Helga turned her back to the two woman on the floor with disgust. She had dated Ava Sharpe for about a year before Helga was sent on her first mission.
It was supposed to be a simple in and out but that's only how it works in the movies. After being shot multiple times, the Russian was dragged into an old, unstable warehouse only to be tortured for a week. It was living hell.
Only after she was on deaths bed did a Time Bureau agent rescue her, that agent also being a new recruit by the name of Ava Sharpe.
After being rescued Helga had began to think back to what she did that lead to her capture and the death of supervising officer and she could only come up with one thing - Time Bureau agents weren't to kill, only harm.
Only after Helga was tortured for almost a week did the Bureau change the rules to allow killing in extreme cases which still led to deaths of many good friends and agents Helga knew, that Ava knew.
So one day when Helga suddenly started to realize that maybe she could lead the Bureau better than the current Directors, of course she told her girlfriend. They'd been through everything together. She trusted Ava, loved her, would die for her. That's what got her in trouble.
A few days after she told Ava, somehow the Agency found out about Helgas thoughts and she was put on desk duty and given counseling for the next year. The Bureau led to their breakup but it was Ava who had broken Helga the most.
The next year's after tedious but thorough and careful planning, Helga had convinced a good number of fellow agents to follow her. They had gathered enough supplies and highly trained Agents that when Director Bennett died and Director Hunter was gone from the picture, Helga struck.
It just so happened that her ex that broke her and pushed her over the edge happened to become the new Director. She had constantly hated Ava over the years and blamed the blond for her actions. When she heard that Ava had moved on, Helga went berserk and killed the nearest agents to her out of anger.
But having both Ava and her girlfriend tired to chairs facing each other was starting to pay off. Helga had knocked Ava out with a simple drug and didn't need to knock out Sara Lance because the weak Captain passed out from blood loss.
As she waited for them to wake up, Helga ordered one of her Agents to wrap the bleeding chest of Sara Lance. She couldn't have her bleeding out before the fun began. And oh, this was going to be fun.
The Legends were in rough shape when Gary found them in Ava's office. Mick was bleeding from a gash on his head and unconscious, thank God because the criminal made Gary want Ava by his side. Amaya Jiwe and Nate Hayward were both trying desperately to stop the bleeding of one Ray Palmer but failing miserably. Wally West was slumped against Zari Tomaz as the duo fell to the floor, the portal closing behind them.
"Uhh, hello?" He said hesitantly, waving awkwardly at the mess of people with a stack of papers he was about to deliver to Ava. "Where's Ava?"
"She isn't coming Gary, now help us!" Amaya screamed, trying to pull Ray somewhere other than an office desk. They got him out of his armour which was now scattered around the office.
"Right this way, Ms.Jiwe. Can I call you Amaya?" He asked, stopping suddenly, seriously asking.
"Gary! Take us to your medical wing!"
"Right, right. Follow me," he dropped the papers and began helping with the bleeding man. "Um, Ava's not...uh, ya know," he used one hand to mock slit his throat.
"No, now if you don't take us to your medical wing in the next minute, I'm waking up Mick," Zari threatened.
"Yep, got it. Medical wing," he pointed down the hall.
Ava Sharpe drowsily woke up to the sound of the annoying dripping of water. It took her a minute to compose herself before she could open her eyes and get the first glance of her new prison.
All she had time to see was that she was clearly underground in a dirty cell, chained to a metal chair before she realized who was across from her.
Blond hair was covering her face as she was slumped forwards in her chair, showing no sign of waking up. Ava could've cried right then had a voice behind her not startle her.
"She's a very beautiful one, Ava. I can see why you fell for her," the menacing voice walked closer to her. Ava couldn't see who it was but she didn't need to. She knew that voice anywhere.
"Helga, it's been a long time," Ava's own voice was cold and venomous, surprising both woman.
"Not happy to see me, I suppose?" Her captor circled her chair threateningly, hands behind her back. "Well, I guess I wouldn't be happy either if I were in your position, but I'm not so I guess it doesn't matter, no?" She laughed.
"What do you want," Ava nipped, getting straight to the point. Helga looked at her dumbly. "You wouldn't chain Sara and I to chairs if you wanted to apologize for betraying the Bureau, so what do you want?"
"What do I want, hmm. Well I want a lot of things. I want to see time fixed, which your new girlfriend broke by the way. I also want to be the new Director of the Bureau but that position is currently filled," Helga gestured to Ava.
Ava looked over her ex for the first time in a couple years. Helga had always been a very attractive woman but with the scars added on her face, it just contributed to her beauty. The Russians long, curly black hair fell in waves over her shoulder, and the suit she wore, very similar to Ava's, showed off her well toned body.
"Yea, well Sara's not my girlfriend, but I'm flattered that you would assume so," Ava shrugged.
"Oh, but the actions you displayed back at the Waverider proved otherwise, dear Ava. I know that she means something to you," Helga walked behind Sara's chair and placed a hand on each of the blonds shoulders. It took every muscle in Ava not to tense up at the action, but Helga still took notice and laughed weakly.
"Ok so maybe I cared for her Helga. What do you want with us?"
"I want to see you suffer!" The Russian snapped, shaking Sara's shoulders as the injured blond instantly snapped awake, pulling on her chains before wincing at the movement of her injury. "I've grown to hate you over the year, Ava Sharpe. I loved you, trusted you, and you turned me in to the Time Bureau. For that, you're going to suffer. And the best way to do that is through her," Helga grabbed a fistful of Sara's hair and pulled her head back.
"Helga you hate me, not her. She doesn't even know anything!" Helga's laugh was becoming a regular thing, like this was some big game to her.
"Yes she does. Sara Lance can and will tell me how to take the Waverider over, and she'll tell me where her team went. Because my sleeper agents in your Bureau reported that the Legends escaped somewhere in the year 2018 with your pet dog Gary."
"Can I get that name now?" Sara barely got out through the pain. Helga let go of her hair and walked back to face Sara, kneeling in front of the blond.
"The names Helga Grimm. Well it's Helga Mikhailov but not that you're going to care soon anyways. Soon, all you'll be able to think of is the pain I'm about to bring to you. I know of your deepest fears, Sara Lance. I think we'll start off the torture you could never learn at the League, but don't worry, Ava will be here to coach you through it all," Helga play swatted Sara's face.
Sara Lance had never been a woman to take shit from nobody. That's how she found it easy to form a ball of spit and hack it at the Russian.
"Do your worst."
Helga simply smiled.
"Don't worry, American," she pulled a handkerchief from inside her suit and wiped the spit off her cheek. "It won't be just you being tortured."
The Russian accent that came from Helga was thick, Sara noticed. The blond could also smell the distinct aroma of vodka.
As Ava and Sara's captor stood to leave, Ava started struggling against her chains.
"Helga you don't have to do this!" She yelled but was ignored, and as the door behind Ava slammed shut she gave up.
Neither woman said a word to the other since their breakup. Well Ava tried to comfort Sara after she'd been shot, but even then only one of them was fully conscious during that confrontation.
Silence filled the room.
"Sara-"
"It's fine. Everyone has their crazy ex's, including me," she shrugged and suddenly winced again due to the movement.
"How bad does it hurt?" The shorter blond just shrugged.
"Doesn't." One word, one lie. They both knew she was lying.
"What are you wearing?" Ava asked suddenly, trying to change the subject. Sara wore a simple bikini with a see through white top, part of her chest stained red from where she was shot, and jean shorts.
"Oh, well you see, Mick and I went on a mission to rescue Tesla. End of story, Mick ended up getting hammered at the bar when we got ambushed. I don't even know where Tesla is," she explained. Ava raised an eyebrow. "What? I swear to God if you lecture me about how irresponsible my team is, I gave them the day off when I almost killed them." Ava sighed.
"No, it's just that I wish these past two days didn't happen. First you and Mallus and the Death Totem, then today, or technically yesterday because it's about 1 in the morning, we both got kidnapped. And now you're about to be tortured by my crazy ex," the tears unwillingly made their way to Ava's eyes. Sara saw this and her heart broke.
"Hey, Aves, look at me," Ava looked up a bit to make eye contact. "This isn't your fault. None of it. What's about to happen isn't your fault either, because there's no way you're giving that crazy bitch anything and neither am I, ok?" A small nod of her head was the only indication Sara got that Ava heard her before the door slammed open once again.
"It's time to have some fun ladies," two men followed Helga into the room, both struggling to carry the heavy object they held.
A heavy object that was a bathtub.
A bathtub already filled to the top with water.
The one torture method Sara never overcame.
"Right behind the bright blond, boys. I'll also need you boys in each corner in case Ms.Lance tries anything dumb," the two Agents nodded and slowly lowered the tub sloshing with icy water behind Sara, her heart rate already starting to accelerate.
After the wreck of the Queens Gambit, Sara Lance hadn't been near any large pools of water if she didn't have to. Most of the nights the Captain woke up from nightmares, it was from not being able to breath. Just like she couldn't breath after the shipwreck.
The two Agents each made their way into an opposite corner, guns drawn and ready to kill. Helga abruptly walked over to Ava.
"I don't need to explain how this works, you both already know. So here we go, ladies. First questions for Ava. Delta team and Alpha team left on a mission a few months ago, how and why'd they die? Was it quick? Who were they up against?"
The Russian waited for a few seconds as Ava glanced at Sara who nodded her head no. Quickly turning, Sara barely had time to prepare for the powerful punch that was delivered to her temple where she was pistol whipped earlier, immediately making the assassin's vision cloud.
"Same question, Ava. What happened to Delta and Alpha team?" No answer. Ava's eyes never left Sara's as blow after blow was delivered to the shorter blonds head, never once making a sound other than her heavy breathing against the threat of unconsciousness. "Tell me what I want to know!" The Russian screamed, her knuckles splitting open after she repeatedly punched Sara everywhere she could, never stopping.
Sara had taken many beatings before, so this was nothing. That is until a fist found its way to her gunshot. Only then did the Captain let out a strangled gasp of pain.
Helga took a break and back up from her pounding on the Captain, admiring her work from behind Ava.
"That's your fault, Ava. You could've stopped this by answering the question. So I'll change the question to an easier one," Helga walked back to the beaten and bloodied blond, undoing the chains with a key. "How much does Sara Lance mean to you, Ava?"
The Captain of the Waverider put up no fight as the Russian picked her up by the arms, dangling her dangerously in front of the tub. Sara couldn't see the water but she could feel the icyness from where she was standing.
"Helga please don't do this," Ava begged, a tear slipping down her cheek and onto the floor. "Please, Helga, please stop!"
"Aves," Sara mumbled, trying to look to her through her swollen eyes. "Hey, it's ok. I'm fine, and I just want you to know that whatever happens, I lo-" the wind was knocked out of Sara before she could finish and she soon found herself struggling against the water that now engulfed her.
It didn't take very long until the panic set in and Sara's arms were desperately trying to pull herself to the top. Two hands held her down, however. The same two hands that had just beaten her.
Flashbacks of the Queens Gambit sinking soon took over and she couldn't breath. She couldn't stop her lips from opening and intaking mouthfuls of water, the familiar feeling of water slowly filling her lungs.
Her hands went limp and soon the blond was just staring at them floating in the water, the promise of air seemingly a thousand miles away and out of reach. The coldness had taken over every feeling she had a long time ago, sapping her body warmth.
This exact moment felt identical to the time she spent with her demons when she had died and been brought back to life. It felt eternal, like the pain would never go away but she wouldn't die, instead she was frozen in this second, destined to live with the pain forever.
Then, all that came was darkness.