August 5th, 2025
The woman was coming into consciousness and had been for days, but now was where they'd finally get results.
After waiting six days, Bucky and Shuri were oddly curious about the woman strapped to the bed in front of them. Despite hours of searching, they couldn't find anything else on the woman, still not entirely sure if the files they'd been given were right.
Bucky stood silently behind a single-sided mirror, watching Shuri through the glass, prepared to step inside if anything happened.
Finally, as if the world had been waiting, the woman took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering open.
Kate Alden, or who they thought was Lauren Sonrail, had known pain. More pain than was humanly possible. But coming out of cryostasis was always at the top of the list. Her body was in so much pain, and yet her brain was so jacked with chemicals it couldn't tell it was in pain.
Kate took another deep breath, the air seeping from her lips, her body shaking. Everything hurt, and it didn't really bother her at this point. Hate burned beneath her skin, making the pain laughable.
They had to bring me back.
Even though everything was a blur, Kate tried moving her limbs, which were stronger than they'd ever been coming out of sleep. To no surprise, she was bolted to the bed, only spurring the anger within her.
They'd put her under, only to pull her back out. They'd beaten her to death and justified it as a necessity. Called it a lesson to be learned. They used her, hurt her, tortured her for decades, and she was done. All she had thought about, the only thought running through her mind during sleep, was that she was done. She wouldn't take it anymore because every reason she had for staying didn't exist anymore. There was no reason for her to stay. The Winter Soldier wasn't hers anymore.
"You had to bring me back." Kate sputtered, her voice light and hoarse. But she knew she was heard. Despite the ceiling she'd been looking at, she could feel the presence of someone else, someone who had pulled her out. "You couldn't have just gone through the trouble of killing me?"
Kate didn't care that she had only woken up. It didn't matter because she could still feel the scars on her body just before cryostasis, the beating she'd received.
She wasn't meant to live, and HYDRA made sure of that. She was only a tool, an asset. And everything she had left didn't exist.
"I don't intend to kill you."
It was a soft melodic voice that spoke to Kate, and entirely void of intention. As Kate registered the voice, the bed she was on began to incline, bringing her eyesight forward.
It took her a second for her to adjust, but Kate knew she wasn't in the same facility, and definitely not in the same time period. The room was large but simple, with oddly organized countertops and desks. They were decorated with various tools and instruments. Glass panels lined several of the walls, some of them hovering in the middle of the ceiling.
Kate was hooked to an IV and was underneath a thin blanket that stopped at her waist. She was currently staring at the woman standing across from her.
She stood with eased composure, her hands folded neatly in front of her as she tilted her head at Kate. She wore a white jumper, in stark contrast with her smooth brown skin, with a pair of red shoes. The woman blinked expectantly.
Kate looked down at the softbound leather on each of her hands before looking back at the woman. "Who are you?"
"My name is Shuri." The woman spoke with a thick accent, the words flowing easily out of her mouth.
YOU ARE READING
Eclipse (Born at Dusk - Book 1)
Fanfiction"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but our lives were created together within HYDRA's walls. They can't unmake us." To her, he was a ghost; to him, she was a stranger. Bucky is the only super soldier left, he'd checked himself. However...
