Memories
Freedom
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I am free. I am free.
The words spiralled around her as she floated in the black oblivion. No more being forced to kill, no more hurting people. She let herself smile. Then she was being wrenched out of the comforting blackness.
"NOOOO!"
"Kid! Stay with us kid!"
It wasn't her handlers. It was someone else. Her eyes opened and she saw a large white letter A.
"Who are...you?"
"I'm Captain America. Are you okay kid?"
"I need…to warn…Charles…Xavier…"
"What? What do you need to warn him?"
"They…they…are going…to…kill him… He…knows…too…much."
"About what?"
"About…me…"
"Who are you?"
Now to die. Now to return to the beautiful dark.
"I am…the…Assassin."
"What…?"
He didn't understand.
"I'm…the one…you're looking…for…"
"You killed the Vice-President?"
"I…can't…help my…myself… If…if I…don't…Eva…will…die…"
"Who is Eva?"
"My…friend…"
"Where is she?"
"Back…at the…facility."
"What facility?"
"The place…they…did…this to…to me…"
"What did they do to you?"
"Turned…turned me…into a…monster…"
"Stay with me. Don't go…"
"I…I want… I want…"
"Tell me. I can get it for you."
"I want you…to…find…Eva… Save her… And…and…"
"Tell me."
"I want…to be free…"
"You are free. Now. You're free."
"Not…not yet…"
"Kid! Kid! Iron Man! Help! She's slipping away!"
"We can't help her Cap. She's dying."
"She can't die! She's just a kid!"
"I'm…going to…to be…be free…"
"Yes. Yes, you will. Just hang on and we can get you to a hospital."
"Don't understand… While…while I'm…alive…can never…be free."
"Kid! Kid! Stay with us!"
"It's too late Steve. Her heart's stopped."
"She…she can't just die."
"She did. But we can honour her wish."
"How?"
"Find Eva. Save Eva. And tell the world what this child went through."
"What?"
"She sent me a message via Extremis. She told me everything about her."
And as Xii finally fell back into the blackness, she smiled. Eva would be free. And she was free. Finally free.
xXx
Xii limped as she was dragged down the corridor. Her mind cried out. WOLVERINE! Her mate. Her lover. He had been injured, so badly injured… She tried to tug at the chains.
"Tigre, stay."
She let out a low moan.
"She wants Wolverine."
"Put her in with Sabretooth. That should satisfy her."
"It won't. Remember? When we put her in last time, she almost killed him."
"Take her to her cage. When Wolverine has been healed, let them out into the forest for an hour together."
She looked up at her handler and tilted her head.
"Yes. It's fine Tigre. He'll be alright."
"You're hopelessly soft on it Jonesy."
"She's smart. Come on, who doesn't know she's smarter than they like to make out. She used to be able to hack the Pentagon without breaking a sweat."
"Yeah. And the adamantium broke her mind."
She snarled. She could talk. She could be human. But she had seen what humans did and she had no desire to be one. Better to be an animal. With the animals, with Wolverine, there was a kindness no human had ever shown her. She yelped as she was pushed into her cell. Her handler smiled.
"There sweetie. He'll be alright. Now, you get some sleep. You did brilliantly on that mission. I'll get you time in the forest, just you and Wolverine. How would you like that?"
She purred. He cared about her in his own way. Like you cared for a pet. She remembered a history lesson, all those years ago. The keepers in the Roman gladiator arenas cared for the animals, especially the ones kept to kill condemned criminals. He thought of her as an animal and she played up to that, learning that acting as a human meant you were treated badly. Guards had more trouble hurting a beast that cowered and whined. She pulled herself onto the mess of straw and rags that served as her bed. Once there, she carefully knelt and cut her boot off. Her leg was swollen and raw from where the dart had dug into it. She'd cut off the shaft but the head was embedded in her calf. She couldn't claw it out. If Wolverine was here, he'd do it for her, but he wasn't. Wincing in preparation for the pain to come, she leant over the wound. And began tearing into the flesh with her teeth in a desperate attempt to remove the dart.
xXx
She sat in silence in the room. The people who had rescued her were kind but there was a hardness inside them. The language barrier didn't help, especially when only one of the men spoke decent French. Even then, it was the French of the Bayou. Not exactly what she was used to. The lucky English-speakers. English was pretty much the same the world over. But even the French of the Quebec was different from the French of her home. Remy entered.
"Etes-vous en bonne santé?"
Are you healthy?
"Un peu."
A little.
"Quel est votre nom?"
What is your name?
"Mon nom est Marie. Marie Circen."
She looked around the room.
"Combien de temps dois-je rester ici?"
How long must I stay here?
"Un, deux semaines."
One, two weeks.
Marie wanted to cry. She had to get home. Her parents would be worrying, her sister would be terrified. Remy crouched down.
"C'est correct. Tout sera très bien. Croyez-moi."
It's okay. Everything's going to be just fine. Trust me.
She smiled weakly. He touched her face.
"I won't let them hurt you."
"The realities she visited told of her mood, didn't they?"
"Of course."