A/N: Ok I suppose I should put a warning in here because I'm paranoid, it get's kind of a bit extreme in this chapter but I'm sure most of you don't care about violence so never mind me. Anyway it's just this chapter and then two more and then it's all over. Well not completely but we'll talk more about that later. As always my beautiful readers, read, review and enjoy.
Steve could hear Natasha's steady calm breathing from next to him as they were tied up side by side in front of Doctor Blake, who had immediately become infatuated with Steve once Phoenix had left the room, making it hard for Natasha to get in and ask questions. After the Doctor calmed down from his sudden meeting with Captain America, he became more serious.
"Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, you are here for one reason only," the Doctor spread his arms around the room like a preacher declaring his love for God. "The world is to be saved."
"How will you save us?" Natasha asked. Her eyes were wide, vacant and strangely compelling. For a second Steve wondered if there was something wrong, until it clicked into place. Natasha was acting, playing the Doctor to his one weakness. It was absolutely genius.
Doctor Blake began to pace up and down slowly as if he was giving a lecture in a University classroom. "We are but simpletons with a false sense of the world. Our age is our undoing for we have seen too many things with our eyes to remain uncompromised by the horrors our civilisation contains. That is when I had my idea. Why not start with those who have not been exposed, those that are still innocent. Children possess the correct manipulable mindset, and growing hormones and chemicals in their body to make the serum work. "
Doctor Blake continued as Natasha kept playing her act.
"With my perfected serum, first I will destroy SHIELD, then America, then the rest of the world. A small amount will come out alive. I do need subjects for my experiments you know. I am almost ready to take the next step from my children and begin injecting adults."
"Adults?" Natasha questioned in a light and oddly gentle tone.
"What you thought that I would take over the world with six children?" Doctor Blake scoffed. "No, that would be crazy. Humanity would never benefit with children as warriors. Especially not those children, they are snivelling messes of fear. Once they have served their purpose I will dispose of them."
Steve looked at him curiously, forgetting for a second that it would be better for everyone if Natasha did the questioning. "What about Phoenix?" he asked. "She's not a snivelling mess of fear, she's following your every order. She's committing murder for you."
"Phoenix?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.
Clint made his way up the stairwell quickly and quietly, chasing after Phoenix who had dashed for the door immediately after Doctor Blake had headed upstairs in the elevator. For some odd reason she had spared him, but she had also barricaded the door to the stairwell to slow him down.
As Clint climbed up floor after floor his thoughts went to Natasha. Last night's kiss had left him in a rush but he felt like an idiot. Falling for a world class assassin, what was he thinking? But last night, she had been kissing him back, so maybe he wasn't completely crazy. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to keep his mouth shut. He was going to explain everything in full detail to the Black Widow and then hope that she wouldn't slap him or slit his throat.
He reached one of the top floors where he could see that the door had been kicked in, all signs were pointing to Phoenix, it was his best possible bet. He swung it opened and walked slowly down the hallways, turning to look behind his back every so often to check that he wasn't being followed. His bow was at the ready and he still had most of his arrows.
A small noise from ahead indicated that someone had just opened a door, Clint quietly rushed forward just in time to see Phoenix exiting one of the meeting rooms and closing the door behind her. Clint saw his chance and took it, running forward and grabbing Phoenix. One arm around her neck and holding her hands behind her back with the other, he pressed her against the wall.
"Don't make a move," he threatened.
He felt Phoenix's throat move as she made a small noise that sounded like she was trying to struggle, except it was only her voice that struggled, in Agent Barton's arms she went completely still. "If you're going to kill me Agent Barton at least do it quickly," Phoenix didn't even sound like she was challenging him, she was oddly accepting of her capture.
"Alright Phoenix I'm done playing gentle and understanding," there was only one possible way this idea could work, but Clint was going for it anyway. "You weren't born with magic powers; Doctor Blake gave them to you and the other five kids. You're a lab experiment that he's brainwashed into a guard dog. You need to fight it and see the truth."
"I will never believe your lies," she hissed.
"No, but you will believe your Master," Clint pressed Phoenix's ear up to the door where she could hear the sounds of muffled conversation between Doctor Blake, Captain America and Natasha. Clint's heart started running a marathon at the sound of her voice and relief flooded him for a second at the knowledge that she was alive. Phoenix's ears were pressed against the door and with Clint still holding her, she could not fight it, so she listened.
"You think I am going to let Phoenix live?" The Doctor asked with more disbelief. "The only reason I kept her alive was because she was my first success. She was the only one that survived and developed anything from the serum," The Doctor laughed. "She was, and has always been, pathetic. For years I unlocked her power out of anger and pain. Under the influence of torture Phoenix developed greatly."
Natasha felt vomit rising in her mouth but she fought it down, widening her eyes and looking up at Doctor Black with what she knew was her best angelic face. He might've been a mad scientist but like most men he was quick to assume that Natasha was innocent, and she played with that stupidity like a toy.
"If you tortured her for that long why didn't she kill you?" Steve asked, disgusted. Natasha fought down the urge to shoot him a glare, if he took a wrong move Doctor Blake could lose it, especially if any words of discouragement came from Captain America, who he was oddly obsessed with.
"All that time she was under my influence. She obeyed my every word, because I told her I would keep her safe from the people in the outside world that hated her and wanted to see her dead, because she was different. The things that girl would believe. All she ever wanted to do was please me. The perfect attack dog. But she is too difficult, too savage. Controlling her is getting to be more and more of an effort."
The Doctor still held the gun pointed at both Natasha and Steve, but Natasha could dodge any attack easy, it was clear from the way he held the small firearm that he wasn't very experienced. The way he spoke, it was like he was giving a lecture, or teaching a class. Natasha wondered if this was the real reason Phoenix obeyed his words, because he spoke like everything he said was perfectly sane.
"She will always obey me until the day she dies, which will be very soon now that I think about it," the Doctor began to act like he was talking to himself. "I've been thinking it over for many years, how I'm going to kill her. It only just occurred to me a short while ago that I need to fight fire with fire. I think a large industrial sized furnace will do the trick. Even if the fire doesn't burn her to ash, if she's locked in there long enough starvation will finish her off."
Phoenix's ears were ringing. She felt like collapsing. It couldn't be true, it had to be a trick. Her Master would never do that to her. He told her that they would rule the world together. She was the Phoenix, she was going to be the new symbol for humanity. She was the perfect soldier. He wouldn't kill her.
She pushed Clint away and surprisingly he let her go. He didn't matter anyway; he was just another SHIELD agent. What did he matter? It couldn't be real, but it was. Her Master would never lie to her, always she had trusted him, he was the only one she could trust, this was a trick, it had to be, this couldn't be real. Anger flamed within her like the fire she unconsciously formed in her right hand. Somehow she managed to keep listening.
"You're a sick man," Steve beyond disgust now, Natasha could tell that easily. "You took an innocent girl and broke her. Twisted her into a monstrosity."
He looked hurt. "I did it for you Captain," he said. "I did not break Phoenix, I did not twist her. I made her beautiful. I stripped her of the typical human instincts that destroyed our world. I made her perfect. I made her too perfect. If she had not been given the serum she would be nothing, simply ordinary. She is a goddess amongst the regular people out there. She believes in the cause, because I taught her right and crafted her mind to believe in the truth. She is like a child to me."
"Last time I checked parents didn't plan to kill their children," Natasha said bitterly, she was done playing nice. She'd heard all she needed to hear.
"She has served her purpose. She is nothing to me now," the Doctor waved off the comment. "She will die as she lived, under my orders.
Pain. That was all Phoenix saw. Her history was flashing before her. The first time the Doctor had laid her on that table and hurt her, all the while whispering his lies into her ear. He told her it was all for the better, that it would make her great. She had believed him, why had she believed him. It hurt, it hurt so much. She was nothing, an empty hollow shell. Everything in the world was dead to her. Her beliefs, her orders, the cause she served, they all crumbled from her mind like a falling wall. Her thoughts ripped themselves apart as she processed the words she heard.
"She will die as she lived, under my orders."
Anger, there was only anger left. A horrible boiling erupting in the pit of her stomach, creeping its way into her mind. He lied to her. He had always lied to her. She was different, because of him. He made her into what she was. All the years of torture piled themselves all into one all-consuming memory that left nothing but rage behind. She was shaking, she felt it. She pulled her ear away from the door. She faced it now. She could just picture him, standing over her, telling her everything would be ok.
"No," she hissed.
Phoenix thrust her palms forward and blew open the door with fire. The rage building up in her mind hit boiling point.
And then it snapped like a rubber band.
A scream, it was coming from her mouth. There was something on her skin, it was fire. That shouldn't have been on her skin. She was running now fast, heading right for him. He saw her and in his eyes she saw her own reflection. She looked mad. She looked very mad. There was fire, everywhere. It was pretty.
Her hands were around his neck, and she was lifting him. It was wondrous, she was so strong. This was fun. She saw him, he was scared. Mommy always said it's ok to be scared. But who was Mommy? She didn't know. That was strange. What was her name? She didn't know. Where was she? She didn't know. Everything was blank, that didn't seem right. There was that man again. Looking at her in fear. Who was he, and why was she holding him by his neck. Oh that's right. She remembered now. She was going to kill him.
The rubber band in her mind snapped once again.
Phoenix held him by his neck she was snarling, hissing. There was fire all around her. She was angry, she wanted him dead, he had to die. She looked him directly in the eye. She felt the fire as she continued looking him in the eye. She willed it to rise, to consume. But to kill him quickly would be too kind.
Phoenix felt the fire erupting inside his body, she felt it wrapping around his organs, burning him. Strike your enemies not only in their body, but in their heart and mind. Do this and they will fall. She did exactly that. It's hard not to fall when your heart and brain were on fire. He looked at her one last time. He tried to speak but couldn't, he had no vocal cords anymore. She had burned them to dust.
"You will die as you lived," she told him. "A failure."
Just like that he turned into an inferno in front of her eyes. He was burning. Phoenix did not laugh. She did not even smile. She only watched. When the fire faded, it danced back across her arms until it stopped. Then there was nothing.
He was gone. There wasn't even a body. The fire took everything leaving nothing but ash. She sunk to her knees and sat there. Nothing better to do. He was dead. Phoenix was finished.
The minute Phoenix had sprinted into the room Natasha had started undoing the bindings that kept her tied to the chair and once she'd finished she did the same to Steve, looking up just in time to see the human shape that had once been Doctor Blake crumble to dust.
For a second she had stood there, until she looked around the room and spotted Clint at the door. She rushed towards him immediately and for one second she forgot everything else. She threw her arms around his neck and he put one arm around her waist. The hug only lasted a second but Natasha still felt as though she had crossed a line and ended the embrace quickly.
She noticed that he looked down at his feet and then looked back at her, making eye contact. It wasn't ordinary eye contact though, Natasha could see something more. He opened his mouth and then shut it again. She titled her head and looked at him, confused in his change of behaviour. She sensed what was coming when he gently held her wrist and looked her in the eye again. Natasha felt her heart beating in her chest and for a second she was worried someone might hear it, it felt so loud.
"Natasha about last night," he started. "Listen I…"
"Not here," Natasha cut him off as she glanced around and saw Steve slowly approaching Phoenix who sat on her knees in front of the ashen remains of her once master.
They were joined shortly after by Director Fury and a whole squad of SHIELD agents in full gear, Natasha and Clint approached the Director and quickly told him the whole story, switching between their different experiences every so often. Phoenix was taken away and the dust was cleaned up just before the rest of the Avengers came across the scene. Natasha and Clint told their story and then Tony told them theirs.
"The minute Phoenix and Doctor Blake went upstairs the kids surrendered," Tony told them. "Hands up, down on their knees, the whole shebang. Heather was right about one thing at least, none of them wanted any part in this. Fury's gonna release them as soon as SHIELD finishes interviewing them."
"What of Phoenix?" Thor asked.
"I'll make sure that SHIELD does everything in their power to help her," Natasha remained adamant. "Hopefully now that she knows the truth we might be able to find out who the real Phoenix is."