A/N Yay, another one!
A gold-eyed panther, as black as midnight.
That's what he saw the girl turn into. But he remained emotionless as ever. Train together. Learn each others strengths and weaknesses. That was the command consuming the Winter Soldier's mind. His sole objective.
C4 meanwhile pounced at him. The shift was instinctual when the brown-haired man (if you could even call him a human anymore) began to gain an upper hand. His metal arm had been much stronger than she expected, and she struggled against it in her human form, even with her abilities.
It was day three since she arrived in Siberia. The Baron gave her copies of HYDRA records to read on the background of the other asset - perhaps a mistake, as she gained understanding of the workings and thinkings of HYDRA, which, as merely property to the organization, she was somewhat oblivious to.
He grunted as her claws, though not fully extended, caught his shoulder and the force of her lunge caused him to stumble. He angled himself to alleviate the bulk of her weight, but she swung around onto his back, then slammed his knees to throw him further off balance.
He grunted as he tried to grab her off, catching and pulling her tail with his mechanical arm. But the fur was silky and, having master the art of transformation, she retracted her tail into her back end, clinging on more tightly to his shoulders with his claws due to the resulting imbalance. C4 grabbed the front of the Soldier's uniform, flipping over him with a snarl so her momentum drug him to the ground.
He didn't expected it, so he hit his head hard.
There was a growl outside the tent, but a large hand covered his mouth before he could scream. His eyes followed the arm to stare wide eyed at the owner beside him. The man was much too large, but he must has been someone close to him because he felt safe with him. Safe. A feeling he wasn't familiar with. He couldn't control his eyes as they shifted back to the zipped entrance, but he could make out the shape of his small body before him.
He must have been only eight or nine - it explained why the man appeared abnormally large. He couldn't remember being a boy before. Why couldn't he remember?
C4 could vaguely see the images projecting from his mind. It must have been a combination of the sound and head trauma that initiated what she immediately realized was a memory, though he may not have understood it. She shifted back into her human form, watching intently as the Soldier face flashed with pain and his eyes held the first emotions she saw - fear, longing, confusion - before quite suddenly becoming expressionless again as he rose to his feet.
"You're dismissed." Karpov broke the silence. The Soldier robotically strode out the exit, and C4 went to leave behind him. "C4, wait." He demanded, halting her midway. Her body filled with dread as she watched her new partner disappear through the doorway and felt the older man approaching her.
His cold fingers caressed her cheek before he pulled her chin to face him. C4 carefully schooled her features to hide her trepidation. "Come see me tonight, 8 o'clock." He spoke softly, but she knew it was an order.
When Karpov released her chin, she knew she could leave and did so quickly. Both relieved of his immediate presence, but plagued in her mind at the thought of the meeting that night.
The two leaders worked closely one with another, and yet their methods were in such stark contrast one with another. Karpov acted as though he had a connection with the young asset, while there was none. Yet the Baron and C4 did develop a familiarity, while in their mannerisms they were yet entirely indifferent one to another.
And so for the first time, C4 allowed herself to feel the disgust and anger that always coursed just under the surface.
She was twelve again, laying on Karpov's bed with her upper half nude. His bed was very comfortable, but comfort wasn't a word that came to mind in this situation. It was never pleasurable for her.
C4 woke up in a cold sweat. It was only later, when she more fully comprehended the concept of intercourse, that she was grateful Karpov never took it further than having her upper half nude.
When he required her presence the previous evening, it was only to give a run down of her next assignment - this time, it was a joint mission with the Winter Soldier. She was surprised that they would risk such an operation, but deducted in her mind that they didn't want to wait very long before wiping the male assets memories again.
The Winter Soldier's face was cold and hard. It was one thought uninterrupted, Eliminate Derrick and Jenny Hart. And they had an address, that was all they needed.
On the other hand, C4 was more relaxed upon leaving HYDRA. They were going to Venice, a place she quite enjoyed but hadn't been to for many years. In fact, this would be her first mission in the city. She pictured going through the markets with the Baron, talking to the people, buying Mediterranean foods she hadn't seen before. He took her on his "business" trip to help her adjust to Italian culture, in preparation of a possible future mission.
Thankfully, Karpov had instructed the Winter Soldier that C4 was in charge.
"We will stop here for the night," C4 had led her partner to an isolated shelter. It was one of her frequented stopping points just inside Italy.
A HYDRA aircraft dropped them off in Austria mere hours before, being unauthorized to fly within the borders of Italy itself. The two assets were hardly fatigued, but it was a necessary stop to ensure an accurate timing and made a plan for the assault.
Being out of the ice for almost a week had taken some effect on the male asset. His head hurt often, like something inside was trying to force its way out. It was worse when there wasn't anything for him to do, like now.
C4 sat on the twin bed watching as the Soldier seemed to snap in and out of reality. His thoughts weren't intense enough for her to see - it was like part of his mind was blank, but walls were waiting to be broken to flood the missing information in. C4 was naturally a curious person. She wondered how she could push the walls to break more quickly. She wondered if it would hurt him.