Ruined in the Shadows
Chapter 07
"How did you know to come here, Steve?" Bruce asks, still bewildered at the events that just occurred in the Avengers mansion.
Steve breaks our hug. "My Avengers card went off. Thor told me to come here because you were all in trouble," he answers.
Everyone turns to Thor. "I sensed the magic coming from the Enchantress. I knew then that we needed everyone to help with this one." Thor pats Steve on the shoulder.
"Well, it's great to have you back, Cap," Tony says, smiling.
"'Back'? What do you mean 'back'?" The super soldier asks.
There is silence. But then Natasha finally says something. "Well... aren't you coming back?"
Steve looks away, thinking. He then gazes over at me. "Well, only if it's okay with Skylar." He bites his lip.
Everyone begins staring holes into me. My brows furrow together as I start to grow uneasy. I am very remorseful toward Steve for what went down between us but I'm not sure if I want him back. Just as I'm trying to decide, a significant memory pops into my head:
I watch the hallway through the laser barrier. I hear the footsteps. Suddenly, the visitor appears in my doorway. A six-foot-tall man with golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes stands there, watching me. "Steve!" I gasp in surprise. I run to the barrier. Volts rattle through my body but it's not enough to incapacitate me.
"Hello, Skylar," he says with that winning smile. "How are you?"
"Well, I'm great now!" I say with a laugh. "What are you doing here?" My brows furrow together.
"I'm here to get you out!" He shrugs his shoulders.
"What? How?" I ask in excitement.
"I just kept working my way up through the channels of government, pleading your case. Finally, I got to the president. He was so impressed and appreciative with what you did to save New York that he put in for your release. And since he's the president, it worked! Congratulations!" His grin grows even larger.
"Oh my God! Are you serious? Obama appreciates me? Holy shit!" I squeal and start jumping up and down. Then my collar is activated and I fall to the floor from the burn running through my body.
"What's wrong?" Steve asks, dropping to his knees. His eyes are full of concern.
"It's... just... my collar," I whisper in between gasps.
"What does that do?"
I pause for a minute as I slowly stand up. That one wasn't so bad. "It's my collar," I say, hoarse. "Whenever my heart rate gets up to high, it injects me with depressant drugs. They believe that when I get excited or upset, it activates my powers. I have to wear it 24/7." I clap my hands and shrug.
"That's sick!" Steve says, his voice thick with disgust. He then looks down the hallway. "Oh, here comes the guard!"
A burly man in all black with the SHIELD crest on his jacket comes into my view. He pulls out a keychain and unlocks my cell. The laser barrier dissolves and I jump into Steve's arms.
"Thank you so much, Steve! You're the greatest!" I say against his rock hard chest.
"You're welcome," he says into my hair.
I smile at the thought of Steve doing all he could to get me out of prison. It reminds me of the sweet, caring, loving person Steve is. He has always loved me no matter what. He knows about all the dark things in my past but he doesn't care. That leads me to another memory:
I launch myself on top of The Man. He and Steve watch in horror as I start ripping the flesh off of my ex-captor's body. With each gouge of my fingertips, my heart beats faster and louder. I close my eyes but then force myself to open them. The Man's face is pained and disturbed. Blood flies at me and past me. His shiny crimson insides begin to spill out of his abdomen. I growl as The Man lets out a blood-curdling scream, but yet I don't hear it. I don't hear anything but the loud ringing in my ears. This is the price I pay.
I feel like I'm on top of the world. Nothing can stop me now. But yet I hate what I'm doing. I despise myself for it. Am I really much that better than The Man? Have I been reduced to his level? Every second I just sicken myself even more with what I'm doing. I hold back vomit as I finish. When I'm satisfied with ripping him apart, I jump off the table.
"What are you doing? You haven't finished!" Steve says with an unbelievable expression in his face. He looks a little pale.
I then see the memory of me attacking The Man on the floor of the room. I see my smaller body tear him to shreds. My eyes are glowing even brighter than they were at the battle with Loki. I see the white light shining out of my fingertips. I never saw this before. I was too busy trying to destroy him. Was I always this powerful?
"I'm going to finish now." I'm surprised to hear my voice has changed into a low growling sound.
I pick up my sword from the ground and hold it steady in my hands. I wait next to the bleeding, mutilated body of The Man. I wait until my breathing has calmed. I can hear my heart beating in my ears. I feel a drop of sweat start at my hairline, travel down my forehead and drip off my nose. The drip is tinted pink from the blood. It's so quiet that I can hear the drop hit the tile floor. I inhale and count to three. I slam the sword down onto The Man's neck, decapitating him. I then pull my pistol and empty the clip into him.
I look up at Steve with a blank look. He has some blood splatter on his body. We stand there for what seems like an hour. Finally, Steve approaches me. He stands really close to me.
"I did it," I whisper, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "I finally did it." I smile weakly.
Steve stares deeply into my eyes. He wipes a sweaty chunk of hair out of my face, smearing the blood splatter. "Yes, you did," he says with kind smile. He then leans in. I drop my sword as Steve kisses me deeply.
Ah, our first kiss. It was such a strange environment for our relationship to blossom in that way but that's how Steve is. No matter how fucked up I am, he still loves me. Even though he saw me savagely slaughter a man, he still loves me. I never thought I would be lucky enough to have someone to care about me the way he does--let alone at all.
I break out of my trance and look Steve in the eye. "Yeah, I'm alright with it. You can stay." I give him a half-smile. Everyone begins cheering, happy to have the team back together, and I leave them, going up to my room. I quickly undress and heat up my shower to a simmering temperature. I step in and let the water pour over my soft purple curls.
After a few moments, I feel someone behind me. A familiar naked figure stands against me. Steve wraps his arms around my waist and lays his head against the back of my neck. He kisses my neck. "I'm sorry," he whispers.
Steve breaks our hug. "My Avengers card went off. Thor told me to come here because you were all in trouble," he answers.
Everyone turns to Thor. "I sensed the magic coming from the Enchantress. I knew then that we needed everyone to help with this one." Thor pats Steve on the shoulder.
"Well, it's great to have you back, Cap," Tony says, smiling.
"'Back'? What do you mean 'back'?" The super soldier asks.
There is silence. But then Natasha finally says something. "Well... aren't you coming back?"
Steve looks away, thinking. He then gazes over at me. "Well, only if it's okay with Skylar." He bites his lip.
Everyone begins staring holes into me. My brows furrow together as I start to grow uneasy. I am very remorseful toward Steve for what went down between us but I'm not sure if I want him back. Just as I'm trying to decide, a significant memory pops into my head:
I watch the hallway through the laser barrier. I hear the footsteps. Suddenly, the visitor appears in my doorway. A six-foot-tall man with golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes stands there, watching me. "Steve!" I gasp in surprise. I run to the barrier. Volts rattle through my body but it's not enough to incapacitate me.
"Hello, Skylar," he says with that winning smile. "How are you?"
"Well, I'm great now!" I say with a laugh. "What are you doing here?" My brows furrow together.
"I'm here to get you out!" He shrugs his shoulders.
"What? How?" I ask in excitement.
"I just kept working my way up through the channels of government, pleading your case. Finally, I got to the president. He was so impressed and appreciative with what you did to save New York that he put in for your release. And since he's the president, it worked! Congratulations!" His grin grows even larger.
"Oh my God! Are you serious? Obama appreciates me? Holy shit!" I squeal and start jumping up and down. Then my collar is activated and I fall to the floor from the burn running through my body.
"What's wrong?" Steve asks, dropping to his knees. His eyes are full of concern.
"It's... just... my collar," I whisper in between gasps.
"What does that do?"
I pause for a minute as I slowly stand up. That one wasn't so bad. "It's my collar," I say, hoarse. "Whenever my heart rate gets up to high, it injects me with depressant drugs. They believe that when I get excited or upset, it activates my powers. I have to wear it 24/7." I clap my hands and shrug.
"That's sick!" Steve says, his voice thick with disgust. He then looks down the hallway. "Oh, here comes the guard!"
A burly man in all black with the SHIELD crest on his jacket comes into my view. He pulls out a keychain and unlocks my cell. The laser barrier dissolves and I jump into Steve's arms.
"Thank you so much, Steve! You're the greatest!" I say against his rock hard chest.
"You're welcome," he says into my hair.
I smile at the thought of Steve doing all he could to get me out of prison. It reminds me of the sweet, caring, loving person Steve is. He has always loved me no matter what. He knows about all the dark things in my past but he doesn't care. That leads me to another memory:
I launch myself on top of The Man. He and Steve watch in horror as I start ripping the flesh off of my ex-captor's body. With each gouge of my fingertips, my heart beats faster and louder. I close my eyes but then force myself to open them. The Man's face is pained and disturbed. Blood flies at me and past me. His shiny crimson insides begin to spill out of his abdomen. I growl as The Man lets out a blood-curdling scream, but yet I don't hear it. I don't hear anything but the loud ringing in my ears. This is the price I pay.
I feel like I'm on top of the world. Nothing can stop me now. But yet I hate what I'm doing. I despise myself for it. Am I really much that better than The Man? Have I been reduced to his level? Every second I just sicken myself even more with what I'm doing. I hold back vomit as I finish. When I'm satisfied with ripping him apart, I jump off the table.
"What are you doing? You haven't finished!" Steve says with an unbelievable expression in his face. He looks a little pale.
I then see the memory of me attacking The Man on the floor of the room. I see my smaller body tear him to shreds. My eyes are glowing even brighter than they were at the battle with Loki. I see the white light shining out of my fingertips. I never saw this before. I was too busy trying to destroy him. Was I always this powerful?
"I'm going to finish now." I'm surprised to hear my voice has changed into a low growling sound.
I pick up my sword from the ground and hold it steady in my hands. I wait next to the bleeding, mutilated body of The Man. I wait until my breathing has calmed. I can hear my heart beating in my ears. I feel a drop of sweat start at my hairline, travel down my forehead and drip off my nose. The drip is tinted pink from the blood. It's so quiet that I can hear the drop hit the tile floor. I inhale and count to three. I slam the sword down onto The Man's neck, decapitating him. I then pull my pistol and empty the clip into him.
I look up at Steve with a blank look. He has some blood splatter on his body. We stand there for what seems like an hour. Finally, Steve approaches me. He stands really close to me.
"I did it," I whisper, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "I finally did it." I smile weakly.
Steve stares deeply into my eyes. He wipes a sweaty chunk of hair out of my face, smearing the blood splatter. "Yes, you did," he says with kind smile. He then leans in. I drop my sword as Steve kisses me deeply.
Ah, our first kiss. It was such a strange environment for our relationship to blossom in that way but that's how Steve is. No matter how fucked up I am, he still loves me. Even though he saw me savagely slaughter a man, he still loves me. I never thought I would be lucky enough to have someone to care about me the way he does--let alone at all.
I break out of my trance and look Steve in the eye. "Yeah, I'm alright with it. You can stay." I give him a half-smile. Everyone begins cheering, happy to have the team back together, and I leave them, going up to my room. I quickly undress and heat up my shower to a simmering temperature. I step in and let the water pour over my soft purple curls.
After a few moments, I feel someone behind me. A familiar naked figure stands against me. Steve wraps his arms around my waist and lays his head against the back of my neck. He kisses my neck. "I'm sorry," he whispers.
5/23/13