Chapter Text
2010
The SHIELD base in the Romanian Carpathians was one of those places designed not to exist, hidden between mountains covered by pine forests so dense that even satellites could not penetrate, the facility seemed to have been sculpted directly into the rock, as if the mountain itself had given birth to that monster of concrete and steel. The helicopter that brought Ava and Bill Fortes landed on a camouflaged platform that emerged from the top of a hill, and the cutting wind at that altitude made Ava shiver even before she stepped out.
It was not the cold that bothered her, Ava was used to the cold, what bothered her was the feeling she carried on her skin since she woke up that morning, an uncomfortable vibration, as if every cell in her body was about to shatter. The molecular instability throbbed stronger than usual, a silent warning that her body was on the verge of collapse. She clenched her fists inside her tactical uniform gloves, forcing herself to remain solid and whole.
Bill walked beside her, with the erect posture and attentive gaze he always adopted when they were in hostile territory. Despite being her unofficial guardian, the man who pulled her from the rubble of her father's laboratory and brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. With the naive promise that they would cure her, Bill never lost his agent composure, his graying hair was perfectly combed and his dark suit, although practical, seemed out of place in that military environment.
"You're quieter than usual, Ava. The instability?", Bill asked, softly, as they passed through security checkpoints that required retina and fingerprint recognition.
Ava did not respond immediately, her eyes scanned the concrete corridors, the fluorescent lights that hummed in a sickly tone and the uniformed agents who looked away when she passed. They knew who she was: the Ghost, the secret weapon, the girl who could walk through walls and vanish into mist, no one wanted to cross her path.
"I'm fine", she lied, her voice as flat as the concrete beneath her feet. "I just want to finish this and get back to the lab."
Bill sighed, but did not insist, he knew Ava well enough to know when she did not want to talk. He also knew the chronic pain she hid, the way her eyes sometimes got lost in memories that no child should have. He watched her grow up in corridors like that one, transform from a frightened girl into a lethal assassin, and that ate at him inside, although he never said it.
The agent leading them, a thin man with glasses and a neutral expression, stopped in front of a heavy metal door. "The briefing room. Mr. Vasily is waiting. The other agent has already arrived."
Ava felt a shiver run down her spine, completely unrelated to the instability, another agent, high-risk missions were usually solitary for her, her ability was too unique to be shared, why a partner now?
She pushed the door open before Bill could hold it.
And froze.
The room was large, illuminated by screens showing maps and photographs of a middle-aged man. There was a conference table in the center, black chairs, and in one of them, still as an ice statue, was him.
The Winter Soldier.
Ava knew that face better than any other, knew the square jaw, the pale blue eyes that looked like glass, and the dark hair falling messily over his face. She knew the metal left arm, with its articulated plates that shone under the artificial light as if made of liquid silver, knew the upright posture, the hands resting on his knees and the absolute stillness of someone who learned not to waste energy on unnecessary movements.
She knew him because he was present in the worst moments of her life.
The Soldier did not move when she entered, his eyes remained fixed on an invisible point on the wall ahead, as if she were transparent, as if she did not exist.
Ava felt the blood freeze in her veins and, at the same time, a wave of heat rose through her chest. Anger, fear, confusion, everything mixed in a whirlwind that threatened to physically destabilize her.
Bill placed his hand on her shoulder, a firm and reassuring touch. "Ava, what is it?"
She did not answer, just kept looking at the seated man, unable to look away.
And the briefing room disappeared.
Ava was fourteen again and was in an underground training gym, with padded walls and the smell of sweat and blood. Her hands ached from punching the sandbags so much, her legs trembled with exhaustion, but the instructors never let her stop. "You need to be faster, stronger, more lethal, the Ghost cannot show weakness."
And then he appeared.
The Winter Soldier entered the gym like a shadow and all the other trainers stepped back. Ava remembered the instant fear that took over her, a primitive, animal fear. She had heard about him, everyone had, Hydra's ultimate weapon, the assassin who never missed, the man who felt nothing.
He watched her for a long moment, and Ava felt like an insect under a magnifying glass, then, without a word, he attacked.
It was not training, it was a beating.
She tried to use her intangibility, but he seemed to know exactly when she would materialize again, and his blows always found her. His metal arm was cold and merciless against her skin, she cried, screamed, begged him to stop, but he did not respond, just kept going, repeating the movements as if he were a training dummy.
After an hour, she was curled up on the floor, her face swollen and her body covered in bruises. The Soldier stopped, looked at her over his shoulder and left without saying a word, his eyes were empty, completely empty.
That scene repeated dozens of times over the following years. He appeared from time to time, always without warning, always without emotion, and Ava learned to hate him, to fear him, to, somehow, respect his relentless efficiency. He was what she was becoming: a weapon, and that terrified her more than any blow.
Ava blinked, and the memory dissipated like smoke. She was still in the briefing room, Bill beside her, the Soldier motionless in front of her.
He had not moved an inch.
Mr. Vasily entered the room through a side door, a robust man with scars on his face and eyes that calculated everything. His uniform was impeccable and his presence filled the room with a heavy authority. "Sit down, we have no time to lose."
Ava obeyed mechanically, sitting on the other side of the table, as far away from the Soldier as possible, but she could still feel him: a cold presence, like a block of ice in the corner of the room. He did not look at her, did not show any reaction to her presence.
Bill sat beside Ava, his body slightly inclined in her direction, a silent protection.
Vasily projected images on the wall. A man with graying hair, thin-rimmed glasses, an intelligent and frightened expression. "Dr. Anton Petrescu. Romanian scientist, specialist in artificial intelligence programming. Worked on Project Insight for two years, until he discovered the true nature of the program."
Ava forced herself to pay attention, although every fiber of her being wanted to look at the man beside her. "What is Insight?"
"A future global defense project, at least, that was the official version." Vasily smiled, a smile that did not reach his eyes. "In reality, it is the largest population control operation ever conceived. Helicarriers equipped with precision weapons, capable of eliminating threats before they materialize, millions of pre-selected targets based on algorithms."
Ava felt a chill down her spine. "How many people?"
"Millions, maybe tens of millions, but that's not your concern, Agent." Vasily stared at her. "Your mission is simpler. Petrescu discovered the truth and is ready to expose everything to the European press. He has proof, documents, and witnesses. If he speaks, the project is compromised."
"Where is he?" Bill asked.
"Hidden in a research facility in the Carpathians, about two hundred kilometers from here, protected by private security, state-of-the-art systems and with limited access. The Romanian government knows nothing, this needs to stay that way."
Vasily turned to Ava and then to the Soldier. "You two will work together. The Ghost is an expert in infiltration and system neutralization, the Soldier handles elimination and threat containment. No traces, no connections to S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra, just an unfortunate accident."
Ava finally looked at the Soldier. He remained motionless, his eyes fixed on nothing, there was no sign that he was listening, that he understood what was being said. It was as if he were an object in the room, not a person.
She remembered the empty eyes during the training sessions, the way he hit her without any change in expression, the absolute indifference with which he watched her cry.
"Questions?" Vasily asked.
Ava could not help herself. "Does he speak?"
Vasily raised an eyebrow. "Enough to complete the mission. Do not expect small talk, Agent. You are tools, tools do not converse."
Ava felt her blood boil. Tools. That was exactly how she felt most days, but hearing someone say it out loud, especially about the man who tortured her, was too much.
"She is not a tool", Bill interjected, his voice calm but firm, "she is an agent and deserves respect."
Vasily stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Respect is earned with results, and you have a track record of results, that is why you are here. Now review the mission details. Transport leaves in two hours."
He left the room without looking back.
The silence that followed was heavy. Ava looked at the Soldier, expecting some reaction, nothing. He simply stood up and walked toward the door, his steps silent on the concrete floor.
"Wait." Ava called.
He stopped, but did not turn around.
She stood up, approaching slowly. Bill watched her with concern, but did not interfere. Ava stopped a few steps from the Soldier, observing his broad back, the invisible tension in his shoulders.
"You don't remember me, do you?"
Silence.
"About six years ago, you trained me. Or rather, they tortured me together with you. I was just a child." she felt her voice tremble, but controlled it. "You taught me how to break a man's neck with my hands. I was fourteen."
The Soldier turned his head slowly, just enough for her to see part of his profile. His eyes were fixed on some distant point and, when he spoke, his voice was deep, monotonous, completely devoid of emotion.
"I don't remember."
Ava felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. "Of course you don't, why would you remember?" she laughed, a bitter sound. "You've probably tortured dozens of children since then, why would I be special?"
He did not respond, just stared at her for a long second and, for the first time, Ava saw something in his eyes. Not recognition, not emotion, but perhaps curiosity? It was so fleeting that she doubted she had seen it.
Then he turned and walked out, leaving her standing in the middle of the room.
Bill approached, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Ava, are you okay?"
She looked away, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears of anger that threatened to escape. "I'm great. Let's review the mission."
The jet was small, designed for low-altitude stealth flights, with two side-by-side seats in the cabin and a tight space in the back for equipment. Ava entered first and chose the seat on the right side, by the window. The Soldier entered next, sat beside her without looking at her and immediately fixed his gaze on the panel ahead.
The pilot, a middle-aged man with an unfriendly look, started the engines and began takeoff procedures. Bill stayed behind, at the base, with the promise of monitoring the mission from afar. Ava missed him, but she was also relieved, Bill saw her as a daughter and seeing him worried only made her more tense.
The jet took off in silence, climbing over the snow-covered mountains. Outside, the sky was gray, with low clouds that promised a storm, but inside, the silence was deafening.
Ava watched the Soldier's profile out of the corner of her eye. He did not move, his breathing was so controlled that it barely moved his chest. His hands rested on his thighs, the biological and the metal one, both perfectly still, he looked like a photograph of himself.
She tried not to think about the training sessions, the times he threw her to the ground without mercy, the times he made her cry in pain and humiliation. But the memories came, insistent, and with them a question that had haunted her for years: did he know what he was doing? Did he feel anything?
The pilot announced that they would enter restricted airspace and that he would need total silence for the next twenty minutes. Ava nodded, even knowing he could not see her.
Time dragged on, the hum of the engines was hypnotic. Ava felt the instability throb again, a dull pain in her right shoulder, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on controlling her body, forcing the molecules to remain cohesive.
When she opened her eyes, the Soldier was looking at her.
It was only a second, maybe less. His blue eyes met hers and Ava felt a shock run through her body, but before she could interpret that look, he had already looked away, fixing his gaze on the panel again.
"What is it?", she asked, her voice low so as not to disturb the pilot.
"Nothing."
She frowned. "You were looking at me."
He did not respond.
Ava felt the anger rise again. Six years, six years since he tortured her and he acted as if she were a complete stranger. Worse, he acted as if she did not even deserve a glance.
"Do you remember anything?", she insisted, "Anything? Your name? Where do you come from?"
He turned his head slowly, his eyes meeting hers again. This time, he held her gaze for longer. "My name is Soldier. My function is to complete missions."
"No." Ava shook her head. "That's not your real name. You have a name, you had a life before this, before Hydra."
He blinked, a movement so rare it seemed significant. For an instant, something flickered in his eyes, confusion? Pain? Then it faded and the empty mask returned.
"I don't remember." He repeated the same monotonous words.
Ava sighed, defeated. "Of course you don't, you never remember. After every mission, they erase everything, it's easier to control a weapon that has no past."
She leaned back in her seat, looking out the window. The clouds were darker now and small flakes of snow began to hit the glass.
For a long time, neither of them spoke. The pilot made some maneuvers to avoid radar and the jet swayed. Ava gripped the arms of the seat, feeling the instability worsen with the turbulence.
Suddenly, a hand touched her arm.
She looked down, surprised. The Soldier's biological hand was on her forearm, his fingers pressing lightly. He was not looking at her, but there was something in that touch that was not mechanical.
"Your heart rate increased. Your breathing became irregular", he said, without emotion, "You are unstable. I need you to calm down for the mission."
Ava huffed, but did not pull her hand away. "That's not how it works. My instability has nothing to do with calm, it's molecular physics. My body is always on the verge of falling apart."
He looked at her and, this time, his eyes seemed to truly see her. "What causes it?"
"An accident, when I was a child. My father worked with quantum energy, something went wrong. My parents died, I ended up like this."
He processed the information in silence. Then, slowly, he removed his hand. "I'm sorry."
Ava almost laughed. "Sorry? You're saying you're sorry?"
He stared at her, not understanding the reaction. "That's what you say when something bad happens to someone, I think."
She shook her head, incredulous. "You can't just say that, not after everything."
"After everything what?"
Ava felt the anger bubble up. "All the times you hurt me, the training sessions, the beatings, watching me cry and doing nothing. You were the only person I feared and now you act like I'm a complete stranger."
He was silent for a long moment. Then, with the same monotonous voice, he said: "I don't remember. If I did those things, I don't remember. I apologize."
"Apologize?" Ava laughed, but the sound was bitter. "Apologies don't erase the bruises, don't erase the nightmares."
He looked at her and, for the second time, something changed in his expression. Perhaps it was the almost imperceptible furrow of his brow or the way his eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you want me to say?"
Ava stared at him for a long time. She saw the man in front of her, not the monster of her memories, saw the confusion in his eyes, the inability to understand emotions that were stolen from him. And, despite all the anger, she felt something unexpected: compassion.
"Nothing", she answered finally, "I don't want you to say anything. You're not the same man who hurt me. You're just a tool, like they say."
The pilot announced the approach of the drop point. Ava prepared, checking her equipment. The mission would begin in minutes and she needed to be focused, but as the jet reduced altitude and the warning lights flashed, a part of her could not stop thinking about the man beside her.
He did not remember, maybe that was for the best.
The jet door opened and the freezing wind rushed in violently. Down below, the Carpathian forest stretched out like a dark carpet dotted with snow. The drop point was a clearing three kilometers from the target.
The Soldier jumped first, without hesitation, his body disappearing into the darkness. Ava followed a second later, feeling the adrenaline burn in her veins. The cutting wind lashed her skin, but she controlled her descent with precision, activating the parachute at the exact moment.
The landing was smooth, cushioned by the soft snow. She quickly gathered the parachute and hid among the trees. The Soldier was already there, motionless, waiting.
"Vital signs are stable", he said, checking a device on his wrist, "No suspicious movement in the area."
Ava nodded, checking her own weapon and equipment. "Let's go, we have two hours until the attack window."
They began to walk in silence, moving like shadows among the trees. The snow muffled their steps and the darkness enveloped them like a cloak. Ava led, using her intangibility to cross small obstacles without leaving tracks, the Soldier followed with precision, his eyes constantly scanning the environment for threats.
At a certain point, Ava stopped. Something bothered her: a feeling that they were being watched.
"What is it?" He asked softly.
She closed her eyes, concentrating. She felt the molecules around her, the vibrations in the air. "I don't know, maybe it's just paranoia."
He did not ask, just stood beside her, in silence, waiting.
After a minute, Ava decided to continue. But as she walked, she could not help but think that, for the first time, she did not feel alone on a mission. And, no matter how much she tried to hate the man beside her, a small part of her felt safe.
END OF CHAPTER 1