Owing a Life | Natasha Romanoff [2]

04|Subject 47

tw: mentions of torture and human experimentation in paragraph 3, 4, 5, 6

╔•═══•༺۝༻•═══•╗
04|Subject 47
╚•═══•༺۝༻•═══•╝

After the chaos in Washington, Sung's world spiralled into darkness. HYDRA's clutches tightened around her like a vice, their grip unrelenting and cruel. The failure at the Triskelion had been a stain on her record, a chink in her armour that HYDRA was determined to mend, no matter the cost.

They came for her, a group of HYDRA agents descending upon her like vultures to a carcass. She offered no resistance, she was past that. The Red Room had taught her resistance was futile, even marble girls cracked. They wouldn't break, but oh they would crack to the point of shattering. Sung would endure her punishments if it meant a chance to find her brother.

In a cold, dirty basement, they punished her for her failure. The lashes of the whip bit into her flesh, leaving crimson welts in their wake. It was old-fashioned, but her torturer claimed new methods took the fun out of it. But she felt nothing. Her pain receptors had dulled over time, or perhaps her tolerance to pain was just immeasurable after growing up in the Red Room. She only stared ahead, her mind retreating to a far corner in her mind. A kitchen that smelled of fresh food and spices with her brother's and father's voice ringing through whilst she cooked, Natasha's arms around Sung's waist. No one could break Sung Lee, no one. She knew only too well how to retreat what she held dear and lock it away safley.

Hydra's scientists, twisted minds that revelled in her suffering, had a new plan for her. The Red Room serum, the elusive chemical concoction that they hadn't managed to perfect until now that was. They injected it into Sung's veins, and she felt the burning chemicals seep into her bloodstream. It was different from the other attempts, this time it took hold, weaving into her very DNA no matter her mutation's resistance.

She was led to a chamber, stark and dark, where she was chained to a table. The room was bathed in an eerie yellow glow from flickering ceiling lights, casting grotesque shadows on the walls and colouring Sung a sick colour. The serum coursed through her, an invasive force that sought to break her spirit, to strip away her last remnants of free will. Sung was ripped out of the kitchen in Korea. Sung's mutationed fired up, trying to keep her safe to no avail.

Days bled into nights, a ceaseless cycle of agony and torment. They performed experiments on her, forcing her to endure until her mind fractured and splintered. Sung had never been truly broken before, there had always been remnants of the girl from Korea in her soul. But then came the breakthrough for HYDRA and the breakdown for Sung. This time they managed to wring it out of Sung. Her memories remained, contrary to her only friend's experiences. But her memories became tainted and twisted. Her father struck her across the cheek, Daeshim tightened the vice on Sung's knee, Natasha pushed Sung out of the quinjet heading West, and Bucky chose to shoot her in the head with a grin. Screams and struggles came from Sung until her throat was raw and her wrists and ankles bloodied from the heavy restraints they used to keep her under control.