Chapter Sixteen:
Blue was tired the next morning. He didn't sleep at all, despite Steve's suggestions. He stayed awake, his thoughts full, and stared at the dark ceiling until sunlight pierced through the curtains.
A nurse came in later and was a bit startled to find him awake. "Oh!" She exclaimed, and the sound of her voice woke Steve up as well. "Sorry," she said, giving a apologetic smile to Steve as he rubbed his neck. Steve twisted it this way and that causing it to make loud 'pop pop pop's.
"Don't be," Steve assured and smiled back at her.
"Well, I'm just doing my morning rounds," she said cheerily, a pink tint to her cheeks. "I didn't know you were going to be here, Mr. Rogers."
Steve still smiled, "Just wanted to make sure he was okay during the night. Dr. Amari said it was fine?" This sounded more like a question, and the nurse fanned a hand at him.
"Don't worry. I just got a few things to check, but since, uh," she looked at the clipboard in her hands. "Blue is awake, I'll just ask him a few questions too. So you mind stepping out of the room, Mr. Rogers?"
Now Steve rose an eyebrow, "What for, if you don't mind my asking?"
"These concern some more. . . personal matters. It's necessary for all patients to be able to speak with hospital staff privately, when talking about one's health. Confidentiality, and all."
"Blue is a minor," Steve frowned.
"But, he officially has no one taking legal guardianship, at the moment," the nurse explained. "You'll have to go to the courthouse for that ruling, Mr. Rogers."
Steve nodded, deciding that it was too early to argue with her, and she was just doing her job. He glanced at Blue, who looked a little scared as Steve left the room. "Steve?" He called after the man. Steve leaned against the door and smiled at Blue.
"I'll be right back, Blue, don't worry," Steve promised, then left the room closing the door behind him.
Blue stared at the door for a few seconds, hoping he'd come back inside. Then, he looked at the nurse, who also waited until the door was closed. She turned around to the small countertop full of supplies, and pulled something out of her pocket.
Blue watched her with mild curiosity, wondering what exactly was going to transpire during her check-up. When she turned back around with the familiar syringe full of the unknown black substance, Blue froze.
"Due to recent circumstances, you probably won't be coming back to base for a while," the nurse informed coldly. Blue stared at the syringe in her hands, he suddenly remembered her voice, familiar to another one a long time ago.
"My employers like to see them struggling."
Blue went into a blind panic, trying to jump out of the bed, but with all the cords and wires attached to him, he couldn't leave without taking six other things with him.
And, of course, she wouldn't allow it either.
She grabbed his wrist, yanking back and climbed into the bed. "Your Master demands you sit still and listen," she growled and Blue did what he was told. He tried to breathe, in and out, but when he caught a glance at that syringe in her hand, all he could do was breathe in ― in ― in ―
Blue stopped struggling, and she continued to talk. "Your orders are as followed: Infiltrate the Avengers. At the first opportunity you get, kill Steve Rogers. Report to base when you have finished. Is that clear?"
Blue gave a shaky nod. The woman smirked. "Now the fun part." She pushed Blue's head back and he hissed, but knowingly kept his mouth shut. The woman positioned the needle properly ― in the same angle and location that they always put it ― and pushed. It pierced through the frayed skin easily, it had been broken far too many times for it to be healed properly.
Blue felt the burning effects immediately when he pushed the contents inside in his body. Before the woman could get off of him, he pushed her. She went flying and hit the wall with a heavy thud. Blue curled up shaking and sweating as the door opened. Steve called his name, but helped the woman to her feet first.
Blue breathed heavily, closing his eyes. He thrashed, his claws shedding the blanket. His teeth bared, fangs out and ready. He felt like his senses were amplified by twenty, and he couldn't control it. Everything was loud and noisy and smelly and he couldn't breathe he couldn't in and out and failure wasn't an option in and out―
Someone was shaking his shoulders, screaming his name. It was so loud! Blue felt like his head was going to explode.
Blue gripped his hair, several strands pulling themselves out in clumps. Steve tried to get his hands away, but then he was pulled away.
Several other people brought his hands to his sides, barking orders to one another. Blue began to scream as they led Steve out of the room.
He growled angrily, trying to move the people out of his way. Steve was disappearing behind the door and they were going to lock him in here for another check-up - for another discipline. Steve said he wouldn't be hurt anymore. Steve said he would help! Steve said he would keep him safe!
"Steve!" Blue screamed, but it sounded like a wail. He didn't want to be alone, and his body felt like it was on fire. Someone grabbed his wrist, and dragged him back to the bed. Blue panicked and in a sudden movement, he bit them, his teeth breaking the skin easily.
They hollered in pain, yanking their hand away. Someone stabbed something into his thigh and his swiped a hand at them as they contents filled his system. He hissed angrily, his arms shaking and tears growing in his eyes. He wailed again, his body feeling heavy. He breathed, failure wasn't an option, out.
He fell back on the bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling in a daze. The doctors and nurses descended on him, touching his body and putting the sticky patches back on his chest. They put the needle back in his hand, and Blue hadn't even realized that it fell out. He turned to look at it while someone wiped at the blood that trickled out of it.
"Go to sleep, Blue," A woman advised lightly. Blue blinked again, his eyelids feeling as heavy as his body. He didn't want to sleep ― he wanted to go back to Steve. He wanted. . . he wanted to go to Steve. He had to kill him.
It were his Master's orders.
m·o·d·r·ý
When Blue opened his eyes again, Steve and Natasha were sitting down, talking in soft tones. "Fake nurse. . . injected something in him. . . no name. . ."
Blue tried to sit up, but winced inhaling sharply, making them turn his way. "Don't move," Steve advised, standing. Blue stared at him, rubbing his head.
"At the first opportunity you get, kill Steve Rogers."
"B? Did you hear me?" Steve asked, coming closer. Blue's lip quivered, but he clenched his fists. "How are you feeling? Do you―?" Steve didn't finish, Blue's arm shot up, grabbing Steve's shirt and yanking him down, down, down towards him. He could be quick, then he could go back to base. Steve didn't have to suffer.
Blue released his fangs, but before he could tear his throat out, Natasha pushed Steve away. His fangs nicked Natasha's arm, making it bleed immediately. Steve stared at him, his coral blue eyes wide in shock and betrayal. "Call a nurse," Natasha said immediately, "Put him back under."
Blue let out a whimper, his eyes big. "You tried to kill me," Steve breathed, as if he couldn't believe what just transpired.
"Orders," Blue whispered. Natasha grabbed the remote beside Blue and pressed a button quickly.
"Who ordered you to?" Steve demanded, but Blue looked down, shaking his head. "Was it a doctor? A nurse?" Blue didn't say anything, "Damn it, Blue, you're not making this any easier for yourself."
"Orders," Blue insisted. "Master ― orders!"
Steve frowned, and Blue felt a sudden pain in his chest that he couldn't understand or interpret. He whined as a nurse came in the room, smiling and cheery. It immediately disappeared when she recognized the tension in the air and the blood coming down Natasha's arm. "What happened?"
"Put him back under," Natasha ordered, and Blue's eyes went frantically from Natasha to the new nurse, to Steve.
The nurse looked concerned, "Is he in pain? I can give him some morphine, has it been fifteen minutes?"
"No, he's dangerous. He needs to be unconscious."
"Uh. . ." The nurse gave Natasha a wary look. Then, she looked at Steve as if it confirm this. "Too much general anesthesia might not be good for him. . . especially for his weight. . ."
Steve looked at Blue, who shook his head, silently begging for him not to do it. He didn't want to be asleep again, he wanted to explain, he wanted to obey his Master, but he didn't want Steve to die.
Steve saw his confliction and frowned, "Are you going to try to kill me again, B?" Steve asked slowly.
Blue wanted to shake his head, but he didn't know if it was true. "Orders," Blue whispered slowly.
"I can get restraints to put on him instead of putting him under, if that would make you feel safer?" The nurse suggested and immediately, Blue went into a panic, remembering the cold, blunt metal on his wrists that dug into his skin.
"No! No!" Blue shouted, but nobody was listening to him. Blue rubbed his wrists, as if the metal was still attached to him, still chaining him to his Master.
In some ways, it still was.
"No, we'll be fine," Steve said slowly, and Natasha turned to look at him, surprised. "We can defend ourselves." He nudged Natasha's shoulder half-heartedly, "We don't call ourselves the Earth's Mightiest Heroes for nothing, Nat."
Natasha rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Well, you should still get that looked at," the nurse said, pointing to Natasha's arm. "Come on, I'll do it really fast."
Natasha glanced at Steve, then at Blue, "Don't die while I'm gone," She muttered in Steve's ear, before letting her arm get checked by the nurse. Steve shook his head, chuckling as the door closed.
Blue stared at Steve, almost feeling nervous with being in the room with Steve alone. Steve caught on and gave a smile, "I'm not going to do anything to you, don't worry." Blue gave a small nod, and Steve moved to sit back down. After a minute, he pulled the chair over like he did last night, and sat down. Blue stared at his close proximity, and he couldn't stop staring at his neck. If he did it now, it would be swift, probably painless.
But, why would Steve move close to him if he knew Blue had to kill him?
Steve turned and smiled at Blue's confusion. "D'you wanna hear another story?" He asked, his Brooklyn accent peeking its head.
Blue frowned, and Steve chuckled. "I have a great one ― one time, Buck and I, we were stationed in. . . where was it? West Europe? We invaded a german party nearby a small town, so. . ." He smiled, chuckling a little. "The other guys helped us so we could dress up as ladies and infiltrate the guards at the door. We got them drunk, danced with them, and then took them out. After that, we did the same thing for the rest of the soldiers until we got inside. They didn't even see us coming."
Blue watched Steve, still a little wary. "Want to hear another one?" Steve asked and Blue gave a small nod. "Okay, this was in the summer. It was really hot out, but my group was being moved to the front, so we were on the road, but our truck broke down and we didn't have any more extra gas. The front was still about a hundred miles south, and it was all hills and mountains, so we couldn't walk there. We waited on the road for hours, just doing nothing. Buck and I were bored and we were running low on food. We went into the woods to find something to eat, and we found a small stream. Of course, Buck being, well, Buck, said he'd catch some fish for the other guys. I remembered reading somewhere that wading in a river to catch a fish was a lot harder than it looked. It's a lot slippier and the scales are tough ― they'll cut you if you're not careful."
"What ― do?" Blue asked.
"Bucky took his pants off and jumped around in the river for an hour trying to catch a fish." Blue chuckled, and Steve beamed happily, proud to make the boy smile, and laugh at that!
"Buck ― catch?"
"Oh, he caught one," Steve said. ". . . After a rescue truck came for us three hours later." Blue burst out in laughter, and Steve stared at him for a moment, stunned.
Blue stopped, and looked down. "Oh, no wait," Steve said, catching himself. "I'm not mad, I just. . . your laugh it sounds exactly like wind chimes." Steve chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, and Blue blinked, surprised.
"Ma?" He asked, and Steve rose an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"Ma ― laugh. Chimes," Blue replied, rubbing his head.
"Your. . . mother's laugh sounded like wind chimes?" Steve asked, and Blue nodded, smiling to himself. He didn't remember much about his mother, but he could remember the wind chimes, he heard it between his ears and behind his back. He could imagine it, when he closed his eyes. It was one of the few things that made him happy.
The door opened again, and Natasha walked back into the room, with Doctor Amari walking behind her. "Hello, Blue," She said, smiling at Blue. He didn't think he liked all these smiles, he never got smiles when he was with his Master. It was a bit weird to see everyone so happy. It made him uncomfortable, but he didn't want them to be upset either.
Blue looked at Natasha, who had her forearm bandaged. He felt his stomach twist and had the sudden urge to say something. He hadn't meant to hurt her ― he meant to kill Steve, she got in the way. "Sorry," He said, and she gave him a half-smile.
"Don't mention it," She said. "I'm not going to sue you because of it." Blue scrunched his eyebrows together ― like he saw Clint do sometimes ― and she smirked, amused.
"We don't know what that nurse injected you with," Doctor Amari said seriously, coming to Blue's side. "We don't know the effects of what was in it. The nurse that attacked you is being detained and is currently being questioned by the police. It would help us with your case if you knew what was in it." Blue shook his head, he didn't have a clue what was in those liquids. "Can you describe what was in it and how you felt after it?"
"Black ― thick. Burn ― body," Blue motioned to his entire person with his good arm. "Check."
"'Check'?" Doctor Amari asked and Blue nodded.
"Six month ― check," Blue said.
"What does that mean, Blue?" Doctor Amari asked.
"Check," Blue replied, not quite knowing how to describe it.
The Doctor nodded, but didn't look mollified, "I advise being under strict supervision of Doctor Banner. If there are any complications, tell Mr. Rogers or Dr. Banner himself, and they'll bring you back here to make sure you're okay, alright?" Blue nodded, and the he pointed to his leg. It was bandaged tight, but didn't hurt anymore, and he could move it.
"Your leg?" Blue nodded, "Does it hurt?" He shook his head. "May I?" He gave a slight nod again, and she moved down.
Dr. Amari put a pair of gloves on and Blue shivered as he touched his calf, moving peeling the bandage back. She stared at where the gunshot wound was, surprised. "Can you move your leg for me, Blue?" She asked and Blue lifted his leg easily, and turned it this way and that. "Fascinating. . ." She murmured, pulling the bandage back.
The skin was dark and smooth but for a small white scar of where the wound used to be. He had stitches in, but Dr. Amari told him that it was healing so quickly that she had to take them out. Now, the wound was completely closed, and it didn't hurt at all.
"Well, if you're all healed up, except for the incident this morning, you are clear to go," the doctor said proudly. "Mr. Rogers and Ms. Romanoff can escort you out. If you feel anymore pain, I suggest some tylenol and rest."
Dr. Amari moved to his arm, taking the sticky patches off his chest and gently taking the IV from his arm. She put a blue band-aid on over top, chuckling to herself as she did so. "Mr. Rogers, if you could sign a few things, that would be great."
Steve nodded, and turned to Blue, "I'll be right back, alright?" Blue gave a slight nod, and Steve followed Dr. Amari out of the room.
Blue sat on the bed, quietly, and Natasha came to his side slowly. "Hey," She said, and his head shot up. She stared at him for a few seconds, considering her words. "Don't kill Steve," She said and Blue's eyes went wide.
"Or―"
"Yeah, I know," She said, cutting him off. "I also know that you're just a kid. You don't want to kill Steve." Blue looked down, pursuing his lips.
"No choice," He murmured, and she hit the side of the bed. He jumped, startled by the sudden move.
"That's an excuse," She scoffed. "If you don't want to kill Steve, then don't." She crossed her arms. "You just sat in here for a half an hour and talk to him without trying to kill him again. You don't want to kill Steve ― you're your own person."
"Orders!" Blue insisted, but Natasha's eyes narrowed.
"Who's your Master now, Blue?" She demanded. "McAllister is dead, the old one you keep talking about is far from here ― or else he would've come for you himself. He sends people to kill anyone who might be a liability to him, and had someone come in here and intimidate you. If your Master wanted you, he would've had you killed, or had you brought back to him."
Blue opened his mouth to find a fault in that, but she was right. His old Master would have came for Blue if he really wanted him. His mission was to infiltrate the Avengers, but. . . surely his old Master knew that he was emotionally compromised? Or, he at least would have brought him back after his Master died?
Natasha noticed his confusion and advanced, "And, if you do kill Steve, what are you going to do? Where are you going to go, B?"
"Base," He replied, that was apart of his instructions.
"Which is where?" Blue tried to answer, but he hesitated. "You don't know where your Master is, how are you going to follow his orders?"
Blue didn't know what to say, she was right! What was he supposed to do? Hide for the rest of his life? Kill himself? He would have to, if his Master ordered it, but he didn't want to!
"Steve is here, and Steve wants to help you," Natasha continued. "You follow his instructions and you protect him. That, to me, sounds like Steve is your Master."
Blue's heart dropped and he rapidly shook his head. "No! Me ― kill! Steve no Master! Master ― hurt! No!" He snapped, bewildered.
"Then, who is your Master, Blue?" Natasha asked, "Where is he?"
"Base," Blue tried again, and Natasha scoffed.
"You don't know where that is, B," She said. "You don't know where your Master is. You, do, know where Steve is ― he's right outside those doors," She pointed to the closed wooden door. Blue could see a bit of the back of Steve's head from the window. "You protect Steve, you help Steve, B. You might want to update your morals before you decide to kill him."
Blue looked at the bed, shocked and scared. "What ― do?" He asked, and she smiled.
"Keep Steve safe," Natasha explained.
"Kill ― Steve," Blue tried to substitute.
"Not anymore, B," Natasha said, "Steve's your Master, now."