Marvel: The Journey

On the same night on which Logan accepted Stryker's deal,

In Xavier's School,

"Huh?", Kayla raised her head from the book she was reading and glanced at the door. She furrowed her brow while thinking, 'Did somebody knock on the door or was it my imagination?' A few seconds passed and nothing happened so, she shrugged and went back to reading her book while lying on the bed comfortably. However, a few seconds later, she heard the knock again. 'What the?', she exclaimed in her mind and put the book on the bedside table after closing it. She removed the covers from herself and got out of the bed. She walked to the door and opened it when suddenly, a hand shot forth and grabbed her throat in a tight grip.

Kayla grabbed the hand and looked forward when she realized that it was none other than Val. Val looked pissed. He was staring at her while his eyes glowed and dimmed repeatedly. He tightened his grip around her throat causing her to tap his arm and make him let go of her. However, he ignored her pleas and said angrily while staring into her eyes, "You contacted Stryker?!"

Kayla's eyes widened and she grabbed his hand while looking at him with a scared expression on her face and thought, 'No! No! Noooo! Why? Why does he know?'

She felt Val tightening his grip around her throat and she desperately tried to make him let go of her. Val watched her face and eyes turn red and her desperate pleas without any remorse and said hatefully, "I should've never trusted you!!"

He glanced at the window and flew toward it while still holding onto her throat.

* WHOOSH *

* CRASH *

Both of them flew out of the school and into the sky. Val remained silent and simply dragged Kayla along by her throat in the sky. After flying for a few seconds, his eyes landed on a skyscraper and he changed direction and flew toward it.

* WHOOSH *

He flew toward the top of the skyscraper and hovered above it. He landed on it and placed Kayla near the edge of the roof while standing in front of her. Finally, he let go of her throat, causing her to cough loudly and take a deep breath since she couldn't breathe for the entire time he held her throat.

Val watched all of it without any remorse and when she recovered, he shouted, "WHY DID YOU DO IT?!?!?!"

Kayla was massaging her throat when Val shouted at her. She flinched when he shouted and as she looked at him staring at her with hatred, she broke down in tears.

"I...* sob * didn't have * sob *… a choice. I didn't want to a H... * sob * Hydra spy. I was... * sob * forced into it.", Kayla managed to say through her cries. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a fountain and she tried to wipe them away but it kept coming.

"Lies!", Val shouted without hesitation and said, "You're a liar! You're trying to emotionally manipulate me! You're a snake!"

"No! * sob * No! I'm not!", she vehemently shook her head. She turned around and set her hair aside to reveal a large scar that ran from the base of her skull all the way down to the first vertebra. She pointed at it and said, "Look! Look at this scar!" She turned around and continued, "They... * sob * planted a bomb... * sob * in my head. If... * sob * I don't respond to their orders for more than a day... * sob *, they would press a button and... * sob * my head would... * sob * explode. They entered my home suddenly one night and... * sob * they killed my parents in front of me and my sister. They... * sob * kidnapped both of us and they did this to us. I... * sob * survived but...my sister * sob * my Emma * sob * the only thing that I had left in this cruel world... * sob * sob * didn't. She couldn't * sob * handle it and died on the operating table. They threw her away... they threw my Emma away... * sob * like trash.

And I was the subject of their machinations. They knew that my * sob * mental stability was shattered. They knew I * sob * wanted to kill myself. And... * sob * they took advantage of it. She was the only thing I * sob * had left. They * sob * killed her and watched me * sob * kill myself * sob * again and again. But, they * sob * would always * sob * bring me back. No matter how many times I * sob * tried to kill myself, they... * sob * brought me back. They deliberately saved me.

Then... * sob * after I recovered, they beat me ruthlessly. Without * sob * any remorse. I was beaten till I was * sob * half-dead and then they brought me back. Beaten... brought back. Beaten... brought back. Again * sob * again and * sob * again. When they thought I'd had enough, they chipped away at my dignity. They tore * sob * down my clothes. I had to stand and walk * sob * sob * sob * naked in front of everybody and was beaten and forced to work as a * sob * sob * slave.

Nobody touched me. No one. But the humiliation I suffered and * sob * endured was much worse. They humiliated me, taunted me, beat me, and tortured me until they realized that I was * sob * ready for their manipulation. When they knew that my mental state wasn't okay, they forced me to accept that my home was * sob * HYDRA and HYDRA only. Without it, I... * sob * would be nothing. But... they didn't know that a small part of me still held on to the belief that I * sob * sob * would be okay. That it was all a * sob * bad dream. And... I somehow survived that."

Val remained silent the entire time she spoke of her ordeal and thought, 'By checking her heart rate, brain waves, etc... it seems that she isn't lying. I don't have telepathy. If I did, I would have entered her mind and looked through her memories long ago. But I don't so... I don't know if she loves Logan or not. And I don't know if she's just this good of a spy to control her heart rate, etc. I have to threaten her and put her in a perilous situation. The decision she takes in that situation would give me my answer.'

He asked her calmly, "Do... you love Logan?"

"Yes!", Kayla nodded and wiped her tears, and continued, "I love him! I love him so much! More than myself! He's the best thing that's happened to me after Emma died!"

"Then...", Val raised his eyebrows in doubt and asked, "Why are you selling him out to Stryker? You know what's the outcome, right? Why are you doing this?"

Kayla clenched her fists and tears streamed down her cheeks again and replied, "This... is the perfect outcome. I know Stryker won't be able to control Logan. He's overestimating himself. He won't be able to handle the animal he would unleash in this world. And... I also know that Logan's memories would be wiped out and he would forget about me."

Val sighed and massaged his forehead while asking, "If you know that, why are you so calm about it then? Why are you so okay with it?"

"Isn't it perfect?", Kayla replied, "He would forget how much of a two-faced his girlfriend is. I don't want him to find out that the love of his life was a deceiver, fraud, and impostor. I don't want him to think that our love wasn't real."

Val sighed again and stared at her as he asked, "Do you really love Logan? With all of your heart?"

"Yes!", Kayla nodded and replied without hesitation.

"Jump.", Val ordered without any emotion in his voice.

"What?!", Kayla asked with a shocked expression on her face.

Val crossed his arms and said without any emotion in his voice, "If you truly love Logan, then jump off of this building. Because if you don't...", he leaned forward and said with hatred in his voice, "I will kill you right here, right now. I've learned one thing that's helped me numerous times and that is... NEVER TRUST A HYDRA SPY!!"

Kayla clenched her fists and glanced back down. The height made her slightly dizzy. But, she looked back at Val and her lips trembled as she spoke, "V-Very w-w-well." She took a step back and...

* WHOOSH *

Kayla was falling down. She knew she was going to die when she'd hit the ground. But she didn't care. She closed her eyes while thinking, 'I'm coming to you, Emma. Your big sister's joining you in the afterlife.'

She braced herself for the impact but it never happened. Instead of feeling her body hit the hard ground, she felt two big hands holding onto her. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Val smiling at her while hovering in mid-air. He said to her, "Congratulations! You've passed my test!"

"W-Wha?", Kayla managed to say. She didn't know what to think.

Val smiled and put his finger on the back of her head, and sent a strand of energy inside her. The energy strand entered the bomb and disabled it. Kayla felt a slight vibration in the back of her head and felt an urge to scratch it. She looked at Val for answers and he gave them to her as he said, "I disabled the bomb in your head. You don't have to worry about having your head explode. You are safe."

"S-Safe? I-I am safe?', Kayla asked ho. She hadn't heard the word - safe in a long time. Seeing him nod, she didn't know what to think or what to do. Her emotions had been on a rollercoaster the entire time. She didn't know what to say to him. Tears formed in her eyes yet again and she began crying hysterically while clutching at his clothes.

Val sighed heavily and he patted her back as he tried to soothe her, "There! There! You're okay. You're safe now." He looked below and noticed some people were looking up at him and said, "Let's go to my mansion. I'd take out the bomb from your head there."

He changed direction and...

* BOOM *

* WHOOSH *

A shockwave reverberated through the air as he flew toward his mansion with Kayla in his arms.