Bad Blood {*Pietro Maximoff*}

*3* - Debrief

It takes two extra days of testing before I'm moved into my own room. Two days more of being stuck in a lab, being supervised while I change clothes, eat, sleep, drink, and even get escorted to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, there are no windows to escape out of.

I wake up in my new room, which bears no windows. This feels no different than Hydra's care of me. No windows, no real light. I don't have a one-way glass window in front of me, at least.

I feel like I'm back to square one. I wince as I rub the back of my neck. Right. I had always felt the lump there. Now, that spot hurts. It doesn't surprise me that I was chipped. Question is: is it Hydra's or the Avengers'?

I look at the plain walls. This is going to be a miserable stay.

I slide off the cot, moving to a corner of the room that provides some entertainment, food, and new clothing. I run my tongue over my teeth in slight irritation. As much as I want the luxury, I don't want it from them. I would rather be in the hands of the people who can understand my condition than people who will never understand me at all.

I look around the upper corners of my room. If there are any cameras, they're too small for me to see. What's their next move? What are they gaining from my kidnapping? If they're looking for answers, I won't give them any. Whether I can give them what they want or not, I'm not budging.

My loyalty is to fellow success stories like Genevieve, Kyle, Ruby, and to Hydra, not to the Avengers.

I sigh through my nose, running my hand through my greasy hair. It's about time for me to have a shower. Unfortunately, there's not another door in the room to go into that leads into a bathroom. Guess this means I'll still be escorted like a child to one.

I decide to protest for the cameras (because I'm sure there are some in this room) and sit back on my cot, with my knees pulled up to my chest. I'm not afraid of these people, if some of them can even be considered human. I don't fear them. What will they do to me? Torture me? Kill me? I'm willing to die with secrets. If it keeps Genevieve, Mother, and Father safe and free, then I'll gladly give my life.

Just as I'm mulling over the past, the door opens. I sit up, rigid against the cold wall.

Black Widow enters, shutting the door behind her. She looks to the untouched pile near her feet. "You're letting these go to waste?" she asks me neutrally.

I just glare at her, prepared to remain silent.

"Okay, you want to play hardball. That's expected. You must know who I am."

I nod. "You're Black Widow, but your fellow teammates know you as Natasha Romanoff." I scoff. "We read on our downtime. We're fully aware of who you are and what you do."

"We keep the peace."

"More like you put your nose where it doesn't belong."

Black Widow regards me with a cool look. "They must've programmed you pretty well for you to say something like that."

"No programming." I shake my head.

"Then some hard conditioning." Black Widow frowns. "Hydra's pretty well-known for that."

"You talk like we're the bad guys."

"You are. Your people set out for world domination. It's obvious they've been doing tests on more volunteers." She crosses her arms, leaning against the closed door. "What's their plan?"

"Like I would tell the likes of you," I spit. "If you think I'm gonna spill my heart out, you're gonna have to torture the information out of me. Even then you might not get anywhere."

"We don't torture to get what we want." She tilts her head. "Who else was in that facility?"

"Hydra."

Black Widow's eyes darken. "Where are they now?"

"I don't know," I say truthfully.

"A bunch of Hydra knew where the escape planes were, and we caught you. How could you not know where they were headed?"

"They didn't feel I was trusted enough." I shrug. It's a fair assumption. If Hydra knows something could go wrong, they only entrust the plan to few people. Lucky for them, they're safe, because the Avengers have caught the wrong person.

I now wonder who else was kept in the dark.

"Are there any other facilities?"

"Not that I can think of."

Black Widow blows out a breath through her nose. "Either you're a good a liar as me, or you're really telling the truth."

"Oh, so you're the lie detector." I chuckle darkly. "I should have guessed as much. That's what you're good at, aren't you? Deception?" My mouth curls into a sinister smirk. "Why take a Polygraph when you're just as efficient?"

Black Widow doesn't seem too affected by my tactic. She looks almost immune to it, like she's dealt with people with my attitude before.

"Why aren't your other friends doing this interrogation?" I tilt my head in curiosity.

"They feel I'm best for the job."

I nod towards the welcome-home party gifts. "Bribery won't do you any good."

"It wasn't a bribe, Aurora. It was to make the stay a little more endurable. We're not Hydra, we won't let you rot away in a cell."

I lick my teeth in irritation. If she keeps taking hits against Hydra, I'm going to lunge across the room and strangle her. I might even kill her, maybe with a good, ice-cold jolt to the heart. I could freeze her from the inside, I'd beat her body's warmth.

Wait, she knows my name.

"We can play your game," Black Widow says, pulling me out of my temporary state of shock. "We'll win it, and you'll tell us everything we want to know."

"I told you what I know," I snap. "Whoever escaped, I don't know where they are. I'm not sure of their plans either."

"I'm sure it's got something to do with world domination." She begins to open the door. "I'll be back."

"I'll be here," I grumble.

Black Widow gives me another onceover before slipping through the door, closing it with a slam. I inhale calm breaths, and snow begins to fall before my eyes. I smile fondly as I watch the flakes fall. When in doubt, snow calms me down. It takes me to my happy place.

Right now, I'll need all the happiness I can get to survive this, because I know this game is only just beginning.