I FEEL YOU || Sᴛᴇᴠᴇ Rᴏɢᴇʀꜱ

twenty three

Trickery

We took Arbitria safely to the base and put her in a highly secure cell. Everyone felt like celebrating. So we did.

We had a little gathering around the fire outside. It felt good to feel good in an enviroment like that one. But one thing was still bothering me.

Something was extremely off.

"An?" Steve said as he tapped my shoulder "Are you okay? I called you multiple times but you seemed really zoned out." he asked and sat down next to me, in the same spot like last time.

I sighed "I just..." I looked up at the cloudy starless sky "Doesn't it feel like it was too easy? Like she wanted us to get her here?"

Steve gave me a confused look and scoffed "Why would she do that?"

"Well, I don't know. We are at a secret base protected by the Wakandan tech right? So what if they want to attack us but don't want to make unnecessary noise where they shouldn't just because they can't find our base?" I blurted out.

"Well." he sighed "That does make sense but...I don't know. I don't think that's the case." he shrugged and smiled at me.

I sighed "Okay, fine. I'll talk to her tomorrow first thing in the morning. Make sure nobody takes my spot." I smiled and kissed Steve on the cheek before I left. He was only able to shout a "Night!" just before I entered the building.

I sat on my bed, ready to go to sleep. But really unable to. I was still really worried about the whole alien in the building thing. I just refused to believe that you could take out an alien with one of those electric arrows Clint has. Even I can stay conscious after one. Not after the ones that kill though, but I don't think he just killed off the alien without asking any questions.

Clint is... well, Clint. But he isn't stupid.

...

I woke up early in the morning. About an hour earlier than anyone else.

I did my morning routine, put my hair up in a ponytail and put on my fight chlotes.

I grabbed an oldschool police sound recorder Tony gave me as a Christmas present and made my way to the prison cells.

There, at the end of the hallway, in the most secured cell, was Arbitria. I had to go through double security and type in three passwords before I could get into that thing.

Anyway, I got in and there she was, sitting on her bed, facing straight ahead looking as creepy as she could.

"Good morning." I greeted her.

She turned her head to face me "Well, good morning to you too, Agent Ivanov."

I tilted my head in suprise and confuison, of course she knows my name... "How do you know my name?"

Arbitria chuckled "How could I not? Don't you recognize my voice?"

"Why should I?" I asked carefully. I now began to think her voice was familiar to me. But I wasn't sure was that a consequence of her question or did I actually hear her somewhere.

"Let me help you..." she said and got up from her bed. She walked up right in front of me so we were only inches apart. The only thing between us was the thick glass of the cell walls. "You are a threat. They are scared of you. Of what you could do to them. They are not your friends..." she began to speak.

"...you are only here because they want to be on your good side." I finished her sentence "You...you are the voice inside my head." I said, scared. Confused. My heart was beating rapidly inside my chest. My mind was going crazy, trying to process what had just happened. "Why? H-how?" I asked her, not knowing what I expected as an answer.

"Why?" she reapeated the question, raising her eyebrows at me "Well, darling, it's all part of Thanos' grand plan. You know, putting the universe back in balance."

"All of it?" I asked, still in disbelief "Like, every single thing since I woke up?"

"Yes, it was part of the plan. Do you really think all these are coincidences? Of course, not right since you woke up, it took us a while to find the perfect Avenger to tear the team apart form the inside. It was almost all part of the plan since you got into the team. And you all fell right into all the traps we put out for you." she said, smiling proudly.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked again. My professional senses kicked in again and I felt her loosen up. She could tell me some good stuff while she's at it.

Arbitria sighed and continued "Stark invited Barnes for your birthday. You had a nice little talk and then I stung you a bit. They got worried, locked you up in a cell where you could think. How perfect, huh?" she asked and rose her arms in the air "And while thinking, your brain activity made it easier for me to get even deeper under your skin." she exclaimed and let her arms down" You getting scared after realising you really were a threat, a bonus. Then I led your train of thoughts to 'being activated'. It didn't matter how you got to it, I needed you to come up with an idea that included finding Bucky. And you did, you were desperately trying to save him from nobody-knows-what, which, by the way, was one of the lamest ways I thought of this happening." she paused "Then, meanwhile, my "team" set out a trap for Bucky. There, we knew Iron Man would bring at least some of your teammates we could eliminate immidiately. And we did. Then I took over your precious body and dealt with Captain America. Let him cage me up and go out on the field. Then I let the real you sit in the cage while I jumped back to my body and joined the party. Isn't that lovely?" she smiled. If you could call that a smile.

"And this" I pointed at her "you being in a cage is part of the plan too?"

"Oh, darling, I've been with humanity such a long time. Waiting for an order from my master to change the world. You really think I would let you animals cage me up just like that?" she walked around the cell, smiling to herself.

Then it hit me. Actually, it blinded me. As she walked, the light hit something on the back of her neck. A metal... little box, perhaps. The red light was blinking for a while and then it stopped. And just as it did, she did too.

"I'm out of here." she said confidently.

Why did they let her in the cell with that thing on her? I thought as I made my way to Tony. Fast.

"Tony" I called his name as soon as I entered his office.

"Hey, can it wait, I'm kinda in the middle of-" he started.

"No" I stopped him "She has something on her neck. I think it's like GPS. That way her master and her...kind can find her. Can find us." I explained "They will find this secret base in no-time. You know... red alert?"

"Oh, the thing with a blinking light at the back of her head?" he asked, gesturing at the back of his head "Yeah, I took a look at it, it seems to me it just helps her breathe?" he shrugged.

"Really?" I stared back at him "Really? Then why the hell would it be conected to her spine?"

"I don't know, I just saw that air enters it and then gets out of it." he defended himself.

"Did a real sientist take a look?"

"I don't think so, I told them to do it, but I don't think they... Hey where are you going?" he yelled after me, as I quickly turned around.

"To the lab, to confirm that that thing just sent out a signal to Thanos." I said and turned back around.

"Even if it did, the cell won't let the signal ooout!!" he yelled after me.

"That's alien tech Tony, I don't buy that bullshit!" I yelled back at him and ran towards the lab.