Chapter 3
She dreamed about a ballet. Dancers twirled and pirouetted in white on stage, until suddenly a gunshot sounded behind her. She turned to find nothing but empty rows of seats, but when she looked back at the stage, she realized the music had stopped. Dancers were strewn across the stage, white gowns streaked with red. The single live one stood in the center, covered in blood and surrounded by her fellows. The Ballerina stood straight as a soldier; then another shot sounded from above, and a hole appeared between her eyes. The graceful dancer fell, body joining the mass of blood-streaked skirts.
When she woke, she could remember nothing.
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It was 3 days before she saw the strange boy again.
This time, he whissshhed straight into her cell and immediately unlocked the collar. Slowly she stood, still shaky from her training a short time earlier (300 push-ups and then several miles' run on a treadmill). For a moment, they simply stood there. Both wondering if the other would snap and kill them.
"You are freaky." Other than a confused twitch of her eyebrows, she gave no inclination that she even heard him. Pietro tried again, "Who are you?"
After a moment, she mirrored slowly in a rusty voice "Who... Are you?" The words felt odd and foreign on her tongue.
"I'm Pietro." He stepped forward and offered his hand, without thinking. Just as quickly she jumped back, eyes full of fear, unsure of what she was about to be struck for. "Sorry," He muttered, making a mental note to keep his arms down when dealing with her. He continued in a more confident tone: "I'm here with my sister, Wanda. We're working with Baron Von Struker."
Her eye twitched upon mention of the current leader of HYDRA, and the base they were in. The man insisted upon further experimentation on her, though lacking the materials, manpower or resources to fully control her. It was only years of training and pain that made her compliant to his orders. She was just grateful that there wasn't one of the chairs here. It was hard to recall how many times she had been strapped into the chairs, with nothing but a mouth guard holding back the screams of hollow memories.
How's it going? Wanda spoke into Pietro's mind, tentative to reach out after what had happened the last time.
Not sure yet. Pietro thought back, She won't talk. I'm not even sure if she can understand me. It's like she's not fully here. Nervously, he scratched at the back of his hand, where his I. V. went in.
"You escaped from the labs."
That short statement was enough to throw Pietro completely off guard. "How do you know?" He asked, trying to encourage her to talk more.
"Clothes." And a nod towards his shirt was her only response. The more they interacted, the more her hands and eye twitched, and the more her eyes flicked around the floor of the room.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He eventually said in a tender, slightly sorrowful voice; though she could hardly remember what sorrow was. The words struck an odd cord in her; it had been a very long time since someone had not wanted to hurt her. She was still reflecting on the peculiar statement when he left.
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The next day, Pietro and Wanda's release from the confines of the lab brought with it the opportunity to do some probing for information.
"Von Struker," He turned as he heard his name, and saw I-52, the Speedster, the other twin not to far behind. "I was wondering," Pietro continued, "Are there any others? Like us, at this base?" He asked, motioning to himself and I-53.
Von Struker tilted his head up, trying to look superior to the tall, imposing experiment. "You have been told everything you have clearance for, and you know that everyone else in the group here is dead." With that, he turned sharply back to his men.
"Alright," Pietro said, casual smirk on his face, "I just thought it would've been odd of you to have guards patrolling an empty cell block." Before Struker had fully turned around in shock and anger, they were gone.
Throughout the next few days, the twins spent much time conversing in the small corners where no one could hear them. They heard the soldiers and doctors talk amongst themselves, talking about how there were no more large, or even moderate HYDRA bases left. They talked about the Avengers, about Captain America, about Stark.
Everyone knew it would only be a short time before the base was attacked. Pietro and Wanda knew too, and also knew that somehow they had to get away. It was obvious to see that the girl in the dungeons, who seemed just a bit younger than them, was a product of HYDRA's experiments, and they didn't want to stick around and see what would become of them later on. They had to escape, and the attack would be the perfect diversion.
They had everything planned out. They would leave by different exits, to insignificant to be guarded, and meet between the railroad and the bunker. Pietro would go to the cells and get the other girl before heading to the rendezvous point.
6 days after the escape had been organized, a piercing alarm sounded through the base.