The Dark Assassin | Thor: The Dark World [2]

Chapter 24

"What's your name?" Barnes asked, looking at me. I was leaning against a concrete wall, staring at the opposite one.

"Tanya,"

"Tanya...?" He trailed off.

"Boston. I don't need to ask your name,"

"How'd you meet those two?" he asked.

"The accords. You know, if it helps, I know how it feels,"

"To be controlled?" his voice was laced with nervousness.

"To be unmade. To watch someone take your brain and play," I corrected.

"Did HYDRA get you too?" I could hear the edge in his voice.

"No, just a vengeful and malevolent race of ancient beings that wanted to plunge the realms into chaos,"

"Are you high?" he questioned.

"Why do people keep asking me that?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Probably because you sound crazy," he pointed out.

"Not to me," I moved, sitting down on the clamp beside him, crossing my arms and boring a hole into the wall with my eyes.

"Did you lose someone?" he asked quietly.

"Is it that obvious?" I was joking, but there was no humor in my voice.

"My only friend. Dead in front of me. It was like the universe put me there just to watch. I'm sorry, I just--I miss him," I hung my head, covering my face and trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill over.

"It's okay. I know how you feel. When I escaped...everyone I knew was dead. I remember, there was this one girl. She, uh, she snuck into the army disguised as a man. When our unit got captured, the scientists dragged her away to be experimented on. Eventually, they took me too, and every day I would have to lay, strapped on that table, and listen to her scream her throat raw as they did hell knows what to her. They sawed her leg off, at one point. By the time Steve came to get me, she was almost dead. I didn't want her to get left behind, so after Steve got me out, I hobbled over. He was confused, then spotted her. Poor girl was clammy and pale, she wouldn't have lived another day. I felt so bad for her. Her leg was a mess--bone was visible and blood and dirt was caked onto it. I don't know what happened to her after that,"

"What was her name?" I asked gently.

"Virginia. I always called her 'Virgin' cause she whispered her name when we first met and that's what I thought she said," he said, chuckling slightly.

"I hated that guy at first. He would keep me awake for days on end with countless questions,"

"What changed?" he questioned.

"Well, turns out we were more similar than we thought. He was still an ass, though,"

"I know how that feels. Do you know how many times I had to drag the punk out there out of an alleyway 'cause he couldn't keep his opinion to himselves?" he said, exasperated.

I laughed at his expression, and he started to laugh with me as Steve came back in.

"Sounds like you two are getting along well,"