Poisoned Youth | Marvel616

Hearts

     "I've made it to the location," Lyudmila said to her team.
      Her auburn-red hair blended in with the old, brick buildings lining the square. Everything about her was subtle. She didn't stand out, not like her parents did. Lyudmila Barnes was like the waves at the beach: expected, inconspicuous, but beautiful just the same.
      She walked through the square feeling at home in a place she's never been. History lessons were pounded into her brain before she could even walk. The fall and rise of an empire a hundred years before her time, and one mission to restore its glory. It was Luda's only purpose in life.
      The Central Bank of Russia was teeming with people talking amongst themselves. The loud rumble of the crowd made Luda's ears ache. Her eyes swiveled around searching for the man who has haunted her for years.
      "Don't hesitate," Vihkrov snapped at the soldier dressed in black.
       He had the eleven-year-old girl trapped in his grip. Her arm was screwed behind her and her wrist stayed in an unnatural position.
      "If she wants to be stupid, let her learn her lesson."
       The young man hesitated only to hear the mechanic clicking of a gun. "Go ahead. Snap her wrist," Dimitri heaved heavily with anger.
      A loud, unnatural snap vibrated through the high-ceiling room. Lyudmila let out a choked whimper and felt her stomach drop to the bottom of her stomach. The cool, sharp metal of the but of a gun stuck her against the side of her mouth. Bitter copper overrode her senses.
     "Don't be weak," he hissed.
     The room suddenly became blurry as burning air-filled everyone's eyes and noses. Heavy, gasping coughs were heard around the room as people panicked. Luda's heart pounded in her ears. Revenge was so close. Working alone is what she was born to do. Her instincts kicked in and she fired a gun into the air.
    "Everyone, evacuate now," Lyudmila clamored out in Russian. The language felt natural in her mouth.
     The crowds left in waves pushing against her body. Frantic yells and crying couldn't even budge her attention as she stood like a statue waiting for Dimitri Vihkrov to show himself.
     One person was left standing, but it wasn't the scientist. The girl's face was hidden by a cloaked jacket.
      "Is Vihkrov too much of a coward to face me himself? What are you? Another one of his little pets?" Luda scoffed not attempting to hide the disgust written all over her face.
      Silently, the girl ran at Luda. They collided like two freight trains. Lyudmila recognized her own sheer strength. A strength she has been suppressing for years. A quick jab to the jaw knocked the cloak off her head and revealed a familiar face.
      Lyudmila was looking in a mirror. The face she has spent years hating was right in front of her. Blank brown eyes stared at brown eyes filled with apprehension.
      "I'm not one of his pets, умняшка (smart one). That's your job. His little dog that strayed too far from home." The clone hissed.
       Luda was frozen in place as she felt her body being thrown to the ground. The hard marble floor woke her up from her daze in time to kick Vihkrov's experiment off of her. The girl went flying across the room and slid. Her muscles ached as she used them to an extent she hasn't in years.
        "Do you really believe that? He was probably just disappointed you turned out to be a girl." Luda smirked, acting confident to hide her desperate gasps for air.
       A shared anger was written all over the girl's face as she charged toward Luda. Lyudmila was barely able to avoid her in time. Her limbs felt like weight. All the mental blocks she put in her mind to try and block her abilities broke loose like a flood gate.
        The girls fought with the backdrop of sirens and screams. Police cars squealed their tires outside. They marched with heavy feet weighed down with hazmat suits and weapons. Barricades pounded against the iron doors. Lyudmila ignored every warning and order. She only focused on what was in front of her.
        The clone was strong and fast, maybe even more so than the original, but she couldn't think for herself. Every motion was brutal and drilled into her from her handlers. Her mind and body wasn't her own. There was no planning for the unexpected.
         Luda tensed her muscles as the clone landed a punch to her cheek. She could already feel the pulsing pain in her bones. She fell on the floor and let her body be heavy with dead weight. The clone looked over her like a puppy that doesn't know what to do with her bone. Her eyes unfocused as she put a gun to Luda's head. The opponent she was trained to kill her whole life, the opponent who she was told she could never beat, was right there in front of her eyes and death was only a click away.
         Lyudmila reacted in a split second. Her legs slid effortlessly underneath the other's. She stumbled back startled. Luda pointed her gun. A moment of hesitation, weakness, overcame Luda. She quickly shook it off and a bullet sped through the clone's knee.
       Lyudmila knew she should leave. The police were at the door about to barge in at any moment, but leaving would mean losing Vihkrov. She needed to see him, needed to prove to herself that she had the strength to face him. Loud banging erupted into the room as a black hoard swarmed the building.
        Police surrounded every exit as dozens of guns were pointed at the pair. Luda was roughly shoved to the ground and handcuffed while her clone was put on a stretcher. She could fight back, make a run for it but now was her chance. Dimitri Vihkrov was standing right in front of her. His piercing grey eyes are guarded by a black riot suit. Even with his face covered, Lyudmila could identify him anywhere. He planted his heavy boots on her hand and ground down.
       Every muscle in Lyudmila's body burned with anger. She has never run from a fight. In fact, she often recklessly jumps right into them. Luda cussed herself in her mind. She felt helpless and frozen as her former abuser stood dominant over her.
      The young girl was in a bloody heap. Her shoulder protruded unnaturally and her skin was touched with the Siberian winter. The snow surrounding her was a deep red. A coppery scent filled the bitter cold air. Frostbite blended in with bruises.
     "Get up." Dimitri stared down at her with revulsion. His body was tense and his breathing was ragged.
    Lyudmila looked up at him with two bloody, swollen eyes. Her irises were barely visible but the fire in them could not be dulled.
   Vihkrov roughly grabbed her injured shoulder and dragged her to the training room.
    The police station was cold. She was in a separate cell isolated from the rest of the detainees. Her eyes burned from exhaustion. She stayed the night in the claustrophobic room but didn't sleep. The fear of reliving her past plagued her.
    A guard, looking slightly unnerved, came to the bars. "You are free to go."
    Lyudmila was escorted to a private exit where General Alvarez was waiting for her. His arms were crossed and his mouth was set in anger.
    The young officer quickly uncuffed her and scurried inside the building.
   "Barnes, are you aware how many strings I've had to pull to get you out of here and avoid an international crisis? You're lucky they didn't shoot you dead. Out of all your training, you couldn't have left before the police arrived?"
   "I was waiting for Vihkrov."
    The general sighed. "You almost risked our whole operation and our team. They can easily shut us down after this. I would think you would be able to control your emotions as a spy."
     His words poured salt in a wound Lyudmila had forgotten. Her father was Captain America and her mother was one of the best spies in the world. They were proud, in-control, and remarkable. Luda knew deep down she wasn't able to be like them. There was nothing special about the girl. She was a generic, a knockoff of the old Soviet times, essentially a clone of her parents.
     "Did Dimitri and the girl get away?" She asked quickly, changing the conversation.
     "Reportedly the girl was killed. The bullet went through an artery and Dimitri Vihkrov has never been a police officer nor was he ever reported at the crime scene."
      "So they're both on the run. I didn't hit an artery. I know it." Luda's teeth set in determination and fire came back alive in her eyes.
      "I agree. But Luda, you're on leave for awhile"
     She stopped in her tracks frozen in anger and disbelief, "I'm sorry sir but you can't set me out"
    "It's not forever Barnes and it's not just you. The whole operation is on hold until we can completely figure out what Dimitri's plans are. He's ten steps ahead of us."
    "How are we supposed to do that outside of the field?" Lyudmila scoffed. She was never good at holding her tongue with her superiors and got herself in trouble too many times to count in boot camp.
     "You are as smart as you are strong. Use it to your advantage. Stop trying to fight everything."
    Lyudmila Barnes had never given up in her whole life and it was a parasite gnawing at her stomach.