-December 1991-
"He's trained her well"
"Not without consequences"
"Unimportant," the small man waved Karpov off. "Once we upgrade, the program will prosper. We can deal with these 'consequences'. The resources are obtainable."
Her 'handler' always defended his subjects. Always.
The female soldier was following close behind him, showing no sign of discomfort -clothed in spandex and a sports bra from cryostasis- in the frigid stone facility that HYDRA had claimed as its Siberian Base. The Winter Soldier had long since dispersed.
The scientist, some man that HYDRA had scooped up, led his latest test subject into the updated lab that had been granted for use. Without needing permission, the girl automatically placed herself upon the metal table situated in the center of the room. Uninterested eyes roamed over some of the equipment, eventually the subject remaining still.
"What is your name?"
The soldier focused in on the scientist, staring straight ahead as he proceeded to inject an IV into the back of her neck, followed with two shots of a very light orange substance into the bag. Immediately, as the fluids entered her bloodstream, the subject felt a shift. Her taunt muscles relaxed, her mind slackened. The drugs slowed her thought process, making sure her emotions were kept in check. Her temper and emotions had produced extreme problems in the past. Until they had created a way to dull them completely.
"I don't know"
Graf, who's name she had acquired from the tag clipped to his lab coat, seemed pleased with the answer. The memory wipe had left nothing personal behind.
"As I said, General. We have the resources," Graf pointed out the soldiers change, challenging the other man.
"Her mental stability... I do not trust it. I've read the previous mission reports"
"Yes, yes," Graf brushed away the comment. "Her mind is unstable, though very intelligent, and it needs more of the serum. Abilities that have laid dormant have made themselves known with all of her 'conditioning', and the drug is needed to keep up. Unfortunately, HYDRA has not seen her potential, only the fact that she has not been supplemented with the same dosage of Zola's serum that the previous soldier has. That is why she was reactivated, we have found more."
Karpov remained stoic. Unconvinced. Graf only sighed, busying himself with the prosthetic limb laying abandoned at the females side. A panel opened in the upper arm, revealing the inner workings of the bionic appendage.
"This must have been upgraded before the last hibernation. Excellent," Graf muttered, more to himself than Karpov, sparks appearing as he began toying with the advanced wiring and coding. The scientist jumped as, suddenly, the arm tensed and it's fist clenched, a grinding sound reverberating up into her body. A ghost of a smirk flitted across the soldiers face, having had no control over the action, but all the same enjoying the reaction. She continued to move various parts of the prosthetic, the limb responding as a normal arm would. It was incredible workmanship, the metal grafted to her skin, bone, nerves, and muscle to ensure full use.
"I know why you're here, General. Go on then, ask what's on your mind"
"Soldier," Karpov stated. She slid her gaze to his, eyes showing that, even beneath the drug induced haze, she was still fully capable of many, many things. Her skills were sharp, HYDRA recognized this, and her mind even sharper. Exactly why such a tight leash was kept on her intellect. Mental manipulation had been instigated for years, shoving in information and instilling triggers in order to have this Winter Soldier as much as their right hand man as the first is. Their greatest assets: brain-washed soldiers who were able to cause massive amounts of destruction without a thought of resistance.
"Mission report: October twenty seventh, 1983"
She answered back immediately, Russian words husky without usage in eight years time, "Mission: Destroy newest advanced soldiers present at Crown Base, Japan. Casualties: twenty-one. Operation... Success."
"You see? The mission was completed," Graf said.
"There were only three advanced soldiers. Twenty-one casualties is extreme. Soldier, evaluate"
A dark look passed across the woman's face, vanishing just as fast as she continued to wordlessly watch the general. A few moments dragged on before she answered, obviously hesitant to pass on the information. "They knew I was there, they tried to block my escape," was all she stated.
Graf sighed and explained further, "Her training and experience, with the mental manipulation, all together compromised our ability to... control her. We don't have a distinctive term, but the closest to it would be an emotional flare. It took multiple attempts to gain back her cooperation. She has complete allegiance to us, our experimentation has proven this. But, she still isn't perfect. Neither is the Winter Soldier. Yet, they are loyal."
Karpov took all this information in stride, a frown etched into his face.
"Prep her, you have three hours," he ordered before stalking out of the room.
Immediately, Graf set to work.
"Soldier, what is your name?"
The same answer as before was given, but confusion had her brows furrow in concentration.
"You're known as the Winter Wraith. Do you know what you are?"
"Winter...Wraith," she repeated, testing out the name. Some part of her knew it wasn't an actual name, but there wasn't any thought to question what they told her. "I am a soldier, a Winter Soldier, but not him."
"No, not him," Graf agreed, allowing the panel in her arm to snap shut, the different metal plates shifting, as muscles would, when she flexed and clenched her fist. "But you will be stronger."
The Wraith did not ask for him to evaluate. She wasn't even remotely curious as to what the scientist was implying. With his silent request, she stood up, towering over the man by a good three inches. It'd be simple to overpower him.
"You've been reinstated, HYDRA has found use for you," Graf began -something similar to pride was obvious in his tone- producing a large trunk from somewhere within the room, wheeling it in front of her. "Your abilities are limitless, your skills perfected from years with the Winter Soldier. He is your ally, and you will be assigned with him."
Graf opened the trunk, allowing her to acknowledge what was inside. All her gear, her weapons. "Soldier?"
She bent down, fingers grasping a piece of her uniform, turning over the half-mask in her hands. She was the Winter Wraith. Her lips twitched into a smirk, her eyes meeting the scientists.
"Hail, HYDRA"
