The Silent Shadow || marvel

03- a russian goodbye

HYDRA BASE: SIBERIA, RUSSIA (JUNE 2009)

A year and 3 months had passed since The Asset discovered his daughter's existence. What had gone down the day of his first mission since he had Svet became a repetitive pattern over the 16 months they spent together.

Every mission he went on, guards would pluck her from his quarters and throw her in that horrible cell. They would beat her to a pulp until she was blood-soaked and broken. Svetlana would spend the days without her papa sobbing in her comfort corner as her stomach grumbled and her mouth and body bled.

And after every mission, The Asset would demand to be taken to her before anything else. He would always go into the cell and gently pick up her shaken form. It pained him to see his daughter in never-ending pain but he couldn't do anything about it. The thought enraged him. The guards used his daughter as their punching bag just to get at him because they knew he couldn't do anything if he wanted Svetlana to live.

After their first mission apart Svetlana was so beaten and so scared she just clung to her father for hours. At first, when he had arrived to collect her she tried to fight him away. She had felt betrayed and lied to per usual but eventually melted into her father's arms and allowed him to carry her back to their quarters.

That time was by far the worst she had been beaten in the year they'd been together. At just 3 and a half years old, Svetlana was returned to The Asset with a fractured nose, two broken ribs, and a busted lip. Not to mention various other cuts, scrapes, and bruises she had acquired over the 4 days she spent there.

Her broken bones were attended to by a doctor who saw her after The Soldier pleaded with a new young and noticeably nervous guard. He couldn't have been more than 17, so when he was alone doing rounds The Soldier held him against the wall in a choke until he agreed to sneak Svetlana and him into the doctors.

Alexander Pierce had a constant live video feed of the girl's cell and laughed at her pain. Though he had a smaller soft spot for her he didn't truly care about her well-being or health. He always threatened to shoot the girl if his Soldiers disobeyed him but what no one knew was that he needed the girl to stay alive.

In a recent study, they discovered and were able to make a special serum that mimicked the super soldier serum but in different ways. They already had two test subjects and when Alexander got wind that they needed one more he didn't even hesitate to sign the young girl up. He just waited for the right time to take her away.

So he watched and he waited patiently every time The Soldier was off on a mission. Sometimes he told the guards to give her their all in torturing her and other times he ordered them to not touch a hair on her head and merely just starve her. This was to see how much she could endure.

Svetlana was never planned to be used as a weapon or to be anything more than just leverage against her father. But when the opportunity arose he couldn't resist. The money was excellent and they were starting to lose the use of Svetlana.

Yes, she was doing what she was made for greatly but it seemed to be making The Soldier soft. He would bring her back things from his trips and demand to know if she was alright if a mission lasted more than 5 days. Alexander had allowed the gift bringing when the guards reported it to him. At first, he was hesitant and was going to order to shut it down when he realized it would only hurt Svetlana and The Soldier more when she was to be taken.

The Soldier had brought back many things for Svetlana and on the first mission he was stationed in Spain where he stole a small little rag doll as they called it. It was small enough to fit in the bulletproof breastplate he wore under his stealth suit. When he showed Svetlana she was ecstatic. She had never had a doll or any sort of toy in her life and even with multiple broken bones and a bloody head and mouth, she smiled and thanked him.