Chapter Four:
Determination for Termination
Hearing someone shuffling beside her and making noise as they clearly smacked something onto a metal sounding table, she forced her eyes open from her wonderful sleep. She had woken up hours earlier and had known she had passed out from her allergic reaction to shellfish. Knowing that she lived and still felt tired she had simply closed her eyes again and fell into a deep sleep again. But now someone had disturbed her sleep and she had to wake up whether she liked it or not. Fluttering her eyes open she spotted the back of man beside her. Blinking twice more to clear her vision she made out the man's back and it was none other than Tony Stark. He was fumbling with something on the metal table beside her causing a loud raucous, the noise irritating Aph to a great extent.
"What the hell are you doing? Do you honestly have no manners for someone who is sleeping? And where is David, I'm going to give him a great piece of my mind for what happened to me!" She couldn't help the anger that seeped into her tone. She only meant to talk to him sternly but somehow her tone turned into rage. She really had to get a hold on her emotions somehow.
Tony turned to her with a smile playing on his lips and brought a syringe down to her face, making Aph hiss as she shot back away from the syringe that nearly touched the tip of her nose. He chuckled at her and pulled the cap off that covered the needle. "You had everyone worried that you feel into a coma because of your allergic reaction. They have been giving you these shots lately to combat the allergic reaction so you can wake up. Do you still need another?" He couldn't help but chuckle again at the furious face she threw at him.
"Get that thing away from me, Stark!" She almost yelled at him and he did, making sure he covered the needle again before he carelessly threw it back onto the metal table.
Sitting up she noticed she was in a small room, almost like a bedroom, but bigger as it held a small living room in one corner with two couches. On one couch Bruce sat and on the other Thor and his brother Loki sat together, though Thor sat in one corner and Loki on the other leaving the middle of the couch empty.
Rubbing one of her eyes carefully she finally spoke with such calmness that she even shocked herself. "Where is Agent David?"
Tony cracked his fingers and threw a look at Bruce who in returned glared at him. Bruce had thought that it would be Tony to tell the woman, not him. He should have known better than to trust him and to get revenge, Bruce made himself comfortable on the couch and opened a book that was beside him. Tony let out an annoyed sighed and turned to Aph, who simply sat on the bed waiting for an answer. "David went to a meeting with the director I think, to see if you die or live. He says so far it looks like you're going to be 'terminated' like he said." Bruce, Thor, Loki and Tony stared at the woman to see her reaction.
"Terminated," she almost whispered back as she stared down at the bed below her. She felt her anger mix with her pain, fear, and sadness. She started to wish she could burn the bed that she laid on. But it was not the bed she wanted to burn, it was David. He should have told her something, anything, just so she could be prepare for it. Yet he said nothing and now she felt the fear of dying strongly growing within her. She felt something sink to her stomach and she wanted to throw up. Her anger only grew more as she couldn't comprehend the feelings she was feeling right now.
"Well," Tony said rather awkwardly, "David said we could go once you woke up so..."
"Ok," was the only thing she could choke out. Now she felt her throat closing, but she knew it wasn't an allergic reaction again. She had felt this too when she saw her sister die and she burst into tears. But now she was grown and she would not, for any reason, burst into tears. She watched the guys walk out and saw Thor give her a sympathy look. She was angered again, not wanting his sympathy or anyone else's for that matter. If she had managed to escape this place once, then she was positively sure she could do it again. She glanced down at the metal bracelet around her wrist and then remembered the syringe Tony held to her face. Was the thing waterproof? Before she could find out she was jolted out of her thoughts as two men came into the room and grabbed her by her arms. She instantly knew where she was going now and she didn't like it one bit. In an instant they dragged her out of the room, pass Tony and the guys in the hallway, and towards her judgment. Because she kept her eyes to the floor she didn't notice when Tony convinced the guys to follow her into her judgment statement.
"Aphrodite Ward, case number 10f6. Do you know why you have come before us?"
Geeze, Aph thought, those men didn't waste time. The moment they shoved her into yet again another white room and stationed her in front of the director and his council who sat behind their desks, they gave her no time to adjust. She guessed that was the plan, to frighten her and make her fall into their trap. Setting her fear of dying aside she now focused on living, because living is what she intended to do. She snorted at the director and replied as calmly as she could, "Because your men dragged me here. If it were my choice I wouldn't come a hundred feet near you today or ever."
"It seems you don't care at all about dying today, do you?" The director asked as he noticed her rudeness towards him. "I'll let you know from right now that you are being considered for termination, with little chance that you'll get out of here with your life."
"Sir," David said as he stood from where he sat beside the council. "I ask of you to let case number 10f6 live. You must agree with me that we are half to blame for how we created her."
"I will not blame ourselves for how we created her because she created herself. We were simply trying to help her, to better her." The director replied to defend themselves.
"Excuse me," Aph said as she slit her eyes angrily at the man in front of her. She didn't care if she spoke without permission or interrupted their conversation. "May I remind you who suffered years of experiments? Those years consisting of child years, from age five to eleven? Those experiments never helped me in any way, unless you count it made me better for the worse."
"We have since removed that experiment. It no longer exists, so you may not use that-"
"I can use it whenever the hell I want!" She screeched at him so loudly that the director jumped in surprise. Not only he, but his council as well. "I know the experiment is gone, but in my heart I will never forget what I endured in those times. I will never forget seeing my sister suffer, or the seeing my mother suffer as she saw us suffer. I will also never forget the day my sister and mother died, all because of your experiments. I lived my growing years stuck in a room and suffering pain every day while you happily watched behind the glass window as you sipped your morning coffee or afternoon beverages. And yet you say it is I who has to be terminated? It should be you and this corrupt business! And if you want me to tell you the truth then I will not deny it any longer. After seeing my sister die and lastly my mother, the only person left who truly cared about me, I had enough. I was determined to create an experiment that will some how make me immune to your harmful experiments. I was only ten at the time but after night and day I worked and worked until I finally succeed. I admit its not the way I wanted it to be, if anything it made me stronger than I already was but I was glad because your experiments no longer seemed to cause me pain. For once in my life I was happy and I took my chance and escaped. And vowed from that day on that you or anyone else involved in this would not go unpunished. But," she said and raised her wrist to show them the metal bracelet, "I'll give you this one. You have proven to me that you are not the idiots I thought you were."
The director gave her a hard look and then turned around to discuss with his council. Aph patiently waited and after two minutes the director turned back to her with a disappointed look on his face. He cleared his throat and began to talk, "We agree we are at fault for what happened to you, but you still had no right committing the crimes that you have committed. We have decided that you will not be terminated after all, case number 10f6."
Hearing those words Aph felt her chest was no longer heavy as a rock and she could breathe in more easily. But then came the bad news as the director went on with her sentence.
"But for your crimes you will be punished. We have decided to remain you on 10f6, which is your bracelet on your right wrist, to suppress your abilities until we know you are able to control your own abilities and not cause any further harm. You will have to prove yourself trustworthy to us and if you cannot then we will never remove 10f6 from you. You are a great woman, a special being, but you hold nothing more than destruction in your head with your abilities. Prove to us that you are sane once more to become the special being we know you are. And as from now on, you will no longer be case 10f6. That experiment was terminated many years ago and so will you be. From now on you will be called and named by your birth name starting now, Aphrodite Ward Kingsley. You will be left in the supervision of Agent David and when he says your are trustworthy, until then you will wear 10f6 until further notice. Your case is now dismissed, Aphrodite Ward Kingsley."
With that said the director turned away from her to follow his council out the room, looking very angry. But she could care less because she focused all her attention on David as he walked towards her. She didn't even stop to think before her hand flew away from her side and made contact with David's cheek the moment he reached her. The slap stunned David so much that he stumbled backwards, and he grabbed his cheek with his hand as he stared at her. It stung horribly, much worse than when his wife slapped him, it was like Aph had skill on how to slap people properly.
"Oh yea," she said smiling as she caught his startled gaze, "I know how to put people in their place without my brain, and just to let you know from now on my hands are the second best weapon I've got on me. And that's what you get for not telling me that I was going to be terminated."
"I'm sorry-" He couldn't finish what he was saying as his other cheek was slapped as well, this time making him cry out in pain as he stumbled back yet again. He really was more amazed than angry at how much force she could put into her slapping, not to mention so was so quick at lifting her hand before he could even see it coming at him.
"And that's was you get for almost killing me at lunch!" She yelled at him.
Tony couldn't help but hide his smile as he heard the loud crack when Aph slapped the agent. He couldn't believe how she was capable of slapping someone with so much force. He made a mental note to himself, never to cross the woman's lines. While on the other hand Thor, Loki and Bruce were stunned and shocked at the loud crack from the slap. All of them made a mental note to themselves as well, to always be careful around Aph. And they made sure they enforced it as they grimaced when David shook his head and turned to look at Aph, with two deep red hand prints on either side of his cheeks.
"I save your life and this is the thanks I get from you?" David replied angrily for the first time, forgetting about his calm composer. But come on, he thought angrily, she slapped me so hard I'm going to get bruises!
"Don't feel bad agent," she was the one who was calm now, "I don't say thanks to nobody."
"Well, I'm glad you got to live Aphro." Tony said as he walked to stand beside her, the other following slowly behind him.
"Me too," she replied smiling at him and remembered. "Hey, what day is it today? Did I by any chance sleep the whole night?"
"You slept the whole evening and night, Aphrodite." Bruce answered her.
"Oh," was all she said and then opened her wallet, "Now that I'm free, what about we get out of here and go eat outside?" She was actually hungry again and perhaps outside she thought she could get something to her own liking.
"I know this great place," Tony began to say excitedly, "it's an old joint but they have amazing food-wait, is that my wallet!" He said as he snatched the wallet out of Aph's hand. But she didn't care as she had the three hundred dollars bills in her hand already.
"Yeah, why?" Aph replied calmly.
Tony glared at her and said, "How did you get my wallet?"
"Just like I got your keys," she replied with a grin as she showed him his keys dangling from her hand. "Do these belong to a car? I can drive."
Once again Tony patted his pockets for his keys and then snatched his keys back from Aph's, but Aph removed them quickly away from his hand. Tony practically growled angrily as he went to grab them again, but yet again she quickly snapped them away from his hand in a blink of an eye.
"Yes the keys belong to my car but my car isn't here! I flew in here on a jet!" Tony told her, hoping she give him his keys back. And even if he didn't fly in on a jet, he stll wouldn't let her drive his Baby.
Aph took a second to believe him and gave him his keys back. "Here, but I'm still keeping the money."
"I don't care, I have more than enough."
"I'm sure you do, Mr. Billionaire Boy. So-"
"Aphrodite, where will you want to live? I'll give you the options of staying here or renting your own space." David cut her off. His right cheek still hurt and he couldn't help but rub it again.
Forgetting about how rudely he cut her off, she noticed him rubbing his cheek and she smirked at him. "I don't like either. I would prefer to go back to my own laboratory I created but I won't risk the chance of you buffoons finding it."
"What about your father? I heard he is still alive." Bruce suggested but then regretted.
If looks can kill than Aph would have killed Bruce. She glared at him coldly as she replied, "I wouldn't want to be ten miles near that man. He is the reason all of this has happened to me."
"Ok then," was all Bruce said, a bit distraught by the look he gave her.
"How about you come to Stark tower?" Thor said, but Tony almost yelled at him, "No! There is no way she is allowed in my tower! Did you see what she did to my suit? If she manages to get the thing off her wrist she'll kill us all!"
"Stark tower? But's that's in New York and if there is something that I don't like is a crowded city with millions of people. I prefer my solitude, and if the only way I'll get it here is by being locked in a cage then I'll stay here."
"Actually," David replied as he got an idea and Aph stared at him cautiously, wondering what he was going to say. "You don't know how to socialize, at all, Aphrodite. Perhaps this is a chance to help you be more human. After all, it seems 10f6 will remain with you for a while."
"Absolutely not!" Aphrodite shot back at him.
"Why not? You could even get a job, earn your own money, make friends, and perhaps learn how to be sympathetic, compassionate, and learn empathy."
"I will never lower myself to be near humans! I can barely stand to be near you people! To you it may seem that I'm a human when clearly I'm not. Even if I do manage to learn how to be sympathetic and compassionate and learn empathy like you said, I'll be a non-human to society without this bracelet. So I see no point in trying to be someone I'm not, Agent."
"Are you still think of using your skills when I remove 10f6?" David asked her rather angrily.
Aphrodite sighed, knowing she had angered the agent again. To her it seems everyone wanted her to be a normal human being when she is not. From the day she was born it was clear she was not normal. At age eight she knew she could have attended university for how brilliant she was, but her father had other plans for her. She looked at David straight in the eye and replied, "I'm not going to be someone you want me to be, Agent. From the day I was born I was a freak to society. I don't see me as a freak, I see me as me. It's just like how your breathe, Agent. It's just like how create suits, Stark. It's just how you create Lighting, Thor. It's how you can use magic, Loki. Those things are normal to you, aren't they? Well being able to move objects without touching them, control electricity, change an objects form, or solve an unsolvable question in less then thirty seconds is normal for me. Why can't you understand? You all reject me because I'm not normal and when you try to change me it just makes everything worse!"
David sighed next, knowing what she said was true. And then listened again as she said, "Anyway, how in the world does it seem normal when thunder boy over there can make lighting and storms and his brother can do freaky stuff with his magic? Those two are the freaks, not me."
"What is a freak?" Thor asked wondering. Loki couldn't help but wonder as well. If people in her own society called her a freak as well, does that mean she is crazy?
Aphrodite looked at him and said, "It means someone who is strange, abnormal, or bizarre."
"Just wondering," Tony then spoke up, "how is Bruce here not a freak as well? I think you left him out." Bruce glared at Tony once again. It seems lately that the only thing Bruce does is constantly glare at Tony.
"I like him," Aph said smiling as she lightly patted his shoulder. "I like how he gets angry and then smashes things. I wish I could do the same, but my telekinesis will have to do."
"I can see you're getting a handle on your emotions now," Bruce told her with a little smile.
Aph snorted and replied, "I wish that was true Doc, but the only reason I'm under control is because there is nothing here to get me angry or irritated."
Hearing what she said, Tony smirked in his mind. He remembered when he wanted to unleash the hulk when he poked his side yet nothing happen and he only got a laugh from Bruce. But here was a somewhat similar person who can be set off with one little thing. Scratching his beard he thought of all the fun he could have with a woman who was short tempered and was learning how to be a human. Not only that, because if she is as smart as everyone says then perhaps she could help him with his suits. After all she was to get a job, needed money, and she ruined his best suit so working for him wouldn't be bad. It would most likely be very enjoyable to work with someone who gets hilariously angry all the time!
"Alright I got a deal for you hot-head!" Tony said and earned a wonderful dark look from Aph herself. Before she could say anything Tony talked, "Hey, listen first you might like it! I'll let you come live with in my tower only if you agree to work for me. David said you needed a job and I'll pay you more than enough."
"I will never work for someone, let alone for you! You are the absolutely the last person on Earth I wouldn't want to be left alone with!" Aph yelled at him.
Tony chuckled at her, "Yeah well guess what hot-head, you ruined my suit. Working a little for me won't kill you. Or you can just say sorry to me, and well, I'll just forget about all of this."
Aph stuttered for words as her cheeks slightly turned pink as her angry rose to unimaginable levels. Noticing it, Thor's face twisted into worry and he screamed, "She is having another allergic reaction!"
"I am not having an allergic reaction!" Aph screamed at him at the top of her lungs and then screamed at Tony, "And I will never say sorry to you, never ever ever ever!"
"Alright then, that means you accept my job offer." Tony stated calmly at her. He wanted to burst into laughter at how funny she looked when she was angry but he held it in. Later he would be able to have his laugh and fun with her.
"That would be great, Mr. Stark." David said with a small smile of appreciation.
"Wait, no!" Aph began to protest, "I didn't agree to this! I won't agree to do this! You can't tell me what to do, Agent!"
