Red Winter [Bucky Barnes]

Chapter Four: The Test

I groaned as I opened my eyes, trying to ignore the sharp pain coursing through my head. I go to move my hand but find that it's strapped down. My eyes snap open as I look down, panicking when I see my wrists and ankles bound to a chair. 

I was locked in a strange room, the walls were a pristine white, far too pristine for a place like this. To my right is a telemetry machine, measuring my vital signs, which I began to notice were completely abnormal. Both my heart rate and blood pressure where incredibly, inhumanly low. 

In walks Nikolai with a group of men in white coats with clipboards in their hands. Nikolai smiles coldly at me as he walks forward, his eyes examining my body, causing his smile to grow wider. "I must say I didn't think you would survive," he laughs as stands in front of me, his eyes looking down on me. 

His hands suddenly reach for my face as he jerks my jaw forward. "I wonder what they'll say about your eyes now," he smirks as he stares deeply into mine. Through the reflection in his eyes I can see mine, which emitted a strange blue glow. What had they done to me? 

"I don't think they'll be concerned about her eyes anymore," a strange voice calls out from the group of men. I peer around Nikolai and watch as a stranger walks forward, his black eyes locked on me, sending chills down my spine. Somehow his stare was more intense than Nikolai's, and that scared me more than I wanted to admit. 

Nikolai smiles as he moves to the side, allowing the new man to have a good look at me. "You must excuse my terrible manners," Nikolai speaks up, "Katerina allow me to introduce you to the doctor who invented your special serum, Dr. Ivan Novikov." 

Ivan smiles wickedly as he bends down in front of me, his hands reaching for my face. "I'm glad that you survived, it would have been such a shame to waste a pretty face like yours," his smile grows cold as he looks into my eyes. 

Ivan turns his attention to Nikolai, "Let's take her out of these restraints and see what she's capable of," he suggests. 

Nikolai looks hesitantly at me, "Are we sure that it's a good idea? You saw what happened after the infusion, she killed ten of our best men." 

I take a deep breath as I begin to process what Nikolai had just said. What was I capable of, especially if I had killed so many people while I was barely conscious. I swore that I could feel the burning of the serum course through my veins and that same energy begins to generate in my gut. What had they turned me into?

"She'll be a good girl for us," his dark eyes turn to me as he plasters a fake smile across his face, "won't you Katerina?" His grip on my face tightens and I quickly nod my head, my eyes dropping to the floor in submission. His smile grows wider, "See, Nikolai? She knows what will happen if she disobeys." 

Nikolai reluctantly nods his head as he motions for of one the men to step forward. Everyone's eyes remain locked on me as someone begins to unlock my restraints. I swore I saw fear flash through their eyes, like I was a disaster waiting to happen. What happened after I passed out? How much damage and destruction did I cause? 

I roll out my wrists as I slowly stand up, half expecting to fall down, but my body feels stronger than it had before. That same energy begins to flow through my body, and I look down at my hands, feeling that same static sensation flow through my fingertips. 

Everyone seems relieved as if they half expected me to combust when I began to move. Ivan almost smiles proudly as he motions for me to follow him. I take a few hesitant steps behind him, still expecting my body to crumble. 

Ivan turns to Nikolai who was walking alongside him, "Let's take her to her cage. Have someone grab Barnes, we don't know what she's capable of. We've spent far too much money on her risk her escaping," he whispers, normally at a volume that I wouldn't have been able to hear, yet I could. It was as if I was walking alongside them.