The glare from the fluorescent fixture above my head sears into my eyes. It always takes a while to adjust from the dim light of my cell to the bright, clinical light of the lab. I flinch as List and his assistants tighten my restraints, ensuring my body stays as still as possible during the procedure. Since being brought here, HYDRA have experimented with a multitude of different techniques to try to force my powers to reveal themselves with the aim of amplifying and extorting them. Most, if not all, of these techniques have involved them bringing me to the brink of death, just to witness a glimmer of energy at my fingertips. That's all it ever is. A glimmer. It's almost as if my powers are hibernating and they stay dormant until the exact second that they're needed. I've been beaten, drowned, suffocated and even then, my powers only show just enough to save me, but not enough to satisfy List. And so, the cycle continues.
"Open up," commands one of the scientists as they place a mouthpiece around my top teeth. This is new. I run my tongue along the smooth surface of the gumshield, tasting the stale rubber. The cold pads of the EEG cap press into my temples as it is placed on my head and strapped under my chin. A sudden prick on the inside of my left elbow causes me to wince and I glance down to see that a long, metal rod has been inserted into my arm, connected to a mass of cables. My skin goosebumps as the copper brushes my forearm. I follow the wires with my eyes to a large, industrial battery pack. I rest my gaze back towards the ceiling and breathe out sharply as more electrodes are implanted along the rest of my body.
"This might tickle," warns List as he walks over to the power unit and places his hand on the dial. I clench my mouth and fists as List steadily increases the voltage. With my head strapped to the table, I can see the lights in the room gently flicker. As the dial creeps further and further clockwise, I start to feel the muscles throughout my body twitch and then spasm and then violently shake. Then it stops. List's assistant has turned the voltage back to zero. Almost instantaneously, an intense rush of pain circulates throughout my limbs and my chest. A guttural sob leaves my throat. I hear it, but it didn't come from me. It can't have come from me. "Again." I hear the electricity surging and crackling through the rods and then it hits my skin with a force that makes me feel like I am on fire. Maybe I am. My ears are deafened by the same mechanical crackling, except now it is reverberating through my bones. It is a part of me. I try to open my eyes but all I can see is darkness, occasionally broken-up by strobe-like white beams, like driving at night through a snowstorm. "More!" I start to feel disconnected from my body. I have no control. I know my body is convulsing, my mouth is frothing, but I can no longer feel it. It is no longer my body.
My mouth opens and lets out a piercing scream as blue light flashes in front of my eyes. I hear the windows shatter and alarms start ringing. I keep screaming. I can't stop. I have no control. I tilt my head to look down at my hands. My veins are glowing and pulsating with energy which then travels up my forearms, up my biceps and across my chest. It reaches my heart and I feel an intense release as though a tidal wave has swept me up in its path and I am merely a passenger. My arms and legs break free of their restraints and I start to rise up from my seat until I am hovering in the centre of the room. I catch my reflection in a shard of glass. For a moment, I don't realise that I am looking at myself. It's like my brain can't register what my eyes are seeing. My entire body is now glowing a brilliant turquoise colour and flickering with pure power as I float in mid-air. What am I? It seems the HYDRA agents are in just as much shock as I am as they stand, cemented to the ground, eyes and mouths wide as they stare at me. A second later, they recover their senses and start firing their weapons. I grimace, anticipating certain death but it never comes. Instead, the light that my body is now radiating spreads, creating a field of protection around me. It keeps spreading. They're running now. Evacuating. I breathe deep breaths in an attempt to regain control, to prevent me from reaching critical mass. Nothing is working. I take one more inhale before the energy emanating from me retreats and then expands one final time.
Exploding.
Like a supernova.
Author's note: what do you think of Ava's powers? Is this how you expected them to manifest themselves? Let me know!
Please vote, comment and share as much as you can!
YOU ARE READING
When I Lose Control
FanfictionA result of HYDRA's experiments, Ava Maximoff knows she's powerful, strong, special. But she can't control that power and it costs people their lives. Now, she has the opportunity to use her power for good - by joining the Avengers. Follow her on he...
