Surviving and Adapting

The last thing Izzie saw before being knocked out was a blue beam coming from the gun of the metal man. The first thing she saw when she woke up was a similar light. Thankfully the light wasn't coming out of a barrel of a gun. The light came from a fixture in the ceiling directly over Izzie's head. I really need to stop waking up like this she thought.

Then everything came back to her, the proposition from those strangers, being shot in the leg, and that man's metal arm. Izzie sat up in her bed, and rubbed her head. Izzie looked down at her leg, and saw it wrapped with bandages. Surprisingly her leg didn't hurt. In fact, not one part of her body was in pain.

Izzie looked around, and noticed that this room was different from the last one she was in. The walls were all white and the lighting was so much better. There was a bookcase against the wall, next to a stand with a TV on it. A framed painting of an octopus hung on the wall.

This painting seemed familiar to Izzie. She got off of the bed with ease and no discomfort, and totted over to the painting. Once she got closer, the details in the painting became more apparent. The octopus was strangling a boat in the middle of a storm. Izzie ran her fingers over the painting and felt the grooves of dried paint. Oh my goodness she thought. This is the real Insaniens Polipi, Enraged Octopus. It hasn't been seen since 1936. Izzie remembered how much her art history professor rambled on about how the value of a painting goes up once it's stolen. Who the hell are these Hydra people?

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Izzie stood silent and still. The door opened to reveal Pietro. He waddled into the room with a limp, and sat on the bed. "This is nice. I wish I got a room this cool when I first came." He patted the bed, and beckoned Izzie to join him. Izzie walked over and sat down a safe distance from the man.

"Came or kidnapped?" Izzie questioned.

"I came here on my own, with my sister of course."

"Wanda is your sister?"

"Yeah, she was hesitant at first, but I convinced her."

"You convinced her to sell herself as a weapon?" she said blatantly.

"You don't understand."

"No I don't."

Pietro looked down at her leg. "How are you feeling? You've been asleep for a couple of days" he asked.

"Oh I'm great. A man with a metal arm kidnapped me, brought me across the globe and shot me, twice." Izzie said bitterly.

"He doesn't really have a name. People call him Grumpy. No one really likes to interact with him. Just do what you're told, and you'll be okay."

"If I don't comply?"

Pietro was silent for a moment then, looked into her brown eyes, and said "I wouldn't want to see your pretty curls soiled in blood." He then got up, and slowly limped out of the room.


Izzie pondered deeply about the consequences of submitting to them for hours. In the end, she decided she would submit. Izzie was escorted by three men with guns to see Strucker. On the way her mind was playing a game of ping-pong. I'm only 22, I can't die. Plus their cause does seem legit. I'm all for fighting the power…but they did kidnap me, and threaten to kill me. What would Dad do? Then she remembered that fatal car ride the night of the sleepover. Dad said "Isabel, you can't always run from a fight. Sometimes you have to kill them with kindness. I know it seems hard, but you will understand one day".

Izzie along with her escorts arrived in a planning room occupied by Charlotte, Strucker and Grumpy. Wanda and Pietro were nowhere to be found. Izzie stepped forward and said "I will comply".

"That is great news!" Charlotte said as she walked over and lightly hugged the girl. Izzie just stood motionless, not hugging back. "I really don't want to see you dead." Charlotte stated as she backed away.

"What exactly will I be doing?"

"We will measure and record your power." Strucker noted. He then looked down at a folder and said "I see you have a background in nursing. You will assist the medical team if the other experiments get…complicated."

"Complicated?"

Strucker dismissed her as he turned around, and looked out of the window into the wintry landscape.


Izzie's three months of training began immediately. For the first four weeks, Charlotte trained her to get her into shape. This rigorous training included lots of cardio and weight lifting. She was then trained in hand to hand combat. For a couple of days some big shot agent of Hydra instructed her how to use knives.

For the majority time of her training, Izzie trained with an agent named Iann. His position in Hydra was equivalent to a Supervising Officer (SO) in the military. Iann was very meticulous and precise about his training. This type of training was tedious, but it would benefit Izzie in the long run.

The TV in her room really wasn't really needed since Izzie spend most of her time in the small training facility. She did find some comfort spending time with Pietro and Wanda. They were the closest thing to humanity in the building. Whenever their breaks matched up, the trio ate together and finally used Izzie's TV. Whenever Wanda left the facility for matters unknown, Pietro would keep Izzie company; and vice-versa.

As the weeks went by Izzie soon accepted her destiny. She read whatever Hydra literature was around. She wasn't brainwashed with a scary electrical machine that would fried her brain cells. Izzie just saw Hydra from a different angle, and began to believe in their ideals. Once she understood and accepted Hydra, she became acquainted with other agents. The men who once held rifles at her side were now telling her stories in the mess hall.

There were about eighty agents in the base. Not all eighty agents wanted to talk to her though. However, those who did talk to her shared their stories. They came from different walks of life. Assassins, soldiers, police officers, mercenaries and killers made up most of the fold. However, their past lives didn't bother Izzie. Their loyalty to Hydra was the one thing she really looked for.


On the final day of her physical training, Pietro came to visit her. "What's up?" she said as he walked in.

"I need to talk to you" he replied.

"Sounds serious."

"It is." For the first time in forever, Pietro had a serious look on his face. The last time Izzie saw him like this was a couple of weeks ago. The experiments conducted on the siblings really took a toll on their bodies. Pietro would show up one day with black and blues all over his body, soon after Wanda would appear with the glowing red veins around her eyes. For three days the twins weren't their usual selves.

However, when he came in Pietro looked as a healthy as a horse. The only thing that was wrong was his facial expression. "You're scaring me" she stated as they both sat on the bed. This time, the proximity between them was much smaller.

"I didn't mean to." He grabbed her right hand, and held it firmly. "Tomorrow you start the experimental phase, and I'm scared for you. I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to hurt." His big beautiful grey eyes looked deeply into Izzie's.

Izzie stared back, but then averted her gaze. "I can take it" she said.

He softly lifted her chin to revert her eyes back to his. She stared back as he said "I know you think you can. But trust me, I've been through this. There will be times when you want to die. I'm telling you that you have to push through okay?"

"Okay." He pulled her in, and hugged her tightly. Izzie hugged back as Pietro petted her curls. They both held the hug for 12 seconds, neither of them letting go. Izzie finally pulled back and looked at him.

"Sokovia thanks you." He said before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Well I have to get to my last session with Iann. I'll see you later." Izzie released her hand from Pietro's. She walked towards the door as her olive toned face was flushed with red. I can't do this, dammit Pietro! Hydra is more important than some middle school crush. She thought to herself as she headed to the training room.


During the session Iann saw the wrath of Izzie. She couldn't help but think about Pietro with each punch, kick and jab. The thoughts only angered her more, and intensified her strikes to the dummy. I can't become involved with love. Jab to the right. I don't want. Punch to the center. That's something the old me wanted. Izzie then thought about her old life. Memories of working and hanging out with Vanessa surfaced her mind. They were abruptly cut off when Iann kicked Izzie in the back of the knee, causing her to fall forward.

Izzie dismissed those thoughts and quickly got up to her feet. She turned around with a punch but hit nothing. Iann on the ground; balanced on two hands. By the time Izzie looked down, he kicked her legs from under her. This move landed Izzie right on her back.

She stared up to the ceiling then at Iann as he towered over her. "You surprised me."

"There are no surprises in war, just mistakes." He said before reaching out to help Izzie up. She took his hand but used the force of gravity to drag him down. Izzie kicked her legs into the man's abdomen causing a windmill effect to happen. Izzie was now on top of Iann.

"Are you sure you aren't Hebrew? Because you sure talk like a proverb" she stated before getting up.

"I am German. My only religion is beer." He said jokingly as he got up.

"That is so stereotypical and you hate beer!"

"True" he stated as he shrugged. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"As I will ever be"

Iann placed his hands on Izzie's shoulders and stared at her. "Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will survive and stay true to Hydra."

Izzie never do the hydra salute before but she felt like this was the time. She placed both arms out in front of her and brought her feet together. "Hail Hydra!" she exclaimed. Iann was proud, but Izzie felt awkward. She believed in Hydra's ideals about terminating the dangers of both the inside and outside world. However in that moment, she felt like a fish out of water.


Quick note: the last thing Iann says is a play on the words that said to Steve. Rogers before the procedure that turned him into Captain America. The real quote is "Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man." I thought it would be interesting to twist it up.

Once again thanks for reading!

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