The Scorch || Marvel/HP

74 - Mind Control

Wanda was limited with not only how long she could control Harlow, but also what she could do. She had managed to take control of the girls body and mind to get Harlow to perform Hydra's dirty work, but she failed to harness Harlow's powers. No matter how many times Wanda tried to force Harlow's powers for Hydras needs, she could never manage it. Every time she tried disaster struck. They were unpredictable and uncontrollable, so much so, Pierce banned her from every trying to again. He was more than disappointed that Wanda couldnt harness the girls unique abilities, but he'd rather stay alive and use Harlow's physical abilities. The true aim of Wanda's control was to fuck with her thoughts, morals and memories. Make her see the powerful villain she could be. Through Wanda, Harlow was left believing she chose to act violently to the victims and quickly fell into a headspace she couldn't escape. Harlow truly believed that she was becoming an animal. She had no clue that her mind was being tampered with.

Her fighting skills were unmatched. Originally flawed by Wanda's control. The scariness of Harlow came from her creativity and ruthlessness when she fought. Without her mind being the one in play, she lost those aspects. As time went on, Wanda felt less of a mental push from Harlow and she managed to dig a little deeper in Harlow mind, she was able to learn the viciousness of her ways. Wanda learnt to fuck with Harlow's morals and thoughts to make her want to kill. So while at first Harlow's violent acts were purely controlled and manipulated by Wanda, that could no longer be said. Harlow gained a new thirst for blood that was never present before. The more blood that she shed the hungrier she got for the power.

Her mind become split. Almost as though different identities were taking over. There was the part of her that was overcome with depression and grief. The part of her that just wanted to cease to exist. But then there was this animalistic and cruel part. It was the side to her that found joy in torturing her victims. Hydra had never managed to be so in control of the girl. They had finally managed to completely warp her mind into someone that she hated. Harlow had been given the updated name Slayer. It summed up exactly what she was. A new suit came with the name. An all black attire, made with sharp edges to warn her victims. The whole outfit had very little protective elements installed despite how valuable the girl was to them. Proof of how unkillable they believed the girl to be.
This of course was not true. Nobody was invincible. Something Harlow loved to remind people.

That someone just happened to be one of the people she considered the worst.

Some days Harlow's mind went untampered with. The past times of Wanda taking control still had effects. Her judgement and emotions were left skewed. Destroyed by the previous lack of control Harlow had over her own mind. Her Brain responded snappily and impulsively to whatever was in front of her, barely allowing the girl to make judgements. The dangerous part of the whole mind control situation was that Harlow didn't know she was being manipulated. She truly believed that everything she was doing was her own decisions. Harlow couldn't understand where the sudden craving for violence came from but she knew she couldn't get rid of it. It was consuming and caused her to act rashly.

There was a significant event that marked Harlow's decent into madness.

Harlow was walking through one of the dimly lit hallways, guards following her closely. They were always there. Trailing after her like weak little lost puppies. She managed to ignore their presence, choosing to do as she was told, returning back to her room. Her room had been upgraded since she started to do Hydra's dirty work. It was nothing fancy, still a sorry excuse. She however had been given something that better resembled a bed rather than just a dirty mattress lying in the floor. She had been given the luxury of a end table next to her bed and a small bookcase with random book in various languages. Apart from that everything was pretty much the same.

Her walk down the hallway was disrupted by someone she hadn't wanted to see. Something else that stayed the same. Joseph Kent was still bothering her. He would always wait on her in the hallway, order the guards away and then escort her back to her room. He thought the consistency of his presence would prove to be positive. He believed it would help him prove that he truly cared for the girl and wanted to be there for her. Harlow couldn't deny that there was a tingle of happiness whenever the man greeted her. However, as soon as she saw his face the desire to punch him was very much there. The violent impulses only worsen when Charlotte Wilson would eventually come round the corner.