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Warning: attempted suicide.

Chapter 1: Something Other Than a Man

The first time Charlotte was taken, she had screamed and railed and fought tooth and nail. She didn't want to make anything easy on them, but soon she realized she needed them to let their guard down enough to learn what she needed to to make a break for it. So she'd gradually gave up fighting, appearing broken.

After being dragged back, being broken was less of an appearance. The fight wasn't in her like it had been the first time. All that was left was fear and anger. Those emotions were useless, and she couldn't act on them. She had to consider what to do with them. The fear was going to drive her to madness and the anger would burn her from the inside out. She didn't see much of another choice, except to bury them. So that's what she did. She buried it all down. She'd take everything they did to her and survive. No matter what, she would survive.

It had become a routine to be marched, or rolled in a wheelchair when she wasn't capable of walking, from her stark little cell to an exam room or a testing booth. She had lost count of how many times her blood had been drawn, her bones broken, how many tests were done just to push her limits, how many times she had been put under and woken up with a new surgical incision.

The day the Avengers had come to rain down hell on the Hydra base, she been unconscious and strapped down to an operating table. She'd later find out that it was Iron Man himself who had found her, and carefully carried her to safety.

Seven other women were saved that day, besides just Charlotte. One died before they could even make it back to the medical facility they were being taken to. Three more died in the days following the rescue. She wondered if death wouldn't be preferable to the existence they had been forced into. Especially, after finding out what the point of it all had been.

After a couple weeks the doctors were able to piece together what had been done to the women and why, but Charlotte could only seem to grasp the gist of what she was told. Hydra had been trying to engineer an army of super soldiers, but things got messy when you started the process with adults. So they'd decided to build from scratch. They would design the super solider from the DNA up. However, the average womb could not withstand a child with super strength, so they would need to make the surrogates more durable. Unfortunately, Hydra's scientists were having difficulty finding the right balance with their serum. They needed the women durable, but without too much added strength. Too strong and it would be too difficult to control the women. They were also having trouble finding the right subjects, because the serum they believed to be their answer, was also killing most of the people it was tried on. It appeared that Charlotte and the other women still alive were the few that the serum had worked as intended on.

Charlotte decided she needed to keep pushing the fear and anger down, and every other emotion for that matter. She knew herself well enough that if she tried to process this new information after so recently being rescued, she'd lose her sanity.

Two days after learning the facts of their situation, one of the other women tried to cut her wrists with a broken piece of glass. She'd healed too quickly to succeeded in killing herself. She was found howling in horror and rage and sorrow. The sound she'd made would forever echo in Charlotte's nightmares.

About a week later a man named Sam Wilson paid Charlotte a visit. The Avengers had found a file on her at the base that had interested them. He had questions for her, but they weren't like the ones the doctors and therapists asked about her health and what had been done to her.

"You managed to escape a Hydra base, and to evade all their agents that had been sent to take you back. That's impressive. You're impressive." Sam told her, sounding genuine.

She didn't respond, because that didn't matter now. Or maybe it was just her that it didn't matter to her now.

"I need to ask you about the man that finally did capture you," he continued. He didn't seem to take her lack of a response personal. "I understand if talking about it is hard, but anything you can tell me about your encounter with him would be very helpful."

"I don't know anything about him," she answered honestly. She hadn't given the soldier much thought since she arrived at the Avengers' medical facility.

"You're the first person we've come across that we've been able to confirm that has not only heard of him but has had direct contact." Sam gave her a look that was half apologetic and half hopeful.

Charlotte looked out the window they were sitting in front of as she gathered her thoughts. She didn't immediately answer, but when she did she notice it sounded like she could have been talking about the weather. "I thought staying as far off the grid as I could get was the best idea. I was avoiding anything I thought might tip them off. I knew they were sending people to track me, so I kept moving. I barely slept, I just kept going. I never saw him coming though. I had been trying to rest on the subway. It was late and the car was empty, and I thought I'd be safe enough for the time being to just stay put for a little while. I must have dosed off, because the next thing I know there's a man standing above me." She paused, remembering how he had loomed over her like some sort of monster parents should be warning their children about. "His face was covered by a mask and goggles. I managed to knock the goggles off, but only just barely saw his eyes, not the rest of his face, before he knocked me out. I woke up back at the Hydra base."

"Is there anything about him that stuck out to you?" Sam's voice was quiet, like he didn't want to push too hard.

"Aside from the metal arm?" she asked flatly.

Sam's mouth quirked up into almost a smile. "Every little detail helps."

She thought back, trying to remember. "The way he moved was very predatory. He was silent too, never said a word. But when I knocked his goggles off, I noticed his eyes were st - blue. I think they were blue." She caught herself from saying storm colored, because how do explain what color a storm was?

Sam gave her a business card when he left. On it was his contact information. He asked that she give him a call if she remembered anything else. She assured him that she had told him everything she could remember. She wondered about the Avengers interest in the soldier. He'd been terrifying, and nothing like anything she'd ever seen before. He'd been more weapon than human. Or maybe more dog than man since he was the one Hydra was using for retrieval. She thought if she ever allowed herself to feel anything again, she might hate the soldier.