The Blue Phoenix

Chapter Four

She tensed when she felt the pressure encircling her wrists. She wasn't anywhere familiar, it was too bright. This wasn't HYDRA, why was she restrained?

Her grey eyes cracked lazily open as everything slowly came into focus. Her mind mas muggy, slow, tired. There were people, two of them.

There was a window, an open window. She turned her head to look outside and that's when the two noticed her. They spoke, but the words were muddled, unfocused in her mind.

She looked into the soft brown eyes of the older man beside her. His voice was soft, caring.

The second person in the room, a woman with red hair, brought a black box to her lips and spoke. Moments later, a few more people filed into the room. A man with sunglasses and dark hair, a black man with metal on his legs, one man with light hair and a tight-fitting shirt, and more came. Last to enter was a man with... The metal arm.

She breathed out hard, eyes widening slightly, lip twitching.

"S-" her voice was weak, her tongue heavy in her mouth. Saliva dripped down her throat and she momentarily choked. "Sss'r" she whispered, eyes locking with the man, and he stared solemnly back.

The two originally in the room quickly turned their heads when they heard her speak.

She tensed again, pulling at the restraints. They didn't give, and when one of them stepped forward she panicked.

Knives shot out from her wrists, dark like a cloudy night. Royal blue light rimmed the edge of the large, sharp scales that now appeared. They sliced easily through the heavy duty restraints, and the people jerked back in surprise. She cut herself completely out, backing up to the wall. Her head pounded, she shook it vigorously. In an instant noise rushed at her, she could hear and understand everything. Her senses were sharp, she felt alive.

"Whoa,"one backed up in surprise.

"Hey hey hey, easy!" the man with the soft voice came forward.

Black rimmed her vision, the pounding on her head strengthening. In an instant there was nothing but silence.

Grey Dawn. Empty. Silence. Peace. Infinite..  life. Blue mist drifting through the vast space. A hinting shimmer of dawn. Quiet, golden fog. Silence. Peace. Rest. Harsh light.

It seemed harsh, but once her eyes adjusted it was actually quite dim. Dim and silent...

She realized for the first time that she was in a soft, warm, bed. The restraints were gone, there was water on a table beside her. A chair in the corner by a lamp, a bookshelf across the room. There was a door, right across from the end of the bed.

She stood, carefully, grasping the bed for balance. A careful step, just one. She fell to the floor, catching herself with her hands. Her toned muscles flexed as she landed, the grey armor immediately rippling outward from the point of contact.

Her arms gave out and she fell to the floor.

Space. Stars. Galaxies. The whole universe. A bridge, water rushing underneath. The water, coming closer, closer. Impact. And then the sky.

She pushed herself to her feet, blood staining her split lower lip. A thin casing of armor encased her, the grey and blue everywhere. Its eyes dimmed and brightened as she blinked.

She stepped forward. The door was locked and reinforced. There was a window on one wall, but it was barred and reinforced as well.

She turned her back and slid down the door, letting her head fall into her hands. She had to think.

HYDRA had left her, that much was obvious. These people must have found her, taken her with them or something. Her only questions were who were they, and when was the last time she was awake?

She finally stood, rubbed her forehead and knocked on the door.

No reply.

She knocked again, harder.

And the door slid open.

Once the door slid into the wall, a barred door of glass was revealed with two guards standing outside.

She hissed menacingly through her nose and glared at the two.

One spoke into a radio. "She's awake and doesn't look too happy."

"Tемно"

She whispered to herself. Her head buzzed and her eyes widened. Now, she could hear it all.

Not many HYDRA agents willingly told themselves a major trigger word in order to heighten their senses. She did.

*

They came, finally, the men from the bright room.

"How are you feeling," the taller of the two asked her.

"Does she even speak English," the other asked.

It was just how HYDRA asked.

"Fine, sir," She replied as she would have to her creators, firm and emotionless. "Yes, I speak many languages."

"Are you hungry," he asked.

She paused. HYDRA never had asked her that question. "I..." she wasn't quite sure how to answer. She knew how everyone else did it. Putting strange things into your mouth, chewing, and swallowing. She had never tasted anything but her own sweat and blood. They fed her in different ways, some she wouldn't care to revisit. She closed her mouth, deciding it best to not answer.

"Okay then, what's your name?"

"EXPI 492”

"Do you have a name other than a designation?"

"They called me Exepé,"