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Pietro raced around his cell, his speed sputtering every few feet as a jolt of electricity stalled him. He hissed in pain and frustration, continuing to push his limits. Every time he managed to surge forward more than a dozen feet, the collar around his neck shocked him and disrupted his focus. He needed to get the damn thing off. Soon as he got out of here, he’d run as far as he could.
But not without Wanda. They were all each other had left, after the accident back home. She had almost died when the rubble crashed down around them. He wouldn’t let that happen.
He was going to rip those Avengers apart. This was their fault. Hydra had come to rescue them and give them their gifts, but if those Avengers hadn’t brought trouble to their home, his parents would still be alive. He and his sister would be safe.
Pietro stopped in the middle of the room when a rattling at the door caught his attention. He glared as a guard slowly opened the door, holding up the shock remote in warning. Pietro’s eyes narrowed. Maybe if he moved fast enough, he could smack the remote away before they pushed the button.
“Strucker wants to see you,” The guard muttered dismissively.
“What for?” Pietro spat. He backed up to the far wall.
The guard shrugged and gestured with the remote for him to follow. “Didn’t say.”
Pietro sighed deeply. Probably more testing. And by testing, they meant forcing him to run to test his limits, and shocking him if he didn’t do as they said.
He rushed forward, knocking the guard to the ground and out of the cell in a split second. The remote was plucked off the floor and crushed as he chucked it hard against the cement walls. He’d have to come back for Wanda when he’d found the keys and a way out.
He’d only made it around a few corners before a debilitating shock sent him stumbling to the ground, screaming and twitching. Bootsteps approached him.
“Get his sister,” Strucker stated calmly, pausing a few feet away. “For his misbehavior, they will both be facing trials today.”
With a pinprick from the collar, he was out cold.
When he woke up, he was being hauled to his feet and hooked up to the usual equipment to measure his speed. He blinked blearily, and struggled against the many hands holding him in place.
A scream made him freeze, and he quickly followed it to where Wanda was strapped to a table, writhing in pain. She was covered in electrodes and sensors as well.
“Struggle, and she will be hurt. Be on your best behavior, boy.”
Pietro snarled,watching fearfully as she heaved in sharp breaths, lying limp on the table. “No! Hurt me, I’m the one who acted out!”
Another shock raced through Wanda, and she spasmed, her cries of pain echoing. When the torment paused, Strucker smiled down at Pietro, who was being shoved onto a treadmill.
“Such a martyr. I can see how much you care for your sister. You think you can take all her pain away and protect her. That is why hurting her is so much worse. Now, run.”
The treadmill suddenly burst into action. He heard Wanda whimpering as he ran.
Over the noise of the machines, he heard Strucker’s threatening voice. “You must be strong and fast, so you can help us defeat our enemies. If your speed drops below a certain pace, your sister will suffer.”
“How fast?” Pietro growled as he ran faster and faster. He heard a cry of pain, and pushed himself harder. He could still hear Wanda’s faint screams even as he beat his previous record, the treadmill whirring loudly to keep up with him.
Strucker laughed. “Telling you would be too easy. Run faster, boy.”
He wondered if he could ever run fast enough to please them. It probably wouldn’t make any difference.
To him, all that mattered was saving her. He would endure any punishment and run himself to death if it would keep her safe.