DESTRUCTION.
( chapter five. )

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Edited 12/26/2015 @5:43 PM
Edited 07/28/2016 @7:17AM
Edited 04/29/2018 @5:37 AM

  ANDREA WAS ALONE IN THE LARGE, open training room.

  Or, rather, she was the only thing living inside of it.

  She glanced around, lips pursed as she studied the bots that surrounded her. They had yet to be activated and stood with slumped shoulders; bodies still as a corpse. Andy felt her stomach churn with nausea. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous to begin this evaluation.

  Tony had decided it would be best to test her abilities during an attack from his own mechanical creations. Which, was why the Jones woman found herself surrounded by his robots. The brunette took a deep breath, smoothing out her black workout jacket.

  Clad in her usual training outfit, she was only waiting on JARVIS to begin the test. Once the bots were activated, she was to use her abilities for as long as she could manage. Though, the female had to admit she was somewhat terrified of what the outcome might be.

  "Are you ready, Andy?" Andrea took a deep breath, looking up at the bot that loomed in front of her. For a moment, she said nothing in response to JARVIS' question, instead studying the being in front of her. She raised her fists, relaxing her stance into one of defensiveness before she finally nodded her head.

  All at once, the bots came to life.

  Andy tensed, keeping her eyes wide open. The mechanical beings stood tall, motionless for but a small moment. However, Andrea knew better than to relax. Bots or not, they still posed a heavy threat─ especially if she lost control of her abilities. The female exhaled a slow, even breath.

  From the corner of her eye, the brunette noticed a blur of movement. Within an instant, a trio of the beings rushed forwards in an attack from the right. The female tightened her jaw, swiveling to face the oncoming opponents. Almost instinctively, the brunette was quick to push her hands forwards in one swift and slicing motion.

  At best, all Andrea expected was a crackle of electricity to shoot from her palms. It was something she'd been able to do before the new serum, but it had costed her heavily in energy. However, in an explosion of blue light, a powerful boom resounded throughout the training room and Andy found herself momentarily blinded.

  When the light cleared, Andrea watched with wide-eyes as scattered parts were sent flying every which way. She felt frozen, forgetting her settings as she stared at the situation before her─ and, in her shock, she'd become too obvious to the attack coming at her from behind.

  The Jones woman stumbled forwards as a hard shove hit her. Mechanical arms wrapped around her throat and the female grunted before grabbing onto the bots forearm. She gripped onto it tightly before bending over, pulling the arm down with her and effectively throwing the bot over her head.

  When she raised her palm this time, Andy made sure to concentrate on how powerful this explosion would come. There was a much smaller blast that sounded and a flash of light before the robot fell limp as its head disappeared. The brunette turned away, lips pursed as she waited for another attack.

  As the brunette studied the bots around her, she couldn't help but let her mind explore the possibilities. Her thoughts were firing every which way, trying to understand how she'd been able to create such burts of pure, rippling energy. But, she had the distinct notion that these blasts were telekinetic and that the power behind them came from the electricity she was able to conjure from her own body.

  However, conjuring said energy usually costed her and left the female exhausted. It left her weak. But, when no sensation of weariness overcame her, Andrea couldn't help but furrow her brow in confusion. Suddenly, she was incredibly aware of how different everything felt.

  With this serum in her blood, nothing felt the same.

  She didn't feel tired, she felt alive as adrenaline coursed through her veins. There was another blur of movement from the corner of Andrea's eye and she watched as two bots rushed at her from the left. The brunette reacted quickly and, as she turned, time seemed to slow drastically in front of her.

  In that moment, Andy made a decision to attempt at something she'd never been able to do before. The female raised her arms, the movement slow and graceful as she relaxed her muscles. Her fingers pointed lazily in the direction the bots in front of her as they continued forwards, while her open palms faced the ground.

  Andrea emptied her mind of any distractions, focusing only on this moment as she made her attempt at telekinesis. She visualized the power building up in her fingers, expelling itself from the very tips of them and wrapping around the mechanical machines at the female's mere mental command.

  For a small moment, there seemed to be nothing and a flash of panic coursed through the Jones woman. With every second that passed, the bots drew closer. But, that's when Andrea noticed the faint hue of blue that had already reached the first bot. It enveloped it and, with little to no struggle at all, Andy focused on wrapping the other two bots in her powers as well.

  Once she was done, the female lifted the bots into the air. They struggled and thrashed, but were unable to escape the net of blue that had encapsulated their metal figures. In the next moment, Andrea put her attention onto each individual body she held in her grasp. In one, fluid action, the Jones woman crossed and un-crossed her forearms; tearing the beings apart from the very core of their parts.

  There was a part of Andy that was both terrified and amazed as she watched the pieces of metal scatter and fall before her. No movement of attack came from the six bots left and Andrea took this time to stare in awe at her hands. Hands that held a power they'd never known before.

  Then, all at once, the female found herself being attacked. The brunette exhaled a deep breath, closing her eyes and visualizing energy building up outside of her own skin. When she felt as though she'd gathered enough, the brunette lifted her head. Andy opened her eyes, expelling the energy in yet another, powerful explosion of light.

  In the aftermath, power felt as if it were radiating from the Jones woman's skin. She lowered her gaze, breathing heavy as adrenaline coursed throughout her body. Her chest was heaving as the female turned in a full circle, movements slow as she studied the pieces of debris left behind.

  Not one mechanical being was left standing.

  Andy lifted her head as the sound of the door opening was heard, and in stepped Steve with the rest of the team in tow. The female straightened her posture, losing her defensive stance in the presence of her friends. Their eyes were on the floor, staring in shock at the residuum of the battle.

  "How are you feeling?" Tony questioned, easily dodging stray bits of robot as he made his way over to the Jones woman. The brunette smiled softly and shrugged. As the adrenaline began to wear off, exhaustion began to seep in. Though, it was different from the instant weariness she was used to after using her abilities.

  "I've never felt better." She replied and it was the truth. She felt energized; as if she'd finally shaken off the languor one usually feels after waking in the morning. It was a strange sensation, especially since Andy hadn't realized how not using her powers would effect her.

  Certainly, she hadn't expected this.

  "Any nausea, weariness?" Steve questioned, looking the brunette up and down as if he hadn't just watched her obliterate Stark's machines. Andrea chuckled at his concern. While his care was heartwarming at times, in other instances it was unnecessary to the point of it being humorous.

  "No, I'm fine." She said, reaching over to give the blond a reassuring pat on the arm. "It's weird, actually. I don't feel tired at all, gathering all of that energy came so easily." The female mused, the events of her fight beginning to run throughout her mind. It was all still confusing; the reason why Strucker had given her such a serum.

  This benefited him in no way. If he'd thought it would make her unstable or kill her, he'd clearly been wrong. But, if killing her had been his original intent, then he could've easily done so when they first injected the serum into her bloodstream. Except, they hadn't. Which meant that Strucker had other plans.

  Plans that could possibly involve bringing the Jones woman back onto his side.

  A chill ran down Andrea's back at the mere thought. There was no possibility of her ever returning to the retched organization willingly. Not after the years that had been stolen from her; years which had been replaced with torment and trauma.

  "Well, I think that settles things. We leave tomorrow." Tony declared, eliciting expressions of surprise all around. The Stark man rose his brow at the reaction. "What? Do you really want to give HYDRA more time to do anymore damage?" He inquired and, with that, the discussion was over before it'd even begun.

  Andy had to admit that he had a point. This test proved that she was capable of handling her powers and, with these successful results, it was smart to begin the mission as soon as possible. The brunette sighed, biting her lip as she began to think about all that could happen.

  It wasn't that she was being pessimistic. But, no one seemed to be the asking the same question that she was; why had HYDRA given her the serum. At first, everyone seemed concerned, but once it proved to be harmless it was as if they'd all forgotten who'd done this to the Jones woman in the first place.

  "Wait." Andrea began, effectively stopping the group just as they prepared to leave. "Do you really think HYDRA did this to me for no reason? I know I made a big deal about being ready, but a part of me feels like I should be hesitant now. For some reason, it feels like we're walking into a trap." Andy's voice was soft as she explained herself.

  Her eyes were low, refusing to meet the gazes of her teammates as she spoke. Once she was done, she pursed her lips and looked up to study the expressions of her fellow Avengers. But, rather than seeing suspicion and doubt (as were expected), Andrea was confused to find the majority of their features were impressed. Clearly, she was missing something.

  But, it only took her a small moment to figure out what it was; it had been a test.

  Andrea rolled her eyes, exasperated. She was an idiot to believe that any of them could've been that oblivious. "None of you really believed I was capable of making my own decisions, did you?" She demanded, though she already knew the answer.

  Annoyance coursed through the brunette as the group shared glances amongst each other; unsure of what to say that wouldn't make the situation worse. Andrea scoffed before giving the group a bitter smile. She should've expected them not to trust her so easily. But, it still stung and she knew that no preparation would save her from that.

  The brunette brushed past the group without another glance. "When it comes down to destroying to the final base, call me. Until then, don't bother." The female seethed, her tone as cold as ice and amplified by the spacious, silent room.

  With a slam of the door, the brunette disappeared from sight; leaving behind a team that felt too guilty to do anything about it.

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I'm on a roll with these updates, wow. Anyways, originally this was almost a 4000 word chapter but I had to split it because it got too long. But, don't worry. The other half should be posted tomorrow and its got loads of fluff so prepare your hearts. Also, don't forget to leave a vote/comment if you liked the chapter! ♡