The complete betrayal was crushing, and she despised herself for letting her defenses down. She hated that she'd fallen for something so despicable - a new low for humanity to inflict on mutants.
Charlotte had heard of Hydra, an ancient organization, but she never thought they'd take an interest in mutants. She wondered if Charlie was involved - no, she decided, not Charlie. It hurt to think that she'd exposed herself to him in such a vulnerable way. He'd sensed her emotions, her anger, her fear, and used them against her. "I trusted you," she hissed, as Hydra clamped her arms behind her back. The buzzing of the collar around her neck made her feel weak and faint as she was dragged to the containment cell.
She remembered how Charlie had helped her control her abilities, but that bond was gone, replaced by anger. The feeling of being seen and understood was a distant memory. Her eyes blazed with anger as she held his gaze, even after the door closed.
The intel was solid. She knew mutants were being taken, and now she knew where they were being held. Charlotte had once been gentle and soft, but that was before her escape from the Trask facility. One experiment had been her downfall, and her escape was well-known among humans and mutants. Trask had taken pride in creating a powerful mutant, a secret weapon for the government contract. However, Trask hadn't anticipated how quickly Charlotte’s abilities would evolve when fueled by anger and resentment.
The collar that had once suppressed her abilities was now shattered on the floor. As her hands and feet transformed into ice, her entire being took on the icy form of an ice sculpture. For the first time, she let her anger drive her abilities, allowing it to take control and leaving a frozen grave behind. Guards, scientists, and staff members were now frozen in place, like Medusa's collection of stone statues.
As Charlotte approached the facility, she made no attempt to be discreet. She charged forward, her body propelled by a surge of momentum, her fists unleashing ice spears that shattered the metal door. Inside, a cold mist enveloped her, and she vanished into the fog to target one agent at a time.
The more she let her anger fuel her abilities, the more it took over her body. Her bright blue eyes shone with a fierce intensity, strands of ice clung to her hair, and frost coated her skin as she continued to rage. A grunt escaped her lips as she burst through a door, and the fog lifted just enough for her to speak to the mutant in the cell. “Come with me; I’ll take you somewhere safe," she urged, lifting him to his feet. Just as the gunfire erupted, Charlotte created a thick wall of ice, giving them a chance to escape.
Her legs burned from the exertion of running uphill, but she refused to give up. When she reached the top, she turned back to the facility, alarms blaring, and was awed by the sight of the ice catching the sunlight. “Let’s go; follow me," Charlotte said, her skin now free of ice and frost.
It was strange to see only one mutant in the facility, with no others in sight. “If you don’t mind me asking… what are your powers?"
