Project Alpha

Ch. 1 - Project ALPHA

16 years ago...

Dr. Kaleb Kilimar sat at his desk, brow furrowed in concentration. He was in charge of the new experiment, and now did one final read over of the file sitting in front of him. If anything was wrong, he would be dead in a heartbeat, so he had to make sure everything went accordingly to the brief plan sitting on the desk.

As he was reviewing it, there was a hard knock on the door. "Come in," Dr. Kilimar said in Russian, with his sharp voice. It was meant to spread fear. The door opened and a women sat down opposite of the doctor.

"I have good news, Kaleb." The women didn't even flinch when hearing his voice, as she knew what to expect from him after talking with him for over a year now, carefully examining the procedures.

She took his silence as an answer to continue. "I have a volunteer ready for Project Alpha."

Dr. Kilimar nodded and responded, "The Winter Soldier is currently on a mission, we can get started when he gets back, Madam B."

The doctor opened the desk drawer and shuffled his hand around, looking for a pen. He pulled one out and clicked it. " Her name?"

"Natalia Romanova," she stood up and opened the door again. "I expect to see more of you, Kaleb."

"Same to you." The two shook hands.

Madam B. departed and the doctor scrawled down the new subjects name in the memo notes beneath the project embroidery details. Step one would be completed sooner than expected.

About a month after Madam B's encounter with Dr. Kilimar, the Winter Soldier returned and was led through a building shaped like a maze by an armed guard. They finally stopped at a large door at the end of a lengthy corridor. He held a paper file in his right hand, tracing the words on it with his finger, having already read its contents.

The thick metal door slid open to reveal a women with a calculating stare. He faced Natasha and handed over the file with "Project Alpha" written in bold, crimson letters on the front followed by "Dr. Kaleb Kilimar" in slightly smaller text.

She opened it and began to read the plan in vast detail. When finished, she looked at the man and slowly nodded, knowing what they must do. They had approximately six hours to work, to complete step one.

After getting confirmation that Natasha was pregnant, the super soldier was separated, never to see her again. Nine months slowly crept by in total isolation, until their healthy baby boy was finally born. Natalia had been given clearance for choosing a name, and she chose 'Peter'. The mother, who hadn't even got to hold him, was told by the assistant doctor, the project was a failure and the baby didn't make it more than a few hours. This news was also passed along to the father.

Much to say, the mother was devasted, but couldn't show the emotions brought by the death of their only child. She knew it could be her only child for the rest of her numbered days.

The father felt saddened for exactly one minute and three seconds, before being completely wiped of the failed mission details and the fact that he had had a baby boy.

What they both didn't know, was that the boy was actually alive and at Hydra's mercy.

***
7 years later...

A small boy was held up by a fistful of brown, mop like, hair. The man holding him turned a key over in his hand and directed the child down the hallway towards his new home, cell '02A'.

The corridor was cold and dark, the only light being emitted from a flickering lamp hanging above them. They passed by several rooms, all but one being empty. All of the cells had smears of dried blood from many years before.

The man holding the brunette boy unlocked a door and shoved him in. Then, he spoke what sounded like aggressive Russian to the child, who couldn't comprehend much of it, as he spoke too quickly.

The man finally gave up and kicked him in the stomach. "Rule one: Beatings make you stronger, embrace them," He said in a bad attempt at English. The boy was left whimpering in the corner of his new home, and didn't even notice a long haired man staring at him from across the hall.

"What's your name, kid?" He continued whimpering and trying to cry, until he came to this conclusion: he wasn't able to produce a tear with the very little strength he had.

"P- Peter..."

The boy, Peter, stood to face his new neighbor. "Call me Bucky, Peter."

***

"-have seen Steve, Peter. He was pissed at me pretty good, but who's to blame?"

Peter giggled and said, "How do you spend all your money like that?" Bucky grinned mischievously and extended his arm out, leaning past the cell bars locking him in.

Peter did the same from across the narrow hall from behind identical pillars, reaching out for his best friend.

The soldier had grown close to Peter over the past few days, and was constantly rambling about stories from his youth. Mostly about Steve and the good parts of the army.

Their hands touched and Bucky gave the boy a comforting squeeze.

"You'll always be here, with me?"

"I'm with you until the end of the line, pal."

Words: 911