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Reginald was in his house drinking tea. It was very late, and he was in his pajamas, but he hadn’t been able to sleep.
Phoenix had been missing for two days now, and even though everyone else seemed to think they would be fine like they always were, he knew they weren’t invincible. Their luck could run out at any time. Maybe it finally had.
He felt sick thinking about what might’ve happened and where they might be.
Reginald sighed. He shouldn’t have gotten attached. He knew it was a bad idea to get attached to anyone in such a dangerous line of work. And he had tried not to care about them, he really had, but somehow with all their antics and death defying acts they had wormed their way into his heart. He didn’t even know very much about them, and yet, they were a close friend.
Reginald couldn’t see it from his kitchen, but he heard the front door open. He didn’t know who it was, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He quickly and quietly grabbed his gun from his room. Then he cautiously approached the front door.
Now, you’re going to say they should’ve known it was a trap. The Agency had been looking for Zor’s location for almost a year with no luck, and now they suddenly got an anonymous tip on their location? Could anything be more suspicious? But the truth is, the Agency did know it was probably a trap. They were just so desperate they still wanted to check it out. But knowing the risks was why they sent their best agent, Agent Phoenix.
Phoenix thought they would be fine. They didn’t expect the warehouse to become so carefully locked shut once they entered. They couldn’t find any way to break out, and even though the gas that had filled the place worked agonizingly slowly on them, they weren’t entirely immune to it.
They had to admit, they had expected to die. They should know better than to expect that by now.
Now, they were very much alive, but waking up groggily in a small, dark room, tied to chair.
Phoenix heard an unfortunately familiar voice in their head saying “Hello, Agent Phoenix.”
A tall figure walked out from behind the chair and in front of Phoenix. The figure, probably Zor, leaned down to be at eye level with Phoenix. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Phoenix tried to get a good look at Zor’s face to see the person they had been fighting for so long. But Zor was wearing a mask, they realized. Why would they bother to wear a mask? It wasn’t likely they were planning on letting Phoenix go.
Phoenix could feel their heart racing.
They glared at the doctor, not letting any hint of nervousness show on their face.
Zor chuckled a bit. “I haven’t even done anything yet.”
If you counted kidnapping them as not doing anything, then sure. But that wasn’t even mentioning all the things Zor had done before today.
Reginald saw a familiar figure standing by the door. He let out a breath as he was flooded with relief.
“Agent! You’re here! How did you find my house? You know what, it doesn’t matter, are you alright? Does the Agency know you—”
Phoenix turned to look at him and he froze.
Phoenix wasn’t a very expressive person. Their main expressions were blank or mischievous. And their expression was certainly blank at that moment, but more than that, it looked dead. Their mouth hung slightly open, their entire face was relaxed, and their eyes showed no hint of recognition or anything at all when they looked at him.
And something was wrong with their stance too. They looked relaxed and they were completely still. Phoenix was always moving and fidgeting. They didn’t stand still and to attention with their arms at the sides like they did now.
Something was very wrong.
Phoenix, now more conscious then they were after just waking up, suddenly grew confused. Why did Zor capture them instead of just killing them? Did they want to interrogate them? But Phoenix usually couldn’t talk, and they wouldn’t talk to Zor even if they could. Zor had to have known that.
“I bet you’re confused. You’re wondering why I brought you here, correct?” Dr. Zor said, like they were reading Phoenix’s mind. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to hurt you. I just wanted to have a chat.”
Phoenix scoffed. A chat. With the person who couldn’t talk.
“I don’t expect you to respond. I couldn’t hear you even if you did talk. I’m afraid I’m wearing earplugs right now.” Phoenix became extra confused with that information. “I just want you to listen.”
Now with their eyes adjusted to the dark, Phoenix saw that on the wall behind Zor there was a screen. Things were getting weirder by the second.
“You see, Phoenix, we got off to a rocky start, but I actually think we could get along, you and I.”
Phoenix almost laughed.
“It’s true. We have a lot in common you know. We’re both smart, we think outside the box, we’re both very private people, the list goes on. And honestly, you’re talented. I haven’t seen an agent like you in a long time. I think you’d fit in well here at Zoraxis.
“Starting today, you’ll be working for me,” Zor said with full confidence.
What were they saying? Surely they knew Phoenix wouldn’t join them. And yet, Zor kept confidently talking as if they would.
“You’ll do a great job, I’m sure. You’ll climb the ranks quickly. You may even become my second in command. But you will have to prove yourself first. I think I’ll start by having you kill that handler of yours. He needs to pay for his role in all the trouble you’ve caused me. After that, there’s some defectors that need to be taken care of. Anna and Ollie, I believe their names were.”
Phoenix grit their teeth and tried to glare harder. They would never hurt their friends, and Zor was crazy if they thought they would.
Zor laughed, and they started to move to be behind Phoenix again. “I almost forgot. Those pesky misplaced loyalties and morals of yours might get in the way here. But don’t worry, Phoenix, we’ll fix that. And then you’ll love working for me. Well, you won’t hate it, at least. You’ll be too out of it to have much of an opinion either way, actually.”
What was that supposed to mean?
Reginald reluctantly raised the gun again. “Phoenix?” he said quietly, in an almost pleading tone. Pleading with them to be alright. Pleading with them to not make him use the gun.
Phoenix suddenly lunged, and he hesitated to pull the trigger. They ripped the gun out of his hand, and he thought they were going to use it, but instead they threw it across the room. He was shoved to the ground, Phoenix kneeling over him. They grabbed his throat with both hands and squeezed.
If they wanted to kill him, why not just use the gun?
Because this was slower and more painful, he realized.
But why? Had Phoenix always been a traitor? But if they were, why wait so long to kill him?
Reginald looked into Phoenix’s eyes, hoping to see something in them. Some hint of remorse. Hell, even sadistic glee would be better than nothing. But nothing was exactly what he found. Their unfocused eyes were void of any sign of emotion. It was terrifying looking into those ice cold eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away.
As he slipped into the quiet mystery of death, trying his best to ignore the excruciating pain in his lungs and of betrayal, reassuring himself it would all be over soon, one question lingered in his mind.
Phoenix… what happened to you?
Suddenly, Phoenix heard a sound coming from somewhere in the room. It was this buzzing, humming sound, getting rhythmically louder and quieter.
Then the screen turned on, displaying moving, colorful patterns.
Phoenix realized what was happening. They felt a rush of adrenaline. They quickly squeezed their eyes shut and turned their head away. They wished they could cover their ears too, but hopefully just missing the visual component would be enough.
Zor tutted. “Don’t be like that.”
Phoenix felt a strong hand on their chin tilt their head up and force them to look forward. Zor’s other hand pried their left eye open.
They struggled, twisting and turning, but the hands and ropes didn’t relent. They were forced to look.
The colorful patterns danced across the screen. They reminded Phoenix of fractals, going on forever in wonderful and strange ways. They seemed to move in time with the pulsing of the sound. It was oddly beautiful. They found themself getting lost in it.
Before they knew it they had opened both their eyes, and the hands were no longer necessary to keep them looking straight ahead. They didn’t notice as earbuds playing that same buzzing sound were placed in their ears for when they left the room. They didn’t notice as they were untied.
They didn’t really process Zor telling them to stand, but they did it without question as they continued to focus on the relaxing, pulsing hum in their ears.