Retribution ★ Avengers

Courtesy of Tony Stark

A faint beeping noise could be heard, bothering Marlena terribly. She forced her eyes open, though the light shining brightly above her caused her to shy away. She turned on her side, immediately realizing she was on the floor, which confused her slightly. The last thing she remembered was being in the tower with Steve and Bucky...and Kellan. Kellan had taken her and she wasn't sure how. The only thing she was sure of was the anger burning through her veins. No matter what, she never seemed to be able to catch a break.

Marlena groaned in pain and sat up, raising her hand to her aching head. She examined her surroundings quickly and was immediately met with a dreadful sense of familiarity. She was almost positive she knew where she was, but she wasn't allowed the time to think on it.

Marlena found her misty reflection in the glass she seemed to be trapped behind, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying desperately to make sense of what the hell was going on. She opened her eyes again, her focus falling on her reflection once more. Marlena continued to rub her aching head, but as she did, she watched her reflection remove the hand from her head, and she immediately found herself in a heap of confusion.

"What the—?" she whispered to herself, squinting her eyes as if to get a better look at whatever was going on in front of her. She was sure she was hallucinating, but little did she know that was the farthest from what was happening.

"Boo!"

Marlena's reflection jumped forward, startling the brunette tremendously. Marlena backed herself into the wall of what she figured was her holding cell, while her reflection laughed and stood up. The door to her cell opened, and Marlena's reflection, who she was beginning to think wasn't her reflection, stepped into the small room, closing and locking the door behind her. Marlena couldn't believe her eyes. She wasn't sure who she was looking at, whether it be a clone or a real person. All she was sure of was that this person—this woman—looked exactly like her. It was strange to say the least, so strange that Marlena couldn't even begin to comprehend it. In her life, she'd seen her fair share of strange, but this had to be number one on her list.

"Wow, I've been waiting to do that for years." The woman laughed and sat down in a chair at the opposite end of the room; even their voices were the same, though this woman's accent was broken between American and thick Russian. "I definitely have to go back and rewatch that later."

Marlena couldn't think or speak. All she could do was sit and stare at the woman in front of her. She was visibly in shock, but rightfully so.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked Marlena, her brow raised. "You're looking a bit pale."

"I just, um—" Marlena couldn't even finish her sentence. Her mind was way too muddled to conjure an appropriate response to whatever was happening.

"Are you actually going to speak or are we just going to sit here and waste my time?" the woman asked with a groan.

"This isn't possible." Marlena swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head. "Who are you?" Marlena couldn't find her way inside the woman's head, so she could only assume she was the telepath that controlled Kellan. It seemed to make sense, but at the same time Marlena wasn't sure what to think.

The woman laughed again and leaned forward in her seat, her hazel eyes meeting Marlena's own. "Are you serious? I figured the identical face would be a dead give away."

"You—you're Alena," Marlena spoke with a hint of realization in her tone.

"Alena Viktorovna Chernova to be exact, but yes, I am," she told Marlena with a smirk on her face. "It is so nice to finally meet you, Marlena."