5. Suckers

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IT WAS BLATANTLY OBVIOUS WHAT they were trying to do.

Strucker would have his goons drag her through the facility at least twice a day; one time to have her experiments done, and another time to return her to her cell when List was finished. Sometimes she wasn't even that lucky. Sometimes she was forced to lay on that cold, metal table all night while the serum worked its way into her system.

She'd lay there, completely immobile with a needle plunged into her arm and a thick leather belt clenched tightly between her teeth to silence her screams as the serum worked its way through her system, burning her from the inside out.

And by morning, if she hadn't passed out sometime during the night, she would be a complete mess. Her eyes would be red and puffy from crying, thick beads of sweat running down her forehead acting as a glue that matted her hair to her forehead, nails digging into her palms, drawing blood, as she attempted to push through the pain.

If she was lucky, Strucker would take pity on her and allow her a few hours of rest along with food and a shower before she was forced into yet another round of experiments, but more often than not, he'd only allow her some water and have one of his goons wipe her face down with a wet rag before List replaced the needle in her arm with a fresh new one.

They thought they were being discreet, but she knew what they were trying to do. They never said it; never gave any audial indications as to what they were doing, but their actions had been confirmation enough. Their refusal to let her stay out of this room for too long, the way their eyes would glint as they watched her struggle to bear the pain, and the way Strucker would always smile sinisterly at her on the rare occasion he remained in the room to assist List himself.

They were trying to break her.

They wanted to take every ounce of hope that remained within her and crumble it to shreds. They were going to make sure she knew her brother was not coming for her; that there was no escape for her.

Try all you want, Cece would say in her head. You'll never break me. Tony's coming for me, then you're all gonna be screwed. I just gotta keep my head up.

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SHE HAD BEEN SO NAIVE BACK THEN.

She had so much hope that Tony would come and she held on to that hope, she held on to it for as long as she could but as the experiments droned on and the days passed, she began to believe that Tony wasn't coming; not this time.

She was breaking... just like Strucker wanted. Her hope was fading, her spirit was crumbling, and her resistance was diminishing. She stopped fighting when Strucker's minions strapped her to the table, she stopped glaring when List plunged another needle into her arm, she stopped praying that he would let her go.

She knew now. It took three months to sink in, but she knew the truth.

Tony wasn't coming to save her, no one was coming to save her. She was to remain here for the rest of her life forced to be an experiment. This was her life from now on; she had accepted it. There was no reason for her to have hope.

Hope was for suckers, after all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, it looks like Cece has given up on escaping and decided she may as well cooperate since she's stuck there. Especially considering Strucker's an ass and she really doesn't want to make things any harder on herself than they already are.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it.

Feedback is much appreciated and I hope to see you in the next chapter.

Hugs, kisses, and all that good stuff.

~ąʂɧ