Hydra's shadow

Chapter 2: Clouded Memories

*ECHO'S POV*

Voices of passers by filled the corridor replacing the once eerie silence I always longed for. With no warning a key jangles in the lock behind me and I'm dragged from the chilling floor of my cell towards the place I dread a little more as each day passes. The Room. My body is limp from the drugs they've given me, I am barely able to hold my own weight, the two soldiers at each side pulling me along with them as my toenails scratch against the roughness of the etched metal floors. It's better that way they say, the metal reflects any sound so you can never tread unknown to them. My eyelids feel droopy, and it takes a great deal of effort to keep them open just enough to see where I'm going. Yet no matter how hard I try to convince myself, I always know where I'm going, I always end up in the same place, The Room.

The bands tighten around my wrists and feet, the metal pads placed to my forehead, a damp towel is placed between my gritted teeth so as to minimise the struggled sounds during the procedure. He approaches me with his usual weapon of choice, the infamous pocket knife inscribed with his initials GD on the right side of the handle. As he steps closer a twisted sickening grin appears on his face, making my stomach churn at the sight of it. I thrust out of his way as he places his hand on my stomach but it's no use, I'm tied down. Locked in. With his other hand clutching the pocket knife he strikes deep into my lower abdomen, a deepened and pained scream escaping my throat, too muffled by the towel to be heard outside The Room. The electricity begins to surge through the paddles stuck to my forehead and I watch as he stares in awe. My flesh wound merely seconds after striking begins to shrink. It's healing itself, stitching itself back together, I can almost feel the tissue binding inside of me. My head starts to feel light and my vision blurry, and I watch as he approaches me from the far left corner of The Room. I cringe as I feel his breath on my neck and his voice in my ear.

"You know what you are little one. You were born to be her and her only. An echo of her. My next Black Widow."

My breath is taken suddenly from me as I'm shaken awake, bolting upright when I realise once again where I am.

"Wake up! Hey, WAKE UP!"

I recognise the voice as Peter's, the boy from the rooftop. My heart rate starts to slow as I come to my senses, taking in everything around me, the hospital bed, the chair beside me, the unopened jello on the side table. I'm still here, I never went back there, it was just a nightmare. Just another nightmare.

"You're not gonna try and hit me when I try to help you this time are you miss?" Peter questioned as I relaxed back into the bed.

"I tried to hit you?"

"Yeah! Several times." he replied expressively.

"Sorry, I think I was just having a nightmare." I tried to reason, and he seemed to accept it and move on.

"Now that you're back on your feet alright miss I think it's time for you to find out where you really are." he started in a more serious tone, "I think you're gonna love it."

"Cool. And don't call me miss it's too formal, besides we're probably the same age."

"What should I call you then?"

"Echo, my name is Echo."

"Come one then Echo let me show you around.".

After what seemed like a million flights of stairs we reached what Peter called the main part of the tower, and it definitely was a tower with about 40 levels and god knows how many rooms. I trailed behind Peter as he entered the living area, and it took me a second to realise that we weren't the only two people in there. Looking back at us from the sofa were six faces I'd never seen before, each holding a more puzzling look than the last.

"Who's your girlfriend Peter?" a dark haired man wearing a suit and tinted glasses asked in a teasing and playful tone.

"Haha very funny Tony but she's not my girlfriend." Peter responded in a mocking tone, "Everyone, meet Echo. Echo, meet The Avengers."