Project Elemental

Chapter 10

The Avengers, plus 002, congregated in the meeting room. A plate of pastries sat in the middle of the table, untouched.

They were talking- discussing- 002 and 003. Those who weren't aware of the latest occurrences were briefed. They kept throwing around the name of the girl who could control ice, discussing her fate if she didn't wake from the coma soon. The only Avenger who wasn't engaged in the conversation was Captain America. He was deep in thought,

Steve Rogers shook his head. The name... It was so familiar... And her face. Where had he seen her before....

All around him there was chaos. Blood splattered the cobblestone streets and the wails of women and small children and grown men filled the air. Smog filled the air, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Sirens cut through the air, warning residents too late of the air raid. Berlin was burning, and so would he if he didn't find cover.

But Hydra was here. An urgent message had been intercepted. Decoded, it read something along the lines of, "Collect the second and third constituents for Project Elemental."

"Hey, Buck, do you know if Hydra ever mentioned anything about... Project Elemental?"

Bucky slowly shook his head, but Vision spoke up. "Project Elemental was a suspectedly failed Hydra experiment that took place during World War II."

Tony Stark dropped his conversation with Wanda and frowned. "Suspectedly failed?"

"According to ancient texts, there are five primordial elements-"

Thor nodded vigorously. "Aether, Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Some sects, believe that all mortals contain small amounts of all of the elements. Mutations sometimes occur..."

"Leaving a mortal with an abundance of one element, or an aspect of that element." Vision finished.

"Causing naturally occurring superhuman powers." Natasha muttered.

"Precisely."

Bucky shook his head, a sickening feeling settling into his stomach like wet cement. "Ice and Fire."

Tony sat up. "Go back to the 'suspectedly failed' thing."

"During World War II, specific people with this mutation that were registered in SHIELD databases started disappearing. But only three. A couple years later, the first to disappear turned up dead in an abandoned Hydra base in Poland. He was a geomagnetic kinetic. Nothing came of the disappearances, and they stopped after the third. It is assumed that the other two died and their bodies were not found."

"Geomagnetic kinetic?" 002 asked, confused.

Bruce rubbed his chin. "He could manipulate the geomagnetic field, an aspect of the Earth element."

"When did the-" Steve ran a hand through his hair. "When did the two others disappear?"

"Hydra collected them during an air raid on Berlin in the 1940's."

Steve nearly sank back in his seat. This was his fault. All of it. Every moment of pain those girls had suffered was his fault. If he had only been able to complete his mission that night.

"It's okay, I'll protect you." Steve didn't speak German, but he hoped she could understand his gentle tone that contrasted the destruction around them.

One of the things Hydra had wanted to collect was this child. He didn't want to know why or what for. In his arms he cradled the girl, who couldn't of been older than eight. She had stunningly blue eyes, which shone from her mud-splattered face. Tears had created clear paths down her cheeks through the dirt. Her body was cold. Her skin felt like snow, but she showed no signs of it. No goosebumps, no shivering, no blue lips. And besides that, it was summertime and fires caused by the bombs made the air insufferably warm.

In the distance, bombs exploded, expelling pieces of historic monuments and the homes of families in every direction. The extraction point was halfway across the city in the opposite direction, and Nazis (Hydra and otherwise) swarmed the city like ants when their hills are disrupted. They were searching for something. They were searching for her. Steve stared across the burning plaza, the girl's head still tucked against his shoulder. A burst of human movement, and he obliged to turn. Hydra soldiers were weaving in and out of debris, all set on retrieving their prize. He ran as fast as he could towards a mostly clear street, but nearby, a bomb dropped. The last thing Steve saw was a massive piece of shrapnel from the explosion propelling through the air towards his head. When he opened his eyes again a few moments later, he was on the ground. The little girl was nearby; over the ringing in his ears he could hear her screaming and crying. When he looked towards the sound, his eyesight was fuzzy, but the outline of a Hydra soldier ripping her from the ground was clear enough. The last thing Captain America saw was her tangled F/H/C hair and her blue eyes filled with tears. The girl and her kidnapper disappeared into a building, darkness swallowing their wake.

Wanda's voice interrupted Steve's thoughts. "Why did they stop going after elemental mutants when they only had three?"

Bucky spoke up. "I... I think I remember something." He looked towards 002 for verification as he spoke. "They realized they didn't need to risk time and resources to create and train army. They could build the strongest on Earth from crossbreeding super soldiers and mutants."

002's picked at her nails, not meeting Buck's gaze. Instead, she looked towards Steve. "I saw a file once..." She took a shaky breath. "We- F/N and I- were supposed to abduct you... Take you back to Hydra. They were going to make you one of theirs... like... like Bucky."