BEING CONFINED AND ALONE BECAME ALL TOO FAMILIAR FOR ESZTER. To feel trapped in a confined space for days upon days, merely a puppet in a puppet show as Eszter had to continue displaying her powers for Strucker. The privacy she desired was stripped from her when she was placed in the room, Eszter would be displayed like a wild animal, a show and tell. Even if her life was no longer the same before the experiment, Eszter yearned for the feeling of comfort, one without several eyes ogling her.
However, Doctor List continued to note their powers. With the twins and Eszter in isolation, it granted the doctor to analyze the results, jotting down information as they progressed over the next few days. Two volunteers having similar abilities, while another poses as another. Doctor List was bemused to discover that the male subject didn't collect the same telekinetic abilities like the female, but having superhuman speed is just as perfect. Pietro would remain untouchable with the speed he has, and the boy can slip in and out of places without being stopped. If anything, Pietro's speed could easily take out an army.
The Avengers would never see Pietro coming; his speed granted Pietro an easy advantage to sneak up to the group of heroes, ready to take them off-guard. Pietro was the perfect person to hurt the Avengers, whereas Wanda and Eszter can easily tear them apart. The two enhanced females were different, and none of the Avengers will expect something as dangerous as them.
Bored and irritated, Eszter flings another block into the glass window, but it was too thick for the block to crack through; the enhanced was growing rather tired of her confinement, and lodging the blocks through the window was the only way Eszter could get their attention. Although it had, Strucker grew tired of her actions and chose to ignore the enhanced, which angered Eszter. Realizing that they were avoiding her now, Eszter destroyed everything in her room in retaliation; however, the enhanced didn't seem to prove anything other than the fact that she was powerful.
A tray with untouched food was still sat on the floor, waiting for the enhanced to consume them, but Eszter avoided it once again. Unlike her siblings, Eszter couldn't bother to devour the food in front of her, allowing it to taunt her of the idea of eating, but the smell and appearance told her mind not to swallow a smidge. However, her plan was beginning to grow futile when her stomach growled loudly, begging Eszter to eat something, desperate for food. As a result, Eszter pulled the tray closer to her with a loud scrape, and the enhanced begrudgingly scoops up the tray. Grimacing at the food, the enhanced suffers through the strong feeling of disgust when she felt the creamy substance of mashed potatoes touch her tongue.
Suddenly, the backdoor clicks before buzzing loudly that it had caught Eszter's attention. Flicking her eyes up and towards the door, a spork still in her mouth, Eszter watches as two Hydra men barging inside her room. The guns they held were loosely in their grasp, ready to use them if Eszter were to react, but the girl posed no threat. She wasn't ignorant.
"The food isn't great, by the way," Eszter informs, gagging a little when she sloshes the spork against the mash potatoes. "The potatoes shouldn't be runny."
"My apologies, Miss Maximoff, our source of cuisines are low," Strucker flashes Eszter a tight smile, approaching the room until he enters. "I believe you've been in here for far too long, yes?"
"I've lost count."
"Well, come along, child. You have visitors."
Strucker exits the room, leaving a confused Eszter behind as she furrows her brows, shifting her gaze between the two soldiers. Finally, the enhanced jumps up from her bed and makes her way towards the exit, glad to be leaving the cell finally. However, Eszter was confused.
"Visitors? How can I . . ." Eszter pauses at the door once her eyes were settled on the two figures hugging in front of her room, reunited. Tears were starting to swell in Eszter's eyes, her throat was forming a heavy feeling, and her heart was pounding loud in her ears. "Wanda. Pietro."
Rushing down the steps of her room, Eszter flings herself into her brother and sister's arms, ecstatic to be back with the twins finally. Wanda and Pietro had been separated from her for too long, and it felt odd not to have them by her side. Eszter knew they had survived before her experiment had proceeded, but also because after she had her powers, the enhanced could feel them. It was like a connection between them, a triangular line that connected between the siblings.
"Oh, my gosh . . . Eszter," Wanda breathes out, wrapping her arm around the back of Eszter's head, holding the girl close to her.
Pietro felt overly relieved to have both of his sisters with him again, afraid that they might've never would've made it past the experiment. He had been terrified ever since he had gotten out of his test, unaware of the fact that he nearly hadn't made it. Pietro leans down and presses a long kiss on the top of Eszter's head, thankful that his little sister had survived.
"Are you guys okay?" Pietro asks, his chin now sitting on the top of Eszter's head.
Eszter nods awkwardly with the weight on her head. "Yeah, yeah," suddenly, the enhanced chuckles. "We did it."
"Yeah," Wanda chuckles. She places her own kisses on Eszter's head. "We did."
"I apologize for keeping you three apart, but Doctor List found it best had we left you all separate," Strucker makes himself known. Intertwining his hands in front of him, the man barely smiles. "After the test, you needed to be divided until we knew exactly what had occurred. However, I am sure you're all aware of your abilities."
Eszter nods slowly, though she wasn't entirely sure if what she does is the limit. Her only idea of her powers seemed to be telekinesis with dark clouds, but she wondered what Wanda and Pietro could do.
As if reading Eszter's mind, Pietro voices them. "And what is it they have?"
Tugging at his lips, Strucker smirks. "Why don't we test them?" The man steps backs as he motions towards another room. "But first, why don't you get out of those clothes and into something more comfortable."
And so they did. Eszter and the twins had changed from their hospital clothes and into a more fitted outfit, which was a relief for the enhanced. Choosing comfort over style, Eszter enjoys the stretchiness of her black pants and a long-sleeved shirt to protect her from the cold. Eszter was overjoyed to be out of her hospital gown, dressed to something better fitting and that suited her.
Returning to the group after separating for a quick change, Eszter folds her arms against her chest as she checks out the room; the room consisted of a few obstacles designed for each of their abilities, but Eszter didn't see three different ones. They neared a treadmill in the middle of the room, it lacked the bars for the person to hold, but only the bottom half of it. Upon noticing the exercise equipment, Eszter perks a brow before flashing Strucker an unamused look.
"I don't do exercise," Eszter mentions.
"Silly girl. It's not meant for you," Strucker says, chuckling. Eszter furrows her brows questionably, but when the man directs his attention to Pietro, the boy knew who it was for. "Pietro, step on the treadmill."
Pietro nods curtly as he walks around Wanda and Eszter, making his way towards the treadmill, the boy steps on top of it. Maybe he smirked a little, feeling a little cocky to show his own abilities. Once he stood on the rubber treadmill, Pietro gives Strucker a short nod to let him know that he was ready. As soon as Strucker signaled for the equipment to start, Pietro breaks into a jog.
"I . . . don't get it?" Eszter mutters to Wanda, not getting the picture.
Shortly, Pietro's jogs sped up until he was sprinting, and that's when Eszter had noticed the strange streaks floating behind him. Going over 100 miles per hour, Wanda and Eszter had realized that Pietro was running a lot faster than an average person, his body nearly a blur. The way his feet weren't visible with the speed they gained, blue streaks stretched from his body, and they slowly disappear into nothing.
Attempting to stop, Pietro realized he couldn't slow down as much as he wanted to, still seeming to be finding that bit more difficult than running; stopping from a normal sprint wasn't easy as you often skid to a stop, but for Pietro, the boy couldn't slow down without crashing into something. From experience, Pietro knew his stopping skills weren't the best, and right now, the enhanced hadn't a clue how to stop. His eyes stared down at his feet that zoomed before his eyes; Pietro wonders if running off the treadmill would reduce his speed rather than sticking to the machine. Just as one foot touched the solid ground, Pietro had no time to react when his body suddenly shoots forward, colliding with the wall with a loud smack!
Eszter gasps in surprise, her hands shoot up, and cover her gaping mouth. Suddenly, Pietro crashes to the ground with a sound of pain, the boy grips his body when it began to hurt everywhere.
"I didn't see that coming," Pietro groans.
Wanda rushes over to Pietro's side, checking if he was okay before helping him up to his feet.
"Did you even try to stop?" Eszter wonders, flabbergasted.
Pietro gives Eszter a look, to which the girl backed off. She might be chuckling a little, but Pietro didn't need to know that. Watching Pietro crash into the wall was a bit hilarious to Eszter, and she plans on using that to tease her brother whenever she feels like embarrassing him.
"Mister Maximoff has the ability to run with superhuman speed. Practically the fastest man alive," Strucker didn't seem to be amused. "However, he lacks the capability to a complete stop." Eszter hums. Then, Strucker shifts his attention towards Eszter and Wanda, more interested than he previously was. "You two, on the other hand, had taken us by surprise. Unlike your brother, you both had managed to tap into similar abilities, yet your energies are . . . disparate."
Fluttering her eyes too quickly, Wanda was stupefied. "You mean . . . Eszter and I share the same abilities?"
"As far as we are aware, you both are great with telekinesis; however, Eszter has shown us more capabilities to her newfound energy," Strucker enlightens. Maybe Eszter should be afraid that they don't know exactly what she has, and maybe she should be wary about what she can do, but that's the thing-Eszter wanted more. "You both are magnificent."
"And what's the difference?"
"Eszter, you have the ability to manipulate shadows or purely darkness," Strucker says with enthusiasm, though it made Eszter a little unsettled.
Everything was happening all at once. Eszter didn't have time to grasp the information. "Wait. When my room went dark . . . or--or when that block disappeared . . . that was all darkness?"
"It seems that whatever energy you absorb, it allows you the ability to control the dark," then, Strucker led the trio towards the next obstacle where a couple of blocks were held. "Why don't we test it, yes?"
Eszter nears the blocks until she's standing in front of the small pieces, the girl stares at the similar blocks. Like how she did it in her room, Eszter focuses her mind on the blocks, and with a small movement from her hands, they rose. The movement of her hands seemed to be an easy way for Eszter to move things with her mind, helping the enhanced as her fingers would twitch with the power at her fingertips. Even a violet glow of tendrils swirled around the blocks as they slowly spun in the air, Eszter holds her focus.
Suddenly, to Wanda and Pietro's surprise, dark smoke began to emit from Eszter's figure as it pools around her on the floor. Worriedly, the twins watched on as Eszter held the blocks high, and with a swipe of her hands, the dark pool shot up and attacked the blocks; the blocks disappeared as the darkness lower back into the puddle. Slowly, the dark smoke retracted back into Eszter as the enhanced closes her fist, imagining she was pulling the darkness back inside.
Lastly, Eszter opens another small pit of dark clouds near Pietro, catching the boy off-guard as he shuffles away, he watches it. Spewing out the block, Pietro instinctively catches it; curiously, Pietro eyes the small wooden cube, he noticed a flew scratches embedded in the block's sides.
"Not bad," Pietro bobs his head. Impressed, he gives Eszter a thumbs up.
Dropping her arms back at her side, Eszter was a little frustrated. "The teleporting thing is a bit hard."
"You did great, Eszter," Wanda smiles, proud bubbles in her chest.
"Wanda," Pietro tosses the block to his twin a little too hard, but Wanda had caught it with her powers.
Eszter noticed it the second her powers warped around the cube, and they were red, unlike her own. However, they mimicked the same thing Eszter's can do, and she wondered why her abilities presented another color compared to her own.
Wanda lifts her hands slightly when the blocks rose into the air, manifesting the energy that helped carry the objects in front of her. The focus was entranced in her eyes as they concentrate on blocks, Wanda balances the objects in her hold, the enhanced suddenly sends an energy orb at it. Gasping in surprise, Wanda hadn't expected that to happen, nor did she think she was capable of doing so. The girl stared at the pieces collecting on the ground.
The light in her hands slowly dimmed until the orb was no longer there.
A victory grin plastered on Strucker's smug face, the man knew they were nearly ready. "Soon, you three will be ready."