Ro Six Echo

Part 11

Bucky, Nat, and Ro all went and dried off, trading wet clothes for dry ones. Bucky's hair was still dripping wet from his shower and he playfully flicked it at Ro as they walked down the hall. She smirked a little and grew more serious as they near Tony's lab. Tony turned to the group as they walked into his lab. "What can I do for you, aqua-people?"

"Could you bring up the video we found on the hidden hard drives? The one from Dr. Traegas?" Natasha asked.

Tony took a look at Ro and then let out a sigh. He pulled up the video on the holo-screen. The same face as before filled the screen. Dark hair, blue eyes, glasses and a kind face. Ro brought her hand to her mouth before she reached out a hand to touch the hologram face. The video started to play. "This is Doctor Roger Traegas of Traegas Biotech. We've been working on project Stealth Ray and it our superiors decided to scrap the whole project. All evidence is to be destroyed..." Seeing his face brought a flood of memories back to the surface. She saw pictures of training videos, computer programs, syringes ... She put a hand to her temple where she felt the most pain.

"I signed on to this project because I believed in the science behind it. We can do better for man, but maybe we shouldn't. Ro, if you're watching this, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or leave you here. But it's your best chance at survival..." More pictures flashed in her mind. There were others like her. They were lined up and someone was yelling at them. She fell to her knees as tears streamed from her eyes. She put a hand over her heart. "... I know you probably won't remember me or our time here. I gave you a psychotropic drug to erase your memories from today past. It's for your own good..." She remembered hushed whispers in a closet and darkness surrounding her. She was sobbing now, with her hands over her face. Natasha knelt down and put an arm around her shoulder. "... Just remember, you are more than what we made you. You have a heart and a soul." Then the video ended.

She stayed kneeling and wrapped in Natasha's arms and Bucky placed a hand on her back. Silent sobs were racking her body. She finally stood up, wiping tears from her face. Tony had found a clean shop rag and handed it to her. She wiped her face some more and cleaned her nose. Bucky wrapped his flesh arm around her shoulder and she leaned into his side. Comfort. She knew that word and feeling. It was what she needed since she felt like her heart had been ripped out.

"Do you remember?" Natasha asked just above a whisper.

"Yes. Roger was my friend. He created me. That's why I'm named Ro," She said quietly.

"He left me a video message on a thumb drive. He knew I would be able to figure it out. He told me my name and that I had lived alone at the base. He said his name was Roger and that we were friends and that I should wait there. He didn't say for what or for who I should wait. I thought maybe he would come back."

Tony brought her some water as she continued her story. "I woke up in a locked closet. When I broke out no one was there and I couldn't remember anything. There were others like me, but I think they killed them." She put a hand over her mouth again as her eyes teared up.

"If what he is alluding to in the video is true, there is a big cover up. We'll get to the bottom of it and find out who did it," Bucky said.

"If I can remember, I can help."

Natasha looked at Tony to see what he thought. "That's what we're counting on, sweetheart."