Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Forty Six - Would They Care?

The nightmares were horrible. I knew they were only just nightmares, but my brain wanted to convince me otherwise and slowly I began to question if some parts were actually real. I tried to block them out, but it was useless, the only way they would stop is if the weight was taken off the controller. It was right outside my cell, but the nightmares kept me under and paralyzed. Every time I did wake up, I was almost immediately dragged back under. The few times that I did manage to drag myself back into reality, I was aware that I had been thrashing around in my sleep and I was even bleeding on my arms, the scratch marks clear.

I tried to use my fire a couple of times, in hope that I could throw fire at the controller, but it was like I had been completely drained it, possibly because I had no energy. Everything hurt too much, physically and mentally, and in the end I just lay there in my nightmare, too drained to do anything. I didn't bother to get up off the ash in the nightmare, letting everyone's words puncture me like bullets. It felt like something was eating me from the inside out, my whole body just felt numb. I didn't bother to get up off the ash in the nightmare, letting everyone's words puncture me like bullets.

Suddenly, I the nightmare just stopped and the HYDRA cell appeared through my blurry vision. I blinked groggily a couple of times and made out the shape of hand wrapped around the silver controller. Light reflected off the hand and I slowly recognised it as Bucky's metal hand. I raised my head weakly and looked over at him to see that he was still in his cell, pressed up against our joining wall as he grasped the controller outside my cell. His eyes met mine and he squeezed his fist, crushing the controller, dropping the now twisted metal onto the floor outside my cell.

"They want you alive." He said and I flinched slightly at the harshness of his tone. He moved away from the wall and took up his position in the corner of his cell.

"Thank you." I whispered and he twitched a little, barely noticeable before I fell unconscious.

-{+}-

When I woke up the next day, or it might have been night for all I knew, I was feeling a little better than what I had when I had fallen unconscious. The broken pieces of the controller were still laying on the floor and Bucky was still in the corner, hidden by the shadows again.

I sat up slowly, my head pounded, causing me to wince slightly. There was the sound of footsteps and I looked over through slightly blurry vision to see a figure dressed completely in black approaching my cell door. I immediately recognised it as the clothes of the HYDRA soldiers. They looked briefly at the crushed pieces of the controller before opening up my cell door and tossing a bowl in front of me. The contents splattered over the floor and my face, causing me to flinch away again. I waited for the agent's footsteps to fade away before I slowly took my head away from my arm.

I peered into the bowl and saw that it mostly resembled porridge, it was some sort of clumpy oat mix. I carefully pulled it towards me with slightly shaky hands only to see that there was no spoon with it. I hesitantly scooped up a little bit and sniffed it carefully, trying to spot any signs of drugging, tasting a little when I couldn't see any. I was grateful to find that it seemed to taste mostly okay, it was nothing compared to Pepper's food, but at least it wasn't poisoned.

The thought of Pepper and the rest of the Avenger's caused tears to prick at my eyes slightly. Although the memory of the nightmares was still fresh in my head, everything was slightly more... clear now and I could think about them now without fearing I was going to kill them.

Suddenly, questions began to pour into my head. Would they be worried about me? Would they be looking for me? Or were they happy that I were out of their way? Maybe they finally felt as though they could go back to their normal lives.

The door opened and I looked up to see Strucker walking in, Dr. Zola behind him. I slowly shrunk inwards and scrambled backwards as they stepped inside, watching them fearfully. Zola stopped at the door, but Strucker walked towards me until my back was pressed against the cell wall. He put his finger under my chin and pulled my face up until I had no choice but to look up at him.

"She has an attitude, I'll give her that." He smirked. "Draw up a training plan for her, starting tomorrow." Zola nodded and tapped something on a tablet in his hand, the screen lighting up his face in the dark cell. Strucker straightened and his eyes darted over to Bucky, still hidden in the shadow of his own cell.

"How is the Soldier going?" Strucker asked, looking into the shadows carefully.

"Good.." Replied Zola, looking up from the tablet. "We have got him back on track again. He is improving in his training." Strucker nodded curtly before moving towards the cell door, pausing to look back at me.

"Eat." He smirked. "You have a demonstration soon." He and Zola walked out, Strucker slamming the door behind me and causing me to flinch against the wall. My eyes darted back down to the bowl of porridge-like substance and I slowly began to eat, knowing I was going to throw it all up against with whatever demonstration they made me do.