~ Forgotten ~

Bread

I sipped my hot tea quietly as the others discussed somethings. Doubtlessly I was still afraid of Bucky and it felt so against my nature to be afraid. The fear made me feel even more weak.

I was glad I've escaped HYDRA's grasp with help from the Avengers. But some things were still nagging at me.

Will they ever trust me after what I've done?

Can HYDRA still brainwash me if I get captured? Or will they have to do the whole process over again?

Will they ever forgive me?

Can I trust Bucky?

My thought were interrupted by the others. "Miss Romanoff," began Fury.

"It's Romanova." I corrected.

He looked confused and tuned to Tasha.

She cleared her throat and turned to me. "That's was the academy changed our names to. That's why they changed mine to Natalia."

"So that's why I keep thinking of you as Natalia." I said aloud to myself. 

"Do you remember the day we arrived at the academy?" she asked.

I paused to realize something. "No. No I don't."

"At first, I didn't either. But over the years I began to remember that after the crash and that woman took care of us, she sent us to the academy. Madame B gave us some weird liquid and we both blacked out. I don't know why they did it, but they did."

Her explanation brought forth another blurry memory, but it all made sense now.

"So, Miss Romanoff, what can you tell us about Hydra?" asked Fury.

"Well, there are agents laid out just about everywhere in every country. Undercover agents." I said. "We-they," I corrected myself, "usually give folders on certain targets to agents. Sometimes they are to gain info or to take them out."

"What's that on your wrist?" asked Steven.

I suddenly felt self conscious about the mark and tried to hide it a bit now, though they've already seen it.

"It's nothing." I brushed it off.

"It doesn't look like nothing. It's red and sore looking." Natasha became stiff and uncomfortable beside me.

I cleared my throat. "It's just an academy thing. It'll scar up soon."

Bucky spoke up, "She cuffs herself to the bed each night." he didn't realize I was trying to hide that fact.

"What? Why?" asked Barton.

"Like I said, it's an academy thing. It'll go away." I said with clenched teeth, annoyed.

I guess nobody had seen Tasha's old scars because she always had the sleeves of her suit covering it. 

I, however, typically wore clothes that showed off the scars littering my body, though not when on missions. But right now, I was wearing a grey tank top that exposed the large amount of scars I have but my sweats covered the other ones.

"I'm hungry, anyone else?" asked Barton, brushing everything off.

Hungry.

It was a familiar feeling from the academy. The other girls would either share or fight for other girls' food rations.

*Beginning of Memory*

I sat on my bed across from Jade's. She looked hungrily at my ration. She had already scarfed hers down.

"Back off." I said in Russian.

She looked at me angry. "Can't you share?"

"No."

I had grown accustomed to being hungry. We all had. But this girl thought I'd share? That was a foreign word at the academy. You don't share here. You take.

Many girls I had grown up with were dead, which left more food for us. But that didn't stop our teachers from giving us barely any food.

She reached forward to snatch the dry, stale bread but I dropped it onto my bed and grabbed her arm tightly. She looked shocked for a second and then pain shot across her face as I snapped her arm.

She tried punching her with her other arm but I swung her around until she was in front of me. I grabbed her head and snapped her head as easily as I snapped her arm.

She dropped to the floor and I calmly sat back down on my bed and ate the dry, crunchy bread. I saw Madame B in the corner of the room looking satisfied with me. She always said she'd had hope I'd do great things for HYDRA. She was always proud of me for being top of the class.

I, as well, was satisfied with my work. I looked down as crumbs fell on Jade's lifeless body.

*End of Memory*

I felt horrid pain. Not just the burning one, but the one from being so cruel at such a young age. Without a second though, I had snapped Jade's neck.

It just showed how HYDRA was so manipulating. I hated them. All of them.

"Tiana?" asked Nat.

I grunted. "Yes?"

"What's wrong? Another memory?"

"Yes." I said with clenched teeth.

"What was it of?"

"The academy." I said, not wanting to talk about me killing my classmate.

"I'm going to go lay down." I said. I walked back to the room I had been staying in and began to cry. I didn't know why the old memory was making me cry. maybe it was just the pain I was feeling now, but I don't know.

I wanted to bring HYDRA down. They were sick and twisted people. They deserve it.