Playing with Fire

14. The Scorched

Peters Pov

I woke up with a gasp. The light was so bright against my eyes that I didn't know where I was. I started to panic as the memories came rushing back with the pounding I felt on the back of my head.

"Woah, kid, take it easy," Tony's face came into view, "you took a pretty hard hit back there... you alright?"

My eyes adjusted to my surroundings and I could tell I was in the med bay. I thought of how much time must have passed since I blacked out. "No, no I'm not okay," I hopped off the table and went on, "I let them get away... with Y/N!"

"Kid don't blame yourself, this is on all of us. They had us panicked and unsettled so we rushed into a mission because we felt threatened."

"What are we going to do?! We can't... I can't lose her," I looked down at my feet trying to imagine my life without her when I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I looked up to meet Tony's gaze.

"She's apart of the family now, we aren't letting her go that easy. The good news is we can track her since she was wearing her suit. The bad news is that they must be in transit in an armored vehicle cause the signal isn't coming through. As soon as she stops, we will be ready to go after them. We'll destroy that weapon, get her out of there and take down Hydra once and for all, we just have to be patient until then."

"How can you be so sure everything will work out? I... I don't want to keep losing people I care about."

"Peter, you know just as well as I do, that Y/N is a strong girl, she has been for all these years, we just have to have faith that she will be a little bit longer. Plus we're pretty kick-ass ourselves if I do say so." He had a point. Y/N was one of the strongest people I knew, I just can't stand the thought of them hurting her again.

Tony turned away from me to the door as he yelled back, "Try and get some rest. Something tells me we're gonna need it."

The doors shut behind him and I was left alone with my thoughts. "Y/N, please just hang in there a little longer.."

Y/N's POV

I was a little girl again, although this time the scene wasn't as inviting. I looked down and my skin was dusted with black soot. Parts of my dress had been burned away. I was kneeling in a pile of ash, the world still smoking around me. I looked around to notice that I was in the middle of a demolished house, the debris littered all around me. Some parts of the house still fed little flames. A charred hand with a diamond ring still on the finger was propped out from a pile of rubble. I kept staring waiting for it to move, but it stayed there still and lifeless.

I heard some whispers and movement outside the crater I was in. I started climbing until I was met by a pair of feet in my face. I followed the legs up to the body, then all the way up to his face.

He held his hand out to me and I took it as he said, "What happened my dear?"

I looked up at him confused. Was I supposed to know him? I answered, "There...was a fire"

"Do you know your name?" I shook my head in response and glanced back at the hand piercing out from the pile back down behind me.

"Is mommy okay?"

He grabbed my hand and started leading me away. "We will give you a new name and a place to live in. Your old family is gone, Hydra is your family now."

I started to cry until he continued talking, "You don't have to be sad, we will make you forget so you don't have to remember what happened here."

He loaded me into a truck and I looked at the big oak tree in the distance burning. The flames so hot they were melting the rubber on the tire swing.

"Look here," the man said, and I turned to see but was met with a bright white flash, and just like that the memories of my old life were gone.

I woke to a bright light shining down above me. I wasn't sure where I was but I felt restraints on my arms, legs, hips, and neck. I kept blinking as my eyes began to adjust and when it did I might as well just passed right back out my heart dropped so low. I recognized this room. It was the room Dr. Malcolm conducted his tests on me each week. I began to struggle even more knowing that I was back with Hydra. No, I thought, this can't be happening! Whatever drug they used on me back at Avengers Tower still hasn't worn off.

"Ahh, I see you're finally up," I heard footsteps walk into my sight of view. It was a man with half his face covered in a metal mask.

"Who are you and what do you want with me."

"What?! You don't recognize your old friend Dr. Malcolm?" he took off the mask to reveal a half scorched face. I cringed at the sight. "Your last parting gift...Don't worry, you're going to help me get even by leveling the city."

"I would rather die before I help Hydra again."

"Oh honey, you're going to die either way. You don't really have a choice here."

I started struggling even more, however without my powers it was useless. I laid there still as he prepared materials at a table adjacent to me.

"If this is it for me, can I at least ask you something?"

He turned to me and replied, "Go ahead."

"Why did you take me away from my family,... why did you have to kill them?"

He started chuckling as he grabbed a syringe filled with red ooze from the table. "Hydra saved you. We took you in and gave you a place to go-"

"YOU USED ME!"

"I like to look at it as more of a win-win situation. You helped us, we helped you."

"YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!"

"Did we? Now that you aren't taking your memory suppressors and are getting your memories back, think long and hard about that day I got you out. Everything was on fire, and you were an unstable child who didn't know what they were doing. We were just there to clean up the mess."

My eyes went wide. No... No there is no way I could have done that. Before I could continue to soak in my despair, Dr. Malcolm jabbed the syringe into my neck. I let out a pained yell as the serum entered my body.

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Published: 6/12/2020