Enemy of Silence

21 - Recalibrating

It's been three months since I came to Zola asking to rejoin Hydra. Since then I've regained my position as Agent 1, taking down their current top agent in my first fight. The poor guy left all his defences open because he was a misogynistic prick who thought he'd never be beaten by a woman. I'd knocked him out in five minutes, since then nobody wants to challenge me. I've been training some of the agents below me, after all I need support on missions that I can trust not to die immediately.

Today's the day that I'm getting the new serum. Zola and I have been researching the original serum to find out how it was activated, and in classic Hydra fashion the answer just so happened to be torture, so that's gonna be great fun. I uncuff myself from the bed frame, something I once again do habitually every night. I swing my legs over the edge of my bed, rubbing at the raw skin of my wrist that's already started to heal. Trudging into my bathroom I flicker on the light and stare at my reflection. I don't look like the girl I remember being, the girl who was loved, I look like the aftermath. The girl who lost everything then got hit by a freight car of emotions whilst being electrocuted, which did happen so I suppose it's expected.

The moment the scientists chose to push back my memories of the war and bring forward my memories of Hydra is clear as day: I sit in the cold metal chair, one similar to the one Steve and I found Bucky in nearly seven years ago. I shake my head to clear the thoughts of the two men from my mind. "Sit back Agent." One of the men tells me. I adjust my body into a comfortable position, my back flush with the back of the chair, and welcome the almost painful bite of the cold metal against my bare arms and legs. A metal piece is attached to the side of my head, it's weight forcing me back into the head of the chair. "This might hurt. You'll see a lot of memories and you'll feel a lot of emotions. If you feel unstable at any point, just say the word." The only female scientist explains and I smile graciously.

A switch is flicked and electricity courses through my head. The pain is excruciating and bite my tongue to keep from yelling. My fists grip the edges of the chair, my face scrunches, and my toes curl as memories flash through my mind in quick succession. There's a man drawing, he's drawing another man. The man in the drawing has chocolate brown hair and a dazzling smile. The man is in front of me, he's leaning in, he's on top of me, I'm on top of him. I blink and the man who was drawing pops up again. He's smaller now, and there's two men with him. One with glasses and shaggy white hair that's receding. He's talking to a much younger man, he's sporting a moustache and suspenders, they're both wearing lab coats. My hand is squeezed tightly and I turn my head to see a dark haired woman. Her face crinkled with worry. Suddenly there's a bright light, the man from earlier is bigger now. I see red, white, and blue, a shield, fire, lots of fire, snow, a train, someone's falling, there's a plane, I'm yelling, my skin burns, and then nothing.

I open my eyes to four scientists looming over me, Zola speaks first, "Viktoriya, what names have you gone by?" I think for a moment before responding, "Viktoriya Solovyova, Agent 1, The Red Shadow, The Angel of Death." Zola nods, and then asks, "Who do you love?" My brain pounds as the image of a man tries to push itself forwards but I can't see it. "I-I-I don't know, a sergeant that's all I know." I stutter out. "Good. Mission complete." Zola nods.

I wash the memory down the drain as I shower away the sweat of the night. Turning the shower off and wrapping a towel around my body I head back into my bedroom. Grabbing a pair of black leggings and a blank tank top with the Hydra insignia adorning the chest, I leave to find Zola. As I walk, my ponytail swinging, I hear the murmurs of a scientists scurrying to work on projects, the muffled screams of assets and experiments. I reach my destination and push upon the heavy metal door. "Utrenniy Doktor." I say, nodding at Zola as he stands near a small tray table. Thin metal clinks against the tray as he checks that everything is present. 

I sit myself in the chair and a shiver runs through my body at the cold metal on my skin once again. "I'm not going to tell you that this isn't going to hurt because that'd be a lie." Zola jokes and I roll my eyes at his antics. He picks up the needle filled with a pulsating yellow serum, different shades swirling and bubbling together. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly as the needle pierces my skin and the liquid fills my veins. It feels like oil but ten times thicker, I feel my arm immediately begin to ache and drop like a dead weight. My eyes flutter closed as my head pounds. I finally reopen my eyes after scrunching them a few times and they widen in shock. I can see the energy thrumming through the lights, the heat rising in the room, the sound from the chatter flowing out of people's mouths in a swirling purple cloud. 

My eyes land on the two men who haul me from the chair and my breath catches. Whilst their presence is ominous my attention is drawn to their chests where a rippling ball of blue mass throbs. I reach out to touch the orb on the man on my left and he makes a strange choking noise, I immediately withdraw my hand. I'm carried to a cell, my eyes barely staying open, and thrown in. The door shuts and I'm plunged into darkness. Of course, I think, sensory deprivation is Zola's choice of torture. I roll my eyes at the thought. I focus on the sounds I can hear with my enhanced hearing, they're far away and muffled but I zero in on one voice. A rough voice with a smooth undertone, one reminiscent of wood fire and cocoa: "Mission complete." He says in Russian. "Well done Soldat." Another man praises. I listen to their conversation until I drift off to sleep...