Retribution ★ Avengers

When the Truth Hunts You Down

Marlena lay wide awake in bed, though she knew she wasn't supposed to be. Her eyes were closed, but she was otherwise on full alert. She couldn't sleep, despite how much she wished to. There was far too much on her mind. She missed her family dearly, her children especially. She'd just gotten them back after five long years, yet they'd been taken from her once again by a rival that shared the exact same face as her.

Since Alena's departure, Marlena had been spending a good bit of her time thinking. She was still in shock over Alena's mere existence, but she was intrigued, nonetheless. Of course, she knew twins were a very common occurrence among the Claire family, but she never imagined being a twin herself, especially after living most of her life with Mason as her only sibling. Marlena was conflicted, however. For years, her emotions had an incredible influence on her decisions, and this time didn't seem too different. Not only was she desperate to get back to the family she knew, she was desperate to help the family she didn't know.

It was absolutely no secret Alena had her faults, but Marlena couldn't ignore the reason why those faults existed. Marlena spent three agonizing months of her life as a prisoner to Hydra. She was no stranger to the torment, but all of it was nothing more than a brief disruption in Marlena's life. For Alena, however, that torment became her entire life. It was all she knew. Hydra molded and shaped her mind in such a way Marlena would never be able to understand, but if there was anything she could do, it was at least try. People like Alena—people like Bucky—they were the reason she'd chosen to do the job most people were afraid to do, and she planned on being there for them regardless of whether or not they wanted her to be.

Alena's actions thus far definitely could not be overlooked, however. Despite her plans at attempting to empathize with Alena, Marlena intended to make sure when everything was said and done her sister faced the consequences of her actions.

As Marlena lay quietly on her mattress, the familiar beep associated with the opening of her cell caught her attention. The room remained dark and Marlena's eyes remained closed. She focused on the sound of heavy footsteps headed toward her, and she let out a quiet breath. She knew exactly what was about to happen. For the last two nights—since Alena disappeared to wreak havoc among her family—someone had been sneaking into Marlena's cell as she slept to provide her with a generous dose of Tony's suppressors.

The notion was smart, Marlena could not deny that. Without the suppressors hindering her abilities, Marlena was powerful. Alena knew this and knew it was critical to keep Marlena subdued. What she didn't know, however, was that Marlena had developed an incredible understanding of her power in the short couple of weeks since their return. She'd always been so afraid of her power—afraid of the damage she was capable of and sometimes prone to causing. Marlena had never been too aware of her limits, but after a life-changing battle with one of the universe's deadliest Titans, she knew there were no limits.

Marlena was capable of things greater than typical human understanding. She could reach inside another person's mind and disrupt the working processes of their neurons at will, and as she'd discovered just five long years ago, she was also capable of extending her power far beyond that of a single mind. Holding the power to manipulate reality on such an extravagant scale was a feat Marlena was still becoming familiar with, but she was not at all hesitant to take advantage of what she could do.

After receiving the smallest bit of her energy back from Alena's original dosage, Marlena clung to it, and within seconds the effects of the suppressors had simply diminished. It was something that hadn't happened before. Marlena had never been able to overpower the effects of Tony's suppressors before, but with the power to transform the complex substance into whatever she wanted it to be, it almost seemed too easy.