{CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR}
"The truth is that you're just a silly little girl who is nothing more than a murderer."
With Deaths words at the forefront of her mind, Harlow fought to stay alive. She forced her body to heal from all the torture she was confronted with. It was a complete one-eighty turn that completely shocked Pierce and the rest of Hydra. It had been an unexpected twist that made the man more than happy. Harlow wasn't forcing herself to live because she wished to keep breathing. She was purely doing what she needed to do to get her peace. The so called "fates" needed her alive for something and Harlow knew that the something would come much faster if she stopped lying lifelessly.
Harlow wasn't even really all that curious about what she was needed for. She had no clue how long she needed to be around for. She just hoped it was sooner rather than later. The girl felt immense self hatred for her cowardly ways. She knew that there was people that needed her, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. The Marauder boys had each other. They had survived quite successfully and contently without her before. The Avengers had not only each other but their own personal lives to keep them busy. Finnic and Jasmine had each other and they had been getting on fine while she was still in Scotland. Regulus and Evan would most likely become unhappy death eaters, but Harlow doubted she'd be much help in preventing that anyway.
All the hope that the girl used to have in her body, had completely disappeared. Harlow started to believe that everything could get better and improve. She naively believed that she'd get better and become good. The reality of the situation was simple. It was clear.
Harlow Loughty is not a good person. She's a murderer and a vicious creature that, in the past, had commit such atrocious and damaging acts.
She used to believed that Hydra told her all of that just to break her up into little fragments of a person. But, she knew their words were true. Harlow wasn't a hero. She didn't represent light and hope for the world. She represented a unique type of darkness. A darkness that used it awfulness for good the majority of the time. It wasn't enough for Harlow to know that there was a specialness to her darkness. All she cared for was the poisonous nature that was present in almost everything she does. The beloved and heroic "Scorch" that she was known by, was made up by evil. Her abilities were shaped by her Hydra adoptive parents and later on the rest of Hydra. She was born from cruelty and was destined to have the same fate. She knew that now. Harlow Loughty saw herself to be exactly what Hydra wanted. She saw herself as a disgusting and tortuous villain. In their eyes she was their perfect weapon. To them, her darkness was exactly what provided them with hope and excitement.
So while Harlow had stopped trying to actively kill herself, it was still the end goal. It was a thought that always consumed her mind. Her hatred for herself was overpowering and managed to remain intact and very present in her brain even when her brain wasn't hers to control. Wanda could feel the other girls self deprecating thoughts herself. They were so strong that Wanda couldn't get rid of them. Even when Harlow was actively under Wanda's control, doing exactly as the girl mentally instructed her, those thoughts were still there. It made it harder for Wanda to concentrate with the task at hand.
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.
It was almost as if she could smell them. Finally getting on despite all of the hatred and resentment that lingered in the background. It truly seems like all Charlotte cared for was making Harlow miserable. She would appear at the worst of times, acting as a reminder for every fucked up thing Joseph did. Her presence reminded Harlow of everything she lost when she was first taken by Hydra.
As a result of the woman, Harlow's decent mood soured. Usually when faced with her adoptive mother, Harlow would send her a snide remark before vanishing as quick as she could. Not this time.
Charlotte was being her usual rude self. Making fun of Harlow. Mocking Harlow endlessly about anything to do with Hydra. "It's almost alarming how easily Hydra recaptured you." She commented, aiming to strike the nerve in Harlow. To Charlotte the one thing she strived for was to help Hydra create their perfect soldier. It was the one thing she wanted in life. She grew a resentment when Harlow fucked that up for her when she escaped. Ever since then she vowed to do whatever it took to complete their mission. She believed harsh criticism coming from a mother figure would force Harlow to work harder to prove her wrong.
Harlow had her own hatred for the woman. She couldn't understand how anyone could be so manipulative and cruel. Compared to Joseph, Charlotte was the perfect candidate for being a Hydra worker. All she cared about was her own personal gain. "The alarming thing should be that I escaped. That Hydra is too incompetent to do anything important." Harlow retorted, tilting her head slightly to one side as she glared at the woman.
The woman raised an eyebrow, surprised by the girl engagement. A humorous laugh fell from her lips as her eyes scanned the girls face. "At that time we just valued The Winter Soldier more." She quipped, a fake smile forming on her lips.
Harlow narrowed her eyes, "Even I know that's not true." She scoffed loudly, shaking her head lightly in disbelief, "He was the only one that you could control." She added, knowing it was the real reason that Hydra prioritised keeping him rather than fighting to keep her.
Charlotte forced a puff of air out of her noise. "You really think that's why?" She rhetorically asked, taking a step towards Harlow. "We knew if we lost him, we wouldn't get him back. He's a lot smarter than you. He's a lot more capable at surviving on his own."
Harlow couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "You are kidding me right?" She immediately responded her tone filled with irritation as she felt her blood start to heat up. "You do realise that I'm an Avenger right?"
Charlotte simply nodded her head, not even offering the girl a reply with words. Until an idea sparked in her head. "You seem awful silent Agent Kent." She spat, grabbing his shoulder. "Might you have something to add to this discussion?"
Harlow stepped forward, grabbing the woman hand, squeezing it tightly as she forcibly removed it from Joseph's shoulder. "Watch yourself." Harlow warned, in a dangerously low tone, clenching her jaw as she released the woman's wrist reluctantly.
"We waited." Charlotte told her, pausing for dramatic effect. "We waited until you had something to loose. Until you showed your powers. We had to be prepared to stop you from using your powers against us and we also had to have leverage and grief." She continued, stepping closer once again. "We waited so we could twist you into our perfect soldier."
Harlow digested her words for a minute, swallowing deeply as she did so. Silence erupted in the room and Joseph didn't know what to do. He had learnt from previous occasions that it was best for him to stay quite during their fights. That and the fact that's he's a coward. He felt Harlow's eyes drifting to his, looking for some kind of reassurance or a sign to support what she did. "You're lying." She claimed in denial, her breathing starting to quicken as she rethought everything since her escape. If what Charlotte said was true then that meant that Harlow had never really cut ties with them. They were always thinking about her, planning their great project. It meant Harlow wasn't as independent or witty as she thought she was. A large part of her was filled with endless amounts of pride since she managed to outsmart Hydra. "That's not true!"
Charlotte laughed again, this time it was filled with joy. "Just because you don't want something to be true, doesn't mean that it's a lie." She replied, a large grin spreading across her face as she could see Harlow's physical appearance falter while her brain went into stress mode. "The truth is that you're just a silly little girl who is nothing more than a murderer."
Harlow clenched her fists at her sides, forcing herself to take in slow breaths while she tried to calm herself down. "That's not true." She denied. Her head was starting to hurt from how muddled it became. Multiple violent thoughts sprung into her mind at a deafening volume. They were screaming at Harlow to kill her. To show Charlotte the pain she had caused her. To finally put a stop to Charlotte hateful words.
"You're nothing more than a soldier. A mindless little soldier who better do as they say. We may not have been able to control you before but we're better equipped now. You think you're the most powerful person here... well I can assure you you're not." Charlotte retorted, taking a final step towards Harlow which put them at less than a metre apart.
One of Harlow's hands slivered up to her head, delicately placing her finger tips against her temple in an attempt to ease her pain. "No I'm not!" Harlow exclaimed in a shout, her voice sounding eerily distorted. Almost as if it was accompanied by a lower echo.
Joseph eyes widened at the sound, immediately becoming concerned. Charlotte, on the other hand, battled away her fear and instead felt victorious. She had pushed Harlow to show more of what she could do. Or better yet what she was like. "What makes you so brave?" Harlow asked, her voice continuing to sound distorted. She took a step towards Charlotte, her eyes narrowing in on the woman.
Charlotte frowned, actually taking in what the girl in front of her was saying. "Excuse me?" She replied, unsure what else to say.
Harlow took another step towards Charlotte, getting dangerously close. "How are you brave enough to to insult me? To mock me. To remind me of all the cruel things you are responsible for?" She rephrased, tilting her head as her eye sight started to change slightly, notifying her off the colour change. Charlotte gulped as she saw Harlow's eyes changing between their natural colour and a orange-gold colour. "You're so brave? Well if you're so brave, how'd you like this?" She questioned, raising her right hand as she slowly allowed it to light up into scorching flames.
The flames continued to 'eat away' at her skin, travelling all the way down her forearm, and leaving fire in the place of her skin. Joseph was the first to speak up, finally deciding that he had to get involved, knowing it was going too far. "Listen Charlotte, just go." He told the woman, sending her a harsh look to try and make his suggestion into a demand instead.
In response, Harlow used her normal hand and grabbed forcefully onto Charlotte upper arm. Her fingers wrapping tightly around her skin so that it pinched. "No." She retorted firmly, a large smirk forming on her face as she could sense the fear building up in the bodies before her. "I'm going... to kill you." Harlow told the woman in a deadly calm voice, the distorted echo still accompanying her words.
In alarm, Charlotte took a step back, her chest starting to quicken as she breathed in panic. With one look, Joseph fled the room in the search of some help. "You're not going to kill me." Charlotte replied with a shaky voice, trying to force her lungs to take in a few deep calming breaths.
It was proven futile when Harlow took a step forward. Her flamed up hand reaches her top, disintegrating it into pieces leaving her in just her sports bra. "This is what you did to me." She spat, leaving the many vicious and dark scars all over her body on view. "This is what you helped them do to me." Harlow repeated, her normal hand sneakily snaking away from her upper arm and around Charlottes throat before squeezing it tightly. Harlow felt her lips twitch upwards as Charlotte let out a wheeze, her finger reaching up to try and pull Harlow's fingers from around her neck. "Did you watch them as they strangled me?" She questioned, applying further pressure which made the woman croak.
Suddenly Harlow felt a strange pull on her mind causing her face to go blank. There was a strange feeling in her head, almost as though something was fighting her for the reins of control. It felt as though there was something occupying space in her brain trying to push her own thoughts out of her own mind. A feeling that Harlow really didn't like. Her head became slightly sore as she tried to push against the weird feeling, screwing her eyes shut as she did so, her hand involuntarily tightening around Charlotte neck.
Pietro watched as Wanda's face contorted, her lips letting a small whimper escape. His eyes searched her face in worry as he gently brought his hand up to her shoulder. "Wanda?" He asked softly, his voice quiet and gentle, as he shook her shoulder.
With a sharp shake of her head, Harlow let out a breath, attempting to shove the weird blockage out of her head. She felt a strong resistance. Almost as if something as pushing against her. With a sharp inhale through her nose, whilst gritting her teeth together, Harlow put all her concentration into getting rid of the block. Just around the corner, Wanda slipped back, her brother catching her just before she could hit the ground. Her eyebrows immediately bunched tighter as her eyes searched her brothers face. "She-she forced me out of her head." She revealed, panting heavily, clutching her head while pain flowed inside her skull. The pain spread all throughout her head, emitting searing sensations.
"Wanda!" Pietro exclaimed in worry. He immediately went into protective brother mode, trying to stop his sister from feeling any ounce of pain. "Wanda." He repeated, this time quieter in fear of causing her anything further pain.
With Wanda down, there was nothing Hydra could do to stop Harlow. There wasn't anyone there powerful enough to bring her down. With the old Harlow, the one who hated to use her powers, they would be able to use quantity to stop her. But this new version couldn't be stopped. A ear hurting alarm started ringing sending further panic into Charlottes body. The alarm meant that it was bad. Worst case scenario type situation. Hydra only used the beacon when they needed the assistance of everyone that could do something. It was the quickest way they could notify Hydra workers that there was a problem.
Harlow let out a chuckle, "They're calling the cavalry." She remarked with a smirk. She brought Charlotte closer to her, their faces just inches apart. "You're lucky that this will be quick. Unlike the torture you put me through." She told the woman, breathing slowly as she kept herself surprisingly calm.
Charlotte had tears falling down her cheeks, "I-I'm your m-mum." She spluttered out, struggling to speak in the tight hold Harlow had on her.
Harlow ignored her words knowing that neither of them believed them. Her scorched up hand moved at a leisurely pace, acting as if there wasn't guards on their way to their location. "When I put my hand to your skin, you're going to feel pain like you've never felt before. You're going to feel all kinds of sensation as you're skin disintegrates until you're nothing but ash. Now I could do this without touching you. That way you burn from the inside out and explode into ash. However, when I touch you, you'll disintegrate much slower. Bit by bit." Harlow explained slowly, her face lightly up in amusement as she watched Charlotte try and squirm her way out of the tight hold. "You can't escape this!" Harlow snapped, her flamed finger tips only centimetres from Charlottes skin. Harlow could already see the burning of Charlotte skin from how close the intense heat was to her face. "And remember... you deserve this."
The help came too late. Joseph ran back into the room with a sedation gun in hand. There was a pack of four guards following closely behind him. The sound of multiple footprints following behind them. But as he managed to get back to the room, Joseph had to cover his ears from the screeching screams Charlotte let out. His face screwed up as he watched Charlotte become completely erratic. Begging and screaming for help.
A cruel smirk rested on Harlow's lips as she watched the woman plead for her life. Her throat had been released by Harlow, the girl instead keeping her in place by her shoulder. Her scorched hand was connected with the woman's chest, searing though her skin and turning it to nothing but ashes. The Hydra workers watched in fear as Charlotte's screams halted. Her existence basically wiped out and body disposed off by the teenager they had all abused. To them, this event was a game changer. If Harlow was willing to kill her own mother, she wouldn't blink while killing them.
Harlow turned, finally looking at the new presences in the room. The look on her face was terrifying. A sadistic grin on accompanied with her glowing eyes. There was weird orange glowing cracks across her face that reminded them of veins - something they had never seen before. The girls brutal scars were still on show, reminding the guards exactly what they had done to her. Even if it wasn't by their hands, they still had a part to play in it. And they knew that. Before their fear for Pierce trumped their fear for the teenager. For some of them, that was no longer true.
The girls harsh glare settled on Joseph, her head tilting as she stared at him. In that moment there was absolutely no thoughts of her self hatred. Her thoughts about dying were no longer present as her mind went into overdrive, intoxicated on the satisfaction and immense joy she was feeling. "You..." she trailed off, her lips twitching into a frown as she continued to look at her dad. "You helped... her." She finally got out, taking threatening steps towards the man.
"Harlow." Joseph spoke softly, his voice going up in pitch as he started to fear what was coming next. Was she going to kill him too? He knew he deserved it. His mistakes when he was younger are inexcusable and he doubted he'd be able to gain forgiveness from Harlow. But, he thought he had made a start. Harlow had chosen to go and talk to him in the more recent days. He was always there treating her wounds the best he could after she was tortured or after a mission that went a little south. Ultimately, Joseph knew that as long as he was on the other side of the bars that entrapped her, Harlow would never be able to actually forgive him.
Harlow let out an involuntary whine as she felt a sharp pain in her head, almost like she was actually stabbed in the head. Her face screwed up in pain as it continued to spread throughout her head. It was the same feeling as before but this time it had a lot more strength. It moved faster, consuming more of her brain as she failed to get rid of it. Was this what Charlotte meant when her said they were able to stop her power now. Harlow wondered if they managed to make some sort of drug or something that caused her pain whenever she used her powers. Harlow stumbled to one side as her hand reached up to her head, clawing at her skin. An idea quickly popped into Harlow head as she struggled to fight the sensation. In less than two second Harlow scorched up her face before reverting it to normal.
Harlow's face relaxed as she slowed her breathing. She had managed to rid herself of the blockage once again. Steadying herself, Harlow now noticed the extra presence in the room. One of the evilest people she knows, and the heart of Hydra, aka Pierce. He was stood with an unreadable expression as he glared back at the girl. Harlow tilted her head to the side, keeping eye contact with the man as she basically dared him to do something. Pierce bit the bullet, instructing one of the guards to shoot her. There was a hesitance in the guard as he looked between Pierce and Harlow. Who was he more scared of? He wasn't quite sure.
Harlow let out a villainous laugh, biting down on her bottom lip. "Go on then." She goaded, walking closer to Pierce and the guard next to him who had his finger resting on the trigger.
And with a squeeze the bullet was released, embedding itself in Harlow's thigh. The hit didn't deter the girl from stalking towards them, her eyes darkening as her stare zeroed in on the guard that just fired his gun. The mans face morphed as an unusual pain started to erupt in his stomach. It quickly became painful, only one screech leaving his mouth before he exploded into ash.
The high that Harlow was feeling was oh so intoxicating and addictive. The fear on the guards faces made her mischievous grin only increase in size. She probably would've continued her killing spree if it wasn't for the second gunshot hitting her in the abdomen and her body's weakened state. With a second guard getting disintegrated, Harlow's vision started to become blurry. A third gunshot echoed through the room, skimming the girls arm. As exhaustion started to creep up on her, Joesph stepped in grabbing the same arm, and brought the tranquilliser gun to her neck before injecting her. Laughter tumbled carelessly from Harlow's lips as her brain tried to battle the drugs and stay awake. It was a battle she didn't win as she leaned back into Joseph's embrace, her scorched up arm diminishing and her eyes blinked closed.
"You're fucking imbeciles!" Was the last thing Harlow heard as Pierce lectured his useless guards. Joseph held Harlow close to his chest, his hand delicately caressing her hair. In that moment, watching the peaceful look on her face despite her body bleeding in two areas, he vowed to get her out even if it was the last thing he did.
Pierce cursed, aggressively hitting and shaking the surrounding guards, who didn't react. His worst nightmare was coming alive. He was loosing the little control he had of Harlow. Which meant he had to act quickly before he had no grasp on her.
Ahhh so sorry for the very late update however I have good and bad news.
Good news - I passed all my practice exams and even got A's which I'm very very happy with.
Bad news - My boyfriend cheated on me with someone I considered on of my best friends. Soooo that happened... and the whole school basically found out which made it very overwhelming but I'm moving on now. After many awkward moments and argument I'm finally forcing myself to move on. They are now a couple but thankfully I don't see them very often so at least that's a positive. Pretty unfortunately but oh well what can you do. My ex-friend is suppose you'd call her didn't even actually like my ex she told me she did it just cos she jealous and wanted to show she's better than me. But clearly she's not.
Anyway another update will be very very very very soon I promise!!!!
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