Woo! I finally got this up! I am so sorry for not updating in a while. I spent all weekend studying for exams, and we're finally done with school, so updating should be faster, until I go on vacation. But until then, I shall try to update as much as possible! This took a while to update today because I got distracted by watching one of my favorite animes. XD Sorry about that! I'll try to be more active in the future for you all! I already have another chapter written down and almost finished the next one after that, so hopefully those will be up soon for you to read! Enjoy!

When I finally awoke from my torture, I found myself laying down in a bright white room. My head was pounding and my entire body ached. It was like my first day of combat training, except for ten times worse on the pain scale. My eyes had to get adjusted to the lighting before I could actually see what was around me. I was on a bed, but it wasn't my own. The room was clean and there was no barred window. I finally realized that I was in the Medical Bay. I looked at myself, seeing I was in a loose hospital gown, I had gauze over the minor burns on my body, there were scars on my arms and stitches on my upper torso, at least ones that I could see. I probably had more underneath the gown. My limbs were also in casts near the areas they were broken. I hurt all over, and it sucked. I made a small grunt as I completely awoke, finding my throat to be sore from all of my screaming during my torture. I was thirsty and hungry.

A young nurse with shoulder length black hair looked up from a file she was reading in surprise. "Oh! You're finally awake!"

I raised an eyebrow slightly in confusion. Finally awake? "H-How long was I out?" I rasped weakly, finding it a little hard to speak.

"Two weeks," she said softly.

I looked at her in surprise. How the hell could I have been asleep for two weeks without dying?

"We had to have a system hooked up to keep you hydrated and fed," she explained when she saw my expression, "but your mouth must be dry, huh?"

I nodded, and she gave me water. Unfortunately, due to my condition, she poured the water into my mouth for me and fed me soft food with a spoon. The cool water soothed my throat, and I found it easier to speak, however, my voice was only a soft whisper, "How long will I be here?"

"As long as it takes for you to recover from your condition," she said, "so probably around three to five months, including the physical therapy."

I nodded, "O-Okay. . ." I let out a tiny sigh of relief; my recovery time would give me a nice break from my missions and training. It would also give me time to form an escape plan. I couldn't stay here any longer than I had to, that was certain. I didn't want to feel the Headmaster's wrath again, not after what he had put me through last time. I looked at the nurse that had tended to my hunger and thirst and said quietly, "What's your name?"

"I'm Sonya," she said in a bright voice, "I've been put in charge of watching over you during your recovery."

I smiled a bit at this. She seemed nicer than most of the nurses here, almost like Anya. . . "I'm Mischa," I said softly.

"Mischa? I was informed that you didn't have a name."

"I didn't, but Anya named me," I said softly, trying to keep myself from tearing up.

Sonya nodded sympathetically, "Ah, I heard about what happened. Sorry for your loss. . ."

I nodded, "Thank you. . ." Then I closed my eyes. Sonya let me rest there for a bit, keeping a close eye on me to see if my condition got any worse. I spent most of my early recovery days sleeping and letting Sonya feed me when I was unable to use my arms. When I was improving a bit more, I was able to sit up by myself. When Sonya noticed this, she would have me periodically move my arms to get my strength back in them gradually. She said I wouldn't be able to move very well if I didn't do this, and although that would've been a good excuse to get away from missions and training, I didn't want to be weak when escaping. Later, when my strength was improving further, she'd have me move my legs while I was sitting up so that I would be able to walk around when I was ready.

Months after these exercises, I was finally able to stand up and walk, although my gait was still unsteady and I had to sometimes use the wall or other objects to help support me. When I had finally gotten a steady stance after trying to find balance, I looked into the mirror I was standing in front of and examined my body for the first time in a while. I was a ghostly pale again from months of being inside, and my entire body was covered in scares. From my head to my toes, there were ranges of small and large scars. My once unscathed face now had several small scars on it, over my nose, under my eyes, across my forehead, everywhere. I sighed and touched my face softly before looking at my collarbone, noticing a medium sized scar across it. I noticed, however, that it stretched further than that. Seeing as no one else was around, I lifted up my shirt and examined my back. My jaw dropped open in shock. Across my back was a huge, jagged, z shaped scar that stretched all the way down to my hips. It was still somewhat raw. I quickly put my shirt back on and looked away from the mirror. I couldn't stand looking at what had happened to me. I couldn't stand looking at myself.

Suddenly, a blaring alarm rang through the building. I looked up in confusion; we had never had an alarm go off before. What was happing? A voice barking out orders in the speaker answered my question, "All units, get into your positions, we are under attack." I raised an eyebrow at this. Under attack? Someone finally found the Hydra base? I was curious to see who was attacking us, but the attacker was unimportant at the moment. First things first, I needed to get out of the base, and this attack was the perfect opportunity for me to escape. I walked, or more like hobbled, over to the exit of my room and tested the door knob. It was unlocked. I guess they assumed I wouldn't be exploring the base again for a while yet. I opened the door and immediately crawled on my hands and knees through the shadows. I was too unsteady for the full on sneaking crouch.

A little further on, the nurses were bustling around the main room preparing for wounded soldiers to come through. They were too busy to notice me going out of the door. I stuck to the shadows as much as I could while sneaking through the halls and hid behind stairs and open doors whenever I saw a group of soldiers running by. I followed the route to the exit I always took to get outside for missions, but I found the huge doors closed. Damn. I heard faint explosions from outside and my hopes rose a bit more. They were attacking from this entrance. The attackers might be able to break the door down! I heard the sound of incoming footsteps and dove behind a box of cargo. Peeking carefully out, I saw a large squadron of soldiers reach the gate. The huge doors swung open for them and they ran outside. Now was my chance! I ran towards the doors as they slowly started to close, keeping to the shadows and staying light on my feet to be on the safe side. As the doors started closing, I hurried my pace so that I wouldn't get shut in. I jumped through the doors just before they closed and dove into the nearest hiding place, a large bush beside the building. I couldn't believe it! I was finally out!

I peered out of the bushes to finally see who the attackers were. They were a bunch of soldiers in uniforms colored similarly to Hydra's. They held guns and used vehicles that could shoot. They weren't that different looking from Hydra's soldiers, aside from the fact that their technology was less advanced. Perhaps they were using science for other things, too. They were all the same, and that saddened me. All but one. One attacking soldier stood out from the rest. One man, of the attacking side, wore a red, white, and blue uniform with a star on his chest. He had short, blond hair and face containing strong facial features. The thing that stood out the most, however, was his weapon. He wielded not a gun, but a shield of the same coloring to his uniform and he used it like a weapon. He threw it, he bashed with it, and he defended not only himself, but his comrades with it. And it never broke. Nothing seemed to be able to penetrate the man's shield. The sight of this was intriguing, to say the least.

I frowned slightly as Hydra brought out one of their newer weapons, their fire throwers. They were men adorning heavy armor with weaponized arms that shot out fire. They surrounded the enemy soldiers and sprayed fire at them, and the foreign soldiers were retreating. It almost reminded me of when I used fire, but not quite. I inspected the situation with my cold, calculating eyes and decided to help my "enemies". They had done little to no harm to me and were inadvertently helping me escape the hell I was born in. I might as well return the favor and help them out a bit from behind the scenes. I stared at the fire throwers and shot the fire they were spraying back into their arms, hitting their source for the combustion and causing them to explode. The enemy soldiers, or my new allies, looked confused for a moment at the spontaneous combustion before rushing towards Hydra and resuming their attack. I smiled at my accomplishment and felt a bit rebellious. Take that, Headmaster! I grinned at the thought of how everyone would react to this, and how they would never be able to hurt me for it, since I would be gone, and looked at the soldiers one last time before sneaking away from my prison. When I was far enough away, I stood up and walked towards a new life without looking back. I walked towards Moscow.