Chapter 4
It all started with a quick cramping pain. Wanda was laying back, pressing her body into Pietro’s. It was another addition to the unpleasantness of pregnancy. Her ankles had swollen to the point that she could no longer walk and her baby was constantly vibrating within her womb that had dropped uncomfortably low into her pelvic. Fatigue, nausea, and soreness had debilitated her every day so she didn’t think much of it.
“Wanda” Pietro whispered with concern, when she felt her stomach tighten again.
“I’m fine” she lied.
The second time it was stronger and lasted for a few moments. She rubbed her hand over her belly trying to soothe herself with assurance that her baby would be alright. The baby kicked back in response, softer than usual, but was still vibrating, tickling her insides. Just as the soon to be mother began to calm, a crushing pain overtook her body, forcing a piercing wail from her.
“Wanda!” Pietro cried,grabbing onto his sister and looked over her for any signs of injury.
Guides opened the door and Pietro tried to shuffle away from them but there was nowhere for them to hide. He held onto her sister as tightly as he could but two of the men gripped onto Wanda’s arms pulling her away.
Wanda thrashed and struggled against her captures, trying to return to Pietro, but they dragged her out with ease and into the room. There, a scared bald man and the doctor were waiting looking hungrily at her.
“Endlich” the scared man smiled.
Wanda was strapped to the metal examination table and her legs bound to each end. The doctor pulled up her hospital gown allowing everyone in the room to see her womanhood. Without warning, he forced his hand into her, stretching her to her limits. He reached her cervix and poked and prodded at it which only elevated the excruciating pain.
“Please,” she sobbed, “Stop, it hurts.”
“It is only three centimeders dilated” the doctor reported, removing his hand with just as much care as he had put it in. “I vill pe Hadminisdering ein Haccelerate to schorten zee vait time.”
The scarred man gave a nod and watched as the doctor went over to the tray and picked up a syringe. Wanda’s eyes widened with fear as her struggles became more desperate the closer the man got to her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, “What is that?”
“SIlence” the scarred man snapped, slapping Wanda across the face.
Another tightening in ehr core burned through her lasting longer and feeling more intense. The pain grew as the doctor once again entered her but this time the thick needle nicked her walls leaving behind long gushing that sent blood flowing out of her. When it reached her cervix, an unimaginable pain erupted as the needle pierced the sensitive barrier. Her vision began to darken as she felt the burning liquid enter her.
Even after it was removed, the agony did not cease. The feeling of being ripped apart wrecked her body and she felt as her uterus pushed her baby lower into her pelvic. The bone strained under the pressure and the muscle began to cramp as it continued to contract with no relaxation in between.
Dr. Zola watched as the subject shook with pain. It was entirely consumed in its agony of attaching monitors and other scientific instruments without a fight. The machine whirled to life as the vitals to the assets began to be transmitted.
The chemical that had been administered was a simple stimulant that would put pressure on the cervix until it gave way to the asset and forced it out. The effects were immediant but only lasted a few minutes meaning that if its underdeveloped reproductive system was too weak they could lose both the bitch and the offspring.
The two men held their breath as the subject quivered. They watched at its core that looked as if it was collapsing in on itself. The monitors beeped signify that the asset was alright albeit a bit arrhythmic.
“Don’t tell me the hündin couldn’t even breed right” Strucker growled, looking at the speeding heart rate. “Or that your experiment killed it.”
Dr. Zola felt a chill go down his spin but continued to watch the spasming subject. Finally, a cloudy yellow liquid with streaks of blood flowed out covering the table and dripping down. The subject began to relax as the medicine began to wear off only for its body’s natural response to kick in. Without as much care, Dr. Zola stuck his hands into it, stretching the narrow passage so much that it began to tear, adding even for blood and screams of agony. His hands latched around the asset and he pulled as hard as he could until he had it in his hands.
“That’s it?” Baron snarled, looking at the small baby.
The subject strained to look at the asset, upon its hazel eyes landing on it, its features softened. The new mother felt a blossoming warmth fill her insides and the pain was pushed to the back of her mind. Wanda went to touch her son only for the restraints to stop her and reality crashed back into her.
“Please” she whispered, looking up at the men with pleading eyes. “Please, I want to…”
She was cut off with another wave of pain and the continuous urge to push. Instinctually, she clamped down as hard as she could and to her surprise, she felt another thing shift inside her. Her rapid heartbeat sped up more as she felt the thing move and the unmistakable feeling of a hand entering her birth canal.
“T-There’s another” she shook, “Please, help them too.”
The scarred man and the doctor were paying no mind to her. They were instead hooking her other baby up to various instruments that they had done to her. Trying to test the baby for some (what she did not know). She wanted to break free, she wanted to protect her baby. But her other one needed her more. Clenching her hands into fists letting her nails break through the soft skin of her palms, Wanda pushed with all her might. She pushed for as long as she could and felt as her baby slid just the barest amount. She tried again, and again, and again. Until finally, she felt as her second child slid out and plopped onto the table.
“Was zum Teufel?” the scarred man exclaimed, turning around and his eyes landing on her younger child.
He rushed forward and picked up her second child. Without his broad form, Wanda was able to get a better look at her first son. The baby was still covered in slime and fluid. His skin was a bright red as he screamed and cried which made Wanda yearn to hold him. HIs hair was wispy but unmistakably silver like her brother. She turned back to the scarred man that now had her second child in his arms.
This one was different from their older siblings. Instead of the fair pigmentation that allowed a red hue to burn through, the second one had a darker olive tone and the beginnings of black locks. They were quieter, not screaming or crying, but the look of fear was evident in their new eyes. A look that no mother wanted to see in her children.
The red returned to her vision. She felt as extensions of her will snaked from her. They shot towards her children but before they could reach them, the collar around her neck activated and the world became dark.
When the smoke cleared all that was left was rubble. Sparks and water crept out of the cracks between the cement fragments and the bodies and blood of hundreds stained the ground. Dr. Zola looked around, trying to find any sign of life. He jumped when he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder.
“Well?” the piercing voice of Baron Strucker snarled.
“The d-dam” the doctor shivered under the cold glare. “I-It was able to overpower…”
Strucker let out a roar of fury and smashed his fist into a nearby block of concrete exploding it.
“How powerful was it?” he asked, breathing heavily.
“To overcome those inhibitor colors, it would have to have the equivalent energy output of 239 kilograms of TNT.”
“How is that possible?” the baron growled.
“Its powers are a nexus between cosmic energy and forces” Dr. Zola explained, rubbing his glasses nervously.
“Then they will find us” Baron stated, “Hurry, we must leave.”