Chapter Text
The pattering of rain on pavement drowned out the footsteps of the dark-clad men as they stalked behind the young woman.
Vanya Hargreeves walked quickly, her shoulders hunched against the rain, and her violin case strap rested securely over her shoulder. Rehearsal had run late this evening, so she was looking forward to a hot shower and warm meal when she finally arrived home.
But she wouldn’t make it.
A strong arm wrapped around her waist as a cloth sack slid over her head. Instinctively, Vanya cried out and clawed at the arms encircling her, but it was useless. The man who was holding onto her lifted her into the air as she kicked out.
Vanya’s hands flew to the rough fabric over her head, but before she could remove it, the second stranger tied her wrists together with what felt like zip-ties.
“Help! Help me, please!” she screamed out as the two men dragged the flailing woman toward the back of an idling vehicle.
She was thrown into the open trunk. Her ankles were retrained similarly to her arms, then the door closed, sealing her fate.
“Why are you doing this?” Vanya sobbed, but she was only met with silence. “Please, if this is because of the Umbrella Academy, they won’t come for me. I’m not good as leverage.”
Again, there was no answer.
Kicking against the trunk door quickly proved to be ineffective. Oh how Vanya wished for Five’s ability to teleport just for this one moment.
Her breathing became rapid and panicked. A mixture of tears and snot dampened the cloth that obscured her vision.
After an undeterminable amount of time, the car finally stilled.
Vanya’s terror reignited. What were they planning to do to her?
She could hear the crunch of heavy footsteps on gravel, then the trunk latch click open. Strong arms roughly pulled her out and onto her feet.
She desperately tried again, “Just tell me what you want. I won’t ever go to the police, I promise.”
As the two strangers pulled her along, Vanya realized that they were ushering her into a building. Then she was forced into a chair. Her binds were cut, but her arms and legs were placed into the chair restraints before she could move her limbs. Suddenly the sack was lifted off her head.
Blinking past the bright light invading her vision, Vanya looked around the room with wide eyes. It appeared to be similar to a doctor’s office, with stark-white walls and medical equipment spaced around the room.
The robust men who kidnapped her positioned themselves by the door. Now able to see them clearly, Vanya swept her eyes over their faces, but she did not recognize them.
The clicking of heels on linoleum could be heard just before a salt-and-pepper-haired woman in a lab coat entered the room, closing the door behind her. She flipped through papers on the clipboard she was holding, then she looked over the hostage with a focused gaze.
“Why did you take me?” whimpered Vanya, hoping to finally get some answers, “What are you going to do to me?”
The woman hummed in response as she began gathering various medical instruments. “An intake exam, for now.” She said curtly.
“Wh-what does that mean?” Vanya’s voice quivered.
But this time the woman did not respond.
The doctor proceeded to poke and prod the vulnerable violinist while speaking into a handheld voice recorder. \
“Subject 50-16, 1:46 am. Height approximately 5’1”. Heart rate high, indicating stress. Blood pressure is 120/80. Pupils dilate, limbs are functioning, speech is normal: indicating no head or spinal trauma. Overall, the subject appears healthy.”
Through Vanya’s silent tears and body tremors, she felt a sharp prick at her elbow. She looked down to see a needle pulling blood from her vein.
“Vial labeled ‘SF-21” sent for blood testing. The subject will be isolated while we wait for the results to return. However, based on the previous history obtained, the subject will likely need to be quarantined longer to flush any previous medications out of her system.”
The doctor slipped the recorder into her pocket then nodded to the large men still waiting by the door. They approached the frightened Vanya, one lifting the sack toward her head.
“Wait, wait! Please!” Vanya began to struggle against her restraints once again. The men gathered her up and took her away.
She was tossed into a barren room, the door locked behind her with a loud clang. Vanya was quick to rip the cloth from her head. The room only contained the bare basics: a small bed with a thin sheet, a sink, and a toilet.
The young violinist stood on shaking legs and tried to pull the door open, despite knowing that it wouldn’t budge.
“This… this can’t be real.”
Her lungs threatened to hyperventilate. She tried to get ahold of her breathing and lurched toward the sink. The knob twisted easily, and cold water poured from the faucet. She splashed some of the chilled water across her face before leaning into the stream and letting the water run down her throat.
Vanya’s mind raced as she tried to find any hope to cling to that she would somehow make it out of this alive. She could only think of one option: her siblings. But could they find her? Would they even know to look? And would they even care enough to try?
Little did Vanya know that, many miles away, her sister’s phone began to ring.