『 RED SPARROW 』
( chapter six, steve rogers )

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ALL ISABEL COULD FEEL WAS LARGE POUNDING AGAINST HER HEAD, HER EYELIDS FELT HEAVY AND SHE COULD BARELY OPEN HER EYES. SHE COULDN'T RECALL MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENED EXCEPT THAT SOMEONE HAD HIT HER AGAINST HER HEAD. When she remembered the gunshots and the panic that preceded everything, she slowly managed to open her eyes. Her throat felt dry and she could barely udder a word when she opened her eyes, she saw a bright light shining down on her.

Am I dead? She thought to herself when her vision came to clear, Isabel saw a man and a woman on either side of her. She quickly tried to move and get up but she couldn't, she felt something holding her back.

"I wouldn't try to move if I were you," the woman advised. She had a Russian accent and her jet-black hair that was tied into a slick bun and she had big hazel eyes that scanned the room. She wore a white lab coat and she looked at the male across from her and she coughed to get his attention.

He had light blond hair and emerald green eyes, he had a beard that covered the bottom half of his face, "Yes, Katya?"

The woman, Katya, rolled her eyes, "The subject is awake," she started, "Is she healthy?"

The male wrote some words down on a clipboard, "We pulled her name up, Isabel Dominguez, she is a nurse in the United States Army, no known children or husband. She is perfect for your little school,"

A smirk appeared on Katya's face, "What about the thing you gave her?" she asked, "Will it work?"

The male looked at her with a smile, "It should but I warn you that this is dangerous territory. If HYDRA ever finds out-"

"They won't," she interrupted him, her voice was stern and she looked annoyed at his warning. Isabel remained shut throughout their entire conversation, she feared the two and she had no clue where she was. She wanted to know where Bucky was, she wanted to leave and go home. She felt her eyes grow watery and she tried to hold back the tears.

Katya noticed her and locked eyes with the Latina, "Now, do not worry, soon enough you will indestructible,"

When Isabel managed to get the words out of her mouth, she could only ask one thing, "Where's Bucky?"

"Bucky?" the woman asked.

"Probably one of the other soldiers that they captured," the male answered. Isabel was confused and overwhelmed, the two of them worked for HYDRA but what did he mean when he said 'little school'? Were the two them working against HYDRA? Where was she? What did they inject in her? She felt her heartbeat pick and she tried taking deep breaths to calm down but it didn't have much an effect.

Katya turned to Isabel and then to the male, "Dimitri, I do not want anyone else to have access to this room, if Doctor Zola wants to come in, tell him he can't unless he asks me directly, no one comes in here except for the two us, understood,"

Dimitri rolled her eyes, "Understood, Katya," he said while writing down something else on the clipboard, "We should check on the others,"

Katya nodded in agreement, "Let's go," the two of them walked out, leaving Isabel alone in the room. She was on an exam chair strapped down but three straps. She didn't have space to move and she could barely move her hands. She needed to go, she needed to find Bucky and the others. What if they were dead?

Isabel felt the tears sting her eyes as she thought of what might happen. She felt her stomach churn as she remembered the corpses that were at the base. She didn't know what to do, she wanted to escape and find out who was alive. She felt useless being tied down. Isabel's eyes slowly drifted shut as they grew heavy and she felt herself fall asleep.

Isabel soon heard banging on the door and the sounds of gunshots and bombs going off. Her eyes flew open as she looked around at her surroundings. It was dark and Isabel couldn't see much, "Help!" she screamed, "I'm in here!" she felt hopeless, no one would be able to hear her. That was until she heard the door swing open. Isabel's heart skipped a beat, she didn't know who it was until the lights were turned on.

She saw a man wearing a helmet, she couldn't see his hair but he had baby blue eyes and he looked too familiar. He went over and took the straps off of her, "Isabel?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

Isabel furrowed her brows, "How do you know my name?" she asked, it took her a second before she studied him. He was well-built and stood at six feet, the face kept jumping out at her, "Steve?" she said surprised, "What's going on?"

"I'll explain later but we need to find Bucky," he stated, "The rest of the soldiers are attacking and trying to escape," Isabel nodded and she regained her balance slowly despite the empty pit in her stomach. Steve pulled out a gun handed it to her, "Here," the two of them stepped out of the room and they were introduced to a dark hallway.

It was difficult for Isabel to see, as the two turned a corner, there was a sound that had caught there attention. The two instantly looked and saw a small man. He wore a white lab coat and he wore black circled glasses and he wore a hat. When he saw the two of them he quickly turned his back and ran. The two quickly followed him and Steve stopped once he saw a door.

Steve walked in slowly and heard a male mumbling, "Seargent three-two-five-five-seven," Steve ran over and noticed it was Bucky who was lying down on a table. Isabel felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders as she walked in slowly. Steve looked at her and then down at the Seargent.

"Bucky," he started, "Oh, my god," he quickly released Bucky from the straps that were holding him down. Steve hovered over Bucky, "It's me, it's Steve,"

A smile appeared on Bucky's face, "Steve,"

"I thought you were dead," Steve commented.

Bucky was still disoriented and he gazed at Steve, "I thought you were smaller,"

The three heard the sound of a gun closeby, "We need to get out of here," Isabel commented. Bucky looked over at her and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Isabel," he whispered softly, the Latina smiled and then looked at Steve.

"Come on," Steve ordered as he helped lift up Bucky, Isabel nodded and the three of them left the empty room.

"What happened to you?" Bucky asked Steve.

"I joined the Army," Steve answered. Bucky gained his own strength and was able to stand up on his own. The three of them ran trying to escape and they were greeted by numerous flights of stairs and explosions. Isabel could feel the heat on her face and the beads of sweat on her forehead. She tightened her grip on the gun that Steve had given her.

They turned their backs to go up the stairs when a voice stopped them, "Captain America," they instantly looked back and there was a man wearing a long black leather coat with a red HYDRA symbol on his arm. There stood another man, the one they had seen earlier next to him, "I am a great fan of your films,"

Steve took a few steps closer to the man while Isabel stood next to Bucky, "So, Doctor Erksine managed it after all, not exactly an improvement but still impressive," the two were closing the distance and between each other and Isabel could feel her heart pounding. Steve swung his fist into the man's face and the man stumbled back and held two fingers to where Steve had hit him.

"You've got no idea," Steve commented,

The man glared at Steve, his eyes were red, "Haven't I?" he swung his fist towards Steve but Steve lifted up his shield to protect him. He reached for his gun but the man knocked Steve down and the small male pulled a lever which pulled the two apart, "No matter what lies Doctor Erksine told you, you see I was his greatest success!" He then started pulling apart his face as if it were a mask and underneath his skin was bright red making him look like the devil himself.

"You don't have one of those do you?" Bucky asked while looking at the man unfazed.

"You are deluded, Captain," the man started, "You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we left humanity behind," The two exchanged words and the two men left. The explosions continued and Isabel looked at the two men.

"We have to go," Steve nodded and the three continued up the flight of stairs. It wasn't until they were greeted with a railing bridge. The three looked at with doubt, it wasn't going to be able to hold them up, it was going to break.

"One at a time, come on," He helped Bucky over the railing and he reached his hand out to Isabel.

"It'll be too much weight, I'm not going to risk it," she argued.

"Come on," he stated, "I'll help you," Isabel reluctantly took Bucky's hand and the two slowly walked across the thin beam slowly trying to control their balance. The flames underneath them danced as the metal kept falling. The beam snapped and Isabel almost lost her balance but Bucky managed to help her. The two kept walking and Bucky was close to the railing. The beam snapped underneath them and Bucky managed to get to the railing while holding on Isabel's hand.

Isabel let out a scream as her body hung from the railing. She felt her heart beating and she wanted to cry but she still hung on to Bucky. Bucky lifted her up and she managed to stand behind the railing, Bucky looked at Steve with sheer terror, "There's gotta be a rope or something!"

"Just go! Get out of here!" Steve yelled,

"No! We're not leaving with you!" Steve took in a deep breath as he managed to bend the broken railing. He took a few steps back and closed his eyes.

"What is he doing?" Isabel asked, Steve then charged and jumped off the railing in hopes of getting to the other side, and he did.