Somewhere to Belong Ch. 14 (DC/Multi)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Mystique is having a bad time…

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She’d fucked up. Pulling against her restraints, Mystique grits her teeth… but no amount of struggle helps her to escape. Nor does transforming herself into someone smaller allow her to get away either. They’d thought of that of course, making sure the restraints were tight and numerous enough to keep her tied down.

Of course, even if she were able to get out of the dozen plus shackles on her limbs, torso, neck, and head, she would still be trapped in a locked room with no escape. Still, it’s the principle of the things… if she could slip free, she might be able to hide and ambush whoever eventually came into the room.

Alas, it’s not to be. She remains entirely tied down as the door to her cell suddenly opens and Arnim Zola, Hydra’s Head Scientist, steps into the room with a smile on his lips.

“Ah, mein fraulein… apologies for keeping you waiting. We had preparations to complete.”

With the snap of his fingers, two assistants enter the room pushing a pair of carts filled with a number of different… instruments. Following behind them are two faceless thugs in black armor wielding those laser guns Mystique has seen so much of these past several months.

Frankly, she knew more about Hydra at this point than she probably wanted to. Enough to know that they had to be stopped… and Arnim Zola most of all. The mad bastard had become obsessed ever since he’d realized the depths of what Myk-Zod’s blood was capable of. The experiments he’d been running all this time were cruel and inhumane… but that was par for the course for a monster like him.

He hid in Red Skull’s shadow, an unassuming and sniveling man… but Mystique knew better. Arnim Zola was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a man who knew how to ‘follow’ in order to get the most out of those he allowed to lead him. His simpering sycophancy was nothing but a cover for his true ambitions.

“It is good that we were able to capture you, even if you did get that message out. Alas, it just means that Herr Schmidt will have to move up his plans… which will in turn keep eyes off of us long enough to complete our evacuation of this facility.”

Mystique grimaces internally, even as outwardly she keeps her expression as blank as possible. Yeah, if the choice was between stopping Red Skull from bombing the civilized world back into the stone age and stopping Arnim Zola from escaping again, she knew full well what would be chosen. Hell, she’d make the same exact choice in their shoes.

It didn’t make it any less frustrating. She’d been so close… but unfortunately, she’d gotten cocky. Her overconfidence had proved to be her undoing, because even as she’d done everything in her power to be a thorn in Hydra’s side these past several months, she’d never really expected them to realize said thorn existed.

That was where she’d been proven wrong. They’d eventually realized something was up when so many of their supposedly secret facilities were hit so quickly and efficiently. And they’d started an investigation into what was happening. Somewhere along the way, she must have slipped up because they’d discovered they were dealing with a shapeshifter… and they’d started developing protocols for unveiling her the next time she showed up.

She’d been lucky to get off that last message that she did get off, but as she’d been trying to extract afterwards, they’d come down on her like a sack of bricks. Which in turn led to Mystique’s current predicament and the fact that she was pretty much screwed, all things considered.

The only thing was… the equipment on the carts that Zola’s assistants had rolled in didn’t look like the sort of equipment she would expect them to use in order to transport her out of this facility and take her somewhere else. Instead, it looked a whole lot like they were setting up for yet another one of Arnim Zola’s twisted experiments, something Mystique had far too much experience with at this point.

“… What are you doing?”

Breaking her silence brings a wide smile to Arnim Zola’s face. The mad doctor chuckles, even as he puts on a pair of gloves.

“Ah, there is that curious mind I knew was lurking behind your stoney façade. Yes, what are we doing indeed, hm? I’m afraid, mein fraulein, that bringing you with us is an unacceptable security risk. Which forces me to speed up my work a bit before our departure because frankly… you are the greatest breakthrough I’ve had since I acquired the alien’s blood in the first place.”

Mystique blinks. She was well aware that they’d already taken her blood by this point. A lot of it in fact, enough that she’d been woozy and fallen unconscious for a time after the fact. But what the hell was Zola even talking about? Her a breakthrough? What did that mean?

“Heh, you have no inkling of just how special you are, do you? Your abilities are so far beyond simple shapeshifting. You appear to have total control over every aspect of your physiology, allowing you to alter the very formation of your biological cells in real time. It is remarkable. More than that, it is precisely what I needed.”

One of the assistants hands Arnim a large syringe. Only, this isn’t a syringe for drawing blood. Mystique knows this because the syringe already has something in it, filled to the brim with a deep red substance of some sort. Not quite blood, she knows what that looks like. But…

“What is that?”

“My elixir! Created from the very last sample of blood from the alien! Ah how I wish I could have had more time… more resources! Failure after failure has plagued my every waking moment since the moment the alien slipped out of my grasp. And yet, each failure taught me something new. Every setback showed me just how far I still had to go!”

He’s crazy… but then, Mystique already knew that. Unfortunately, she’s not in a position to do anything but watch as he rants and raves, looking rapturous in his recounting of events.

“As soon as I got a good look at the alien’s blood I knew I had something truly special on my hands. Something even better than Dr. Erskine’s serum. Something… truly magical. Unfortunately, I have been held back by the limitations of my time. Human Science is not yet where it needs to be to take full advantage of this gift the alien gave us.”

Mystique can’t help but scowl, jerking in her restraints as she feels offended on Myk-Zod’s behalf. She’d been a lab rat once or twice before, after all. Someone like her… well, it was bound to happen from time to time. So she couldn’t help but sympathize with Myk-Zod’s experiences, especially after everything she’d seen Arnim Zola do these past several months.

“It wasn’t a gift. You stole his blood, you bastard.”

Zola pauses… and then smiles again.

“Yes, I suppose I did. But I will not be held back by social niceties. Humanity cannot allow itself to be held back. The alien is proof that there are other species out there among the stars… species that are clearly much, much more advanced than we are. We need to be stronger, you see. We need to seize this power for ourselves!”

Mystique shivers… and then sneers.

“Unfortunately for you, you’re just not smart enough, are you? Down to one sample and all you have to show for it is failure. That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

Zola twitches… before stepping forward.

“Until today, yes. But as I also said, you are the breakthrough mein fraulein. You are the missing piece.”

She still didn’t know what that meant, but she certainly understands that she doesn’t like the look of the needle he’s bringing closer and closer to her arm.

“What is that? Stop it! Keep that shit away from me!”

“I already said it is my elixir. And you should be thrilled… you will be my first successful test subject!”

Mystique opens her mouth to protest, but the words die in her throat as he jabs the syringe into her arm before she can speak. In the end, all she can do is watch as he delivers the contents into her bloodstream.

“It is simple enough… the alien’s blood was too complex for me to comprehend using modern day sciences. Perhaps in a hundred years I would have the apparatuses necessary, but we do not have a hundred years. However, you… your abilities make you uniquely suited for doing what technology cannot.”

A shudder runs through Mystique’s body as… whatever the hell he’s injected her with gets to work. As Zola had said, she has complete control over her own physiology. So she should, technically, be able to just… redirect his shitty elixir through her form, up into her mouth, and then spit it out all over his face.

She tries to do so, but it doesn’t work. Focusing as hard as she can, Mystique tries to ‘grab’ the elixir and isolate it, but it’s like attempting to carry sand through open fingers. The more she grabs at it, the more slips through, ‘sticking’ to her cells for lack of a better word.

By the time the elixir gets to her mouth, it’s been reduced to a single trickle that leaves her lips and dribbles down her chin.

Zola watches curiously, peering at her for a long moment… before smiling brightly.

“No seizures, no mutating, no transformations… I do believe this to be a success! Congratulations mein fraulein on still breathing!”

Mystique glares at Zola with all her might. For a moment, she feels something like heat behind her eyes... but it fizzles out. More than that, she feels something within her that she can't describe. He might be wrong about this being a success… was she going to fucking explode?

“Alas, as previously stated, we cannot take you with us. But do not fret… for your contribution to the sciences will not be soon forgotten, nor does it end here! Get the tubes, get the tubes!”

That last bit is directed towards his assistants, who both bend over to pull large spools of tubing out from under the car. Mystique glares, recognizing full well what they’re planning… they’re not just going to draw blood this time, they’re going to drain her dry. Because her survival is no longer necessary to their plans.

Fuck. So this is how she dies. One last lab experiment that she wasn’t going to be able to walk away from. Hopefully Myk-Zod got her message and they managed to stop the Red Skull from dropping the bombs at least. Though that would be poor consolation given the madness that Arnim Zola was liable to get up to with her newly enhanced blood.

Unfortunately, she didn’t see a way out. As they bring out the much bigger needles and get ready to plunge them into her veins so they can collect every last drop of her blood, Mystique grits her teeth and strains against her bindings. To her shock… she feels them start to give a bit, her eyes widening as her strength causes shackles to start creaking and straining.

Of course, the problem is she’s doing that right in front of Zola, his assistants, and the guards. Arnim Zola’s eyes widen as well and he lets out a gasp.

“Remarkable. So fast…”

Only, then one of her bindings pops off and he actually starts to look alarmed.

“Ah… I do believe she’s in danger of breaking free! Guards!”

Two energy rifles are lifted up and pointed at her as Zola and his assistants retreat behind the guards. Mystique bares her teeth in a rictus of a grin, not expecting to survive the extremely powerful blue blasts she knows that those weapons can fire.

But hey, at least she’ll ruin most of her blood dying defiantly, right?

Time almost seems to slow down as she watches the guards’ fingers squeeze down on the triggers of their respective rifles. The ends of both weapons glow an ominous blue as they begin to discharge. And then, right as she’s preparing to shut her eyes and accept her death with grace…

C-CRASH!

The ceiling caves in rather dramatically, cement crumbling down onto the floor. The rifles discharge, but their blue energy blasts don’t ever reach Mystique, instead landing without harm on the chest of her savior. Mystique stares with wide eyes at the floating back profile of Myk-Zod, the alien man hovering between her and her would-be killers.

… Since when could he fly?!

“Since when can you fly?!”

Alright, she’s never letting anyone know that she just had the same thought as fucking Zola. Still, any grimy sensation from such a thing is offset by the satisfaction of Myk-Zod moving forward almost faster than her eyes can track. In an instant he has the two Hydra Guards knocked out and Zola and his assistants cowering against the wall, hands raised in surrender.

Only once he’s dealt with them does he turn to Mystique, rushing over to begin freeing her. But then… Mystique had already been in the process of freeing herself. Even as he tears half of her restraints off of her in one fell swoop, she pulls on the other half, making most of them pop free as she flexes and shatters them with her newfound strength.

The look Myk-Zod gives her is careful and concerned, even as he helps her up off of the table.

“Are you alright? What did they do to you?”

Grimacing, Mystique shoots a dark look at Arnim Zola.

“They injected me with something… something based off of your blood.”

Myk-Zod curses at that, looking stricken.

“Mystique, I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner…”

She just shrugs and rolls her shoulders, feeling out her newfound strength. Whatever had been in Zola’s ‘elixir’… it really HAD worked. She was feeling fine… better than fine, really. And best of all, she didn’t think she was going to explode anymore. It was just like the mad scientist had theorized… her strange physiology had allowed her to stabilize whatever the hell he’d put in her.

“It’s fine. I’m fine… you’re here now. That’s what counts.”

Although…

“You shouldn’t be here though. You should be stopping Red Skull.”

Myk-Zod shakes his head.

“Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos will stop Red Skull. I came alone to stop Zola and help you.”

Something warm that has nothing to do with her new sensations flares to life in her chest. Mystique can’t remember the last time she had someone she could rely on to care about her that much. Not since Destiny, probably…

Still, she represses that warmth for the moment and focuses on the more pressing matters at hand. Namely… Zola and his cronies.

“Your blood has been confounding him all this time. He’s wasted pretty much all of it on failed experiments… until now. He made a breakthrough just now… with me.”

Myk-Zod looks to Zola as well and of course the small man resorts to sniveling and simpering like always.

“I-I surrender! I submit myself t-to your custody! Please, me and my assistants are unarmed!”

It’s true. They are unarmed. And yet… the knowledge remains in their heads. Sharing a look with Myk-Zod, Mystique can tell he knows that as well as she. Hell, he might know it better than her, he was a scientist himself after all.

Even if Zola never had access to another drop of her or Myk-Zod’s blood ever again, even if he spent the rest of his days behind bars… nothing was certain. Nothing… save for death.

Mystique isn’t sure Myk-Zod is capable of that sort of thing though. So perhaps it will fall to her to deal with this scumbag once and for all.

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A/N: By the way, with this chapter we're closing in on the end of this first world. Myk-Zod will be moving on relatively soon I imagine, definitely within the next few chapters. So consider this your chance to suggest his next destination, keeping in mind that it should either be a Sci-Fi or Comic Book Universe! I may or may not put it up to a vote before he jumps again!

Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

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Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L_wzeJ8Sapl43WRDQzZt5CFWCt6zAdowBhONMtH73eE/edit?tab=t.0