Laura Kinney View
Chris is currently the physically strongest of the group, so he picked up Strucker and unwillingly strung him over his shoulder. Unwillingly due to events that have recently transpired. We quickly got on the move, running through many dark alleys, tunnels, and then eventually found ourself residing in an abandoned warehouse that was set to be demolished soon and was very far away from where we stayed before.
The previous place we stayed in was a storage facility that we had snuck into without being seen. That specific storage unit wasn't being used so we decided to operate in it.
The entire time we went on the journey from storage unit to abandoned warehouse, I found myself extremely attatched to Azrael, and I didn't know why.
Whenever I'm near him, my senses and instincts are blaring to get closer… even in an intimate way. If I had to guess, it probably has something to do with my powers.
'He seems intelligent enough, so I'll ask him later.' For the mean time, I kept fulfilling my senses and emotions by keeping myself close, but not close enough to lose control of myself in front of everyone.
Once inside the warehouse, we looked around and found a chair and chains. Like earlier, we put Strucker onto the chair and chained him up to prevent him from escaping if he were to have the opportunity.
——
Azrael Maximoff View
I took a brief look at the files that I stole to make sure that the question I was going to ask will be provided an answer. I put the files down and directed my attention back towards Strucker.
"Strucker, reveal to me the details about the redacted information on my files."
"The redacted information consists of your powerful dormant X-Gene and the effects on your body cause by the mind stone." After hearing that come from Strucker.
'Did he say X-Gene? What did the mind stone do to me?'
"What is my X-Gene? And what effects did the mind stone have on my body?"
"It wasn't possible to completely estimate what your power would be, but I determined it was cold related, perhaps ice. Now for the effects of the mind stone. Since you were brought to life by the mind stone, you are highly compatible to absorb the entire gem and obtain psychic abilities."
Everyone in the room went silent at the news, including me. I couldn't believe it.
'If I absorb the mind stone, I would surely get stronger, and I have an ice related X-Gene that was apparently powerful, but unfortunately dormant.'
"How do I unlock my X-Gene?"
"It should naturally unlock as the days go on, or it can activate by enduring stress or trauma. You could also potentially unlock it by absorbing the mind stone which in theory could-"
"Allow the X-Gene to unlock from the mass of energy, yeah." I cut him off, already getting the gist. I threw the bag of files on the floor, giving the access to the others in case they had questions about themselves for Strucker. I was done with all the questions as of now.
I sat in a chair in the dark, facing the window. watching and making sure no one was here. Laura pulled a chair next to me to presumably take watch with me. However, I'm not some dense Shonen protagonist, I could tell she felt something towards me, and now I had an idea why.
'Her instincts are more primal than anything, so the reasoning for her being so close is probably because she senses the strong dormant X-Gene residing in my body. That's all I could think of for now.
"Azrael, can I ask you something?"
"It's because of my X-Gene." She looked surprised for a second. Over the last few days, Laura has been expressing herself much more than before. I didn't know what to attribute this to though.
"That's why I feel this way toward you?" She asked. I nodded, giving her a small smile. In reality, I wanted nothing more than to sleep. The news I got today was nagging in the back of my head.
All I could think about was absorbing that mind stone instantly, but as I see it, that process is unknown to me. I don't know what'll happen when I absorb it. The infinity stones are not a joke, the power they hold is immersive and I doubt I'd be conscious during the process.
'The fact that we're in a state of hiding right now gives me all the reason to not absorb it, but I wouldn't put it past HYDRA to have some energy tracking technology, and I'd bet this thing puts out a lot of energy.' I decided to absorb it tonight, for now I'll sit in a comfortable silence with Laura, neither of us needing to say a word. We both were starting to accept how we felt about each other, but right now wasn't a good time to speak on it.
It may seem like we're moving fast, but when a guy and a girl have a mutual liking towards each other and escape a treacherous base that conduct experiments on people, it's nearly impossible for the two not to feel this way. Especially because of our experiences growing up.
'Well, she grew up more than I did.' I thought amusingly.
I grew tired of the silence and started to create small talk with Laura, so we could form a deeper bond. That helps with chemistry on "missions" like this.
——
3rd Person View
While Azrael and Laura had a great time conversing with each other about small things and a few secrets, Chris, Hisako, Pietro, and Wanda were busy questioning Strucker.
Meanwhile, HYDRA agents were surveilling area after area, searching for Strucker and their missing infinity stone. The technology they were using to track the stone was working fine at first, but the energy signature was getting weaker by the day, making it much harder to find.
The agents would have a definite location for the stone and hopefully Strucker in approximately 2-3 days. While they did that, night approached, meaning it was time for Azrael to take the next step towards ultimate power.