Blinding lights were the first thing Rina saw when she came to. She groaned and tried to cover her eyes but her hands were tied to her sides. Panic began to set in when couldn't free her hands, she began thrashing around but she still couldn't get free. She hated the position she was in, lying down she couldn't see much of her surroundings. But she could tell she was in a different room and she was alone.

She rested her head back down on the table, a pain beginning behind her eyes. She felt like her nerves were on fire, everything felt different. As if a sleeping part of her had awoken and she was not used to it. She saw clearer and could hear things she shouldn't be able to, she could hear the creaking of the walls and the dripping of water somewhere in the distance.

Her eyes shot open again when she headed footsteps approaching. Finally, the door opened and Alexi stepped in,

"Ah you're awake! I thought you'd never wake up" he said, taking a seat next to the operating table she was still strapped on.

"Where are we?" She croaked, her mouth was dry and every word felt like sandpaper in her throat.

"A new location" he waved his hand as if her question was not important.

She didn't say anything, she knew better than to question him, she simply stared at the bands tying her to the table.

"Ah" He said behind to loosen the straps around her arms, "You are going to feel strange.." he started but she got so excited to sit up that the straps began to rip and she dented the table beneath her.

Standing up she felt dizzy and disoriented, she inspected the table, the thing was so dented that it would be useless. She stared at it in shock,

"Did I do that?" She whispered

The man merely smiled,

"Oh, you can do so much more"

She tried to smile back but it felt more like a grimace. She stared down at her hands, they didn't look any different but she could feel the power coursing through them. Killer's hands, she thought to herself. So deep in her thoughts she hadn't noticed Alexi open the door,

"Come my Little Ballerina it is time for your first solo mission"

*****

Natasha took deep, calming breaths as the plane descended into the fierce Russian snow. The white flurries were everywhere, they could hardly see where they were going but she was determined. The jet landed on the snow and finally slid to a stop.

"Alright" She said loading her gun, "let's go"

James nodded at the small tact team they had brought with them. They all followed the red head out of the jet and towards the base.

Natasha felt an odd sense of nostalgia as she kicked in the door. This is the place of her nightmares but it also felt like home. That is what it was for most of her life, home. The only one she'd ever known.

They swept the first floor and found nothing. No people but it looked like they had just missed them because they furniture was flipped and crooked like people had made a hasty escape. They were halfway through sweeping the second and final floor when a creaking came from one of the rooms.

The red head held up a hand, signaling everyone to stop. One of the newer recruits, Daniel didn't get the signal and continued walking, causing the floor boards to freak loudly. Natasha internally cringed as the creaking of the floorboard echoed through the hallway. She almost let go of the breath she was holding when all of the sudden a door down the hall flew open and a hooded figure took off running.

The red head took off after him, she still remembered the halls so lucky for her she knew a shortcut. She cut down another hallway to cut of the hooded figure. She beat him to the end of the hallway and waited, when he got close she stuck her foot out and tripped him. With a shout the figure fell to the floor where she promptly pinned him to the ground. The figure thrashed as she pulled the hood back, to reveal a teenage boy with dark hair.

"Hey, hey" the boy yelled as he struggled against the older woman.

"Oh my god" she said as she realized who the boy was.

She yanked Maxim to his feet and roughly shoved him against the wall,

"Where is she?" She hissed, her arm applying pressure to his throat as she held him in place.

The boy sputtered, coughing against the hold on his throat,

"Uh, u- u-" he stuttered

James finally caught up to her, taking in the scene he rests a hand on her shoulder,

"Nat, Natalia ease up. He's just a kid" he said softly trying to convince her to release her death grip on the boy.

She merely scoffed and pushed her arm harder against his throat,

"Yeah, and so was she but that didn't matter when they took her, did it?" She hissed, a venom in her tone he had never heard before.

"Uh-u" the boy tried to speak again but couldn't 

"Let me try" He said softly, pulling her back with his hand while pinning the boy to the wall with his metal hand, applying enough pressure so he couldn't run. Natasha allowed herself to be pulled away from the squirming boy who was now coughing and gasping for air,

"Jesus, lady. Hell of a grip you've got" the boy commented through his coughing

Bucky grabbed the kid by his collar and lifted him up so he could meet his eyes,

"You are Maxim, right?" The man questioned

The teen scoffed,

"Yup, and I know who you all are"

The man turned around, confused Natasha met his gaze and shrugged.

The boy smiled,

"Yeah, Ekaterina wouldn't shut up about you" He said still struggling against being held with his feet in the air.

"Her mama and papa" he said but there was no venom in his tone, just truth.

"Where is everyone else? Are you the only one here?" The red head questioned

The boy scoffed,

"Let me down and we'll talk"

Bucky looked back and waited for her nod to let the boy down.

"If you run we'll kill you, you got it?" Natalia threatened

The boy merely shrugged,

"It couldn't be worse than living here" he said and took off walking

Natasha couldn't move, she had just threatened a child. A child. One who grew up in the same conditions she did, this boy has suffered the same nightmares she had lived through. What am I doing? she thought as she rubbed her face.

"You coming? I'm starving!" The boy called back as he made his way to the kitchen.

She began to follow him and the others behind her began walking.

The boy took a mug out of the cabinet and walked over the coffee pot on the counter and poured himself a cup. He sat down and took a sip,

"Ok. What do you want to know?" He said

She sat down next to the boy but she could feel herself getting more annoyed every second he continued talking,

"Where is Rina?"  She she asked through gritted teeth

Maxim took a long sip of his coffee and set it down and adjusted his sleeves before answering,

"I don't know"

Natasha slammed her hand on the table and stood up muttering to herself,

"He's just a child. He's just a child. You can't hit a child, Natasha"

"Ekaterina said you had a temper but I couldn't even imagine" the boy said with a laugh

Natasha curled her hands into fists at her side, her back still to the child. James moves forward and put his hands in her shoulders,

"Let me try" he whispered in her ear and placed a kiss to her forehead before sitting down at the kitchen table.

The boy took a sip of his coffee before sitting it down and sighing,

"I don't know where Ekaterina is. Trust me if I knew where she was I wouldn't be sitting here"

James didn't say anything, simply stared at the boy.

"Ok, ok. Ekaterina was right, you really do have the bluest eyes" he boy thought out loud,

"I saw her this morning. She was on her way to another test and I went to the training room and that's the last thing I remember"

The boy rolled up his right sleeve to reveal a puncture mark in his arm,

"They must have drugged me because when I woke up I was in my room and everyone was gone and you all have the privilege of enjoying my company"

Bucky nodded and walked out into the hallway where Natasha and team were waiting.

The red head shook her head in disbelief,

"How did you do that? You just didn't say anything and he spilled, how?"

He shrugged,

"I read it in a parenting book"

He noticed all the shocked and confused faces staring back at him. He crossed his arms and said defensively,

"What? Tony has them all over the Tower"

Natasha patted his shoulder, "Sure, hon" she said before walking into the kitchen

"Ok, kid" she started, "I'm sorry I hit you but to be fair you did run"

"I guess that is fair" Maxim admitted

"What are these "tests" you said Rina was doing?"

Maxim leaned back in his chair, suddenly uncomfortable,

"They were tests to see if she was capable"

Nat leaned forward,

"Capable? Of what?"

Maxim avoided her eyes as he said,

"Of being the next Asset"

Asset? She didn't know what that meant. She decided to try Bucky's method and just stared at the boy to see if her would continue and he did

"We were both supposed to be the next Assets but my father decided I wasn't fit to be trusted with it" he said bitterly

"Why were you two chosen?" She asked trying to keep him talking

"We were both the last in each of our programs. And we were both on track to becoming Assets but one day during sparring she won, she did this weird move where she took me down with her legs by my neck and I couldn't move. I lost and father said I wasn't ready but she was, so she began the tests"

Natasha inwardly smiled,

"That's my move"

Maxim looked from her to Bucky who also had a half smile on his face as he looked at the red head,

"Terrifying" The boy said

"Where do you think they are?" She asked

The boy shrugged,

"I have don't know. But I think I know why they left"

"Why?" She pressed

The boy circled the rim of his empty coffee cup with his finger,

"She was ready"

******

The plane sailed across the air and Rina's hands shook as she tried to wash the blood from them. She sat in the empty jet as a computer controlled it. She scrubbed her hands with a washcloth but the red stain wouldn't leave, a sob escaped her lips as she threw the cloth away from her. She cried as she recounted her mission. She had completed it but she wished that she hadn't. The man's sobs and cries replayed in her mind as he begged for his life. She knew he was a bad man but it didn't make it any less difficult.

"We are 10 minutes away" the computers voice cut through the air

"Thank you" She said through her tears

She sat in the silence for few moments before wiping her tears and putting her weapons away and straightening out her ballet leotard and attempted to tame her curly hair, trying anything to clean up her appearance. As the plane landed and stilled she got up, walking to the landing door. As it opened she saw Alexi standing on the runway, his arms crossed while Dr. Miranda stood next to him, a pleasant smile on the older doctor's tanned face.

She walked up to the two men, meeting both their gazes and quietly hoped that they wouldn't notice the blood staining her hands and leotard.

"Asset, did you complete the mission?" Alexi asked harshly, his brow was furrowed and he was standing so straight that Rina thought he might break in half.

She stood taller and continued to meet his gaze,

"Yes, sir. The mission was successful" her voice void of all emotion

Alexi gave a curt nod,

"Good" he said turning on his heel, walking towards the base.

The doctor gave her a warm smile and they followed behind. Once inside Alexi commanded her to be looked over by the doctor before they discussed the mission.

In the makeshift doctor's office, she sat on the table, the paper crinkling under her weight. The doctor shone a light in her eyes, gauging her reaction time. The light burned her enhanced eyes and she looked away, crying out in pain,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I-" she started, she didn't want to appear weak

The doctor held up his hand and shook his head,

"No apologies necessary" he said, moving to examine her ears,

"And I thought we were supposed to practice your Spanish" he continued

She sighed ever since she had told him about her birth mother many years ago, he had volunteered to teach her more about her culture. She wasn't very good at it, the pronunciation and accent sounded unnatural coming off of her tongue.

"Not today, doctor" she said as her took her blood pressure

"Ok" he said

Dr. Miranda has always treated her well, like a human being. He cared about what she thought and did his best to help her find as much self identity as possible. He told her stories of his hometown in Argentina, how the town had all pitched together to send him to Russia during the war so that he could study medicine. She did felt safer with him than anyone else in the base, well besides Maxim who she hadn't seen since before she was given the serum. She wondered where he was, she reasoned that he was probably in his room retreading that same book about the stars.

"You're ready to go. There is nothing wrong with your body, you are in pristine condition" the doctor interrupted her thoughts

She sensed something in his voice that told her that he had more to say,

"But?" She questioned

He pushed his glasses higher up on his tanned face,

"How is your mind?" He asked her

Rina stopped. She didn't know how to respond. She never really paid much attention to her mind, she always did what it takes to survive without question but never stopped to think about what those choices did to her mind, to her soul. Maybe they do take a toll on a person.

"A steel trap" she said with a smile, hopping off the table

"Good" He said but Rina got the feeling that he knew she was lying.

"Do you know where I can find Mr. Shostakov?"

The doctor waved his hand, already involved in his notes,

"He's probably in his office"

She shut the door behind her. She made her way to the office, mentally preparing herself for his intense questioning. She stopped in front of a large oak door and knocked. A voice beckoned her inside.

Alexi day at his desk, flipping through files with a pen tucked behind his ear. When she sat down in front of him he dropped the files to look at her. He took in her tires appearance complete with messy hair and dirt smudged leotard.

"So the mission was a success?" He questioned again, he had already asked her this question

"Yes, sir. The mission was complete with no complications" she said again a little confused, it wasn't like Alexi to be forgetful.

"Good" He said shuffling through some paper before sliding one towards her,

"This man is your next mission. He is a threat to Russian security, you must eliminate him. He is the ultimate threat"

Rina leaned forward to examine the paper. Her heart froze in her chest, panic surrounded her body. She knew that man. She couldn't kill him.

She stood up so suddenly that she knocked the chair to the ground,

"No, no" she said backing up until her back hit the wall. She was trapped. There was no where to go. Alexi was holding the door shut,

"I had hoped we could do this the easy way, Ekaterina. But as always you had to be difficult"

He grabbed her wrist and shoved a syringe into her forearm while she stared at him with wild eyes, she was still aware but to weak to say anything or move.

Alexi reached down and picked up legs, holding all her weight in his arms. He opened the door and began walking. Ekaterina couldn't do anything but watch, she begged herself to move, to fight but she couldn't. A single tear made its way down her face as he opened another door to reveal a chair with metal contraptions over the head rest.

He set her down on the chair, strapping her in. Her looked at her face and wiped her tears away,

"Don't cry, when you wake up you won't remember a thing. I told you this before but this time your lines of right and wrong will no longer exist. You will be Hydra's judge, jury and executioner. The weapon that hands out the sentence"

She tried to move away from his touch but couldn't, her body wouldn't listen to her. He positioned the clamps on her temples and forced a rubber grip into her mouth to keep her from breaking her teeth.

Another tear escaped her eyes, she knew what was coming and she couldn't stop it. She would become a brainwashed monster, she saw it coming but couldn't stop it.

He flipped a switch.

She felt a surge of electricity flow through her body before it all went black.

Finally a new chapter! And it a long one!! I'm on vacation right now so a new update probably won't happen until I get back home. We went to a wax museum today and they had a marvel exhibit which was awesome! Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, it was kind of sad. Have a good day or night! I didn't proofread it, I'll do it later, sorry!! Also can we appreciate the fantastic gif illisius made for me?! They make the best gifs, you should totally go check them out, if you want!!
Xo,
Renee