Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 75 - I Don't Recognize You Anymore

She didn't really know how or when the alias Viceroy had popped up, but she wasn't appalled by it. And after a bit of research, she actually came to like it quite a bit.

Apparently, the Viceroy butterfly was a known mimic in the animal world. It copies the wing pattern of the Monarch butterfly, which is known to be noxious-tasting to predators. In doing so, the Viceroy cleverly avoids getting eaten.

It was only later it was discovered that the Viceroy itself was just as unpalatable as the monarch. Which was a bit ironic.

So, in short, her new nickname had come into life for being a mimic.

And while there were quite a few mutants with similar powers to hers, nobody ever connected her to Topaz again. Something she was grateful for. Maybe it was because Topaz and Keira were known for being blondes, while her lengths now sported a deep mahogany color.

"P- Please don't." Alexandra begged desperately, her eyes bulging slightly from the pressure around her throat. During all her years of working with Keira, she had never seen the mutant this ruthless.

There had always been a streak of humanity in her, even when Topaz was supposed to be all that the girl knew. This was exactly why Alexandra had gone to some extent to keep herself hidden.

Because when the bodies of former associates of HYDRA turned up dead, she was the one who realized the pattern. It was always people who had been involved with Topaz, one way or another. And the more bodies that turned up, it became clear that the killer was working their way to the top, which just happened to be her.

"I can recall every time, every time I begged you to stop. I remember the tears streaming down my cheeks as I begged on my bare knees for you to make it stop. Did you ever listen? No, not even once. So why should I grant you that kindness?" Keira hissed, tightening her grip around the scientist's throat as their faces were mere inches from each other. The temptation to just crush the woman's windpipe was hanging over her like a dark cloud, but she had another plan.

Only when Alexandra's face started to turn blue from the lack of oxygen, did Keira release her grip completely. "But I have something different in mine for you."

Alexandra's legs wouldn't carry her, so she fell to her knees, massaging her throat while gasping for some much-needed air. She did not like the tone Keira's voice held, and it sent such a violent shiver down her spine that she feared what the mutant might have in store for her.

Keira took a step away from the crouching scientist and rolled her eyes. It was fascinating to witness how quickly a human could fall from the top of the pyramid to the bottom of it.

All it took was a more sophisticated predator.

Everywhere her eyes landed, a shiny surface met her gaze. From the crystallized flowers in the window to the five petrified guards, and Keira couldn't even bring herself to feel guilty. During her rogue year, she had lost count of how many lives she had taken. But they all had been involved with HYDRA, so how good of a person could they possibly have been?

She was just doing the public a service, those who remained anyway. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. "If I were to let you go, and the police would catch you... You would just rat me out and-"

"No! No, I wouldn't!" Alexandra interjected, shaking her head violently.

"Quiet!" Keira raised her hand, and even though she wasn't even close to touching the scientist, Alexandra flinched as if she had been slapped. The mutant crouched down, and her voice turned softer, almost as if she was consoling the crying woman in front of her. "If you were to be stripped of your memories, your very core... Everything that makes you, well... you. Then you wouldn't have the possibility to snitch on me, even if you wanted to. And with nightmares haunting your sleep every time you dare to relax... Well, it wouldn't take long until your sanity slipped away from you. You would see it disappear bit by bit, like sand slipping through your fingers. Now, that seems like a more fitting fate, does it not?"