When she woke, her memories seemed faded….as if someone had tried to use an eraser on them. The words from the chair were at the forefront of her mind, she tried mentally to push them away but they only returned stronger. A fog moved into her mind and settled onto her subconsciousness...encroaching on her consciousness, the words wanted to take over her mind. Groggily, Aubrey sat up and moved down from the wooden plank bed to her space by the wall. Everything ached when she moved and Aubrey pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, waiting for the throbbing and overwhelming dizziness to leave. When it didn't she moved her head between her knees, whispering,
"My name is Aubrey Cristo...I'm...somewhere….I will not let them destroy who I am….Maybe the police will find me"
She vaguely heard footsteps coming down the hallway and a heavily accented man's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Ahh, fraulein, you are far from the clutches of the Americans. We will make you a powerful person. We will turn you into the weapon you were always meant to be. The words Hail Hydra will forever be on your tongue." The man stood right outside the metal-barred door to her cell. He stood there with a black military-style black jacket, on it was printed a bright red skull with tentacles. Aubrey's eyes moved back up to the man's blank eyes as he continued to speak. "You, little fraulein will be even greater than our Winter Soldat. You brought us your wings and your powers, we will do the rest. Hail Hydra" he chuckled darkly before walking away from her cell, disappearing down the hallway.
Hydra. The name echoed in Aubrey's mind as she vaguely remembered her father quizzing her on the group.
"When were they first known by the United States?" He'd asked.
"During World War two, they were part of the German research division but broke off to become something..deadlier." She had answered, eager for more questions.
"Why are they a danger to you Aubrey?"
She'd hesitated but her father waited patiently as she thought of an answer. "..I...they are a danger to me because they know who I am…..Right Dad?" She looked up at her father and he smiled sadly as his daughter.
"They know who you are and know who they want you to be my darling." His low voice rumbled as he pulled her into a hug, whispering "But I will never, ever let you go. Even if they find us we will always be looking for you, even if they make you forget in here-" he paused and pointed to her head, "- they will never be able to make you forget in here" he pointed to her heart before kissing her forehead lightly.
"K Squirt?"
"K Daddy" she smiled and hugged him once more before getting down from the table and going to her room to play, ignorant of the tears in her father's eyes.
Aubrey shook her head to clear it and puffed a breath out of her lips, processing the information. She continued to keep it in the forefront of her mind until what she thought was the next day when the handler came again. She was taken from the cell and the day was repeated, the day after was the same. Until one day, Aubrey was taken to another room, this one had a medical bed with an I.V stand beside it. She lowered herself down into it and watched as a man in a white coat stuck a pick line into the crook of her elbow. It stung but when her handler brought a small syringe of blue liquid over and it was pushed into her bloodstream it was as if liquid fire was in her veins. It was like ice and fire all at once, flooding her body and making her feel feverish and weak. Aubrey's vision tinged blue and something else pricked into her neck, within seconds she was out.
She woke on a mattress and immediately felt a new strength in her bones. Aubrey's body screamed with every movement but she was able to work her way into a sitting position, leaning against the wall and observing her meager upgraded cell. It was cleaner and the lights dimmer. Her mattress sat on the floor and the ankle chain was gone. A metal door that sat in the middle of the wall in front of her chirped before opening. Her handler strode in, his face relaxing slightly when he saw she was awake.
"Ahhh Der Adler is awake. Stand up, it is time we tell you what is happening." But Aubrey stayed put and when her handler saw that she had no intention of moving he strode over and roughly picked her up by the shoulders, setting her on her feet. Aubrey wobbled as pain shot up her arms and legs, unsteady on her feet as the blood rushed to her head, making everything go black for a few moments. But He didn't care. The Handler roughly pulled Aubrey along to the room with the metal chair. Nightmares flickered in her mind as she remembered the chair. A shudder tittered it's way down her back as the man shoved her into the chair, her body starting to tremble, the pain of it still fresh. The man crouched in front of her face and growled.
"Fraulein, Adler. We have been testing you to see if you are truly worthy of being our Adler. You have tested very high and so yesterday they injected you with your first round of serum. This serum is going to make you a strong and powerful Adler." Aubrey cut him off, her voice seething with fury
"My name is Aubrey, not Adler or Eagle. Just Aubrey." she was going to say more but was silenced when the man's hand slapped her cheek. Tears pooled in her eyes as she felt her cheek grow hot with agony, holding in a shuddering breath she quietly listened to the man
"You are The Adler and nothing else! Do you hear me, Adler?" Aubrey shook her head, saying quietly
"No"
"What did you say?" Venom was in the man's voice
"I said NO!" despite where she was, Aubrey reached out and pushed the man away from her. Suddenly the chair came alive, clamping down on her legs and wrists, Aubrey screamed, writhing to get away. Cold metal plates slammed against her forehead and she felt the machine's low hum rumble in her chest. Fear blossomed and she screamed
"NO PLEASE NO, I WANT TO REMEMBER" but she was ignored, she felt as if the memories were being pulled right out of her head. Voices spoke in the background and familiar words seemed to slice through everything but Aubrey tried desperately to hold onto the last shreds of her sanity..of...her mind before it slipped away….along with her consciousness…
You will never forget us in here…. Her father's words echoed as Aubrey was pushed away, molded into something new.
The fog in her subconscious thickened, taking over and shrouding any thoughts and memories, burying them deep where they would not be found again.
She knew something wasn't right when she woke but a voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Adler!" Her eyes fluttered open but her body involuntarily stiffened "Wie lautet dein Name? [What is your name?]
She felt something bubbling in her mind but the fog quickly covered it and German smoothly flowed from her mouth.
"Mein Name ist der Adler, Sir" [My name is The Eagle, sir]. With those words the fog became impenetrable and she realized they were going to give her a mission. The Eagle's blank eyes gazed at her handler who was warily watching from the door to her room.
"Steh auf und folge mir" [Get up and follow me] The man growled, watching her mechanic movements as they left the room. He took her to a weapons room, hanging on a hook was a medium-sized tan backpack. He took it off the hook and handed it to her, she took it without question but felt confusion welling up.
"Diese gehören dir, sie verwandeln sich in Flügel. Es ist Zeit für Ihre erste Mission." [These are yours, they transform into wings, it is time for your first mission.]
The Eagle nodded as she slipped on the backpack, vaguely it was then that she noticed her hair had been jaggedly cut and pulled into a braid. They went to the meeting room and her handler greeted another man sitting at a table, but in the corner, shrouded in shadows was another. Eagle's spine stiffened and her hand clenched as she examined the man in the corner. He was heavily armed and his left arm was in a black glove. His blank eyes met hers and something flashed in them but Eagle's clouded mind brushed past the detail.
"Commander" Eagles handler acknowledged, the Commander nodded and spoke, his voice gruff
"Lieutenant, Adler, Soldat,-" He paused and looked directly at Eagle's blank eyes, his tone of voice changing. "-Adler, you will be accompanying the Soldat on this mission. One target, one night. No Witnesses. Target is a level five male who we suspect has caught wind of one of our agents working in his company. Soldat has been briefed on the rest of the details." Commander looked to the man in the shadows, waiting until Soldat muttered robotically.
"bereit, die" [Ready to comply]
Eagle ran her eyes over his blank face again, sizing up her partner…..He looked so familiar. But when she tried to remember his face a sharp pain shot across her mind and Eagle winced.
"Adler? Was ist los" [Eagle? What is wrong] her Handler had stiffened and he now watched her with unkind eyes. Her spine straightened and the answer flew out of her mouth.
"Mein Kopf tut weh, Herr" [My head hurts, Sir]
"das... zu erwarten ist. Fahren Sie mit der Mission fort." [That...is to be expected, continue with the mission.] The commander cut in, not giving her handler time to respond.
"Es könnte ein Rückfall sein Sir" [It could be a relapse Sir] Eagle's Handler said
"Die Ärzte versicherten mir, dass alles begraben und die richtigen Informationen eingebracht worden seien." [The doctors assured me that everything had been buried and the correct information put in.] The commander snapped, motioning for Eagle and the Soldat to go. She slipped from the room, waiting until Soldat had taken the lead. He led her through the twisting maze of the facility and she kept a mental map of their pathways until they were in a weapons room. A sleek black uniform lay on a table, along with a duffel bag. Soldat nodded to it before striding with purpose to an adjoining room that looked to be full of guns. Eagle slipped off her black shirt and pants, putting on the jumpsuit and zipping up the side. Pockets lined her legs and hips, various straps along her torso and back. Eagle nodded affirmingly at the suit, satisfied with its usefulness. Her eyes wandered to a wall full to the brim with bows and arrows. One, in particular, caught her attention, its shape caused something beneath the fog in her mind to try to surface but another pain flashed in her head and Eagle shook her head, letting the fog clear her independent thoughts.
She unhooked the bow from the wall and ran her hand down its sleek design, vaguely aware of His presence in the other room. Setting the bow on the table, her hands wandered to the straps of the backpack, her instincts told her to tap them. Her thumbs brushed the surface of the straps and immediately the backpack began to whir, the tan leather disappeared as two wings unfolded, their silvery, gold feathers shining in the light. The wings whirred and groaned as they relaxed, spanning from her knees to just above her head. The metal frames were covered in black fabric and the feathers rustled as the jets started to hum. The gloves that were attached to her jumpsuit winked in the light and Eagle watched as talons sprouted from her gloved fingernails, they glinted as she inspected them, flexing her fingers. Eagle felt surprise bubbling up in her mind as her hand reached back to touch the jets, she was even more surprised to find that a quiver of arrows had been built into the suit, along with a slit for a bow to slide into. In the middle of the bow was a silver ingrained picture of a winged person preparing to shoot, for a moment she gazed at it with wonder but then realized it was made for her. Eagle slipped the bow into place, brushing past the emotions bubbling beneath the fog as she slid throwing stars and knives into their places in the pockets on her suit. She still has He came up beside her, taking the duffle back and heading silently towards the door. Eagle turned and quietly followed. The lower half of his face was now covered with a black cowl and the top half had goggles covering his eyes. They came to a set of stairs that led to a rooftop, icily cold winds blew mercilessly across the roof as he typed something into a control panel. A helicopter rose from beneath a metal plate that scraped away. Soldat turned to her, his gravelly voice spoke and his words were swept away by the wind but Eagle's enhanced hearing picked it up easily.
"Fliegen Sie neben dem Hubschrauber, wird es auf dem Weg nach draußen benötigt werden." [Fly beside the helicopter, it will be needed on the way out.] He held out a commlink and she took it, inserting it into her ear as he got into the copter. It lifted into the air and Eagle ran towards the edge of the facility, jumping off and spreading her wings, catching an updraft that launched her into the sky. For a moment something bubbled up inside of her but by the time it had reached her mouth the feeling had vanished. The helicopter was a shadow in front of her and the landscape below blurred, blindly The Eagle flew through the sky until both soldiers came to land at the top of a skyscraper, one of many that dotted the city in front of them.
This is my mission. The phrase blared in Eagles mind as she looked out over the city.