Dancing For Demons

The Stinging Truth

Anastasia's bed was too soft. The mattress was springy and supported her body perfectly and her head rested on two plump pillows. A thick duvet had been placed over her and she felt buried in luxury. So she got out and lay on the floor instead.
After about half an hour, her pounding headache began to fade and she was able to stand up and properly explore the room for an escape. The door was locked from the outside and the windows were bullet proof. The room was empty apart from the bed and the lights were tamper proof, even to her. She had to admit that this room was well built, but she was sure she could escape. All she needed was an opportunity.
Anastasia sat down on the bed as a woman entered the room. She recognized her as the one who had thrown her out a window, which made her angry that she had been beaten by what looked like a weak young women. However, she wore a mask of calm, like she had been trained to do. Emotions can give an interrogator the upper hand. She waited for the woman to speak first.
"I know who you are," she began, nervously.
Anastasia did not reply.
"You are an assassin for Hydra. Your name is Anastasia, but you are formerly known as the Ghost. You work for a Madame Orlov who is a council member for Hydra."
Anastasia was shocked. Perhaps she used to be a member of Hydra and found out about her. That seemed the only logical explanation, except Hydra wouldn't employ someone so fragile. Every Hydra member and operative she had seen were more heartless than the last.
She thought for a moment then decided to speak, choosing her words carefully. "How did you come by this information?" Anastasia asked, keeping her voice level and calm. She didn't expect Wanda's answer.
"I was 10 years old when a shell blew up our house. My brother grabbed me and we crawled under the bed, when the second shell hit. But it didn't explode. It lay next to us for two days while above the rubble people tried to rescue us. And on its side was painted one word, Stark. Our parents died in that attack." She pauses as though the story pained her and then took a deep breath and continued. " Afterwards we were so angry, we wanted to destroy Stark. But he was too strong, so we signed up for Strucker's experiments. I believe he was the one who gave you your healing ability. Now, I can read minds and move objects without touching them. I looked inside your mind and I saw pain and suffering, caused by the ones you serve. In my short time serving Hydra I was naive like you. They told me they were going to save the world from people like Stark and I believed them, as I am sure you do. But they are the ones the world needs saving from. They have lied to you, manipulated you and stolen your memories."
Wanda finished and the little seed of doubt in her mind grew a little. For the first time in Anastasia's life, she ignored what she had been told and asked a question.
"What do you mean?"

.....................

The whole team tensely watched what was going on, through hidden cameras and microphones installed in the room. They watched as she woke up and checked the room for weaknesses. Tony smiled to himself, confident that not even the hulk could escape from the holding facility he had built.
Wanda walked in and a small amount of fear spread throughout the team. Natasha watched as Anastasia listened to Wanda and barely spoke. The story Wanda told was a familiarly tragic one that had almost caused the end of the world.  Natasha, however, had told Wanda that nothing could help the girl and as she saw the lack of emotion in the girl's eyes, it was confirmed.
Surprisingly, Wanda managed to break through the assassin's icy exterior and for a fleeting moment she saw a scared little girl until Anastasia masked it. She watched closely for any more signs.
Suddenly the door behind them opened and the doctor walked in. "He is awake," he said with a pleased, but tired smile. Relieved, the rest of the team rushed out the room to go and see Steve, but Natasha stayed behind, unable to trust Anastasia. As she watched Anastasia, she was certain that in a moment she would snap.

....................

Wanda tried to explain to Anastasia about the lack of memories. "I looked inside your mind," she began. "You have four years of memories and you are fifteen years old. When I looked in deeper, I discovered that the rest of your memories where blocked, but I managed to pull one out, before you started having a seizure. I only got a quick look at it, but it had a drunk man beating a little girl."
The look of surprise was etched across her face and she didn't try to mask it. "That was a memory!" she muttered in surprise. For a moment, Wanda thought that she had got through to the assassin and made her realise how bad Hydra realise was, but she was wrong. Anastasia lashed out with her fist and it smashed into Wanda's face. "You are lying!" she screamed as she wrestled Wanda to the floor. Her hands closed around Wanda's throat.
Blinded with anger, she didn't hear the door open and didn't sense the presence of Natasha, until she felt herself being wrestled off of Wanda. Letting go of Wanda's throat, she swung her elbow into Natasha's face and was released. She kicked Natsha in the chest and then sprinted towards the bullet proof window. It shattered upon impact and she flew through the air then down into the river.
Natasha ran to the hole in the wall and looked out. A splash in the water below was followed by nothing.
No one surfaced from the river.