Chapter One

Her eyes were open, staring blankly into the darkness. Her senses were on high alert, and although she couldn't see, she was overwhelmed. The stiff concrete floor was cold and unrelenting, offering her no comfort. Her nose was flooded with the smell of rot, which was consistent throughout the whole building, no matter where she slept. She could hear the traffic in the distance, and the scuttling of roaches across the floor of the warehouse. These weren't ideal accommodations, but they fit the part. A scared teenage girl with abilities she couldn't control; this is exactly where someone like that would hide.

A car door slammed outside, and she stiffened, slowly rising to her feet. This was it, it had to be. She had followed the instructions given to her; having little "accidents" here and there, small displays of her abilities leading S.H.I.E.L.D. right back to this very warehouse. She had been told they would find her, she had just thought it would take longer. As quietly as she could, she crept across to the far side of the warehouse, as far from the door as possible. She hid behind a wooden crate, and waited, letting her fear take over. A few moments later the warehouse was filled with beams of light, and she gasped. She knew they had heard her, that had been the point, but her heart pounded anyways. Be scared, show your fear, she chanted in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as the footfalls approached. There was whispering, then the unmistakable click of a gun safety being disengaged. Her breathing sped up.

When a shadow fell over her face, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up. She saw the silhouette of a man. He was tall and intimidating, but she could overpower him if she needed to. Instead she whimpered, and squeezed her eyes shut again, shrinking as far back into the corner as she could. "Hey don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, but she kept her eyes shut. He kneeled down next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, but she shrunk away, curling into herself before slowly opening her eyes. She could see him better now, and vaguely recognized his features. He was older, mid-forties probably, and had dark brown hair, his hairline receding. He had a kind but stern face, and was looking at her sympathetically. "Will you come with me? I want to help you." He asked, and she waited a moment before giving a shaky nod. He smiled and helped her up. She looked around, seeing three other men armed, probably in case she had decided to fight her way out. Not that it would have stopped me.

"My name's Phil, what's yours?" He asked. She hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to use her real name. How much harm could it do? "Winter." She said, finally. He looked at her and smiled warmly, "Well Winter, I'm going to take you someplace safe." She smiled in response. I know who you are Phil, and I'm not the one who needs protecting.

Four years later...

Winter awoke, startled by a loud noise. Her heartbeat slowed down as she realized it was just her wretched alarm clock. Groaning, she flung her arm at it, a desperate attempt to mute the obnoxious sound. Finally succeeding, her room was filled with silence. Her room. It had been a few years, and she was completely comfortable here. It's part of my role, Winter would tell herself, but she wasn't completely convinced. She had come to love this place, this sanctuary. She hadn't felt this much peace ever, and over the past four years she had found herself again. For the most part Hydra left her alone, biding their time. Once in a while they would send her a small task, just to make sure she was still on their side and track her progress.

Her position within S.H.I.E.L.D. was enviable, anyone in Hydra would kill for it. And I'm not even sure I want it. Winter forced herself to sit up, and she looked around, examining her room. Grey walls, white floor, a metal cabinet in one corner holding her clothes. There were two metal doors; one leading to her bathroom, the other into the hall. Everything was so plain, just the way she liked it. She looked at her alarm and saw that it was 5:04 a.m. She sighed, getting out of bed and walking over to the washroom. She quickly showered, brushed her teeth, combed out her hair, then walked back into her room to get dressed.

Phil normally came to get her at 5:30, so she had a few minute to herself. She thought back to the dream she had that night, one she hadn't had in months. She used to dream of S.H.I.E.L.D rescuing her all the time, but as she grew used to the environment, the dream left. But last night she had dreamed of that awful warehouse, of Phil coming to save her, and the whole reason she was here. The child inside her told her she shouldn't help Hydra at all, that she should tell Phil everything and ask him to keep her safe. The only problem is that she would never be truly safe, so she ignored the voice and focused on the mission. She was one of Hydra's greatest creations, and by far the most successful. Like most of Hydra's best agents, she hadn't joined willingly. Winter shuddered, letting her memories consume her. At 4 years old Winter was taken from her family, kidnapped to be used as one of Hydra's many test subjects. She was enlisted in the Corhtexiphan trials run by Dr. Bishop, along with 27 other children. Only 12 survived the first dose. They continued the doses weekly, and the remaining children flourished. Corhtexiphan enhances the brain, and can only be used on children, since adults have already fully developed and don't have room for growth. The children all began showing signs of abilities by the sixth dose. All except Winter. She stayed healthy, but any powers remained dormant. Dr. Bishop tried to push her, tried to force the abilities to ignite, but they wouldn't. His attention was quickly required elsewhere when the other children started getting sick. One by one, they all died, the Corhtexiphan eating away at their brain, which was unable to handle the drug. Eventually it was only Winter, and she waited calmly for the drug to take her as well. It never did. About two weeks later she had her first incident. They had decided to cut her off the Corhtexiphan about a week earlier, and had been taking daily blood tests since. The needles never bothered her, but this doctor was being especially harsh. All week he had been grabbing her hard enough to leave bruises, and when she would try to squirm out of his grip, he would hit her. A week of this brought on a mixture of anger and fear Winter had never felt before, and the next time he grabbed her, the needle flew out of his hand and buried itself into his throat. He gasped, and she stared wide eyed as he slumped to the floor, a nurse quickly running to his aid. She knew she had done it, but didn't know how. Dr. Bishop ran in, a wild look on his weathered face, and she started to cry. She was sure he would punish her, but instead he just smiled. After that, her training began. With the training came more knowledge of her abilities. Telekinesis was just scratching the surface, she could also teleport, turn invisible, and control other people's minds. Her powers were complicated, but she quickly learned their rules and boundaries. Simple things like her inability to turn something invisible unless she had physical contact with it, or that her commands only took root in a person's mind if she held eye contact with them. After twelve long years of training, both physical and mental, she was ready. With complete control over her abilities, and better fighting skills than most Hydra agents, she was a weapon. She continued training every day, waiting. When they finally gave her an assignment, she was thrilled. The walk to Dr. Bishop's office took ages, and with every step her heart pounded just a little bit faster. When she knocked on the door, her whole body started to tremble, she hadn't been this worked up in years. He opened his door and motioned her in, and she walked through the doorway hesitantly. She took a deep breath before seating herself in front of his desk. "You look nervous," he started, his baritone voice filling the room, "You shouldn't be, you've been ready for months." Winter forced a smile and replied, "Yes, sir, I know." And he smiled in return, genuinely. She knew it was genuine, because Dr. Bishop had a soft spot for her. After all, she was the only survivor of his experiment, his life's work. Winter wasn't sure if he loved her, or the Corhtexiphan that augmented her brain, but love is love, and Dr. Bishop was her only source. He truly valued her and her abilities, nurturing them with the strict kindness of a father. Not that she would know what a father was like, but Dr. Bishop was the next best thing. She was pulled away from her train of thought as he slid a folder across the desk, and she reached forward to pick it up. "It contains everything you need to know, where to go, what to do, and any information on S.H.I.E.L.D. that you'll need." He said, watching her carefully. She kept the file closed, though she was dying to open it, "Thank you sir." She replied. He smiled again, "You're welcome Winter." She stood up, preparing to leave his office when he stopped her. "Winter, have there been any signs that you may be developing a new ability?" He constantly asked her this, hungry for her to continue growing. It was for nothing though, she had stopped gaining powers over eight years ago. "No sir," she replied, nodding her head before walking out of his office, beginning to sprint once she got into the hall. She reached her room and locked the door behind her, walking over to sit on the edge of her bed. With shaking hands she slowly opened the folder, staring at the contents. There was a lot to read, and she could tell that it was going to take a while. A few hours later, Winter finally closed the file, taking a moment to let her anger rise, before throwing the folder at the wall. She stood up and walked over to the papers scattered across her floor, "What the hell!" She yelled, "You raise me and train me for years, and this is the first mission you give me? Infiltrating fricken S.H.I.E.L.D.? This is suicide! Ugh." She glared at the wall, before bending down to clean up the mess.

There was a knock at the door, startling Winter out of her memory. She looked at the clock, seeing that it was 5:37. Phil is never late. "Come on in" She shouted. Getting up, she grabbed a sweater and put it on, facing away from the door as it opened. "What happened? You're never late." She said, doing up the zipper and turning back towards the door. She froze halfway as her eyes found the man standing in the doorway, "You're not Phil..."

The man said nothing, only stared at Winter unimpressed. She knew who he was, the agent assigned to her, constantly giving her small tasks and reminding her who she was really working for. "What do you want?" She asked, the resignation clear in her voice. "Did you send out the letter I gave you?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes, sick of that code, before replying, "Oh my gosh, we really need to change that..." "Did you send out the letter?" He cut her off, aggravation clear on his face. "Because it has got to be the worst code ever, I can't even mail anything from in here!" She argued, trying not to let the amusement show on her face. He took a few steps towards her, and instinctively she took a few back.

She could see him trying to calm down, before he asked again, "Did you send the letter." "Oh for goodness sake, yes I sent the stupid letter," Winter replied, rolling her eyes, "Why do we even have to do that? It's not like they bugged me, they aren't hiding underneath my bed to catch you, they trust me." "It's a precaution, you know that." "Well it's a stupid one." Winter mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Fury has activated the avengers." "What!" Winter half shouted, "I thought that idea had been trashed." If he was surprised by her outburst, or the fact that she knew about the Avengers, he didn't show it. "It was, but Fury ignored direct orders and went ahead with it. That's why Coulson is late, he was out last night informing Stark." Winter's eyes widened, this is really happening, she thought to herself. "So what does that have to do with me?" She asked. "Coulson is going to ask you to tag along, giving you a chance to see what it's like out in the field. You will do everything in your power to stop the Avengers initiative from taking place, while still taking caution not to blow your cover," he looked down at his watch, "Coulson should be on his way, do not forget who you work for." And with that, he left the room. Winter stood there for a moment, trying to grasp what had just happened. Phil is taking me out? I haven't been outside in years... Her thoughts were interrupted by a second knock at the door. She gathered herself, then shouted "Come on in!" The door opened and Phil walked in. She pushed the previous conversation down, and forced an amused smirk on her face, "You're late." She jested. Phil smiled, "I know, I got caught up last night, I just got back an hour ago." She knew this of course, but let surprise show on her face, "Why were you out so late?" She asked, maintaining her mask of confusion. "That's actually what I need to talk to you about," he started, looking at her and smiling, "I know you haven't been out of this facility since you got here, and I know that must have been hard, but you've handled it very well." Winter smiled, "Thanks Phil". He continued, "I have decided that you are ready to go out in the field." Knew that also. Winter forced both excitement and suspicion onto her face, "Really? You're kidding." "I'm not, you will be accompanying me on this next mission, you have been training for four years and have shown incredible improvement, trust me when I say that you're ready." The warmth that filled her chest was not forced, she always felt proud when Phil complimented her. He was even more of a father to her than Dr. Bishop had been, and she had grown to love him. He treated her so much kinder than the Dr. had, and he cared about her, not her power. His knowledge of her abilities was less than Dr. Bishop's though, and that thought always haunted her. Phil was so impressed with what little power she had chosen to show him, she almost felt guilty for holding the rest back. She longed to show Phil what she was really made of, but she couldn't. She feared that if she did, she would become more of a tool to him, an instrument he used when he needed her powers, then locked away until her abilities were of use again. So she kept the full force of her powers to herself. But to be convincing she had to give them something. It had been difficult pretending she had no control at the beginning, clumsily using her powers, getting frustrated when she couldn't do something. After a month of struggling she allowed herself some headway, gradually getting better and better. Four years later S.H.I.E.L.D. was convinced she had full control of all her ability. She had shown them her telekinesis, but she hid everything else. She hadn't used some of her abilities in years, and it was starting to wear her down. Winter looked back at Phil, smiling and waiting for instruction. "Pack up your things, I'll brief you on the way."