A/N: Thanks to ThatStrawberryGirl for beta-reading! All Russian translations are in the end notes, if you are wondering:) Hope you guys enjoy! I know these past few chapters have been short compared to the ones before, but it's just because I want to keep this story going as long as possible. Thanks for reading,
Kate xx
TW: Mention of injury and blood.
Wanda sat with her back to the door, facing the wall. She had no idea how long it had been, maybe another day or so, but so far, other than that encounter with Dmitry a while ago, no one had made an appearance.
In a way, it was obviously a good thing. No visitors meant that no one came to potentially hurt her. But she was getting exhausted from the lack of food and water. Not that she felt like eating anything anyways. Yesterday, someone had come to unrestraint her silently, freeing her from the wall. It was an unfamiliar face, and he had left a glass of water for her, too. But since then, no one.
Wanda sighed, letting out a shaky breath. In normal circumstances, she would've cried, but honestly, she was so exhausted. In normal circumstances, she would've been hungry, too. On the second day (she thought it was, at least. It was hard to keep track) the guard, (that's what she was calling him, at least) had brought her two pieces of bread and an apple. She knew better than to eat it, though, so the water, fruit, and bread sat untouched by the door. From what little information she knew, the Red Room was just as ruthless as Hydra.
Wanda laid back from being slumped against the wall to stare at the ceiling. It was a very vulnerable position; one that if an intruder were to barge in, she'd have a hard time protecting herself, but she started to care less and less.
She thought about anything and everything, letting the happy memories distract her from the current situation.
She thought about her family. She missed how Nat was always there after a nightmare to comfort her, sing to her, and always stay with her while she fell asleep. Now she was caught up in the biggest nightmare of all, and her mother wasn't even there. She had no idea where she was, or if she was even safe. She missed her dad too, who would always try to make her laugh when she was sad, or scared. Who encouraged her to try new things, even if she didn't want to. He always knew best, because there wasn't one thing he encouraged her to do that she didn't end up liking. School was a prime example of that. She missed Uncle Clint, Auntie Laura, and her cousins. They were her best friends, even though they lived so far away. Before she had gotten into this mess, Nat had surprised her that they were going to travel back to Iowa with the Barton's for New Years. There was going to be fireworks again, and she had promised herself she wouldn't be scared this time. She didn't think she would be back in time for New Year's anymore. Probably every New Year's after that, too.
Wanda thought about her friends. She thought about Peter, and how he'd always take time out of his busy schedule to play with her and introduce her to typical kid things. She even missed Jamie. Other than the Barton's and Peter, Wanda never thought she would make friends. But Jamie had shown her, that despite how annoying he was, he was always there for her, and she never really appreciated that until now, when she had all the time in the world to think about it.
She missed the compound, too. At first, it was overwhelming, having her own bedroom, toys, clothes, and everything else. But she had gotten used to it. Gotten used to having a relatively normal life. Her mind shifted back to the stuffed horse Pepper had gotten her on her first night in America. The same stuffed horse that was sitting on her bed right now, and the same one she dragged into her parents' bedroom after every nightmare. She wished she had it. It always brought her comfort during scary times
Little did she know Nat was curled up on Wanda's bed with that stuffed horse to her chest. A tear rolled down her cheek as she let herself cry for her missing daughter.
She didn't know how long she had been lost in her own thoughts for, but it must've been as long time, because when she finally snapped out of her memories, it was because that Dmitry man was grabbing her wrist and slamming her against the wall to be restrained so fast, she didn't even have time to react. She internally blamed it on the vulnerable position she was in, but deep down, she knew it was because she was beginning to sink farther and farther into hopelessness.
Wanda was dazed, and she didn't make a peep. Dmitry stood back, at a distance, smirking.
"Do you even know why you're here, girl?"
Wanda was so stunned she actually didn't know for sure he asked her anything. But nevertheless, she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut.
"You are here, девочка, because of your mother."
"My…mother?" She asked. She tried to hide her fear, but she was honestly too tired.
Dmitry paced back and forth in the small room. Wanda never took her eyes off him, keeping her gaze fixed.
"She must've told you about the Red Room, da?"
"…Da." She squeaked. Wanda opened one of her eyes, but shut it almost immediately. It brought her slight comfort to have to answer the man without looking at him.
"Well then, tell me what you know."
Wanda didn't answer, which made him slam his hand as hard as he could on the concrete wall right beside her ear.
"Tell me!"
Wanda whimpered, a tear rolling down her cheek. Dmitry didn't dare touch her. He knew she was most dangerous when she was scared.
"I-I…" She stumbled, opening her eyes. He towered over her.
"I know it was a school, w-where they trained her. Ballet and fighting?" She whispered just loud enough for Dmitry to hear her.
Dmitry stopped pacing to stand directly in front of her.
"She was our best assassin. Черная вдова. Natalia Romanova killed with no remorse. Did anything that Madame B asked. The most talented fighter I saw in my day."
Wanda's eyes widened. She knew Natasha had a rough life. That she used to kill with no remorse. She had seen it with her own eyes back in Sokovia when she read her mind. But Natasha had been brain washed. It wasn't the real her. Anyone could see that, even a child like her. What made Wanda surprised was the fact that Dmitry said he knew her.
"Da, I knew Natalia Romanova." He took the words right out of her head. "I was a guard for the first Red Room. It was a powerful organization, the best in the country. It trained the most elite and deadliest assassins, your mother being the best. Until those Americans, S.H.I.E.L.D., brought it down. Your mother made the worst decision of her life, joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Because joining that corporation was going to get her killed by us, eventually."
"W-What?"
Dmitry gave her an evil smirk.
"You, my friend, are a pawn. Merely used to draw Natalia in. Once she's here," he held the gun up to his head, imitating death. "It's what she gets. Because of her, the best assassin training program in all of Russia fell. Most of them killed or imprisoned. She will die because of that."
Wanda let out a yell so powerful it turned the whole room scarlet red.
"No!" She yelled. "You won't kill her! She's too powerful!"
Dmitry laughed again, but Wanda could tell he feared her.
"Oh, but we are stronger, ведьма."
Wanda's eyes glowed an angry shade of red. She let out an ear piecing yell, and the red magic broke the restraints, sending them clanging against the ground. Her arms shot forward, sending glowing ball towards Dmitry. He went plummeting towards the back wall, slamming against it with the force she created. He lay there for a moment, failing to get up.
It was the first person she had hurt since Hydra, and it sent her into a fit of tears. But she wasn't guilty, just scared out of her mind.
Blood seeped out the back of Dmitry's head, but he wasn't unconscious. He slowly sat up, crawling forward. Faster than she could react, he pulled a gun, pressing it to the center of her forehead.
This was it. I'm gone forever. Gone to live with Pietro.
She let out another sob, mainly for Nat and Steve, and how she'd never see them again.
He cocked the thumb safety.
At the last moment, Wanda reached her arms out again, engulfing the gun in red magic. She sent it flying to the side, avoiding her head, but it was too late. Although it missed her forehead, she felt a burning pain in her forearm.
She looked down with wide eyes, to see a small hole in her arm. She covered it with her other arm, red seeping through her fingers. But not red magic. Red blood.
Her eyes and forehead glowed in defence.
Wanda's adrenaline was high, so it didn't hurt too much. Her hand dropped to the side, surrounded in red mist. Scarlet flames bounced from hand to hand.
Dmitry grabbed her injured shoulder, pulling her forward.
If it didn't hurt before, it did now. The harsh grab sent pain straight up her arm, and she felt herself wobble to the side, fighting to stay conscious.
"Дорогой Иисус Христос." She could hear him mumble to himself, dragging her out of the cell down the hall.
"You make one more move on me, girl, and I swear to God I'll put a bullet in your head instead of your arm." He spat in Russian.
It would've been the perfect time to knock him out and run, but she could barely hold herself upright. She looked behind her to see a trail of blood, and it scared her. She wanted her parents with her more than ever.
He pushed her harshly into a room that looked like a lab, and despite her defenceless state, she started to freak out. Labs meant drugs, and drugs meant she would be even more vulnerable to the evil man.
Dmitry shouted something to the doctors in Russian, and she didn't feel anything as they jabbed anesthetic into her uninjured arm, putting her to sleep.
As soon as the doctors started to work on closing the bullet wound, he left abruptly.
"Ivan," He pulled out his radio. "Call everyone down to the lab. I have a change in plans."
"Yes, sir."
As all employees made their way to the lab, Dmitry paced back and forth.
This was what you wanted. The Red Room never deserved to fall. You have the power and authority to bring it back. So do it.
"What did you need to talk to us about, sir?" A particularly young guard asked in Russian.
Dmitry motioned them all to the window of the lab.
"The girl is powerful. Much more powerful than I thought. It is taking the Black Widow and the Avengers much longer than I thought to find us here in Novi Grad. In the meantime, we put the girl to use. Once she's fixed up, I think she could be very useful to us."
"What do you mean by that, Kuznetsov?"
"I mean that Natalia Romanova was our best assassin back in the day, and she wasn't a witch. Imagine what that girl could do with the right training. She could be five times as powerful as the Black Widow. Our best assassin. I know our plan was to lure in the Black Widow, and we still will, but in the meantime we train her in her mother's ways."
"Who will train her? Madame B. isn't here anymore, Dmitry. It isn't a school anymore."
Dmitry shook his head aggressively.
"No academics, no ballet. This witch isn't human. She's much more powerful. As soon as the child is trained in fighting, she will be unstoppable. I know the perfect trainer." He said, eyeing a certain person, hiding in the back corner.
Translations:
Девочка- 'girl'
Черная вдова- 'Black Widow'
Ведьма- 'witch'
Дорогой Иисус Христос- 'Dear Jesus Christ'