A/n Alright, here is my new fanfic for the Avengers. The initial premise was having an OC go through the same things as Wanda and Pietro, and instead of either skimming over their experiences or starting just before Age of Ultron, actually writing about them. It just grew from there. And became very, very AU, as you will soon see. Enjoy.
Pietro huddled with his twin sister Wanda in the alleyway they now called home. It hadn't even been two months since their parents died thanks to a bomb, and thanks to the chaos that engulfed the city, they had nowhere to go. They were only ten years old, terrified for their lives, and no clue how to survive on their own. They scavenged for food, finding only meager scraps, scared of approaching any of the other people living on the streets. They didn't even feel comfortable remaining in what was left of their childhood home.
The boy looked down at his sister, who was sleeping restlessly against him. He sighed worriedly, unable to rest. Both of them were getting weaker, and he didn't know what to do. He blinked away the tears that were forming. He had to think of something, but he had no clue where to even begin with finding a better situation for them.
"Hey, want some bread?" a soft girl's voice startled him and he looked up, surprised. He hadn't even heard her approach. She was wearing clothes that had seen better days and she had dark blonde hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time. She was holding out a loaf of bread, which even divided would be more than enough for him and Wanda. He reached out hesitantly, unsure if she was sincere or not. He stared when she put the bread right into his hands, both at the bread and at her in turns.
"Why would you share food with us?" he asked cautiously as she sat down near them.
"Because I know what its like... and I've seen what it does to those who aren't used to it..." she replied softly. "Even though I've lived on the streets most of my life... there are times where I struggle..." She looked away briefly. "And I had no one to help me, I had to do it on my own... Anyways, you must be new, I hadn't ever seen you before a few weeks ago..." Pietro nodded slowly, staring at the bread in thought.
"Yeah... Our parents died when a bomb hit... we didn't even leave the house for days 'cause a dud bomb landed and we thought for sure we'd be dead if we moved... and we had nowhere to go when we did finally leave..." he responded finally without really thinking about how much he was sharing. Then he turned to his sister and shook her shoulder gently. "Wanda... we have food."
"...huh...? Food?" she woke up slowly, blinking in confusion. "How...?" she gaped at the loaf of bread Pietro was holding. He pointed to the girl before he tore it in half and gave her the slightly bigger half.
"I got it for you when I realized you haven't been finding much to eat... My name is Liliya," she added, realizing she had never introduced herself to the boy.
"I'm Wanda..." Wanda replied shyly before she started eating the bread.
"And I'm Pietro," the boy added. "Thank you." He began eating slowly, watching Liliya curiously. She was fidgeting looking nervous. It wasn't until after both Wanda and Pietro finished eating that she finally broke the silence.
"I was wondering if you would like to join me," she blurted suddenly, then immediately became shy. "I mean... I've been alone for so long, and I was alone in the orphanage and its easier to survive in a group, 'cause we can get more food and stuff that way, and I do have a safe place to sleep and I can teach you what you need to know too..." she rambled. Pietro and Wanda shared a look, able to see what the other was feeling easily since they knew each other so well. It was easy to see the relief and hope they shared over the idea.
"That... could work," Wanda answered after a moment. Liliya looked surprised; she hadn't expected this gamble to pay off.
"Really?" The twins nodded.
"Let's go, right now... I hate this alleyway anyways." Pietro stood up before helping his sister up. Liliya got to her feet, beaming.
"It's this way." She started leading the way. "I've been on the streets for a few years, I used to live at an orphanage, from the time I was a baby, but I ran away after a while 'cause no one wanted me and there were lots of babies and it'd be easier to care for them with one less child around... 'sides, I like living on my own... mostly," she added as an afterthought. Pietro and Wanda exchanged bewildered looks. She seemed far too cheerful now to have gone through the things she said she did. She'd been more affected by it earlier even.
"How... have you been able to survive?" Pietro asked after a moment.
"Oh, I learned, I adapted. Wasn't that hard really, I was already good at sneaking around, I just now had a good reason to." She lead them through the city with ease while the twins felt like they were getting more and more lost. "And don't worry it took me a while too, and you didn't exactly start from a good place to learn since it sounded like you had a loving family, right?"
"Yeah... we did..." Wanda responded quietly. "You make it sound easy... why are you so happy?"
"Oh, that..." The girl shrugged as she turned down another side street. "I have trouble sometimes... staying positive makes it easier to get through the day. I don't even know what else to do, it's not like I can go to school... or get a job... I'm just an orphan who never had a last name..." she sighed wistfully.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the other girl apologized. "I didn't realize-"
"It's fine," Liliya cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I don't mind, 'sides this is the first time I've had a conversation with anyone in ages, I like to avoid the adults and most of the other kids have adults or their groups." She frowned.
"There's groups of kids? Why aren't you part of them...?" Pietro asked hesitantly. He wasn't as surprised as he could be to find this out, but it made sense. He and Wanda hadn't ventured far from their home after it was destroyed despite their growing desperation for food, so they hadn't really encountered many people, nor had they paid much attention to the people around them, aside from noticing when they had food and wishing they could have it.
"Because they're stupid and get into fights over 'territories' and this bakery belongs to this group while that flower shop belongs to this other group. And sometimes they just fight for the fun of it and sometimes kids die. I don't want any part of that," she finished matter-of-factly.
"...I'm glad you found us then..." Wanda managed to say finally once her words had sunk in. "I wouldn't want to be a part of that."
"Me either," Pietro agreed. "I wouldn't want to get killed over something so stupid." Liliya smiled at them brightly.
"I'm glad you agree." She continued to lead, to an area that seemed isolated. Eventually she lead the way to a half torn down house and jumped over the low wall. "This is where I've been living, I've made kind of a nest or fort thing over in this corner." She pointed to where the walls were highest. The shelter she'd made mostly consisted of boxes, while the ground was covered with cushions she'd obviously pulled from the dusty couch. There was only one blanket.
"It looks cozy... I like it," Wanda remarked after a moment, watching her brother cautiously explore.
"This can be your home too!" the girl exclaimed excitedly. "There's plenty of space, after all." Pietro nodded, picking a spot to sit down.
"I like it too... Say, how old are you anyways?" he queried, trying to relax. It was hard after so long of being wary of everything around them.
"I'm 10, my birthday was back in April. How about you?" Liliya sat down as well, barely holding still in her excitement to finally have company.
"Our birthday is in December... and we're also 10 years old," the boy answered after glancing at his sister to be sure she was okay.
"We're the same age? Nice." Liliya grinned.
"So what is your plan for us helping each other?" Pietro asked, deciding he wanted to know what they'd gotten themselves into.
"Well, we can share the sleeping space, which will be good in the winter 'cause we can share heat. Tomorrow I'll start showing you how I get food, and sometimes even money or clothes. Once you guys are good at that, we'll have three of us out there every day, and when we put the food together it'll be enough for at least breakfast the next day," Liliya explained. Wanda drew her knees to her chest.
"I don't like stealing..." she mumbled. Pietro sighed and sat down next to her, throwing his arm around her. That had been the biggest sore point between them over the last two months. He was willing to do practically anything to make sure they survived while his sister shied away from a lot of the options. The other girl stared at them.
"Would you rather die of starvation? No one cares about the street kids, no one even really cares about the orphans anymore. It's practically a warzone in this city, and everyone is more concerned about themselves and their family than anyone else. No one would give a street kid anything, let alone take them in. Stealing is the only way... I really wish it wasn't..." her voice grew softer, "I wish we could find new homes and people to take care of us but there isn't a chance... we're just homeless street kids, we cause trouble even though only the gangs do that but all kids are alike, no one wants to believe that we have no choice, but we don't." She stared off into space.
"You're speaking from experience aren't you?" Pietro asked quietly while Wanda watched her wide eyed. Liliya jumped then nodded.
"Yeah... a few years ago, a couple was interested in adopting me... but that was a lie. I'm not sure what they wanted from me, but they were only pretending to some officials... and then next thing I knew everything was taken away and they'd kicked me back on the streets, threatening to call the police if I stuck around..." she told them quietly, gazing at nothing as she sought to control her emotions.
"Oh... that's horrible..." Wanda whispered. "I'm sorry..." Liliya shook herself.
"It's alright. It taught me a valuable lesson. Don't trust anyone blindly, especially adults... that's why I didn't approach you until today," she admitted.
"That makes sense..." Pietro murmured. "I wondered why you trust us..."
"I'm glad you decided to trust us." Wanda yawned. Liliya smiled slightly.
"Yeah, me too... we should get some sleep, I think." She crawled under the blanket. Pietro and Wanda exchanged uncertain looks before following.
It wasn't completely comfortable but it was far better than it had been before for the twins. At first they were curled up together, with a decent amount of space between Wanda and Liliya despite the blanket, but by morning there was no space between any of them, to all of their embarrassment.
As time moved forward, that was one of many things that became the norm, and the three children grew to like it. It was more comfortable that way, made it easier to share the blanket, and if any of them had a nightmare it was a simple matter to wake the person up, comfort them, and fall back asleep.
Once they got to know Liliya it became apparent that she tried to stay cheerful no matter what, forcing her other emotions back for fear of what could happen if she gave into her negative feelings. But she did open up once in a while, even if she immediately switched back to being cheerful once the painful storytelling was over.
Pietro picked up on the lessons she gave them in living on the streets far faster than Wanda. Partially because he was a little more inclined to being quick and sneaky, but also because Wanda was still reluctant to steal, despite knowing they didn't have a choice in the matter.
Time moved on, however, and soon even she learned how to be a street kid. They now always had food for breakfast, and even sometimes some food for dinner, especially if there was a chance it'd spoil by morning. The three even had time for some fun at times. Their clothes grew more threadbare, almost falling apart but they kept wearing them until they could find replacements. The thing that was the worst for them was they couldn't get clean often. There just simply wasn't many places they could do that. However, despite that, life was as good as it was going to get for the three street kids.
The time flew by and before they knew it fall was upon them with falling temperatures, making the nights colder. They needed to find warmer clothes, and a warmer blanket. That was why Pietro was so happy one day as he slipped between crowds, clutching a blanket tightly as he avoided collisions with everyone. He could barely contain his excitement that they would no longer need to try to stay warm under a thin blanket, especially with such a thick and warm, not to mention soft blanket.
As soon as he broke free of the crowds onto the quieter streets, he started running, a wide grin stretching across his face. Despite his status as a 'street kid' a lot of the locals were used to him running around at this point, and they let it be simply because he had never been caught causing trouble. Pietro ran as often as he could now that he didn't need to worry about whether or not he and his sister had enough to survive. He loved the feeling, it felt very freeing, and that was what made the site of him running such a common sight for the locals. He slowed down as the amount of people on the streets increased. This section of the city rarely had people living in it, and as such, a lot of the homeless made their homes around there.
Liliya had warned the twins early on to avoid drawing attention to themselves, as doing so would draw questions and then adults trying to look out for them. They didn't need any adults but themselves, besides which an adult trying to take charge of them would only be a burden on the already homeless person. It was best for all to keep their heads down in order to appear like they did have someone taking care of them.
The boy moved by carefully but confidently and then sped up as he continued to their cozy little nest. It had initially startled, and even worried them a bit, but the twins thought of the broken down home they took shelter in as home, especially with Liliya there. It may not be a good life, but they were growing happy now that they knew how to survive. He grinned when his sister and Liliya looked up from their prizes of the day and waved at him.
"Look what I found!" he exclaimed once he was close enough. "It's a big blanket!" He held it out and showed it off to the two girls proudly. Wanda gasped and reached out to touch it as he showed it off.
"It's perfect!" Liliya responded with equal enthusiasm when she took her turn at feeling. "I think it's better than any blanket I've ever found before!" she added. The twins still listened to her advice when she had some since she had far more experience despite her being five months younger.
"It was pure luck," Pietro admitted before describing where he found it while they spread it out over their nest. "So what did you find today, more than old bread?" he asked hopefully as he sat down and relaxed. Both of the girls beamed.
"Lots of luck..." Wanda declared proudly. "We found some coins and were able to actually buy some food!" They showed him the stash of food as well as the remaining money they'd saved. His eyes widened in surprise, and delight.
"That's a lot!" he exclaimed as he looked over what they had. Some food wouldn't last long, but there was also food that would last for a week too, which would allow them time to get other things they needed or collect more money.
"It really is!" Liliya beamed at him. "I'm so glad I asked you guys to stay here months ago... This is so much better with us working together. And we can keep each other warm and we have money left over and so now we can try to find some better clothes instead of food." Pietro nodded.
"Yeah, you've taught us a lot... I'm not sure we would've survived without you. So, thank you." He smiled at her. Liliya blushed when Wanda nodded in agreement. Of the two, Wanda tended to be the quiet one.
"You're welcome," she responded simply.
They had a small meal with the food they had before crawling into the nest and getting under the blanket. They oftentimes only ate at breakfast in order to conserve food, and it was easier to go to bed on an empty stomach than get through the day on an empty stomach. At times like this when they had plenty of food, they would eat just before bed so they didn't have to go to bed hungry.
The trio snuggled together under the thick blanket; content as they drifted off to sleep. Things just kept getting better for them, despite the fact they were orphans living on the street. Wanda and Pietro had adapted, and were content with their life. None of the three really liked that they had to live like this, but what choice did they have? So they made the best of it, hoping it would be better when they were older.
October was just beginning, and riots were becoming a regular part of life, occurring at least once a month. Liliya, Wanda, and Pietro took advantage of them whenever they occurred. It was easy to steal wallets from people during them because most people weren't paying attention. The riots tended to be chaotic, lending a level of protection to the young thieves. This was also making it easier for them to save up money and consistently have a good amount of food.
One day they were watching yet another gathering of people, waiting. It would turn into a riot eventually, the people were already arguing with each other. The moment the chaos finally started, they spread out to find what they could, carefully of course. They didn't want to get caught, or hurt. They'd gotten rather good at avoiding injuries despite the violence raging around them, thankfully not getting more than a few bruises and cuts the first few times they took advantage of it.
Pietro thought this run was going rather well based on early luck, until someone grabbed him by the back of the collar of his worn out shirt, effectively stopping him. He struggled, looking up fearfully at the man who'd grabbed him. He didn't know what the many wanted, but he sure looked intimidating.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you there," he managed to say after a moment of the man staring down at him with a strange expression.
"Did you take something from me?" the man questioned sharply. Pietro shook his head quickly.
"No sir, I haven't stolen anything from you," the boy stated truthfully. The man looked at him, considering.
"Interesting. I believe you're telling the truth... but that doesn't mean you haven't stolen from anyone else, does it?"
Pietro froze and stared at him with wide eyes, unable to formulate a response. This was the first time anyone had even noticed him, let alone realized he was stealing.
"Pretty young to be on the streets, to be a thief, aren't you?"
"My parents are dead," he responded flatly. "I have no choice." The man finally put him down at that. The boy sighed in relief as he rubbed his neck.
"But you're not alone are you?" the man mused. "Yet, you don't seem to be part of one of those gangs either..."
Pietro wasn't sure he liked the tone of voice the man was using but with the crowd around them there wasn't a good way to escape. The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Do you like your living situation?" he queried finally. Pietro frowned and shrugged; that was an odd question. He didn't see any harm in answering it.
"It's the best we can do so I'm okay with it. Well, more so, happier than I thought I could be."
"Interesting..." the guy muttered to himself, then straightened and addressed the boy. "Why don't we find a spot to wait for your friends, shall we?"
"Uh... why?"
"I'd like to talk to them as well."
"Um... alright then..." Pietro agreed awkwardly, planning on running as soon as they were away from the crowd of protestors and rioters.
However, the man had other plans, and firmly put his hand on the boy's shoulder, making his escape impossible with that grip. Not that he didn't try to get away. The man had a surprisingly strong hand. They moved through the crowd silently, before coming to a stop near a building not far from the crowd, though hardly anyone was in that area. The orphan fidgeted as they waited, wondering what the man really wanted. This was starting to freak him out. The man remained silent, his hand keeping Pietro from going anywhere.
Wanda and Liliya emerged after a while, already together and comparing finds quietly. After a moment they started looking around for him. He glanced at the man, hesitated, then sighed and waved at them. It took a moment for them to spot him, and once they did, they brightened before their expressions turned to confusion and suspicion as they noticed the man next to him. After a quick exchange the two headed over to them.
"Pietro! Are you alright?" Wanda asked worriedly once they reached the two. He nodded.
"Yeah... I am." He managed a small smile as the guy finally released him. Wanda immediately hugged him. Liliya was eyeing the guy next to him suspiciously.
"I mean no harm, children." The guy chuckled when he noticed her look. "Actually, you three are just what I was looking for."
"We are?" Wanda answered, confused. "How? We're just orphans."
"My... friends and I are looking for homeless children. We want to help you by giving you shelter as well as food and clothes." Liliya snorted and crossed her arms, her experiences shining through in her reaction.
"Yeah? And what's in it for you?" she challenged, glowering at him. To their surprise, he actually looked amused by her reaction. He gestured to the rioters with a sweeping arm.
"We've been looking at long term ways to end this conflict, and we want to train people to be soldiers young to help us, as our best calculations say it'll be years before we can stop this anyways."
They seemed interested, but exchanged quick looks. That confirmed to each other that they agreed. This man was not to be trusted, even if he was telling the truth. Being soldiers while still children was not something they wanted. They just wanted to live their lives, even if the training and security his offer would give them was tempting.
"We're not interested," Pietro responded bluntly, the most outspoken of the three.
"We're happy the way we are," Liliya added as they turned and started walking away.
Because their backs were to him, they missed the way his eyes narrowed as he watched them. A small smirk formed on his face; they'd just proven that they were indeed the sort of candidates he was looking for. He pulled out a cellphone and started speaking to someone quickly, making plans as he followed at a distance to see where they went.
"That was weird," Pietro muttered as they headed back to their home, though they were a little more cautious than usual about it. That man had put them all on edge, and Wanda had withdrawn to be completely silent as Pietro and Liliya walked on either side of her.
"No kidding... did he hurt you?" Liliya asked. The boy shook his head.
"No... Mostly he just scared me..." He then explained exactly how he'd gotten himself into that situation and what that man had said before they had arrived. Wanda shivered at how strange that man was, and her brother immediately moved to put an arm around her protectively. He glanced at their friend. "I got the feeling he had been telling the truth... but only what he thought would convince us..." Liliya nodded.
"Yeah, I got a really weird vibe off of him... I'm glad you didn't want to go," she admitted. Pietro shrugged.
"Well, he was weird, I didn't want to trust him, and I didn't like the idea of Wanda being a part of that program so it was easy to say no. I just want to forget that happened at all, he'll probably forget about us when he sees some of the other orphans." He shrugged it off and pulled out the wallet he'd gotten before the man had grabbed him. "Did you two get anything good?" he inquired after showing it off and then stowing it away again.
"Some more bread, a wallet, and the best part... peanut butter," Wanda responded, smiling slightly as they got to their home.
They settled down to eat a small meal with the bread and peanut butter, peanut butter being a luxury and delicious treat for the three children. It was already growing dark, so they set aside the money to spend the next day. It took a bit, but they slowly started to relax as they finished up their meal. They were home, and they were safe. They'd probably never see that strange man again.
The trio of children had scarcely put away the remainder of their food when three men appeared, dark and intimidating. Pietro jumped up and moved in front of Wanda and Liliya protectively, as they stared, wide eyed. They were terrified, there was no way they could take on those men. The boy wanted to protect his sister and friend, and tried to put up a fight, though the attackers had other ideas. All it took was a cloth to his mouth and nose to knock him out, which was then repeated on the two girls. From there it was simple to just grab them and take them away.
Pietro slowly came to awareness. He was struggling to wake up. Something felt wrong, but he could barely even think. Finally, he blinked open his eyes, staring up at an unfamiliar grey ceiling. He stared at it blankly as he tried to figure out why his mouth was so dry. His brain finally dredged up his last memory, of three men barging in and then nothing. He sat up quickly and looked around. He was alone on a bed in some room he'd never seen before. Which was to be expected, but he was far to panicked to think clearly.
"Wanda! Liliya! Wanda!" he yelled frantically as he jumped off of the bed. He had to find his balance, as whatever had knocked him out had left him rather wobbly as he stumbled to the door. That one lead to a small bathroom, leading him to head for the other door only to find that it was locked.
"Shut up kid," someone growled from the other side of the door. Pietro hit the door desperately, not caring. He had to find his sister, and Liliya too.
"Let me out! Where's my sister and our friend?" he demanded, his panic obvious in his tone. No answer, so he continued to bang on the door. "Where are they?"
The door opened. Pietro stepped back at the glare the man was giving him. He was dressed in some sort of uniform, like a guard or something.
"I told you to shut up." The man stepped towards him menacingly. "And you didn't listen." Pietro swallowed nervously and stepped back again.
"I-I'm sorry... I just wanted-" he stuttered.
"I don't care what you want!" The guy hit him, fist connecting with the boy's cheek. He winced and moved backwards again, this time not stopping, trying to avoid getting hit again as the man drew back his arm again, still radiating fury.
"I told you I want him and the other two uninjured for the experiments," a cold voice cut across them, causing the guy in the uniform to freeze. "You were also to inform me the moment the boy woke up. Now get out before I decide the suitable punishment for this is a demotion!"
Pietro watched, gaping, as the man left the room in a hurry. He didn't notice the second man move, until the man was right in front of him. He jumped, and tried to move, but he was already against the wall with no room to get away. The man lifted the boy's chin and examined where the man had hit him, even going as far as probing it with a finger, eliciting an exclamation of pain from the boy when it hurt.
"Hmm... not too bad, though we'll have to put ice on that to minimize the likelihood of problems during the experiments, but at least it won't delay them..." the man mused. Then Pietro recognized him. It was the man who had tried to recruit him and the girls.
"W-what's going on?" the boy asked shakily. "Why am I here, where's Wanda and Liliya?" The man gave him a smirk and moved over to the single chair in the room to sit down. He pointed to the bed.
"Sit, and I'll explain what you need to know." He waited patiently as Pietro eyed him suspiciously from the wall. Finally the boy relented with a sigh and walked to the bed before sitting down on it, tense.
"My name is Ivan Johnson, and I am in charge here, though I work for Hydra. We needed orphans who wouldn't be missed to test our experiments on. You three are perfect for these experiments, so I wasn't about to let your refusal deter me from getting what I wanted." He smiled viciously. "I can guarantee you won't die even if they don't take. And no matter what, you will be useful so long as you obey." He stopped talking and stared at Pietro pointedly. The boy nodded slowly after a moment, realizing what was wanted. Another cold smile crossed Ivan's face.
"As for the two girls, they're in separate rooms nearby, and just fine. You'll see them eventually. Now I need some basic information about you. Let's start with your name, shall we?" He took out a paper and pen.
"Erm..." Pietro responded eloquently, not really wanting to give this man anything. They were going to use him and the girls as lab rats, and he spoke about it so casually, as if it didn't really matter! The boy looked down and wondered what would happen if he didn't answer.
"I don't have all day. Not answering is considered being disobedient and I will mark every single instance of disobedience to be punished later, and if there are enough, it can even affect how much food you get. Which would be a pity, we actually have plans for three meals a day, with more food than what you're used to at each one." The man kept his calm throughout, sounding mildly annoyed, and yet also amused at the same time. The boy wrapped his arms around himself as he considered that, his stomach letting him know that it was empty at that moment. He decided he better answer, he didn't want to see this man actually angry, or get punished later on.
"Pietro Maximoff," he murmured finally. "That's my name." He glanced up to see a satisfied smirk appear on Ivan's face as he wrote that down.
"Excellent. How about date of birth, and which of the girls is your sister next?"
"December 21st, 1996. Wanda is my sister, she's the one wth the dark brown hair..." he hesitated, then sighed. They'd probably figure it out anyways. "We're twins."
"Twins? Oh, we got lucky. That'll make things more interesting." Ivan sounded rather gleeful about the prospect. "Now, how and when did your parents die?" Pietro shuddered.
"May of this year... a bomb... Wanda and I were lucky." He kept it short, not wanting to relive the memories. Thankfully that was enough for that man.
"And when did you meet the other girl?"
"Two months later... she offered to help us since it'd help her too."
"I see... that's all for now." The man stood up. "Before we start the experiments tomorrow, you'll have to undergo a physical assessment and a mental one today." The door opened. "Ah, and here's your lunch, seeing as you slept through breakfast. Enjoy." He left, looking rather satisfied.
Pietro eyed the man who had entered before Ivan left. He placed the food down on the desk without a word before leaving. The boy stared after him in confusion. Then he got up to inspect the food. Ivan was right; it was more than he was used to. It... was kind of nice, though part of him noticed that it was less than what he would've gotten before his parents had died. It was a sign of how much had changed for the boy that the small plate was almost a feast.
The next morning Pietro picked at his food. He didn't really have much of an appetite. He had plenty for dinner the night before so he didn't really need to eat that much. He was anxious about the experiments. He wasn't sure what they would be, but he didn't think it would be anything good. The boy sighed as he took another bite, thinking back to the day before.
The physical examination started out like what he could recall of the last doctors visit he had, but then it got really in depth and uncomfortable. And why did they want to know how much he could lift, and how fast he could run? And they needed blood samples and stuff too. It was weird. And long. And the mental exam thing was even weirder. What was with all those questions about his feelings? And there was some sort of test, probably to see how smart he was or something. He didn't get why it was all that important to know. But they all took rather thorough notes before deciding that he was good to go for the experiments, though he had needed to ice his cheek for a while.
He'd finished about half the food, and was just pushing it around when his door opened. He jumped and looked up. It was one of the men he'd seen around. Agents, he thought he'd heard them be called.
"Come on," the agent stated, bored. Pietro stood and followed quietly, trying to remain calm. The man was keeping up a decent pace, making it a little difficult for the ten year old to keep up. He calmed down a little despite the pace when he saw Wanda and Liliya going down the same hallway, looking as terrified as he felt. He smiled at them, and they both smiled back, relieved to see each other. However, none of them dared to speak, unsure if it would be allowed, and not daring to risk it.
The boy moved so that he was next to his sister. He silently took her hand and squeezed it, a silent show of support and an attempt at reassurance, despite his own uncertainty and fear. He noticed Liliya come up beside him and after a moment he offered his other hand to her. She looked surprised as she took it.
It only took a few more minutes to reach the final door. One of the agents opened the door and gestured at them to enter. The three children hesitated, they didn't really want to do so. Despite not knowing what punishment they could get for disobeying later, it was the unknown that made them move forward in the end. There was no way three ten year olds could escape such a large base with so many 'agents'. Especially since the doctors were the only ones they saw without weapons within the building. So it was in their best interests to go along with it, at least until they had a better measurement of the situation.
The room almost looked like a hospital room, with three gurneys set up, and equipment at each one. There were doctors (or at least what looked like doctors) milling around, busy with something or another, even if it was checking information on the computer or a chart. The three children came to a stop uncertainly, moving closer together. None of the doctors seemed to take notice of them at first, and the agents hadn't followed them in, merely closing the door once the children were in.
"Ah, excellent. My test subjects are here."
They turned to see Ivan striding towards them. He was smirking as he looked them up and down.
"Now, put on these gowns." He gestured to the nearby pile of hospital gowns. Pietro exchanged an unhappy and uneasy look with Wanda before stepping forward to take one. He looked around for a place to change as the girls got theirs.
"Stop dawdling," Ivan ordered sharply. "Change. Now."
Wanda flinched at his tone, while Liliya just stared at him blankly for a moment. Then it dawned on the three children they wouldn't be getting any privacy to change. Pietro moved first, stepping a little ways away before slowly pulling off his shirt, his cheeks pink. He tried to speed up when he noticed the annoyed look Ivan was sporting. By the time he'd pulled on the gown, and gotten it situated, he was bright red, and avoided looking at anyone. Meanwhile, the girls had obeyed as well, and they were even redder and more self conscious than Pietro.
"Good, now one to a section," Ivan instructed impatiently, gesturing to the three gurneys. They moved obediently. Wanda ended up in the middle, with Pietro on the right and Liliya on the left, not that it really mattered to Ivan. "And now, lay down."
All three were tense with anxious energy as they clambered onto the uncomfortable beds and laid down, not knowing what they could expect. They didn't even really know what kind of experiments these were.
"And now we can begin," Ivan proclaimed gleefully to the waiting agents.
The trio of children didn't have much time to wonder what would happen, as their ankles and wrists were restrained without warning. The boy looked around in a panic, fighting the restraints unconsciously, his worry jumping a few notches when he saw that Wanda was just as panicked, and might even start crying any minute. His attention was diverted back to his section when he felt the doctors, or whatever they were, putting monitoring devices on him.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but it didn't work. He glanced around, trying to ignore their movements as he tried to see how Wanda and Liliya were doing through the gaps of people. But once again, he was distracted, this time by a pinching sensation that was almost painful on the inside of one of his arms. He stared in horrified fascination at the giant needle sticking out of the spot. It was taped down to hold it in place. There was a tube leading to it, and he followed it back to a bag that held some sort of yellowish liquid in it.
"Subject Pietro is ready," someone announced loudly.
Pietro looked up, frowning, wondering why they called him that as he stared at the people hovering around his bed. One pushed a button near the bag, and he watched the liquid trickle down the tube; quickly realizing that it was going to be going into him. His heart rate sped up as he watched it anxiously, trying to remain calm because there wasn't anything he could do about it. But he didn't know what it was, and he couldn't get away, and that made it all the worse. A whimper made him look up from the progress of the liquid through the tube. It was Wanda, her eyes tightly closed, and as he watched, a few tears slipped out. It looked like they'd just stuck the giant needle into her arm. He felt protective fury that they were doing that to his sister.
"Subject Wanda is ready."
"Subject Liliya is ready." Both declarations came seconds apart. Pietro scowled as he watched them hit the buttons that would allow the liquid to go into his sister and their friend, wishing he could get them out of this situation.
Then a burning feeling in his arm drew his attention back to himself. He found that the liquid was already going through the needle into his arm. The burning sensation grew from there, heading down to his finger tips and back up his arm. He wiggled a little, trying to alleviate the feeling. He didn't have a large range of movement, and what movement he could do did nothing. He was uncertain of if anything would relieve this growing pain, however.
It reached his shoulder and grew further in intensity. He bit his lip, whimpering at the pain. He could hear sounds of distress from Wanda and Liliya but he couldn't look because his own pain was spreading, and it was hard to bear. He struggled against the restraints as the pain grew even worse and spread down through his chest and then to the rest of his body. Tears started leaking out of his eyes as he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He dimly heard those around him making observations about the process. The sound of his sister sobbing had him turning his head in her direction, but he was in so much pain, he couldn't do much more than watch her cry. He wished he could help her, but he couldn't.
Pietro soon started crying himself as the pain refused to let up. It burned through his veins and continued on through his body. He couldn't stand it, the pain was unbearable. He felt the needle being removed though it did nothing to relieve the pain. He opened his eyes and blinked blearily at the figure standing above him. He thought it might be Ivan, but the pain was blinding him. He slowly stopped thrashing as exhaustion set in. The pain started dimming, almost unnoticeably at first. He blinked a few more times as his eyelids grew heavy. He let his eyes close and stopped fighting the exhaustion, praying it would give him an escape from the pain.
When he woke, it took him a moment to realize he was on the bed back in his room. It was easy to figure out without even opening his eyes because of the simple fact that this bed was more comfortable than the gurney he'd been strapped to. He opened his eyes and blinked up at the ceiling for a moment, feeling too tired to move despite being awake. He also could feel some lingering aches throughout his body, most prominent in the arm the needle was in. He shuddered at the memory, wondering if they had gotten what they'd wanted. And then the door opened. He jumped, and winced.
"Oh, you're awake. It's been several hours," Ivan stated. Pietro groaned as he propped himself up on the arm that didn't hurt so much.
"What did you do to us?" he questioned tiredly. The man regarded him for a moment. The boy felt like he got something wrong but he was too tired to care.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to humor you. We're trying to recreate the super soldier serum. Have you heard of Captain America?"
"Yeah..." the boy responded quietly, not wanting to admit that despite being from a completely different country, he kind of looked up to the legendary hero.
"We're looking to recreate what made him special, hence the experimenting," Ivan explained, enjoying the look of realization and awe that was quickly replaced with what seemed to be terror. The boy seemed stunned speechless, so the man switched gears. "Now, I need to know how you feel, and you must answer truthfully. You will not like it if you disobey." Pietro sighed and sat up, wincing a little at the ache.
"Alright... I just feel really sore all over and really tired. And that's it... I think?" he added, rubbing the back of his head.
"Very well. Be sure to inform an agent if you think of anything else." Ivan stood up after scribbling down a few notes. Pietro nodded, yawning as he laid back down, thinking that he might as well get some sleep since there probably wouldn't be much else for him to do.
When he woke, he had to go through all the physical examination tests again. He soon discovered nothing about himself had changed, to the disappointment of the agents. Thanks to some eavesdropping, he found out that the same could be said of Wanda and Liliya to his relief.
But of course they weren't just going to give up after one failure, they had a lot of serums to try out, as the three orphans soon found out.. The procedure was rarely altered, but sometimes it brought pain, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes he felt like hew as about to die or explode, and other times he just took a peaceful nap out of boredom. Ivan wasn't always there like he had been in the beginning, but that was just fine with Pietro. He was the only agent the boy knew anything about, and he was never nice. Not that any of the other agents were nice. And the experiments continued, blurring in his mind as he lost track of time and how many experiments there were.
It wasn't too hard, as when he wasn't recovering from an experiment or undergoing tests, they had given him books to read and learn out of. He often wondered about why they wanted him to learn English, and why he had to study math and history and all that. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep them ignorant? He usually just shrugged and did it anyways because it gave him something to do besides attempting in the cramped space or counting cracks. And so, time passed without much notice by the three children who had been kidnapped.
A/n And there we go. The first chapter. Honestly this chapter is mostly just establishing Liliya as well as getting the plot going. So while I'm not too happy with some of my explanations in story and some of the dialogue, I'm leaving it as is so I can post it and move onto the stuff I really want to write. I decided to have them get kidnapped rather than volunteer because I wanted them to start out younger and not have the scepter involved for a while instead of right away. And with them being (much) younger, well that takes away any reason for volunteering. So, I hope you enjoyed it.