Ah! Finally found the time to type this up! Study Hall definitely helps me with my writing, and allows me to not get distracted as easily as I normally do! I'm almost done writing out the draft of the next chapter too, so I'll hopefully have that up soon for you all! Anyway, enjoy!

After my mental examination had been completed, Dr. Gorev had Officer Vazov escort me out of the room to pack what little belongings I had. Later, they drove me to the nearest orphanage and dropped me off there. Apparently this was the easiest way to get all of the legal adoption pages together. I was instructed to wait until Steve was able to stop by and adopt me. The wait was rather excruciating. I was stuck with a bunch of idiot kids who thought they were the gods of the universe or something like that. A few of the boys had scowled at me as I had entered the room. One particularly tall and scrawny boy stalked up to me like a cat and sneered, "Ah, so it seems we have fresh meat here. A tiny small fry!" He hacked up some spit and shot it towards me, which I easily sidestepped and gave him a venomous glare.

Another, rather rotund boy spoke up, "How 'bout you give 'er a warm welcome?"

The first boy grinned, "That's just what I was planning." He then launched his fist clumsily at me. I dodged it with ease, holding back the urge to laugh at him for his attempt. He grumbled angrily and then threw a flurry of punches while I was still easily dodging them. This kid was an amateur at best. With an angry growl, he put all of his might into his next punch and I grabbed the fist in my hand, stopping his efforts altogether.

"Pathetic," I said in a low voice, clenching the fist I held and causing him to wince slightly at my surprisingly strong grip. The current healthy diet definitely improved my physical prowess. Before he could try and escape from my grasp, I quickly grabbed his wrist with my other hand, letting go of his fist and snaking my hand up to his arm, flipping him over my shoulder and pinning him on his stomach to the ground, his arm twisted behind him in my hold. I put my knee between his shoulder blades as I held him and hissed slightly, "You have no direction to your punches! Where the hell did you learn to fight? Were you taught by a fucking six year old? Learning how to throw punches is the most basic lesson! Gods, how did you survive this long?" I then let go of him and backed off so he could scramble to his feet.

He looked at me and stared in utter astonishment how someone as small as me could put him down so easily. "Where . . . how did you do that?" he stuttered slightly. I could tell how frazzled he was, as his blue eyes were frozen wide open, and he didn't bother to smooth out his ruffled, black hair.

I shrugged and responded coolly, "It's called being able to actually fight," I responded, and then looked around me. Every other orphan kid in the room was staring at me with wide eyes, their jaws dropped in shock.

One short, redheaded kid spoke up, "Wait a minute . . . she's one of dem thieves on the street, ain't she? Yeah, got all dem wanted posters put all o'er the place."

Another one spoke up, "Yeah! That's the one! Waddaya doin' in 'ere then, if yer so hard ta catch?"

I sighed and looked away. I had been hoping that no one would recognize me. Now it would be harder for me to leave Russia unnoticed. "I chose to be caught," I said simply.

The redhead spoke up again, "Why?"

I snapped at them, "Because I was fucking tired of fighting every single day to survive! Now stop with the questions, dammit!" I stalked away from the surprised group of kids, muttering angrily to myself, "Careless, stupid . . . they just had to recognize me back there! Now Hydra will be able to figure out that I let myself get adopted! Shit!" In my hasty march away from the crowded room, I eventually found an empty room with chairs scattered around and sat in there, waiting for Steve to come pick me up.

While waiting, I was left to think by myself. Naturally, my mind wandered to all that had happened to me up to this point, which was a very traumatizing experience for one as young as I. My mind brought up memories of Hydra, and how terrified and lonely I was there. The Headmaster was a cruel and cold man, with both his training and his form of punishment. He murdered the only person I could trust there. He murdered the only one I thought to be a mother, and he vanquished all that which had still been innocent in me. Witnessing his treatment to Anya, and how he had lied to me, filled my mind with sorrow and rage. His cruel eyes reminded me just how different he was from Steve. All of the hatred and cruelty in the Headmaster's eyes had equal amounts of kindness and generosity in Steve's. The man who would be my future family was one of the nicest people I had ever met. He took me in without even question where I was from, and he only wanted the best for people. He was a hero to me, saving me from Hydra and starvation. And for one in my life, I finally had someone to idolize. I wanted to follow his footsteps. I wanted to be as good as he was. I would no longer be a tool for the world, I would be someone like Steve Rogers.

I now had two goals in my life. The memory of Anya filled me with sorrow, but I could at least attempt to quell those sorrows. I could avenge her murder. With time, I could grow stronger and more deadly, and end the Headmaster's evil reign. I could learn to save people like Steve, while working up the courage to end that which should have never existed. The silent vow made to my dead mother renewed me with strength and vigor. My amounts of training and my desire to do something important in life made this goal of revenge seem very real. I just had to be patient and play my cards right.

The woman who was behind all of the adoption procedures broke my thoughts with her rather shrill voice, "Someone's already here to adopt you."

I looked up to the woman, "Me?"

"Yes, you. Who else would I be talking to in this room? Hurry up!"

"Yes ma'am," I said softly before standing up and following her to her office. Once we entered the room, I immediately saw Steve sitting in one of the empty chairs. "Steve!" I ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

He smiled and chuckled softly, "Hey! Glad to see you're okay!"

"Are you sure about this choice, sir?" the woman spoke up.

Steve looked at her and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."

The woman nodded, "All right, fine. She'll need a name though."

Steve nodded, "I know, I've been trying to think of one." He looked over to me, his gentle blue eyes putting on a thoughtful expression. "How about Robin? What do you think?"

I contemplated the name for a moment. It was definitely different from the name Mischa, and it sounded more American. It would hopefully make it a bit harder for Hydra to find my whereabouts, plus it was a rather nice sounding name. I had remembered Anya telling me about the birds called robins, and how they were brown with reddish-orange bellies. I always thought they'd be pretty, and their stomachs had the same color of my element. Even though I had never seen them, they held a special place in my heart. I finally gave him a nod of approval at my name, "I like it," I said softly, in almost a whisper.

Steve smiled, "That's good!"

The woman at the counter spoke up, "Right then, write the information down in the adoption paper, then."

Steve nodded, grabbed a pen on her desk, and scribbled everything down on the paper. I looked over his shoulder curiously, trying to see what he was writing down. I read the name he wrote down silently to myself. Robin Rosalina Marie Rogers? Shit, I have two middle names now. And they're . . . fruity sounding. How am I supposed to intimidate someone if my middle name is Rosalina Marie? I can't! I sighed, Ah, well, middle names aren't used much anyway, I suppose. I sat down in one of the available seats and waited patiently while Steve handed the filled out paper to the woman.

She read over the paper and nodded, "All right, you're all set."

Steve smiled brightly, "Thank you!" and then he looked over to me, "Ready to go?"

I nodded, "Yeah." The sooner we get the hell out of here, the better. I stood up and followed him quietly outside the orphanage. I was one step closer to becoming free of Hydra. All I had to do was stay with Steve here and I would be golden.