june 2016

The usual dotted city lights became strings of lights that blurred together as the car rushed down the busy street, Asset 53 calmly staring out the window despite the fact that she was still pretending to be passed out drunk. She was well aware of the fact that her driver—Happy—consistently peered back at her, paranoia clearly etched in his features.

It was like he thought she would bite him like an animal.

If she were truthful, that depended on the day she was having. Fortunately for the pudgy man, she had no desire to rip him to shreds with her teeth.

Her back had started to cramp in the uncomfortable position she was laying in, splayed along the back seat of the car. She'd tried to adjust herself, but every time she moved it was cause for an extra few glances in the rearview mirror, accompanied by a fresh string of curses that blew from his mouth like an exhale in the winter.

So, for the past fifteen minutes, the asset had sat in traffic and tried not to think of how much it would hurt when she eventually had to sit up.

Now or never, she told herself. Letting a slightly fatigued groan fall from her lips, reaching up to brush her hair from her face. Sitting up, she grimaced as her muscles contracted and spasmed, blood rushing to her back. "W-where am I?" She mumbled, playing the part of a hungover woman as she clutched her head and groaned again, louder this time.

Happy jerked upright in his seat, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling of the car. "Jesus!" He exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles faded into white. "You don't think you could be a little more subtle when you decided to wake up?"

The asset scoffed, running a hand through her tangled hair. "I think we have slightly different definitions of subtlety." She looked out the window as though it was the first time, and shuddered. "Who are you? How did I..." she trailed off and looked down.

"You got shit-faced," he huffed, still unsettled by her waking up. "Pardon my French. And then the boss told me to take you back to his place." He met her eyes in the rearview mirror again. "Clearly you can't hold your alcohol."

The asset rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I can too!" She protested in vain, enjoying the playfulness of the whole situation. It was now a great struggle to keep a wide grin off her face.

But the driver just shook his head. "Yeah, he said you'd say that." Focusing on the road again, he added, "You mind not talking until we get there?" Without waiting for an answer, he grunted a, "Thanks," and promptly pressed a button that revealed a black screen that slid up between the front and back of the car, completely isolating the two people in it.

He hadn't told her who "he" was, or where they were going, but she suspected that it was all part of the plan. See if she wanted to get out on a random street rather than run the risk of getting slaughtered at a stranger's house. How wrong this poor man would be proven to be.

The sky was still pitch dark, the streets nearly empty except for the few cars that littered the streets and the small packs of drunk bar patrons struggling to find their way home. The asset smirked at the sight of them, amused pity swimming in her eyes. How primitive it was, the desire to be so intoxicated that it altered the mind, the body, the soul. How utterly disgusting.

It was truly miraculous, the way Hydra was able to concoct a serum that would take away all of that. The mistakes any asset made could never be blamed on the incapacity to think properly, or the inability to control one's movements. The perfection of the serum made sure that each asset was responsible for their own actions.

They drove on for around ten more minutes before finally pulling into a long driveway that led up to a garage. As the asset peered out the window, the garage was evidently attached to the famous Stark Tower. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she waited for the car to turn off and for her door to open. This is going to be fun, she hummed to herself.

Laying back on the seat again and letting the tired and drunk facade wash over her again, her act sliding back into place. "You know, you could very well be a rapist," the asset let her words slur as the door opened, revealing Happy Hogan to be a rather pudgy, albeit tall, man. The lights from the parking garage cast shadows on his face, but she could see him clearly enough to know that this man didn't like to smile much.

Something inside her clicked. If she couldn't get through to Stark, she could at least waste her days away annoying this one to the end of time.

But she knew she would get to Stark. He wasn't invincible, unlike her. With time, he would break. And when he did, she would carve her dagger into his chest, where it belonged.

Happy muttered something less-than-pleasant before reaching in the car to find her hand and pull her to her feet. "Come on, let's do this the easy way," he grunted, letting her arm rest on his shoulders and he kicked the car door shut and stumbled forward, aiming for an elevator door.

The asset kicked away from him. "I'm fine, I can walk, I'm not that—" she pretended to stumble over her feet, nearly falling over sideways before Happy caught her.

"Yeah, whatever you say, lady," he sighed exasperatedly, almost carrying her to the elevator and jabbing a button with his thumb. "I can't believe Tony's making me do this," he muttered to himself, "I deserve a raise for this."

"Who's Tony?" She squirmed in his grip, a lazy smile gracing her lips. "Oh, is he the one I was dancing with?" She giggled. "Oh, he's handsome, don't you think?"

Happy grunted as the door to the elevator opened. "That's what they all say, I just think he's a dumbass."

The asset smirked but turned her head away so he wouldn't see. This was going to be even more fun than she'd imagined. "That's not very ni—oh no," she hummed as the elevator lurched upward. Holding her stomach and keeling over, the asset pretended to be sick.

"Oh, god, not in the elevator," Happy groaned, "not in the elevator, that smell's gonna last for months."

She "held it in" for the rest of the elevator ride, but as soon as the doors opened, she stumbled out into a strange hallway and glanced around in mock panic, as though searching for a bathroom.

"Down the hall on the left," Happy called as she darted off, making the sounds of a person who had little to no time before emptying the contents of their stomach.

Slamming the door closed once she reached the bathroom, Asset 53 stopped and peered in the mirror. Her dress was less rumpled than she'd thought it would be, but her hair was more knotted than she cared to admit. She stayed in the bathroom for the next ten minutes, looking around at anything and everything that might give her a key into Tony Stark's head. But it seemed that his style of decor was rather simple, with hardly any pictures of himself or his family.

Of course, this was the bathroom, and it was rather strange to be taking a shit while someone's granddad was smiling down on them.

The asset huffed and reached into the pocket of her dress, pulling out the small container that housed those green pills she'd been sent with:

For cryofreeze substitution only. Take one every night.

Shrugging, she opened it and took one out. With Tony gone, there was no reason to stay awake. Her mission would have to resume in the morning, when he decided to return home. For now, she just had to slip into unconsciousness.

Finding her way back to where she'd last seen Happy, she laid down on a couch that was more comfortable than she'd imagined for such a simple man. Her head resting on a pillow, she slipped the green pill between her lips, scowling at the foul taste as it touched her taste buds. Swallowing it dry, she immediately felt a cold wave wash over her, dulling her senses.

For a second, the asset had the slight pang of fear that warned her about the idea that these pills could be new, never tested. But she wasn't able to complete the thought before darkness consumed her.

Hydra wouldn't kill her, though. She was sure of it. Asset 53 was far too valuable.

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wow i'm so sorry i haven't updated in a hot minute, school has been pressing me lately and i've tried dodging some heavy writer's block. hopefully i can still finish this story before the end of march!

published on: march 10, 2019