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chapter thirty-six ━ vixen

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if you haven't already, go follow my dc acc ( waynestodd ) which is where the rest of this series + the spinoffs will be posted

THE RATE AT which she endured more experiments was brutal. Once Strange realized that she was a success, he kept altering different parts of her, adding new details, and coming up with new ideas. She became his guinea pig. She became his most prized creation. Because unlike the other monsters he created, she could blend right in with normal civilians and no one would ever suspect that she was anything but human. Most of his experiments either went wrong or the person's physical appearance changed completely, making them look like the monsters that any child would be frightened of. Thankfully, she happened to be the exception and was lucky enough to look the same, though she would argue otherwise.

Every single time Skylar looked at the one-sided mirrors keeping her from seeing the people on the other side, observing her, the girl staring back at her was not the same girl that used to cry until she was numb. The girl staring back at her was a foreign creature, too beautiful to be real, too perfect to be real. Or perhaps, the reason why she thought she looked so different was because, for once in her life, she felt truly confident and powerful. She could do anything she wanted now, get anything she wanted. She had enough strength to take someone down, enough speed to outrun someone, and the intelligence to outsmart a genius.

Despite the fact that she was in Indian Hill for a couple of weeks, she still could not quite grasp certain aspects. For one, charming someone with her hypnotic voice was difficult, seeing as she never was good with words. Another thing she could not get a hold of was her heightened senses. One second she'd be fine but then suddenly a sound would blare through her ears and she'd clutch her head, fall to the ground, and scream until the sound stopped. Strange kept testing her, trying to train her to take control of her ability but it was impossible and he would end up getting frustrated.

Even though he would, he still was content with her progress and success so he ended up moving her to a nicer cell. It was certainly a decent size, with a mattress on the ground with a better sheet and pillow, lots of empty space for her to lounge around, and a tiny bookshelf in the corner which only had books about science. Skylar had no idea how she managed to stay content but she never really got bored. All she did all day was curl up on her bed or walk around the room, forgetting that the books were even there. Occasionally Strange would let her out, allowing her to roam the halls with two guards following behind her to make sure she behaved. She never tried escaping because she wasn't stupid.

One thing she found interesting was the room across from hers. There was a tag by every door and the one next to that one was named 'Firefly'. She was intrigued, though the memory of the first girl she ever kissed burning to death flashed across her mind. Instantly, the blood in her veins was fueled by anger. Anger toward Jim Gordon. Her temper raised and she nearly punched something but had enough sense to take deep breathes and calm herself down. When she had, her eyes traveled to the camera in the corner of the room, looking straight at her, watching her every movement.

A week had passed since her latest experiment and she was still trying to recover, her bones aching, pained sounds echoing through her room. When the guards came to let her out, she found herself wandering to her old cell. She sat on the ground where the bed used to be, putting her face up to the little window. Through it, she could see Kennedy's back turned to her, her short blonde hair now white, causing her brow to raise up. The guards were out in the hall, talking to one another about how they hadn't seen the sun in weeks.

"Where'd the new hair come from?" she asked in a normal tone, watching as Kennedy jumped at the sudden sound of her voice.

"Lily?"

"In the flesh." The girl came close to the bars, peeking through at her. There were dark circles on her eyes and there were prominent red veins in her eyes, stretching to the irises. She winced at that, her lips curling back on instinct, her sharp canines flashing at the blonde. "Damn. What happened to you?"

Kennedy glanced away, looking down so she could not see her face. "Strange happened of course. He thought he'd push my abilities to see how long it would take before I broke. My magic got out of control and this happened."

"Magic?" Skylar questioned, a smirk slowly appearing on her face before she laughed a little, the musical sound traveling into the hallway but the guards did not come in yet. "So you're a witch then? Where's your broomstick and wand?"

"It's not funny," Kennedy snapped, looking back up at her. The attitude made her jaw clench, swallowing a growl that threatened to escape. She did not like it when people got nasty with her, not anymore. "Strange turned me into a monster, he turned you into a monster and you just let him! He's a criminal and you feed into his experiments. You don't get it, we aren't people anymore because of him. He turned us all into his creations."

She got closer to the bars. "Well, maybe you should learn to be grateful that you know have a way to defend yourself. People won't dare come up against you, not if you turn them into an old hag with your wand or make them lose all their teeth." The snarky tone that came with her voice was foreign. She couldn't stop the insults. She didn't want to stop. She wanted to worm her way into the girl's head and make her suffer. She wanted to tear her down until she was nothing but scum under her.

Kennedy was taken aback by her words, the hurt showing on her face. "Why are you being like this?"

The fox laughed, no sign of remorse on her features. "You are way too easy. But really, you should be grateful. The pain is worth all the power that comes with our abilities and besides, the hair looks great. Just a tip for next time though. . ." She pressed her face through the bars, smiling sweetly at her while her eyes flashed orange. "Make sure you don't lose control again, your skin may start to wrinkle and no one likes a hag."

She kissed the air and then got up, leaving behind the heartbroken girl. When she did walkout, she came face to face with Strange who was beaming. He had been listening. A casual glance to her right confirmed her suspicions because Ms. Peabody was eagerly jotting something down, looking extremely pleased. She almost rolled her eyes at that but held back, though she could not stop the words from falling off her lips.

"So obedient," she purred. The assistant glanced up at her. "Like a well-trained dog only. . .I believe you have lost your collar."

Peabody did not like what she said one bit, going to scold her for it no doubt, but Strange spoke up before she could, holding up a hand as well. "Please, Ms Peabody, I'm sure our little fox was just making a joke." He turned to her and gestured forward. "Follow me please." She did as he said without hesitating, letting him lead her to the same plain room she found herself in for several hours each day. "I do hope you like the alias we have given you."

Skylar shrugged, not quite knowing what to say in reply to that. Vixen. That was the alias he gave her, the one she didn't ask for, the one she didn't want. Why he was adamant about calling her something different other than the name she was given by her brother, only made the little voice in the back of her head mention what Kennedy had said earlier.

She knew they were just experiments to him, his children that he thought he created on his own. But to let him think that and play along with his little game would only make things that much sweeter when she tore out his throat. Sure. He gave her a gift, one she would put to use. That didn't mean he got to live. In fact, she had already come up with several complex ideas on how to murder him.

They stopped at a different door, jolting her out of her thoughts. Strange turned to her and smiled. "Wait here." So she did. However, as he opened the door, she caught a glimpse of a body floating in a tube full of an odd blue liquid. The second she laid eyes on the man, her heart plummeted into her stomach and that familiar rage took control of her body. Then, she couldn't see a damn thing other than the person in the tube.

Theo Galavan.

Her vision went red as she slammed through the door, making a generous dent in the metal. She went over to the tube, raised her fist, only for some to grab her arms. She growled loudly, the sound traveling. With a swift movement, she turned the tables on her enemies, breaking one arm on both of them and then smashed their heads against the ground. More people rushed in and she became aware of a voice calling to her.

"Vixen, calm down!" Strange spoke in a calm voice, holding out both his hands. "Just take deep breathes."

Skylar's head snapped over to his, her chest heaving as she breathed heavy. "Why is he here?" Her voice sounded so hurt, betrayed like she hadn't expected him to do this to her, though she truly shouldn't have expected anything else. She was incredibly torn. A part of her told her to attack and rip apart her enemies, another part of her told her to do what he said and do whatever he said. However, instead of listening to either part, she made her own choice.

"I can explain."

She moved out of her crouched position, clenching her fist at her sides while she glared at him. "Explain fast. Because if I find that your answer does not please me, I will kill you and I will find a way to expose this little hidden gem of yours. So answer fast, I'm getting impatient." Her head tilted slightly to the side, her attention focused on him entirely.

He answered faster than she thought he would. "I have been perfecting the resurrection process. We recovered his body and decided to use him as one of our subjects. But as you can see, he is not alive yet. We do predict he will be awake in a few hours and then we will train him as we did you and then release him into the world."

"Why?"

"Why indeed?" He came closer to her and reached out a hand, placing it on the top of her hand, patting her hair. A growl got stuck in her throat but he did not seem afraid. "That is something that you do not have to worry about right now. You need to focus on your training. My other experiments are not your concern, child."

"And does this mean you will also let me go when the time comes?" Skylar knew it was the right question to ask, for he smiled again, in the same way he always did.

"Yes. However, if you do not learn to control your heightened senses, I'm afraid we cannot let you leave until you do." Strange moved his hand to her shoulder, beginning to guide her out of the room. She finally saw the description she created. More men with brakes bones. One even had blood gushing from his nose. Her lips quirked up. "You were not meant to see that. So, as an apology, I do believe it is time for you to meet your neighbor."

She frowned at what he said and how he said it. He was talking about Firefly, of course, seeing as the cell next to her was empty. The way he said it is what stuck with her. Not the way he mentioned the neighbor, but the way he mentioned how she was not supposed to see that room. If that were truly the case, why had he allowed her to peek inside? Why had he kept her so close to the door? Why had he brought her there at all?

"You were testing me," Skylar realized, the words coming out quieter than she would have liked.

"You must be tested continuously to ensure that you are ready. Putting you in real-life situations is the only way for us to observe your natural instincts. For example, I indirectly encouraged you to visit Miss Kennedy so the two of you could interact." He led her in the direction of her room, hand still on her shoulder to influence her to stay. "I assure you, everything I do is for your own good. And you have done an exceptional job so far, I figured it was only fair to reward you."

Strange let go of her once they reached the door and then scanned his fingerprint. He was immediately given access and the door opened. With a simple gesture of his hand, she entered, but he did not follow. Without saying anything, the door closed behind her. Her eyes narrowed at that, then started to search for the camera. Once she found it, she huffed.

The room was similar to hers, the only difference was, there was no bookshelf and there were a bunch of walls blocking her view from seeing everything. Skylar weaved her way through until she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide and her breath left her lungs. No. No. There was no way. It wasn't possible.

Bridgit stood at a table with what looked to be a flamethrower in her hands. She was wearing a suit that was no doubt made to protect her from flames, which was ironic, considering that her entire face had clearly been burnt badly. How she managed to survive that explosion was beyond her but that did not matter. What mattered was that she was alive. She smiled.

"Who the hell are you?" The raspy voice asked and every ounce of hope she felt drained out of her being, the smile falling.

"Bridgit. . .it's me, Skylar."

"I don't know a Skylar and my name isn't Bridgit. It's Firefly."

The fox felt her throat clench up, the urge to cry strong. Why the hell would Strange allow her to see her if she didn't even remember her in the first place? It felt more like a punishment than a reward. "So you don't remember me at all? Not even. . ." She couldn't finish the sentence. She did step closer though. With each step she took, Bridgit got tenser, aiming the flamethrower at her. She kept going until she was directly in front of her.

With gentleness she didn't know she had, she took the weapon from her and set it down on the table. Then she moved until they were almost chest to chest. Skylar reached up and touched her cheek, watching the girl almost flinch away, but the second her skin touched hers, she relaxed, melting into it.

"You really don't remember me? Not even this?" Their lips met but only for a few seconds because she pulled away, eyes reopening to gauge her reaction. Bridgit looked back at her, mouth opening, though no words came out.

"I. . .I think I remember that. But that's all." Then she tilted her head, looking incredibly confused. "Aren't you Vixen? Not Skylar?" She pulled back farther and grabbed her flamethrower back from the table, acting as if the kiss hadn't happened. "Strange told me that I am to protect Vixen."

Skylar shook her head, perplexed. "What?"

"That is my duty as Firefly," Bridgit repeated in a firm tone, sounding a bit agitated. "I protect Vixen. Aren't you Vixen? If you are not, I am afraid I will have to eliminate you." Horror went across the brunette's features. This was not Bridgit. Not anymore. "Do not be scared, it is a gift. The fire will cleanse you, make you pure again."

"I am Vixen!" she exclaimed, holding up both her hands with a tense smile. "I am. See?" She flashed her orange eyes and the flamethrower was no longer being pointed at her face. Unexpectedly, the older girl went to her knees and bowed her head, the weapon facing away from the younger girl.

"Then it is my duty to protect and serve you. I will kill anyone who dares to harm you, I swear it." She looked up at her and then stood back up, lowering her head once more. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I look forward to serving you."

Skylar had no words and even if she did, she knew that none would display exactly how she was feeling. Her mind became a jumbled mess, puzzle pieces struggling to find their match and slowly a headache formed. She winced and then held the side of her head. She vaguely heard Firefly say something to her but she was already running out of the room before her supposed protector could do anything to help.

She stood in the hallway as the door shut behind her, still clutching the side of her head as thoughts buzzed, her instincts telling her to do so many things that she couldn't keep up with it all. When it finally began to subside, she rose her head, gasping. Her mind quoted, the puzzle pieces fitting into place. Strange's gift to her was a girl she once liked. A girl he corrupted and changed completely. How dare he turn her into a slave. Bridgit was not a slave, she didn't deserve that. But, Bridgit was gone.

After she collected herself, she fully intended to retire to her room for the rest of the day or night, whatever time it was. And she fully intended to sleep and try to forget everything that had happened. First, she let that part of her take over and hurt Kennedy, then she found out Galavan was alive, and then she reunited with Bridgit, only to realize it wasn't her.

All of it was for Strange's test. Everything he did was a test. She wanted out. She wanted out. She wanted to be free. Then, right as she turned her head to see if any guards were nearby, she saw a familiar figure standing at the end of the hall. Her mouth fell open in a mixture of shock and confusion. The person caught her eye and looked equally as shocked, something Skylar had never seen on their face before. The name rolled off her tongue.

"Charlotte?"

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A little bit of a shorter chapter today! I didn't have a ton planned for this one, seeing as it was mainly just to set up Skylar finding out about Galavan and to also reveal that Charlotte is somehow in Indian Hill. If you guys are curious to know why she is there, please do go to my dc acc which I put at the start of the chapter and the book will be there! I will catch Charlotte up eventually but for now, I haven't gotten to the chapter that matches up with this one yet, if that makes sense.

Why do you guys think Charlotte is in Indian Hill?

I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

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