𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 to the laboratory was silent. Crystal constantly checked her shoulder as she tried to hatch an escape plan, but Ryker was unfazed by her action, meaning he had confidence in the fortitude of the prison around her. Escape wasn't going to be easy if nigh impossible. She frowned as Ryker forced her head to look forward before then pushing her to increase the pace of their walk. He swiftly swiped an identification card through the scanner attached to the wall and the lab's door slid open. He gave a rough shove and forced her inside. She responded by quickly turning around as if she had contemplated hitting him.

He rolled his eyes. "Look, you're not going to escape. Your only way out of this place is with me."

"And then what?" she asked rhetorically. "I silently go with you to where you hand me off to our mutual friends?"

He nodded in agreement without a second of hesitation. "That is the plan."

"Wonderful," she replied between grit teeth.

He didn't wait for another sarcastic response as he grabbed her arm and led her over to a table where several supplies had been set aside for her use. "Is there anything else you might need?"

"Probably."

"Then look around," he retorted coldly, "I'm sure they've got it somewhere here in the room."

She slowly crossed her arms and turned to face him again. "What if I refuse to make the antidote?"

"That's not really my problem," Ryker replied with an eye roll. "I'm sure Hydra will eventually figure it out, but unlike you they don't care about the soldier's safety... What's up with that anyway? Starting some sort of family—"

"No," she interrupted and narrowed her eyes. She briefly paused before explaining herself half-heartedly. "I just don't like other people cleaning up my messes. I don't—"

"Care about anyone," Ryker interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard your little speech before."

"You don't have to do this." Crystal looked down at the ground before meeting his eyes once more. "They wouldn't be able to stop you if you tried to leave."

"They would, actually." He shook his head, contradicting her assumption. "After your little stunt, they made sure of it. The doc's more unhinged than before and as long as Kaos gets his results he couldn't care less."

"I don't want to go back, Ryker..." she spoke quietly before enforcing her voice, "I won't go back, Ryker."

"Yeah, well aside from the wings." Ryker shook his head. "You don't really have the power to stop me." He turned and walked back toward the door, pausing just long enough to speak over his shoulder, "I'll try to give you an hour to work on the antidote, but after that we're out of here."

Crystal frowned as the door slid closed once more after Ryker left the room. It had been ten years since she last saw him. Her hand subconsciously drifted to the back of her neck. The scab was fresh from removing Fury's tracker, but the scar underneath was ten years old. She could still feel the phantom pain of the first tracker being torn from her flesh as she escaped captivity.

She blinked to clear her mind and turned to face the materials spread out across the table. She placed her hands on the cool metal and cast her head toward the ground with a long sigh. She'd been dreading the day that she'd come face to face with her past, but there was no avoiding it any longer.

Although her circumstances weren't ideal, the laboratory had more tools and supplies to work with than anywhere else she could have thought up. She quickly became engrossed in her work, using it as a distraction to block out the flood of memories and tears to follow if she were to stop and give her mind time to think. Half an hour passed and her first sample was ready to be tested. Unlike the equation that allowed her to manipulate the atomic structure of matter by hand, she was forced to develop a serum that would work in a similar manner. Her watch had been crushed and destroyed when Ryker captured her, and that tech had taken months to develop. She only had time to create a one-time solution rather than something she could use repeatedly.

She set the serum aside and prepared to start working on an escape plan when the door behind her clicked and slid open. Ryker stepped back into the room with a pair of guards at his sides. Her eyes shifted between each individual as she slowly connected the dots of his intentions. "You said I had an hour."

"I said I would try to give you an hour," he corrected. The cold look in his eyes almost looked apologetic, but it was quickly masked with insensitivity. "The plan's changed. I just got word that they want you now. I think they've realized that it's a bad idea to give you an extended amount of time to yourself."

"Does HYDRA know about this?" She edged away from the guards that had begun to approach her. Discreetly, she slipped the vial of growth serum in her pocket then continued to back away from the table.

"It doesn't concern them," Ryker replied then emphasized his next words, "You're not their property."

"I'm not anyone's property," she seethed, "least of all theirs." She was no longer talking about HYDRA, but the original organization from which they were both made.

"We both know that's not true, they made us what we are—"

"Lab rats?" She interrupted, hoping that if she kept him talking long enough she might escape.

"Monsters." Chills shot down her spine as the word was uttered from his mouth. From the dead look in his eyes, it was clear he believed everything he said. She slowly shook her head, but the effort was more of an attempt to convince herself no to believe any of the lies that came from his lips.

"I'm not a monster." Her eyes glanced around the room looking for anything that might help. "I don't take pleasure in what we were trained to do."

"Doesn't make you any less of a monster." Ryker kept his eyes trained on her, stepping closer to decrease the space between them. As he spoke, he practically spat. His words were like venom and intended to serve as much. "They tore you apart and put you back together again. You're practically Frankenstein."

"Frankenstein was the scientist, idiot." She rolled her eyes, unable to help the smart remark that escaped. She spotted an opening, but hesitated. Ryker foresaw her intention as she made a desperate attempt to sprint past the guards.

He signaled for them to act, and her arms were each snatched with ease. She struggled as the pair of large men restrained her. Her unease grew as Ryker approached, syringe in hand. "If you won't cooperate, I'm going to have to sedate you."

She struggled harder as the built up panic surged from her chest. She thrashed to gain even an inch of freedom, but her efforts were futile. The feeling of panic overwhelmed her, creating distortions in her mind. The wavelengths of her mind couldn't decide whether she was experiencing life in real time or delving too deep in a memory as Ryker's flickered between his and the doctor from the labyrinth that tormented her every waking moment.

Something inside of her snapped. A primal instinct overpowered her sense of ration as her silver eyes sparked with white lightning. She gasped and threw back her head as all the pain and fear she kept repressed bubbled and boiled over the surface. Her hair whipped around her face, preventing her from seeing, but that didn't stop the animalistic force inside that had just been released.

The gust of wind building up, swirling around her, finally burst in an outward blast. The pair of HYDRA agents were thrust backward several feet and knocked onto the ground. The wind continued to grow stronger and more violent as an air conditioning unit was torn from the wall and thrown in Ryker's direction.

His eyes widened with surprise, but the metal was torn in half and landed harmlessly at his sides. His breathing was heavy as his hand trembled for just a second. But that split second was long enough to show the boy's inner thoughts. The question of whether he was strong enough to face the growing unpredictable nature of the storm.

His moment of weakness was taken advantage of as the wind closed around him. He clawed at his throat, trying desperately to breath as all oxygen was sucked from the air. His panic prevented him from accessing his power with which he'd torn two avengers from the sky effortlessly just a few hours ago. His eyes rolled up inside his head as he blacked out.

The wind stopped and the boy slumped to the ground. Groggily, the pair of guards rose to their feet. They looked around the room in confusion, forgetting that the calm wasn't the end of the storm, only the eye. The wind returned more fervently than before. Their eyes widened in horror as objects that should have been impossible to lift from the ground were raised into the air with ease. Even objects bolted to the ground were torn from their location to join the tornado formation. The guards were given no time to process the events laid out before their eyes as a pair of glass beakers smashed into the back of their heads. Immediately, they collapsed, bleeding as the shards of glass embedded themselves into their skin.

Crystal snapped out of whatever daze she had entered and the storm lost any remnant of control she might have once had. She barely had time to duck, dropping to the ground, before several beakers smashed into dozens of pieces against the wall behind her. The flying shards stung as they grazed her skin, creating minor cuts across her exposed face and hands. She hissed in pain but didn't stall in the moment. She rose to her feet, and pulled her hair back out of her face to finally see the chaos of the room.

Papers and lightweight objects were destroyed in the torrent of wind while the heavy object served as death threats. A desk was effortlessly tossed across the room and tore the door from the wall, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. She checked her pocket to ensure the antidote was still in her possession before sprinting through the opening, trading one prison for another.

She blindly ran down the hallway, turning without direction; however, the wind followed and the overhead lights shattered at the unforeseen impact. She screamed  in terror, cowering as she dropped into a fetal position while covering her head with her hands to protect herself as the glass rained down. She took a few deep breaths and slowly uncovered her head to see that the wind had stopped. She looked down at her trembling hands, trying to understand what she'd just done. The word monster was repeated over and over again in her mind as flashes of strangling Ryker danced before her eyes.

Although she may not have physically wrapped her hands around his throat, she revelled with the thought and the storm had reacted following her wishes. She never thought she was capable of hurting anyone intentionally, but her deep-seated desire to harm those who had torn her apart was now evident. Tears streamed down her face and hysteria transformed the tears into heaving sobs. She wrapped her arms around herself as she cried with wide eyes, mortified that she was capable of such destruction.

Her mourning was interrupted as the emergency lights along the wall flashed red while the speaker system blared an obnoxious alarm that only added to her panic attack. She hyperventilated, choking on her tears, but managed to rise to her feet. She'd process everything later, but now she needed to focus on the only thing that mattered: escape.