A/N: Guess what? Chapter 10 is here, on time once again, I'm getting so good at this. First of all, huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story so far, you guys are the best. From what I see in the reviews, everyone seems to love Phoenix, which is absolutley spectacular. In this chapter, there is a reference to something that happened in the first story. It's not necessary for you to read it as I do explain eveything you need to know, but if you want to read it, go to my profile page and scroll down until you find Love and Fire which is the first in the series. Nothing more for me to say, I think I've ranted enough. As always, don't forget to read, review and enjoy.
There weren't many large vehicles to seat seven people in Japan. Upon their landing in Tokyo's Narita International Airport, it took Phoenix nearly an hour to acquire an appropriate car, and during that time, The Experiments and Wanda were left to wait inside the airport. The entirety of that time was spent watching the people that walked past, checking to see if they were CRU, or the other mysterious individual that was following them.
Phoenix returned, driving a twelve seater mini bus with the logo of a Japanese tour company on the side. Heather stood still with her mouth open as Phoenix pulled up, and she stared at the bus for a long time before she eventually got in.
"I'm not even going to ask," Josh muttered as he sat down next to Bella.
"I am," Heather leaned forward in order to get closer to Phoenix. "What the hell is this?"
"The best I could find," Phoenix answered. "We're in a rush, I didn't have a lot of time to do comparison shopping. Dr Redfern leaves for Hiroshima tomorrow morning and I didn't want to wait. The sooner we do this, the less time CRU has to track us down."
"Where is Dr Redfern anyway?" Sam asked. "How do we find her?"
"I already know where she is," Phoenix replied hesitantly, eyeing her teammates cautiously from the corner of her eye. "There's a military base on the outskirts of Tokyo, controlled by the Japanese self-defence forces. Dr Redfern works there."
"A military base?" Mark repeated. "What does the Japanese military want with genetics research?"
"It's no coincidence that West referred us to Amanda Redfern after I mentioned Bruce Banner," Phoenix explained. "Dr Redfern is researching the effects of the radiation from the atomic bomb on human genetics, and Banner was trying to recreate the Super Solider Serum using radiation. Put two and two together."
"The Japanese think that the radiation from the atomic bomb gives humans superpowers, and they recruited Redfern to test their theory," Josh guessed. "And we, a group of people with superpowers, are going to walk directly into the centre of this military base. Great idea Phoenix."
"As long as none of us use our abilities we should be fine," Phoenix offered. "I have a plan to get into the base. But we're going to need disguises."
Mark laughed when he saw Josh and Bella in military uniforms, however his laughter was cut short when he saw Phoenix. She had managed to find a military uniform that fit her almost perfectly, aside from being too tight around her chest. The buttons were pulled tight enough so that some of Phoenix's cleavage could be seen. Mark had to pinch himself on the elbow in order to stop staring.
Phoenix ran through the plan, and the only reason that Mark actually listened, was because he found himself unable to look at anyone but Phoenix. The plan, as Phoenix said, was simple. All they needed to do was drive right into the compound. Phoenix, Bella and Josh would sit in the front of the truck, while the rest of them would hide in the back underneath a tarp.
"I could just run through the front gates, they wouldn't see me," Mark offered.
Phoenix glared at him. She looked different with her red hair tucked into the hat that she wore as part of the military uniform, but she still looked good. "Didn't you hear me when I said that we can't use our abilities?" Phoenix asked rhetorically, adjusting the bottom of her shirt as she spoke.
Mark didn't want to argue, so he simply shook his head and went back to what he was doing. Somehow, Phoenix had managed to get her hands on a military Jeep, which she ordered The Experiments to enter and assume their positions.
Mark lay flat on his back between Heather and Sam, taking small breaths in order not to move the tarp covering him. He felt the Jeep shudder and rumble to life underneath his back, and nearly clutched the tarp for support as the car lurched forward. Phoenix, without a doubt, probably had her foot pressed too hard on the accelerator.
Phoenix braked as she came up to the checkpoint, and carefully eyed the two guards standing by the gate. As she pulled, up she rolled down the window and examined the two men, waiting for them to speak. As Phoenix expected, they spoke to her in Japanese. They were asking her for identification, she hoped.
Phoenix enacted her cover, and gave them her false identification. Speaking in the best Japanese she was able to muster from her translation book, Phoenix informed them that they were American transfers sent here to assist with Dr Redfern's transport to Hiroshima. Phoenix's research had delivered her with the information that the Japanese were working in collaboration with a branch of the US Army, and she was putting that information to good use.
They opened the gate to allow her through, and Phoenix, with a smirk on her face, shot through the gate. She pulled up outside the building, stepped out of the car and opened the back of the truck. The other four were pulling the tarp off themselves as Phoenix opened the door.
"Let's get our gear on," Phoenix ordered as she stepped into the back, unbuttoning her shirt as she spoke, to reveal her red tank top underneath. "No weapons, but we need our suits. I want to be ready for anything that might get thrown at us."
"Plus our outfits are cool," Sam commented as he gestured to his own suit that he was already wearing.
Sam wore a two piece suit, comprised of a black zipper vest with a diagonal red stripe on his chest, either side of the vest zipper, meeting to form what looked like a triangle with its bottom side missing. He wore black ¾ pants, and thick soled black combat boots that came up to his ankles. On his hand, he wore fingerless, elbow length black gloves, and around his hips he wore a thick belt.
"They're not outfits Sam, they're suits," Heather corrected him. She also already wore her suit, but adjusted the waist belt as she spoke. "But they are pretty cool I will admit."
Heather wore an all-black one piece suit, the pants reaching her ankles, and the sleeves of her top reaching halfway down her forearms. The suit had a deep V neckline that could be adjusted via zipper, and Heather wore it just low enough to show off minimal cleavage. Slung loosely around her hips, was a red belt with a gun holster on the right, and around her waist was another red belt, designed for holding ammunition. On her feet, she wore tall boots with a high, and thick heel.
"Yeah, designed for kicking ass," Mark gushed as he marvelled at his own suit.
Mark had a one piece suit, all black in colour, except for the red stripes that ran down either side of the suit's body, on the inside of the sleeves and a single red stripe across the chest. The suit had long sleeves, and ankle length pants that clung tightly to his legs. On the back of his suit, there was a panel composed of several magnets, designed to hold Mark's sword. Instead of combat boots like the majority of the team, Mark wore specially designed running shoes.
"Actually I designed them to play off our abilities and be perfect for tactical missions," Bella informed him as she took off her pants, her suit already on underneath her stolen military uniform.
Bella wore a one piece suit with long sleeves and knee length tights. The majority of the suit was black aside from the red bodice, and the material of the suit clung tightly to her body and enunciated her shape. Her lace up boots reached halfway up her calves and at the back of the thick soles, a button could be seen. Its purpose was to retract the blades in the front of the shoe.
"I turn invisible. So why then do I even need a suit?," Josh questioned her as he threw his military uniform into the corner and pulled at the sleeves of his suit. "It'd be easier if I was just naked."
Josh's one piece suit was simplistic in its design. Long sleeves and pants, mostly black in colour aside from the red across the shoulders and collarbones, and on the lower half of his sleeves. Much like Mark's suit, it had two magnetic panels imbedded into the back, but it was designed for holding two batons rather than a sword. On his feet, were shoes with a soft sole, making it easier for Josh to move without being heard.
"We're not having this discussion again," Phoenix cut across Bella before she could give Josh an answer, pulling on her jacket as she turned back around to face her team, fully suited.
Phoenix's outfit was much different to that of her team members, rather than having a super suit, she wore tactical gear. She wore a red tank top with a neckline just low enough to be appropriate and long black tights. Around her hips, was a black belt with a pouch on the left side, and around her right leg was a gun strap and holster. On her feet, were heavy combat boots with a thick sole, and on her hands she wore fingerless black leather gloves. She also wore a waist length black leather jacket with elbow length sleeves that were rolled at the ends to reveal the red material on the inside of the jacket, the same red material also showing on her upturned collar.
The group turned to Wanda who looked underdressed in comparison to them. Wanda simply shrugged, "I didn't really have an opportunity to prepare for this mission," she excused herself as she looked down at her own civilian clothes.
"It's fine, you're wearing red and black, those are our colours," Phoenix reassured her.
Wanda marvelled at their colour coordinated outfits and smiled. "You work well as a team," she complimented them. "You seem to work together better than The Avengers."
"The old Avengers barely worked together at all," Phoenix commented as she removed the weapons from her belt and placed them on the ground at her feet. "Everyone kept secrets from each other, and everyone worked different angles. Take Tony and Bruce for example, they went behind the Avengers' backs to create Ultron and nearly destroyed the world. We don't have those secrets here. We work together, no one goes behind anyone's back."
Phoenix looked down as Project Achilles lurked into the back of her mind. The information was dangerous. She had to reassure herself that the only reason she was keeping it from them was to keep them safe. The guilt still refused to leave her. Was she trying to keep them safe? Or was she protecting her own integrity?
"Well we got into the compound. Now how do we get into the actual building?" Josh questioned as he stepped out of the back of the jeep.
"We're going to walk in and hope that no one asks us too many questions because my Japanese is limited," Phoenix answered as she jumped down from the jeep and stashed a knife into her back pocket. "I might accidentally ask someone to borrow their tractor."
"You spend too much time on the farm with Barton," Heather muttered as they began walking in the direction of the building's entrance in a group formation.
Phoenix strode through the entrance of the building, ignoring the stares of the two guards at either side of the glass doors. Her team followed her closely, attempting to pull off the same illusion of confidence. The three people seated at the front desk shot them a strange look, eyeing their outfits up and down with confusion. But they said nothing as the group continued on their way.
Josh walked with impeccably straight posture and tense shoulders. He inched his way closer to Phoenix and whispered in her ear. "Do you know where we're going right now?" he asked, eyes darting back and forth between the soldiers that they passed in the hallways. "I don't want to be tackled by a Ninja G.I Joe."
"I got it covered," Phoenix responded. "Dr Redfern's laboratory is just up ahead."
Josh eyed the sign that Phoenix pointed to, which was composed entirely of Japanese characters. "Oh yeah, you definitely know where we're going," he muttered sarcastically.
Phoenix approached the door and pushed it open without bothering to knock. She held the door open for the rest of the team before she slammed it close with a flick of her wrist and turned on her heels to face Dr Redfern, The Experiments and Wanda flanking her from behind.
Dr Redfern, a tall woman with short brown hair, looked up from a specimen she was examining in a microscope, to see The Experiments watching her expectantly. She eyed them cautiously before she took off her safety glasses and rose to a normal height from her position leaning over the lab bench.
Immediately, she locked eyes with Phoenix and tensed, her eyes widening at the sight of a teenage girl in tactical gear. Her expression seemed almost fearful as she stared at Phoenix. Her expression changed to confusion before Dr Redfern finally cleared her throat and spoke.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a faded American accent.
"I hope so, otherwise we came all this way for nothing," Phoenix responded as she approached Redfern and held out her hand for a handshake. "Dr Redfern, my name is Phoenix Romanoff. Someone told me you'd be able to decipher human genetics research for me."
Dr Redfern accepted Phoenix's handshake, but still stared at her through narrow eyes. "I'm sorry, exactly how old are you?"
"I'm 16, but that's not relevant," Phoenix responded. "Can you help us or not?"
"16?" Redfern repeated in question, staring Phoenix up and down in disbelief, particularly focusing on her attire. "I can help you yes, I'm one of the world's leading experts on the study of human DNA. But I have to ask, what does a teenager want with human genetics research?"
"It's a long story," Phoenix replied with a sideways look in the direction of her team, before she whipped the flash drive from her pocket and held it up in front of Redfern. "What's on this USB could be of great help to your research. If you can tell me what's on it, I'll consider letting you keep a copy."
"What exactly do you know about my research, Miss Romanoff?" Redfern questioned, attempting to sound detached. However Phoenix could see her fingers twitching and her eyes laser focused on the USB. She wanted the flash drive, but was trying to keep her cool.
Phoenix obliged, and tossed her the USB, which Redfern managed to catch. "Human DNA studies paired with samples of the radiation from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's not hard to guess what you're researching Dr Redfern. You're trying to find a way to create superpowers."
Redfern looked down at the USB in her hands and grinned. "You've got yourself a deal," she told her as she marched over to the nearest computer and jammed the USB in. As she opened a few of the files, she glanced at Phoenix over the top of the computer monitor. "There's a lot of research to look at here. I might need some time to decipher it all."
The Experiments walked over to Phoenix and circled around her. Some of them appeared questioning, and the rest just seemed outraged. "You just gave her all the research, just like that?" Heather demanded an explanation, nostrils flaring as she glared at Dr Redfern. "Phoenix we're going to get lynched."
"She needed an incentive," Phoenix responded, her voice lowered to a whisper. "Don't worry, our names aren't anywhere within the research, I had Sam go through and check everything in London. As far as Redfern knows, the samples are just from codenamed test subjects. Banner wasn't an idiot, he never gave away our identities."
"Besides, I've got a little present lined up for her," Sam added with a smirk in Phoenix's direction. "When we leave, I'm gonna cook the drive with enough electricity to make it completely unreadable. She can't copy the files to her own hard drive either, I made sure of that."
With Phoenix and Sam having reassured The Experiments, they moved to waiting while Dr Redfern analysed Banner's results. Wanda, recognising that the situation didn't involve her, communicated briefly with Phoenix before she stepped outside the door, electing herself to keep watch.
Phoenix was growing more anxious with every passing minute. She paced up and down the room, her eyes darting nervously over the scientific equipment within the laboratory. Tony's labs within the Avengers Tower were all modern in design, and involved open spaces with glass walls. Dr Redfern's laboratory felt cramped, with pristine white benches and walls. Phoenix felt herself being suffocated, and kept drawing in shaky breaths as her vision flicked between what was in front of her, and her own memories.
In an attempt to keep her mind distracted, Phoenix hovered around Dr Redfern. It didn't help, because what Phoenix saw over her shoulder was just a collection of more scientific research. He would never study his research on a computer unless necessary, it was all handwritten notes.
"Miss Romanoff, these results are incredible," Dr Redfern caught Phoenix's attention, barely hiding her excitement. "I've never seen anything like this before. You've gotta come and look at these."
Phoenix shot a hesitant look in the direction of her team before she cautiously moved to stand beside Dr Redfern. She caught a glimpse of the gleeful Dr Redfern before she turned her head to look at the images on the computer monitor. It was the DNA strand from Phoenix's samples, but thankfully, Dr Redfern didn't know that.
"The genetic coding of this subject's DNA shows incredibly advanced mutations. The DNA has been rewritten in a way that I can barely even comprehend. I haven't even had a chance to look at the chromosomes yet but I'm sure they'll give similar results," Dr Redfern informed her.
"Mutations?" Bella repeated fearfully from the corner of the room.
"When you say mutations what do you mean?" Phoenix questioned.
"DNA is what makes up chromosomes," Dr Redfern explained. "Chromosomes carry genetic information in the form of genes, and genes are responsible for the distinctive characteristics of a living organism. Mutations occur when the structure of a gene is changed, but I've never seen a mutation like this on such a large scale."
Phoenix's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her team. They wore similar expressions of fear. Banner's description of severe abnormalities seemed pale in comparison to Dr Redfern's analysis. There were several more minutes of anxious silence while Phoenix turned her back and placed a hand to her mouth.
Dr Redfern flicked her eyes over her shoulder briefly, to glance at Phoenix's back. Her eyes moved downwards to the closed drawer underneath her right elbow. She had to wait patiently, until she was able to get what she wanted from the girl. After so long, God had finally delivered. Her chance for revenge had walked itself into her laboratory.
After a minute of running over the information in her own head, Dr Redfern called for Phoenix's attention once again. Phoenix leaned over the desk to look at the images shown on the computer screen. They didn't mean much to Phoenix, but to Dr Redfern they seemed to classify as one of the seven wonders of the world.
"These chromosomes are...I can't even describe it," Dr Redfern stammered as she looked over the images. "The subject is a human female judging from the 22 chromosome pairs and the sex chromosomes, but I can't be entirely sure because the chromosomes are so different to that of a normal human. They're far more advanced than anything I've ever seen in a human sample."
"Are you saying that the subject isn't human?" Mark asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"If anything, this subject is more than human," Dr Redfern answered. "A Superhuman."
The room went quite at the utterance of the word Superhuman. It wasn't the first time the word had been used in front of The Experiments, but it was the first time it had been used as a technical term. They knew that their abilities succeeded normal human capabilities, but they could never have imagined that it went as far as this.
"What do you know about the specific changes?" Phoenix questioned. "Can you identify what caused the mutations?"
"It might be possible, but all I have here is the research and results of previous experimentations," Dr Redfern replied. "To determine the cause of the mutations I would have to conduct the experiments myself. To do that, I would need samples from the subject."
"You can do your Experiments with a blood sample right?" Phoenix inquired. Without hesitation, Phoenix took off her jacket and placed it onto the bench next to her. She held out her arm to Dr Redfern, exposing the veins on the inside of her elbow. "There's your sample," Phoenix announced.
Dr Redfern said nothing as she quietly retrieved a needle from the cupboard beside her. Holding Phoenix's arm steady with her left hand, she prepped the needle with her right hand. Phoenix didn't even blink as Dr Redfern injected the needle and drew a sample of her blood.
Dr Redfern took the needle and examined the blood inside it as Phoenix stepped back. Heather came up behind her and whispered angrily. "I can't believe you just did that," Heather hissed. "You just put yourself at risk. Who knows what she's going to do with that sample."
"Don't worry about me Heather," Phoenix responded in a low voice. "Finding out what damage has been done to our genetics is far more important than my personal safety."
"At this point, I think you believe that everything is more important that your own personal safety," Heather snapped angrily. "Seriously, the self-sacrificing crap needs to stop-"
No sooner than the words left Heather's mouth, Dr Redfern opened the draw next to her and pulled out a gun, aiming it directly at Phoenix. Phoenix's immediate response was to step in front of Heather and place her right arm in front of her to cover Heather in a protective stance.
"Stay back," Phoenix warned The Experiments, who had tried to inch forward.
"Don't think I didn't recognise you the second you walked through that door!" Dr Redfern shouted. "But I bet you didn't recognise me. Can't tell me apart from the hundreds of people whose lives you ruined that day!"
"What are you talking about?" Phoenix questioned, trying to keep her voice calm as her eyes focused on the gun.
"Navy Pier!" Dr Redfern screeched in response. To make her point more clearly known, Dr Redfern yanked up the sleeve of her lab coat, revealing the scarred evidence of third degree burns covering her arm. "You killed my son!"
Phoenix stopped as a flood of memories began drowning her. It was all a blur of fire and screams. So many unnecessary deaths, and for what? A statement. He may have given her the order, but she had been the one to execute it. The blood was on her hands.
Mark remembered Navy Pier with distressing clarity. Phoenix had come to collect him for Doctor Blake, and SHIELD had attempted to intercept her. Phoenix had killed all SHIELD agents on the scene, and in the process, killed 33 civilians. Phoenix had set a Ferris wheel on fire, which then crushed a building before sliding off the pier. Mark knew that it wasn't Phoenix, it was Doctor Blake acting through Phoenix, but Dr Redfern didn't know that.
"I didn't mean for anyone to die," Phoenix spoke quietly, her voice nothing more than a ghostly whisper.
"Don't lie to me!" Dr Redfern cried, her hand holding the gun shaking as she became more and more hysterical. Without a steady hand, if Dr Redfern fired, anyone in the room could get hit. "I saw you! I watched you laugh as you destroyed those helicopters! Did you laugh when you set that Ferris wheel on fire and killed my son?"
"Dr Redfern you're putting everyone in this room in danger," Phoenix warned as she stared at the trembling gun. Raising the hand she wasn't using to hold Heather back, Phoenix motioned for Dr Redfern to calm down. "They didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one you want to kill, they're not a part of this. Please, don't put innocent people in the firing line."
"Like you did?" Dr Redfern hissed, her hand tightening on the trigger. "As long as you die, I don't care who goes down with you."