▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

HYDRA Research Facility: Undisclosed Location

Date: March 11, 1992

Subject: PROJECT N-13

The walls were white. Not clean—white, but sterile, clinical, suffocating.

She sat on the cold metal floor, legs folded, staring at her own reflection in the two-way glass.

She didn't speak. Hadn't for days.

She had cried once, early on. Screamed, too. But that had been punished. Now she sat in silence.

Her eyes weren't like the others. They shimmered faintly when the room got cold. And the temperature here was always cold.

Behind the glass, men in lab coats observed her like a ticking bomb. They didn't call her by a name—names were for people. She had a label on her now:

"N-13."

"The weapon."

"The mutant."

They whispered about her origins. The bloodline. The accident that should've taken her with the parents. Should have.

She was a ghost in a cage. A miracle. A weapon.

"How long until her gene activates?"

"What triggers it—pain? Fear?"

"The subject's temperature spiked during isolation. Monitor the readings again."

They poked her with cold instruments. Needles, wires. Sometimes she bled. Sometimes she didn't.

Sometimes... the needles melted in her skin.

She was small—only six—but already, they feared her.

In the far corner of the room, a tall figure watched in silence. No face. No name. Only the glint of metal where an arm should be. He didn't speak either. He was always there when they did the tests. Always watching. Always ready.

She didn't know him, but she remembered his eyes. Sad. Like hers.

He was not like the others. He didn't look at her like she was dangerous. He looked at her like he recognised the weight of chains.

Sometimes, when the wipes hadn't taken full hold, he secretly brought her food. Sit with her. Stare at the floor. Saying nothing. But somehow, the silence between them felt like protection.

He wasn't her friend. Not yet. Not in the way she needed. But he didn't hurt her.

And in this place—not hurting someone was the closest thing to love.

But they never let him near her too long. They fear what he might remember.

A loudspeaker clicked on.

"PROJECT N-13. Phase I: Initiation begins."

The door opened. The girl stood up.

She did not cry.

Not anymore.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

author's note:

- decided to rewrite this story because i have a new plot in mind.

- please make sure to comment and vote!