BROWN EYES ▹ STEPHEN STRANGE

one

April 2013

"Fuck," Hernan says, cheek throbbing in pain.

"Ah ah," A voice chastises, "No talking." Another blow to his face. Hernan hissed in pain but kept his mouth shut. He'd rather not have two black eyes, even if he could heal faster.

Hernan spits out the blood that was accumulating in his mouth and sits back up on the chair, grunting as the reinforced ropes dig harshly into his wrists.

He's been in Hydra's clutches for about nine months now and he still had no concrete plan to get away. Staying as a puppet for Hydra was not an option, and he was glad they couldn't get to his head. The same couldn't be said for others though.

"A shame we can't use him like The Asset," A voice murmurs behind him. Hernan hears voices of agreement. "His abilities would be very useful to us."

"Better keep him here than out there."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Hernan grits out in annoyance. He knows he shouldn't talk but the fact that they're talking about him as if he wasn't there annoyed him to no end.

"Silence." A slap. "Experiments don't talk."

Hernan just grunts. Assholes, he thinks. At least they're not trying to make him fight The Asset again, that hadn't ended well. Hernan is a skilled fighter but The Asset's lack of self preservation and Hernan's desire to not hurt the other left Hernan with quite the injuries.

"Alright, we're done here. Get him to his cell, make sure to put on the collar. We don't want a repeat of last time."

Last time meaning the day the stupid guards forgot to place the power suppressing collar on him. Hernan was so close to escaping but of course Hydra couldn't leave their most valued experiment go and sent The Asset after him.

Hernan grumbles as two agents shove him up harshly, placing the collar on his neck roughly. "Pinches pendejos."

"What was that?" An agent asks, squeezing Hernan's arm hard. Hernan just rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything, looking towards the front as they guide him to his cell. As they're walking, Hernan can hear screams belonging to The Asset, causing him to wince in sympathy. Hernan knew the lengths they went to keep The Asset in line and he didn't envy the other at all.

They reach his cell and Hernan gets shoved roughly, causing him to land on the floor and smack his head. Hernan groans. "What the fuck." The agents don't humor him with a reply, just slam the door and lock it thoroughly.

Sighing, Hernan gets up and lays down on the poor excuse of a mattress he has. It's literally paper thin and more often than not, Hernan found himself being more comfortable sleeping on the floor rather than on the mattress.

He really needed to get out of here, he was going insane.

November 2013

Hernan wakes up with a jolt, his heart ready to beat out of his chest and his ears buzzing. It takes him a minute to realize the bustling and pounding in his ears is actually happening around him.

As his brain starts to remove the fuzziness from around it, Hernan starts understanding the frantic screaming going on around him.

"The cells! Throw the gas!"

"Get out! Get out!"

"Leave them! This place is burning down anyways!"

Hernan didn't like the sound of that. He gets out of his bed quickly and heads towards the door, peering through the opening that the Hydra agents used to throw his food into. All he sees is frantic footsteps and what is probably fire. He catches the eyes of other prisoner's, all of them having the same expression on their faces. Fear.

"Fuck," Hernan curses as he backs away from the door. "What the fuck."

He didn't want to die, not like this. Hernan knew he wouldn't live very long but the fact that he was going to die in a cell engulfed by flames because Hydra had captured him months prior did not sit right with him.

As he was about to have a panic attack Hernan suddenly feels a rush of power flow through his veins. Confused, he looks down at his hands as sees that his magic is crackling at the tips of his fingers. Dark green wisps of energy moving wildly, as if rejoicing the fact that they're able to manifest again.

The collar, Hernan thinks as his hands go to his neck. And sure enough, it seems as if the collar lost its power as it falls down towards the floor in a dead weight.

"Convenient," Hernan murmurs as he sends a jolt of his magic towards his cell door, causing it to fall down with a thud. He wastes no time in doing the same for the other prisoners, leaving them to their own devices. He has no time to help others if he wants to get out of the facility mainly unscathed.

As he's running, Hernan unwillingly finds himself thanking Hydra. Those experiments conducted on him are now coming in handy. He's able to run faster and in turn get out of the burning building in time.

Hernan is not sure how long he's been running but he comes to a stop in the middle of a clearing when his energy starts to deplete. Panting, he kneels towards the ground and wipes his forehead, getting rid of the sweat. When he finally catches his breathe, Hernan looks around to see if he could find any clue as to where he is.

His clue comes in the form of a giant sign. The sign reads:

"Welcome to West View, New Jersey."

"What the fuck."

———
hi? im sorry this took so long to get posted, ive been exhausted physically and mentally bc i got a job lol. anyways, this is a short chapter but hopefully sets the tone of the story. let me know what you think!
-jackie💛