"It's a lot of work, but if you really have it in you, it's not like work. It becomes fun." - Stan Lee
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Chapter IX: Brainwashed
Tony stared straight ahead through the one-way glass, his charcoal eyes dark with a cloud of anger he masked well as the man in the little room on the other side of the glass refused to speak. The stranger's face held no emotion, his face relaxed in complete indifference as he kept his gaze locked on the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent questioning him. She was one of the best agents, as well as one of the best interrogators, yet the man gave up no information. Nothing. It caused Tony's teeth to clench behind sealed lips, wanting to storm inside that little room and demand the answer as to how a man could point a gun at a young girl's face and attempt to kill her. But he restrained himself, like a dog on a leash, and sat, and stayed.
Natasha Romanoff raised an eyebrow at the man beside her as he took a seat in front of the table before the one-way glass. "You good?" She checked with him, her arms crossed as she went back to watching the stranger, awaiting a response from Tony.
Tony ran a hand over his short goatee, ready to admit to Natasha how much he wanted to hurt the man for threatening Ariel, but he took notice of a few other agents in the room- including Clint Barton and Steve Rogers- whose gazes shifted to him in slight curiosity. Tony sighed quietly through his nose and simply nodded his head in response to Natasha.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent interrogating the man in the small room suddenly stood up and exited, entering the space where Tony, Natasha, Clint, and Steve were waiting, observing, as well as a few other agents working on devices.
"He's giving me nothing," Agent Steele stated flatly, a trace of frustration found in her tone as she dropped the files she had been holding, setting them onto the table Tony sat at. "I used the photo proof against him and he still didn't bother saying a word. Whoever he and this other woman work for, they're not ashamed of chasing and attempting to kill seemingly innocent people," Agent Steele continued, though her words blurred into the background of Tony's mind as he slowly inched his hand forward to retrieve the file of photos he technically wasn't allowed to look at.
Glancing back up to see no one paying him much attention, Tony flicked open the pale yellow folder to see documents, and mainly photos centered around the work of the man who sat in the interrogation room. He skimmed over the documents, only seeing the basic information about the man that meant nothing and didn't help with Ariel's situation. He examined the photos and immediately leaned back slightly, resisting the urge to cringe in disgust. Each photo contained a dead body, the life taken from it by the man, and Tony's stomach twisted as he took note of the brutal markings upon the bodies. Some of them were young women.
"What are you, five? It says 'Classified' in big red letters," Agent Steele suddenly interrupted Tony's thoughts, and his head shot up just as the blonde agent snatched the folder back up into her grasp, sending him a warning look.
"Sorry," Tony muttered half-heartedly, now distracted by the photos that were forever imprinted in his brain. Natasha seemed to notice Tony's stress level rising and nudged Agent Steele, whispering something to her, which coaxed her nod, then she left the room, followed by Steve and Clint.
The redheaded agent spun a chair around and took a seat facing Tony, her eyebrows knitted together as she met his gaze. "What is it?" She questioned.
The brunet sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sent another look at the man sitting in the interrogation room still, a blank expression still painting his face. Tony met Natasha's eyes. "He was moments away from killing her," he blurted, shutting his eyes briefly as he attempted to gather his thoughts. "I let her leave the tower too soon. I took her back to that beach too soon. If I just didn't do anything, she would have been fine. But now she's petrified, and she's mad at me," he muttered, bouncing his knee anxiously, avoiding eye contact with his teammate.
Natasha was silent for a moment, soaking up his words and assessing the situation as an outsider before she spoke. "I'm not the best at communication," she began hesitantly. "But I think you need to tell Ariel all of this."
"All of what?" Tony wondered.
"How you're feeling," Natasha answered as though it were obvious what she was implying in the first place. "Put yourself in her shoes for a minute and stop thinking about yourself or this mission. She's a person, Tony. A teenage girl. She needs to hear an apology, not you trying to explain why you think you're right."
"But I am right."
"Not entirely."
"Hm. Interesting take. I'm gonna think about this," Tony spoke as he stood up abruptly as if he wanted to act as though he never became vulnerable and revealed his feelings. He patted Natasha on the shoulder before he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "Thanks, kid," was the last thing Natasha heard before he shut the door, and she was alone.
Natasha averted her gaze over to the enemy agent on the other side of the one-way glass. She was good at interrogating people without them realizing they were being interrogated, and she wondered if she could take a crack at this joker and actually get something useful from him. Standing to her feet, she stepped forward and into the little interrogation room, letting the door swing shut behind her, her eyes never leaving the man. He was secured to the table with an inescapable gadget that Natasha liked to think of as handcuffs on steroids, so she didn't need to worry about getting too close for comfort. There was nothing he could do.
The man lifted his head and smirked slightly at the sight of the beautiful agent, but he soon disguised it with his usual scowl and turned away. Natasha caught on to this, and she hated that she would probably have to awaken the seductress in her to get what she wanted out of him. But if it works, then it works. This isn't about her. It's about Ariel. Natasha never knew what it felt like to have a mother or be a mother, but she felt a strong need to protect Ariel like it was in her DNA to keep her warm, fed, and safe. She reckoned this was how Tony felt, in a sense, given he didn't quite understand fatherly figures. But regardless of whether or not Natasha understood what it was like to protect a young family member, she was well aware of the fact that she was one of the few people Ariel trusted to some degree, and she wasn't about to let that small amount of trust fade away into nothing. So she turned the chair in front of her around for her to straddle it with her forearms crossed over the chair's back, and she sent the man a smirk.
"I'm not gonna lie, it's quite impressive how long you lasted against three superhumans, given you don't seem to have any powers... Or do you?" Natasha complimented in a smooth tone, finishing her sentence off with a tilt of her head and a charming smile, a few of her fiery curls sweeping down in front of her ocean-colored eyes. The man, again, smirked slightly then replaced it with a scowl again, and Natasha refrained from rolling her eyes at how dumb he was. Instead, she feigned a flirtatious chuckle and said, "I'll take that as either a 'no' or you have telepathy and don't bother with verbal communication."
There was a brief silence before the man muttered a response. "It's not that hard once you understand how they work."
Natasha tried not to appear too excited that he spoke and remained relaxed, though her heart was racing. "'They'?" She echoed in a confused tone.
"Mutants," the man mumbled. "I've studied them for years."
Natasha reminded herself to come off as a little aloof and flirtatious so as to not alarm the man and she responded, "That's amazing. I bet you know everything there is to know about them."
"Yes," the man answered, casting her a brief glance full of haughtiness and pride, which Natasha found herself nearly rolling her eyes at. "That little creature who you call 'Ariel'," he began and Natasha clenched her jaw, keeping her lips sealed, "I know everything about her. I know her like the back of my hand."
"Really? Interesting," Natasha smirked, leaning on her bent elbows over the table.
"Yes," the man repeated, turning his body slightly to face the woman. "It would take you years to understand her the way we do, Agent Romanoff."
"Who's 'we'?" Natasha asked with a feigned buzz of curiosity as if she were stupid and didn't understand anything the man was saying. It was almost too easy how much this guy had given her already by not even saying that much, or even giving specifics.
The man's body went rigid at her question as if he realized what he had said. A heavy silence fell over the room and an unknown understanding passed through the man and Agent Romanoff as he locked his gaze with hers and said quietly, "We have sworn to the doctor secrecy and life."
The sentence sent a wave of nausea over Natasha Romanoff, her blood running cold as memories flooded her mind like a plague. She had heard the set of words once before, but it was as clear as day in the back of her mind. She could recall the way the hair on the back of her neck rose in alarm and a chill ran down her spine, her body locked in place as if she were being hypnotized. Natasha had only made her escape by being dragged away by her teammate, the Captain, and she feared that had she not been snapped out of it, she would have succumbed. The remembrance of the feeling of complete lack of control swarmed the agent's insides like a black fog, tugging and pulling at her conscience, as if it were whispering in her ear, "Join us."
A tainted grin began to stretch over the man's face as he saw the smile drop from Agent Romanoff's face, but it was immediately gone as he watched the woman stand abruptly to her feet and glower down at him.
"That doesn't work on me," Natasha spoke in a level, but fierce, tone before she left the man in the interrogation room, slamming the door shut behind her with pent up anger.
Natasha Romanoff exited the dividing room and began her journey down the hallway towards the next interrogation room over to find her teammates when there was a sudden ear-piercing crack that met her ears, then a loud crashing noise from behind nearby walls. Instinctively, she lifted her hands to cover her ears and whipped her head up to see the door busted open and a few doctors and nurses abandoning the area. Panic set in and Natasha immediately swiped both of her handguns out from behind her belt and stalked forward behind the open door. Lifting her weapons, she swiftly turned the corner and into the interrogation room to find Clint Barton rushing forward and attempting to attack fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, his eyes clouded over with a milky white film.
Natasha's eyes flicked over to the chair where the female enemy agent was meant to be seated, only to find unlocked handcuffs, the enemy agent nowhere in sight. Without much time to think, Natasha tucked her weapons back into place behind her belt and rushed forward towards Clint, her best friend, a little more than ticked off she had to hand-to-hand combat his brainwashed self again. Only this time, she was unsure as to what would deactivate the trigger embedded in his brain.
"Clint, are you kidding me? This is the second time you've been brainwashed by the enemy and I have to knock some sense into you!" Natasha yelled, her voice becoming raspy as she ducked down, dodging a blow from Clint. She came back up swiftly and sent a powerful punch to his nose, then swept his feet out from under him with her left leg.
When Clint fell back onto the ground, his head came into a strong impact with the tiled flooring, and Natasha hoped it wasn't hard enough to cause too much damage. But her worrisome thinking for her friend was a good enough distraction for him to leap back up and grab one of her arms, twisting it forward and flipping her over onto her back just as he was before. As she regained her composure, a fellow agent one level below her- Agent Bower- attacked Clint from behind, giving Natasha a moment to recuperate and sent a blow into his stomach with her boot, knocking the wind out of him. As he gasped for air, Agent Bower took that opportunity to knock him unconscious, but not intensely enough to make him bleed or cause potential lasting damage. Both women panted slightly, catching their breaths before Bower dropped Clint to the ground and spoke to Natasha.
"We couldn't hear what he or the enemy agent were saying. All we saw was that she said something in his ear and he immediately turned on us," the raven-haired woman explained, resting her hands on her hips. "I think he was brainwashed."
"Oh, you think?" Natasha responded a bit sarcastically, causing Agent Bower to roll her eyes. Natasha then sighed and gazed down at Clint as she replied. "The other enemy agent tried to brainwash me the same way but I looked away and left before it took effect."
"What were the trigger words?" Bower questioned, which just caused Natasha to stare at Agent Bower with a dead expression in response and Bower sighed. "Right."
"I'm gonna take Clint down to the solitary confinement cell in case this thing doesn't wear off for a while," Natasha explained as she squatted down beside her unconscious friend and lifted one closed eyelid to see it still held the same milky white cloud over his pupil. Natasha lifted her head to meet Bower's eyes. "Gather a team to search for the enemy agent who escaped. She's still in the tower. Make sure everyone is aware of the situation and post two agents in front of Ariel's door to ensure her safety."
Agent Bower nodded. "Got it. I'll check on the girl first," she nodded firmly before exiting the room quickly to begin her list of duties.
Natasha soon gathered a small group of medical professionals working in the building to lift Clint onto a gurney and she accompanied them in taking him down to solitary confinement. Her heart was pounding, not only because she was worried about her close friend and what would happen to him, but also this entire situation was dangerous and Ariel could be taken or killed. She had no idea what step to take next once Clint was sealed away for the night so she only hoped someone would be quick to find and take down the escaped enemy agent and they could find more answers. But for now, at this moment, Natasha knew much more than she thought she would gather. A successful interrogation it was, yes, but not once did she think she would learn what she did. Of all the organizations, of all the enemies they had... it was one of the most dangerous ones that were after Ariel. And now, they were after the Avengers.
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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please comment and vote, I really appreciate it. Also, please remember to stay inside, wash your hands, and stay positive!
–Blys♡