The Most Unlikely Heroes

2011

Belarus

~~~

Madame B came in and removed the handcuffs from Nikita, freeing her. "доброе утро, Никита," Madame B said coldly. (Good morning, Nikita)

"доброе утро, мадам Б" Nikita answered. (Good morning, Madame B)

Madame B left without another word and Nikita sat up from her bed, not even flinching at her raw wrists.

The tears stopped coming a long time ago.

However, it still ached no matter how many nights she spent handcuffed to her own bed. That was how they prevented the 'students' here at the Red Room Academy from escaping.

To put it simply, the Red Room Academy is a top-secret Soviet brainwashing and training program for young women located in Maryina Harka Forest.

From hand to hand combat to acrobatics to weaponry to tactical skills, the girls chosen are put through strenuous training on a daily basis.

There are a few other special treats as well such as two girls being selected to spar to the death, watching video projections that brainwash you and being sterilized upon graduation to become 'better assassins'.

Oh, and when the girls train in firearms, the targets are often real people.

As you can tell, it's a very warm and loving environment.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her wrists, Nikita forced herself to face another torturous day and keep her head up.

~~~

Breakfast was a blur and soon, she found herself changing into a black leotard and pink ballet flats. Nikita tied her hair into a bun, sweeping baby hairs out of her face.

It may sound strange for a future assassin to be doing ballet of all things, but there's a reason for it.

The ballet is there for these young women to become 'unbreakable', for the instructor has them practice the routine again and again and again.

Standing up, Nikita murmured, "Пора задушить людей моими пуантами." (Time to go strangle people with my pointe shoes)

Her lips curled into a small smile at her joke as she walked into the dancing room, walking towards a barre, seeing a dark-skinned girl with curly black hair trembling. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her head was bowed, avoiding looking at anything and anyone.

Nikita looked at her curiously. The girl looked about her age yet seemed so young at the same time. Standing next to the girl, she asked, "Hi there, I'm Nikita. Do you speak English?"

The girl shrinked away from her, flinching. "A little. English isn't my first language. I'm Mariam," she murmured in a heavy Parisian French accent. "I'm assuming your first language is French then?"

She looked up and nodded slowly, brown eyes looking afraid of Nikita. She almost felt bad for the girl. Almost.

"Bienvenue dans la salle rouge, Mariam." (Welcome to the Red Room)

"Merci, Nikita." (Thanks, Nikita)

Nikita was completely unaware that Mariam was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent working to infiltrate the Red Room. And that Mariam wasn't her name at all.

Her real name was Teala Dunn. And she spoke English just fine.

She recalled what happened this morning after she was 'brainwashed' and they 'wiped her memory'.

"Bonjour chérie, peux-tu me dire ton nom?) Hello there darling, can you tell me your name?) " the blonde woman asked, her blue eyes boring into the dark-haired girl's. She was relieved to see another familiar face. Justine had been under disguise at the Red Room for nearly three years, gathering information, planning S.H.I.E.L.D's attack on the program, finding it's weak spots.

Now that she was ready, S.H.I.E.L.D brought Teala in to help her out. And in a few weeks, another will come in. Back-up agents were stationed on small missions close enough to be able to rescue them in case all goes to hell.

"Je ne me souviens pas (I don't remember)," she lied.

"Alors tu ne te souviens pas de ton nom? (So you don't remember your name?)"

"Pas manquer (No miss)."

"Sais tu où tu es? (Do you know where you are?)"

"Non. (No)."

"Tu te souviens de ce qui s'est passé la nuit dernière?(Do you remember what happened last night)"

Teala wanted to say yes, but she wasn't supposed to say yes because she wasn't supposed to remember, so she just repeated the same dull answer and Justine droned on. Finally, she got to the part where she told Teala who she was.

"Your name is Miriam, no last name. You are a very skilled ballerina. You are to do everything we tell you to and to not ask any questions. The man you will meet is your father and you are to call him your father. He will be one of your instructors. There is also a woman who is an instructor and you shall address her as Madam B. My name is Jennifer. Follow me to meet your father in his office. He will show you your dormitory." 

Some time later, Teala was in her room, listening to what Agent Hill was telling her through her earpiece. "Made it through the first day without dying, Agent Dunn?" Jael asked dryly and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm tougher than I look, Agent Hill. I'm fine. For now at least."

"I know you are. Be careful. One wrong move and you have a school of assassins against you. S.H.I.E.L.D won't be able to help you in time Teala, if they find out."

Teala nodded, shoulders tensing. S.H.I.E.L.D had entrusted her with such a big job even though she was one of the youngest agents. They needed someone about the same age as the girls here so it wouldn't be too suspicious. This was almost like a test of her abilities. If she could complete this successfully, perhaps she could start gaining some more respect and not get looked down upon.

"I won't mess this job up, Jael. I promise. Now if you excuse me, I have to go. My new roommates are going to come back any minute and I can't get caught. You coming in a few weeks to help right?"

"Yes, I still am. Try to not die while you're all alone." Teala snorted. "I won't, Jael. See you in a few weeks?"

"Hopefully I'll see you in a few weeks. But if it ends up not being me, it'll probably Agent Amaro."

"Alright. Thanks." The earpiece went quiet.

~~~

Teala work up with a start, feeling pain on her wrists. Then she remembered that she was handcuffed to her own bed. The other girls were sleeping peacefully in their own cots. And she was the only one awake. It dug into her skin as she shifted, the skin red and raw. A few drops of blood dripped off the cuffs.

"Je vois que tu t'es réveillé, (I see you have woken up)" a woman Teala recalled being named Madam B, a key in her hand.

"Lève-toi, il veut te voir (Get up, he wants to see you)." She unlocked Teala from her handcuffs and she winced at the pain.

"Oui m'dame (Yes ma'am)," Teala mumbled. "Je suis désolé, qu'est-ce que c'était?" She put an ear to her hand, not hearing the spy.

"J'ai dit, 'Oui madame', (I said, 'Yes ma'am)," Teala repeated a little louder."

"Bonne fille (Good girl)." The woman smiled menacingly, noticing the look of pain on her face."Vous vous y habituerez, éventuellement. Ils le font tous. (You'll get used to it, eventually. They all do)"

She followed the woman, keeping up her meek act. 

~~~weeks later~~~

Chelsey opened the truck for and slid into the driver seat, looking around. "Mother effing trucker, I can't believe I did it," she whispered into her comm.

"Told you everything would be fine and that you shouldn't be such a worry wart," Justine grumbled on the other end. "I've been undercover for years. You think I would screw this up?"

The S.H.I.E.L.D agent sighed and hissed, "Well sorry for doubting you. You know how dangerous this is. We're not even supposed to know this program exists! But we do and we're trying to tear it down, get these girls normal lives and stop any more from ending up like them! Did you believe I'd be worry-free?"

"I was hoping that you'd have more confidence in my abilities," the blonde snapped. "Besides, we have back-up if things go to hell. Now, focus and try not to die before you even step foot into the Red Room."

"Okay, okay. Let's hope those extra Russian lessons were worth it." 

"I hope so." Chelsey looked out the truck window and pulled her cap more over her head, adding on black aviator sunglasses. "Target spotted, Luke Lebedev's coming into the truck with a little girl, looks around 6 or 7 ish."

"Appearance?"

She squinted to get a better view, leaning against the window. "Hispanic-looking girl, black hair in a ponytail, brown eyes, golden brown skin. She's wearing a green plaid dress with an apron over." 

"Is that it?" 

"Yep. Now shut up and let me drive this darn thing to the Red Room. Meet you in the lab?"

"I'm always there. Good luck, Chelsey."

"Thanks." Justine went silent on the other end and Chelsey looked out as Luke and the little girl approached the military-grade truck, getting in. She couldn't help but notice the way that the man held her hand, almost possessively. The girl had a mix of expressions on her face. Fear, sorrow, pain, helplessness... 

"I'll get you out of this. I promise," she whispered to herself, noticing the mess of tears staining the girl's cheeks. She couldn't help but frown as she turned back, fixing her eyes on the road. Turning on the engine, the agent started making her way towards the Red Room.

~~~

Outside a large stone building, Justine watched a truck pull through the heavily guarded gates, fiddling with a sack in her hands. The gates were about fifteen feet tall, so it was rather short, but was reinforced with razor wire. She saw Luke and the little girl Chelsey described. But the agent was nowhere in sight. 

"Слушай внимательно, Далила. Я должен надеть этот мешок тебе на голову (Listen carefully, Delilah. I have to put this sack over your head)." He motioned for the blonde woman to step forward and the agent in disguise handed the sack over, knowing how this would go. She felt sick. Because this wasn't even the worst part. But she had to stand by and not blow her cover.

"Это место совершенно секретно, поэтому я должен отвести вас туда, чтобы вы его не увидели, хорошо? Не волнуйся, я все время буду держать тебя за руку (This place is top-secret, so I have to lead you in there without you seeing it, okay? Don't worry though, I'll be holding your hand the whole time)," Luke explained, voice oozing with fake sweetness. Delilah nodded obediently, oblivious to what was about to happen. In the corner of her eye, Justine saw a brunette woman with aviator, glasses and a guard outfit on, glaring right at her.

Chelsey... so she did survive after all. She refrained from giving her co-worker a proud smirk, keeping her expression neutral. The two agents followed as the man and child walked into the building, walking through a seemingly endless maze of halls, tunnels and stairways. Her ears popped when she made it into a familiar room deep underground. Her fellow S.H.I.E.L.D agent grumbled behind her, not used to walking through this place. Luckily, the Red Room leader didn't hear her.

Luke took the sack off the raven-haired girl's head and knelt to her eye level. "Вы хотите остаться здесь прямо? (You want to stay here right?)" The girl bobbed her head and he grinned. Most would mistake it as a friendly smile. But if you look closely, his eyes leave a completely different message from his smile. "Ладно, хорошо. Если хочешь остаться, тебе придется пройти для меня это небольшое испытание. Ты можешь это сделать? (Okay good.  If you want to stay, you're going to have to pass this little test for me. Can you do that?)" 

Delilah nodded again and the dark-haired man's grin widened" Отлично. Я хочу, чтобы ты вернулся к грузовику. Без посторонней помощи. (All right. I want you to find your way back to the truck. Without any help)."

The brunette agent's mouth dropped ever so slightly and she glanced at the blonde, but she showed no surprise, as if she'd seen this happen many, many times before. Without missing a beat, the young girl left, the man following and standing out the doorway. 

"How in the hell-" Chelsey said in disbelief. 

"I don't know, don't ask. This is a program to train girls to become assassins, did you expect the test to be easy?" Justine heckled testily. 

"Well no, but I can't even make my way out of this laybrinth and I didn't have a sack over my head!" 

"I know. I was relieved that Teala passed when she came in." 

"Has she been-"

"Brainwashed? No. The rest of them are, but she isn't."

"How did-"

"I was the one that 'brainwashed' her. I didn't brainwash her at all actually, I did something else."

"Like what?"

"Like-"

Luke opened the door and the two shut their mouths, ending their discussion "Все готово для девушки, доктор? (Is everything ready, doctor) " he asked Justine. 

"Да, сэр, все готово к работе. Вы хотите, чтобы я еще что-нибудь сделал для вас? (Yes sir, everything is ready to go. Is there anything else you'd like me to do for you?)" Justine replied, a strange formalness replacing her usual demeanor.

"Нет, все хорошо. Просто следуй за мной, и посмотрим, как у девушки. (No, it's all good. Just follow me and we'll see how the girl does.)

"Да, сэр (Yes sir)," Chelsey answered, saying as little as possible

"Давай, давай. Посмотрим, как поживает наша маленькая черная вдова. (Come, come. Let's see how our little black widow is doing.)."

~~~

There was something beautiful about the way Nikita moved. She was impossibly graceful and light on her feet as she fought. It was funny how the girls in the Red Room were so close and almost like sisters, but then again, what kind of sisters kill each other for training? This was the situation she was in now, sparring against a red-head named Natasha.

The two assassins took a fighting stance, the blonde had a blank expression on her face, pulling her sleeve more over her arm to cover what appeared to be burn marks.

The red-head almost had a look of regret on her face, knowing what was about to happen. One of them was about to die fighting the other. The girls crowded around, Teala being one of them. She took a shaky breath.

She'd never witnessed one of these fights in the Red Room, but she knew what would come. And it made her feel sick to her stomach. Yet Teala couldn't blow her cover and ruin the mission.

She had to let the fight go on. The agent looked around in horror at the girls around her, neutral expressions on their faces. Like it was normal to watch two people fight to the death. Two children. Technically teenagers, but still children nonetheless. Even the young ones didn't seem fazed.

The curly-haired girl wanted to cover her eyes, but she knew she musn't. So instead, Teala watched. Nikita made the first move. Movements as light as a cat's she flew to the ground and swiped her leg in a circle, knocking Natasha off her feet. Trained for this kind of attack, her opponent fought back. This went on for a while, for these two girls were pretty neck-to-neck competition.

Ironically, both came into the program at around the same time. Practically grew up together. Were always the instructors' favorites. Both were extremely skilled at ballet and gymnastics and was skilled in almost any weapon.

It was a tough call, no one knew who would live and who would die. Nikita flipped over the girl's shoulder and grabbed her head, flinging Natasha to the ground like a rag doll. Surprised by her strength, the red-head struggled as the blonde sat on her, preparing to strangle her. But she hesitated. She had started to let the girl go.

 In a last attempt to escape the clutches of death, Natasha threw Nikita off her. She let out a shriek, head slamming on the ground. Blood stained her light hair as her opponent tried to jump on her and strangle her, but she was faster, getting back onto her feet lightning quick. Throwing her back onto the ground, Nikita nearly slipped on blood, but didn't let that stop her. Teala could've sworn Nikita mumbled, "I'm sorry" to the girl, but she wasn't sure.

She stepped on the girl's spine, breaking it. Natasha died on the spot.

Teala prayed that she wouldn't witness such a thing ever again and that in a few short days, this nightmare would all be over.

She saw Madam B's lips thin into a line and she grabbed Nikita by the arm. She yelped, the woman touching her mysterious burn marks. Teala wasn't sure what the burn marks were from. But it didn't seem like an accident by any means.

Noticing that everyone was retreating out of the room, she followed the crowd and blended in and deftly slipped out to follow Madam B and Nikita to see what was going on. She saw that the two were heading to Luke's office. 

Teala got an idea, recalling Luke having a vent in his office. And there was one in the hallway. Luckily, there was a few chairs nearby too. Reaching up, she took a coin she kept in her pocket for unknown reasons, but it was handy at times. Quickly unscrewing the screws, she pulled herself up, checking to see that there was no one in the hallway.

Then again, the girls were supposed to be on a killing spree right now so the coast should be clear. Crawling through the vent, she let her other senses guide her, for she could barely see. Then she heard voices and stopped, recognizing them. She saw the room and ducked out of their sight in case they looked up. 

"Вы проявили милосердие (You showed mercy," Luke said cuttingly and she heard Nikita gulp. "Она была моим другом- (She was my friend-)," Nikita argued and he interrupted her, not having any of it.

"Милосердие?!? Я не потратил все эти годы на то, чтобы научить вас проявлять милосердие. Не говоря уже о том, чтобы привязываться к своим товарищам по Черным вдовам.( Mercy?!? I didn't spend all of these years training you for you to show mercy. Let alone get attached to your fellow Black Widows.)"

"Я знаю. Клянусь, этого больше не повторится. (I know. It won't happen again, I swear.)"

"Это просто слова. Мне нужно, чтобы ты доказал мне, что этого больше не повторится. (Those are just words. I need you to prove to me that it won't happen again.)

"При всем уважении, сэр, я думаю, что наказание преподаст ей урок. Она готова к выпуску. Я могу назначить врачей-(With all due respect sir, I think a punishment will teach her a lesson. She's ready to graduate. I can have the doctors set up-)," Madam B suggested. 

"Нет, у меня другая идея, (No. I have a different idea)" Luke said sharply and Madam B fell silent. "Класс в сеансе, верно? (Class is in session, correct?)" He looked at Madam B ominously.

"Да. Что ты предлагаешь? (Yes. What do you suggest?)"

He didn't answer, grabbing Nikita by the arm and dragging her out of the room. Teala scrambled to turn and get out of this vent, knowing that this couldn't be good.

~~~

A few minutes later, Nikita was in the room, dancing. Her movements were fluid. She turned elegantly in tune with the music. But it wasn't your usual melody, with violins, cellos or any instrument in that family. No. The music was the sound of humans.

Not singing melodically, but screaming. 

Until they could scream no more, falling dead. 

She was killing them. All of them.

These people who she considered sisters. Meeting their end. By her hand. Never living a full life. They wouldn't have a real life any way. It would probably be spent killing and spying and espionage. They would be tools for the rest of their lives anyway.

It was incredible how Nikita was so outnumbered, yet that wouldn't matter in the end. The Red Room was redder than ever, blood staining the floor, walls, furniture everything. The girls were still fighting against one of their own. One of the killing machines turned against the other killing machines. 

'She couldn't possibly kill them all, could she?' they thought. Well... they were wrong for the most part. She had a tiny little blade, but that tiny little blade did more damage than anyone could've thought it would.

Twirling and flipping, she made deadly blows on all her unfortunate victims. At this rate, bodies were dropping like flies. Nikita darted between one of the girl's legs, cutting a tendon, causing the girl to fall down. She plunged the knife into her fellow Black Widow's heart without a second thought.

One of the girls hesitated, not wanting to hurt Nikita. 

Hesitation will get you killed, Nikita thought as she noticed other things. Slight hesitations, aggression that led to mistakes, overconfidence. And soon, they all fell dead. Exhausted, she collapsed to the floor, then remembered that they all weren't dead.

There was that one girl she met... a few weeks ago... she scanned the room, noticing she wasn't there. "Miriam," she breathed and her eyes rolled back, falling unconscious. 

Once the screams had ceased, Luke and Madam B opened the door, grins wide. "I think she's ready for the serum."

They didn't notice the blonde who was behind them, eyes wide in fear.