Red Room

RR5 Into the Flame, 24 Down

“Wait, I want to see something,” he said. Ivan just looked at him strangely and then looked back to the girl. He then noticed the concentrated look on the girls face.

 She was holding her arm, just looking at it. She then looked towards the fire and walked over to it. She stared into its flames for just a minute. Tony had no idea what she was doing. He looked over at Natasha for the first time but she was just simply watching.

Out of nowhere, the little girl jumped into the fire and started screaming. Ivan, the doctor, and the armed men all rushed to her aid and tried pulling her out.

“No!’ she screamed. “They are in there! My parents! They are in the flames! I see them! Help me get them out!”

The men finally dragged her burned body out of the flames and Ivan looked pissed.

“Send her back to get her treatment,” he said.

The doctor looked horrified and responded with “sir, she was just brainwashed yesterday, she needs to recover, and we need to have her wounds looked at!”

“I don’t care! You have failed! She remembered!”

“Ivan, listen to me, it was just a trigger. If it weren’t for the fire, she may not have even remembered. We just need to keep her away from fire.”

Ivan thought about this for a moment. “No. we need to break her of this trigger. Use it against her. This is the only way. Now send her for her treatment, and then you may look at her burns. I’ll be in my office.”

The doctor looked at him stunned. How cruel could this may actually be? When the super serum is ready, how far will he push this little girl? He simply nodded to the man and had the guards pick the girl up and carry her back to the room she was in the night before.

Tony couldn’t believe what just happened. He also couldn’t believe how Natasha just stood there and watch herself be hurt like that, but that’s when he noticed that she wasn’t looking at the scene unfold before her. She was looking into the fire.

“C’mon Nat, let’s go. Or do you want to stay here?”

“I'm coming.” She turned on her heel and made her way to the room with her childhood self.

When they reached the room, the little girl was already strapped in the chair. They headpiece was put on and the doctor was about to flip the switch. He then sent the guards out to give the girl some privacy. He debated on whether or not to flip the switch but he knew he had to. Without looking, he flipped it. The girls scream tore through the silence once more as blood ran from her eyes and nose. This time Tony noticed a few drop come from her ear. Her back was arched again and she fought against the restraints, trying her best to get away from the pain. When it was over, she just lay there.

Tony was shaking from anger. He walked over to the doctor and tried to punch him square in the face but his fist simply went through, as if he was a ghost. It made him angry. He wanted, no, needed to hurt someone. His breathing became rapid and he was close to losing it, but then, he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. He looked and found Natasha standing there.

“It’s not worth it Tony. In the long run, I deserve it.”

“No one deserves this Nat. Not even you. You had no control over whatever you did. They did.”

“Tony please, I need you to be strong. For me.”

Tony then noticed the haunted look in her eyes. She wasn’t dealing with this. He needed to pull himself together. He took a deep breath and then turned back to the scene before him.