The Patchwork Doll
Twelve. That was the number of civilians that were wandering down the hospital corridor when the Machine rounded the corner. Fifteen doorways, seven hallway lights, two wheelchairs, and one computer which had a cable left haphazardly laying on the floor. At the other end of the corridor stood Captain America and Natasha Romanoff, appearing in deep conversation, none the wiser to the approaching threat. The Machine brushed away a speck of blood on the paramedic jacket she was wearing, as a command flashed in front of her eyes, making her come to a sudden halt.
Pull the fire alarm.
The Machine began to walk once again, spotting the fire alarm nearby, smashing the glass and pressing the black dot underneath in one swift motion. The effect was immediate as an alarm began to ring out, causing a welcome distraction. The civilians in the corridor quickly rushed towards the fire exit, as Steve Rogers' eyes darted around the corridor, his hand going to rest on Natasha's waist, pushing her forward. A sign of affection.
The Machine turned on her heel, knowing it would look suspicious to be heading in the direction away from the fire exit. Her eyes flickered to a fire extinguisher a few metres away as she slowed her pace, allowing her two targets to unknowingly catch up with her. She pulled the fire extinguisher away from the wall, the behaviour not seeming strange due to the fire alarm blaring all around them. Just as the pair were about to pass her, she threw the extinguisher backwards, hitting Natasha in the head. The Avenger stumbled backwards, not having seen the attack coming, but Steve was quick to come to her defence. He sent a hard punch towards the Machine, who quickly ducked, his fist connecting with the wall instead. From her crouched position, she punched the blond twice in the stomach, winding him. Suddenly, she was thrown off her feet, as Black Widow kicked her feet out from under her. The Machine immediately flipped back upright, sending a high kick to Natasha's face, splitting the older woman's lip.
"Now, that was just rude" Natasha exclaimed, wiping the blood away from her mouth.
Wasting no time, Steve sprung forward, his fist raised out, too quick for the Machine to stop him. Instead, she intercepted the blow with her outstretched palm, managing to grab his fist. Steve's eyes widened at this action, amazed she had been able to stop his attack. With her other hand, she sent a hard blow higher up his arm, as they both heard a sharp snap. Spinning around so that her back was facing him, she then elbowed him in the face, before grabbing his injured arm and pulling him over her shoulder, slamming him hard into the ground. Just as she raised her leg out to kick him, Natasha was shoving her into a nearby wall, her arm pressing into the Machine's neck. With her lips drawn back in a snarl, she grabbed Natasha's cropped hair, ripping a large chunk out, relieving some of the pressure on her windpipe as Natasha pulled back. The Machine then struck out with her head, catching Natasha's nose, as she stumbled back a few paces. The Machine raised her arm out to strike her, when Natasha suddenly took hold of her arm and spun her around, throwing her into the wall. Her eyes snapped up to glare at the redhead, an almost feral look behind them before they flickered over to Steve who had pushed himself up from the ground. Her gaze stayed on him, strangely more focused on the blue jacket he was wearing, than the man himself.
Before either Avenger could react, the Machine had grabbed the fire extinguisher lying beside her and thrown it towards the ceiling, smashing the light above them, making it difficult to see in the dark corridor. In one quick forward roll, she made her way other to Steve, before swinging her leg around, almost knocking him off his feet. Steve had seen this coming and had managed to grab onto the wall to keep himself upright. Still, the distraction was enough to allow the Machine to grab his jacket, as she ripped away his pocket effortlessly, the fabric and what was inside coming loose. Natasha's eyes widened as she saw the USB drive she had given to Fury not long before, now rest in the girl's palm. Without a second's hesitation, Natasha grabbed a piece of shattered glass from the broken light and slammed it down into the girl's neck. Natasha's mouth went slack as she ripped the glass away but found only a small amount of blood dripped from the wound. She should have severed the girl's carotid artery. She should have bled out, but instead, she didn't even blink. The Machine was far more focused on the USB drive in her hand.
Do not download the files.
The command came a moment too late, as the Machine had instinctively begun to download the files to her command centre. Images and documents flickered behind her eyes, making her come to a halt.
"Natasha…" Steve trailed off, as he saw how a blue glow was being emitted from the Machine's gloved hand.
As Natasha took a closer look at the girl's neck, she could see small sparks coming from the wound in the place of the blood that should have been spurting out. Natasha's brow furrowed as she swore she could see a glint of metal underneath the pale skin.
Destroy the drive.
Instantly, the Machine crushed the USB drive in her palm, effortlessly as Steve let out a cry. He reached down to grab the collar of the paramedic jacket and hauled her upright, slamming her into the wall. She dropped the destroyed drive to the floor, now no more than a hunk of metal. Steve angrily, ripped away the latex glove she was wearing, wanting to see where the soft blue light was coming from. He was taken aback when he saw the girl's palm was metal, lined with blue lights that shone dimly. Steve grimaced as he could see the way the metal had been attached to the fleshy part of the back of her hand, the scars evident.
The Machine stayed where she was, awaiting her next command. The mission had been completed. The drive was destroyed. But the information she had downloaded was still in her head, leaving her with a hint of emotion. Doubt.
"Who sent you?" Steve questioned, but got no response.
"Cap!" Rumlow's voice called out, from the other end of the corridor, as both their heads whipped around to face him.
The Machine's eyes connected with the newcomer, as Rumlow's eyes flickered to something beyond the pair. In the next second, she was able to get the upper hand, as she sent a hard punch to the blond's stomach, before elbowing him in the face once again, pushing him off her. She then took off running down the corridor, feeling someone close on her heel from behind. Something hit the Machine in the back of her shin, a strange burning sensation following a moment later. She looked down to see a small circular object having attached to her leg, which now flopped below her uselessly. She whipped around, just in time to be kneed in the stomach by Natasha, throwing her into nearby elevator doors.
"What are you?" Natasha frowned, as the Machine ripped away the circular device, which she realised was one of Black Widow's taser disks.
The Machine frowned as she heard a whizzing sound coming from her shin, watching as tremors rose up her leg. Getting her fingers in between the metal doors from behind her, she quickly wedged the doors open. Before Black Widow could react, the Machine had jumped down the elevator shaft, falling to the bottom floor with a loud thump. Quickly, she pushed herself back to her feet, her shoulder now at a strange angle, clearly dislocated. Natasha was about to jump down after her when the Machine began to crawl up the shaft, grabbing one of the cables and breaking it in half. Suddenly, the elevator cabin whizzed down, crashing at the bottom, as the Machine crashed through the metal doors on the ground floor just in time to avoid being hit. A second later a large explosion blew up the elevator shaft, causing Natasha to jump back. There was no way she could follow her down.
"Were we just fighting a robot?" Steve questioned, approaching Natasha, clutching at his injured arm.
"I don't know…but I'm impressed" Natasha smirked, as Steve gave her an unamused look.
The Machine limped out into the car park, making a beeline for the ambulance she knew would not be occupied. She pulled open the backdoors and almost fell in, her legs starting to give out. Her breathing was coming out in short pants, a thick sweat coating her body. She should have no doubt been in a large amount of pain. With a grunt, she grabbed her shoulder and pulled it back into position, hearing a loud snap. Her eyes then flickered to the corpse of the paramedic she had killed only thirty minutes prior. Their eyes were wide open, a look of horror forever etched behind them. It had been a quick death. Merciful. Before she knew what she was doing, the Machine leaned down to close the paramedic's eyes shut. She frowned at her hands after the action, unsure why she had felt the impulse. After learning what was on the USB drive, she wondered if the paramedic would have been killed anyway in a few days due to Project Insight. Before she could think too much into it, the ambulance doors were suddenly ripped open, revealing Brock Rumlow on the other side. His face broke out into a grin a second later, as he jumped into the ambulance, closing the doors quickly behind him.
"You just kicked Captain America's ass! God-damn, you should have seen his face" Rumlow exclaimed, excitedly.
"I did well?" The Machine replied, as Rumlow nodded.
"This is the break we've been waiting for, Rookie" Rumlow stated, as the Machine pulled her lips into a smile.
Her handler appeared happy with her efforts and that should mean that she was happy. From what she remembered of emotions, you smiled when you were happy.
"My leg is malfunctioning" She informed him, gesturing to her leg, which was flopped in front of her.
"Black Widow got you good, eh?" Rumlow mumbled, crouching down to take a closer look at her leg.
"She was very fast. They both were" The Machine pointed out, as Rumlow pulled her trouser leg up, revealing the patches of metal underneath, stitched into her skin.
The Machine looked away quickly, the sight making her feel uncomfortable. Rumlow quickly noticed this and pulled the cloth back down, his eyes flickered to the blood running down her neck.
"Any internal damage?" Rumlow inquired, brushing her hair away from her neck, his fingers brushing against the wound.
"I remain intact" The Machine answered, choosing her words carefully.
"…You downloaded the files?" Rumlow asked, a few seconds later, as her eyes snapped up to his.
"Yes" She admitted, as Rumlow pulled his hand away from her neck.
"Are we going to have a problem?" Rumlow pushed, as she tilted her head.
"Do you want us to have a problem?" The Machine retorted, making Rumlow chuckle.
"No. Look, you weren't supposed to see that. We'll wipe your feed later. Just in case" Rumlow told her.
"As you wish" The Machine nodded, as Rumlow pushed himself to his feet.
"…You shouldn't have interrupted the fight. You drew attention to yourself. That was dangerous" The Machine warned him.
"You know we couldn't afford for Captain America to get his hands on you" Rumlow explained.
"That shouldn't have been an issue. You have the kill switch—" The Machine began, as Rumlow cut her off sharply.
"Don't bring that shit up" Rumlow muttered, as the Machine averted her eyes to the ground, the conversation over.
Her last handler had always spoken about the kill switch in question gleefully, but Rumlow didn't share this opinion. After two years, she still didn't understand him like she had her other handlers. She supposed she didn't need to. She wasn't there to think.
The Machine waited in the depths of the bank that had become their base, her hands laid out on her lap. Her leg had slowly corrected itself, but it would still need to be seen to by the engineers. That's who she was waiting for. To be fixed. The bigger problem was the obvious gaping wound on her neck, which still had blood dripping from it. Black Widow's aim had been perfect, but she wasn't to know that the Machine's anatomy wasn't normal. Still, she could have died. That fact didn't scare her, it didn't make her feel anything.
"I'm gonna' see what's taking them so long" Rumlow announced, pushing himself up from where he had been sitting next to her.
"I can wait" The Machine stated, as Rumlow raised his eyebrow.
"Well, this way you won't have to" Rumlow retorted, patting her twice on the shoulder as he went to walk out of the room.
The Machine was pondering on whether the action was supposed to be a comforting gesture when the door opened a few minutes later, the light from the corridor blinding her for a moment.
"жди здесь" A uniformed soldier announced, as a large figure walked into the room, going to sit opposite her.
The Winter Soldier.
She wasn't surprised he had been woken up. For Project Insight to work, the most valued assets would be called upon. And he was the best. She remembered that well.
"Soldier" The Machine nodded to the man, as his eyes flickered to hers, a slight recognition behind them.
"K-80" The Winter Soldier greeted, staring ahead of him, as the uniformed soldier closed the door quickly, looking uneasy.
The Machine's eye twitched for just a second at the comment. She had been experiment K-80. That was how the Winter Soldier greeted her the first time they met. It was a strange comment, but not an unwelcome one. Their first meeting seemed so long ago now.
"They call me the Machine now. The individualisation was deemed a mistake" The Machine informed him.
"I was told you were still defective" The Winter Soldier exclaimed.
"I was. I am not anymore" The Machine clarified, as the man gave her a curt nod.
"…Were you wiped?" He questioned a second later, seeming uncharacteristically unsure.
"Re-programmed" The Machine mumbled, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"You're bleeding" He pointed out, his gaze on her neck.
"I fought with Black Widow. You were right about her" The Machine explained.
"She is still difficult to kill?" The Winter Soldier replied, feeling something similar to amusement bubble up in his chest.
"And to aim for her face" The Machine stated, finding the ghost of a smile growing on her lips.
Without another word, the Winter Soldier leaned down to rip away a small strip from the hem of his trousers, before standing up and approaching her. She tilted her head as he swapped the cloth from his metal hand to his flesh one, before holding it out to her. He didn't meet her gaze as she looked up at him with confusion.
"I see you are unharmed from your latest mission" She exclaimed, taking the cloth from his hand, with her own non-metal hand.
"I'm quick" The Winter Soldier replied, almost smugly.
The insinuation was clear behind his words. She wasn't quick enough. It was a funny comment. At least, the Machine thought it was, but she didn't laugh. She couldn't remember how to make the action. Instead, she placed the cloth against her neck wound, mopping up some of the blood spilling down her shoulder. A part of her mind ushered her to thank him in response, but the words died on her lips. It wasn't a necessary comment.
She noticed how the Winter Soldier stayed looming over her for a few seconds, a strange look behind his eyes. She found it difficult to place the emotion, but it seemed like...guilt.
"Hey Rookie, they're ready for you…" Rumlow's voice trailed off, as he pulled open the door to the room, seeing that the Machine was no longer alone.
"Come" Rumlow insisted, firmly.
The Machine was instantly on her feet, marching towards him, as the Winter Soldier stayed where he stood. The Machine found herself wanting to turn around, perhaps to say goodbye to the associate, but the command had been clear. Rumlow gave the Winter Soldier a glare before he slammed the door shut, leaving the man alone with his own empty thoughts.
"Fancy meeting you here" Natasha's voice behind Steve made him flinch, as he jumped back from the screens he had been watching.
The past twenty-four hours had been the worst he had seen for a while. Nick Fury was dead. He was a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D and the only lead he had, was destroyed by some sort of robot. To say he was pissed was an understatement. He went back to the hospital, hoping he could find some footage of the mystery girl and work out who she was. Figuring out the hospital CCTV cameras had been far harder than he had expected.
"Do you know what was on that stick?" Steve asked, turning to her with suspicion.
"No" Natasha replied, as his jaw tensed.
"Don't lie to me" Steve insisted, taking a step forward.
"I'm not. I just act like I know everything, Rogers" Natasha told him.
"That girl is connected to whatever is happening at S.H.I.E.L.D. She has to be" Steve pointed out, as Natasha nodded.
"You trying to catch her on CCTV?" Natasha asked, nodding to the computer screens.
"Once I figure out how to fast-forward it" Steve muttered.
"I think I can help with that" Natasha exclaimed, dropping a brown folder on the table in front of him.
"What's this?" Steve asked, flicking the document open.
"Great minds think alike. I'm just a bit quicker. I used facial recognition and it got a match" Natasha explained, as a frown grew on Steve's face.
A picture was attached to the front page of a girl who could be no older than ten, smiling into the camera. It took him a few seconds to realise that it was in fact the girl they had been fighting only a few hours prior. She looked so different now. Almost empty. He flicked through the pages, finding a missing person's report from 2006.
"Disappeared on her way home from school, not seen again until…" Natasha trailed off, turning the page for Steve.
The image on the next page was blurry CCTV footage, but it was clearly the same girl. She had her hands wrapped around a man's throat, blood covering half her face. Steve's eyes flickered to the metal evident on the upper part of her arm, near her shoulder.
"2009. She murders a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. No one knows why. He had only been on the job six months. She pops up now and again, killing low-level targets. Fast-forward to 2012 and she's arrested during a house invasion. A scientist and his kid. She killed the man but left the child" Natasha went on.
"I'm guessing she escaped?" Steve scoffed.
"That's not the interesting part. She started having fits in custody, so they sent her to the hospital. Ordered some scans, look…" Natasha mumbled, flicking the page over again.
Steve almost dropped the file, his eyes widening in horror as he saw the pictures on the next page. She looked like a patchwork doll. Metal replaced parts of her body, the skin around it looking scarred and painful. The entirety of her left thigh appeared to have been replaced with metal, finishing just underneath her knee.
"That's not all" Natasha sighed, pointing to a picture at the bottom.
It was an X-ray of her head, which revealed metal wires embedded within her skull, connecting to her brain and then down her neck. It was a horrifying concept. Steve felt bile rising up at the back of his throat, as he forced himself to look away.
"Jesus" He mumbled.
"They estimated about thirty per cent of her body was metal. And those wires…they make up a whole new central nervous system. This technology is advanced, Steve. Too advanced" Natasha went on.
"Someone pulled that kid apart and then stuck her back together with wires?" Steve grimaced; his voice thick with emotion.
"That kid almost beat two Avengers" Natasha insisted.
"Rumlow knew her" Steve realised, his mouth slack.
"You're sure?" Natasha frowned.
"The way they looked at each other…they had to" Steve nodded.
"If we want to find out what's going on, we need that girl" Natasha stated.
"…I think I've got a plan" Steve announced, as Natasha raised an eyebrow.
Rumlow's lips were drawn in a fine line as they pulled up to the Mall that Captain America had been spotted at. This was a re-match he had been waiting for. It hadn't been long since he had his ass handed to him in an elevator, along with over a dozen other men. He had the bruises on his face to prove it.
"You good?" Rumlow asked, turning to the Machine, who was sitting in the passenger's seat.
She had been lost in thought, thinking about the Winter Soldier. Almost two years had passed since they last met. When the Machine had become…defective. Plagued with emotions. The Winter Soldier was the one who had helped her escape from jail when she had been arrested after killing the scientist. Of course, helped wasn't really the right word. Kidnapped was more accurate. The Winter Soldier had saved and condemned her at the same time, after taking her back to Hydra.
"Rookie?" Rumlow insisted, with a frown, as she turned to him.
With a quick nod, the pair exited the car and made their way into the mall, with four other agents. The two split off, knowing they needed to cover the entire mall. They had no idea if Steve was alone, or why he had been spotted in a mall of all places.
"Do your thing" Rumlow announced, gesturing over to a nearby security camera.
The Machine marched towards the camera, her eyes darting around to make sure no one was looking. She then punched a hole into the wall, quickly finding the wires that connected the camera to the security system. The moment her hand touched the wires, images flashed behind her eyes, as she accessed all the security feeds. It didn't take her long to find Rogers, who was making his way towards the car park. Another face made her stop. Black Widow was there. They must have been working together.
"Rogers is heading to the car park and Romanoff is on the second floor" The Machine informed Rumlow, whose lips spread into a smirk.
"Have I mentioned how much I love working with you?" Rumlow grinned, as the Machine forced a smile.
"I'll take Rogers. You deal with Romanoff. Kill her if necessary" Rumlow ordered.
"Consider it done" The Machine exclaimed, setting off towards the nearby escalators.
"Alpha 1 with me, Alpha 2 with the Machine" Rumlow spoke into their comms.
For some reason, hearing those words made her flinch. She didn't like her handler calling her the Machine. It seemed…wrong. Shaking her head, she pushed her way onto the elevators and soon found herself on the second floor. She almost instantly found Natasha, her red hair standing out, as the woman made her way towards the public toilets. She made ten civilians in total as walked down the long corridor to the female bathrooms. A child gave her a strange look as she rushed towards the toilet's, a determined look in her eyes.
"Guess she really needed to go" The child's mother muttered, as the Machine rounded the corner.
She came to a halt when she pushed open the bathroom doors and found the redhead standing on the other end of the room, facing away from her. Another woman was washing her hands, completely oblivious to the danger she was in.
"Leave" The Machine spoke up, as the woman scoffed.
"I said…leave" The Machine repeated, taking out the gun she had in the waistband of her trousers.
The woman almost choked as her eyes flickered to the gun, rushing out of the toilets with wide eyes a second later. The Machine turned her focus back to her target, who was still yet to move.
"ты боишься драться со мной, черная вдова? (Are you afraid to fight me, Black Widow?)" The Machine spoke up, taking a cautious step forward.
Something was wrong. It was a trap. She could sense it. Wasting no further time, she backed up a step before sending two bullets into the back of Natasha. Her eyes widened as the figure fell backwards, revealing it to be a mannequin with a very convincing red wig, dressed up in the clothes Natasha had been wearing.
Suddenly, something hit the Machine's head from above, causing her to blackout momentarily. She fell against a nearby basin, her vision coming back to find a ceiling tile shattered by her feet.
"Я не боюсь...а ты? (I'm not afraid...are you?)" Natasha exclaimed, with a small smirk, before sending a hard punch to the Machine's face.
With a growl, the Machine lunged at the Avenger, her metal hand wrapping around the redhead's neck. Before she could crush the delicate skin, Natasha brought her wrists up to the younger girl's head, the strange bracelet's covering her arms now on display. The Machine realised what they were a second too late.
Black Widow's Bite.
The device sent a shock through her head immediately, as the Machine felt her vision go black, her hand falling away from Natasha's neck, who had been beginning to choke. Natasha watched with a grimace as the other woman suddenly dropped to the floor, tremors ripping through her body, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The seizure-like activity continued for almost a whole minute before the Machine went completely still. Unsure if the girl was even alive, Natasha crouched down and saw her chest still rose and fell slowly.
"I have the girl. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point" Natasha exclaimed, speaking into her comm's.
With a frown, Natasha went to pick the Machine up and considered whether she had ever been alive in the first place.