"Sandara, I need you to come with me to pick up a few recruits" a Colonel with graying hair said to the woman standing in the shadows of his office.
"What is so special about them?" the soft-spoken woman replied as she stepped from the shadows, the dim light flashing in her golden eye.
"Two brothers, it seems they were sentenced to the firing squad and survived, I would like to see if they have what it takes to be on the team."
"Very well, I shall prepare the plane for our departure."
"So tell me boys, how would you like to really serve your country?" Colonel William Stryker asked the brothers as he crouched in the doorway to their cell.
The two men looked at each other before turning back to Stryker and nodding. "Excellent, now, my associate here will release you from your bonds and then we will be on our way."
Stryker stepped aside and Sandara entered the room, she walked to the smaller of the two men and lifted his hands to her face. Thin silk threads drifted from her lips as she blew gently on his shackles, the threads wrapped themselves completely around the metal before she stopped and gripped the chains, pulling gently and the boys watched in amazement as the strong metal chains snapped like they were made of toothpicks. She then proceeded to do the same thing with the larger man before stepping back and standing behind Stryker.
"James Logan, Victor Creed, meet one of your team mates, Sandara Arehandora."
Logan and Victor stared at the small woman taking in the strange markings traveling up her neck and the bandages across her right eye. "Come along gentlemen, you still need to meet the rest of the team." Stryker instructed and with that the woman was out the door and down the hall, her high heeled black boots barely even making a noise on the floor as she moved.
The two new men got along fine with the rest of the team; the only one they still knew nothing about was the lonely woman of the team.
"Do any of you know anything about Sandara?" Logan asked a few days after they had been recruited.
"She tends to keep to herself; I think it has something to do with something in her past. I'm sure you saw the marks right?" John Wraith said as they all sat in the canteen eating what equaled to breakfast in the base.
"Yea, what about 'em? Kind of strange tattoos if you ask me." Logan replied as he took a bite.
"They aren't tattoos, well, they kind of are, they're kind of like brands. Her parents gave them to her when she was little when her powers first manifested, they marked her as a soul stealer."
"Soul stealer? What's that supposed to mean?" Victor asked.
"I can suck out a person's life essence just by making contact with them if I wish."
The men spun around quickly to see Sandara standing there. "Hey babe!" Wade Wilson said and tried to place his arm around her shoulder but she quickly stepped to the side and smashed the metal tray in her hands over the side of his head, "do not touch me."
"You wound me babe!" Wade called from the floor as she walked to an empty table and sat down, slowly starting to eat her food while reading a small book she had pulled out of an inside pocket of the grey wide sleeved jacket she wore.
Training in the gym after breakfast was rather unusual. Stryker had the brothers training with their new team mates to see how well they worked with others.
"So kitty cat, let's see what you've got" Wade said as he spun a sword in his hand.
The corner of Victor's mouth twitched, "keep it up, see what happens."
Logan watched his brother as the large feral prepared to fight the noisy swordsman before turning his attention to the woman leaning in the doorframe. Sandara studied the men as they trained, she had finally changed from her normal blue jeans, white shirt, and jacket to a pair of black yoga pants and a long sleeve white shirt.
"You are really pissing me off!" Logan finally switched his attention back to his brother to see him pouncing on Wade, ready to tear the man limb from limb only to see him stop in midair, still in the position to strike but unable to move any further.
"I believe our orders were to train, not kill each other."
The men all turned to see Sandara walking forward, her hands gripping a group of almost invisible strings which were wrapped around each of Victor's limbs, waist, and neck. "Thanks for saving me babe" Wade said and tried to put his arm around her waist but she opened her mouth and another set of strings blew out of it, wrapping around Wade and throwing him across the room.
"How many times must I tell you, do not touch me!" everyone was shocked to hear her raise her voice for the first time any of them had known her.
There was silence in the room for a few moments and in that time Victor was lowered to the ground and released. "I got a question," Victor started as he stood up, "why do you always act like a bitch?"
"That is my own business, not yours. Now, I suggest you all get back to training before the Colonel comes in here to find you slacking off." Sandara's reply was quick before she turned to walk out of the room.
Victor, not feeling like tolerating her attitude anymore, raced after her and jumped on her, slamming her into the floor, "now you listen here little girl, I don't take kindly to being ordered around, especially not by tiny frails who have a stick up their ass! You want us to train? Then fine, you can join in."
"She already has Victor." Everyone looked to the door to see Stryker standing there with a smirk on his face as he stared at his fallen subordinate. Victor looked down at the woman under him to see the markings on her skin were wiggling like snakes, some even rising slightly off her skin, twisting and curling as if to wrap the feral up.
"You want to see what I can do? Very well then, I'll show you." Sandara said in a voice that sounded like many people talking at once, her eyes opening to reveal they had gone completely purple. Her hand slowly raised off the floor and pressed to his side, as soon as her skin made contact Victor felt what he would later describe as some of the worst pain in his entire life as he was slowly sapped of his energy and will to fight. His arms shook and collapsed under him forcing him to fall on top of Sandara.
"Sandara stop." Stryker commanded but it was almost like she could not hear him, she and Victor were staring into each other's eyes as if they were having a conversation in their heads.
"Zero, the tranquilizer"
Agent Zero was quick to load the tranquilizer dart into his gun and shot it into Sandara's leg. Instantly her eyes reverted to normal for a split second before they closed and her body went limp.
"What…the hell…was that?" Victor yelled as he tried to catch his breath.
"that is what most people refer to as her soul sucking ability, she takes your strength, your will to fight, your will to breathe, and eventually your will to live, if she had continued you would have died Victor, healing factor or not." Stryker explained as Zero walked to his fallen comrade and picked her up gently. "You will have that lovely new mark on your arm for the rest of your life because of that ability, it marks its victims. Zero, take her to her room, she will need to meditate as soon as she wakes to remove Victor from her head."
Zero nodded and carried Sandara out of the room, Stryker leaving shortly after. Victor watched them go before looking down to see a small area of his arm covered in markings like hers.
Okay everyone, thank you for reading Puppet Master. I swear I have not abandoned my other stories! It is just taking me a bit longer to come up with ideas for them. Thank you to all my loyal fans and please keep the reviews coming!
~NightStalker