Echo had failed her mission. Again. She knew Rumlow would be disappointed with her. Possibly even angry. His method for punishment was physical... Violent. She knew better than to resist or fight back. It was part of the training they beat into her. Quite literally, in fact. Over the months of 'training', she lost count of the broken bones, busted lips, sprains and pints of blood that had been spilled from her body.
"Mission status." Rumlow barked at her. Echo stood eerily still, like she was trained to do. Her eyes staring straight ahead, fixated on one spot of the far wall to avoid eye contact. She looked like a statue, if it weren't for the steady rhythm of her chest moving up and down as she breathed.
"I was unable to acquire the target." Echo replied in a deadpan tone. She wasn't surprised when she felt the familiar sting of his fist connecting with her jaw. Her head jerked to the side and the familiar metallic tang of blood seeped into her mouth. She swallowed most of it down, but a small crimson pearl trailed out of the corner of her lips as she let out a quiet exhale.
"This is the second time you've let him escape." He hissed at her, cupping her chin firmly and forcing her to face him. Her green eyes roamed over his face. His eyes were dark and narrow as he glared at her. She could see the anger that he was trying to hide; trying to quell as he ran his thumb over her lips. The blood from her mouth smeared down to her jawline.
"Sir, I - " Echo began, only to be cut off by a powerful blow to the stomach. The force of it sent her stumbling backwards a few steps and knocked the wind out of her. It was somewhat lessened by the combat gear, but it was still powerful. She remained on her feet, but held her hand against her stomach as she caught her breath.
"What kind of assassin are you if you can't even carry out a simple task?!" Rumlow spat angrily. Echo forced herself to stand straight again, holding her arms at her sides. She was still wheezing and trying to catch her breath. "We need to get him back..." He growled. Echo curled her metal arm into a fist as she felt that strange feeling in her chest again.
Steve, Natasha, and Bucky left the rooftop in somewhat of a dazed state. The three of them just stared blankly ahead as they headed back into the apartment. Steve and Natasha collapsed onto the couch. Bucky closed the door and leaned against it, slowly sinking down to sit on the floor.
The silence between them seemed to last forever.
"It's...a female..." Bucky repeated quietly. Steve and Natasha looked at him, but neither of them knew what to say. "I don't understand. If they were trying to replace me, why not go for another male?" He wondered.
"Maybe they tried." Natasha suggested. Steve shifted and winced on the couch. "Let me help you." Natasha said as she stood up and headed to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit.
"But who would be able to do something like that?" Steve asked. Natasha came back with the kit and sat down next to Steve. She motioned for him to lift up his shirt. Instead, Steve just took it off and cast it aside. "It's just a graze." He told her.
"Yeah. And I'm a natural blonde." She quipped and rolled her eyes. "Shut up and let me take care of this." Natasha put some liquid on a gauze bandage and dabbed gently at the wound. Steve hissed and jerked away, but Natasha held him steady. "You're gonna need stitches." She mumbled. "Lucky for you, I have a steady hand."
"Well, after SHIELD HQ went down... They never did find Rumlow, did they?" Bucky asked, interrupting Steve before he could protest with Natasha. Steve looked at him curiously.
"You knew Rumlow?" He asked. Natasha cast a sideways glance at Bucky through a few strands of hair before focusing back on Steve's wound. Bucky sighed and nodded. "You didn't think to mention that before?" His voice a little louder than normal. Natasha pressed against his wound, making Steve shift uncomfortably and glare at her.
"Sorry." She shrugged. Though her tone of voice suggested something different.
"Look, Steve. I don't want to get into this now, OK? There's bigger problems to deal with." Bucky replied as he stood up. Steve opened his mouth to reply, but Natasha cut him off.
"Now, Steve..." She said as she started stitching him up. "Before you go arguing with James, need I remind you I'm holding a sharp object and repeatedly poking your skin with it?" The redhead smiled innocently, making the two men chuckle softly.
"Natalia, when you're done I need you to do some more research." Bucky said. She nodded, not wanting to take her eyes off her work. "Maybe we can figure out who she is by looking for missing persons reports."
"That's not a bad idea." Steve agreed. Bucky nodded, but sighed.
"The only problem is, she spoke Russian. So she might not even be from the US..." Natasha looked up and stared at Bucky.
"That...might take a while." She replied.
"I know." Bucky nodded and spoke quietly. "But remember what you found out? The testing began about a month after they lost me. Anything further back than that might not matter." He said.
"I'll see what I can find out, James." Natasha nodded before turning back to finish stitching up Steve.
Echo stared at Rumlow with emotionless eyes. Her hand hovered over the gun holstered to her leg. His back was turned and they were the only two in the room. An overwhelming urge to grab the gun and shoot washed over her. No one would know...
"Well?" Rumlow's voice cut through Echo's thoughts, causing the assassin to blink several times to regain her focus. She remained silent, unsure as to what Rumlow wanted. He stepped forward and backhanded her roughly. Echo felt drops of blood fly from her lips as her head jerked to the side.
"Sir - " Echo turned to face Rumlow, only to be met by hands clasping around her throat. Rumlow pushed her backwards until she slammed into the closest wall. On reflex, she brought her knee up and connected with his abdomen. Rumlow grunted and stumbled back, a shocked look on his face. Echo whipped her gun out of her holster and pointed it at him.
"What are you gonna do with that?" Rumlow laughed mockingly at her, his question laced with annoyance. The smirk on his lips pushed Echo closer to the edge and she placed her finger on the trigger. "You gonna shoot me? Huh?" He stepped closer to her so the barrel of the gun was pressed against his chest.
"I..." Echo blinked several times as if to clear her mind. Something was trying to crawl its way back into her brain; trying to make her remember. Every time she would try to focus on it, it would disappear into the deepest recesses of her memory. Like trying to grab smoke.
"Still trying to remember, are you?" Rumlow asked in a mocking whisper. The smile never left his lips. He was clearly enjoying her torment. Echo seemed to be staring through Rumlow as she focused on the blurry images that flooded her mind. She was laughing, smiling, as she talked to someone. A man with a blurry face...leaning in to kiss her.
"I...had a life... Before this." She said softly, almost as if she didn't believe it. Rumlow took the opportunity to smack the gun out of her hand. It collided with the concrete and slid across the floor until it came to rest on the other side of the room.
"You were nothing before this." Rumlow hissed, bringing her attention back to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but his hand muffled her words. "I made you into something. I made you." He brought his face closer to hers. His eyes were harsh and full of judgment. Echo pushed him away with her metal hand.
"You need me to get the asset back!" She protested with an overwhelming urge to be...wanted. Anger washed over her and she punched Rumlow with her metal fist. She let out a yell as the blow connected and the dark haired man was pushed almost to the other side of the room.
"You're a cheap imitation! You can never replace the real thing!" Rumlow snapped as he rushed across the room, his knee colliding roughly into Echo's chest. The green eyed assassin fell back against the wall again. She knew she shouldn't be fighting him, but there was just something that was building up inside her. She felt like she was going to burst.
"Stop it!" Echo exclaimed as she pushed herself up off the floor. With a quick motion, she grabbed her knife and swiped at Rumlow. He dodged out of the way and countered with a rough punch to her side. Echo grunted and flipped the knife around and tried to stab Rumlow. He caught her wrist in mid-air and twisted it, forcing her to drop the knife. She curled her bionic hand into a fist and took a wild swing at him. Her blind fury made it easy for Rumlow to counter her moves. As her metal arm swung right by him, he attached a small disk to the plates that immediately sent an electrical pulse throughout Echo's limb.
"You're letting your emotions rule you." He stated as her arm hung limply at her side; rendered temporarily useless. "Didn't know you still had any." The blow stung and Echo glared at Rumlow. He twisted her arm, forcing her to turn around with her back to him. The electricity mixed with the pain of Rumlow twisting her arm, and she groaned loudly as he forced her to her knees.
"Let go of me!" Echo hissed as she tried to break free. Rumlow roughly jerked her arm and she heard the unmistakable POP sound that told her he dislocated it. She gritted her teeth hard, refusing to scream or show weakness.
Something happened in that moment. Echo didn't know if it was from all the pain, or something else. But fragments of memories came rushing back to her.
"Come on, Echo! Where's the cold hearted, ruthless assassin?" Rumlow taunted her as he let go of her arm and pushed her to the cold floor. She made no attempt to stop her fall. Her head hit the concrete with a dull thud, but she didn't even flinch. When Rumlow saw her not even making an effort to fight, he nudged her with his boot. "Get up, Echo." He ordered.
Echo panted, still feeling so much pain shooting through her body. Somehow, by some miracle, she was able to push herself up onto her knees with her bionic arm. Her flesh and blood arm dangled at her side, the slightest movement sending waves of agony through her. But she ignored the pain the best she could.
"There she is." Rumlow grinned. "You've got work to do, Echo." The green eyed assassin stared up at him, almost defiantly. She was trying to breathe through the pain, but still managed to speak.
"...Nina..."