1946, Classified Location, Hydra Base
"Winter."
Punch.
"Winter!"
Smack.
"WINTER!"
With a huff, Winter pulled away from the punching bag, the grinding and creaking of his metal arm failing to distract him from the pristine scientist glaring at him from the other side of the gate. He didn't recognize this one, but then again every day had become progressively hazier since… he didn't know when.
"Report for duty!" the scientist said shrilly, clutching his clipboard a little closer to his chest. If it hadn't been for the electric volts surging through the fence between the two, Winter could have easily strangled the skinny man's throat in under a minute. But Winter didn't kill needlessly. Especially frail, skinny men. There was something about that fact that bothered him.
"I don't see what duty I'm reporting for," Winter replied grimly, turning back to the battered punching bag. "More like slavery, the way I see it."
"It doesn't matter how you see it," the scientist snorted, amusement tinging his nasally tone. "You're not even you! You are an animal. And animals are only used for menial labor. Pity, though. Your brain would be-"
"Enough!" Winter snarled, his metal fist slamming into the bag. He marched to the gate, staring down into the scientist's gleaming eyes. "Reporting for duty," he hissed, his teeth clenched tightly. The thin man's lips curled upward in a pale smirk, marking something off on his clipboard. "Reporting for duty!" Winter repeated, the scars along his left shoulder bursting with pain as they did when he became tense and irritated.
"Docility has improved. Excellent, excellent…." The scientist murmured to himself. He shot Winter another cold sneer. "Much better than yesterday."
"What happened yesterday?!" Winter screamed after the man as the scientist disappeared down another hallway. With a grunt of frustration, he turned back to the punching bag, but stopped just before he hit it.
"They've been doing that to you for days; insulting you, degrading you, ordering you…. Each day you've been a little less stubborn. A little less you."
Winter gaped at the woman for a split second before shaking his head with a scowl. "It's nothing. They're just playing with me. Where'd you come from, anyway?"
The woman tilted her head, and his eyes trained in on the flashing silver devices attached to both her ears. "The shadows," she replied quietly.
"What kind of answer is that?" he snapped, suddenly more irritable than ever. She didn't seem to pose a threat to him or the scientist… although he wasn't sure why he'd care about them. In fact, the woman seemed rather frail, her eyes pale and unseeing.
"What kind of name is Winter?" the woman replied. He opened his mouth, frowning as soon as the question registered. "But they have been playing with you. It's what your masters do."
"And they aren't your masters, too?"
She laughed, a bitter, icy laugh that sent chills down even his spine. "Oh. They wish."
2014, Washington D.C., USA
Clara inhaled sharply. "Ew."
"That's the smell of America, for you," the Doctor chuckled, peering out from behind her as cars zoomed by. "But I didn't bring you here for the hot dogs and lemonade stands."
"Rather glad you didn't," Clara retorted, barely dodging a pedestrian intent only on their mobile device. "So… any particular reason we're here? I thought time was falling apart and bad things were happening."
"Aren't they always?" the Doctor replied rather dryly. He caught Clara's hand before she could jab him spitefully in the ribs. "I'm serious, Clara. We are here for a purpose." He narrowly avoided a girl running by with at least seven poodles. "We need to find a man named Steven Rogers."
"You mean the man who died in the whatever it was, Hydra attack?"
"Nearly died," he corrected her. "He's actually alive. But not for much longer, if we're not careful."
"Is he on the verge of death?" Clara asked in horror.
"No, he's recovering quite nicely. But back in the 40s he's about to die of pneumonia." The Doctor glanced down at his watch, his eyebrows drawing even closer in a sharp frown.
"But… the serum. I read about it in a news article!"
"Well, it can't do much good if he never gets it in the first place, now can it? Shut up!" He placed his hand over her mouth before she could speak another word. "We're breaking into a hospital and kidnapping an Avenger. Really not the time for casual conversation."
"Shut up," Clara grumbled, pulling out her umbrella as the rain began to pour.
