*Hey guys! So this is a very eventful chapter. It took me a pretty long time to write, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I just wanna thank you all again for all your kind words and encouragement. You are all so sweet, really. I hope you enjoy number 21! See you, guys. -Noor xx*
Marty
I slowly opened up my eyes, immediately greeted by a sharp pain at my temple. Damn, Zola must've kicked me pretty hard; that bastard. I opened my eyes more fully, taking in my surroundings, where ever that may be. I was sitting on cold, stone floor in my blood stained army uniform, I was in the same clothes I was kidnapped in. I stood up on my aching legs, a quick jolt of pain shot through my skull, making me gasp. I cringed, trying hard to focus on where I was.
It was only then that I noticed what was in front of me; bars. I was in cell, probably deep down in HYDRA's secret location, being held captive. I stumbled over to the bars with my weak legs, and held on to the sturdy steel, looking out of my cell. There were other cells besides mine but they were all empty. It was just me down here in this dark, cold dungeon.
How did I let myself get captured by these bastards? It all happened so fast. One second I was fighting with Steve, yelling at him, and the next I was being blown back into the air and dragged into the back of a truck. Damn, Steve…I was such a jerk to him. I got to admit, I was angry, I was jealous, but if he wants to be with Peggy then who am I to stop him? It's not like we had a special connection, it's not like I put my faith in him for months, trusting him with my biggest secret, or that we could talk for hours on end, reminiscing of our hometown while making plans to meet up at a god damn amusement park.
Damn it, there I go again! Why was I feeling like this, why did I want to kiss Steve so badly back on the base? I didn't like him like that, as far as I know. Maybe this is just a phase, maybe seeing Steve ditch me for Peggy got me mad because I am one of his closest friends? That still doesn't explain why I wanted to kiss him though… Jee, why does being a lady have to be so difficult? I swear, sometimes I wish I was a guy.
Just then, the sound of thick, rubber boots clunking down the hall brought me out of my tangled thoughts. My head shot up. I peered down the hall from behind the bars; there were two masked guards approaching my cell quickly. They were probably going to take me to Schmidt, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I had a plan.
As their footsteps grew louder, I hastily rushed back to my place at the wall. I sat back down on the cold floor, making my body look as limp and lifeless as possible, rested my head on the brick wall of the cell, and shut my eyes. My heart rate began to accelerate as I heard the two guards approach my cell. I heard a key turn and the cell door swing open with a screech that echoed down the empty hall. Their footsteps traveled through the floor beneath me and before I knew it they each had one of my arms in their grasp.
They picked me up off the ground; one of them muttered something in German that, going by his harsh tone, sounded a lot like an insult. I tried my best to stay as lifeless as I could to give the affect that I was still unconscious. They practically dragged me halfway down of the hall. I peeked my eyes open just a slit. There was about a couple yards left to the hall and then there was a short staircase that spiraled up into a bright, white light, which was probably the main floor of the base. That was my way out.
I took in a deep breath, letting the guards drag me one last foot along the stone floor. This was my chance! I shot open my eyes, and stood up straight, immediately sinking a fist into one of the guard's stomach, making him fall to his knees with a groan. I turned to the other one, ready to knock him out but he was prepared. He took his gloved hand and grabbed hold my neck, slamming me into the brick wall. I choked for air, trying to get free, my heart beating at record time. I was not dying here! I did the only thing I could. I tilted my head down and sunk my teeth into the HYDRA's arm. I didn't know how hard I was biting him, but I could taste blood in my mouth. He yelled in pain, pulling away from my neck for just enough time for me to make run for it, and that's exactly what I did.
I bolted down the dark hall and reached the staircase, taking a quick glimpse behind my shoulder. The HYDRA was chasing right after me, blood dripping from his arm. I felt a jolt of fear shoot through me and I immediately began running up the staircase. I didn't look back; I just kept my feet moving up the metal steps until I reached the main level of the base.
My feet reached white marble floor. I was on the main level now. There were a few guards in the hall. Instantaneously, they all looked to me, pointed their fingers, and began yelling commands at one another. "Shit!" I cursed, beginning to run the opposite way of the guards down the hall. I was pretty popular around here, wasn't I? I had no idea where I was going. I was beginning to think I should've thought out this plan a little more thoroughly, but I was never good at planning; that was Steve's job.
As I raced down the unfamiliar hall, I came face to face with two halls. There was on the left and one on the right. "Come on, Marty, c'mon Barnes…" I said, impatiently to myself with heavy breaths. I could hear the guards getting closer, and by the sound of it, they weren't too happy. "Damn!" I said, and ran down the left hall without even thinking about it.
They were gaining on me, and I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know. I ran as fast as my aching legs would take me, but as I approached the end of the hall, I knew I was screwed. It was a dead end, a god damn dead end. I cursed turning around, pressing my back to the metal wall as the guards approached me. There was no way out. They rushed over to me. Two guards came, grabbed me by my shoulders, and threw me to the floor. I stayed quiet as the right side of my face pressed roughly against the tile. They took my arms, put them behind my back, and tightly handcuffed me. Yup, definitely should've planned it out more.
The hoisted me up on my feet, speaking words I could barely understand. All I got from their conversation as they led me back down the hall was the word 'Schmidt'. Guess I knew where I was going now. The guards enclosed me in a circle as I was guided down the hall, there was no other thing to do but follow them. I reluctantly walked, my legs still burning from all the running, my chest heaving up and down as I tried to regain some breath, and all I could think about was Steve, and if that fight was the last conversation I'd ever have with him…
"Vait 'ere," One of the guards said, pushing me into an unfamiliar room. I stumbled in, still handcuffed.
"Hail HYDRA!" all the guards said in unison before leaving the room and closing the door behind themselves.
Great, now where was I?
The room was big, very spacious. A large glass window showed snowy mountains tops and a white sky. Where did these bastards take me? I kept looking around. There were a couple tables and on them lay science looking equipment; microscopes, test tubes, and notepads filled with messy cursive handwriting. Someone was working very hard in here. I turned away from the tables and my jaw dropped. Because standing before me was something I couldn't even recognize. It looked like some kind of iron coffin to me. It was large, oval shaped, made completely out of metal with a small rectangular window at the top. I leaned over, peeking inside the small window. It was pretty dark in there, but it looked like it was made for a person, for a prisoner.
Beside it was a large control board, I'm guessing. It had an endless number of button and dials, and one silver lever that looked especially important. I didn't want to know what this thing did, and I had a scary hunch that if I stuck around any longer then I would find out the hard way. I scanned the room desperately for a way out; a trap door, an air vent, anything, but with no luck. I was trapped.
Just when things couldn't get anymore unsettling, something caught my eye. It was a contraption in the corner of the room, and a bright, blue glow emitted from it. Could that be…? I cautiously walked towards the metal contraption, inching towards it slowly. There was a small container in the heart of it. I kneeled down and looked through the glass. I was right. It was the Tesseract. There it sat, perfectly geometrical, beaming brightly, looking as beautiful and as lethal as the last time I saw it.
"You're up."
My heart stopped in my chest at the sound of Johann Schmidt's voice. I had to admit, I was pretty uneasy about that coffin looking thing, but I wouldn't dare show him a hint of fear. I stood up and turned to my enemy confidently. He stood with his hands behind his back, red as ever, and beside him were two Steve Rogers sized guards. "Yeah, I would've been up early but your pet kicked me pretty hard in the head." I said, casually, looking him dead in the eye, fearless, though my heart was beating rapidly.
He laughed, throwing his head back in utter pleasure. "My pet, you say?"
"You heard me," I said, in the same causal tone, my eyes flickering from Schmidt, to the guards, to that troubling machine as my handcuffed palms began to grow sweaty.
"That was quite a scene you caused back there, Brooks. You nearly out ran my men." Schmidt spoke Joey's name with an eerie smile. Right, I forgot, he thought I was a man.
"Thanks, I try." I said, smiling right back at him. He walked towards the machine, placing a leather gloved hand on its surface.
"Yes, I'm quite familiar with your speed, Brooks. You've gotten away from us before, once with something very valuable….a serum, my serum." He said, stroking the metal slowly.
"That's right, how did that Super Soldier business work out for ya?" I asked, completely stalling, my nerves rising.
"Well, Brooks, I think," He looked back at me, smirking. "I think you're just about to find out."
Just then the doors opened once more, and in came Zola, a silver crate in his small hand. "Sir, ze serum is ready."
Oh no. I tried to keep my face as straight as I could.
"Right on time, Doctor, right on time," Schmidt said, walking back to the door, taking the crate from Zola. Then he turned to the guards, and commanded harshly, "Get him."
The two guards didn't waste any time. They rushed over to me and grabbed me roughly. "Let go of me!" I said, thrashing in their arms, but they might as well be deaf. They held me tightly, un-cuffing me.
"He needs to remove his shirt and jacket before ve can continue viz ze procedure," Zola added, pushing the round glasses up his face.
Procedure?! My heart was beating like mad now and my legs felt like jelly. "What the hell are you gonna do to me, Schmidt?" I yelled at him as the guards took off my jacket, oh no, they were going to take my top off too. My secret…
I watched as Schmidt put the crate down on one of the tables. He opened it up, revealing numerous test tubes containing blue liquid, containing Super Soldier serum. "You are going to be our first test subject. You see, after you stole our last serum, I had Doctor Zola here make a new one, but I guess I should thank you; the last one was weak," Schmidt said, taking one of the test tubes in hand, "This one is meant to be much more…effective."
I felt my body go into panic mode. No, no, I didn't want to be a super soldier! I couldn't let them do this to me! I kept lashing, trying to get away from the guards. My jacket now lay on the floor. "His shirt, get his shirt off!" Zola spat, hurriedly.
"Stay still!" One of the guards yelled in my ear, and together they both managed to get my top off, revealing a tightly wrapped chest.
"Take zat off too," Zola commanded.
The guards began to unwrap me. I was helpless, their grasp was too tight. Then, before I knew it, I stood, completely exposed, feeling violated, with my very womanly chest hanging right out. The guards immediately dropped me to the floor. I fell to my knees and quickly covered my chest with my arms, fuming. I had never felt so angry in all of my years than that very moment. Schmidt pissed me off, and he may not have been glad that he did.
The room fell into complete silence. Schmidt's face was blank, he looked lost for words. Zola stood, his mouth hanging wide open, his eyes wide. "Doctor, what is the meaning of this?" Schmidt asked, still eyeing me furiously.
"Sir, I-I had n-no idea he was a…a—."
"A WOMAN?!" Schmidt bellowed, making the small man jump.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean, you bastard?!" I yelled at the red man, feeling my anger reach an all-time high. I stood up, my arms still concealing my chest. "Just a few seconds ago you were ready as hell to put me in… whatever that thing is," I said, looking up at the machine, "But now that you found out I'm a girl, you're backing out?" I said, furiously.
Schmidt smiled, "Well, if you insist." He turned to the guards, "Put her in."
The panic returned. One guard held my slightly quivering body, half shaking out of anger, and half out of fear, while the other opened the heavy metal door of the machine. Inside looked like a death chamber; it was a long, black, leather stretcher, like the kind of things prisons put you in when you're on death roll. I couldn't think straight, I wanted to escape, I wanted to run, I wanted more than anything for Steve and Bucky to come crashing through that door and rescue me, but it wasn't going to happen. For once, Steve wasn't going to save me. I was on my own.
"NO!" I yelled as the guard pushed me towards the machine, forcing me on to the hard leather mattress. I could barely hear Schmidt's maniacal laughing from how loud my heart was beating; it was getting pretty hard to hide my fear now. "You can't do this." I said, angrily, my voice shaking. "This is illegal," I said, as the guards strapped my legs and arms tightly to the machine. I felt so exposed and degraded. Damn, I really wished I was a man now.
"Illegal? Like how going undercover as the man you so clearly are not to sneak into the army is illegal? Then yes, it's very illegal." Schmidt said, coldly, making me lose my ability to speak for a second.
The guards began to attach these wires to me, in specific places, in placed I wasn't exactly comfortable having touched. The more those HYDRAs tampered with me, the more I wanted to kick their asses, but it was kind of hard with my legs and arms tied down. "And what makes you think, after you've injected with your serum, that I will fight with HYDRA? How do you know I won't do everything in my power to take you down, Schmidt?" I said through gritted teeth. The guards were now placing test tubes of Super Soldier serum in small compartments on the machine then attached them to the wires in tubes on me.
"Because, soldier," Schmidt spoke, quietly, walking up to where I was and looking down at me, "If you even attempt to rebel against me, I'll kill your beloved Captain."
I forgot how to breathe for a moment; he was getting too personal now. "You can't. Steve's too strong for you; you'd fail." I said without a doubt in the world.
"Well, what you don't know, American, is that I've planned this more thoroughly than you think. You see, girl, when I came for your Italian base by surprise I left Captain Rogers a little present." He leaned down, getting closer to my face, "I left one of my own men, undercover, a tactic you seem to be very familiar with."
My mouth was going dry. Steve…
"You see," he persisted on, making me go nauseas, "my man is waiting for a signal from me, and the second you refuse to cooperate he will plant a bullet in that Captain of yours head so fast that he won't even have a chance to think."
I did the only thing my strapped hands and legs allowed me to do; I spit right on his face, "Screw you." I hissed through gritted teeth. He stepped back, wiping my spit of his face, looking cross.
"Continue with the procedure, Doctor." He said, turning his back on me.
Suddenly, the machine began to automatically put me in an upright position. The guards closed the door, and I was in nearly complete darkness. The only light came from the small window. "No…no…" I whispered with shaky breaths, I was sweating, my hands were shaking, I felt sick. I had to cooperate, for Steve, for my Captain.
Then something strange began to happen. I felt needles, piercing my skin, and a cold, slimy sensation spread through my body. That was probably the serum going into me. Then things escalated quickly. Suddenly my whole body was shaking violently, pain, searing hot pain spread over every inch of me. It felt as though my insides, my muscles, my nerves, were being torn apart, rearranged, and being put back together again. My arms, my legs, everything was in blinding, white pain. I couldn't help but shriek. Everything was becoming too much. I couldn't breathe, I could barely see. Then all the sudden, all the pain, all the strange sensations, they all just stopped.
The door opened up and steam poured out. I lay there, covered in sheets of sweat from head to toe, feeling slightly light headed, but other than that, I felt as healthy as a horse. I looked down at myself. I didn't look that different, but my arms were a bit thicker, more muscle, less limp. My stomach was toned perfectly, gleaming with sweat. Not to mention all the scars I had gotten from previous battles had simply vanished. Well, except for the bullet scar on my shoulder. I clenched my hands into a fist, feeling my muscles contract with unusual strength. What did these bastards do to me…?
"Doctor Zola?" Schmidt asked, walking towards me, "She doesn't look very super."
Zola followed after him, examining me as if I was like any other experiment in his lab. He poked around at my arms, squeezing them slightly. "Vell, sir, ze serum vas designed for men. It vas not created for her body structure, but it has affected her anyvays. You see, her muscles, her abs, even her thighs, sir, have all been upgraded into perfect condition. It seems as though most of ze change is internal. How do you feel?" He said, addressing me.
"I feel…" I said, reluctantly. I cracked my toes, clenching my fist, "I feel strong."
The guards unstrapped me, letting me drop to the floor. I quickly covered my chest, which was exposed for much too long, and stood, on my newly strengthened feet. "Damn…" I muttered, shaking my legs off a bit, I felt so tough.
Zola threw me a plain white t-shirt. I immediately shoved my arms through it, finally getting something over my chest.
"Welcome to HYDRA…um…I didn't quiet catch your name?" Schmidt asked smugly, sounding so proud of his accomplishment.
"Marty Barnes, you son of a bitch, and don't you forget it."