So I'll add the first chapter to Chapter 23 (where it belongs) but I'll leave it here for anyone who can't be bothered to find it again.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel
Chapter 27 - Great Work, Team
(Days prior. Warning! Some images of gore. There is a brief explanation at the end if you don't want to read it.)
Panting heavily, Elliot raced through the halls of the hideout, footsteps clapping against the floor as he skidded yet another corner. The plant was held precariously with both palms, it's violet petals were drooping unhappily. When he finally reached the room he had been seeking, the Javier threw the door open with one hand and began to shout hoarsely.
"Dr Santoya, I have it!" he exclaimed at the man, who was bent over the bed with alert eyes.
He returned to his full height and examined the boy at the threshold. Swiftly, the doctor approached, relieving Elliot of the plant and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I will take the pollen to make a medicine. I suppose that is how your parents intended to use it?" he questioned seriously.
The boy had no idea how the plant was to be used, so he shrugged and nodded helplessly. The man, who's pale skin and darkly circled eyes gave away his own ill health, surveyed the shaking French quickly.
"Take a seat next to your sister," he instructed quietly, "Get some rest before I return."
Again, Elliot nodded. Santoya darted out of the room with the plant hastily and the blonde advanced to his restless sister's bedside, slumping into the empty chair. Elise was thrashing about, arms, legs, neck, hands, face all spasming sporadically, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. He wanted to comfort her, but he hadn't slept in so long, and she couldn't hear him anyway. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Dr Santoya was back, shaking his forearm gently and holding a small bottle of light purple liquid.
"Elliot? I thought you'd want to be awake for the results," the doctor explained briefly.
Without waiting for a reply, Santoya turned back to his patient, gently scooping her writhing head in one smooth, cupped hand and tipping the bottle towards her dry mouth with the other. At first, the barely-conscious girl resisted the drink, but slowly, her lips parted. When every drop had vanished, Santoya sat back, breathing a sigh of finality. Either there would be improvement, or the girl was lost. Elise lay back, no longer moving at all, though her chest still heaved slightly. Eventually, even that began to cease. Elliot was frozen, staring with wide, hopeful eyes. Minutes passed with no change and the doctor sighed again.
"I'm sorry, Elliot," he murmured, "There is nothing more to do."
"But… It was supposed to save her!" the last Javier argued with a single tear in his eye,
"The plant… Maybe it takes time to work!"
Santota lowered his eyes.
"We shall wait, then," he said lowly, "Why don't you replace the cloth? To keep her temperature down."
Elliot nodded sharply, standing on weak legs and snatching the drying flannel draped over the pale girl's forehead. He raced out of the room and through the adjacent doorway, then dropped the item into the slightly dirtied sink and twisted the handle. The cool, clear water splatted against the rag and Elliot tapped his foot arrhythmically against linoleum. There was some noise that made him swivel to face the corridor and the room past it: a meek shout, a thump and an uncomfortable shredding sound, softened by the closed door. Elliot clawed at the renewed cloth, roughly disrupted the flow of water and stumbled forward, blinded by the euphoria of certainty that his sister was alive and better. He thrust the door open, barely noticing its sudden strain, but his smile dropped at the sight of the room.
"Elise…"
The girl was crouched, cowering in the corner made by her bed and the wall, her face hidden from her brother. Between them was a sickening sight, one that Elliot would never rid from his mind. The hard floor was stained by a spreading pool of crimson water, which centered around a barely recognizable body. Dr Santoya was no longer whole, and was definitely dead. The parts of him that were missing had been flung in all directions. Elliot wanted to vomit.
"Elise, what did you do?" he whispered, shaking violently.
Seemingly, the girl heard him this time, and turned quickly. Her brother's mouth opened and he gasped briskly. Her eyes were lined with red as they had been before, but now the gap between the circle of raw red was filled with a shocking violet. Her hair hung greasily around her pasty face, some damp locks lumped together with blood, the same blood that was smeared across her chin and around her mouth. She smiled weakly at him.
"Elliot?" she greeted with hope and admiration, "You came to save me?"
(For anyone who didn't read due to the slight gore, basically, the plant has turned Elise savage. At least she's cured, right? Right?)
"So, here's what we know," Clint started professionally.
They all sat, cramped, in the archer's hospital room. Paige was hidden under a mound of blankets on her own bed, with Alexia perched beside her and Tony standing behind them both, Thor was sitting in one of the too-small, uncomfortable plastic chairs, which looked even smaller due to his superior size, Clint had recovered enough to walk with crutches and was therefore springing around the room at every available moment and Steve and Natasha were sitting on his bed. Bruce had been given a private room seeing as not even S.H.I.E.L.D knew what reaction he would have when waking up. Paige had tried to insist that she stayed with him, but her own exhaustion had gotten the best of her.
"Lexy's family went psycho and now we have Dylan is custody but his parents somehow escaped," Barton listed, slowly pacing the length of the room, "The Familia, including our dear old friend Maria, has sent two Enhanced our way, created in the same way as our own Siren, Bruce is still unresponsive, I still can't fight, Paige is traumatized for life and the Iron Man suit is easily compromised by-"
"I'm working on it," Tony grumbled.
"No, really, great work team!" Clint continued sarcastically.
"Shut up, Clint," Natasha sighed.
"At least we saved Paige and Bruce," Lexy argued quietly.
"But we're no closer to defeating the Familia or your parents," Steve added.
"Dylan will lead us to them," Tony assured, "And, as soon as Bruce is better, we'll have more arsenal against the Familia as well."
"If he gets better," Clint corrected.
"Clint!" Lexy scolded quietly.
"Well, what is there to say?" the archer retorted, "This really isn't going too well for us, is it? And it doesn't look like it'll get much better any time soon!"
"We're trying our best, alright?" Tony snarled.
"So are they, and guess who's winning?" Barton grumbled.
At that moment, Agent Hill strode in, arms crossed.
"SHIELD is working on an antidote for Anthuria's poison, but it'll take a few days," she announced, "The other one, Red Techno, seems to have similar powers to another supervillain we know about, so we have a consultant that might be able to help, if you need it. There's no word about the Brookes' escape yet, so they may still be in the country."
"Thanks, Hill," Natasha muttered.
"I know that things aren't looking good, guys, but this was a win, and I'm sure it'll be the first of several. They just caught us off-guard," the agent assured, letting the door slide shut behind her before they could reply.
Being locked up at the base of a valley surrounded by an ominous mountain range with a bunch of other wealthy conspirators hadn't seemed like a bad idea for his dead relatives those many decades ago. Maybe Francis Ainsworth was missing some crucial pro to the situation, or maybe they had been as insane as the British media of the time had determined, but the man was certain that, whatever they had decided, had not been the right choice. The Familia was currently in a state of mayhem, and, after being relocated a while back due to the Javiers' mistakes, there was less cover to hide beneath. Now they were on an island. What a great idea of Sanguine's.
"Ainsworth, the Dux wants you on perimeter control, now," Kurosawa was barking as they rushed up the steps from the archives.
The Englishman had been enjoying a well-deserved nap on the job when the Familia member had burst in, sending waves of deep vibrations through the haphazardly-stacked book piles. Francis had awoken with a snort and demanded an explanation. What he heard made his eyes widen from behind the brown bear mask he wore.
"Elise and Elliot are missing. The remains of Dr Santoya was found in the Javier girl's room," the man panted.
"Remains?"
"He is dead. Utterly… There's nothing left except a mess, all over the floor. The Dux thinks that they are in danger, everyone is on high alert."
"And why did you come bursting in here to tell me this?"
"Because the Dux Prioris wants to talk to you. It's important," the member finished, catching his breath.
Francis stood up in defeat, knowing that there was no opposing the Dux Prioris.
"Alexia!" Paige shrieked, sitting upright so suddenly that Clint almost slipped from his position on the crutches and Tony dropped the book he had been browsing through.
The only one not to jump was Natasha, who slid to the panicking woman's side immediately.
"Paige? Can you hear me?" she muttered immediately, "You're safe. You're at SHIELD. Alexia will be back in a moment."
"I need Lexy," Paige whimpered, "Where is she?"
Fortunately, it was at that moment that the doors slid open and Brookes stepped in, eyes widening at her awakened friend. She was at her side in an instant, a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder and another running through her hair.
"Oh my God, Paige, are you ok?" she breathed, "Stupid question, you obviously aren't. Hey, it's fine, you're safe now, I'm here, they can't hurt you."
Paige was sobbing uncontrollably into Lexy's top and jacket. Natasha leaned back a little, ensuring that the woman wasn't too crowded.
"Wh-where's Bruce?" Paige asked, "Where is he? I n-need to see him. Lexy, is he-?"
"Bruce is… Bruce is fine. He just needs to rest. So do you, Paige," Alexia continued softly,
"Everything is ok now. No one can hurt you, everyone is here to help."
Eventually, the hyperventilating slowed and the assistant was able to take somewhat normal breaths. She relaxed into Lexy's secure grip, returning to her horizontal position on the bed and sniffling quietly. Tony rubbed Alexia's back encouragingly as she continued to console and hush her best friend, lulling her back into sleep.
Hope you enjoyed! If you did, follow, favourite and/or leave a review. Sorry for the sort of abrupt ending AGAIN