All Too Well - Taylor Swift.
"I don't think anyone has a normal family." - Edward Furlong.
Dream from 1988.
It was taking everything in Katie not to break down right now.
She couldn't look up. Especially not at his face. She knew how this was all going to play out. And she couldn't stop it. Katie just continued to stare at her hands on her lap. All she could think about was how he would always reach over and give her hand a squeeze when he noticed she was this nervous or upset. Almost like it was his way of reminding her he was always there for her. But this time, he never did.
Even when Katie hid it well. When she kept a smile on her face and didn't say how she was really feeling. Even when she was a mess inside. He knew.
Brian always knew. Which was what was making this all so much harder.
"So." Brain took a breath. Katie kept her eyes on her lap. She could feel the tears pooling up, but she didn't let them fall. "You don't age."
Katie took a shaky breath.
"I do." She started slowly in soft voice. "I just… don't age like you."
Katie heard Brian let out a deep and tired sigh before feeling his eyes shift to her. But she still didn't look up. She didn't want to meet his eyes. His amazingly bright blue eyes that she loved more than anything.
"You weren't born in 1964?"
Katie closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. At the betrayal and hurt that was laced together as he spoke. Katie thought back to the first time they met in that lecture class. To when they would drive around all night just for fun. The first time Katie met his family. The laughter as his mom brought out all the old pictures. The dances in the refrigerator light in the middle of the night. The first date. The first kiss. First everything. But it was all slipping away. And there wasn't anything Katie could do to stop it.
Katie lightly shook her head. Her heart was breaking as much as the first time she lived this.
"No," Her voice barely above a whisper.
She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to tell him the truth. She wanted to keep pretending. Act like she was normal. That her life was normal. But it wasn't. And they were coming on three years together. Brian needed to know.
"Then-" Brain stopped and swallowed. Almost as if he was sacred of the answer. Which he probably was. "Then when were you born?"
"1946." The tears started to fall. Katie glanced up at Brian. And God damn it, her eyes met his and her heart ripped. She watched as he froze for a second, taking it all in.
Next, Brian would ask Katie why she didn't tell him. Why she kept it a secret. Katie would say that it was because she didn't mean to fall for him like she did.
But, that didn't happen.
Brian's handsome face turned angry as he looked at Katie with so much hate, more hate that Katie knew Brian was capable of. She watched and listened in horror as he started to yell at her. Saying how she wasted the past three years of his life. How she would never find anyone to love because she was a freak. Then, instead of trying to work everything out for the next few months, instead of walking away together, Brain turned by himself and walked away. Leaving Katie all alone, shaking, tears running down her face. Sobs ripped through her throat before she screamed so hard it hurt.
Then she opened her eyes.
Katie could hear her sobs fill the room. Tears ran down the side of her face as she came to again. Everything was still foggy, the last reminders of her dream still in her mind, but she could still hear Strucker, clear as day.
"Excellent Wanda!" he praised the witch who was standing above Katie's head. "You are getting so much better."
"Thank you sir." Wanda spoke in a hard, but low voice.
Katie was still shaking and tears still flowed as Strucker patted her head. She wanted to shake him off, to punch him so hard he'd never wake up, but lord knows she didn't have the energy anymore. Then, he walked out of the room with Wanda, leaving Katie all alone.
And you know what, Katie gave up believing in luck. And hope. And good faith or any of that kind of bullshit.
Over the years, Katie had taught herself to see the good in the world. To try and always look on the bright side of things and start away from the negative. Besides, life would suck if you were always thinking about the bad, especially a life that lasted longer than anyone else's. But look how far that got her.
Katie knew what was happening to her. Wanda actually told her herself what her powers did. You see, once a week, Sturker and List liked to do what they called a 'check-up'. Basically, for Katie that meant they took more blood or whatever else they needed to crack her DNA. Which they thankfully, hadn't done yet. They only knew what made her heal and made her age slowly at this point.
These check-ups where the only time Katie and the Twins were left alone, together.
At first, it didn't make sense to Katie. Why would she be kept in a room with the Twins? Would woulndt their check-ups be done in their own cells? Thats when she realize, Strucker and List loved causing Katie pain (was that really new information?) They were having Katie, for the most part, always around Wanda and Pietro. She was had the enemy and threat all the time. It was part of Strucker and List's way of breaking her.
It was only a few days after Katie meet Wanda that she met Pietro, her twin brother. He was taller and broader then Wanda or Katie. And had silver hair and icy blue eyes. From a distance, you'd never say him and Wanda were twins. But up closer, there were some similarities Katie could pick out. She met him at her first checkup. And even though Katie and the twins spent a nice bit of time together - especially Katie and Wanda - they never spoke. Katie never talked to them, they never talked to her. Hell, Katie hardly heard them talk to each other. That was, until Katie couldn't take it anymore.
It was check-up number nine when Katie spoke for the first time in months.
Before List came to them, it honestly felt like Katie and the Twins were in a waiting room. Only it was a blank cell, just like the one Katie started in. Katie also sat in the corner, her small and sickly skinny frame curled up to the wall and her back to the mirror. Because now, Katie hated looking at herself. She hated seeing what she had become.
Wanda was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed on the other side of the room. She was forming little balls of… something with her hands. At the start of these check-ups, Katie used to watch her always moving odds and ends with her mind, waving her fingers as they floated before her. These actions were getting more and more intricate. Meanwhile, Pietro would lean against one wall ball suddenly appearing on the other side of the room, leaning against that wall. He didn't do it like he use to. Before, he moved almost like he had no control. Now, it was almost like he was doing it as practice. He would even throw something across the small room then flash over to catch it.
This is what lead Katie to speak up. At first, she'd thought Pietro could teleport. It took a few checkups for Katie to realize that he was just moving very fast. Super-speed. And Katie knew Wanda was a telepath by the way she moved things by just waving her figures. But the power she used on Katie, she didn't know what that was. She couldn't figure it out.
So at check-up number nine, just a few minutes after the guards left and the doors closed behind them, Katie spoke up.
"You give me dreams."
Katie almost jumped. She didn't know her own voice. It was too deep and dry, cracking with almost every word. She couldn't even form correct sentences, it had been that long. She felt like she was out of breath by saying just those few words. But, as she glanced over at Wanda from her corner, she knew the young girl knew what Katie meant by the way she lifted her head and shifted her eyes.
Wanda titled her head slightly, her long dark hair falling over her shoulder. Katie could vaguely pick out the flicker of emotions that flashed in her eyes. Wanda's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, as if she was trying to find the right words to say.
"I show you fears." She finally corrected. Katie wasn't sure, but she swore she saw a bit of pity in the girls eyes.
Realization hit Katie like a ton of bricks. Fears. They weren't dreams, they were fears. Katie couldn't stop herself from shaking. She pulled her legs closer. She knew what her fear was. She'd known this for years now. Her fear was her reality. Her fear was watching everyone she knew, everyone she loved, watching them all leave. Watching them all die. It all made sense now. The physical torture had been toned down a bit. Katie didn't know why at first, but now she did. Strucker had already broken her body beyond repair at this point. Now, he was trying to do the same to her mind. See how far it could go before it snapped. To see how far Katie could be pushed before she complete gave in.
She may also heal faster mentally.
"Why?" Katie choked out. Her throat was so dry, it felt like sand paper. She didn't really know what she was asking. A number of things she guessed. Why was Strucker and List doing this? Why was Wanda going through with it? Why did this have to happen to her? Why was she still hanging on?
"You are a friend of Starks." Wanda turned back to her floating bits of dust.
"Stark destroyed our lives." Katie's eyes flicked over to Pietro. She watched the hurt and angry flash in the young man's eyes for a few moments, before she looked down.
And you destroyed my life. That was the kind of comment Katie would have thrown at them before all this happened. Now, the new Katie had no energy to say anything.
That was the last time Katie opened her mouth to say anything.
A sob shook Katie's small and fragile body. The tears had stopped at this point, but the sobs and pain were still ongoing. Katie was kept in the same room that she woke up in, but there was no longer a bed. Instead, Katie now laid on a hard, cold, surface. Basically a table.
Katie tried to take deep breaths. She tried to calm herself down after today's dream sequence. Or fear sequence. Whatever the hell it was. But she couldn't. Every time Wanda put her under, every time she had to re-live someone she loved leaving her - especially where they were exaggerated - it was taking longer and longer to get over it.
She was starting to break.
Katie rolled over and curled up as small as she could. She pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them tight. She was shaking still. And she couldn't tell if it was because of the coldness or the pain. Most likely both.
Over the long, past weeks, Katie had watched everyone she'd ever loved and held dear walk away. She'd seen the life she should of have. Seen how happy everything should have been before it was all ripped away. She had to watch her step-father die. Re-living the death of the Commandos. The phone call from her mother about Uncle Howard, Maria and Jarvis. Watch Nick get shot over and over again. See Thomas cheating on her. Watching Brain walk away. Natasha, Tony, Thor, Clint, Bruce, she saw them all go on missions only to never come back. She watched her mother die. And her father, she watched her father get killed over and over again. And her heart ripped a little more every time.
And the worst part was, these weren't made up. These weren't some dream sequences Wanda was making up, that she was playing off Katie's fears. For the most part, these were all things Katie lived through. This was all real pain. Just amplified a hundred percent because of the twists and turns Wanda added.
God, that made all this sound like an action movie.
As Katie took a deep, shaky breath (one that made her lungs feel like fire because God, it hurt to breathe now a days) she knew. Katie knew, not only could her body and mind not take much more of this, but her heart couldn't either.
More weeks past. At least, Katie thought so. She couldn't understand time anymore. Either way, the routine was interrupted. As Katie laid curled up on the table, staring at nothing and shivering, the door opened. She wanted for Strucker to give Wanda to go ahead. She waited for one of the guards to flip her on her back. She waited, but all she heard was footsteps.
She listened as several people walked around the room. She heard the sound of someone picking up metal before she was flipped on her back.
Strucker and List were in the room along with several guards. Honestly, Katie didn't know why they kept bringing the guards. It wasn't like Katie had any energy to fight back anyways.
Katie watched as Strucker and List quietly talked amongst themselves. They never talked to Katie anymore. They acted like she was more of an object than a person at this point. Before, they always taunted her, made remarks and cheeky comments to scare her. Now, they didn't waste their breath on her.
Strucker glanced over at Katie as List turned around. List grabbed something out of the bag he brought in with him and pulled out a syringe. Katie looked away as they both walked over to her. They no longer had a need to keep her drugged up. Hell, Katie couldn't walk by herself at this point.
Katie just laid there. She looked up at the white ceiling as List roughly grabbed her arm. She didn't so much as flinch as he jabbed her arm with the needle, and she welcomed the darkness that started to take over before her eyelids fell shut.
But just like that, the darkness started to fade. Katie wanted to cry as she started to wake up. Her eyelids slowly opened. They took some time to adjust to the dim light, but when they did, Katie found herself back in her cell. The same cell she was first thrown in, before she was moved and meet Wanda the Witch.
Was it weird that it was almost like home sweet home?
Katie sat up. Whoever brought her here was kind enough not to just throw her on the dirty floor. Not that it mattered anyways. Katie couldn't remember the last time she actually showered. She had been lying on the piece of board that was supposed to be a bed. She sat with her back to the wall and knees pulled to her chest.
They brought her back, which meant no more dreams and fears. But Katie didn't really care. The fact that they brought her back scared her. Did this mean they were almost done with her? Dread washed over Katie. Her stomach dropped and she started to shake. But at the same time, the thought of all this almost being over for good caused her to feel relief. All of this pain and torture was almost over. There was an end to it all. At this point, Katie knew there was nothing she could do from stopping them from cracking her DNA. And she didn't care, not at this point. Katie just wanted it to end.
And she knew she shouldn't think like that. She knew what Natasha would say right now if she heard these thoughts. What Tony would say. What Nick would say. What her father would say. But she couldn't help it. She loved them all, with her whole heart. But Katie knew, her heart wasn't able to last much longer.
The thought of her days being numbered didn't worry her one bit. And when it would come, she'd welcome the end with opened arms.
Not even a day passed by when two guards came down to get Katie. Katie let them roughly grab her arms. They pulled her off the bed and out of the cell. She was all but dragged up the all to familiar stairway and into the very familiar torture room.
She was thrown onto the examination table, the guards quickly strapped her wrist and ankles done before turning and walking out of the room. However, Katie was only left alone for a few moments when the door was pushed opening again.
Craning her head as much as she could, Katie could see Strucker walk into the room.
He didn't even send Katie a glance as he watched into the room and over to the examination table. Katie felt her heart start to pick up as he pulled a knife off the table next to Katie.
Katie felt her breathing become shallow as she turned away from Strucker and looked up at the ceiling. She waited for the pain, and it came seconds later. Katie didn't stop the tears that started to form in her eyes as Strucker brought the knife down on her stomach. She felt warm blood starting to pool but she didn't even have time to scream before the darkness quickly grabbed her, pulling her under. Only for Katie to wake up back in her cell. She could still feel the pain. She could still feel her body trying to put itself back together. But it was failing.
No one came to get her after that.
Katie placed her head against the wall. She hugged closer to the hard surface, trying to keep herself warm. But it wasn't working.
Since then, Katie had been in her cell, all alone. A guard brought her some food once or twice a day, but it wasn't like she could stomach it anyways. Other than that, Katie saw no one. Which gave her an uneasy yet pleasant feeling.
She was done. She wanted this to end. She was ready for this to end. Strucker and List had done it, they'd broken her. The broke her down both physically and mentally. Katie wasn't Katie anymore. She just wished someone would come and end it already.
Katie then jumped. She heard a crash, followed by the sound of something being slammed against walls and more things being knocked over. She heard yelling and running followed by more bangs and crashes. This went on for moments before she heard footsteps getting closer. And her heart started to pick back up.
Whatever was about to happen, Katie didn't care. Either someone would be rescuing her, or someone would be killing her. Katie would be happy with either one at this point.
Katie didn't have enough energy to lift her head off the wall, let alone make her way to the gate. Plus her eyes were starting to fall like they always did a number of times during the day now. So all Katie could do was glance out into the dim-lit hallway through the bars of her cell. The footsteps got closer and the metal door was pushed open with a bang.
Katie wanted to cry out when she saw that god damn shield. Her heart clenched and she started to feel overwhelmed. Standing on the other side of the gate was her father. And Katie felt like she was about to pass out.
She watched with half closed eyes as Steve froze when his eyes landed on her. They went wide and Katie could see so much pain and joy behind them. He quickly snapped out of it however and ripped the gate door off, throwing it out into the hallway.
Katie couldn't help it. The tears started to fall and sobs wrecked her body as her father slowly walked closer.
He walked like he was approaching an injured animal. And maybe he was. Either way, Katie used whatever energy she had to lift her head so she could look up at him.
"Daddy." She choked out as he knelt down beside her. "Daddy."
"Shhh." Steve ripped off his mask. Katie could see tears in his own eyes. Carefully he reached out and pulled Katie close to his chest, holding her as if he was never going to let go. "I got you now."
Katie physically and mentally couldn't take it anymore. Between the tears and the sobs, Katie felt so overwhelmed that she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. Gladly, she let her eyelids fall.
The last thing she remembered was feeling her father's warm and strong arms lift her up, carrying her to safety.
Bit on the shorter side, but Steve comes to the rescue! And just a note, things will be explained more in the next few chapters!
Also, sorry there was no update last week. I was sick the days leading up to 'update day' and had no energy to write anything.
Anyways you guys know the drill. Wanna follow my tumblr and twitter? Links are in my profile! Along with a poll that you should go vote on :)
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