" though i saw it coming. it still hurt. "
TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD, TORTURE, INJURY.
Ash had spent a week in his new cell, in the meantime, he heard from Lady Rouge that the others had tried to rescue him from the base in the Swiss Alps but failed. Now, he believed he was in France, once again in the mountains. Rouge didn't come around as often as he thought but whenever she did he was in a world of pain. This day just happened to be one. She walked in with Rift in tow, he had been lying on the floor from the last time he'd been tortured. Ash looked up and felt Lady Rouge go into his head, she discovered his powers already and found the information somewhat useful but she found that all the Information about his friends invaluable. She stopped and sighed.
"You're losing your value." She said.
Ash didn't say anything and waited for the torture to ensue. She nodded to Rift who grinned, he walked over to him and kicked his nose, it cracked loudly and Ash felt his eyes water. He grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to a chair that was bolted to the floor. Ash was practically thrown onto it, his arms were suddenly bound together By Rouge's powers and kept in one place. Rift drew his knife and stabbed him in the abdomen, Ash screamed and gritted his teeth, the knife was twisted around before being pulled out and dropped to the floor.
"Should I kill him when I get bored?" Rift asked.
Rouge nodded, "Yes, he's losing his usefulness." She replied.
He smirked and turned back to Ash, who was coughing up blood. Drawing another knife, he pulled his head up by the hair and dragged the blade across his eye, Ash screamed and suddenly, his throat was slashed. Rift sighed and brought out his gun,
"Kinda overkill, but oh well!" He smiled, firing it at Ash's head.
Ash quickly saw black and expected to be in some kind of afterlife, but he was floating. As much as he hated the torture, how could he leave everyone behind? Suddenly, he felt himself being pushed back. He jolted up and coughed violently, finding his wounds were fully healed, his eyes watered and he shock came to be too much, he felt a horrified whimper slip from his mouth. Lady Rouge and Rift stared at him in shock as he couldn't bring himself to speak, only muttering the lyrics to 'We'll Meet Again'. Rouge's lips curled in a grin and she turned to Rift.
"I want you to begin experimentation, if the symbiote won't work, then he will." She ordered.
Rift nodded and they both left the room, locking the door behind them. The pair walked through the corridors,
"We'll need to move them to our base in Mont Blanc, my lab there is far more advanced and we'd see greater progress." Rift explained.
"Very well, we'll transport them in a few days. For now, do what you can." She said, walking ahead.
He stopped and turned to go to his lab. Lady Rouge continued on her way, she had a feeling that the Avengers would be coming soon but she didn't know when.
***
Fury had sent agent after agent to find where Rouge was or where any of her bases were because even though the Avengers had stormed the base in the Swiss Alps, there was little to no information on the files inside the building. Tony had been trying to find Ash with whatever intel he got, he hadn't slept in days, none of the Avengers have. Josh had frequent panic attacks, he was terrified that he would be told his father was dead, he'd already lost his mother, he didn't want to lose anyone else. Natasha walked into the lab to bring something to drink for Bruce, finding instead Tony skimming through things.
"Jarvis, can you check that?" He said, spotting something unusual.
"Tony, why do you care so much about this?" Natasha questioned.
"What? Why wouldn't I?" Tony said defensively.
"You never cared about Ash, never showed any affection, why now? Are you guilty?" Natasha asked carefully.
He hesitated, "Ash is our teammate and I'm doing whatever I can to find him."
"Sir, I believe I've found something of value." Jarvis said.
"What is it?" Tony questioned.
"Rift was spotted in France just yesterday and the French military reported an unregistered military grade plane travelling towards Mont Blanc." He reported.
"That's where Ash is. It has to be." Natasha said.
"We don't have time to send someone to check it out. We need to go now." Tony said, walking out of the lab to talk to the other Avengers.
Natasha quickly followed him and they gathered everyone in the briefing room. Tony quickly explained that he'd pinpointed where Ash was and they immediately suited up, they were getting him out of there, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Ash had been experimented on throughout the past two days. His blood had been taken as well as other parts of his DNA, he didn't know why he was needed by them for it but he felt too tired and delirious to care. He hadn't stopped singing ever since he died. Currently, he was strapped to a lab table, blaring lights were in his eyes and he muttered the lyrics under his breath. Rift was working in complete silence, the only sound was him and the incoming footsteps of Lady Rouge approaching, she walked into the lab and puffed a stream of smoke from her lips.
"How's the progress?" She questioned.
"We're getting somewhere, My Lady. His DNA is constantly in perfect condition and when I kill him he just comes back but stronger. It might be what we need for Gabrielle." Rift explained.
Rouge looked over at Ash and walked over to him, taking his chin and turning his face to her but his eyes didn't move. She hummed in thought and moved her hand away, bringing her cigarette holder back to her lips. Rift looked at her expectantly and she glanced at him, puffing out smoke from her mouth.
"Bring him to the cell, I want you to keep killing him in a variety of ways so he will be strong enough to be used to create a cure." She ordered.
He nodded and untied Ash, gripping his arm and teleporting to the cell. Rift sighed and rummaged through his utility belt and found his brass knuckles, putting them on his hands, he grabbed Ash by the collar of his SHIELD suit and punched, he didn't relent or show any signs of stopping. Blood splattered over the floor and on Rift's hands, Ash felt the iron substance all over his face and coating his mouth, then he stopped and let go, his body collided with the ground and suddenly, a searing pain surged through his face again. A tooth clattered away from Ash, Rift had kicked his face in and walked over to a table.
"Killing you is such a stress reliever." He smirked.
Ash turned onto his front and coughed up blood, which coated the floor and himself considering his forehead was pressed down. Rift turned to him and walked over, dragging him and putting him on a chair, wasting no time in doing what he planned next, which was burning him. The familiar feeling made Ash scream in agony, the room was filled with his own screams, the pain caused his emotions to ripple and burst from his body. Rift gritted his teeth and tears slipped from his eyes. He knew the extent of the powers he was dealing with and stopped, panting heavily as he stared at Ash angrily, who was in a sobbing heap, back to mumbling the same song over and over.
"God, you won't stop singing, will you?" Rift growled, grabbing a bottle which he held with care.
He took the lid off and gripped Ash's chin, lifting his head up and pouring the substance on his neck and chest. The scream that ripped from the man's mouth echoed throughout the cell and managed to be heard outside the walls. Rift chuckled and moved away.
"Let's see how well you recover from that acid." He laughed, closing the bottle tightly.
Ash made no reply and Rift sighed, putting the bottle back and eyeing a sword on the table. He chuckled and grabbed it, taking Ash by the throat and throwing him into the floor, reading the sword, he swung it down on his leg and cut it off. Ash screamed and gritted his teeth, tears slipping from his eyes, Rift cut off his arm next and plunged the sword into his chest. He stepped away and waited, after a few minutes a cough ripped out of Ash and his limbs were fully connected to his body and healed.
"Interesting, very interesting." Rift smiled.
Suddenly, there were thuds coming from the outside and his comlink sprung to life,
"Rift, you're needed, rendezvous with me now. Make sure to bring our guest."