Dancing For Demons

When in doubt, tell the truth

Anastasia sat on a corner bench in the Quinjet, her hands cuffed to a metal railing. After trying to kill one of them and abducting another, although they didn't know it was her, she was hardly surprised that they didn't trust her. Across the aircraft stood the man she had tried to kill. He was looking almost fully recovered, but she could tell from his posture that the wounds still pained him.
"I'm sorry," she said to him. No one replied.
"I thought what I was doing was right. I am truly sorry."
Still there is silence, so Anastasia stops talking. Unexpectedly, the man she attacked responds to her.
"I forgive you," Steve said, kindly. Wanda gives him a grateful smile, however the rest of the team look surprised.
"She would have killed you, Steve," Tony reminded him.
"She's a fifteen year old kid who has probably grown up with Hydra's policies. Give her a chance, Tony," he pleaded. He didn't reply, but went over to the front of the Quinjet and sat down, taking over from Clint.
Steve pit his hand out to stop Clint walking over to Anastasia, however he pushed it away. "I need to ask about Nat," he told Steve. Realising it would be useless to stop him, Steve let Clint through.
As Clint approached Anastasia, she recognised his face from a photo she had seen.
"Did you take Natasha?" he asks.
Anastasia looks away, trying to decide what to say. If they knew everything, then they might not protect her, but they could find out anyway. She decides to tell them.
"Yes, but she is not dead, only injured."
After that, there is silence once more.

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

Raising her gun to the terrified Sergeant Lebedov, Madame Orlov snarled in anger. In her eyes, it was this man's fault and he had to pay. BANG! The gun went off in her hand and the man crumpled to the ground. The other men and women in the room looked away from his body and prayed enough blood had been spilt.
"Hydra cannot, will not lose another asset like her!" Madame Orlov asserted. "Send the Winter soldier after her and if he fails then you will all pay with your blood. Now leave me!" The twenty or so people rushed out the room quietly. Madame Orlov heard the door close, disturbing her thoughts and so she raised her gun and shot twice through the door. She didn't check to see if she had hit anyone.

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

He told her to call him Fury, as he entered her cell. This time, they had been wise enough not to give her a window. Placing a sheet of paper on the table, he told her what she had to do.
"We will protect and help you if you are on our side," Fury began. "I want a list of every assassination, abduction and mission you have completed. Once you have done that, we will talk about what's next."
"Thank you," Anastasia replied as he walked out. Then she picked up the pen and started writing, aware of the tiny camera concealed above the door.
The list was long and bloody. She remembered every job she was given and wrote them, as instructed, in order. At the top were easy assassinations of low level targets, but as she worked her way down the list they got higher and bloodier. Coming to the end of the list, she debated putting down the retrieval of the winter soldier, it seemed insignificant. But the man said to put it all down, so she included it.
Finally she put the pen down and looked up at the camera to let them know she was finished. Almost immediately, the door opened and Fury strode in to collect the list.

Anastasia heard Steve's voice travel through the door. Little did they know  that now her hearing was so sensitive,  she could hear the sound of a knife moving through the air clearly.
So they did know the winter soldier, Anastasia was surprised. Surely they would have realised Hydra would come back for him, so why was he in Brussels instead of being protected here?
Their footsteps faded away and for a while everything was silent. No one walked past her room and she sat there waiting patiently for a response. After what seemed like hours, the door opened and Fury was waiting with a woman and a man who were clearly agents. One of them was holding a pair of handcuffs and Anastasia held out her hands to be cuffed, upon instruction. Then she was escorted to an elevator and taken to the massive living space of the top floor. She noticed the window had been replaced as well as the sofa, however tiny droplets of blood still remained on the floor. They hadn't noticed that though. Guided to her seat, she sat down facing the whole Avengers team and waited for her judgement. Then Fury spoke.
"We have debated about what to do and have decided to allow you to earn our protection, trust and your freedom. Tell us where the winter soldier and Natasha Romanoff are."
Anastasia almost felt like laughing. She was prepared to kill anyone they wanted or anything else along those lines, but this, it was impossible. However, she controlled herself. "You ask the impossible," she replied. "I know little of the base, except that it is located in the mountains. They never told me anything I didn't need to know, in case I was captured. I cannot help you, which means you won't help me."
Strangely enough, Fury just nodded like he expected that response. "We know how Hydra operates. If you have information then we can use that."
Anastasia stood up and felt the agents behind her tense up. Fury gestured for them to relax and Anastasia walked over to the window and looked down onto the river. "What do you want to know?" she asked.
Bruce whispered something to Fury who nodded.
"Hydra experimented on you, didn't they?" he asked. Anastasia nodded and tried to close her mind to the memories of the pain she went through. "So, what can you do?"
"Heal quickly," Anastasia replied. "I also now have heightened senses and a higher brain capacity as well as my strength." To show them she took her cuffed hands and snapped the thick metal between them, surprising everyone. The agents hands moved to their holsters.
"Thank you," Fury responded. "Now tell me about Hydra."