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Important A/N at the end so plz read x

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦

HYDRA Base

Siberia, Russia 1991

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To say that the last week had been crazy would be a complete understatement if you asked Trickery.

Earlier in the week, Trickery had been awoken and pulled from the all too familiar embrace of the coldness. The icy cold that penetrated through her pale skin with absurd ease was gone, albeit not forgotten. And even though she had been pulled from her chamber, her body heat still abandoned her with cruel speed and left her shivering too violently to even attempt to communicate or move steadily.

With blue lips and chattering teeth, she was then thrown onto the chair. Almost immediately she was greeted with an onslaught of mind-numbing pain that sent her convulsing against her leather constraints. Her screams were muffled from the teeth shield that was situated in her mouth that at least allowed her to bite down on something other than her tongue.

It seemed like she had been experiencing the torture for hours when in reality she had only been sitting in the chair for a few minutes. But when they finally stopped, she didn't even have time to let out a breath of relief before her head was spinning again.

"Желание, Восприятие, Смертность, Искупление, Пять, Проворных, Шесть, Исход, Восемнадцать, Воинствующих."

"Desire, Perception, Mortality, Redemption, Five, Nimble, Six, Exodus, Eighteen, Militant."

That's all they had to say for her mind to reset, for her to become herself again. Everything came rushing back to her, flooding her mind with memories of who she was and what she could do. So much so that she created her own little mantra to distract herself from the overflow of memories.

"My name is Trickery. I am 25 years old. I live in Siberia, Russia. Mikael is the only living member of my family. I work at HYDRA. My family worked at HYDRA. I have powers. I can make people feel, see and hear things that aren't real. I can see into people's memories. I am a spy. I am an assassin. I am Trickery."

That mantra allowed Trickery to make sense of the memories that she had. She was able to focus on the things that she knew were true, the things that made her who she was.

But it also helped her make sense of the memories that were missing. The parts of her timeline that she couldn't recall. By linking the things that she knew to be true she could make a more educated guess on the things that laid in between. For example, since Trickery's family worked at HYDRA, she knew that she would have grown up at HYDRA. And since she was raised at HYDRA, that would mean that Mikael would have been raised at HYDRA too since he is her family.

Sure, it didn't give her all the answers to the questions that she had. But it was something.

Then they dragged her down an unfamiliar set of hallways. They meet Mikael at the end of one of the hallways who then explained to Trickery that this part of the base had just been built for the new Winter Soldier Program.

Mikael didn't explain what the program was but he told her that that is was her mission to fight one of the Winter Soldiers. He said that it was to test how successful the soldiers were and she was not allowed to use any of her powers to win. The fight would be a true test of physical skill and power.

He then led her into the pit which was unlike any room Trickery had seen before. One of the walls was fully transparent glass and the others were dark bars that separated herself from the other soldiers and onlookers.

Mikael stood behind the glass wall with a few scientists running around behind him. Next to Mikael stood Vasily Karpov, another HYDRA operative who was in charge of the Winter Soldiers Program. Vasily was wearing a traditional Russian military uniform and a red beret looking hat with the Russian insignia on it. He watched Trickery with a cruel smirk and a wicked glint in his eye that gleamed under the harsh lights.

Trickery's head whipped around when she heard the creaking of the barred door being opened. Three guards filtered into the room holding the chains to one of the male Winter Soldiers. The man was thrashing against his constraints, snarling at the guards who were pulling him along like a rabid dog.

The guards tensed as they released the man from his chains, slowly backing away to the corners of the ring as the soldier began to growl. He lifted his gaze towards Trickery and she fought to hide her look of surprise off her face. The soldier looked at her as if she was his prey. He had a single primitive drive, to attack. To kill. That urge had wiped away all other thoughts and feelings. It devoided him of the possession of his soul, leaving him to wander in the abyss of fury and violence.

He looked like he was an animal. No longer holding any qualities that made him human.

The hypocrisy in that single thought almost caused her to gag. Because who was to say that she too didn't share the same look in her eyes?

But before she had a chance to dwell on the thought, the man charged at her. He was right in front of her before she could even blink, aiming a punch at her head but Trickery easily slipped under his arm. She swiftly bounced back up and returned a powerful uppercut that nailed him right under the chin. A loud cracking sound resonated throughout the room as the soldier's head was thrown back violently due to the sheer force of her punch.

The soldier quickly regained his composure and glared at Trickery with pure malice in his eyes before he propelled forward again, throwing punch after punch at her face. Trickery expertly evaded his attacks which began to frustrate the soldier. He was getting annoyed by the lack of contact and started throwing more power behind each punch, hoping that one would connect with Trickery.

Fed up with playing defense, Trickery blocked the soldier's last hit and sent a powerful punch hurtling towards his exposed face. Another loud crack was heard as Trickery's fist connected with the soldier's nose and dark crimson blood began to ooze out. The soldier grunted in pain and sent an erratic punch towards Trickery who barely got out of the way in time. His knuckles grazed the skin of her cheek which caused her to hiss at the slight pain.

Immediately noticing the exposed area of the soldier's stomach and ribs, Trickery lifted her leg with deadly speed and kicked his chest. The soldier stumbled as he tried to regain his balance which allowed her to fall to the floor and sweep his legs out from under him. He landed on the ground with a thud as Trickery stood over him victoriously.

The guards hastily rushed to put the soldier back in chains before he regained the strength to attack again. Within seconds, he was dragged out of the barred room and away from Trickery who stood as still as a statue as Mikael and Vasily made their way in.

The soldier's growls were quickly stifled as he was dragged further away from the trio, allowing the room to return to its usual state of silence, albeit briefly.

"Обман, это был хороший бой. / Trickery, that was a good fight." Vasily applauded, looking at Trickery in awe.

"Спасибо, хозяин / Thank you, Master." Trickery responded, keeping her gaze trained on the barred wall behind the man.

"Что не так с техникой солдата? / What was wrong with the soldier's technique?" Vasily asked, interested in what made the soldier so easily defeated by the woman standing in front of him.

"Его тело было откинуто на левой ноге, а это означало, что он полагался на силу, а не на ловкость. / His body was tilted back on his left foot, meaning that he relied on power instead of agility." Trickery explained, pointing out the flaw that she had noticed the second that they had started fighting.

Vasily looked at the woman impressively, glad to see that at least one of the soldiers in the Winter Soldier Program was a success. He then turned back to Mikael and spoke a few parting words before he left the two, following after his own soldiers.

Mikael gave Trickery a proud smile before he returned her to her room and gave her some much-needed food to sustain her for the night.

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The week went on following the same routine. She would sit in her room for most of the night, unable to will herself to sleep. She then was taken back to the ring in the mornings to fight and train Vasily's other soldiers. She was never there for longer than a few hours before she was whisked off back to her room by Mikael who would give her some more food and leave her be for the rest of the day.

From the whispers that she managed to catch as Mikael returned her to her room, she learned that Vasily swapped herself with someone else to train the soldiers for the rest of the day. Who the other person was confused Trickery. All that she knew was that they were a male, due to the whispers referring to the person as a 'him'.

In all honesty, the routine was tedious if you asked Trickery. All she did was fight soldiers for half of the day and yet she still hadn't been beaten. A few times she had come close to losing but the soldier's flaws were very easy to recognize and allowed for Trickery to return the odds back into her favor.

But something about today was different.

She had finished her training for the morning, still the reigning victor in all of her fights. As per usual, she had been directed back to her chambers to spend the rest of the day doing nothing. And she had done nothing except sit on her bed staring at the ceiling until she heard 3 guards running towards her cell.

Their hearts were pounding in their chest and just from the look on their faces, Trickery knew that something was wrong. They threw open the door to her cell and she automatically began following them, knowing that they needed her for something.

" Вам нужно покорить Зимних Солдатов. Они стали дикими. / You need to subdue the Winter Soldiers. They have gone feral." One of the guards managed to say between breaths as they sprinted down to the dull hallways of the base. Hearing that made Trickery quicken her pace, leaving the soldiers behind as she sprinted towards the ring.

It didn't take long for Trickery to reach the room, and upon entering her eyes nearly fell from their sockets in surprise. The Winter Soldiers had overtaken the ring itself, leaving the once clean concrete floor stained with crimson blood from the bodies of now dead HYDRA doctors. The other HYDRA guards and scientists cowered against the back wall, thanking the gods that the barred cell separated them from the merciless killers.

She saw the silhouette of a man protecting Vasily who quickly made his exit from the scene. The man's silver arm glimmered under the harsh lights but Trickery paid no mind. Instead, she chose to look over at Mikael who gave her an understanding nod, somehow already knowing what her next move would be.

Her eyes turned their usual shade of silver as she focused on the soldiers' brain waves. The first thing that she did was take their sight away. The second that she did that, screams chorused in the air as nearly all of the soldiers clawed at their eyes in surprise.

Then she took away their ability to move. Their screams immediately came to a halt as they lost the ability to move their vocal cords. The soldiers all became statues, standing in the ring with the ability to do nothing other than think.

The previously freaking out HYDRA guards looked at Trickery with fear in their eyes. It surprised them how easily she was able to manipulate their brains, to trick them into believing something that is nothing other than an illusion. Because Trickery hadn't actually taken away their sight or their ability to move, she merely cast an illusion that tricked their brains into thinking that they couldn't.

"Wonderful work, Trickery." Mikael applauded as he walked into the ring. Trickery nodded at the compliment but kept her gaze trained on the soldiers to maintain her illusion.

"The soldiers are all being moved to the Cryostasis Chambers and you will need to ensure that they are sedated enough to be frozen." He explained before waving numerous doctors into the room. The doctors methodically approached each of the soldiers, injecting some sort of substance into their bloodstream that Trickery guessed would keep them 'controllable'.

She watched them flurry around the room, injecting soldier after soldier as she upheld the illusion that kept them docile. She quickly noticed how the number of brain waves that the soldiers emitted lessen which she assumed was an effect of the chemicals in their bodies.

"You can drop the illusion now, Trickery." Mikael informed her as the doctors were soon replaced by guards who began to escort the soldiers to the neighboring Cryostasis Chambers. As she was ordered, she dropped the illusion and slowly shuffled out of the room alongside Mikael.

She followed Mikael into the room and a shiver ran down her spine as she gazed at her surroundings. The concrete room was enormous and filled with various different machines that confused Trickery to even look at. The actual chambers themselves glowed bright orange and Trickery could see the arctic cold that the doors were thankfully holding back. The doctors typed ridiculously fast on the computers that stood next to the chambers, awaiting for the soldiers that would soon occupy the dreary space.

The room seemed eerily familiar to Trickery. Everything down to the bitter cold, the acrid smell of metal and the sight of the cryostasis machines seemed familiar. But Trickery couldn't pinpoint why.

With a tired sigh, Trickery turned to Mikael and returned his skeptic gaze. "Keep a watch on the soldiers. We don't know how quickly their bodies will burn through the sedatives we administered." He told her.

"Yes, Mikael." She nodded submissively.

"And if they go rabid..." Mikael paused, turning his gaze towards the soldiers whose chains clinked as they walked towards their new homes. "- kill them."

Trickery once again answered with a nod and turned her gaze towards the soldiers. They still seemingly looked as if they were obedient as the doctors prepped them for going under. The doctor's heartbeats, however, were almost deafening to Trickery who nearly grimaced at their visible fear of the soldiers.

Mikael's gaze was abruptly averted as he saw Vasily returning into the room, no longer holding his guard dog at his side. Vasily immediately went to Mikael's side and greeted him with a curt nod whilst Mikael resisted the urge to rolls his eyes.

" Mikael." He spoke, clearing his throat. "Как вы думаете, где это пошло не так? / Where do you think it went wrong?" He asked, gesturing towards the soldiers. Trickery tried to keep her attention on the soldiers but she couldn't help but feel the irritation radiating off Mikael.

Mikael glanced back towards the soldiers and let out a dejected sigh. "Well firstly, you trained them all together." He answered in English which surprised both Vasily and Trickery for a brief moment. "You allowed them to fester a pack mentality. You enabled them to believe that they hunted as a group." He continued honestly.

"And two, as Erskine said, they also had to be mentally fit to undergo the experiment. These men were cold, impulsive killers before you gave them the drugs. But after you injected them with it, it was too late. You made the exact same mistake that Erskine made with giving the serum to Schmidt." Mikael commented nonchalantly which caused a scowl to climb up Vasily's face.

"What did you just say?" He asked in horror, irritated by Mikael's clear disrespect for HYDRA's past leader.

"Schmidt was never going to be a suitable candidate for the serum. He was too rash, too egotistical and too much of a megalomaniac." Mikael explained. "Giving him the serum is what lost us the war. And at least Erskine was smart enough to recognize that."

"Erskine was a traitor." Vasily seethed.

Mikael raised a brow at Vasily's comment. "It's unbecoming to speak ill of the dead." He retorted, somehow managing to keep the anger from seeping into his voice.

"It's unbecoming to praise defectors." Vasily answered back and Trickery nearly shook her head in annoyance. Vasily was really beginning to push Mikael's buttons and Trickery knew that Mikael held little tolerance in him to stop himself from erupting.

"Don't forget who you are talking to, Karpov." He turned and glared at the man, not bothering this time to hide the malice in his voice. "Erskine was a genius and smart enough to not back chat his superiours."

"Now I'd highly recommend that you run along now. I've had enough of your idiocy for the rest of my life." Mikael continued, almost grinning as he saw Vasily huff like a child and walk off.

"This is why I don't deal with idiots." Mikael grumbled to himself as he turned his gaze back to Trickery, quirking a brow at her as to show that he did notice her listening in. Trickery resisted the urge for her cheeks to flush in embarrassment and instead turned back around to the scene in front of her.

The soldiers had finished their preparation and were beginning to make their way into the chambers. Trickery could tell that the doctors' fears had eased slightly as the Winter Soldiers' had yet to attack any of them. Nothing interesting in the room had caught Trickery's attention so she just stood there and stared at the concrete wall, hoping that she could try and get some sleep tonight despite knowing that it wouldn't happen.

Barely seconds into her daydream about her uncomfortable, cold and tiny bed, she heard the sound of a roar and the all to familiar echo of broken bones. Her eyes whipped to the source of the noise and she saw that one of the stronger male soldiers had come out of his docile state. On the floor by his seat was another dead doctor, laying in a pool of scarlet blood.

Remembering Mikael's words to her earlier, Trickery's eyes turned bright silver once again as she narrowed in on the soldier's mind. She focused on his brain and with relative ease, she completely severed the connections in his brain stem.

The soldier fell to the floor motionless, his eyes wide and jaw still opened ready to roar again. The room fell silent as they all looked at Trickery with a mixture of horror and awe. She too remained motionless as she stood cemented to her spot, her gaze trained on the opposite wall. She completely disregarded the man that she just killed and returned to her job, monitoring the other Winter Soldiers.

"Good job Trickery." Mikael said as he briefly turned his gaze to the woman before he turned it back to everyone else in the room. "Now get those bloody soldiers in the ice!"

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Hey guys,

I know this chapter is shorter than usual (only 3500 words) but I am actually very proud of it regardless! It took me barely any time to write (I take that back, that's a lie) and the storyline of the chapter came to mind very easily. Hopefully, you guys notice that too!

Once again I would like to thank every single one of you for reading, voting and commenting on both Tricks and Trickery! We have got to over 10k on Tricks and 800 reads on Trickery which may not seem like a lot but it is over 100 reads a chapter or something like that (soz I am failing math)! I honestly wouldn't be here without any of you guys as you motivate me to continue writing each chapter!

SO THANK YOU XXXX

And now onto the questions,

1. What did you think of this chapter?

2. What do you guys think of Trickery and Mikael?

3. Do you prefer reading in present or past tense?

4. Who's ready for Halloween!!!

P.S - Get ready for the next chapter, there's a surprise at the end and you will be seeing one of the best characters in the MCU! Have a guess and see if you can figure out who it is ;) 

- Grace xx