Artemis: The Final Battle ➳ Steve Rogers [2]

[ F I F T Y - T W O ]

☆
C L I N T

"Are you sure she's not going to be able to get out of there?" I ask, staring at Camille through the surveillance feed from her cell.

She stares right back at me through the camera lens, so intensely that it almost feels like she knows I'm there.

"Quite positive." Strange replies

I didn't even know he chose our side until this moment.

"Her powers won't work in there and no one should be able to get in or out. The spell is almost impossible to break." He explains and I nod thoughtlessly in reply.

I continue to stare into those soulless eyes of who once belonged to someone I had considered family and now, I barely even recognized her.

"So, it's safe for me to go talk to her?"

"Yes." Strange says, "She's still in there, you know? Try to bring that side of her out."

"I will."

I make my way downstairs, stepping into the room that held the big metal cage that held her, hating how much of a criminal it was painting her to be.

"Clint," she greets as soon as I step foot into the room, her lips stretching out into a wide grin that almost made her look herself again for a moment.

As soon as I meet her eyes, it was clear that this wasn't our Camille. That spark that light's up her eyes was now gone, making them resemble the glass eyes of a porcelain doll- empty and lifeless.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" She pouts, "For a moment there I thought you lot were just going to leave me here to rot."

"Why are you doing this?" The question spills out of me before I could even stop it, "Why take her away from us?"

Instead of a proper answer, I'm met with laughter that echos through the room.

"Why not?" She shrugs.

It doesn't take long for me to realize that appealing to this side of Camille won't do me any good. Instead, I switch gears.

"Steve misses you, you know? We all do." I say, "But this, Cam? It's killing him."

Camille rolls her eyes, "Oh, please-"

"He hasn't been sleeping." I ignore her completely, continuing on, "It hurts him too much that you're gone. He needs you, Cam. Sometimes I'm convinced that he needs you more than he needs air to breathe. Come back to us."

I watch as tears well up in her eyes as she gazes at me, but there's no way I'm falling for this act the way Nat and Steve almost did.

This still wasn't Cam. It was all in her eyes.

I exhale sharply, folding my arms over my chest, "You done? You can drop the act now, it's not going to work."

Soon, her shoulders start to shake and the next thing I know, she's throwing her head back in laughter.

"Can you blame me? It's fun."

Rage shoots through me and I march forward, stopping before the bullet-proof glass panel that separated us. She doesn't even flinch when I bang my fist against them in frustration.

"No, it's getting old." I hiss, "I'm done playing your games. What the hell do you want? We'll give you anything."

She shoots me a look, shaking her head at me, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Clint."

"We just want Camille back." I plead.

She plops down on the bench attached to the furthest wall, her cold and calculating eyes never leaving mine once.

"You can't give me what I want." She says with a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips, too smug for my liking, "I want chaos and that's exactly what I'm going to get. You can't stop me. There will be nothing left on this Earth by the time I'm done with it."

"What about my kids, huh? Morgan? Is Aunt Cami going to hurt them too?"

I feel a sense of victory when she winces- the first real emotion I've seen from her in a while. The flicker of hurt that flashes across her eyes says it all; I'm getting through to her.

"And Nat? You're going to kill your own sister? The one that gave up everything to keep you safe?"

Her head starts to loll to the side as she lets out a painful grunt. That's it. I'm getting Camille back.

"Steve?" I keep going, "He loves you more than anything, Camille. If he could, he would give his life for you in a heartbeat. You don't have to kill him because seeing you like this already has."

Screams fill the room and I feel my heart clench at the anguish that they hold. Balling up my hands into fists by my side, I remind myself that this is all part of the process. But it certainly didn't help. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to drown out her screams.

"Clint?" The shaky voice snaps me back to reality.

I open my eyes and immediately, my gaze is held by the comforting and warm green eyes that I remember.

"Cami?" I breathe, my vision starting to get blurry with tears.

Camille nods weakly, her entire body tremble as she tries to lift herself up, but fails to do so, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Cam!" I yell, reaching for the controls to open the cage.

"Don't!" She stops, "D-Don't open it. I don't know how long I can hold this."

"You have to, Cam. You can fight this. I know you can."

"We don't have much time." She takes another shaky breathe, "She's planning something. She wants to turn the team against each. Don't let her."

My brows furrow, "What do you mean?"

"It's all going according to plan, you have to stop it. The only way you're going to stand a chance is if you're all-" She's cut short by a groan in pain that she tries to bite back.

"We're all what?"

Just then, a loud explosion sounds from outside, shaking the building so hard that I can feel the tremors beneath my feet.

Sinister laughter fills the room again and I feel my heart shatter knowing that Camille is now gone again and I wonder when we'll ever get to see her again.

"What did you do?" I demand, turning back to the shallow vessel that is now held captive by a force I hardly even understand.

She meets my eyes as her lips curl into a smile so devious that it makes my skin crawl and dread pools in my stomach as the next words leave her mouth.

"They're here."