Don't Hide | Bucky Barnes |

38

My dad and I were never the closest of family members.

I can still remember the way we used to disagree over many things in our lives, how he used to grow easily angry and take that anger out on us.

There were times, though, that we got along wonderfully. And when we did, he always made sure to leave me with lasting advice. One phrase he'd always repeat stays with me even to today, especially today. It rings through my brain muddled with powerlessness and groggy from pain.

"You've got a good heart, Dawn." He'd say, always at a random moment, "And good hearts attract hurtful people. Someday, someone is going to hurt you. When they do, even if they take everything from you, never change. The strongest thing you can do is to keep your good heart and never change"

So even now, with my suit and skin torn nearly to shreds by blades and whips and clubs, I repeat his words in my mind. I can't let it change me, I refuse to.

"I see you're still breathing"

I slowly raise my weary head to look up at the doorway of the lab where Doctor Clayton waltzes in. My wrists sting from where they're held securely to the metal chair and my body aches from spending the night in this position.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a little beating to kill me" I announce, my voice weaker than I expected. It has the slightest quiver, not from fear, but rather from the coldness nearly suffocating me. My raggedly torn suit did little to provide insulation through the long night.

"Oh trust me, darling. I don't want to kill you" he states, walking up to where I sit and sitting in a nearby chair.

"Then what do you want?" I spit, not wanting to spend another second talking through riddles and hidden meanings. The doctor sighs, brushing imaginary dirt off of his impeccably white suit.

"I believe that answer coincides with the question you asked me yesterday" he responds.

My attention is piqued and I feel my pulse spiking painfully. He sits in silence for a moment as a door opens behind me and guards stream inside. Because my powers are dampened, I have no idea how many there are. I feel a bit of anxiety crawl around my heart and stretch towards my lungs as we sit for another few minutes in agonizing silence.

"I didn't take you to keep Dawn Beckett. I took you to keep the Viper" Clayton informs, almost simply as if it's nothing.

Before I have time to sort through the heightened confusion in my brain over why this still led to my brother's death, I feel someone from behind me take my handcuffs off. The rush of power surging through me is almost as if I'm drawing in a breath after being suffocated for hours. I immediately sense that there are three guards behind me and only Doctor Clayton before me.

"Dawn Beckett means nothing to me," Clayton announces, standing up from his seat, "I need her to die."

That's when it hits me.

Ananias Clayton has always despised my humanity. He's been chipping away at it for years on end. By killing my brother in a pure act of betrayal, he hopes to shatter it. I try to ignore the man before me as he steps closer, try to keep him from getting exactly what he wants. It's hard, though, when all I see when I look at him is Dean crumpling to the ground.

"How did it feel, Viper, to watch your brother die for the second time?" Clayton calls out, stepping ever nearer to me. I have to fight to keep from lashing out at him with my newly-returned venom.