Chapter Text
As it turns out getting shot in the head hurts. By your own comrade someone you thought to be your friend, well friend adjacent.
But shooting me over jealously or something like that. Too far. like it’s not my fault I’m better.
That is what Maria would be thinking if she wasn’t thrown over a dirty Americans shoulders, after being shot in the head. With a dirty rag full of infection keeping her from bleeding out. Before long she passed out fully under the mercy of the American men. What would Perseus say probably would disown her.
——
Maria comes in and out of consciousness a few times once in the back of a van with someone fixing her head next on the plane back to America more bandage then head parts of her brain hurts in ways that it’s never hurt before. Then finally she wakes up fully strapped to a chair in a very bright white room the causes pain to explode behind her eyes.
Theres no clock in this room no windows no way to know gage the time just bright white and pounding headaches.
It feels like hours since Maria woke up because of course they also stole all her gear leaving her without a watch and any hopes of escape.
But she wouldn’t be able to get very far if she did manage an escape.
All of a sudden a door that she didn’t notice before bursts open and one of the men she thinks captured her walked in blonde and scars.
“Now kid I want you to tell me about Perseus and what he means to you,”
How stupid are Americans they expect her to talk just like that. “Not much of a talker that’s okay.”
SMACK
Pain echo’s though head down her spine and just touch her toes.
“Don’t kill her Adler,” a distinctly American voice says though a speaker hidden somewhere in the room, or it would have been if Maria wasn’t still recovering from the slap. “We still need her information.”
Adler grumbled something about dumb Soviets and starts attaching wires to Maria’s collar bones, arms, sides, and pretty much anywhere other than her head not knowing how much more trauma it could take.
“Okay one chance you tell me everything and I’ll let you go right back to Perseus” a little jolt of agony passes through Maria “or that will happen again”
“в твоих мечтах глупый американец” (in your dreams dumb American)
Sharp hot agony runs through her body for what feels like hours (it was three minutes). When it ends she is almost smoking but doesn’t say a thing Perseus put her through worse as “training”.
This lasts for nearly two hours until Maria is hunched over and drooling tears streaming down her face.
“Worthless, same time tomorrow?” The scar faced man chuckled before walking out the door locking it on his way out.
Before Maria passed out she repeats “my name is Maria, I’m 23 years old, I lived in Snezhinsk, not anymore, I was captured by Americans, I work for Perseus, Perseus is my father, I was betrayed by a comrade and shot in the head, I have a cat.”
She just repeats those undeniable truths over and over not wanting to forget a single thing. And it will help her to stay sane through this ordeal, until someone comes to rescue her.
—-
Nobody comes to rescue her but she keeps on taking it all because she refuses to betray her country.
Maria doesn’t know how long it’s been she just knows she is probably unrecognizable insides fried from the shocks and is probably more cuts and bruises then regular skin. But she still doesn’t tell them a thing and keeps repeating her undeniable truths like her life depends on it.
It likely does.
She one day she overheard three voices. The American over the speakers, the scar faced man, and a new one a lady she’s British thats new.
“Adler this is not working perhaps we should just try M-“
Who Maria guessed is Adler cuts the lady off “it’s not ready yet that girl will talk soon ether that or die”
“We can’t have her die without information.”
“We all know that Hudson” the lady says sounding like she’s rubbing her face.
Moments later a bald man walks in who Maria assumes is the Hutson character and gets up in her face.
“You have one day to tell us everything,” he say his voice shaking from frustration
“ешь дерьмо лысый ублюдок” (eat shit bald bastard) she says head falling to the side before she spit at him, hitting him right square in the face.
She was met with a fist in the face but hey worth it.
“Tried that she’s not gonna talk,” Adler says leaning against the wall.
Hudson starts pacing running his hand over his bald head glaring at Maria and Adler like he can’t decide who to be mad at. “Do the MK Ultra thing I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
“What the girl it’ll take awhile to finish everything,” the British woman says (When did she get here) grabbing Maria’s face inspecting it like a block of wood.
“I’ll take care of it. feed her, water her, send people to interrogate her you just do what you need to do.” Hudon says pushing the others out of the room and leaving himself before hitting Maria one last time.
——
Jason Hudon is many things one of those being a man of his word. Maria wishes he wasn’t his word hurts.
It’s also Lonely and boring.
That part is almost worse then being questioned at least she gets more stimulation. And talking to herself repeating her little list over and over until it’s embedded into her brain is not really enough to keep her from wanting to pull all her hair out.
Along with taking to herself Maria also wonders what the heck MK ultra is the name gives nothing away. Is it ultra? Probably. MK? Yep got nothing.
——
it takes nearly a week for Adler and park to finish whatever MK ultra is. Maria is soon to discover the new room is the only good part the rest sucks.
When she is first brought into the room she is shocked to find out how bright it is. She prefers rooms that are a little darker but it is better the having to strain her eyes every single time she looked at something.
The chair she’s strapped in is also better more like a dentist chair than the horrible metal thing she had before. Another plus is that she could sleep without her neck and back dying an early death. But other the that the same one way mirrors a camera in every corner (a little excessive) and a door that can only be a bathroom.
——
Maria is woken up by the same British woman as before. “Morning, like your new room.” She says in a overly cheerful voice that makes Maria want to spit on her too.
Adler walks in after her pushing a cart full of nettles, bottles of mystery liquid, and for some reason a little bell. at least he has the decency not to act like this is just a day in the office.
What is less decent about him is that he started to strap her down more. Across her shoulders, thighs, and waist. Really keeping her down.
It’s fascinating how they work. Like there one person well assembling the drug. Which is less cool. But after her only entertainment was being shocked or beaten to oblivion this is much better.
“Alright just hold still for this.” Adler mumbles as if anyone could move an inch in these conditions then he does something strange. Takes a needle which Maria was assuming was for her arm and plunged it in the white part of her eyes.
Maria discovered many things that day a few being. One that it really hurts to be poked in the eye with a needle and then having the contents of said needle deposited into said eye or brain she doesn’t really know, hurts even more. Two park really hates watching people throw up (perhaps she shouldn’t give people experimental drugs). Three that having hallucinations of people and monsters and everything in between is completely terrifying and sometimes she wouldn’t even wish on the Americans (and the Brit) that are keeping her here.
It takes three hours for the hallucinations to stop at the ring of a bell, but before that it was all black things with long fingers and no face violating her mind messing this up. Or flash’s of what seems to be the Vietnam war where she was some reason working with Adler and a man she doesn’t know yet named Sims.
strange.
———
“All right,” Adler says picking Maria up. park long gone now. And carry’s her to the door she thought was a bathroom.
Well it technically is but it really is a bathroom plus a bedroom mixed together.
“You’re okay,” he says in an out of character soft voice wiping her face. Maria didn’t even realize she was crying.
He sets her in the shower clothes and all. (Which is probably for the best since her clothes are covered in dirt, sweat, and blood).
Alder rinses her of the way a father would a daughter, Maria knows that this is a way to gain her misguided trust (for what she doesn’t know is the brain washing) but it’s nice after being treated so poorly by so many people him especially its hard not to pounce on any form of comfort and compassion. Guess his plan is working.
Alder leaves to let he get properly cleaned up and changed in privacy, well at least as much privacy as someone could get in a room with two security cameras.
Alder walks back in holding a tray with a bowl of broth, dinner roll, and a glass of water. Which is kind of a disappointingly small meal. “Eat,” he says setting the tray on her bed.
Maria soon discovered that it is just right for her swimming stomach from whatever they injected into her eye.
Adler leaves for the last time that night. If it was anyone but him she would wish he didn’t go. It gets very lonely here. At this point and with him being kind to her all of a sudden maybe she wouldn’t have minded if he stayed just for a little bit.
Oh well at least she has a real bed now.
Like every night before Maria starts to repeat her list repeats “my name is Maria, I’m 23 years old, I lived in Snezhinsk, not anymore, I was captured by Americans, I work for Perseus, Perseus is my father, I was betrayed by a comrade and shot in the head.” She repeats that over and over scared she might forget until she falls asleep perhaps the nicest sleep she’s had in a while even with the fact that she woke up three times from nightmares of the shadows and more then what she remembers of the Vietnam war she 17 years old when it ended and Perseus only made her serve on the Russian side for a year. But the dreams have a lot more than usual?
——
The next day is nice no questioning, no uncomfortable metal chairs. Park even lets her watch America tv and listen to America music. (Which Maria secretly believes is better than Russian).
Really the only downside of the day was the fact that the MK Ultra “session” lasted about four hours and left her shaking and throwing up in more pain and more scared then she had ever been in her entire 23 years of living, (which is saying something). Having Adler and the Sims character take turns holding her hair back well Park is hiding in the hallway.
Oh that bings up another good thing well she was dealing with MK ultra high they told her stories about there time in Vietnam and just normal stuff but for some reason she was a character in the story’s.
Very strange.
Must be Canadian.
By the end of the day when shes all cleaned up in her little bed repeating her little list repeats “my name is Maria, I’m 23 years old, I lived in Moscow, not anymore, I was taken by Americans, I work for Perseus, Perseus is my father, I was betrayed by a comrade and shot in the head.”
She can’t tell whats missing or changed and it bugs her though the night but ultimately turning into more nightmares.
——
The next 36 hours of her life has to be the worst of her life.
First she is put back in that damed metal chair tied there with practically barbed wire, given a double dose of MK Ultra which nearly caused for ODs and three seizures. Worst of all park changed her American cartoons with footage of the Vietnam War.
seriously what is with these guys and the Vietnam War.
And then she is just left there living through the war over and over and with the drugs pumping though her system makes it feel very real and very much like she lived through them herself. It’s worse than the last two sessions combined.
Maria started to realize that MK ultra is taking away and replacing her memories and she doesn’t know it’s happening or had happened unless she’s going through it. So she does the only natural thing and force herself through the pain, confusion, and the ever present threat of overdosing or having a seizure. And starts to “hide” what she can away that does force her to forget it anyway but it’s not permanent like how MK ultra is. Might be able to get it back might not but oh well.
She hides important information about Perseus and his plans being trained to see that as the most important thing in her life behind a red door like Perseus taught her and every one else in the team to do. To keep what he deemed important safe.
Once all thats done and hidden behind the red door Maria just has to sit there watching her memories disappear.
—-
Adler and Park sit in the observation room watching this whole thing go down. “We’ll need to do another round,” Park mumbles changing one of the screens to the inside of a plan crash. “With you and Sims reading the script.”
“Yeah,” he says already planning what he has next in store for Maria.
“Has she spoken yet.”
“Other than Russian swears and insults, no. but I can tell she knows English just refuses to use it.”
—-
Maria wakes from her psychosis? Hallucinations? At the ring of a bell mind foggy not completely able to tell whats going on like ever in her life it’s kinda like all she knows is her name. And her list her list is very important.
“Alrighty wake up,” Adler says picking her up since she can never walk after a dose of MK Ultra.
Once he sets Maria down in her bed and sits across from her (after she throws up everything thing in her stomach then some) he starts to speak pulling a Rubik cube out of his coat pocket. “I got you something,”
It seems like a nice gift showing that he might just feel bad about what he is doing to her but it is really just to put classic American stuff into her memory to make it easier to brainwash her. Park is doing the same thing by letting her watch TV and listen to music. Everything they do here is planed down to a T to make the brainwashing as believable and smooth as possible.
Maria looks up at him holding the children’s toy raising her eyebrows in a look that just screams “really”
“Come on it’s fun you just gotta make each side have one colour,” alder says with a small laugh standing to leave but not before ruffling her hair making her grin. That grin almost makes him feel bad.
—-
It takes a wile for Maria to understand the Rubik cube but once she does is quickly becomes her favourite thing she plays with it well repeating her list until she falls asleep.
“my name is Maria, I’m 28 years old, I lived in Moscow, not anymore, I was taken by Americans, I was shot in the head, my favourite shows are pink panther and the adventures of Batman, my favourite song is rich girl.”
—-
The next day Adler finds Maria holding onto the half solved Rubik cube which he finds a little sweet but not sweet enough for him to feel bad about waking her up by injecting the MK ultra directly into her eye that is still recovering from the last round.
He has to do it that way since she would never let him get close to her in the mornings since she knows what MK ultra does to her.
Today is the same or well at least the next 36 hours are the same as the last but instead of only footage of the war Sims and Adler continue their strange story about the Vietnam war. Weird un explainable things start to happen the story becomes real and she is living through it having Adler’s words “we got a job to do” eco in her mind theres helicopter crashes bombs Soviet bunkers and so much death.
Maria doesn’t like this one bit she’s crying on the outside of this Simulation?
She’s watching all her memories the good and the bad be replaced by war or American life erasing everything that makes her her it hurts worse then any pain.
—-
Ding
“Wake up Bell,” Adler says untying her. “We got a job to do.”
“my name is Bell, I’m 28 years old, I live in Philadelphia, I work for the CIA and served in the Vietnam War, I was shot in the head, Adler saved my life and him Park and Sims are helping with my memory loss, my favourite shows are pink panther and the adventures of Batman, my favourite song is rich girl.”