Buzzkill: The Reckoning

Chapter 51

"So what happened to you?" Dani asked Ruth, setting her bag down against the wall at the side of the room before sitting down in a chair beside her. Syd did the same, tossing her sunglasses on the small table just a few feet from them and settling comfortably in her chair.

"Since...when?" Ruth asked hesitantly.

"Since the facility was raided," Syd replied.

Ruth took a moment to try and piece things together.

"Wait, Ruth," Dani interrupted. "I hate to ask this, but, I don't see Ryker here. Is he...alright? You two were really close."

Ruth bit the inside of her lip, letting out a breath. "No," She replied softly. "He was killed just before the facility was raided."

"By Ma'am?"

Ruth nodded. "He was the one who went to SHIELD and told them where the facility was. He was trying to get us all out, even though he knew he'd die from the consequences."

"Ruth, I'm so sorry. I mean it. Ryker was a great guy," Dani consoled.

Syd sat silent, not usually the one to talk much. Sympathy caught in the back of her throat.

"When SHIELD raided, or, at least I thought they were SHIELD—" Ruth started.

"They turned out to be Hydra, right?"

"Yeah," Ruth affirmed. "I ran away. I left the Woman for dead and tried to get out of Hydra's reach." She shook her head as if to clear the cloud of memories away, "Then something came over me that made me feel that I needed to continue what Ryker had began. I felt like I owed him that much."

"How long were you at Hydra?"

"A few months the first time," Ruth replied. "To be honest I lost track of time in that place. Everything seemed to move at a different speed." She rolled up her right sleeve, holding her arm out for them to see, they both leaned forward. "A few weeks ago I ended up back there, and I'm surprised I made it out."

Syd swore in a disgusted awe at the scars and discoloration from the injections. She held Ruth's arm in her hands and looked closer at the scars that seemed to stretch under Ruth's skin like lightning.

"Hydra experimented the serums on me, but it didn't go exactly as planned." Having already showed the girls some of what the Woman had designed, Ruth explained further, "They didn't know what Ma'am had actually conjured up."

"What does that mean?" Dani asked.

"The experiments gave me abilities."

"Like powers?"

Ruth nodded.

Syd spoke up, "What kind?"

"I can amplify and control electricity."

"Holy shit," Dani marveled. "You serious?"

"Prove it," Syd urged.

Ruth looked to the door to make sure no one was looking. "Ok," she started, "I can't control it completely yet. I have these new conductors, but I've never tried these out before. I've had a couple pairs already and they broke pretty quickly. So if I short out the plane I'm blaming you two."

"Fair enough," Dani said.

Ruth sparked the smallest bit of electricity in her left hand, watching as it wove around her fingers. Light reflected off of Ruth's eyes, looking to what she had created with awe.

"Wow," Syd mused under her breath.

"Ok," Dani began, "I know that the experiments were horrible, but this is amazing."