They're ready.
Alert Karpov.
It's time.
The Winter Soldier and the Winter Wraith made eye contact, a subtle nod from him showing that he agreed with the others. It was time. Time to see if Karpov would allow them out of their cage.
He must have seen her visibly tense up. But didn't say anything. Not yet. As soon as the whole crew of scientists and guards had escorted the Elite out, he remained with her.
"Malyutka"
She flinched at the name, not able to control the action. He noticed that as well.
"You're anxious," he stated roughly, in English. This was a way their conversations were kept discreet. Most of the guards only spoke Russian.
"No, I'm not. I can't be," she replied just as rough, switching languages as well. Her metal arm whirred softly as she clenched her fingers. Looking up, she observed his long hair and scruff, "You need a haircut."
He gave her an annoyed look, not understanding why she had chosen to point that out. Ignoring that comment, he pressed on. "Your progress has improved. Karpov will understand that he needs your skill set."
"How do you know about my progress report?" the Wraith hissed, the metal plates shifting in her arm as that tensed up as well. As far as she knew, he didn't know anything specific. He was only called for when her mind was little more than mush after vigorous amounts of training. Never was he actually present during the sessions.
"I've been watching, observing, for these past few months" was his simple reply. That wasn't the whole truth. "All that wiping... Karpov ordered me to specifically watch your progress in order to assess if you were a threat," he met her gaze. His face was still cold and calculating, but his eyes held the tiniest bit of guilt.
She didn't say anything, not having an answer to that. It made sense, but she had a feeling he would've done it anyway. All those years ago, when he had first met her and been ordered to train her, he'd been forced to take her under his wing. One could never tell how close they truly were, both soldiers were colder than ice. But they themselves could tell. And that was enough. The word 'friend' didn't exactly cover it. It was something more. A bond that couldn't be labeled or known about.
"Am I a threat?"
He didn't answer. If she were a threat to Karpov... There's no telling what he would do.
"Zima," she growled lowly.
Nothing. He ignored her and began speaking in Russian once more, ordering the one guard to allow them to exit. As soon as they left the room, she was escorted by a plethora of people to that room. A new round of conditioning was scheduled. He watched her go, that menacing look etched into her head.
Karpov arrived fairly quickly. Word had reached him in less than six hours. His plane arrived in eighteen. Every subject of the Winter Soldier Program was present inside that large cell. The Elite were seated on the wooden bench along one wall, two heavily armed guards on either side of them. Two more guards were present near the door. The Soldier and the Wraith were stationed in front of Karpov. An IV was present in her neck again, keeping her at half capacity, she wasn't going to participate. Not yet. This was for the Elite's benefit first. Graf claimed she was drugged 'just in case'. HYDRA didn't want another incident.
Due to her hazy state, the first three fights passed by easily, all coming close to defeating the Soldier but none actually succeeding. Until Josef stepped forward. Six minutes into the match, the larger Elite caught the Winter Soldier's metal arm and pushed him into a bowing position but continued pulling his arm upwards. His arm whirred, almost breaking free. But Josef was ready, thrusting him back down. The Soldier's gaze met hers, brief shock registering in his eyes. Then he was kicked across the room.
Karpov had a smile set on his face as the Winter Soldier recovered. He had lost. And something had shifted within the room. The Wraith, even in her state, could sense a change. Not in the Soldier, but in Josef. She couldn't explain it. Her eyes narrowed, taking a slight step forward.
A man in a lab coat had also stepped forward, holding a clipboard in one hand and taking Josef's pulse in the other. That feeling didn't relent, not even as Josef moved, swift as a viper.
The small, normal man screamed as the Elite super soldier locked his head and arm in a painful hold before slamming him, face first, into the ground. The Wraith noticed the other Elite stand up. So did the Soldier.
"Soldat, get me out of here," Karpov ordered his one perfect soldier. His orders were immediately followed, the Winter Soldier grabbing the generals arm and positioning him behind him, dragging him out of the cell. He had to fight his way out, and slammed the barred door behind him.
She was still in the cell. He seemed to realize that as well, but only nodded. The Wraith answered his nod with a sinister smirk. That fear of being a threat was no longer present with this new order taking control. Her calloused fingers reached up and yanked the IV's needle out of her neck.
The innards of the cage were a mess. The Elite woman had charged and drop kicked one of the guards, facing the Wraith as soon as she had gotten to her feet. The blonde was fast, rapidly throwing two punches towards the Wraith's face. The dark haired assassin blocked, turning around and grabbing the other woman's neck and chin over her shoulder, proceeding to flip the smaller body over her head. The other women slammed into the bars. It took only a few seconds before she started getting back up, but by then the Wraith was already focused on the next person.
She had slammed a guard out of the way, not caring who was friend or foe. Josef, the man who had started all of this, was just ahead of her. He turned just as she was launching a super man punch at his face. Metal met flesh, Josef taking the hit with a grunt. They began their lethal dance, each a deadly machine. Unfortunately, his brute strength outmatched hers.
"Soldat!"
Her whole body froze, without meaning too, at Karpov's voice, awaiting his next orders. Josef took advantage of that, uppercutting her jaw before drop kicking her, sending her flying backwards, her back digging into the bars of the cell once she collided with it. Her hand came up to rub her chin, a scowl set deep on her face. Her normally empty eyes were filled with a fiery hate. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes, but her blood was already pumping, the effects of the drug wearing off fully.
"Subdue, any means necessary. No casualties"
For the first time since she had began to use these abilities, that headache disappeared as soon as she let loose the destructive force that had been pressing into her skull since day one.
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I cannot express enough how much I despise writers block. I'm behind on everything. Poems, imagines, stories, college applications, school work, life... All that fun stuff. Enjoy!
