"What the hell did you do to me?" Her fingers dug into the skin of her thigh in an attempt to alleviate the pure hellish pain that tore at her mind. It felt like fire was consuming her mind and as someone who had literal flames in their body, the Dragon was not used to this sensation. She pushed off of the wall and planted her hands on the ground so she could expel watery bile onto the stone ground.
"We did nothing. In fact, we actually stopped doing something," Marina hummed. "My darling grandson, Anton, possesses the ability to control a person's mind. Isn't that magnificent?"
The Dragon raised her head to glare at the grinning woman. "And what does that have to do with me?"
Marina chuckled, low and rough, and patted Joel, or better known as Anton, on the hand. "After you left, Anton ensured that you remained wiped. Every step. Every mission. We were there."
"Wiped? What the fuck? How the fuck do I even know you?"
Anton snapped his fingers and if she thought the pain was bad before, then she would rather deal with that everyday than whatever the fuck this was. She was immobilized from the sheer numbing force of hell that consumed her mind. Gritting her teeth, an agonized yell ripped from the back of her throat and she stumbled back before collapsing onto her side in a fetal position.
A freezing cold room. Cots lined up next to one another. Sasha. A knife. She had to do it. Marina ordered her to kill her. She had to do it in order to advance to the next round. Her fingers were numb from the cold. Blood still stained her nail beds. She wanted to cry but she couldn't.
He was kind. Abraham showed her a side of humanity that she had yet to see before. He offered her some soup and bread. He saw how thin she was. She flinched when he raised his hand to open the cupboard. He apologized. He was her first friend and, in a way, almost a father to her. Abraham didn't leer after her enhanced blood. He knew exactly the dangers of placing it in the wrong hands. They would keep each other safe. They would be a family.
Blue. That was the color of the doll's dress. Blue depths. Dark and light. Blue like tears, the sky, and the color of veins when they press against pale skin. Blue like broken ice, berries, and the foam that spills out of arsenic laced mouths. And then there was a voice. A kind voice. He was a small man, sleight and weak. He held a sketchbook in his thin, bony fingers and when she took a look at the drawings she found herself holding back tears. Beautiful. Everything about him was different.
Red mingled with the blue. The red of blood dripping down from her nose and lip after taking a nasty hit. Bruised knuckles and bloody grins. Red and white and blue and the feeling of bliss that follows being fucked thoroughly by a lover. Her chest stained with red and not from his love but from war. Hot, seeping, burning red trickling its way out of her weaponized body and onto the floor as a reminder that she was never human to begin with. She was simply a rifle pointed to kill. She heard him beg her to open her eyes.
And she did. In the cold, sterile room. Doctors peered down at her, curiosity written in their eyes. She killed one. Maybe two. They told her to stop or he would be killed. They had him? Was he hurt? They wouldn't say. They wouldn't answer any of her questions. Marina smiled down at her as the syringe entered her arm. It burned. It felt like her very skin was sloughing off. Melting off. Dripping like wax onto the floor and leaving her charred corpse behind. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be.
Fire. Gold. Metal. Gun. SHIELD. Carter. Stark. Execute. Winter. Summer. Soldier. Spy.
She forced her eyes open and found herself strapped to a table once again. Her breath caught in her throat and she yanked against the chains to no avail. Panic rose in her chest and in her head and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't focus.
"Do you understand now, Ada Kennedy?" Marina cooed. "You were my father's greatest success. You were my greatest failure. I told you that I would get you back. My dear grandchildren are here to see my final wish through. You are going to kill Steve Rogers and tear down SHIELD. Alina!"
The second woman stepped up, electricity crackling from her fingertips. She lowered her hands to rest on either side of Ada's head.
"Why the hell are you doing this? If he can control me, what's the point in this?" Ada gasped out.
Marina paused in her pacing and stood at the foot of the table. "Oh…this is just for my own pleasure."
And the room erupted into light once more.