CHAPTER SIX:
❝︎Vampire❞︎

HER VEINS WERE ON FIRE. That's all that she could feel. There was nothing but pain coursing through her body, and she was trying so hard not to scream out, not to give them the satisfaction of hearing her pain, but she couldn't help it. It hurt so much. She couldn't help but wonder if this is what Avery had to go through. Avery was strong with her powers alone, but she was even stronger having been put through something like this. HYDRA was cruel, they tortured and killed for fun, and they didn't care who it was that got in the way.

Her jaw was clenched, the burning slowly fading as she struggled in her restraints. She could hear them laughing, some of them were watching just for fun. Just because they could. And the doctor, the man that was doing this to her, he only had a pleased smile covering his face. He made his way towards the woman, caressing her face causing her to move her head away from him in distaste. He could see the fear that was hiding within her eyes, something she would never admit to and that was okay. As long as he knew there was fear, he was okay with being the only one that knew.

"I would like to say the pain will pass." The man spoke, turning away from the woman. "But it will only grow from here. We have a lot planned for you Miss Gardner. And I know that we are on a time schedule, seeing as your friends are no doubt planning a way to get you back. And they will succeed without a doubt. And then they'll come find you, only to find you are no longer the woman they once knew."

"If you're so prepared, tell me, what is it that you have planned for me." Eloise hissed through a clench jaw, closing her eyes in satisfaction as the pain started to subside. She opened her eyes again to look at the doctor, finding that he had a needle filled with a clear liquid. She frowned at this, watching as he turned to face her with a sinister smirk on his lips. Suddenly, she realized that pain was about to fill her body all over again. She swallowed thickly. "What is that?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that vampires exist?" The man questioned her.

"No." The woman scoffed. "But then again, I didn't think that aliens existed, so honestly, I'll believe anything at this point."

"Well, this here is vampire venom." The doctor told her. "And you know, I've been wanting to try this out, to see what it does. This will be wonderful for our statistics. Let's hope that you survive this, Miss Gardner, because I'd hate to have to go up against the Avengers in order to get to you parents work."

"If you don't know what they were working on, then why are you after it?" Eloise snapped. "My parents told me nothing about that work. All they told me was that there were bad people that were after them, and that they would always be after them until they got their hands on what it was they were creating. So, tell me, doctor, is the real reason you brought me here because you do know what it is they worked on? Or is it to get back at them for being able to take their most prized possession?"

The man chuckled. "Everything I do, I do simply for the fun of it."

"You people really are a bunch of psycho's aren't you?" Eloise questioned, narrowing her eyes at the man. He laughed at this before flicking the needle and examining the liquid for a few moments. Eloise clenched her jaw before turning her head to look up at the ceiling, tensing her shoulders as the needle was injected into her skin. She could feel the venom enter her body, crawling through her veins in lightning speed, and causing her to cry out. It was more painful than everything else they had done to her.

The changed seemed to happen right before their eyes. The doctors all watched as the woman writhed and cried out in pain, before suddenly the screaming stopped and suddenly a gasp fell from her lips. Her hair was pitch black, silver decorating itself within it the hair, her eyes turned an icy blue, her teeth became sharper, glistening in the light like a layer of venom was covering them. She ripped herself free from the restraints, breathing heavily.

"Astounding." The doctor breathed, watching the woman with awe. Unlike the other vampires he had seen in his life, there was still a lot of human left within Eloise. She could still bleed and get hurt like a normal human. She could eat regular food, and had no desire for human blood. Yet she could probably jump from the top of the Avengers tower and land perfectly on her feet without getting hurt. Her strength was the same of Captain America's, if not stronger. And her agility was amazing.

"Quick, get her down." The doctor ordered. "We're one step closer to making her the perfect soldier. And she may be better than the Winter Soldier himself." Without a second thought, the men were quick to tranquilize the woman, and the doctor watched as they dragged her away, nothing but an accomplished smirk plastered on his face.