Chapter Text
Your (e/c) eyes scanned the base for any sign of your targets. Your mission? To eradicate the Avengers, one Captain America in particular. Your superiors expected you to succeed where your predecessor had failed. In your earpiece, you heard an agent call in a sighting. The Avengers were coming. You readjusted the mask that covered the lower half of your face and placed your thick black glasses over your eyes before readying your weapon.
Your instructions were simple. Take out as many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as you could with your rifle then take out the Avengers up close and personal. As soon as you saw the first agents running up the hill, you took your shot. You didn’t have to look to know the agent was dead. You never missed your target. You fired shot after shot and the agents kept coming. Your colleagues continued to fire as you ran out of ammunition.
You threw your rifle to the side before grabbing your handguns and launching yourself from the window. The snow on the ground was stained red with the blood of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA agents. You pulled the triggers again and again until your intended targets came into view. As your guns ran out of bullets, you threw them into the crimson snow and reached for your next weapon. Your knife. Up close, personal.
The first Avenger you got close to was Romanoff. She had apparently used all her ammo as well since she immediately went for your legs. You jumped over her kick and jabbed at her with your knife hand. From the corner of your eye, you saw her leg coming toward your stomach. You caught her leg just before she made contact and stabbed her thigh with your knife, causing the redhead to curse in pain. You used the hilt of the knife to knock her out and moved on to your next target.
You heard his arrow coming before you saw it and moved out of the way. You threw your knife at the man and got him in the arm, but before you could make your way over to finish the job, you were tackled to the ground by none other than Captain America himself. Your glasses fell from your face and you glared at the super soldier.
“Stay down, kid,” he threatened, tightening his grip on your wrists. You swept his feet out from under him before getting up and reaching for your other knife in your boot. He blocked your first blow with his shield but left himself opened for you to get close enough to wrap your arms around his throat. He tried to throw you off, but you held fast. That is until you were suddenly pulled off him, and you were flying in the sky.
You looked up and saw that you were being held up by Iron Man. He was flying a good twenty feet above the ground toward the base. You quickly used the taser that you had hidden in your glove to stun the hero, causing him to drop you to the ground. You landed right in front of the base and thought you were lucky, but in this case, what you didn’t know did hurt you.
You felt yourself suddenly blasted backward as the base exploded. The shock from the blast sent you hurdling toward Captain America. Your body hit the vibranium at full force, with your head hitting first. The last thing you saw before you lost consciousness was the blurred face of the Captain standing over you.
Steve looked up from your body to see the HYDRA base now in flames. He was so close that he felt the heat surrounding him like a blanket. He weighed his options on what to do with you. His mission was never to kill. He only did so when necessary. He could either leave you or bring you to the Avengers Tower for questioning, which wasn’t always the best option with the type of torture methods the government holds.
A sudden explosion from inside the building reminded Steve that more likely HYDRA would think that their asset was dead, so if he left you, it would be more like leaving you there to die. Steve looked down at you again, this time with detailed observation. This was the first time that he got to see you without your mask. There was no SHIELD record of you, but the Avengers have encountered you before in earlier missions.
Steve noticed you were just a young adult. Your face was relaxed, not holding the usual tense features that clouded your face. Like he said earlier, you were just a kid. More likely, you didn’t know anything but HYDRA. With that in mind, he placed his shield on his back before picking you up bridal style and walking back to the quinjet.
The quinjet was a mile away from the HYDRA base for protocol reasons, which gave Steve to really think if he was making the best decision. As time passed, he was coming up with the conclusion that bringing you to SHIELD would be the best option for you right now.
Steve walked onto the quinjet to see Clint stitching Natasha’s leg up. Clint already had his stab wound wrapped, his blood staining the white clothing. Tony was observing his helmet, rubbing the newfound dent on it. All eyes were on him as Steve entered the room with you in his arms.
“Whatcha you got there Steve?” Clint wondered with questioning eyes, before returning to his task at hand.
“Is that the asset?” Natasha asked before Steve could answer.
Steve nodded. He said, “The explosion knocked her off of her feet, and she hit her head on my shield.”
“And you decided to bring the assassin who’s been trying to kill us for the past few months just because?” Clint remarked, finishing off Natasha’s leg.
Steve gave Clint a look before setting you down on one of the gurneys. He should be the one to talk. Clint was the one who brought in not just one Russian assassin but two HYDRA mutants as well. Steve informed, “Is was that or leave her out there to die.” Steve handcuffed you to the gurney, not knowing when you would come to it.
“She won’t be that helpful when we put her in questioning. She’s been in HYDRA her whole life, so she’s been trained,” Natasha said, jumping down from her seat to observe you herself.
“I trust your guys’ judgement by now,” Tony stated with a dismissive wave of a hand. “Twenty minutes ‘til we land.”
Once the quinjet landed, you and the other four Avengers walked to the medical bay, part of mission protocol. Once Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Tony were all cleared, they joined you in your medical room.
The doctors already had you hooked up to a IV, and you were left in a black tank top and leggings, which was supposedly under your tactical gear. You laid underneath the hospital bed covers. You looked so innocent and young, not the assassin who managed to take down four Avengers. Surprisingly, you weren’t handcuffed or restricted.
“FRIDAY, give me the diagnostics,” Tony commanded, walking over to your side to read the clipboard left on the table.
FRIDAY explained, “The head trauma knocked her out. She won’t be up for next 24 hours at the least. That and the anesthesia should help.”
“That explains the lack of security on her,” Natasha added.
“No major injuries on her. She’s pretty lucky with how hard she hit Cap’s shield. There is a chance of amnesia, but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up,” Tony informed, reading off the clipboard.
“What are we going to do with her? The classic bring-an-assassin-off-the-streets protocol?” Clint joked, tightening his bandage on his arm.
“We have been doing that a lot lately,” Tony added, placing the clipboard down.
“I don’t know,” Steve said with a sigh. “The girl was born and raised in the hands of HYDRA. She doesn’t know any better.”
“Let’s just hope we don’t make the wrong choice,” Tony stated. “because-”
Tony stopped short when you started shuffling. They watched in silence as you rolled to your side, not expecting you to wake up yet. You tried to hug your pillow when your IV caught you. They watched you slowly open your eyes, fully alert if you decide to attack.
When your eyes landed on them, they tensed. But their stature abruptly changed when they realized how lost you looked. You looked like a scared animal. You sat up from your bed and asked, “Where am I?”
They drew a blank for this was the first time they heard you speak. Your voice was so gentle, so pure. Not at all what they expected from you, and you had amnesia. This was going to be interesting.