that if we somehow got the Sceptre, we wouldn't even need it to control you, but it wasn't relevant at the time."

" They had to hide your memories as well of course, for obvious reasons. They couldn't let you have a connection to the outside world, could they? It was easy to make you forget, after all, you were so young, your mind not even developed yet. A shot of the right solution, and they would all come tumbling back. How do I know this, you may ask? Well, my father was part of HYDRA. "

" Then, Madam B killed him. And no, it wasn't his fault. I remember the day as clearly as yesterday. He was making clothes as usual, in his workshop. I was helping him. And then a bunch of Red Room soldiers stormed through the door, shot the old man dead, and left. Why so surprised, experiment? She left me in charge of the business, merely a boy of 16, but as you know, I learnt quickly. So quickly, in fact, that by the age of 17, I knew much more than my father did at the age of 30. I built my empire, slowly, right under the Red Rooms noses, right under Hydras nose."

" Can you see where this is going? Well, I finally got hold of the Sceptre, after months of devising a plan. Then, I grew followers, from janitors to SHIELD agents. I employed Dr Miller to keep an eye on you, as I'd just heard of your arrival at SHIELD. And I guess you know what happened from then on. Any questions?"

I shifted on my feet, scowling at him. " But why? Why all of this? Why not just kill Madam B?"

" Well, darling, this is the real world, and in the real world, revenge doesn't work like that. It is much more pleasurable to see them cower before me. Much like you are right now"

" Why go after the Avengers, why not team up with SHIELD?"

" And I'm guessing that is what your plan was, huh? Get on their good side? Well, I've done some digging, and apparently, SHIELD has done a lot of heinous acts against the common people. Acts that would make even your blood boil"

I my face went paler, and I was glad he couldn't see me in the darkness. " SHIELD may not be completely good, but they are better than HYDRA by a long shot. Why are you doing this Andrei?"

He rolled his eyes, obviously bored with my constant questioning. " You've always been the defiant one, experiment. Scared, fearful, but defiant. And sadly, it always costs you..."

" Where's the old Andrei?" I asked in Russian, attempting to steer the conversation. " The one I used to know so well?"

" Oh," he chuckled again. " Always so naive. You never used to know me at all, experiment. Reality changes you, you know. Out in the real world, it is really quite different from hiding underground. You have changed so much from the girl I knew. I remember you flinching at even the softest of sounds, and yet here you are, powers and all. Anyways, back to the point." 

Kai and Ragnar came back with something, appearing at Andrei's side .... No.

It was curved, glowing in the darkness. The golden hilt made way for a sharp, cutting blade, sharp enough to be a dangerous weapon, even without the jewel inside. The stone in the middle, blue and radiant, forming shadows and light across our faces. I blanched. 

But that gem in the middle.... it called to me. Called to me so much that I could have sworn a part of me lay inside that damn stone. That if I reached out, the same power would greet me as the one inside my own body. I refused to let any if my powers touch that thing. As well as my own energy, I sensed something else, something much more otherworldly and mysterious. Something deadly.

But I knew what they were going to do. I knew that if they did it, I would never survive, never in my wildest dreams, and I would have to go after my fellow Avengers, my family. Possibly kill them. I took a step back, no, I couldn't let that happen. 

But Andrei pulled it back, smiling broadly. " You think we're going to control you?" 

Ragnar and Kai stepped forward, their eyes glowing blue. No.

" Think again" Andrei smirked. " We already have."

And then without warning, without even a hint of attack, Ragnar plunged something into my neck, pushing down the plunger before I had the chance to defend myself.