R H O D O D E N D R O N

The cells burned.

It was like reliving a nightmare, but Elena didn't want Lieselotte to know that. She inhaled a breath, composing herself. Lieselotte probably knew though. She had to in order to get her to cooperate. She was always several steps ahead, and Elena realized that the Hydra agent probably knew of her plans to run before she did herself.

Even now, Lieselotte watched her. Elena could feel her icebound eyes on her back like a vulture. Waiting. Waiting for her to screw up so she could swoop in. Her talon-like hands orchestrated her actions like a puppet master. Elena clenched her jaw, her fists too. She wanted a lot of things, but she particularly wanted to punch Lieselotte. Maybe give her a black eye so they didn't look so lifeless.

"Problem?" Lieselotte's voice broke through her thoughts.

Elena let her hands relax. She drew in a careful, slow breath, exhaling with as much composure she could muster. It took all of her control to not turn around with a glare. Instead, she opened her mouth coolly.

"Not at all," she said.

Except she had problems with everything.

Looking back at the matter at hand, Elena looked down at the table. A beaker sat in front of her, filled to the top with a liquid of silver. Something lived in it. Elena could see the cells that twirled like ballerinas. She didn't know what it was. The DNA patterns were her. It wasn't human though, nor was it Asgardian.

Elena supposed it could have been an animal, but she'd rather think it wasn't. Shuddering, Elena took a pipette and pulled some of the liquid out. She wasn't exactly sure of what she was working towards, but Lieselotte had made it clear that she was to perfect whatever this liquid was.

"Tell me again, what exactly am I perfecting?" she said, squeezing the liquid out onto a slide.

Elena could imagine Liselotte's eye roll, but she answered. "I need a way to quickly harden something," she said, her voice sharp and with an edge. "Something that would make, let's say a liquid, harden into solid, so it's easier to carry."

Tilting her head to the side, Elena gestured Lieselotte to continue. She placed the slide onto the microscope, fastening the stage clips. Peering into the eyepiece, she began adjusting the settings. It was a disappointment how slow it took for her to get everything crystal clear.

Blinking, Elena stared at her. Something didn't add up. "You want this serum to be able to turn something into a solid?"

"That's right."

"Why not just freeze it?" Elena said. "Don't you have a freeze ray or something? That has to be a classic weapon that you use, right?"

Lieselotte glared daggers at her, and Elena sighed. She spun on her heels, turning back to the table. She looked into the microscope and went back to work.

Something about the cells scared her. It wasn't hatred. Her fingertips tingled as she moved the slide around. There was something sinister about the liquid serum. Something wrong with the explanation she had received.

Both liquid and gas could be frozen solid, so why did Lieselotte need a special serum?

Adjusting her safety goggles, Elena frowned. She removed the slide, placing it in a sink before retrieving a new one. She repeated the same process as before, but this time, she added a drop of water. It was dyed red so that she could tell the difference between it and the silver.

She looked into the microscope and winced. Freezing happened at the atomic level, so she couldn't exactly see what was happening. However, the repercussions were just as useful to see. The membranes of the cells that were in the water ruptured, tearing apart. The cytoplasm and organelles gushed out. Elena stepped back. The cells were dying. They were freezing to death.

Clicking her tongue, Elena sighed. She could see why Lieselotte was so frustrated. Or at least, she could make a guess. Elena assumed that it had been her who had started the serum and that she was only finishing it because Lieselotte couldn't. The water was freezing, but it wasn't freezing fast enough. That was why the cells were dying out.

Elena paused in her thinking. Maybe that was why freeze rays were out of the question, but she doubted it was the case.

Elena spent the rest of the day adding and removing things from the liquid, continuously testing. There was something off about the serum just like something was off about the cells and Lieselotte's answer.

None of the usual things that Elena knew of to speed up freezing worked. And by the time she was back in her white room, she was thinking more of the liquid than of escape. When Elena realized the fact, she coughed. Her eyes widened so much so that her eyelids began to hurt.

It had only been one day, and she was already losing herself to Lieselotte. It would be a normal job, she had said, and Elena found it to be true. Well, it was as true as it could be with blackmail in the question.

The food was good too. She got a substantial breakfast earlier that morning, and the dinner was good for the two days she had been awake. It was strange how Lieselotte managed to be a good whilst having her under blackmail.

Lying on her back, Elena blinked when one of the guards shut off the lights. She closed her eyes, but sleep didn't come. If this was Hydra, she could potentially get used to it like she originally planned.

But what would Steve think of that? What would Tony think? Bruce? Natasha? Clint? She even wondered about Thor's reaction. None of it was good, but she could handle it if they ever found out. At least, she hoped she did.

The question that haunted her the most was Christine. What would she do?

Elena turned onto her side, limiting the amount of skin that touched the cold floor. She rubbed her wrist. She thought long and hard, but she couldn't think of anything that Christine might have done if she went with Hydra.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and stared at the wall. Was she really willing to test a friendship she had just recently got back?

She thought back to their last interaction.

I'll see you at lunch.

Elena wrapped her arms around her body. She couldn't risk lunch. The thought of being able to hang out again with all of her former friends was too precious of a thing to gamble away. Elena let out a breath.

Perhaps, she could just finish making the serum. Lieselotte might let her go. Other than her words, she did treat her well so maybe there was a chance. After all, there was only so much she could do in a lab.

...

Hmm... I totally have no idea what Lieselotte is doing. It's definitely not anything bad.  I'll see y'all tomorrow. Maybe. I don't know.