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Those Who Had Remained Shackled There
When Penny woke, she was laying on a table. Her hands were strapped down, just like the White Room, but when she opened her eyes with a gasp, she knew she wasn't in the White Room...this room was a light blue with clouds painted on the walls. Frowning, she started to sit up, then was forced back down when the restraints came up short. Yanking hard, she tried to free herself, but her body still felt heavy...weak. Groaning as her head spun, she dropped back down to the bed, noticing that there was no pillow. No blanket.
Tugging uselessly against her restraints, Penny felt frustrated tears fill her eyes but blinked hard, swallowing and trying to to hold them back. This wasn't the White Room. She'd called Tony. Things might be okay. Maybe he'd been able to trace the call. Maybe she'd kept him on the line for long enough for him to trace it. She'd done her best and now she just had to wait...to stay alive until he came.
Her leg was throbbing, and when she lifted her head to get a look as best she could, she saw that her leg right above her knee was wrapped in a thick white bandage. There was no blood, so that was something. Trying to sit up more slowly this time, she tried to keep her leg still and managed to get a look around the room. There were two more beds, both empty, both right beside hers. On the other side of the room were a line of cribs, all with little blankets draped over the sides. She stared at them, then at the walls covered in clouds.
Clouds just like she'd seen in her picture book. But not real clouds. She'd seen real clouds. These were like clouds from a cartoon, big and puffy, and she found herself staring at them, eyes drooping as she felt her head spin. They'd drugged her...what with, she wasn't sure. So she stared at them as they seemed to move on the wall and before long, she was asleep again.
When she woke again, someone was standing over her and for just a moment, for a fleeting second, she thought it was Tony. A tiny smile turned the corner of her lips and she blinked, his name on her mouth, when she opened her eyes and saw Norman Osborn. Jerking back, she dropped the smile, glaring at him instead.
"I have to admit, 024, I didn't think you'd be such a problem so soon."
"Fuck you," she snapped, going through the worst words she knew and choosing that one.
"Tony Stark has certainly had an influence," he told her dryly, and she yanked on her restraints again, this time bending the metal. "024, if you don't stop I'll be forced to drug you again and really, I'd rather not."
She paused, dropping her hands onto the bed.
"Now, if you think you can manage to behave yourself, I think we can have you sent back to your room. You'll need to take the rest of the day, but I'll expect you back in training tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"What if I can't walk?" she snapped, tugging again on her restraints.
"Well then, you'll have learned a valuable lesson about following the rules."
A man with a white coat came in then, releasing her from her restraints, and then one of the guards was standing in the doorway, showing off a black eye and a crooked nose. Norman and the man in the white coat left, and the guard grabbed her arm, yanking her from the bed and ignoring her when she stumbled. Opening her mouth to protest, he shot her a look, tightening his grip and dragging her forward. Her leg gave after a few steps, a throbbing pain making her gasp and almost fall, and the guard grabbed her other arm, throwing her against the wall.
"Are you going to walk or am I going to have to drag you?"
"I'm trying, asshole!'
The fist that connected with her nose hurt less than the gunshot wound in her leg, head snapping back and banging against the wall. Immediately, her nose was gushing blood, and the guard grabbed her by the arm and made good on his threat to drag her, paying no mind to the blood dripping on the floor and leaving a trail all the way to her room where she was unceremoniously thrown, legs buckling as she dropped onto the floor. He slammed the door as he left, and Penny brought a shaking hand up to her nose, pinching her nostrils shut and trying to stop the bleeding..
Tony would come soon. He had to. Preferably before more of the guards got their revenge.
Penny picked herself up from the floor and managed to limp over to the bed. Easing herself back, she took her blanket, folded it, and propped it under her knee, trying to remember everything she knew about injuries. Because she had to be able to fight the next day. She didn't have a choice...she wouldn't go back to the White Room. Not ever. So as impossible as it felt, she lay in bed for the rest of the evening, keeping as still as she could, and eating the dinner that was brought to her.
By the morning, her leg felt somewhat better, and she managed to stand without swaying too much, forcing it to take her weight and wondering if Tony was coming soon. If the Avengers would burst in any time to take her away from this place. Because they were coming. They would come for her. Tony would come for her. He loved her. She was his daughter. She told herself these things over and over as she limped along just a little, forcing herself to keep up with the guard whose eye had nearly healed. She didn't doubt he would be happy to take it out on her if they were late and it was her fault.
The boxing ring stood in the center of the room, surrounded as always by the people in white coats. Scientists, she knew now. People who wanted to study her. Who didn't even see her as human. She glared at them as she limped just a little up to the ring, climbing inside and turning to face her opponent who was being led by their own guard. Only it wasn't the blond boy.
It was Susie.
Penny swallowed hard, bringing her fists up and assuming the position as Susie did, their eyes meeting and locking in. Just like so many times before, Susie shifted, her own fissts coming up, and Penny knew that she couldn't beat her. Not with her leg the way it was. Not with a still-healing bullet wound. So they would take her to the White Room? Or would she just have to lose to Susie over and over until they dragged her back to her cell.
It was the latter.
She gave everything she had, ducking and dodging, relying on her senses to move as quickly as she could, but an hour in and her leg almost refused to hold her weight, and Susie's fist hit her nose with such force that she felt it snap and her whole body was thrown backwards, head bouncing against the floor as the world spun too quickly around her.
The only sound for a moment was the scratch of pen on paper, and she listened to it as she breathed, trying to get her bearings. Tony was coming. Her father was coming. She was going to be okay. She was going to get out of here. She had to. She would not die here.
"024, on your feet!" one of them demanded, and Penny pressed her hands to the mat, teeth gritted as she forced herself upright. Susie waited, her eyes flat, as Penny got her feet under her and stood, wiping her hand over her nose and glancing down at the blood covering her hand.
And then they were back in position. "Susie," Penny whispered, voice pleading as she glanced over at the scientists.
"We can't talk here, 024," Susie muttered. But her eyes were different...different than they'd been in the alley. Different even than they'd been in the vents. They were normal. Not dilated or laser focused. Just normal, the eyes that Penny had looked into so many times.
What had they done to Susie? Which Susie was she talking to now?
"So where?" Penny demanded under her breath.
"Nowhere."
"We have to talk! We can get out of here," Penny hissed, ducking as Susie threw a punch, doing her best to step to the side in order to keep her leg from buckling. "If we work together,"
And then she was on the mat again, head pounding, nose doubly broken. Was that possible?
Susie stood over her, eyes still flat as she glared down at her. "We're never getting out of here," she hissed, mouth barely moving.
Once she was on her feet again and they were close enough to speak, Penny tried again. "You've seen the outside. You know what it's like," she whispered, finally managing to land a blow. Susie staggered back and Penny followed, landing another one to her side. "If we worked together," she started.
Susie ducked a third blow and spun around, grabbing her wrist and starting to bend it behind her back. "They will kill all of us," she hissed, squeezing hard and shoving Penny away before breaking her arm.
She could have broken her arm.
Before, Susie might have done it. But what about now? Her friend had been outside. They both had.
Sweat ran down both of their faces, and Penny wiped a quick hand over her forehead, trying to put her weight on her good leg. "Not if we take them out first," she whispered, lowering her eyes and glancing at the scientists who were scribbling on their clipboards.
"They have guns."
"We can still take them."
Susie shook her head, and then the fight was on once more.
At the end of the day, she was left laying on her cot, her whole leg throbbing. She had to get out...she had to.
Tony was coming for her. He would come for her.
Sitting up a little, she looked at the bandage around her knee, poking at it tentatively and flinching when she caught sight of the blood on the side of the bandage. Dropping back onto the cot, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, imagining the sky and the clouds that would float by. Her bedroom with her warm bed covered in pillows. The pool filled with cool water and learning how to swim with Natasha. Sparring with Steve.
The piano. Music. Laying with her head against Tony's shoulder as he played music for her. Tony was coming. She'd called him. Maybe he'd been able to track the call. She'd done everything she could.
The next day was even worse. Her leg nearly refused to hold her weight, and when Susie spotted her from the boxing ring, something passed over her face. Something like worry. But this time, Penny didn't bother trying to talk to her. Didn't have the energy. Instead, she forced herself to fight until she couldn't fight anymore, a kick aimed at her ribs knocking her down and her body refusing to pick her back up.
"Get up," Susie snapped under her breath, and all around them were the people in coats and the soldiers with guns and Penny felt a tear run down her cheek. Was this her life now? "Penny, get up."
If she couldn't fight, what would they do to her? Did it matter? Her leg refused to take her weight and she clutched her hands into fists at her side, frustrated tears breaking through as she fought a sob. She couldn't get up. She couldn't fight anymore. She couldn't stand this. Where was Tony? Why hadn't he come for her yet?
"Take 019 back to her room," one of the scientists ordered.
"Penny, get up," Susie whispered, face paling as a soldier approached. "You have to...they're going to…"
"And take 024 to the White Room."
She wanted to fight. Wanted to scream. Wanted to break out of this place somehow and find Tony and go back home and never, ever leave again. But all she could do was stare up at Susie who looked suddenly so sad and so afraid and so angry all at the same time.
"It's okay," Susie whispered before stepping back, glancing at the approaching soldiers. "It's going to be okay."
And then hands were hauling her up, ignoring her cries of pain as the foot of her bad leg knocked against the floor. Susie was led away while Penny was carried down the long hallway that had haunted her dreams, the door in front of them the same as ever even if they were in a different school now.
No. Not school. This wasn't school. She'd been to school. School was safe. School was where Ned was, and where she learned things. This...this place was a prison. And cold terror seized her as the door to the White Room opened and she was dropped onto a bed, the straps wrapping around her wrists and ankles.
This wasn't okay. It wasn't okay for people to hurt her.
Penny screamed, trying to yank her arms away from the straps, but the scientists ignored her like they always ignored her and there was a needle plunged into her arm and she screamed as fire filled her veins, making her vision go fuzzy...making her whole world turn into pain as she burned from the inside.
And then the world went black. But she dreamed. It wasn't like before, when she'd been sick at the tower with Tony. Now she heard voices all the time. Voices that told her things and it felt like her body was moving but it couldn't have been...right? Because she was asleep. At least, it felt like she was asleep. Her knee throbbed and she wanted to beg for pain medicine but her mouth wouldn't work. Voices gave orders that she couldn't obey because her whole body was weighed down with burning lead and her hands hurt, the bones in her fists aching but that didn't make any sense.
"Penny!" The voice was anguished. Pleading. And that word made things come rushing back, her brain shoving hard against whatever had been weighing it down until she was blinking, the darkness giving way to fuzzy shapes and colors that made no sense for what felt like several minutes. People were murmuring in the background and there were so many heartbeats and the world was so sharp and bright...but she wasn't in the White Room anymore.
She was standing over Susie, the girl's bloody face looking back at her from the floor of the boxing ring. But...she'd been in the White Room! So why were her knuckles split open, dripping blood? Why was her knee covered in blood that soaked through her jumpsuit? Why did her head pound in time with her heartbeat? Why were the scientists writing things down and nodding to one another, whispering about a successful trial?
"Penny?" Susie whispered, loud enough that the scientists could hear, and Penny shook her head.
"Susie? What…."
"Take 024 and 019 to the White Room and inject them both with X03. It seems the subject is able to override the drug given enough time but…."
Penny stopped listening as Susie's face paled, the pieces clicking into place. The drug...they'd given her a drug and then...then she'd fought Susie. She hadn't known what she'd been doing...had they done the same to Susie. If they gave them both the drug...if they made them fight each other on the drug...they were developing something that made them...what? Follow orders? Without them even being conscious of it? Her mind raced as the soldiers approached.
Susie was staring at her and Penny knew that they couldn't let the soldiers take them to the White Room. She wouldn't let them give her that drug again and she wouldn't let them give it to Susie. Tony was coming. He had to be on his way. How long had it been? A day? Two?
Looking down at Susie, she gave her old friend a long look. "Wait," she mouthed, the two of them frozen in place as the soldiers approached. It was all happening too fast but there was no choice. They couldn't just keep fighting and hope that the Avengers would save them. They had to get out. Now. Before they could make this drug any better.
What if Tony came and she fought him? What if she killed him? He was just a human.
The soldier stood at the edge of the ring, obviously waiting for her, and Penny kept her eyes locked on Susie as another approached from the other side. "Hallway," she hissed under her breath, then turned to go with the soldier, Susie pulling herself slowly to her feet and swaying. Penny tried not to look at the bruises on the side of her head, or the blood dripping down her cheek. Tried not to think about how she'd done that.
It hadn't been her. She hadn't made that choice.
She felt like a coiled spring as she limped out of the room, the soldier's hand firm on her upper arm, his gun in his other hand. They were approaching the door at the end of the hall just like she had what felt like mere minutes ago, but it must have been longer. How long had she been under? What had she done with that drug in her body?
They were five feet from the door when she made herself stumble, praying that, behind her, Susie would see. She came to a painful halt, not having to fake the cry of pain, and she heard the soldier behind her stop.
Please Susie, she prayed, willing her friend to hear her thoughts against all odds. Please.
Not letting herself think anymore, she slammed her elbow into the soldier's side, feeling something crack under the force, and the man cried out, starting to double over. Penny twisted, getting in front of her and bringing her knee up to his face, using every ounce of strength she had in her good leg, and a fountain of blood exploded from his face. Not daring to look back at Susie and the soldier guarding her, Penny grabbed the hand reaching for his gun, squeezing until she felt something under her fingers pop.
The deafening blast of a gunshot froze her in place, though, and she turned, wild-eyed, keeping her grip on the soldier who had screamed when she'd broken his wrist and who still tried to break free of her grip. But he was just a human and they had made her dangerous.
Behind them, the other soldier was crumbled on the ground, his head blown open, a sight that made Penny's stomach turn. And before she could say anything, Susie aimed the gun that was too big for her at the soldier in Penny's grip, pulling the trigger, and the man slumped to the floor.
Thank you for reading!