Anna was blindfolded, her arms tied roughly behind her back, a cloth was shoved into her mouth and taped there. They carried her, kicking, screaming, thrashing into a building. She could smell blood, bleach, and a terrifyingly sweet smell disgusting and familiar. Death.
She twisted, trying to break free of her bonds. She could feel herself being moved through winding corridors and multiple doors. She heard the footsteps around her, and mumbling, some in English, but mostly in Russian. She felt herself being placed against a cool metal. She heard the clattering of metal upon metal, and the rattle of chains. She bucked, lashing out with her legs. A shouted command, and she was grabbed around the ankles. She felt a tugging at her wrists, and suddenly her hands were free. She took the incentive and reached up, clawing at the blindfold covering her eyes.
She ripped it down, where it hung limp around her neck and her eyes were bombarded by unnaturally bright lights shining directly into her face. A few men in white uniforms rushed around the room. Her father stood in the corner, eyes blank and staring.
What had happened to him? He was a cyborg now...she cringed when he turned his head, and she noticed then that half of his head was missing, replaced by glinting metal and bolts. He watched her wordlessly as she reached up, ripping the tape off of her mouth and pulling the cloth from her mouth.
" Dad! Dad, help me!"
A tall man in a black suit reached out then, grabbing a wrist and pinning it to the table upon which she sat. She noticed now, that it was an operating table. A man approached her, and her father mumbled something in Russian.
The man approaching her raised his hand, and Anna saw what he held there. A syringe with a green liquid. She panicked then, and focused. She stared at him until he was all she could see, the rest of the room falling into shadows around her. She felt her heart begin to race, and her arms begin to sweat. She flexed her mind like a muscle, and the man flew backwards, the needle falling away from him.
" Annastasia" a voice from behind her, dropping focus, she turned. Her father stood beside her now.
" I see now that you are very powerful, but it takes a lot of physical effort on your part to use your powers, yes?"
Anna nodded cautiously. She was still so surprised. Why was he here. He should've been dead. Why did he look like this...
" dad...what happened to you."
He smiled, a genuine smile, and Anna felt a soft yet firm hand on her chest, pressing her back onto the table upon which she sat.
" I have been reborn."
He was handed a syringe similar to the one before, and she shrank away. She was held in place. She knew now that her father was powerful. She knew she would never be able to fight her way off of this table.
He stroked her hair, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Please...Dad don't."
She turned away, and she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She turned her eyes away, and gently, silently, she wept.
Slowly, she felt herself falling out of control. Before long, she was out cold...
~
The sun shone brightly, and a flock of birds fluttered around them. Anna removed her sunglasses as she entered the small coffee shop. She looked around and easily found the small blonde woman. She waved merrily and rushed over, a bouquet of white Lilly's and pink orchards clutched in her right hand. She embraced her mother with a hug, taking in the smell of her lavender perfume.
" Hi mom! Happy Mother's Day!"
She handed her mom the flowers. She saw a happiness in her mothers eyes that had always made her heart sore. She pulled a camera out of her purse, and smiled at her mother. Quickly taking the hint, her mother hugged her gift close and smiled sweetly as the camera clicked and flashed.
Her mom smiled as they sat down, her blue eyes shining. Anna had gotten many of her features from her mother. Her blue eyes, her small frame( she was barely over 5 feet tall), her full She had gotten her hair color and powers from her father...but not much else. Her eyes shadowed, and her mother, who knew her better than anyone, noticed right away.
"Anna what's the matter, sweetie?"
Anna flashed a fake smile, looking away. She knew she couldn't hide her emotions very well, be in from her mother or anyone else.
" nothing mom, today is about you!" She tried to hide the dark tone in her voice, but she knew even before her mother frowned that she had failed. Her mother shook her head, and placed her hand, the one not holding a coffee cup, on her daughters shoulder.
" now sweetie, you know I'll never enjoy myself if I know you are unhappy. Now tell me what's wrong, so we can be past it, then we will go to see a movie"
Anna smiled, this one genuine yet sad. She looked away, fearing her mothers sadness.
" How come you've never told me about dad? Why wasn't he around, mama? I'm grown, I can handle it"
Her mother shook her head, her eyes large and fearful.
" Anna honey, I've told you...when you're older"
Anna's looked puzzled and slightly angry, her eyes narrowing.
" when, mama!? I'm 18 years old! How old do I have to be?!"
Her mother sighed, dropping her head. " you're right, sweetie..." She took a long drink of her coffee, and Anna could see her eyes change.
" Anna, your father was an amazing man. He was sweet, and so generous. He always thought of me before himself. I had never loved anyone so much...except you, honey. He was so happy the day we found out I was pregnant. He cried. "
Anna smiled. She had always wished she could've met him before he died. Her mother had always talked about how amazing he was. Anna loved him even though she had never met him.
Her mother continued, her voice taking on a haunted tone.
" the day you were born, I lost a lot of blood. The doctors thought I wasn't going to make it, so they made him leave the room. I could hear him fighting to get to me, but they held him back. To calm him down, they brought you to him...and he held you in the hallway"
Anna smiled, she could feel the tears pushing...but she held them back.
" it was a couple hours before he brought you to me...but when he did...Anna he was white as a ghost"
Anna's smile melted. She felt a dread building. She felt her insides twisting into knots, her blood pressure building...almost as if she knew what was happening next.
" He smiled, and he was crying. He said you had the powers. He said he had tried to feed you a bottle... Two times you had thrown it across the room. The second time a nurse saw it. He said they would find you, and make you...do the same job he did"
Anna looked away, shaking. Somehow she already knew the answer to a question she had yet to ask.
" Mom...what did dad do?"
Her mother sighed, and lowered her voice.
" he worked for the military...he was an assassin"
Anna gasped, her hand flying to her chest. She blinked rapidly, but despite her desperation, tears began to pour down her cheeks.
"Anna...he loved you so much. He held you for so long. He cried...he couldn't stop looking at you. Anna he had always dreamed of having a girl. He wanted to be the father of a daughter. He wanted daddy's little girl"
Anna's hands came up, over her mouth, holding back the sounds of her sadness. She had always felt as if she was loved. She had never felt sadness when she had thought of her father, just love and longing.
" He was scared. He said they would come for you. They would find you through him, and they would find out what you were capable of. He said when they found you...they'd start training you. Like they had him. Anna he didn't want that for you. He knew how much pain and suffering her had been through at their hands. He knew the nightmares and guilt he experienced when he killed someone..."
Anna shook her head. She had always just been under the impression that, for some reason, he had left, waiting for the right time to come back. To be her dad...She looked up, and saw her mothers sadness. Her mothers pain and sorrow. She saw the emotions building up, that had built up over 18 years of longing and agony, and she saw them overflow. She reached out, fumbling for her mothers hand. She squeezed it tightly, and she saw she was visibly shaking, then. She had never seen her mother cry, though during her childhood she had heard her sobbing quietly in her room...though she would always quickly wipe her eyes, smile, and fake happiness whenever Anna come to her...
" Anna he was trying to protect you. He wanted so desperately to keep you safe. I tried so hard to talk him out of it. I tried everything. I told him how badly I needed him...how badly you needed a father. He kept insisting. Begged him. For us...But he had already made up his mind. " She let out a weeping laugh, chucking Anna under the chin. She raised her daughters eyes to look at her own.
" Anna he did what he did because he loved you, SO MUCH. Please remember that"
Anna smiled sadly, nodding.
" Finally he handed you to me, he kissed me, and he told me to take you far far away from there. He handed me the number and pass codes to a secret bank account he had, and he told me that I needed to move every 3 years, to a different state, but never try to leave the country"
Anna nodded. She knew they had moved more often than any other family.
" he told me what he was going to do. I never went back to our house...because I didn't want to see him like that. I would've..." She stopped then, looking away. Her emotions were just to painful.
" Mom..."
Her mother raised a finger, and Anna fell silent. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, her mother continued.
" He went home...and he shot himself."
Anna shook her head hard, and she finally broke. As she sobbed harder and harder, she stood up from the table. She grabbed her purse and keys, and walked out of the cafe, her mind racing. She felt so much at that moment. She felt sorrow, guilt, embarrassment...but the strongest was her rage.
How could he have done that to her mother...to Anna? Hadn't he known how much they had to have needed him! Her mother had been so sad so much...because of him. Anna stopped then, eyes tightly shut. No...because of her. She heard her mothers voice behind her, and turned. She was startled at what she saw.
Pebbles and leaves clattered on the ground, shaking with a strong vibration, almost like a vibration. Anna shook her head, looking away from her mother. She hurt so bad...
" Anna honey...please, calm down...Remember your temper."
Anna walked away. She felt her anger rising, her eyes flashing. She knew it was happening. She had done it before...as a child.
A little boy on the playground took her toy...and suddenly the sandbox suddenly overturned, with him in it. A teacher embarrassed her in front of everyone...and the chalkboard split down the middle. A high school boyfriend had cheated on her with her best friend...and every window in his car exploded.
She heard her mother following her, and she sped up. A wrought iron fence bent in upon itself, and Anna felt her tears coming faster. A chair outside of a restaurant she passed was flung across the street and crashed into the plate glass window of a clothing shop. Someone screamed. She felt a massive build up of energy. She had to clear her mind...calm her thoughts.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped. " Anna..honey please. I am so sorry."
Anna stopped. A bridge looked in her vision. She focused on it. She shook her head. Nothing was working, she felt so helpless and out of control.
" Mama...I am so sorry. You were...in so much pain. Because of me. Mama...Daddy is dead...because of me"
A fire hydrant to their left collapsed, and in a ear splitting roar, a gush of water flooded around their feet. Her mother screamed. Anna hated herself. All she had ever caused her mother was pain. All around her was agony and sorrow. She kept walking. Her mother kept following her. She stopped and looked down at the water under the bridge. It was a huge and beautifully curved, graceful stone structure. Cars rushed over it, people walked along its sideways, oblivious to Anna...
" Anna... he is dead because of his love for you. His need to protect you. It is not your fault." Anna shook her head, gritting her teeth.
An ominous rumble started in the distance, and suddenly everything was quiet.
" Mama don't say that!" She screamed, and they both beard it. Crackling, splitting of stone and metal, the eerie screech of metal on metal, the snapping of cables, and final sound of the crumbling of the bridge into the sea. Anna looked around. Panicking, she pushed past her mother, running as fast as she could. She grabbed her mothers hand, pulling her forward.
A large rock fell, then, and Anna was unlucky enough to have been standing almost directly underneath it. It hit her in the back of the head with a sickening crack, and her mother screamed.