❛   𝐭𝐰𝐨   ❜

❝ kid, get off the ground. spit
your blood, and bare your
teeth; go down a savage,
go down fighting. ❞

          AFTER she was wiped, Anastasia was escorted into the training area. There, a man and a woman stood, in front of other guests.

The woman was short with a proud face. Her skin was olive and her brown hair was pinned back in a slick bun. Anastasia saw the forming wrinkles around her mouth and at the corner of her eyes. Clearly she had been alive for many, many years now.

The man's face was etched into disproval and anger. The deep wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth gave it away to her. His cheeks were sunken in and she notices the heavier bags under his eyes than the older woman.

"Enigma," the man who stood beside her spoke English now. "Do you recognize anyone here?"

She only shook her head, eyes travelling from face to face. He jutted her chin, directing it at the pair. "You don't recognize Mister and Missus Perova?"

He moved away, slowly pacing about.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the first of many stages. We call it the Winter Soldier Program. Our first subject of the project is located in Moscow. After his positive results, we expanded to other locations.

"Phase one will be the shaping process; seeing who is well enough to proceed. Of course, our guests—mister and missus Perova—have graciously joined us and offered a few of their own from the Red Room Academy. The next will be by injection..."

The man twisted on his heel to gesture to two doctors. Anastasia noticed they looked unsettled to be in the room.

"...We are currently undergoing experiments and tests. Erskine's serum was one of a kind," he chuckled darkly. "But I think we are close. After that, we spread out across the country; finding and creating more Winter Soldiers."

The older couple, along with a few doctors and others gave a small round of applause.

Anastasia's eyes stayed glued to the floor and she didn't move an inch.

"All right, bring in the subjects. Let's begin." He glared at Anastasia darkly. "You let me down, I will shoot you down on the spot. You can be replaced."

He walked away to safety, at the far end of the room. No one seemed to bat an eye at his comment, seemingly blasé to such behaviour.

A heavy metal door opened behind the small group of observers and a small line of adults shuffled through, with a few younger ones; ranging from the twenties to mid-thirties.

They all lined up in front of Anastasia. She noticed some looked frightened, while others looked bitter and full of rage.

The man conducting the entire thing smiled proudly. "Each will take turns fighting with the asset. Those who fail will be killed. Those who succeed will move on to the next stage. If this succeeds, there is talk of combining both assets. We believe it would make missions go by faster and easier."

Anastasia squinted her eyes. Work with someone else? How would she manage that? She completed her fourth mission since arriving last week.

"Are we all ready? Begin."

A male assistant moved to the line, shoving whoever was closest forward. It was another male, around mid-twenties by Anastasia's guess. He looked stiff as if he didn't wanna be there. Anastasia bent her knees slightly, raising her fists to fight.

          THE training had gone by quicker than she imagined. After about forty-five minutes, she was left with two men and one woman. Her body was lined with a thin layer of sweat and some hair stuck to her face.

"Well done," The guard congratulated, watching as the final body from the recruitment group was dragged away. "Here we have our subjects."

They looked at the other three. All of their faces were blank from emotion.

"I think we are about done for the day. I'd like to thank our guests for coming once more to our base. We look forward to working with the Red Room."

They all applauded again before each of them got escorted to their own cells. When two larger guards approached her, the older couple joined. The woman was the first to speak, "We'd like to see the asset for a bit if that's all right with you?"

He smirked, nodding before waving off his assistance. "Of course. Take all the time you need."

Anastasia automatically led them to her own cell, sitting on the decaying cot and waiting for their instructions. Her hands rested on her knees, with one held in a fist. With her other hand, her thumbnail scraped against her pinkie nail repeatedly; a fidgeting habit she picked up.

The couple stood in front of her, looking down with both fascination and furtiveness. When the man's eyes moved to her fidgeting hand, she froze it.

"How are you, An—"

"Enigma," the man quickly interrupted the woman, sending her a leering glare. The woman seemed to flinch, pursing her lips.

Anastasia remained quiet, staring up at them impassively.

"We just wanted to see you once more before we retire and before you leave. We were informed you were being transferred to Moscow in the coming days." the woman slowly says, gauging for any reaction. When Anastasia gave none, her head moved forward. "Do you recognize us at all?" Her eyes roamed her features. "You're hair is very long. It looks nice."

"Valentina," the man hissed at her.

Anastasia paused before shaking her head slightly to the woman's previous question. Her eyes went down, seeing that her hair had grown until the middle of her biceps. It was just above her shoulders before.

The woman frowned, muttering something under her breath. The man seemed disgusted or even embarrassed to see her, "Funny how we're standing here now, hmm? Compared to what you proclaimed back when you were only seventeen."

"Anton, don't be rude."

He shrugged her words off, rolling back his shoulders in a cocky fashion. "It was nice seeing you before we departed, I suppose. The Red Room Academy said you did just fine over there as well. Glad to see you're finally picking up your weight around here."

The man left for the door, with the woman reluctantly following. When they neared the threshold, he turned to give her a dirty look. "Welcome to your new life, Anastasia. Make us and Hydra proud."

Anastasia blinked at his words, watching the door even after they left. Her chest fell just as quickly as it rose and she found it hard to breathe all of a sudden.

          WITHIN two days, Anastasia was in the back of a vehicle and was being transported to the base in Moscow. The guards had told her that her performance pleased them, and they sent word out to pair both assassins.

It didn't feel like a long ride to her; being stuck in her thoughts most of the way there.

When they arrived in Moscow, she was chained up and escorted inside with guns aimed at her. It wasn't very different than the other base.

Perhaps a little bit roomier, she thought.

Anastasia was nearly shoved into a small room. On one side, it had a chair with a head contraption built-in. On the other, a row of doctors and nurses stood; each looking equally uncomfortable and afraid.

In the middle stood a bulky man, with brown hair, blue eyes and a light coating of facial hair along his jaw and upper lip. Anastasia eyed him, not recognizing his face.

She stood beside him, either not daring or wanting to say the first word.

"Welcome, Солдаты, today marks the day of creating history." A man dressed in military clothing spoke up, pacing in front of the two. His voice held a thick Russian accent.

"Both of our locations have been monitoring and evaluating your performances since you've arrived a few years back. We would like to say we are pleased and have made the decision to pair you two up. We feel that it will get tasks done much quicker. We shall all make the world a better place under Hydra's watch."

He grabbed a file from an assistant, who was from Anastasia's base. Flipping it open, he read over her history, skillset and specific trigger words. Once his eyes landed on the section of her romantic past with Bucky, he stiffened.

After a moment, his eyes lifted and he smirked at the both of them. They both stared back blankly, not knowing or questioning his reaction. He chuckled, passing it back. "This should be fun." He glanced at a nurse standing by, "Prep them and put them away. We don't need them for any missions right now."

A few guards with weapons stepped forward. Bucky was the first to react, turning and stiffly walking out the room. Anastasia was nudged with a gun, following him down the begrimed hallway she walked in before.

It was a short walk, and upon entering another room, she noticed it was much colder than the others. There were small pods lining the wall. Some had people in them, others were vacant. A nurse moved forward, pressing a few buttons on a panel in front of one.

The machine whirred to life before a hiss of cool air jetted out around the seal. The metal door slowly opened and Bucky stepped forward. He stepped inside mechanically, leaning against the padded wall behind him.

The door closed and Anastasia watched as ice quickly fogged up the window. She looked to the man that led them to the room. "Cryostasis. Get in," he snapped before walking away.

She swallowed dryly before her own pod was opened. Reluctantly she stepped forward, moving in and leaning back as well. The door closed behind her quicker than she could react.

Her hand flew to the door in consternation, placing a few fingers against the window. Another hiss caught her attention, and cold air flushed over her. Upon breathing it in, her head started to feel light before a dizzy feeling nearly made her fall.

The frost shadowed her from the on-lookers on the other side and Anastasia fell asleep promptly.