Project Vita Nova || Yelena x oc

Chapter 19

Yelena's footsteps echoed through the corridor as she ran towards the prisons. Natasha had just gone down a different direction to go help Steve in his fight against Tren. Her mind was racing with several things that Steve had said. Tren had powers now? She definitely didn't see that coming. But she couldn't believe that Steve had sent Valary to face Delick alone. She knew how much Valary hated Delick and how the last thing she wanted to do was bring him in alive. Yelena couldn't help but think that Valary's desire for revenge was both righteous and selfish. She understood how badly she wanted to make Delick pay for everything he had done, just like how Yelena and Natasha had done the same thing to Dreykov. But she was afraid of the mental repercussions it would have on Valary.

Yelena skidded to a stop at another corner. She knew that the prison's entrance was just down the corridor. But before she rounded the corner, there was an ear piercing ringing, like feedback from a microphone. The ringing faded as voices began to filter through. Yelena's attention snapped to the ceiling at the sound of Valary's voice.

"Cut to the chase Delick." Her voice was obviously impatient. Yelena stood there, observing the conversation she was hearing.

"I wanted you to see your true purpose, how you played into the bigger picture of Project Vita Nova." called out Delick's unmistakable voice. Then it clicked in Yelena's head. She was hearing the live conversation from Delick's office through the base's intercom. She assumed that Delick had turned it on without Valary's knowledge.

"What do you mean?" Valary's voice was piqued with curiosity.

Yelena brought her attention back to her task at hand. Secure the prisons and get anyone out. She sprinted around the corner, locking eyes on the two Hydra soldiers that were guarding the door. She jumped up and grabbed one by the neck, whirling around and snapping his neck. Yelena swiped the legs out from the second one and when he collided to the ground, she hit him over the head, knocking him out.

"You are the cornerstone, the tipping off point in the project. It's expanding. Vita Nova is expanding because of your accomplishments." Delick continued, his voice ringing through the corridors.

Taking mental notes on the broadcasted conversation, Yelena pried open the door. She prepared herself for another blow to the stomach like she received when she entered the lab, but met none. There weren't any guards in the room at all.

"Because of me, you're going to kill and torture hundreds of more kids all in the name of science." Valary called out, a quiet anger building up in her voice. Her comment sent a pang of pain through Yelena's heart. She realized that Valary really did blame herself for everything that happened to all the kids Delick had captured and experimented on.

Yelena glanced around the room, peering into the wall of cells to her left. At first, she didn't see anyone in the cells. She was about to leave to go help Steve and Natasha, but a dry cough made her do a double take. She walked closer to one of the cells at the end of the room and saw three kids crammed into one cell, ranging in age from about twelve to seventeen.

"Because of you, because of everything you've done. I wonder if your little team knows what you've done?" Delick's chuckle filtered through the intercom speakers. His phrase made Yelena's mind race. He was doing it again, exposing Valary's secrets just to hurt her and make people not trust her.

Yelena approached the cell and met the kid's eyes. They started to shift deeper in the cell, fear flashing across their faces.

"Hey, it's ok. My name is Yelena. I'm here to help. I'm going to get you guys out of here." Yelena reassured the kids, looking for a way to open the cell doors. Their fearful eyes, trapped behind the barred door, made memories of Yelena's childhood in the Red Room flash behind her. She shook her head, trying to clear the mental pain from her mind.

"That's enough Delick! I'm here to bring you in!" Valary's voice rang through Yelena's head, bringing her thoughts back to the mission at hand.

She located the mechanism that unlocked the cells and flicked the switch, causing the cell doors to slide open. The three kids watched Yelena as she did so, cautiously watching the girl who proclaimed she was there to help.

"Bring me in? No one would be stupid enough to do that. Do you have any idea how much my research is worth?" Delick was now fully laughing as he flaunted his pride. Yelena could tell he was proud of what he had done. It disgusted her.

"Hey, it's ok. You're safe now. I'm going to get you out of here." Yelena spoke in a calming manner, holding out her hands to show the kids she meant no harm. The three kids didn't hesitate to take the Russian up on her offer. They scrambled out of the cell and watched as Yelena walked over to a nearby wall. She had knelt down and was rummaging through her bag of charges, taking out her last one.

"But that's not what you want. No, you want to kill me." Delick continued in a voice of realization.

Yelena's mind stiffened in fear as she placed the explosive on the wall. Delick was baiting Valary, and Yelena could tell it was working. He was trying to piss her off because he had one last trick up his sleeve that he couldn't wait to throw at Valary. Yelena tried to think of what it could be, but she drew a blank.

After programming the charge, she left the bag there and turned back to the three kids before her.

"Right, follow me." she ordered the kids, who did as they were told.

"You do, don't you? Well I'm not surprised, you always were a killer by nature." Delick continued his asinine monolog.

Yelena stuck her head out the door into the adjoining corridor to see nothing but the two guards she had taken down earlier. She motioned to the kids to follow closely behind her as they started to make their way to the exit hatch of the facility.

"Does your team know this? What about your little blonde friend?" Yelena could hear Delick's smile grow as he continued to push Valary's metaphorical buttons.

"You keep her out of your mouth." Valary snapped immediately. Yelena smiled slightly at how protective Valary was over her.

They turned to the right, and continued to run down a corridor.

"Do your friends know you killed her in cold blood?" Delick jeered in a quieter voice.

The question made Yelena lose focus on the job at hand. She began to run on autopilot back to the exit as she unwillingly devoted all her attention to the next sentence.

"Do they know you killed Ellah?" Delick said with obvious enjoyment.

The question caused Yelena to stop dead in her tracks, the kids doing the same. They watched the blonde expectantly, wondering if she had forgotten the way out.

The phrase bounced around Yelena's head, clearing out any other thoughts she could have had at the moment. Suspicion began to flood Yelena's veins as she stewed on what had been said. But it wasn't suspicion towards Delick like she would have preferred. Unfortunate and unwanted suspicion began to grow through Yelena's mind towards Valary. The one person she had grown to care and love for so much through this whole crazy adventure. The person besides Natasha that made her feel safe. The person she considered her home.

Her biggest fear began to grow inside her mind. Would the one person that she considered her world abandon her just like so many people in her life had?

(Writing the last part made me wanna give Yelena a hug.)

(Thank you everyone for the kind words towards this story! Writing has always been a hobby of mine and it's been so uplifting to put a work out there and have people enjoy it.)

(Yall make my day so much better! I hope you guys are having a lovely day. If not, just remember I love you all!)