Veronica Jessie Hayes sat on the large sectional in her living room next to her husband Dr. Oliver Benjamin Hayes. She was six months pregnant with their son Daniel Joseph, and this was one of the few times she could feel relaxed.
"He's kicking again, Oliver," Veronica said. "I think he's eager to come out."
Oliver smiled and put down the book he was reading before leaning over his wife so his face was mere inches from her over sized belly. "You know little monster, as much as we'd love to welcome you into the world now, you still have another three months of development left." He turned his head so that he was looking into his wife's deep blue eyes. Veronica stared into his own chocolate brown eyes intensely.
"You know how much I love you?" asked Oliver.
Veronica delayed her answer, looking as though she were deep in thought. "Hmm, maybe..." She never got to finish her sentence, because at that moment the front door to their home was blown off its hinges and her husband was yelling at her to run to the basement and hide as men in black combat gear and guns marched their way into the house. Veronica stood and grabbed Oliver by the shoulder. "I won't leave you!"
Oliver turned, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "You have to. You have to live, and protect our son." Then he was gone, running towards the men who's intention had been to ruin their peaceful lives.
Veronica cursed and ran towards the basement stairs, knowing above all else her son needed to be protected, but she never made it there. A rough hand grasped her long brown hair and yanked her backwards causing her to cry out as she crashed to the ground. A man with a vicious white smile stared down at her. "Well, would you look at this, seems I caught myself a run away bitch. Maybe you'll be useful," the man said. He looked her up and down with greed and lust in his eyes and licked his lips. "Maybe even in more ways than one."
Veronica struggled and fought in the man's grasp, trying desperately to pry his fingers from the iron grip in her hair. "Oliver! Oliver, help! Please, help me!" She cried as she struggled to free herself.
"Aw how cute," said the man holding her captive. He took his free hand and grabbed her neck, before pulling her up so their noses were nearly touching. "Its useless to call out for him. He's dead sweetheart. I put the bullet in his brain myself. Honestly though, it's his fault you're in this mess. If only he'd said yes to our offer when we were asking politely."
Veronica broke down and stopped struggling. How could he be dead? They were supposed to raise their son together. Why?
"Do it," the man holding Veronica captive said. A man in a white robe walked up to them and held out a syringe. Veronica whimpered, and tried weakly to free herself.
"Please don't struggle," said the man in white. "It makes it hard to do this safely."
Then in an instant there was a prick in the back of her neck and Veronica could feel her consciousness slipping away from her. Just before everything went dark she heard the words, "Hail Hydra," and she was out.
...
When she next awoke Veronica was strapped to a metal table, with bright lights shining down on her. The man who had knocked her out walked over wearing scrubs and putting on a pair of surgical gloves.
"Glad to see you are finally with us, Mrs. Hayes," he said. "My name is Doctor Gillian, I used to be a colleague of your husband. Of course he's dead now, but no matter. Afterall, you aren't. In fact if the procedures go well you could even live forever! Wouldn't that be something!"
Veronica panicked at the word "procedures". What were they going to do to her? She started to fight in her bonds, to get free, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't slip out.
"Now, now, there's no use in fighting," said Dr. Gillian. "Those bands are made of vibranium. Its the same material as Captain America's shield, you won't be able to break free of them."
Veronica didn't care. She needed to get out of there, to go home.
Dr. Gillian sighed. "I see. It appears that you'll resist no matter what. Alright then, I suppose, I'll just have to do something about that, won't I?" He smiled down at her, and Veronica noticed that the man was missing several teeth, and his tongue was split, like a snake's. He turned around and grabbed a syringe off of a table, removed the cap, flicked it a few times to remove any air bubbles, and then pressed the plunger a little just in case. He walked back over to Veronica, injected the syringe into her neck, and slowly pushed on the plunger.
It was like ice water was being flooded into veins, freezing each cell as it flowed throw her body, leaving her stiff and rigid. Her breathing slowed down, and her heart rate decreased, despite the panic that continued to control her mind.
"Its a bit nasty, but don't worry. This is a paralytic I created myself. You won't be able to move for another, oh 4 hours I'd say. Now then I suppose you must be wondering why you're here," Gillian ran his hand through Veronica's hair, pulling out any tangles and and laying it neatly around her face while he spoke. "When your husband... sorry, late husband, and I worked together, it was on a project labeled as Medusa. It was a serum, much like the one that created Captain America, that would create the ultimate human. Unfortunately everyone who was subjected to the serum died a horrible and painful death. I wanted to continue the project, but your husband decided that it was too unstable and shut it down.
"After I joined Hydra I told them of project Medusa, but the plans and formulas for the serum were in Oliver's hand. So of course we reached out to him, asked him to start it up with us again. But he told us no. Said it must never see the light of day again, and then he ran. It took us four years to find him. But now, now those four years are worth it. Or at least they will be."
Dr. Gillian stopped running his hand through Veronica's hair and starting moving around and checking machines. "We had discovered, during the early phases of testing, that for some reason only a woman's body could even remotely withstand the procedure. It went even better when the woman's blood type was O negative. There was however a slight," the doctor paused for a second before continuing, "hiccup if you will. Women who underwent the process while pregnant suffered a more painful death than any other subject."
Veronica's eyes went wide, and if she could she'd have been struggling once more to get out of her bonds. Were they going to inject the serum into her to kill her and baby? But why? Couldn't they have just shot her in her home?
Suddenly realization washed over her, and Veronica knew exactly why she was bound to the surgical table.
"As it would happen you, Mrs. Hayes have type O Negative blood and, obviously, are a woman. However, you are also pregnant. But no matter! That problem is about to be solved! Congrats Mrs. Hayes. You're about to be a mother!" Dr. Gillian proclaimed with his arms spread wide as if he were giving the best news in the world. "Of course I'm not entirely sure how long you'll be a mother for."
Veronica closed her eyes and wept, crying inside and begging for her child not to be harmed, knowing that there was nothing she could do.
"Let's begin the operation, shall we?"
The next 45 minutes were literal hell for Veronica. She was given no sedative, no numbing agent, and worst of all, she was forced to watch and listen to the details of the entire process. Dr. Gillian called it a "lesson in human biology". Veronica wished the lesson were happening in a college classroom, not through surgery.
As soon as the procedure was over one of the "doctors" showed Veronica her son, holding him in front of her momentarily, but she could not touch him. She couldn't soothe his cries, or feel his tiny hand grasp her finger. She couldn't even whisper his name. All to soon he was whisked away from her, and Dr. Gillain began stitching her back up, speaking the entire time.
"I apologize that you can't hold him. Being unable to move makes that rather difficult. But don't worry. He will be well taken care of, and if you follow commands and orders you will be able to see him."
Veronica silently thanked God that she would be able to see her son, not even caring of what "orders" she could be given. At that moment nothing else mattered.
When Dr. Gillian finished stitching Veronica up he motioned for a soldier who'd been standing by the door to release her from her bonds.
"Don't worry about her fighting back. She won't have use of her limbs for another two hours at least," the doctor assured the soldier. Veronica was moved, none too gently, from the surgical table into a wheel chair. A blind fold was then placed over her eyes, probably to keep her from memorizing the layout of where she was held, and then she was moved to another room, far away from the surgical room. Or at least she hoped it was far away.
Veronica could hear the sound of a heavy door opening, the grinding of the metal hinges echoed through her head, making the headache she already had even worse. After having the blindfold ripped off of her Veronica was unceremoniously dumped from the wheelchair to the hard cement floor of what she could see was a holding cell, and the door was closed behind her. Her only blessing was that she wasn't chained to the wall, because she could just barely see a pair of shackles in the corner of her vision. Hopefully she would never be trapped within them.
If Veronica could move she would have curled herself into a ball, but all she could do was cry softly, and wish she were holding her tiny son in her arms.
...
When the door to the cell next opened two hours later, it revealed a pair of soldiers, and the man who had trapped her and killed her husband. The soldiers marched forward in unison and grabbed Veronica by her arms before hauling her to her feet.
"Hello Mrs. Hayes," said her captor smiling. "I do hope you're enjoying your stay."
Veronica managed to lift her head so that she was making direct eye contact with the man before her. "Go to Hell," she whispered. Instantly the smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by a look of pure rage. He grabbed his gun from its holster and shot Veronica in the shoulder, the bullet passing through and landing in the wall. He then walked slowly towards Veronica and stuck his finger into the fresh wound. Veronica screamed.
"Now you listen here, you little bitch. I own you, and if you want your little brat to live another day I'd suggest you do exactly as I say, when and how I say it. You will not speak unless given permission, nor will you attempt escape. Fail to comply, and I will snap your little bastard's neck myself. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Veronica weakly said.
"Good. Now then allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Hades, from now on, you will be addressed as Medusa. Your name is no longer Veronica so I suggest you forget it." Hades backed away and cleaned his now bloody finger with a handkerchief. "Food will be brought to you shortly. I suggest you eat it if you wish to see your brat tomorrow." With that the man exited the cell and the soldiers chained Veronica to the wall by her wrists.
It looked like she was to be made their prisoner after all.
...
True to his word, Hades returned only an hour later with a short Chinese woman named Jia Li Zhao. Or at least that was what her name tag said. Veronica wasn't sure if the names were real. She wouldn't be surprised.
"Rise and shine, Medusa," yelled Hades unnecessarily loud. His voice echoed through the cell and reverberated in her skull. Veronica hated it. "This is Dr. Zhao. She'll be in charge of your care, including of course your meals. Say thank you now."
Veronica looked up at Hades. If not for them holding her son hostage she'd spat at his feet and told him where he could stick it. Instead she did as she was told and meakly said, "Thank you." It seemed as though the words were not enough. Hades marched over, grabbed her face in his hands, and forced her to look into Dr. Zhao's eyes.
"I said thank her, now mean it," the man demanded.
"Thank you, for the care, Dr. Zhao," Veronica barely managed to say. Hades nodded his approval and released her from his grasp, stepping back with a smile.
"You're welcome, Medusa," said Dr. Zhao. She set down the tray of food which was revealed to be half a loaf of stale rye bread and a cup of murky water.
Veronica really didn't want to eat it. She needed better food, she just had surgery for crying out loud, but in her situation she knew beggars could not be choosers. She reached out her foot to pull the metal tray towards her, and within reach of her hands. She grabbed the bread first and tore into chunks before dunking it piece by piece into the water and eating slowly. The water helped to soften the bread and made it more bearable to eat. Once the bread was gone she quickly chugged the rest of the water, ignoring the chalky feel, and pushed the tray away with her foot.
Only then did Hades leave and Dr. Zhao picked up the tray before following her boss. The cell door was shut and locked behind them.
It wasn't long after they left that Veronica started to feel tired and weak.
'They must have... drugged the food,' she thought before she fell asleep, her head on her chest.
...
Veronica was awoken to the feeling of cold water making contact with her body. She opened her eyes to see that a soldier, one of her cell guards most likely, had thrown a bucket of ice water on her. The water dripped from her hair and into her eyes. It blurred her vision, making it hard to see the man.
The soldier stepped forward and grabbed Veronica's right wrist. He held a large thick chain in his hands, which he connected to the shackle on her wrist. He repeated the action with her other arm. Once he was finish he unchained her from the wall.
"Stand up!" the soldier yelled.
Veronica wished she didn't have to move. Her whole body screamed at her, and her stomach felt as though her stitches would be ripped apart from the slightest motion. But Veronica also knew that she needed to obey, or her son would pay the price. She slowly pushed herself off of the floor, using the wall for support. Hopefully the man holding her chain was a patient one.
Luckily for her he was.
As soon as she was steady on her feet the soldier began to lead Veronica out of the cell. They didn't bother blind folding her this time. She wondered why. The answer was revealed when she was led to a room with glass walls and a heavy metal door much like the one that sealed her into her cell.
Inside the glass room was a collection of doctors, and a bassinet like what would typically be seen in the NICU. Veronica's heart started to beat faster. Her son was in there. The soldier typed in a code on a key pad next to the door, and then another guard opened the heavy door. Veronica was roughly shoved inside.
"You get an hour, don't waste it," said the first soldier. He attached the chains to a chair that was next to the bassinet and then swiftly exited the room. Veronica didn't care about the doctors that were in the room with her. All she cared about was her son, her tiny two pound four once son who was hooked up to various wire and tubes that kept him alive. Veronica wanted to cry. Instead she opened her mouth and spoke to her son.
"Hi there. Hi, D.J.," she said. "Do you know who I am? I'm your Mommy. I know that this is scary, and it isn't fair, but it'll be alright. Mommy is going to protect you, I promise."
Veronica heard footsteps behind her and turned her head, expecting to see Hades or a guard, maybe even Dr. Gillian. Instead she was greeted by Dr. Zhao.
"Would you like to hold him?" The small Chinese woman asked.
"What?" Veronica wasn't sure that she'd heard the woman right, or that she'd heard her at all.
"You can hold him for a little while. Not too long of course, but your welcome to do so."
Veronica nearly cried at the words, actually a few tears had definitely made their way down her cheeks. "Yes, yes please. I'd like to hold my son."
Dr. Zhao nodded and opened the bassinet. She made sure all the wires and tubes were in place, and then carefully and gently laid the infant on his mothers chest. She checked the equipment again, making sure that nothing was impeded by the movement, and then walked away.
D.J. stirred just a little when Veronica raised her right hand to stroke his head, her left hand cradling his bottom, keeping him in place. He was her whole world now, and there was no way she was going to let him die. Not when she could protect him. Before she realized it, Veronica was singing gently, while rubbing gentle circles into D.J.'s back.
"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly. Lavender's green. When I am king, dilly, dilly, you'll be my queen. Who told you so dilly, dilly who told you so? T'was my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so. Call up your men, dilly, dilly, set them to work. Some with the plow, dilly, dilly, some with the fork. Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, some to cut corn. While you and I, dilly, dilly, keep ourselves warm. Lavender's green, dilly, dilly, lavender's blue. If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you. Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly. Let the lambs play. We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm's way. I love to dance, dilly, dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen, dilly, dilly, you'll be my king. Who told me so, dilly dilly. Who told me so? I told myself, dilly, dilly, I told me so."
What do you guys think? It's my first ever Marvel fan fiction. Normally I wouldn't add in a major oc, but I had a dream and was like you know what? I'm gonna make it into a fan fiction. Now obviously a lot of things are different from my dream, mainly because I don't remember half of it and never finished it, but I still thought it made a good basis for a fan fiction so here it is.
Unfortunately I don't know how often I'll be able to post new chapters, so the updates might be kind of slow, but we'll see.
Anyways, tell me what you think, and I'll see you all next chapter!