the soul thief ↬ b. barnes

i remember

"Your name is Tessa Smith," Bruce began. After the incident with Tony, they had waited for the girl to calm down before giving it another go. They had sent Bruce instead, and the group had decided to tell Tessa information about herself, in hopes of bringing back any memories. "You are 19 years old. When you were 14, you were kidnapped and taken into the custody of Hydra. There, they wiped your memories and turned you into an assassin, known as The Soul Thief. The people in this building are trying to help you regain your memories and get your life back."

Tessa stayed silent throughout this, showing no sign of recognition. Bruce continued, "Your parents were CIA agents James and Lucy Smith, and you had a little brother, Jackson."

At the mention of Jackson's name, Tessa felt an emotion she couldn't recall ever feeling before. It was grief, and pain. But this pain was different to the pain that Hydra had put her through. This was an emotional pain. The boy, Jackson, was the cause of these feelings, but her sharp mind couldn't figure out why.

Bruce, seeing the emotion fill Tessa's eyes, became excited at the possibility that she had remembered something.

"What happened to Jackson?" The assassin questioned, her eyes on the floor.

At this point Bruce was nearly pissing himself, ecstatic at the thought that she wanted to know more. Until he realised that he was going to have to tell Tessa the truth, and that her whole life had been a lie.

"He..." Bruce hesitated. "He's dead, Tessa. Hydra killed him."

Bruce's words cut into Tessa like a knife. Memories began swirling around in her mind, the cloud of confusion partly lifted. She remembered a young boy, Jackson, lying motionless on a table. She remembered the tears that she had shed, and remembered the guards and scientists she had killed. She remembered the punishment she had been given, and why she has a metal arm. Tessa remembered.