#ib-jc.

Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola, Louisiana)

It’s not like you were ever  meant for greatness. Born to a croc hybrid mother who could never hold onto a man, raised in a city where even the rain felt sticky and oppressive most days. You were  a burnt end, a measly little asterisk in a world that couldn’t pretend to care long enough to reference properly. You grew up on the streets of New Orleans, moving from foster home to foster home until the system gave up on you entirely. By the time you were eighteen, you may have been a two-bit thug, but you’d already accumulated a rap sheet longer than most politicians' promises.

But if there was one thing you weren’t gonna do, it was give a damn. About anything. Especially the people who told you what to do. And by the time you were closing out your twenties, you were locked up on death row for a slew of robberies, assaults, and eventually manslaughter. It sounded about right, you going out this way; a selfish coward that came into the world with a crack and a whimper about to fizzle out with no impression to leave behind.

But then, on one particularly hot night in a cell that felt more like a coffin, you’d gotten an offer.

Inside a dimly lit prison cell, You sat with your back pressed against the cold cement wall, staring at the flickering bulb highlighting the peeling white paint above you. It’s all you really could do in the  cramped space, the scutes along your tail scraping against the concrete floor as it lashed idly back and forth. The rhythmic tick of a clock echoed through the room, its sound blending with the distant hum of the crickets outside. It was a lonely, suffocating place — but at least it was a familiar place after all this time.

The unlocking of your cell door broke you out of your thoughts.

The warden entered, his face expressionless as always, but there was something different about him tonight. He sighed before he spoke. “Y/Ln. You have a guest… With  a proposition for you,” the warden said, moving aside to make room for a man behind him. This “guest” wore a pressed suit and his eyes hid behind sunglasses propped up on his face like the poster boy for some secret agency. The man held a file with him that he  dropped onto the small table in front of you.

You didn’t answer immediately. You’d heard enough rumors around the penitentiary. Deals made in the shadows, trades that only the desperate and the damned would consider.

“You’ve been selected for a special mission,” the guard continued. “A chance to get out of here alive.”

Despite everything, your brow raised in intrigue. “Get out alive?”

“That’s right,” the guard replied, pushing the file closer. “We need you to become someone else,” the agent continued, his tone casual, as if talking about a simple job. “More specifically, we need you to impersonate Boon Ballou.”

You stopped fiddling with the corner of the manila folder. “Boon Ballou?” You had heard the name. Everyone had, human and hybrid alike. The infamous drug and arms dealer with charisma that could charm a snake and a temper that could end a life. The kind of person who operated in the shadows of the world, pulling strings and ruining lives. “I’m sure he’s probably off in the Bahamas doing fuck all, ain’t he? Why don’t you just go and hunt the real thing down and leave me out of it?”

The agent's words were blunt and left no room for debate. “Because Boon Ballou is dead. He was killed a year ago during a botched escape attempt from a Colombian prison.”

Well that was definitely a reason…

“No one other than the authorities knows this information. So that’s why you’re gonna slip right in to assume Boon’s identity, Y/n”

They sure sounded like they had this all figured out for you. It didn’t even sound like you had a choice. “I don’t even look like him,” You eventually spoke up, your voice laced with wariness and a bit of disbelief.

The agent smiled, a cold, calculating expression. “I’d beg to differ. Aside from you both bein’ crooked crocs, you got the same general build and the same scales. You two even have the same damn face, Y/Ln. You could walk right into his operation, and no one would know the difference.”

“I’m sorry, can we double back to the part where you want me to play a dead guy?” You leaned forward, your voice laced with incredulity. “Why do you even want me? Is it slim pickins out there in Quantico or wherever the hell you’re from?”

The warden smacked you upside the head as the agent ignored your jab and opened the folder after he flipped it around.

You stared at the folder, reaching your cuffed hands forward to leaf through its contents. Photos of Boon, the swagger in his walk that translated even through static photographs. The designer suits and gold chains he wore glinted in the light of the pictures taken in the daytime. The file also had pictures of Ballou’s associates, with detailed entries on Boon Ballou’s exploits, his connections, and his patterns of behavior. There was even a small baggy that held the gold custom-made piercings he’d had in his face. Hell, it was as if his entire existence had been reduced to these documents.

There was one photo that caught your eye: a woman, stunning, with dark brown hair and the telltale piercing eyes and scaly accents of a snake hybrid. Wanda Maximoff. She was listed as one of Ballou’s last known lovers, someone he’d had a deep connection with before his rather lackluster death.

“What do I get outta this?” You quipped, your voice sharp.

“The deal’s simple. We get you in with Boon’s crew, and get you close to his operations. You help us take down Ballou’s empire, take down the members of his circle who’ve also been slipping under our radar for years, and put this shit to bed dead in the dirt. They have one of our operatives captive as we speak, and your final test will be the trade off to get our guy back in exchange for you. All of Boon’s biggest players should be there, so this is a one and done deal. You play this right, you walk free. No more death row. No more prison. You’ll be free to go with a clean slate.”

Your eyes narrowed. “And if I fail?”

“You won’t,” the guard said, his voice suddenly cold. “You’ll be dead before you realize you made a mistake.”

----------

Eight months later

It wasn’t as easy as it sounded… And it didn’t even sound easy in the first place-

You had to change everything — your voice, your mannerisms, the way you carried yourself. You’d spent the last few months in seclusion, with a team of experts helping you get the look just right. Every detail was crucial.

You idly fiddled with the two new golden snake bite piercings while biting the inside of your lip. They were the first thing you were made acquainted with damn near right after your agreement left your mouth. You got new ink months ago too, all pieces the OG Boon had, but they weren’t nearly as much of an adjustment as the fucking metal in your mouth.

The cosplay aside, Boon Ballou wasn’t just a name; he was an institution. Every piece of the kingpin’s past had to be learned and studied, every habit adopted. It was like walking around with your gut sucked in until you forget you were doing it at all.

Nobody even called you Y/n anymore.

You’d spent hours in front of a mirror, practicing Boon’s sneer, the tilt of his head, the slow drag of a cigar between his fingers. Your diet had shifted to match Ballou’s preferences — whiskey instead of beer, crawfish instead of steak.

You were fed stories of Ballou’s notorious escapades, his love life, and, most importantly, his final days — how he’d disappeared from public view for more than two years now, last heard going off to The Philippines for business before his body turned up in Colombia where he’d very quietly died. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on who you ask), the underworld kingpin of the Hollywood South had an operation that practically ran itself while he was gone.

And now Boon Ballou was coming back.

-----

Then came the night of the deal.

The night was humid, the sky hanging heavy with the promise of rain. Adrenaline coursing through your veins, you could hear your heart pumping in your ears.

The deal was supposed to go smoothly. Now dressed in Boon Ballou's signature black leather waistcoat over a suit, you stood surrounded by armed agents, the tension crackling in the air. You were about to be handed over to the waiting criminals, Boon Ballou’s people, in exchange for a government agent who looked like he’d seen better days. You didn’t know how long he’d been over there or what he’d seen, but it was painted thick on his face. The melodramatics aside, it was supposed to be a simple handoff.

But most things start off simple until they’re not.

You had been betrayed. You inevitably outlived your usefulness to the government agents escorting you across the territory line. They’d planned to shoot you while you walked across the invisible line, gun you down, and leave your body behind as evidence that the criminal empire was dismantling itself.

“Boon Ballou” was meant to die here and tonight.

The first shot came from behind you. For the first time in your life, you felt a real rush of fear. But you had a way of surviving. You didn’t think—you just acted, charging through the chaos and breaking free. You spun, using your tail to knock an agent off their feet and then tore through the surrounding chaos, all teeth and claws. Gunfire erupted around you, but your strength and speed had always been your advantage. You were a croc, after all—built for survival.

You dashed into the thick shadows of the bayou, moving through the dense foliage, but no matter how fast you ran, the shots never stopped. In the distance, you could hear the shouts of your would-be killers as your massive tail sliced through the muck and submerged beneath the murky waters.

For a long while, you just swam through the bayou, the only sound being your own breath and the gentle lapping of the water against the shore. Eventually, when you surfaced against the endiscript bank, you caught sight of a blacked out SUV. You weren’t sure if it’d always been there, but an owl hybrid, grizzled and rough-looking, stepped from the cover of the nearby truck. His eyes locked onto you, recognition sparking.

“Boon?” the man asked, his voice low but urgent. “That you?”

You didn’t respond verbally at first, still catching your breath. Nobody called you by your name anymore, but it startled you how quick you responded to being referred to as Boon Ballou.

“Get in, man. ’Less you tryna get shot out here. You straight?” The barred owl grabbed you by the arm, still soaked, and pulled you toward the SUV. 

That seemed to pull You out of your stupor. “I’m fine,” You grunted, your voice rough, trying to mimic the deeper tones of Boon’s Southern drawl. “Just get me outta here.”

 "Two years talkin’ to nobody an’ ya still act like youse untouchable." the older man grumbled as he opened the back door to the SUV and ushered you inside. As you sat in the back of the vehicle in wet clothes and squelching boots, you watched the glimmering lights coming from the edge of the French Quarter. This city was now both your prison and your possible salvation.

As the car screeched to a halt outside a lavish estate, Your mind was spinning. The game had just changed. The owl hybrid that drove you here got out of the van and opened the car door for you to get out, both of you walking up the steps leading up to the front door.

Inside the house, amidst the luxury and wealth that seemed so far removed from the prison cell you’d left behind, you found yourself face-to-face with her. Wanda Maximoff.

Her eyes locked with yours, and for a moment, you saw something in them — something that made your breath catch. The woman who had once been Boon’s lover, the woman who had been a part of Ballou’s past.

But now, she was standing in front of you, looking at you with the same intensity.

This is the woman that Boon Ballou left behind.

And in that moment, you realized something: You weren’t just impersonating the deceased croc. You were responsible for breathing new life into his name.

You were Boon Ballou now. And in this world, that might just be the most damning thing of all.

“You’re back,” she said softly, her brows furrowed in disbelief and voice trembling slightly.

You swallowed hard, your heart heavy. You were way beyond your depth. You don’t know how to run a fucking drug ring. Sure you studied for the test, but you didn’t know a damn thing when standing in front of people with no choice to interact. You couldn’t go back out. There were no takesies backsies. Not if you wanted to live. And when everything you’d worked for for over half a year, when your freedom depended on her and all the people around her believing that you were Boon Ballou? You have no choice but to step up to the plate.

So, you lied. You embraced her.

“Wanda,” your voice was rough with just a hint of unspoken guilt as your fingers brushed the deep red scales that fanned across the outside of her neck and her cheekbones as they gleamed even in the warm, dim light. You didn’t have to pretend to admire her. You’d run into a lot of snake hybrids in your own time, but you hadn’t met one that had so quickly held your attention like she did. That tempted you toward her gravity like she did.

“I’m back.”

No one knew Y/n, the orphan slated for lethal injection. They only knew the man that was their lover, their boss, their friend, and even their rival. Could you really fill those shoes when your foot was essentially forced into them? And more importantly—could you survive long enough to figure out your next move, or would the past of a dead man, and the lies that came with it, consume you until there was nothing left of you?

You were playing a game with stakes that were beyond deadly– and if Boon Ballou proved anything, he proved that no one gets to play forever.

You remember seeing the world through younger eyes. The scene around you is blurry and out of focus with only the barest hint of awareness of tears running down your face. The only thing you can make out is a man’s back, his imposing stature, his cropped hair, and how his figure seems to get smaller and smaller as he walks away from you. His apathy is the clearest; his steps never falter, not does her look back at you. You feel like an outside viewer as you watch a hand, your hand, continue to reach for him. You fight in another person’s grip as you're being dragged away.

“Baba please! Help me, I don’t wanna go!”

The lack of response through the high winds only made your yelling feel louder before your vision was then blocked by a hood over your face. Even if you couldn’t identify with the anguish anymore it still hissed at your nerves, grasping and pulling at you like a desperate whore for your attention…

The continued thump, thump, thumping sound throughout the room brought you back into the moment as you continued pounding the woman beneath you into the velvety couch cushions beneath. The woman’s wavy red hair splayed out and her nails digging into your shoulders as she let her moans fall from her mouth in an unending stream.

She gave a shout as she hit her orgasm and you watched her green eyes glaze over as she gave you a hazy smile, you returned a smaller one of your own. One of her hands slid up your chest to caress your throat, fingers running over the scarring coating the entirety of it.

Her eyes scanned yours in open concern. “Is everything okay? Where did you go just now?”

You merely squinted, “old-times...’s still loud.” Your voice came out gravely and with a creek.

With your thumb caressing her waist, you leaned back to sit upright before using a hand to move her half-unbuttoned blouse further down her arms. With more of the redhead's skin exposed and your head still swimming, you went back in to leave kisses ranging from her neck, down to her collarbone, and even further to the valley of her breasts. You felt the woman's hand take the back of your neck to have you take one of the mounds in your mouth.

The hand you had resting on the woman's waist moved to squeeze her thigh while you eased your strap out of her with a few more slow strokes. You released her flushed nipple with a small plop, your saliva slightly glistening in the light of the office space before you slid off of the couch to the floor.

Getting to a kneel, you keep your gaze on the eyes of the woman in front of you while reaching down by her ankles and fully removing her already ruined panties.

A glint sparks in your eyes as you stare at her still dripping pussy. You lick a stripe up her entrance before lightly sucking on her clit, causing the woman above you to jolt with a gasp.

The woman watches you go back to eating her out with a small crackling chuckle. "You love this, don't you?"

You only look up to meet her eyes, your mouth still working on her. You blink slowly before doubling your efforts on her pussy.

Her head falls back as she continues to buck into your mouth. "Yesyesyes, hah, just like that baby," She isn't especially loud, but the pleading laced in her voice is what drives you to your own brink.

You sink into the moans that come from her lips, soon turning into breathless whimpers as she brings your head impossibly closer to her heat. As ribbons of red made their way into your ears, you let her fog invade your mind and take over.

Everything else melted away into oblivion. You were older now as you watched the tattered dirt path become peaceful grasses, the people became well-rooted trees in full bloom. Armored cars and loaded rifles dissipated into mere accents of a pleasant scene. And at the center of it all, was the same woman as now. her velvet greens staring back at you with a warmth that could make the Niganda sun seem cold.

The redhead's grip tightened in your hair as her movements became more erratic against your face. You brought a hand up to play with her clit and work to bring her over the edge again.

Things were much simpler this way. No confusing flashes of people you don’t remember, no random jolts of phantom pain. You were sure to live in the moment, and your most recent memories didn’t hurt you to think about and when the details became fuzzy you almost missed them.

Your head rested on her inner thigh after you helped her ride out her high. Her finger rubbed just beneath your eye as your eyes locked, reveling in each other. "There you are, right here with me."

And it was all because of her. Wanda.

Wanda held your chin in her hand before she swiped her thumb over your bottom lip and tasted herself. Even with a fresh afterglow setting in, the fire in her eyes never abated. Wanda's power was always there.

That same energy that let her linger in your mind and relieve you of that lost momentum and gave you stability to latch for. You’d do anything to keep that. You’d do anything to keep Wanda.

As you helped her get her panties and skirt back on and make sure the back of her skirt was the front again, your mind was calm at a gentle hum, distant screams of the past going ignored as you helped fix up the couch of her associate’s office.

----------

Wanda’s mood had noticeably soured since you’d had your fill of each other. Her face had become a mask of neutrality with traces of agitation she just couldn’t seem to remove as she flipped through the papers settled on the desk. It was less decorated than her own; she’d hardly spared a glance at the few picture frames placed on top of the hardwood either. She didn’t want to see more than she’d had to for the day.

Standing up from the leather couch settled on the side of the room, you wandered around the rather plain space aimlessly, looking at the fully stacked bookshelves, more than half the titles going over your head with disinterest. Settling by where Wanda was seated, you faced the door as you heard incoming noise before the doorknob could even jostle.

Murky blue eyes startled as he caught sight of the two of you in his office. The older man wheeled himself further into his office before having the door shut behind him. Your eyes stayed on him, unwavering. “Wanda, to what do I owe this unexpected visit? I was called out of a very important-”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Better yet, who do you think you are, Xavier?” Wanda wasn’t interested in wasting time with false pleasantries.

“What exactly are you referring to, Wanda? I’ve done nothing but do as you’ve asked.” Wanda carefully kept her face blank as she observed the bald man.

“Keeping a wire on not only my vehicles, but my associates’ as well. Getting your grunts to try and tap my phone calls. They’ve gotten especially sloppy within the past few weeks, by the way. You should talk with Scott about that. All this to gain the favor of one Mr. William Stryker,” She placed the photos one of her skulkers took from their meeting a few nights ago on the table.

“Is that exact enough for you, Charles?”

You watch the man’s shoulders tense, a crease forming in his brow. You can clearly smell his nerves building while Wanda is still deathly calm. Her hands stay steepled in front of her face by her mouth, her eyes squint every now and then as she continues to observe the man.

“I've only given false information I assure you-”

“I know it is, because I basically spoon fed it to you and your men. You know nothing I don't want you to EVEN with you haphazardly bugging my house. Now, what I want to know is how you didn’t think I’d catch on. Do you think I’m stupid, Charles?” There is a noticeable edge in her voice now and the hairs on the back of your neck began to bristle, reacting to her aggravation.

Charles spoke up quickly “It was a part of the plan to have eyes in higher places, for the sake of all mutants, Wanda!”

The accent of her voice grew thick as her tone dropped lower. “Do not try to insult my intelligence, old man. You’ve done things here and there to try and undermine my headship when you think I won’t notice, but you will not pull this. Stryker is a sad little leech who wants to eliminate us all and has no qualms about being vocal about it. You want to try and make nice, fondle the balls of a man who wouldn’t bat an eye to exterminate mutants? You simply won’t be classified among us.”

As Wanda spoke those last few words, you watched as a familiar red aura surrounded Charles, her eyes glowing bright as Charles howled in pain as a pale blue aura rose out of his body where he sat. You almost thought Wanda was going to kill him then and there before his screams settled down.

Charles was breathing heavily, his form hunched over in his chair before his eyes widened with realization. “My powers…”

“You wanted to appease the mortal man, now you can live and die counted as one of them. Your bootlicking wife will be too once my people find her.”

“Hee-he-hick,” A feral giggle erupted from your mouth as you watched him carry on belligerently.

“You leave Moira out of this! we’ve done nothing but look out for you, Wanda! Your father would-”

“What did I say about insulting my intelligence? You and my father were at odds throughout his entire headship. You know nothing of what he would do nor what he would want.”

She slid more photos onto the table, the other man in them tickled something in your throat as recognition passed through you.

Wanda tapped on the man's face with her pointer finger, "This man. Tell me where he is."

Charles peered over to look at the photo, his nerves a bit all over the place. "Pierce? I've no idea Wanda, he's been gone for days now. You have to believe me,"

Wanda tutted her tongue as she brought her hands back in front of her. "I don't have to do anything, but I do believe you. Unfortunately for you that makes you completely useless to me, Charles." She pursed her lips in a faux pout.

You could almost see the man shaking in his chair as he went on indignantly. You wound up tuning him out as he kept going on about loyalty and nonsense.

‘Do I kill him now?’

Wanda reached back for your neck, running her thumb over the scarring over your throat. “We’re just about done here, but Charles can see himself out, I believe.”

Charles couldn’t even properly understand what was going on right away because, one: He was in the middle of explaining how the original members of the syndicate needed to stick together, and two: He can’t read minds anymore. I mean, what’s he going to do now?

“You can go see if the college across town has any openings, but you’ve been relieved of your position with Maximoff Unlimited as well as the Scarlet Syndicate which will be vacant as of today, effective immediately. Now you can roll yourself out of this office, or I can have Y/n here escort you out. They don't seem too keen on being delicate with you.”

You tilted your head as a choppy rumble passed your lips. The prospect of handling the man yourself was very appealing right now. Charles likely recognized this as he made his way to the door himself. Red mist opens the door for him.

“Smart choice. So you do have some sense left. Oh, and Charles?”

The man stopped in the doorway, but didn't turn to look at Wanda.

“The next time you try to throw me or my company under the bus, remember who put you in that wheelchair.”

Mutants. The next evolution in human genetics can manifest at any time and take many forms. Some develop their mutations when they're in the throes of puberty or while in adolescence. Others have had their mutation since they were born or haven’t had them appear until they’ve gone into adulthood.

In this world, humans far outnumber mutants in population, and people are more content to ostracize those who are mutants, as man has well been known to fear and even hate what they do not understand...

“Table seven is clear, hon,” You turned to see Miss Monica pointing to the back area. Nodding, you grabbed your rag and made your way to the newly unoccupied table littered with pools of water left by sweating drinks and crumpled napkins.

It was only maybe a quarter past eight, but the bar was already running thin with patrons. The quieter hum of voices compared to the usual clambering of laughter and muddled conversation clued you in to the change easily. As you cleaned, you caught a glimpse of the designated VIP section of The Photon Call. There you saw a small group that had been there for at least two hours now.

The woman at the head of the table was dressed in a form-fitting burgundy suit paired with a glossy black heel, blacked out sunglasses framing her face. A muted fruity smell with a hint of something else followed her stride. She came in with two men and another woman, who were all dressed formally. Monica merely nodded toward the woman when they came in before she had Jimmy lead them to the VIP area.

Looking at the group now, you noticed their “leader” of sorts had now taken off her sunglasses, moving some of her auburn hair out of her face. Her green eyes were just visible in the lower light. They had an extra person with them who was sitting across from the woman dressed in deep red. This man you remembered from a short time ago. he came in some time after the group he was now seated with. he was a bit of a crude figure, and he’d been rather transparent about his distaste toward you, his nose turned up at your short tail and pronounced ears as you directed him to the VIP area. You’d been privy to a few choice words muttered under his breath as well.

There was a light sheen on his forehead now that there wasn’t before, now that they'd all finished eating. His scent was more pungent as well; he’s nervous now, and a bit fearful. Though his posture is upright, there was a stiffness to his movements when he was speaking. It was a stark contrast to the others sitting at the table who remained confident and relaxed, though you noticed the growing boredom and aggravation from the head lady as she swirled the drink in her glass lazily.

When the gray-haired man finished speaking, the woman across from him simply raised a brow and checked the watch on her wrist. The other woman in the seat next to her, who was also a redhead, shifted in her seat. Her aggravation had been there since he’d started talking.

The leading woman set her glass down lightly, “Your offer has already been considered and denied, Hayward. I have other matters to attend to, so I believe we’re done here.”

The bluntness and brevity of her statement noticeably took the man aback as he floundered for his words. “B-but you have to understand, Wanda! This is for the benefit of the company-”

“What I understand is you can’t take a hint, Tyler. You call me out past my business hours, which should be well known to you, to propose an increase in mutant laborers as a ludicrous idea to increase production rates for my company. You also know my stance on such practices, which is why I’m left confused as to why you thought I would agree to it to begin with. I wonder if you’re having a gargantuan lapse in judgment, or if you’re really at the meeting point where bold meets stupid.”

The woman, Wanda, remained unflinching as the older man, Hayward, abruptly got up from his seat in outrage. Your hand slowed wiping down the booth seats as you noticed a spike in anger and resentment along with a feeling you’ve come to recognize as violent intent. The other redheaded woman shifted forward a bit, probably as a natural response. Hayward’s back was to you, and he garnered a lot of attention all on his own, so no one really noticed you move closer behind him.

“You don’t think you’ll defer to me? With one call my associates and I make motion to flip your company around on you so fast it'd make your head spin. So, I'll tell you what, you little bitch-”

It was when he went to move and touch Wanda that you restrained the man, your rag wrapped around his wrists and his arms behind his back. His right arm was now bent in a weird way, the connected shoulder probably came out of its socket, but that didn’t make you stop. All the while, Wanda and the people with her remained calm, if a bit surprised.

Wanda raised a brow at the actions of this new person restraining one Tyler Hayward. Now, Natasha warned her that her own senses were going off due to Hayward’s visible increase in anger, and she didn’t need to read the man’s mind to confirm it. Had he gotten anywhere close to harming her or was even capable of it, she would have ended him not even with a flick of her wrist.

But now she’s simply watching you effectively take the unsuspecting man to the floor, both of his arms were bent oddly and essentially broken at this point. A twisted growl streamed out of your mouth with sporadic hiccups here and there. Hayward continued to hurl threats at you as you kept your knees on the backs of his thighs, keeping him from moving.

Nothing seems to register as you simply looked up at Wanda and those with her, eyes shifting between each of them to make sure they weren't disturbed. You kept Hayward’s broken arms locked behind his back with one hand, reaching around and forcefully gripping his face with the other; shutting him up for the most part. You hunched over Hayward’s shoulder and turned his head to face you with your eyes meeting his, your eyes now giving off a dull orange glow.

Followed by what might be considered a misplaced giggle passing your lips, Wanda watched as Hayward seemed to fold in on himself. His thrashing to retaliate turned into a struggle to seemingly just get away from your gaze.

"Done yet?" Your voice came out low and close to his ear, and you heard his heart rate pick up further as your hand clenched harder in his hair.

‘Please, please, please! I don’t want to be here! I have to get out, dammit!’

It was odd for all of them to see this sudden change in attitude, no doubt caused by the mutant busboy who still had yet to say a word to them directly.

You looked up to see Wanda and those with her rising from their seats, the two men moving toward your form still holding Hayward to the floor. The old man was basically blubbering at this point, almost incoherent due to his erratic breathing.

“I believe Sam and Bucky can handle things from here. Do you mind?” Wanda’s voice was even as she spoke to you. You moved off of Hayward’s body and out of the way for, who you now know as Sam and Bucky, to heave him off of the ground. “Take him out back boys. We’ll let Monica know on our way out, give her a heads up before we send in the sweepers.” Her gaze settled on you as you stood up from the floor. You felt a spike of curiosity coming from the woman left with her that only persisted when Wanda stepped closer to you.

Wanda eyed you up and down as your eyes shone back at her. “I’d like to thank you for your assistance, regardless of the necessity. I don’t think I’ve seen you work at Monica's bar before,”

You gave a single nod, “I’m new.” Your voice was gravelly and clipped, Wanda noticing that there was noticeable scarring around your throat that would lead one to assume you sustained an injury of some kind.

Looking into your mind was its own venture. Your immediate memories were a mirror of the events that transpired, the people talking in them making unintelligible noises, not unlike the adults in Peanuts cartoons.

The further back Wanda looked, the fuzzier they got, like the hippocampus was affected directly. There were some that were clear as day: The day your father traded you to the prime minister of Niganda for his own freedom. Your first days under a “Dr. Paine” and your short-lived freedom after the lab was taken down. Some of your time in mutant trafficking including a few of the “masters'' who had you. A clear recollection of the man who had your vocal cords clipped for being mouthier than he’d like. The day you escaped, and finally to the day Monica found you wandering Mutant Town before hiring you here about a month ago.

These "core memories" were on a subconscious and grating loop in your mind so that you couldn't forget them. Everything else in between was basically lost as it was like trying to look through frosted glass. There was little direction and purpose other than surviving to the next day.

Equal parts distressing and intriguing to say the least…

As Wanda spent the last minute or so staring you down, your focus shifted to the woman behind Wanda. You didn’t catch her name, but you know she was a mutant based off of the distinct sweet smell complimenting her rainwater and pine trail.

They’re obviously close; she hasn’t stepped away from Wanda’s side once. Not too many humans would willingly put themselves in the company of mutants. Guess you can count this Wanda woman among those in the minority along with a few others like your boss.

When Wanda comes back to the present, she stares at you with a new light in her eyes as they dipped down to your nametag. “I like you, Y/n. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of each other.” She rested a hand on your shoulder and suddenly you smelled a change in her scent- no, it became clearer.

Wanda’s scent was a sugar-coated apricot with a spike of cinnamon as it accented the air around her, then it hit you:

Wanda is also a mutant.

And somehow you knew you’d remember her for the long haul.

Both you and Sienna made your way back up to the surface, climbing back onto The Blue Delilah.

While the two of you were underwater, Wanda and Natasha had incapacitated the last two “attackers” and managed to tie them up.

It really wasn’t a fair fight with Wanda there…

The squelch of your wet boots alerted both of them that you made it back onto the boat.

Noticing Sienna behind you, Wanda and Natasha were both ready to get back into it, but you stopped them before they could.

-----

You hold your hands out in a placating manner, “Alright alright, hold on just a sec! everybody can chill the fuck out”

Natasha raises a brow before lowering the gun in her hand. “Hearing that from you? Forgive me for my surprise but,” her gaze goes from you to the rather unwelcoming woman next to you. “Negotiating has never really been your thing, Jaws.”

Wanda nods along, moving all the assailants’ weapons to the opposite end of the boat out of reach. “I have to agree.”

A small sigh pushed past your lips, “Fortunately, I didn’t have to negotiate much at all,” you rested a hand on Sienna’s shoulder. “Natasha, Wanda, I’d like for you to meet Sienna; she’s my older sister.”

Both Wanda and Natasha were struck silent by this new information. Cuz how to you really respond to that?

Sienna kept her arms crossed as she stepped forward, “We can talk more when we arrive on Enoka.”

Your eyes widened as you finally had time to connect the rest of the dots and understand the implications of Sienna even being alive. “You mean Enoka is?-”

A bit of a warmer expression started to break through Sienna’s features as she addressed you. “Not without change, but she is alive and well, yes.”

---

You’d went back to steering The Blue Delilah while Sienna untied the other “attackers” that Natasha and Wanda had put out of commission.

The three of you found out that they were members of Sienna’s guard that patrolled the waters surrounding Enoka with her.

The six guardsmen, three men and three women, had warily introduced themselves at Sienna's insistence.

They largely kept to themselves as they were a group of few words... at least around the strangers they were keeping the company of, of which no one could really blame them. They saw no issue in having Sienna speak for them.

Sienna had mentioned that there were pirates that got a little too close to Enoka's jurisdiction lately, and the locals were particularly antsy at the number of potential incidents in the past few months.

Sienna had to up the number of patrols they went out on during the day due to this.

While you, Natasha and Wanda had no real idea who these "pirates" could be, independent or affiliated, there were plenty of desperate people coming out of the woodwork for answers and solutions in a post-Ultron world.

------------

While the three of you were getting the full explanation from Sienna and her guard, it was unfortunate that they’d essentially cut their patrol off early to bring you back to Enoka. If Sienna and her guardsmen had continued their patrol, they more than likely would have come across the smaller boat tailing The Blue Delilah from a good distance away…

-----

The sun was starting to set when you saw the first bit of land; vibrant greens mixed with stone surfaces and accompanied by beaches surrounding the edges. It was like the familiarity of it was fitting together long lost pieces to the abandoned puzzle of memories you had.

“It’s just been here all this time and I didn’t even know…”

Sienna came to stand next to you, “But you did know, Y/n. Your connection to Enoka was never severed, that’s evident in you knowing exactly where she rests. You’d know if the island was truly gone. Eth lyon equsont' Y veah ys hyw ti okot uy' os goln ot ocem ckab su."

You rubbed the back of your neck, unsure how to give a full enough answer. “I was a bit preoccupied…to say the fuckin’ least anyways.”

Sienna merely eyed you for a second, giving you another once over now that she was closer. "Esod sith veah githanny ot od whit eth wot ahnum mewno tath uyo bugorth whit uyo? Uyor necst 's citapullryra tenetccandor no eth hedraed."

You clear your throat suddenly at the abrupt mention of Wanda and Natasha. both of whom were more than alert while keeping an eye on your other "guests" by the back end of the boat. "Somewhat. I mean, it's more than a little complicated, but they've both helped me. A ton. And their Names are Natasha and Wanda...... Natasha 's eth ostyn hedraed tath alos spaneph ot eb 'm niirfrgeld, sersit."

You glanced toward the end of the main deck where you caught Natasha's eye. Once Natasha noticed your attention was on her, she turned her head to face you. She wasn't the closest one to you at the moment, so it wasn't out of place for her to keep an eye and ear out for you.

Natasha raised an inquiring brow at your continued staring before you sent her a sharp smirk with a wink. You kept your body half turned in her direction before focusing back on the conversation you were having with Sienna.

Sienna observed the small interaction silently before she looked away from you and out onto the water, taking a second to think before speaking up again. “Sey, lewl, Enoka 's chum mesrall athn uyo ghimt bremeerm foeber eth ofdol." She let out a sigh before she turned and put her hand on your shoulder to get your attention. “Let me steer this thing so I can take you to the entrance.”

“The entrance?”

“I told you Enoka was not was not without change after all these years.”

Once Sienna took the wheel, the yacht was guided halfway around the island where a larger summit was seen. Formed into the bottom of the smaller mountain was a cave covered by the growing foliage. The Blue Delilah was steered into it before the engine was shut off.

“Your boat managed to fit in here, but you all will need to walk the rest of the way to the entrance by foot.”

Natasha was still on the cautious side, seeing as only one of the strangers here seemed somewhat trustworthy. “How far is that exactly?”

Sienna spoke up at the front of the group, “Not egregiously so. Many choose to just swim back and forth, but seeing as the two of you are merely human, walking is about the only option for you. We should arrive within the hour.”

---

As all ten of you left The Blue Delilah, you all made your way through the cave as it became a progressively tighter space to walk through side by side.

You decided to get a few answers while on your way; multitasking and all that.

After a while of walking, you came to what looked to be a dead end.

-----

Sienna, still in front of the group, waved her hand over the empty space, revealing ripple in the space that started to resemble a portal.

“This gate will lead into Enoka. You will have to enter one at a time since you’ll be unidentified in the passageway. It needs to analyze your signatures separately.”

You sent a reassuring look to Wanda while you squeezed Natasha’s hand. They were both still very cautious surrounding this entire situation. For you there was this inexplicable amount of trust you had. Whether it be from the nostalgia and anticipation of seeing your where you grew up or genuinely not sensing any danger, you couldn’t differentiate.

First went Sienna, then three of her guards, then you, Natasha, Wanda, and then the other three guards.

---

On the other side was beauty.

The landscape was, in fact, very different from how you loosely remembered it, but the view was one in a million all its own.

Half of the inhabited environs were above water; cabins, huts, and the like were strewn about and the summits surrounding them all had bridges connecting overhead.

The other half of the Island was also visible, but it was underwater.

Underwater, but not abandoned.

The were homes and buildings that were brand new shining from under the surface.

A good amount of them were made out of ruins that were apparently repurposed after the flood, but most of them were completely new and sleek.

In a way, it was like you'd never left...

Just like your connection with the hidden isle was never broken, so to was it's connection to you.

This was Enoka, your homeland.

** footnote: I wanted to use a completely different script for the Enokan language being spoken, but I couldn’t find a way to import it so that it was shown, so instead I made a simple code using typoglycemia (aka just unscramble the letters of each word). To make it so that it didn’t look as clunky, I sometimes replaced (i) with (y). Some words that end with vowels may have an apostrophe that takes the place of the vowel. Apostrophes can also be found at the beginning of words with vowels for fluidity’s sake. I didn’t think swears should be scrambled cuz that just *looks* off to me. The point of these changes is to have this resemble a spoken language more than it is a blatant tactic to confuse you.

While Sienna met with the Council of Nine, they came to the decision that the two humans were to be left alone for now. Not only because of their apparent connection to one of their people, that being Y/n, but Enoka herself hasn’t shown herself hostile toward them.

They could have been done away with as soon as they set foot on her soil if She wanted to, as history has proved before.

Of course there was confusion and disagreement among most of the council members, as humans have been nothing but trouble for them. But at the end of the day, the Council of Nine acts as Enoka’s mouthpiece, and to deliberately go against Her would be sacrilege.

-----

One of the oldest members in the Council of Nine, Gideon, was not as easily appeased at the “stagnant” solution, and decided to speak up. “But we were ALL there at LumeCrest,” A few of the council member’s eyes went downward, “Even She couldn’t prevent things from going tits up! We must be proactive in getting rid of all of our potential threats.”

“And we are, that’s why we’re discussing this here and now. Enoka sees all that happens on this island. If she believes that the outlanders are safe enough to be here, then that’s all there is to it. She has yet to change her mind, but if she does, we will be the first to know and act.” Leander, the member of the council chosen to be impartial while presiding over this discourse, definitely had his exercise in patience. 

Gideon would not let up, “But can She read hearts? She speaks to the mind, but can she foresee what these strangers will do? It would serve us well to be vigilant and get rid of the root of the problem before it decides to grow. And who’s to say that these humans couldn’t have poisoned one of our own against us and had them lead the two here?”

Sienna set her glass of water down firmly, her eyes narrowed and fixed on the table in front of her. “Mind your tongue. That’s my blood you’re smearing, you cretin.” She took another sip of water to cool her head. This greybeard would not be getting a rise out of her to try and discredit Leander’s point with bias.

The older man’s indignation was clear as he banged his staff on the polished flooring. “By Sthenya’s Wings!-”

Sienna didn’t even turn her head to look at the white haired man, “Don’t you dare attach my mother’s name to your tantrum, Gideon. I could care less that you’re my elder. Keep my family’s name out of your mouth. They have nothing to do with our conference,”

One of the younger members, Aeris, piped up as she ran her index finger around the top of her own glass, “Hells, Gideon, with your lack of faith in the fucking ground you walk on, it’s a miracle you’ve been on the council this long.”

There was a pregnant pause after Aeris was the only one to chuckle at the ridiculous debate. Leander eventually cleared his throat, “Regardless of our personal feelings, Enoka has spoken. To not heed her words would make us impious figures. If you still find you cannot trust or show confidence in Her judgment, then let someone else take your place” Leander looked between all the council members before releasing a breath to recenter himself. “That’s all that will be said about the matter. Our people will express caution with the outlanders and they will be monitored during their time here,” He nodded his head in Sienna’s direction, “And they will leave Enoka physically and mentally intact,” He stared directly at Gideon who continued to grumble under his breath. “This meeting has come to its conclusion, I trust all of you have your work cut out for you over the next few days. May Enoka hold your hand.” With that, Leander got up from his own seat along with all of the other council members save for one.

---

Despite her overall stoic demeanor, Sienna was overjoyed to have found her youngest sibling.

It doesn’t take her long for her to find you, Natasha and Wanda walking through one of the more secluded Enokan flower fields before joining you.

Realizing that the three of you have only been on the surface level of the living island, Sienna then takes it upon herself to show you all the developments that Enoka has gone through in your *ahem*... time away.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward between the three of you as it hadn’t been that long since your last conversation reached a rather unsatisfying conclusion.

Both Natasha and Wanda didn’t have the time nor were they really eager to explain that neither of them really felt wanted on the island. In an effort to say something, both women took to saying that the timing of going to Enoka’s main vessel was too soon.

-----

“It’s not that we don’t want to visit the…..being that we’re literally standing on, but maybe we do that when we’re more settled.” Wanda placed a placating hand on your shoulder as she could feel your rebuttal brewing.

Natasha looked toward the lighter footsteps she heard in the distance briefly before speaking up in a slightly louder tone. “Maybe sometime after we find where our bags were put.”

Wanda’s eyes widened slightly, “Preferably, yes.”

Your eyebrows still furrowed, you let up on the idea for now, “Alright alright, fine. But I’m gonna make sure that shit happens,” You were still slightly confused at their insistence, but you could partially see their point, maybe easing into it was easier?

You coughed a bit before you reached up to your neck to smack your apparatus a bit. It was then that you heard a slight sloshing sound that shouldn’t be there. “Tash’, can you come look at my bulbs real quick?”

Natasha came closer to see that the domes holding water around your neck were only half full, and only managed to splash against the gills on your neck instead of surrounding them. “It’s emptying.”

The redhead moved to tighten the bulbs or see if the reservoir needed adjusting before Sienna finally approached the three of you. “I trust the three of you have been staying out of trouble,” She raised a brow at the device around your neck with curiosity and a hint of apprehension. “Is everything alright?” I saw that around your neck when we met as well.”

You briefly tapped Natasha’s hands before going to remove  the apparatus yourself, “I’m just fine, my ‘rratus is just fuckin’ up. Probably from when you knocked it off my neck back on the boat.” Your eyes were looking over the breathing device with practiced diligence before sighing, “It looks like it’s an internal issue, and I don’t have my bag with my kit inside to try and fix it.”

“If it’s tools you require to fix your… contraption, then you would certainly find such if we go below,” She looked up at the sky to see the Sun just starting to wane following a darker blue hue. “We should make it by sunset if you’re in a hurry. Follow me,”

---

The four of you walk (it’s a walkable place for sure bud goddamn the three of you are getting your steps in) toward the center of the island that almost resembles a plaza with a gigantic sinkhole in the middle that certainly wasn’t there before in your memory.

Sienna explains that the sinkhole came about as a byproduct of the flood.

If you look over the lip of the sinkhole you can see an encased cross section of the newer underground/underwater parts of Enoka that have been developed over the past ten-plus years.

For mutants whose mutations don’t do well in water, there’s a walkway as well as elevator of sorts down to the lower levels of Enoka.

The four of you decide to take the elevator to the underground layer that’s between the surface and underwater layers of the living island.

Sienna makes it clear that Enoka has rebuilt herself the best She could and is now identified, not only what’s on the surface, but by three residential layers known as: The Survived (surface), The Buried (underground), and The Sunken (underwater)

There are just as many homes and establishments underground as there are on the surface and one could conclude that the same could be said for the underwater portion as well.

The underground is flooded in artificial light in the form of lanterns and poles that hold resemblance to streetlights.

It turns out that over the years, the Natural energon Enoka produces was synthesized to be used in smaller devices put around the subterranean portions of the island.

The natural energon has found many new uses, not only as a form of energy/power, but also helps produce stronger currents of electricity.

Those eclectic currents were then used to jumpstart their private network, allowing one to pluck signals from outside of Enoka.

et voilà: secured access to the internet and media from all over.

-----

Sienna had the four of you walk around the rim of the layer closest to the wall to avoid regular civilians as they had the habit to stare at Natasha and Wanda. The two of them not only felt but probably smelt off to the general population of mutants, and while you'd gotten agitated more than once at the squints and partial glares your partner and close friend received, you took to almost straddling the stone wall to minimize attention.

“Enoka certainly feels bigger than she was before the flood,” You rested your hand on the large stone wall that made up the integrity of The Buried. “Y teb u'yore a 'hll fo a tol torgresn, oto.” There was the smallest pulse underneath your hand that made you chuckle. You turned toward Wanda and Natasha and gestured for them to come closer to the wall. “Here, feel for yourself.”

Natasha didn’t need much convincing, but Wanda was a bit more hesitant. “I’m not stroking a wall, gup.”

Natasha’s hand stayed in one place, but the rough surface was rather warm as opposed to the cooler temperature of normal sediment. “She really is everywhere,”

You nodded at the russian’s remark with a flash of your pointy grin. “Basically,” You then reached for Wanda’s hand before she could protest and continued to goad her until she lightly placed it on the wall. There were a quick few pulses under the brunette’s hand that almost tickled and made her hand flinch.

You chuckled at Wanda's response as you slowly let go of her wrist while she kept it there, “ese, u'yore nief, Wandy.”

Sienna watched the exchange with a far away look in her eye.

~ “Just rest your hand on the tree, grumps. She’s not gonna bite your hand off if you touch her.” A younger Sienna had the adolescent version of you by the wrist to try and place your hand on one of the trees along the shoreline.

Younger you definitely fought a lot harder than Wanda seemed to be, “That’s not what Rudy said! ‘Noka snacks on kids and I don’t wanna get eaten!”

Sienna briefly chuckled before kneeling in front of you, “I told you that you can’t trust anything that that birdbrain says, Y/n. come here, I’ll show you,” She grasped your wrist once again and slowly moved your smaller hand toward the trunk of the tree.

Once it touched the scratchy texture of the tree, your little face scrunched together to brace for the impending chomp on your hand. A chomp that never came even after more than a few seconds. You slowly opened your eyes to see your hand perfectly intact before slightly blushing in embarrassment.

Sienna rested her hand on your shoulder as you focused more on the warm feeling radiating under your hand. “The last thing She wants is to hurt us, Y/n. The most she’ll do is reprimand you, and I’m sure Rudy knows that much well enough” You jumped slightly after feeling a few stronger pulses from the tree trunk under your hand, almost as if She was cosigning Sienna’s words. You laughed at the thought of the Bird boy that always managed to get in trouble or piss someone off.

Sienna took her hand off of your shoulder to ruffle your hair with a smile, “Ese, u'yore nief, Y/nn.” ~

Sienna cleared her throat as she returned back to the present. “The passage to The Sunken is just this way.”

---

The passage down to The Sunken is inside of some form of glass tube that allows the four of you to see out into the ocean,  where people and sea life alike are going about their day.

Aquariums have nothing on this view fr-

You’d gone down far enough that you can even start to see farmers at a few of the brine pools and sea farms by the ocean floor.

The difference in air was something even Natasha and Wanda had begun to notice as you could almost taste the residual salt that still hung in the air at this deep of a level.

-----

The four of you finally reached a space that looked more like a medical building of sorts. Though the expectant smell of sterilizer was replaced with that of pear and lemon.

“Everything that isn’t grown directly by Enoka herself comes out of this building. We’ve even started Sunken Gardens down here so that that our lowest layer has access to plants that were originally only grown on the surface. Our bigger brains do work down here.” She led you into one of the smaller laboratories that had shelves stocked with tools, machines, and naturally made (as well as engineered) chemicals and metals.

You inspected a stack of thinner sheet metal with a smirk, “Well ain’t that somethin. I’ll definitely be able to make hella improvements down here,” You grabbed a few sheets of the white gray metal and a mess of other things and set them on an empty table before you turned to the three women in the room. “This shouldn’t take me too long, but I don’t blame you guys if you aren’t too interested in just watching me.”

Natasha spoke up before the thought could fully register, “Watching you has never bothered me before,” Wanda and Sienna were content to pretend that neither had heard what the redhead said while she found the rubber tile flooring to be more interesting.

Sienna pushed ahead, “I figured you all would want to get to your belongings and where you’ll be staying sooner or later.”

At the mention of their belongings, Wanda perked up and agreed. “I really should,” The brunette gave a longer look toward Natasha before turning to Sienna, “Both Wanda and Jaws can stay here, but if you could show me where we’ll be staying that’d be great.” There were a few things Wanda had to look over in her bags, and maybe call Vision to unwind a bit, but maybe this would also be a small opportunity to have a positive interaction with Sienna.

Sienna, for her part, seemed neutral about the prospect, “We should get going now, since I believe your things were set up on the surface.” The security chief watched Wanda’s eyes widen at the thought of having to walk back up through the two layers before fracking a knowing smirk that looked very similar to your own. “There’s an elevator to The Survived in this building, no need to worry for your arches.”

---

Far outside of Enoka was a deep gray ship that was occupied by a great deal of armed forces in full black suits roaming around. Below the main deck in the cockpit/planning room of the ship was a familiar brown haired man standing over the screen in the center console showing a map with a small blip on it that was no longer moving. It hadn’t moved for about five hours now. The Brown haired man looked to his left at the woman at the helm steering the ship, “You told us we had to fall back, but how far out are we?” The woman internally sighed before taking her eye off of the waters in front of her. “A little over a week. I told you we would have to take this slow so that they don’t catch on. Stay on the move and circle around so we don’t get caught by their defense and surveillance. We’ve been over this, Graydon. I urge you to find your patience.” Graydon ran a frustrated hand through his hair before taking a breath and calm his rather antsy behavior. He looked back down at the virtual map with the steady blinking light on their target. “I know, Tar’. I just want to do this as soon as possible before the higher ups decide to pull us out of this job.” “Well they’ll know we’re there as soon as we step foot on the goddamn sand, so urgency isn’t really a factor,” Tara looked at Graydon for a second before putting the ship on autopilot and getting up. This isn’t a high level op. There’s only a 75% chance they’ll put us on more if we do this right.” She moved to stand next to Graydon before taking a look at the map to try and see what he was seeing. “What’s so important about this job that you’ve wanted to run it three different times?” “My birth mother was one of these muties. Said she wanted a place just like this for people like her where they could breed mutants and make more of them like rats. She’d go so far for her perfect world that she threw me away… She’s gotta be there, and even if she’s not I want to burn her dream to the fucking ground.”

** footnote: I wanted to use a completely different script for the Enokan language being spoken, but I couldn’t find a way to import it so that it was shown, so instead I made a simple code using typoglycemia (aka just unscramble the letters of each word). To make it so that it didn’t look as clunky, I sometimes replaced (i) with (y). Some words that end with vowels may have an apostrophe that takes the place of the vowel. Apostrophes can also be found at the beginning of words with vowels for fluidity’s sake. I didn’t think swears should be scrambled cuz that just *looks* off to me. The point of these changes is to have this resemble a spoken language more than it is a blatant tactic to confuse you.

I spoke briefly about Jaws' life under HYDRA in the very first part of the JAWS AU, but let's see here...

Jaws' life under HYDRA was a lonely one to say the least. They were basically alone and in pain for the first half a year post-first procedure while they got used to the adamantium coating their skull. We're talking consistent headaches and migraines. Like the pulsing in your face and teeth when you have a sinus infection but dialed up to eleven.

That being said, Jaws' life as a subject of HYDRA was still a lot better than a lot of others we know and are familiar with. They were fed regularly, had decent clothes, got a small semblance of an education (granted it was highly biased in favor of what HYDRA wanted Jaws to know and learn)... essentially the bare minimum. This is in part due to two factors: how young Jaws was when they were captured and brought into the facility, and also who was in charge of them. That being Doctor Faustus.

Johann Fennhoff didn't need to use torture or physical abuse to get Jaws under his thumb, even with their explosive temper. He was better versed in psychological warfare, and simply used methods of mental manipulation to condition Jaws to be complacent in following his instruction... with mixed results.

It was easier to control Jaws when they were younger and more impressionable. They were always a bit hardheaded, but they listened better. much like Bucky when he was under HYDRA, Faustus used activation words and repeated phrases to cooperate. As Jaws got older and eventually became an adult, simple hypnosis wasn't effective anymore and Faustus had to progress to using hallucinogens that were more and more potent. This worked better, but they made Jaws more irritable on the come down.

The final form of Faustus' hallucinogenic gas was one that left Jaws vulnerable to hypnotic suggestion. Same methodology as the old stuff, but stronger and more refined than the new stuff. Jaws wasn't fully aware of what was happening around them when the chemical invaded their system, but the rage fueled by the fear that gripped them when the foreign substance started to flush out of their system was not a pleasant experience.

Whether Jaws realized it or not, the longer they were exposed to the hallucinogen, the more they were growing immune to it's effects, which led to the break in control at the beginning of the JAWS AU when the Avengers encountered the tiger shark mutant.

Faustus kept Jaws in isolation the majority of the time while they were in the HYDRA facility. The most they got to see of the other agents and experiments was during missions, since even Jaws' trainings were privatized. In a lot of ways, Jaws was Faustus' cash cow; they got the job done efficiently, and at that moment in time, Jaws was satisfied with having their bloodlust satiated being their reward for a successful mission.

It was also Doctor Faustus that pushed Jaws to commit cannibalism while they were still young. Jaws was well fed compared to other subjects under the Asphalt facility because unfortunately disposable people are in no short supply among HYDRA. Be they failed subjects or experiments or hostages that had outlived their usefulness. For better or worse, Jaws didn't have any real moral hang ups about that until they left HYDRA.

It's fair to say that Jaws became a bit of a glutton during their time under HYDRA. The promise that they could inflict pain was their main motivating factor (their general distaste toward human beings was cultivated more into hatred as the years went by). Getting their lunch on top of it was just a bonus, really.

Jaws has always been averse to being around people for extended periods of time and was easily provoked, so they preferred to be alone to float in their saltwater tank most of the time.

Just alone with their thoughts. The water sloshing around them... in their soundproofed tank... with their eyes closed.

The few people that Jaws interacted with consistently were the scientists responsible for surveilling the mutant and reporting behaviors back to Doctor Faustus.

They were around a lot more when Jaws was just a kid and they were basically glorified babysitters, but as Jaws got older, they were stand-ins for guards/therapists/parental figures/friends/ whatever Faustus needed them to be for his haifisch to progress as he wanted.

Jaws didn't have many personal belongings and had virtually no sense of self when they were fully sentient. They functioned solely off of the pursuit of survival, and because Jaws wasn't around people long enough to care about them, they were a million times more apathetic than we're more familiar with them being in current days. It was less from a place of "I don't care what you have to say, I'm gonna do what I want" and more so "Meat sacks shouldn't talk so much."

I can't say that Jaws forged any meaningful connections while under the New York Asphalt facility, and they weren't fully aware of what was going on around them half of the time. It was a blurred cycle of sleeping, killing, testing and improvements over and over again.

I think the culture shock Jaws had after leaving HYDRA should be studied actually. Jaws didn't have too much of a clue what was out there in the world (having only faint memories of their life back on Enoka as an infant at this point), but there had to be a latent yearning for more than what their life was for them to actually try and adjust to "normal" society after being freed.