Tony Stark Imagines

Red In My Ledger | Part 2

Summary: Part 2 of Red In My Ledger

Warnings: None, just more story about Tony's past

Word Count: 1,231
___________

Young Anton rubs his eyes from the sunlight hitting his eyes, seeing it was now morning for everyone. He gets up and groans in fatigue, rubbing his head. Still, he couldn't forget what happened to him yesterday night. Maybe that was the last time he saw his father too, when suddenly..

"So you're new here too, huh?" A voice filled with a Russian accent was heard in the room, as Anton turns around to find another boy of him in the same age, beside him woke up.

"Good morning, by the way, tovarish." The boy stretched his arms. Anton still looked confused.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce! Menya zovut Vasili Petrenko. Or you can just call me Vasya, I rarely ever give this name to anyone, but I'm giving it to you, so remember it." Young Vasili gets up the bed and heads to the bathroom. "Anyways, I'm off to get changed quick, because General Kulikov will be seeing us shortly."

"General Kulikov? The one who I met yesterday night?" Anton asked.

"Da. He's the main head of the KGB, and he'll be incharge of training us."

Anton casts down his head, and then gets off the bed, joining Vasili in the bathroom and brushed his teeth. After both took a shower, they step out, being ready in their new uniform. It wasn't entirely official but for now, as a rookie.

They felt General Kulikov entering the room, giving them a smile. "Greetings, my young comrades. I know you are now ready."

"We are, General." Both called in unison, and then they follow Kulikov to the classroom. There, they get themselves seated among the other children, who were also present for the lesson, as the General began to teach them the subjects. As time passed, Anton had been acing through every subject surprisingly, proving he was really a gifted prodigy of Starkov.

Kulikov was very happy that Anton, along with Vasili had been the best intellectual and obedient students for him, knowing that their future was going to benefit the USSR. But, the fear was growing imminent when the Western powers were slowly invading the country, that they quickly had to prep them both for training.

While Anton was just ten, they made him learn how to hold a gun. He aimed for the targets, though he missed some but it was the beginning of it all. He was growing up all alone, without any mom or dad, and his tasks also became difficult. From baby to extreme steps, he had to face every single challenge that was leading him to be a trained agent.

As Kulikov watched them both shooting for the targets, he was feeling successful. The scene then shifts to Anton, who was now around thirteen, fighting with a professional in the training hall. He fell down the the ground, coughing violently. The trainer clapped his hands.

"Davay, davay! Ne bud' tupym slabakom i vstavay!" The strong man cried out loud in the rough Russian accent, and Anton gently opens his eyes at him, with the tears blurring his vision and his ears ringing. Anton gets up and arms himself, running over him but gets knocked off again. He lost all energy and will to fight, and the trainer continued to cry at him, to get up. It seemed so difficult for Anatoly itself. He wanted to give up.

Kulikov noticed Anton's weaknesses, and decided if they can help in advancing his abilities. He was then taken to numerous surgeries and applied syringes filled with a serum which were the cause of strengthening his body. Somehow, his body didn't support the serum and fell sick all the time. They tried their best to maintain Anatoly's condition in the right order so he won't go critical.

"Sir, I think we should stop giving the boy immense treatment. We should know he's doing all he can." Volkov confessed.

"I know, Volkov. But, we have to do something. We can't let Soviet Union fall." Kulikov replied.

"But we're risking the life of this child, General!"

"He's almost seventeen, Agent. It's only a matter of time when he'll be fully ready to go through missions." Kulikov looked at Volkov. "I know he's ready, but little perfections have to be done."

Volkov remains silent, not wanting to argue with his senior anymore about this. Vasili was the one who took care of Anton when he was sick, making sure he timely takes his rest and medicines to remove the serum's reason of fatigue away.

"You'll be all okay, moy drug." Vasili puts a wet towel on Anton's forehead.

"I think I'm not good enough, Vasya.." Anton said while his voice croaked.

"You are. You did what you could, everyone becomes perfect in their own ways." Vasili replied. "Like me."

"Do you have parents?" Anton asked.

"Uhm, all I remember waking up here to know.. they died in.. an accident." Vasili shook his head.

"I-I'm sorry, you don't deserve this to happen at all."

"But what to do? Sometimes we have to accept the truth for what happened, cause we can't go back and fix what we had missed." Vasili puts the towel away and wets it again to put it back on Anton's forehead. "Cause everyone does mistakes, but they exist to teach us something important."

"Wow, who taught you that philosophy?" Anton chuckled.

Vasili chuckled. "My mom. Who else could have been that much wiser than her itself?"

"My mom also taught me, to be myself no matter what I lose behind. No wonder, she left me soon, but took her words still." Anton gets up, groaning.

Vasili helps him to get up. "Your still sick, my friend. You need rest."

"Nyet, ya khorosho.." Anton rubbed his head. "Anyways, what did the General say?"

"They said they're going to recruit us as spies very soon. We're one of the chosen too, so guess what? We'll be finally exploring outside after a long time!" Vasili cheered. "Trust me, Anton. We will be the best agents ever! We'll make our country proud!"

"Of course you will."

The boys see Agent Volkov on the corridor, smiling at them. Anton and Vasili salute at their senior.

"We will be debriefing you as soon we get the command from our head officials. Turns out, you both are doing well and good in every task, you surely will be sent out."

"That's a great thing to hear, Agent. We'll gladly be ready." Vasili nods.

"And yes, you both are getting late for your shooting practice. Arrive shortly or Kulikov will be disappointed."

"Da, Agent." Both call in unison, and then reach downstairs to the practice room for sharp shooting. Picking up the pistol, they both began to aim their sights and shoot bullets onto the targets. The camera then begins to rotate around Anton, and when it begins to reveal his face, he was now entirely changed. The young Anton was now seventeen in age, grown up.

He faced his friend, Vasili, who was also grown, nodding at each other and aiming for the targets again, and this time they hit a bullseye on it. Anton removes his safety glasses, waiting for the moment when he'll be finally sent out for the missions.

And surely, one mission was already waiting for him.

"Finally, our agents have been perfected." Kulikov grins.

___________