Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 20 - Dreamless Slumber

Alexandra, who had noticed that Keira had fallen behind, clapped her hands together in order to gain her attention. "Come, Topaz. Don't make me repeat myself." She warned, quickening her pace and leading them deeper into the fortress.

"I'm sorry." Keira apologized, her head bowed. She lengthened her steps so she could keep up with the scientist, because getting punished was something she wished to avoid at all costs. When she had finished her slice of bread, she let one of her hands trail along the wall as they turned corner after corner.

It was a bloody maze. While one part of herself couldn't help the feeling of foreboding, not knowing what horrors would be awaiting her, the other part of her was stuck trying to figure out where she had seen the forests before.

Eventually, the scientist stopped dead in front of a metal door, engraved with the HYDRA symbol. They really didn't do subtle, did they? "Here we are." Alexandra said with a satisfied smirk playing on her lips as she pushed the heavy door open.

Keira followed her somewhat warily, since she was unsure what would be awaiting her this time. On top of that, she was still hungry. The moldy piece of bread had done nothing to satisfy her hunger, but there was no way that she would ask for more.

To her surprise, the room didn't seem out of the ordinary. Like always, fluorescent lights hung in the ceiling, which bathed the room in a sterile light, and the shadows lingered in the corners. What was odd about the room, however, was the big machine that was placed at the end of the room. Or maybe machine wasn't exactly the right word.

It was more like a big cylinder, wired with cables and big enough for a person to stand in.

As the doctor stayed by the door, Keira stepped over the threshold and neared the big machine with careful steps. "What is this?" She questioned as she laid her hand on the cold surface of the glass. Surely, this couldn't be too bad? Right?

"This, my darling Topaz, will be our solution to your little metamorphosis problem." Meta-what's it? "You'll be submerged in an alum chromium monohydrate solution, which will, if I have done my calculations correctly, trigger your DNA to expand beyond the limitations of your own body. Once it's been absorbed by your molecules, the transformation should be easy to accomplish." She explained, gesturing towards the giant cylinder. "So, easy enough to understand."

Hah, well the chemical solution surely was a mouthful, that much Keira could agree on. To be honest, she didn't really understand much of it, more than she would be drowned in a mysterious chemical mixture. And that sounded safe enough, or not. "Shall I be in my normal state or not?" She asked monotonously, rolling her shoulders.

"Transformed state. Otherwise, the solution will be pointless." Alexandra answered absentmindedly, eagerly tapping on the keys of the computer beside the cylinder. She was excited to see if her hypothesis was right, although she would have to wait a while for the results.

"Alrighty, boss." Keira sighed, letting her hand fall to her side before transforming. "How long will I be staying in there?" She couldn't help but feel the doubt bubbling in her stomach regarding this plan. How would this possibly help with her powers? For surely, it was more of a mental problem since the diamond had proved itself capable of expanding beyond her own body.

Alexandra lifted her head to look at her. "Oh, let's just say you'll be in there for as long as it's necessary for your molecules to... evolve." She answered vaguely with a sly gleam in her eyes.

Keira just nodded and stepped inside the tube without another word. She couldn't let her own hesitation show, so instead, she focused on the mask that hung from the top of the cylinder. With slow movements, she put it on, making sure it was airtight against her hardened skin. The last thing she wanted was to drown inside a tube because of a simple mistake.