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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨: 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬

The Playground, United States of America 1950

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It happened again.

Just like last time.

She awoke to a freezing cold overcoming her body. So cold that her limbs were rendered immobile because they felt like they were going to shatter at even the slightest of movement. Her body craved for warmth, begging to be released from the shackles of the cold's touch.

Shivering had become almost second nature to her because she found that the cold was inescapable. She would never be able to find relief from the ever-present torture of the sheer bitterness.

And to add to the misery, she was then dragged to the chair.

She thought the cold was bad. Then she realized that she would take the cold any day over the pain that comes from sitting in that dreaded chair.

The pain was mind-numbing in the worst way possible. It was all-consuming and she was forced to endure every second of it. She felt every muscle in her body throb in agony and she screamed until her throat ached.

Even when the electricity stopped, her body still convulsed as if it was still being shocked. She was still expecting the pain to come. Awaiting for her inevitable trip into the darkness. Praying that her unconsciousness would protect her from the excruciating agony that ran freely through her weakened body.

Then they said those words.

And it was like she remembered who she was despite having all her memories alluding her. She couldn't remember how she got here and who anyone was. She didn't know if she had any friends or family.

But she knew she was Trickery. She knew she was a soldier. She knew what she could do to people. She knew who she served.

But she also knew that she had a mission because she wouldn't be here if she wasn't needed. Her job is to be the person who gets the job done without error or miscalculation. Because she isn't just any soldier, she is Trickery. And Trickery gets things done quicker and more efficiently than any other soldier at HYDRA.

And Trickery's new assignment was to break into The Playground, a top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D facility and eliminate Andrew Davis who is one of the military heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. She doesn't know why he needs to be eliminated but she knows that it isn't her place to say why.

It isn't her place to say anything at all. She just does her job to the best of her ability and returns home. To what? She can't remember but she will soon find out.

Well, that's at least what that man, Mikael, he said his name was, told her. Mikael, despite his rough exterior, was quite nice to Trickery. He gave her a plate of food which was much more than she can ever remember having before. It was so much that she could only eat half or else she would just throw the rest all back up again.

He treated her kindly which was more than what any of the other soldiers did. He cared for her and she was grateful for it.

He also gave her a new uniform. It was an all-black catsuit that had bright silver lining running down the sides of her chest to her ankles. The uniform was tight enough that it clung to her body and allowed for fluid movement but it was also loose enough that it didn't feel suffocating to wear.

On the right side of her chest was a blood-red star, signifying her allegiance with HYDRA. The star was the size of her hand and also had silver piping around it, matching the rest of her uniform.

She was also given a mask to cover the bottom portion of her face and had heavy kohl smudged around her eyes, protecting her from being identified by the numerous cameras that lined the heavily fortified Playground.

The mask allowed for minimal talking which didn't bother Trickery as she preferred not to speak at all. Because by not speaking, she greatly reduced the likelihood of being shocked by the metal collar that resided around her neck, covered by the top of her uniform.

The collar was a reminder of her place at HYDRA. She was a soldier, nothing more and nothing less. Her input wasn't needed nor was it ever asked for. If she acted out, she will be reprimanded because she must be compliant. She must follow her orders even if it was to a fault.

But thankfully, she did not get shocked once during her trip from Siberia to the U.S.

She didn't even get shocked when she was ushered onto the plane. No, instead she was given a pat on the back and some kind words by Mikael while all the other agents glared holes into her skull.

Then she was forced to sit in painful silence for the entire 13-hour flight. Perhaps if Mikael had come she might have had someone to talk to. She might have had a friend. But Mikael had to stay behind which left Trickery alone.

So Trickery didn't move or eat or think for the entire flight. She just sat, staring at the plain wall of the cabin praying that they would just land so she could complete her mission.

Thankfully, the 13 hours passed, albeit quite slowly.

It felt good when she finally got off the plane and had the chance to move her muscles. It felt even better to finally get away from the overly loud engine. Her head began to thump in the first 30 minutes of the plane due to her enhanced senses but she was forced to suck it up and deal with another 12 hours of pain.

Unfortunately, she didn't get much time to unwind after the flight because almost immediately she was rushed off the landing strip. She only briefly was able to observe her surroundings which consisted of a giant, bushy forest that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere before she was harshly shoved into the back of a dark van.

Once again, she was forced to endure a painfully quiet ride to her destination whilst remaining chained to the back wall of the car. She was accompanied by 3 guards, all donning heavy armor and clunky headgear that was supposed to protect themselves from her so-called 'tricks'. But unbeknownst to them, she could still feel their brain oscillations. They were faint, but she could still manipulate them if she desired.

Not a single word was exchanged between the parties. The guards didn't even talk amongst themselves which made for a boring car trip.

Despite the absence of sound, Trickery still found herself unable to rest. As sleep alluded her mind, she was forced to keep her eyes wide and ignore the thumping of her head that had yet to subside. Her body wasn't used to being awake this long because it seemed like to her that most of what she could remember is sleeping.

Towards the end of her trip, the soldiers begrudgingly unchained Trickery and handed over all the equipment that she would need for her mission. They never gave her a lot considering she always had her best weapon on her, her mind. The weapons were to be used only if she was caught and Trickery has no plans of that ever happening.

The hours dragged by slowly much to Trickery's displeasure. However, they thankfully soon arrive at their destination and the mission begins.

The Playground, codenamed Rag Tag, is a highly classified S.H.I.E.L.D operating base that is hidden in a relatively busy town in Virginia. Despite it being 'highly classified', the base is hidden within plain sight and is commonly mistaken for being a run-down, decrepit industrial complex in the middle of a bustling street. But to those that know it's true purpose, they would know that this is one of the biggest S.H.I.E.L.D bases in the U.S.

Behind the subterfuge lies Trickery's mission. She is to infiltrate the base and exterminate Andrew Davis who is known to be in the Common room between 10:30 and 10:39 for his morning coffee break which leaves her a 9-minute window of opportunity to get the job done. She is to avoid confrontation at all cost and return to her assigned meeting spot at the end of the street at no later than 10:45.

Trickery looks across to the agent sitting opposite her and glances down at his watch which reads 10:26, leaving her exactly 4 minutes to get inside. With a curt nod from the guard, she exits the car and the illusion begins.

She feels the neural waves from every single people bustling down the busy street and it is enough to give her another headache. But she pushes the pain aside, concentrating on the waves and manipulating them to allows her to become invisible to each and every person on the street.

She immediately begins to weave her way around the passerby's that walk along the sidewalk, carefully avoiding contact with each person. It doesn't take long before she is approaching the dilapidated facade of the Playground and she once again focuses in on the brain waves being emitted from the people on the street. She weaves the illusion that the door to the facility isn't being opened as she carefully enters the secret base.

On the inside of the door stands two big, burly guards who patrol the real entrance to the base. A keypad on the side of the door seems to taunt her as the key dangle from the intimidating men's waist.

But luckily both of the men are oblivious to Trickery's entrance which allows her to smoothly swipe the keys from the man's belt and unlocks the door to the base. She steps into a bright hallway and quickly hooks the stolen keys to her belt before she proceeds down the corridor. She swiftly navigates herself down the hallway, ignoring the numerous pictures filled with S.H.I.E.L.D agents that line the dark grey walls.

Marked on each door is the S.H.I.E.L.D sigil, an eagle with its wings spread and the American flag emblazoned on its chest, which confused Trickery. Are their agents really that dull that they need the constant reminder that they work for S.H.I.E.L.D plastered on every door?

With a small shake of her head, she continues down the corridor. Surprisingly, she doesn't pass anyone on the trip to the common room which she finds quite odd. However, she brushes it off and keeps walking until she sees a wide-open room filled by a small number of S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

The agents are conversing amongst themselves whilst drinking piping hot beverages. Trickery inhales the overly empowering scent of coffee that hangs in the air and resists the urge to scrunch up her nose at the intense smell. Instead, she sneaks behind the brown leather couches that some of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents are sitting on and goes into the corner, still maintaining the illusion of her invisibility.

She keeps a firm gaze on the entrance to the common room, awaiting her target. Just as expected, at exactly 10:32, Andrew Davis walks into the common room. He greets a few of his colleagues before he walks over to an unusual steel object and pours himself the dark beverage.

Mr. Davis is an older man, evident by his collection of fine lines and wrinkles that don his dark face. He is wearing a dark grey suit and holds a grim smile on his face as he talks to a female co-worker who stands next to him as he pours the piping hot drink.

As Trickery maintains the illusion, she focuses her hearing onto the rhythmic beating of his heart. HYDRA wants a natural death, and what is more natural than dying of cardiac arrest?

She listens to the organ's cadenced thumps, and with only a slight furrow of her brows, she stops his heart.

Mr. Davis falls to the fall, seizing for a few moments whilst his colleagues in the room gasp in shock. His body abruptly stills and his lungs fall, unable to pump oxygen through his bloodstream. Some of the agents scream for help, whilst others immediately jump into action and perform CPR on Mr. Davis' body.

Trickery glances up at the clock in the common room which reads 10:34. She knows that the body can survive for 5 minutes without the heart beating so she will need to ensure that Mr. Davis does not come back. And she doesn't have the time to stand and monitor his heart so she does the next best thing.

Trickery focuses on Mr. Davis' brain and creates a deadly hemorrhage, rupturing his already dying brain. Mr. Davis' colleagues, however, don't know that Andrew is a lost cause and continue to try and administer life-saving CPR but to no avail.

Without a second glance, Trickery exits the scene, maintaining her own illusion and avoiding the hoard of people that are now running towards the Common room. She stalks down the corridor quietly, gently rubbing her temples in an attempt to alleviate the dull throbbing of her own brain.

Using her powers on so many people for an extended amount of time takes a toll on Trickery's strength. By tapping into so many people's different brain waves and creating the illusion that they all see simultaneously causes her head to thump in pain. The more intense the illusions are and the more people that they are cast on, the harder they are to maintain. And this illusion that she has been manipulating for nearly 10 minutes is almost close to collapsing.

So as she makes her way done the long hallways, she begins to speed up her pace so that she can finally give her mind a break. However, she finds her self unable to because every couple of second someone else runs down the hallway, forcing her to uphold the illusion.

But unfortunately, the one thing Trickery can't fool are cameras.

Due to the scene taking place in the Common room, the overwatch guards finally arose and turned their attention to what was taking place on their monitors. From there, it didn't take long for them to identify the suspicious-looking woman dressed in an all-black uniform and mask which makes her stand out like a sore thumb amongst the formal-looking S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

The guard then immediately contacts the first person that they think of who is, fortunately, running towards the scene in an attempt to help the now dead Andrew Davis.

"Carter, there's an unidentified woman in corridor A." The man says into his microphone that is connected to Peggy Carter's necklace, courtesy from none other than the great Howard Stark.

Peggy frowns at the news and turns back down the hallway, looking for any suspicious individuals. "Features?" She questions, holding down the small diamond in the center of the jewelry.

"She has dark hair, wearing a mask over the bottom portion of her face and a full black suit with a red star on her chest." The man responds. "She's about to turn the corner. Can't you see her?"

Peggy quickly turns her gaze to the end of the hallway and is taken aback when she sees nobody there. She blinks just to make sure that she isn't not seeing things. But alas, the corridor remains completely empty and Peggy is just about to start yelling at the guard for trying to send her on a wild goose chase when an agent is dying in the other room when she suddenly just sees the woman appear and go around the corner.

Peggy's eyes widen in disbelief, wondering how the hell did that person turn the corner when she couldn't even see her walking down the corridor. But she knows that she doesn't have time to stand in shock so she swiftly jumps into action.

Peggy bolts down the hallway behind the suspect, pulling her gun out of her black pants as she runs. She quickly rounds the corner and sees the woman approaching the exit and Peggy skids to a halt.

"Stop!" She shouts, cocking the gun in her hands.

Trickery turns around silently, narrowing her eyes at the petite woman who holds a gun up at her head and curses silently at herself. She had only dropped the illusion for a moment and she had been caught which is no one's fault but her own. She should have persevered through the pain but instead, now she has no option but to eliminate the witness.

"What do you think you are going?" Peggy demands, taking a step towards Trickery who suppresses a laugh at the woman's meager attempt to stop her. But Peggy soon stiffens as she recognizes the star on the Trickery's chest, the Soviet star.

"You are coming with me." She tells her, raising the gun intimidatingly.

And in the blink of an eye, Trickery is gone.

She quickly recasts her invisibility and immediately jumps out of Peggy's line of fire, knowing that Peggy will react in shock to her illusion.

Just as expected, Peggy gasps at the disappearance of the woman who not only seconds ago was standing in front of her, completely real and tangible. She quickly fires a round of bullets at the place that Trickery used to stand and manages to knick her on the arm unknowingly.

Trickery doesn't even acknowledge the wound as she continues to stalk towards the S.H.I.E.L.D agent, her eye's ablaze in silvery flames. She moves silently towards Peggy, who is panicking at the apparent loss of her target.

She approaches Peggy and when she is only a few feet away, she drops the illusion and sends a powerful kick into her gut. The sheer force of the hit sends her reeling, hunching over in pain as she gets the wind knocked out of her.

Trickery spins on her foot and kicks the gun out of Peggy's hand while she is still recovering from her previous hit. The gun clatters to the ground away from the pair, the sound echoing down the corridor which garners some very unwanted attention.

Trickery inwardly cringes at the noise and her ears perk at the sound of shoes walking down the hallway. Knowing that she has alerted the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D force, she begins to plan her next moves in her head.

But while Trickery is distracted by the commotion, Peggy sends a punch hurtling towards her. Peggy's clenched fist collides with Trickery's temple and a sickening crack is heard.

Trickery growls at the pain and brushes it off. Instead, she turns towards Peggy, her eyes blazing silver, and she sends the worst pain imaginable radiating throughout the petite woman.

Peggy falls to the ground screaming, her entire body convulsing from the mind-numbing agony. She has never felt anything like this before. Nothing can ever come close to being as torturous. It is so intense that she wishes she could reach over to grab her fallen gun and send a bullet into her brain just to stop the pain.

But then the footsteps multiply and the clinking of guns against armor causes Trickery's ears to perk again. She groans at the noise and quickly renders Peggy unconscious, finishing off her first problem.

And now she is left with an even bigger problem so she quickly starts weaving her next illusion.

She closes her eyes and remembers what Peggy looked like before she started fighting her. She focuses on the dark curls of Peggy's hair, her deep chestnut eyes, and her bright ruby red lips. She concentrates on her light blue shirt, her dark blazer and her black pants. She memorizes her stature, her posture, and her voice.

And then the illusion begins to form.

As the group round the corner with their guns raised and ready to fight, they see Peggy standing over an unconscious soldier, smirking as she has her gun trained on the enemy's head. They immediately stop in their tracks and nod respectfully at the woman, not for a second doubting what they see before their eyes.

"Here is the soldier, take her immediately to the holding cells." Peggy says curtly, gesturing to the soldier laying on the floor in a heap.

The agents hastily make their way over to the soldier and begin to heave her up carelessly, holding scowls on their faces as they look down at the woman. "Is she an inhuman?" One of them asks Peggy.

"She might be," Peggy responds, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "We can test her once she is placed into holding and is properly sedated."

"Alright, Agent Carter." The man answers as the other soldiers begin to drag the woman away. "Good work." He smiles before he too turns and follows the others back towards the cells.

Peggy is left standing in the hallway smiling, watching as the group slowly turn the corner and disappear from her view. The second that the last person fades around the corner, she sheds the illusion and instead of Peggy standing in the hallway, there stands Trickery.

She swiftly heads to the door and the last thing she hears before she kills the two guards standing watch and leaves the base, is the sound of screams from the agents as they drop the real Peggy's body to the ground in shock.

And that was the first time in a long time that Trickery felt like grinning.

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Hey everyone!

I'm soooo sorry this chapter took so long to come out but a lot of shit has been going on and I haven't been in the right mental space to write. But the chapter is finally out and I have BIG things planned for the next ones!

I will hopefully be back to my regular schedule for updating (once every week) but I am also juggling school and a social life which I hope you guys understand.

ANYWAY, let's just get onto the questions!

1. What did you think of the chapter?

2. Did you guys like the moment between Peggy and Trickery?

3. What would you guys like to see in the next couple of chapters?

4. How are you finding 'Trickery' (both the book and Allie's alter ego) so far?

Lots of Love,

Grace xx