Author's Note: I just want to say that the face claim for Emma is actually Elle Fanning. I just wanted to mention that since she's the one in the cover of the story which I didn't create. The cover was created by angaran who did an amazing job. I really suck at making covers but the one angaran made is really beautiful. There's also a trailer that knarl made that's on youtube although the face claim in the trailer is Chloe Grace Moretz which is only because that actress has had way more action type scenes in movies than Elle Fanning. It's an amazing trailer and I'm so glad to see that I have fans of this story who are much more creative and tech savvy when it comes to that stuff. Here's the link to the trailer. I'm not sure if it'll work.

watch?v=WCnFOnDuOW4

I'm currently re-editing this story as of 4/29/2018. Long time readers of this story don't be alarmed because I'm not really changing it. I'm just fixing some of the mistakes within the story so don't fret.

"Sir, I think she's ready for the program." Colonel Karpov said in his usual thick Russian accent. He was walking beside a slightly shorter and older American man who looked like the kind grandfatherly type which stood out against all the slimy looking men occupying the Hydra base. From the older man's stance, you could tell he was someone of great importance. Karpov seemed slightly nervous as he awaited the American's answer.

"How could she be ready? She only just turned six." The man said and Karpov gulped at the man's sharp tone.

"Well, she's far more advanced than what we originally thought. She's already passed all of our evaluations and she's now proficient in several languages." Karpov paused as he decided to add in something else. "She soaked up every lesson the asset taught her and I think it would prove to be beneficial to us if we started the program right now." The American man sighed as he stopped walking and turned to look at Karpov.

"And why's that?"

"Well, the sooner we can train her, the sooner we can send her out in the field. Right now she's too fragile to do any real sparing with the Winter Soldier even with what's left of Erskine's formula in her." Karpov informed the stately looking man. "If we can inject her with Stark's leftover serum then she could train with the Winter Soldier right away." The American man stood back and thought long and hard about what the Russian colonel just told him. It was true. Emma was stronger, faster, and smarter than the average six year old…Hell, she was almost as strong as a full sized man with her grandfather's leftover super soldier serum that managed to be passed down to her.

However, it still wasn't enough for them.

The original plan was to obtain Emma Rogers and then prepare her for her destiny with Hydra. She was too young to understand how powerful of a weapon she was going to be for them. They had the Winter Soldier but if they had Emma then Hydra would be unbeatable. It was all they could hope for since the previous Winter Soldier program failed. It didn't look like they would be able to use those other super soldiers anytime soon so the Viper Assassin program was the only hope they had left. Emma specifically was the only hope they had left. The older American man looked back at a hopeful Karpov, his decision already made.

"Wait another year and by then she'll be ready for us. Send me all recordings of her training sessions in the meantime; I want to keep an eye on her progress." Karpov nodded furiously as he agreed to the man's request.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Pierce. Thank you." Alexander Piece clapped a hand against Karpov's shoulder, giving him a friendly smile.

"Don't mention it, Karpov. Good job by the way. Hydra appreciates your hard work." Karpov smiled in return, humbled by the fact that one of the head operatives of Hydra was congratulating him. There was nothing better he could ask for. Pierce gave him one last look before walking away from the excited colonel.

This would prove to be an eventful year for Hydra.

"Colonel Karpov, Sir?" Emma asked and the colonel in question gave her a glare. They were in "The Cold Room" again which was where Emma was permitted to focus on her studies. She knew that the colonel hated when she spoke English but he had been more laid back on the language ever since she had proven to be fluent in various other languages. Emma was currently reading a book about Sudan's economics, required reading apparently, when the question popped into her head. It wasn't the first time she had thought of the question but it was definitely the first time she had gathered enough courage to ask it.

"What?!" He hissed and Emma tried to bury any fear of another beating before she answered.

"Where is Winter?" This threw Karpov off as he stared back at the nervous looking six year old.

"What the hell are you going on about, girl?" He demanded and Emma forced herself not to feel frightened.

"I was just wondering where the Winter Soldier is, sir? He's supposed to be my trainer but I haven't seen him in months." She replied in a quiet voice. Karpov noticed the way she talked now differed from when she first came to the Hydra base two years ago. The girl had talked too much like an infant for his liking then but now she talked like an adult. That was the way it was supposed to be, after all. The girl learned fast but not fast enough, apparently, since she had the audacity to demand answers from him like he was her servant.

"How dare you ask such things, you silly little girl!" He raised his hand up to strike her but for the first time Emma didn't flinch. She stared back at him like she expected him to do it. The action slightly unnerved the colonel and he was reminded a little too much of the Winter Soldier. But that's what Pierce wanted, wasn't it? He wanted another Winter Soldier…a new and improved Winter Soldier to be precise.

"Well, you seem to finally be learning." Karpov commented but Emma didn't falter. She seemed to be determined to get an answer and Karpov admired her for that. It was about time she stopped acting like a child because Hydra was no place for children.

"Not that it's any of your business, anyways, but the Winter Soldier has been briefly compromised so he's currently being reevaluated until he's fit for duty." Karpov told her. Emma knew that it was a lie and it was all thanks to the Winter Soldier himself. One of the tactics he had shown her was showing her how to detect lies. It seemed to come in handy at the moment. Even though Emma knew that it was a lie, she didn't dare call Karpov out on it. She knew enough to know that she could get away with questioning the colonel once but certainly not twice.

"Your training will be continued with Agent Rumlow until further notice." Karpov told her. Emma stared at him in surprise because the name sounded eerily familiar to her ears. Rumlow? She knew that name but she just couldn't remember where from. It didn't matter who the man was to Emma. Training wouldn't be the same as it was with the Winter Soldier. She had a strong feeling that this Rumlow guy might not be as patient with her as the Winter Soldier.

Unfortunately, Emma had turned out to be right about the mysterious man known as Rumlow. She realized who he was the second Karpov walked her inside the training room and she desperately wanted to run back out. Rumlow turned out to be the man with the wolf like smile…the same man who murdered her parents and stole her from her home. She had seen him around the base when she first arrived but then he was gone which she had been grateful for. Nothing had changed much about him. He still had the same dark eyes and sinister grin but now the large cut that had been on his face had scarred, making him look even scarier than she had remembered.

"Long time no see, kid." Rumlow said, smiling at her in the same way he always smiled at her in her nightmares. Emma struggled not to show any signs of fear as Karpov walked her up to Rumlow.

"Agent Rumlow, it's nice to see you. We're most appreciative of your time here at the base since we all know you're one of Pierce's most decorated agents." Karpov complimented but his tone sounded cold…like he had said the compliment many other times.

"Don't mention it, Colonel, I had to make time so I could see my favorite girl." It was clear that the comment was directed more to her than it was to Karpov. The way he said it chilled Emma right to the bone. She wished more than anything right now that she was anywhere else other than the training room with Rumlow. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Are you not going to answer, you stupid girl?!" Karpov demanded when Emma didn't say anything. "This is your superior and he demands your respect!"

"Yes, of course, sir." Emma replied as she looked from Karpov back to Rumlow. Rumlow didn't look offended in the least but instead looked amused.

"Calm down, Colonel, the kid didn't mean anything by it. Besides…there will be plenty of time to learn respect while we train." Rumlow told the Russian, giving Emma a wink. The action did nothing to comfort her and she instead dreaded the training lessons she would have with him. She already knew that any training lesson with him wouldn't be as gentle as the ones with the Winter Soldier.

"Of course, Agent." Karpov replied and Rumlow glanced back at Emma, not even paying attention to Karpov. His dark eyes were locked onto Emma's figure as Karpov continued to speak. Emma felt a flood of fear surge through her as she tried to keep eye contact with Rumlow, refusing to get another beating from Karpov just because she showed weakness.

The way his dark eyes glinted as he looked her over gave Emma a sick feeling and she could also feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. There was something about the way he stared at her that gave the young girl a very bad feeling. The words "Stranger Danger", her parents tried teaching her, echoed through her head over and over again.

There was something about this man that was wrong. Something that made him seem like the real life bogeyman to Emma and it went beyond what she saw him do to her parents. Emma knew then, from her gut instinct, that this man was far more dangerous than the Winter Soldier and Colonel Karpov combined. It was a different kind of danger. A more sinister kind that made Emma freeze in her steps.

"You're a lot like your mother, you know that?" Rumlow told her, cutting off Karpov and interrupting the young girl's thoughts. Karpov looked like he wanted to yell at Rumlow for the interruption but the Russian was also curious about what Rumlow had to say. He speculated that it could be a move that would benefit the small girl, not for her own sake, but for their own perhaps. Emma's eyes widened in surprise as the man mentioned her mother. Karpov sometimes mentioned her mother but he never went into detail about her. She was desperate for information about her parents even if that information came from the man who killed them.

"You knew my parents?" She asked in a small voice and Rumlow smirked.

"I knew of your dad but your mother I definitely knew. We practically grew up together…your mom and I." Rumlow told her and Emma hastily soaked up the information he gave her.

"Really?" Rumlow nodded.

"Yes, she was a curious little thing and was always getting herself into trouble." Emma just stared at him as he told her more about her mother. She wanted to know things about her mother that made her mother more of a person in her mind than a distant fading memory. Emma wanted to know her mother's favorite color. She wanted to know what her mother liked to eat and what she thought was terribly gross to eat. Maybe her mother's favorite animal was a dog or maybe it was a lion. These were all things that Emma didn't know but would desperately love to find out about her mother.

"Were you friends with her?" She asked innocently and Rumlow stared at her like a predator might stare at it's prey.

Emma looked awfully like Margot in that moment even though the small girl shared more looks with her father than she did with her mother. Margot always had that look of innocence going on about her. Something that always allowed her to gain the upper hand in fights and Rumlow could tell that it would also be Emma's greatest strength. Although, Emma had the Rogers' famous blonde hair and blue eyes, everything else was her mother. It made Rumlow all too painfully aware that she might look a lot like Margot once she was all grown up. The same stunning pixie looks that would break a million hearts.

"Yes, I was." Rumlow replied in a flat tone. Emma desperately wanted to punch him or kick him in retaliation. Then why did you kill her? She wanted to scream at him. If she was his friend then why did he have to kill her? Doesn't everyone have a choice? That's what her father used to tell her whenever she got into trouble. Rumlow didn't look the least bit remorseful over the murder of her parents and that filled the small girl up with more rage than she had ever felt before.

"You hate me." Rumlow said but it wasn't a question…it was a statement. "That's good. Use that anger and rage. You're going to need all the help you can get."

His statement angered Emma even more because it sounded so patronizing to her ears. All the adults talked to her like that, except for the Winter Soldier of course, but hadn't she earned the right to be spoken to like an adult? They were always forcing her to think and act like a grown-up yet they still treated her like the child she was. Emma glared at him, her mind filled up with so much hate and anger that it nearly blinded her.

Emma made a promise that day. She made a promise to herself that one day, when the time was right, she would murder the man with the wolf like smile just like he murdered her parents. Emma would listen to everything he had to teach her and she would use it against him when she was strong enough.

For now, however, she would just have to wait.