"You threw all of it away."
August did not answer. She stared at the ceiling of her cell, one hand propped under her head, the other on her chest.
"You were out, tiger," Riley breathed heavily out of her nose. "Out there in the world. You could have gone anywhere. Anywhere. You could have gotten that freedom you were moaning on and on about. And you chose to go right back into the belly of the beast."
August rolled onto her side so her back faced Riley. She made eye contact with Sam, who was in the cell directly opposite hers.
"I don't feel sorry for you, if that's what you're looking for. Nobody does. I think you crave this...this chaos that you're chasing. You like the fight. You're like the schoolyard bully," Riley laughed. "First to throw a punch and first to play the victim. I bet you feel really, really dumb right about now."
"Leave her alone, Hearst." Clint half-heartedly called from the cell next to Scott's. "She did a good thing."
"We all did," Sam nodded. She could see him through the glass, sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees. "Look where it got us."
August sat up, the needle stuck into the back of her hand jerking as she went. She winced, gently moving her IV-pole around as she lowered her feet to the floor. She felt eyes on her and looked up, seeing Clint staring at her with soft, concerned eyes.
"You holding up okay, kid?"
August gently touched the metal muzzle that stretched from ear to ear, covering her nose and mouth. She nodded, not meeting his gaze.
"Well," Across the room, in his cell that was sandwiched between Clint and Sam, Scott had piped up. "I for one thought the fire-breath was really cool, and I also find it incredibly sexist that only the women have been physically bound."
August's eyes flickered to Wanda, who was perched on the floor in the cell next to hers, wrapped in her straight jacket.
"Raaaa..." Scott made a horrible, raptor-like screeching sound. "Like a dragon. Super dope."
It had been weeks since Tony's disgruntled visit to the Raft, with no sign of any of them getting out of there any time soon. Her heart ached for Wanda, Clint, Scott, Sam. August deserved to be there. They didn't.
The overhead alarms started going off. August looked up, narrowing her eyes.
"You think that it's Ross again? Coming to gloat?" Riley droned. August turned to look at her, watching as she thumped her head softly against the wall. "Your bitch of a sister maybe? With my luck, someone's here to put me out of my misery."
Beneath her muzzle, August pursed her lips.
The door at the far end of the hall slid open and of all people, Tony Stark hopped into the room, escorted by two guards. He cracked his knuckles as he went. He raised two fingers in greeting to Clint, who just stared at him.
To her surprise, Tony came to a halt in front of her cell. He crossed his arms, looking her up and down.
"Evening, August."
Was it? She had no way of telling from inside the Raft. He pointed at her.
"You, and..." He looked to her left, pointing at Riley. "You. You two are with me. Let's go."
This piqued Riley's interest. She stood up off of the ground, moving to the front of her cell, intrigued.
One of the guards hoisted his AK, moving to August.
"Put on your cuffs-"
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," Tony waved him off. "She's an old friend."
For the record, they had never been friends. They had never even had a conversation that was not exchanged over mutual attempts of murder.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Tony," Clint called from across the room. "What is this?"
Tony looked to Clint hesitantly.
"Got something I need to talk to them about."
"It couldn't have been a phone call?"
Tony turned fully, wringing his hands. He pursed his lips.
"My daughter...my ward," He sighed. "Found something regarding their agencies. Information that might stop a lot of pain. I brought it to Ross, and he thinks that it's worthwhile looking into."
He turned back to August. His eyes slid from her to Riley, then back to August.
"Listen, I know we've never really gotten along, but...in exchange for your cooperation, Ross is prepared to grant you clemency. Tell me what I need to know, and I'll have you relocated. A friend of mine over in Africa has agreed to allocate you a piece of land in his country. Nobody will bother you there. And you," He pointed to Riley. "Will be remanded to the Avengers compound. I can keep an eye on you there, but I think you've got some worthwhile talents that can be developed. All I need is a little bit of information."
August and Tony stared at each other for a long moment. Tony furrowed his brow.
"Man," He stepped back, giving the guard a perplexed look. "Can you get that thing off of her? It's weird talking to her like this, it's like I'm talking to a mannequin. The witty comebacks are her whole schtick."
The guard fumbled with the code on her door and the hologram turned off. He stepped in, pulling out a thin rod, and began undoing the locks on her muzzle.
As soon as it was fully off, he jumped back quickly. She scrunched her nose, turning to the side and spitting at the floor. The tiny glob sizzled as it hit the concrete, the heat of it singing a mark into the floor.
She stretched her jaw, reaching up to rub it, and sighed. Over Tony's shoulder, she made eye contact with Sam. A silent understanding passed between them, and he nodded at her.
Hang in there. I'm going to come back for you.
"So," Tony stepped into her cell. "You in, or are you out?"
August pulled the IV needle from her hand, rubbing the sore spot. She took a glance around her cell.
"I dunno," She shrugged. "Kinda cozy in here. Company's not bad, either. But Riley stays."
"Uh," Riley piped up, practically hanging off the bars of her cell. "Not fair."
"Yeah, kid, she's part of the deal." Tony shrugged.
"She tried to sell me to Soviets."
"You tried to sell-" His eyebrows shot up, his head swiveling around to Riley. "How come I didn't know about this?"
Riley looked nervous. She shifted her weight.
"I needed the money."
"You needed the- okay, yeah, sure, that makes it fine." Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, the deal is all-or-nothing. Either I pull both of you out, or leave both of you in."
August crossed her arms. She looked from Riley back over to Sam, who was looking at her like she was insane.
"Fine. Fine!" August dropped her arms. The guard leveled his AK at her in response and she took a step backwards. "Woah, man, just a gesture. No malice here."
"Yeah, drop the gun, John Wick."
The second guard opened Riley's cell, who bounced out with a grin on her face. Tony rolled his eyes, beginning to walk, the two inmates trailing after him.
They took the freight elevator up to the top deck, following Tony into a high-tech helicopter. The blades began to whirr and the helicopter began to rise, the three of them slipping on headsets.
As the Raft faded out of view, sinking back below the waves, August prayed that it would be her last time ever seeing it, so long as the rest of her new friends got out.
YOU ARE READING
SURVIVE ➤ BUCKY BARNES
Fanfiction"i think of you-" "think of me?" August had never identified as a hero. She had never chosen to do what she did. Spending her entire life as a pawn in somebody else's wretched game. She was whatever they made her - a hero, a...
