Here we are: the second story of the Some Bonds series! For those who haven't already, please read story one, entitled Some Bonds Will Never Be Broken: s/11624065/1/Some-Bonds-Can-Never-Be-Broken, as there are a lot of references to the events in that story here. For those who have read it, I'm beyond thrilled that you're still with me and wanting to follow Beth's story! This one takes place through the events of the Avengers and will be a bit shorter than the last story. I hope you enjoy it!
March 5th, 1945. Somewhere in the ocean, somewhere in the world.
Blinding hot pain was the first thing she became aware of. Either she was dead and had gone to Hell, or somehow, she'd miraculously survived and was regaining consciousness. Briefly, she remembered Bucky telling her that feeling pain was the only reassurance he had that he was alive after the battle at Azzano, but right now, Beth wasn't sure if she wanted to be alive. Certainly not with the agony tearing through her. Next came the cold; icy water turning her skin blue, hypothermia already set in. Her teeth began chattering and within seconds, she knew her body was shutting down. There was a tug on her shoulder, and with a sluggish turn of her head, she was alerted to the third thing; someone or something was pulling her out of the water. With a scream as her stomach wound ripped open further, she was unceremoniously dropped on the floor of a boat. She groaned, weakly managing to raise her head enough to see a figure looming over her, wearing a black ski mask. Her head grew fuzzy and the last thing she was aware of was the symbol on his coat.
HYDRA.
…
It was pitch black and deathly silent. Suddenly, the world exploded in gold light and she felt a surge of energy shoot through her. Her body felt like ice and fire, dead and alive, unlike anything she'd ever before felt. She wanted to scream, but she also wanted to laugh. In an instant, it was over and she slumped over, though this time, there was no darkness and no silence. She was aware of people talking around her and in the background, she could hear a faint buzzing of machinery.
"I know you are awake, fraulein. Open your eyes."
She did, the brightness of the room making her flinch. At first, her vision was blurry, but it cleared quickly, showing her a face she hadn't expected to ever see again.
"Zola." She growled, rage flooding through her.
"In the flesh. You thought I would be dead, no?"
"I had hoped." She admitted.
His face contorted in a sneer and she tried to lunge for him, failing when she almost pulled her arms out of their sockets. A quick glance told her that she was strapped onto a table, metal strips holding her in place. The pain she expected from her stomach didn't come and she looked down to see the wound was completely healed. Sensing the scientist had done something to her, she bared her teeth, glaring at the man responsible for her fiancé's death.
"Unfortunately for you, the American government has decided to recruit me to assist them. They think I am their puppet, but in truth, they are the puppets. They believe that keeping me close means they have more control of me, when in reality, it gives me more opportunity to continue the work started by HYDRA."
"Steve will find you and put an end to you."
His sneer turned to a grin and he laughed manically, the sound sending shivers down her spine.
"Ah, but that is the thing. Captain America, or Steve, as you so fondly call him, is dead."
It was as if he'd punched her in the stomach. The air rushed out of her and she fought back against the tears welling up in her eyes.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
He turned to a screen behind him and with a press of a button, the sound of a radio broadcaster she listened to regularly filled the room, sadly informing the world that after crashing his plane, Captain America was dead. Beth found herself unable to hold back her tears any longer, wishing she was dead too. First Bucky, then Edward, and now Steve. She was alone, and prisoner of a mad man. Zola watched as she fought not to break down, a cruel smile on his face. Perfect, he thought to himself. If she broke now, it would be easier to mould her to his bidding later on.
"You won't win." She said after a few moments.
He looked at her in surprise, not expecting her voice to hold that much steel. Her eyes stared back at him, piercing blue blazing with rage, not the defeat he'd hoped for. She gave him a satisfied smile.
"You hoped the news of Steve would break my spirit, didn't you? That's right," she continued as he looked at her in shock, "I see you, and I see your plan. I've been there once before because of you, and I will never go there again. Do your worst, because I. Will. Not. Break."
She spat the last few words and Zola felt his face drop in a glare at her defiance. He quickly composed himself as he looked over at his research, the cruel smile returning to his face.
"You may regret those words. HYDRA will have many lifetimes to make you break."
She looked back at him, confusion on her face. The gleeful giggle returned and he all but skipped over to her, eager to see her reaction.
"When I created this lab, it was to originally continue the research Schmidt gave me. However, I figured, why try to recreate someone else's serum, when I could just invent my own?"
Her stomach began to twist and once more, she struggled against her binds.
"It's no use, miss Rogers. You are my pet now. You're not going anywhere. Now, where was I? Oh yes, my serum. Erskine was a genius to turn a frail, sickly man like your brother into such an unstoppable force, but I am the true genius."
He held up a vial of dark purple liquid, the colour reminding Beth of an amethyst crystal her mother gave her one year as a gift. The foreboding in her grew and she felt her breath speed up in the start of a panic attack. Zola tutted and reached out for the glass of water next to him, splashing it into her face. The shock of cold snapped her breathing to control with a gasp.
"That's better. No time for panic attacks today, I'm afraid. As I was saying, this serum is the true future of science. Not only has it make you stronger, faster and quicker to heal, the true beauty is that your cells, and therefore you, are…how do you say it? Ah, yes. Frozen in time. There will never have to be a worry about you expiring. You will be HYDRA's weapon from now until the end of time."
She gagged, realising the reason she felt so healthy was because the sick minded man in front of her had already injected her. It explained the lack of pain as well as the surge of power she'd momentarily felt whilst she'd been unconscious. She wanted to sob, knowing her fate was to be a puppet for HYDRA. Even if she could escape, she would be doomed to a life of watching everyone around her growing old and dying, while she stayed the same. She, Steve and Bucky had once had a conversation about what it would be like to be immortal. Bucky had claimed it would be incredible, but the siblings had been in agreement that they would rather grow old and die when their time came. Reflecting on Zola's words, her face creased into a frown.
"How…" she began, voice croaking from dryness. "How can I heal from a wound if my cells are frozen?"
He smiled like the cat that got the cream. Beth thought he resembled a rat, his hands rubbing together gleefully as his eyes twitched with happiness.
"That is the crux of my brilliance! Though your cells are frozen in terms of ageing, my serum programs them to respond to damage, unfreezing them long enough to heal at an accelerated rate!"
The thought made her sick. She was living in a nightmare, and she was the monster to be feared. At least Steve's serum would allow him to grow old and was made with good intentions. She wanted to cry, but refused to let Zola see her crack.
Instead, she would focus on escape.
Escape, and revenge.
