Rogue (An Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 24: Flashback - Part 2

The next day, on the way to school, Hazel told Sam everything that had happened the evening before.

"Where will you go?" he asked. She shrugged, not wanting to admit that she didn't care where they ended up, as long as they were away from that house, from that man. "I'll miss you," he said as an afterthought. She smiled to herself, no one had ever said that they'd miss her before.

"As soon as we get settled I'll write to you, tell you where we are!" she promised. The way she spoke about it, it almost seemed like a fantasy. Like she was telling a story about a woman and her daughter who would finally get to live happily ever after.

"Still coming to that concert tonight?" he asked.

"Of course," she said with another beaming smile. One last night of fun with her best friend would be the perfect way to remember the good things about this place, the things worth remembering.

***

They walked home after the concert, talking about anything and everything that came into their heads. They were both sure that this would be their last conversation. As they reached their road, Hazel knew immediately that something was wrong. Her front door was open slightly. Her mother never left it open.

"I have to go," she said urgently. Sam followed her gaze and immediately became guarded.

"Maybe we should call someone?" he asked. "The police?"

Hazel shook her head. "It's nothing, mom probably just forgot..." she said, trying to quell the anxiety that was bubbling in her chest. Sam knew as well as she did that her mother was never careless.

"Let's just... go to mine. Let's call the cops," he tried to reason with her.

"You call them. I'll just see if everything is OK," she said, walking slowly towards the house, ignoring the shouts of protest from Sam.

"Mom?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"Hazel?" her mother asked. "Hazel sweetie, are you home?" she sounded different... guarded. Hazel didn't answer, walking towards her mother's voice and stopping in the kitchen, where she saw her tied to a chair.

"Mom!" she said urgently, running towards the woman.

"Hazel, run!" she said, tears falling from her face. Hazel stopped still, looking around the room for danger. She saw nothing. "Run!" her mother said again. This time, she took the advice. She turned around and was immediately grabbed.

"Mom!" she screamed, trying to fight against the strong grip of this person, with no success. It was funny, people often used the phrase 'you throw like a 12 year old girl' or 'you run like a 12 year old girl'. Hazel Miller was a 12 year old girl – she had no hope of getting away from the man who had grabbed her. "Please!" she pleaded with him. Then they heard sirens coming up the road. It sounded like one car, the car with only two weakly trained officers inside, just coming to check things out, not expecting any real danger. With this, the man held her tighter, holding a hand over her mouth and using his other hand to point a gun at her head, which was enough to make her mom keep silent.

There was a knock at the door. They held their breath, Hazel silently begging the officer to break down the door and rescue them. However, after a minute, it was clear that the officer had left.

"You're coming with me," he said in her ear, pulling her towards the door.

"No!" she shouted, pulling against him as best she could. He slammed her head against the wall as hard as he could, instantly knocking her out. Mia screamed in outrage as Joseph came down the stairs. He nodded at the man before turning to his wife.

"You should've done what I asked," he said menacingly.

"I couldn't... she's my daughter," she said, watching as the man took her daughter out of the house. "Please don't let him take her."

"He wouldn't have to take her if you'd given her to me like we agreed."

"I needed your help. I needed the money..." she said, tears streaming down her face.

"We had a deal. We needed someone, a child, to do experiments on. We're trying to create an army of Super Soldiers. Hazel was my first choice, but since you won't let me have her, I'm taking her." He walked to the door, leaving her tied up.

"Don't take my baby, please!" she pleaded. He ignored her, slamming the door behind himself and leaving her there. He failed to notice Sam watching him, hiding behind the wall that separated their two houses. What could he do?

As Joseph got into the car, Sam watched them drive away with an unconscious Hazel in the back. He couldn't help but think that this would be the last time he'd ever see his best friend...

***

Hazel awoke to bright lights surrounding her. She was disorientated, forgetting momentarily the events of the day before. With a start, she instantly remembered.

"Help me!" she screamed as loud as she could, hoping that someone, anyone, could hear her. Within minutes, the door opened and her stepfather walked in, a man by his side.

"Ah, good morning Hazel," he said with a smirk on his face. "Please stop screaming, it really makes us feel uneasy."

"What am I doing here? What are you gonna do to me? Where's mom?"

"One question at a time," he warned. "You're here because we need you. We're going to conduct a series of experiments and, hopefully, you'll end up becoming a Super Soldier, one that we will use for our own gain. If you don't, we'll dispose of you. It's very simple really."

"You won't get away with this!" Hazel said, fighting against the ropes that tied her to the table that she was lying on.

"Ah, that's where he comes in," Joseph said, pointing at the man beside him. "This is Agent Frollo."

Hazel looked uneasily at the man. He smiled at her, taking a device out of his pocket. "What's that?" she asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Frollo said, holding up the device. "This is to erase your memory."

"What? No!" she said. But there was nothing that she could do. As he held the device up to her ears, her face cleared. After a minute, he stopped it.

"What's your name?" Joseph asked. The girl in front of him had no recognition in her eyes.

"I... I don't know," she said, looking scared.

Joseph and Frollo looked at each other – the first part of their plan was complete.

***

Falcon finished his story and I released my hold on him. I sat down on the floor. This was too much information to take in at one time.

I remembered when we first met. He was so surprised when he saw me. Surprised but happy – until I told him that he was thinking of the wrong person. How long had it taken for him to realise what had happened to me? When had he decided to keep it a secret? Why had he decided to keep my whole childhood from me? Why hadn't he come looking for me?

"I'm... sorry," Falcon said, not knowing what else he could say.

I ignored him. Now I knew what I had to do. I had to find her. I had to find my mother.

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Thanks so much for reading and for getting Rogue to over 10,000 views, that's insane!

So, now Rogue knows the truth, will she be able to find her mother? And what will happen if she does? Find out next Saturday!

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