Frostbite

Prologue

Early 2000's

The dull humming woke me. I pried my eyes open hoping to see what was making the noise. It was difficult since my eye lids were extremely heavy. I lifted my head and strained to look around the room. It was dingy and cold, with several medical machines stationed along the walls. There was one directly beside the gurney I was on.

The one next to me was the one creating the annoying noise. I followed the tubes from the machine with my eyes and stared in horror at all the IV lines connected to my arm. When I tried to reach up to rip them out, I realized I was strapped down by thick, metal cuffs.

"What the hell... Where am I?" I mumbled aloud. Looking around the room again, I realized that there were no windows and a single metal door. Who was keeping me here? I couldn't remember anything. The last time I saw Tony was... before his flight to Switzerland. How long ago was that?

"HEY! Let me out! Someone let me out of here!" I screamed at the door, hoping anyone would hear me. I thrashed against the cuffs and tried to break free, but they weren't giving at all. All the movement was taking its toll already. How many drugs did these people pump into my body? I took deep breaths, trying to stabilize my labored breathing. Panicking wouldn't help me right now.

"Hello? If someone doesn't get in here now, you're going to regret it!" I yelled at the door in frustration, knowing damn well there was nothing I could actually do. I groaned and flopped my head back onto the gurney when nothing happened. I was on the verge of losing it, so I tried to focus on breathing correctly.

I felt an odd, cold tingling in my hands, and it started to spread up my arms. I figured it was coming from the IV. When straining against the restraints, the tingling spiked. I glanced down, and my eyes widened in shock at what I saw. Frost slithered over the cuffs, causing them to become incredibly heavy. Did I do that? Impossible.

The door flew open, distracting me from my current dilemma. Several men and women in lab coats strolled in and went straight to the equipment, ignoring me. Behind them, a tall man with shoulder length, dark, shaggy hair, and a metal arm marched in and positioned himself along the wall. He had some sort of muzzle on, so I couldn't take in many details of his face. The last one to enter was an older man dressed in an expensive suit with blonde hair and glasses. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place him in my head. He glanced down at me in disgust.

"The memory wipe worked and she's stable. Go ahead and begin with the next set. Hopefully this time you won't give her anymore abilities," he snapped at the lab workers behind me. He was obviously the one running the show.

"Uhm, hello? What the hell do you mean? Let me out of this hole!" I spat at him. He smirked down at me, not bothering to acknowledge what I had said. One of the lab workers walked over to the machine beside me. She was holding a syringe with a light blue liquid inside. I realized she was going to inject me with it.

"NO!" I screamed, pulling against the restraints. The frost had weakened them tremendously. I jerked myself free and ripped all the tubes from my arm, wincing in pain as I did.

They moved to restrain me again, but I swung myself off the bed before they could reach me. My bare feet hit the ground and a sheet of ice shot out from where I stood, spanning out several feet. Two of the workers lost their balance and hit the floor; the other three backed away quickly.

What have they done to me? I glanced toward the door and noticed that the blonde had retreated to the side of the man with the metal arm. He was his bodyguard or something. Coward. The bodyguard looked over and asked, "Should I subdue her, Mr. Pierce?"

Pierce? Finally, a damn name. Pierce gave a single nod, encouraging the other man towards me.

Panicking at his advancement, I backed away and ran into the gurney. I grabbed onto the edge of it and rolled it violently into him, surprising myself at my newfound strength. I only had a few seconds before he moved the gurney out of the way. I scrambled toward the open door and found Pierce standing in the way.

Filled with hot, blinding rage towards him, I charged him to shove him out of the way. When I made contact, he flew several feet away and landed in a heap on the floor. I hadn't shoved him that hard, had I?

"The hell?" I muttered to myself while continuing into the hallway. I jumped over Pierce's body and raced down the small corridor. Ahead were stairs leading upward. If I could get to the next level, then maybe I had a chance of escaping this hell hole.

I was abruptly yanked backwards, which caused me to stumble and crash to the floor. Glancing up, I saw that damned metal armed man clutching onto me. He started to drag me back to the room, kicking and screaming.

Pierce was, unfortunately, unharmed and brushing his suit off. Struggling to break myself free from the man's grip, I grasped at the door frame, hoping to trip him up. It did no such thing. He kept going, ripping my hold from the frame. He pulled me to my feet and kept his hold on my left arm. I turned in time to see the same woman from before approach with the syringe in hand.

"That's the new serum?" Pierce barked at the woman, and she nodded. "Let's get this over with. I have a meeting." I made one last effort to pry free of the death grip the man had on me. All that did was cause him to hold onto both arms, keeping me locked in place. I gasped as I felt the needle plunge into the side of my neck. She injected the liquid and quickly pulled the needle back out.

Seconds later, the serum started spreading like wildfire through my veins. I cried out in agony and collapsed into the man. It was like all my insides were on fire, hot and all-consuming. My vision started to blur, and I began to whimper from the onslaught. I shifted my blurry gaze up to the man still holding me, preventing me from hitting the floor.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I whispered, only seeing his cold, blue eyes.

"Not you," he whispered. I swear I saw a hint of empathy glinting in his eyes right before everything went black.