Titanium | Barnes (1)

9. The Rat, The Traitor, and The Soldier

 It hurts Malka to see Natasha so heartbroken. The only one who has said a word is Steve, directing them to a supposed friend's house. When a man opens the door, Malka shifts her weight behind Steve's shoulder so only her face is truly visible to him. "Hey, man," he says.

"I'm sorry about this," Steve says. "We need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha adds.

The man's eyes rake over the group. "Not everyone. I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Wilson."

Malka eyes him warily until Natasha nudges her said. "Malka. Thank you."

As Natasha showers and Steve washes off, Malka sits in a chair in the room they all occupy, resetting her leg once more with the materials Sam gave her after seeing her limp. Thoughts race through her mind as she wraps the gauze tighter and tighter, again and again.

It is true, she knew HYDRA was long from dead, but in SHIELD? Had that been why no one came for her after her complete failure? She never worked for HYDRA, not truly. The powers that held her leash enjoyed lending her away only to yank her back. It was all just a little game.

When Natasha sits on the bed with a towel in hand as she dries her hair, she meets Malka's gaze, though Malka can barely focus on it. "Did you know?" Natasha asks.

"Would you trust my answer?" Malka asks.

"Not entirely."

With a sigh, Malka glances up at the open bathroom, Steve's eyes dart away from her reflection in the mirror the moment she meets his gaze. "I didn't know HYDRA was in SHIELD. I did know it didn't die. So did Fury. The HYDRA I knew wasn't this much of a threat, not to my superiors."

"And who were your superiors?" Steve asks, leaning against the threshold.

"Any world power that had ties to the ones who made me," Malka replies. "You're not the only science experiment in the room."

"I figured." He settles on the bed next to Natasha. "I think it's time you tell us what happened."

"Natasha knows."

"Then tell me."

Malka clenches her jaw and hesitantly lets her leg bend so her foot presses against the floor. "To put it simply, they said they would let my family live if I helped them make..." She forces herself to meet Steve's gaze. "Well, helped them make something extraordinary. So, I tried. Failed. Tried again, and they tested it on me. Don't have strength or anything, but there are other side effects. Then, I started resisting. It was a mistake."

"Malka, it's me! Don't you recognize me? Why won't you say anything? Let her go, you—"

The flash of the shot she had triggered makes her flinch. Malka covers it by leaning back in the seat and pressing her head against the wall. "Sometimes, HYDRA would subcontract my services, whether it was for some mission or something scientific. Sometimes, it was the Soviets or Italians or even Americans a few times. I'd go from empire to empire with a supposed trusted source. When the empire inevitably falls or disaster strikes, I'd get moved, and they'd always have ways of keeping me in check. The first job was always to take care of whoever had me last. I'd only be sentient for a few days a year, and even then I don't remember much. I don't remember making that bunker for Zola, but I do remember him when he was a human being.