Screams rang out in the jail cell suddenly, automatically making Pietro tighten his arms around Wanda and Beatrix as they jolted awake. The three of them were sitting on the floor leaning against the stone wall as they slept, Pietro in the center as the two girls leaned against him and in his embrace. As they looked around and realized what was happening, immediately Wanda cowered into her brother's chest while Beatrix buried her face in the crook of his neck, both trying to block out the sounds of soldiers storming in and dragging two of their screaming cellmates away for god knows what.
"It's okay. It's okay." Pietro promised quietly, kissing the crown of Wanda and Beatrix's heads in turn. "They come in every week and haven't taken us yet. We will be safe."
He certainly hoped so at the very least. They had been here for 3 months, and they had not been taken. With any luck, they would hold out a little longer.
"Einer noch." The head guard said from where he stood at the cell door. Looking around thoughtfully, his gaze finally landed and he waved to the knit trio. "Besorgen Sie sich die Spanier." He said.
Instantly rough gloved hands were on Beatrix, yanking her from the Maximoffs.
"Beatrix!" The twins screamed, lunging for their friend as she was hauled away.
"Pietro! Wanda!" She cried, reaching for them between the dark figures.
"Beatrix!" Pietro screamed as he managed to duck around the guards holding him back, rushing after the ones dragging the frightened girl away. Reaching out, he was able to graze her fingertips before a guard knocked him on the back of the head, sending him tumbling down with a grunt of pain.
"Pietro!" Both Wanda and Bea screamed as he was sent down. While Wanda was able to rush to her brother's aid, that only left Beatrix to be dragged away, screaming for her fallen friend.
Hours.
She had been strapped to the table for hours.
Left alone in a small room, her whimpers had eventually died down to silent sobs as she listened to her former cellmates tortured screams echo down the castle walls until they were abruptly cut off. Wanda and Pietro had explained to her in the past why they had agreed to sign up for this experiment, but they had also admitted that they did not know what the experiment had entailed or what exactly the procedure was. So, as she was left trembling in her new hospital scrubs, Beatrix's only fear was that she would never get to warn her dear friends what exactly it was they had signed up for.
"This will be the last one for today." She heard Dr. List say as he and other men approached the room she had been left in. "With so many failures, I want to gain some sort of success before we start experimenting with Strucker's favorites."
As soon as she heard this, she began to whimper once more, immediately knowing who he had been referring to. Biting her lip, she desperately tried to silence her cries as the door opened and List joined her side. The surprise that rushed through her however matched the look of shock on List's face when he recognized her.
"What on earth is Miss Braedon doing in here?" He asked, looking at the soldiers.
"We needed one more, so-" A soldier began to say before being cut off.
"No no no. If Strucker finds out you brought her in early, he'll kill you." List shook his head. "Take her back to the others and find someone else." As the soldiers began to untie her, he smiled at her kindly. "I'm terribly sorry about all this, my dear."
"Cummon, let's get going." A guard growled as he pulled her off the table.
She hardly resisted as she was lead away, her eyes widening at the sight of an odd spear with a blue glowing gem at the centre before she was dragged out of the room. As she was dragged along, she choked back another sob as List's voice followed her through the castle hall. "Your day is coming soon, just not today."
In the holding cell, Pietro and Wanda sat huddled together, Pietro having regained consciousness not long after Bea had been taken away and his sister looked over the bump on his head. Other than telling him he had been lucky to have only gotten away with a bump rather than a gash they wouldn't have been able to clean, neither twin had said anything to the other. All they could see and hear in their heads was their friend being dragged off, the look of terror on her face and her helpless screams for them. That would be the last image they would have of her too, for everyone who was dragged away for experimentation never returned.
Their heads snapped up however in hope as guards marched to the cell door, dragging someone in hospital scrubs with them. The moment Pietro caught a glimpse of the familiar black curly hair, he jumped up and ran for the cell door as it was opened, ignoring the guns that were pointed his way. "Beatrix!" He shouted in relief, his arms spread wide.
This proved to be a good move as the guards threw Beatrix into the cell, and directly into his arms, allowing him to catch and hold onto her tightly. "Pietro…" She gasped, her knees giving out beneath her as she threw her arms around his neck, entwining her fingers in his hair as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"Everything is fine, Printessa. You're here now, I have you. I won't let anyone touch you." He whispered, pressing kisses to her temple and forehead.
"Pietro, pensé que nunca volvería a verte, yo estaba tan asustado." She began to cry in Spanish, leaving Pietro only able to pick out his name.
"It's alright, Bea. I have you." He promised blindly.
"¿Qué van a hacer con nosotros? Estoy tan asustado." She stopped suddenly, looking at him in fear.
"Who was the one that took Miss Braedon?" Strucker yelled as he walked into the hallway outside the cell door. Instantly Bea cowered into Pietro in fear. The guards, realizing List had been right, said nothing.
List betrayed them however by pointing the culprits out. "It was them."
"Oh." Strucker smiled coldly before taking out a pistol and firing at two of the men, effectively killing them. Many of the subjects in the cell screamed in fear, averting their gazes from the now dead men. In the centre of the room, Pietro pressed Bea's face into his shoulder to shield her away from the momentarily crazed man. "Let it be known, if any of you touch the twins or the Spaniard, you too will meet the same fate. Is that understood?"
No one spoke, all too shocked from what just happened to respond. Feeling that his point had been made clear, Strucker stalked away with List close behind.
With the men now gone, Beatrix began to openly cry, her tears and screams muffled and absorbed by Pietro's sweater and body. As he back peddled them to their spot against the wall and lowered them to the ground to sit with Wanda, he held both girls close to him as they cried. "Promise me you two will always stay by my side?" He asked, combing his fingers through their hair soothingly.
"Promise." Wanda sniffled.
"Siempre." Bea sobbed.