Kill Ashley, Vol. I

Kitty Vics crept through the mansion, her gun held up, ready to shoot the moment she saw her target. The large house was obviously abandoned, with most of the furniture and belongings gutted out. The windows were open, blowing cool air through the drafty house, rattling the plastic tarps covering old statues. The mansion was unsettling and Kitty had the feeling like someone was watching her. She continued her search, going through the spacious dining room and down a hallway on her right. Kitty saw Ashley LeRoux with his back leaning casually on a wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hello, Dahlia."

Kitty pulled out one of the throwing knives from her arm guard and threw it, watching as it soared through the air and landed in the wall where Ashley's head was. She trained her gun on him but hesitated on pulling the trigger, knowing the probability of a bullet actually hitting him was slim. Ashley disappeared and showed up right in front of her, knocking the gun out of her grasp. Her left hand was already on the handle of her sword as she roughly pushed Ashley against the wall, drawing the weapon.

"Why?!" Kitty screamed, the blade flush against Ashley Sinclare LeRoux's tanned throat. "Why are you torturing the Avengers?!"

Ashley gave a short laugh. "You think this is about them? About the Avengers?" He smirked and said, "Oh, my dear Dahlia, how very wrong you are."

"What the fuck is it then?" Kitty demanded, gripping the handle on her blade tighter. "You just get off on poisoning people and blowing them up?"

"It's you." The villain said simply. "It's always been you." He studied her face carefully. "Did you know that some Mutants can...Sense...Extraordinary humans? Haven't you ever wondered why everyone around you likes you? Is drawn to you?"
Kitty's mind immediately flew to Thor, then her birth parents, and she couldn't help but scoff. "There's a lot of people who don't like me."

"Most humans do. Even Mutants. They either can't stand to be anywhere near you or they can't possibly stay away. You are irresistible." He sighed loudly, closing his eyes before disappearing.

Kitty looked around wildly before spotting him across the room.

"It's annoyin', honestly. So, how could I resist invitin' you to join me?" Ashley asked. "Havin' a Siren with the power of influence? You don't even know how powerful you could be. Hell, you could probably make someone think they were burnin' in a fire while sittin' safely on the floor."

"Did you lick lead paint as a child?" Kitty asked in faux-concern as they sidestepped around each other in a circle.

"You've never even considered that you weren't ordinary." Ashley shook his head in disappointment. "But tell me: How does one get into Special Forces at the age of eighteen? Isn't that a little young to be a mercenary, even for our military? I'll bet you just touched their arms and they never questioned anythin' you had to say. Or maybe it's about the pain." He smiled softly. "You touch them, make them feel the worst pain imaginable, make them want to die. I'll bet that came in handy interrogatin' folks."

Kitty lunged forward, jabbing her sword at him. He swiftly kicked the blade out of her hands. Kitty gave a yelp of pain before decking him with her right hand. She (unsuccessfully) tried to block a punch to her face, wincing as one of the rings on Ashley's hand cut her forehead. He grabbed her arm and yanked it forward, popping it out of the socket. She cried out before kicking him in kneecap with all of her strength. Ashley collapsed onto his knees, looking up at Kitty with wide eyes.

"Go." Kitty said. When he paused, she yelled, "Go! Get the fuck out of here. They're going to be here soon."

Ashley blinked up at her in shock before disappearing.

Steve and Clint ran into the room and saw Kitty cradling her arm.

"He got away."