The shadow Hunter

chapter 5

I stood in the middle of the empty white room with the scientists behind the glass window like usual. Today it was the scientist i hated in charge. The one who took me.  His stale voice came over the intercom. "What we want you to do is concentrate on focusing your energy in your palms." I didn't really understand how he expected me to do that. So far, my shield was always just there but i never could feel it. "Go!" He prompted harshly. I sighed and relaxed before tensing my whole body, trying to feel any sort of energy. "Stop!" I opened my eyes and stared through the glass. "Your not trying, try again." He instructed. I rolled my eyes, once again tensing my body waiting for something to happen, but once again, nothing happened. The scientist swore loudly in Russian. He muttered to the scientists surrounding him and then scowled. "She just needs some encouragement." He said with a slightly twisted smile. "Go collect the soldier." He spoke to another scientist who nodded  and left. 

A crease appeared between my brows as i wondered who they meant. I had come to the conclusion a while ago that we couldn't be the only things HYDRA were working on but i had never seen anybody else apart from the scientists and the twins, and i don't think they had either. A few minutes later, the door behind me swung open and a coldness came over the room. The dark eyes of  a man's met mine but behind his, there wasn't much life. He was someone who should instantly fill me with fear but growing up in the red room, you weren't afraid of much. His hair was dark brown and shoulder length and shaggy like it hadn't been washed in a while. His face was stubbly and for a split second i was taken aback by it's beauty. He was dressed in a skin tight black suit. The thing that was most curious and shocking about him was his arm. It was completely metal with a red star embossed on his shoulder. 

He walked normally to a spot opposite me however i could tell there was a slight robotic side to the way he moved. the scientist who had brought him in pulled out a red notebook with the same star that was embossed on the man's arm. He opened it up. "Zhazhdushchy" My head snapped towards the notebook. Longing. That is what he had said in Russian. "Rzhavye" Rusted. "pech" Furnace. The words he was speaking made no sense. There was no correlation. no sentence. "Rassvet. Semnadtsat. Dobrokachestvenny." Daybreak, seventeen, benign. They made no sense but something was happening to the man as the words fell from the scientists lips. "devyat" Nine. The man groaned and his body shook. "vozvrashcheniye domoy" Homecoming. His fists balled up and he gritted his teeth as he grunted like he was in pain.  "odin" One. A scream left the man's mouth, so full of pain. "Stop! what the hell are you doing? Its bothering him!" I shouted at the scientist but he carried on like i hadn't spoken. Finally he said, "gruzovoy vagon" freight car. 

The man stopped shaking, stopped screaming. He was still. He opened his eyes and they still looked lifeless but the way he stared made me feel like i should be scared, that danger was coming. "Gotovy sootvetstvovat trebovaniyam" The soldier spoke in perfect Russian. Ready to comply. That's what he had said. At first i didn't understand what he meant and then pretty soon he explained it for me. He caught me off guard when he lunged forward, his hand pushing my chest as my back smashed into the floor. Pain shot up my back but i didn't flinch. I kicked him hard in the stomach. He barely flinched but it was enough for him to lose his grip. I Jumped up and whilst keeping an eye on the soldier, shouted to behind the glass wall. "chto saa!" It didn't take much for the language to come back to my tongue. "Why are you doing this?" I yelled. The scientist smirked. "It's called motivation." he chuckled slightly. I clenched my teeth and backed away from the man. I was a good fighter, great even, but this man, there was nothing human about his fighting and it would be hard to defeat. I had met my match. My only choice was to try and use my shield. 

I muttered to my self quickly, trying to urge something to happen. I clenched my fists and concentrated hard. "Come on!" I muttered as the soldier started to approach me again. I felt nothing at all and now the man was inches away. His fist slammed into my face. I couldn't help but groan in pain. Blood rushed from a gash in my cheek. I wiped my sleeve across it and the amount of blood that came away on it was worrying. I had no time to worry as i skipped around the edges of the room. I tried again, tensing, concentrating. "For god's sake! Use your shield!" The scientist yelled. "I'm trying!" I yelled back. I took a deep breath and this time i tried relaxing my body. I emptied my mind, made my body feel weightless and then i felt a rush of energy as my body tingled. My hand's tingled vigorously and so i concentrated my mind on them. I tried to stay calm as the soldier approached me again. "Come on." I muttered once more under my breath. Suddenly my hands burst with energy as he struck his fist. It was only for a split second and it wasn't too strong. But i could see it. It had a slight golden hue. It looked slightly more solid than Wanda's vapers though, more like, translucent, liquid glass. Somehow, the small shield i had produced was enough to knock the soldier back.

"Stop!" The scientist announced over the intercom. "That was it! Take him away." The soldier was just starting to stand up again, looking dazed and confused, when the guards surged into the room, grabbing him firmly by his arms and wrestling him out. "How did you do it this time?!" The scientist demanded instantly. "I don't know, i just relaxed and concentrated on pushing the energy to my hands and then, well there it was." I said working out the answer as i went. The scientists quickly started scribbling notes on their clipboard. "Tomorrow, we will run tests and try again. For now she can go." He said, slightly distracted by his notes. The guards came in on cue and seized my arms, bringing me out of the room and down to the cells. 

Wanda was sitting on the floor, working her power  on her blocks and Pietro was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He jumped up as soon as he heard the doors slam shut to the room. He watched me as the guards entered the code and left me in my cell. "Your cheek. It's bleeding." He said instantly, rushing to the glass. I wiped it again with my sleeve. "It's nothing." I said nonchalantly. He still looked concerned. "What did they do to you this time?" He asked. I sat on the edge of my bed and Pietro followed me, leaning against the glass in his usual position. "Have you ever met anyone else apart from the guards and scientists?" I asked him. He shook his head. 

"There was a man." I said. "The soldier, they called him." Pietro furrowed his brows. "They were trying to encourage me to produce a shield. They spoke into Russian to him but the words didn't correlate." I continued. "Then something odd happened. The man become like a robot and started to attack." I could see Pietro's fist clench slightly. "He did that to you!" He muttered with anger. "Yes but i don't think he could control it." I defended the mystery man. I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "Well it seemed to work, i produced a physical shield for a bit." I said, feeling weirdly proud of my self. "But the man." I muttered to my self with curiosity. I tried desperately to remember the words the scientist had spoken. "He must be part of other experiments." Wanda spoke. I hadn't realized she had been standing at her side of the glass. "ye i guess so." I answered. And even though that was pretty much the end of the story, i couldn't stop thinking about him. That night, i could see his face as i tried to sleep. His dark, lifeless eyes. I felt sorry for him. I could tell from the way he writhed in pain when they spoke the words that he was trying to resist. But HYDRA always has control and if they want something, there is no resisting.