CHAPTER ONE; BLACK WIDOW

❝ if the world knew of her story, it would never cease to weep for her suffering ❞

❝ TRIGGER WARNING - this chapter will contain scenes of Alina's childhood and the horrors she experience while being under hydra & red rooms control. obviously I did not go to dark into things they could've done to her but I just felt like if I want to darker than this I think it would be for a book not on this platform. there's still younger people who read my books and even though I try to write for ages 17 and up, and that's what I market them for, that doesn't stop younger readers from finding and reading it. so once more, if you do not want to read this skip ahead, I am keeping it mild as she is younger getting worse as she ages. ❞

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ unknown base in chile ❞

ALINA AGE FIVE

"BRING THE SUBJECT FORWARD," spoke an unerringly calm man through the intercom at the corner of the dark grey room. Doing as told, someone came through the iron door holding a little girls hand as he lead her into the room. He was covered head to toe in a hazmat suit which had only recently started to not scare the subject. They used it for moment her transformation were unpredictable. The scientist placed her on the metal table strapping her down without so much as a fuss in front of the two way mirror.

"Begin with standard test," he ordered once again speaking through the intercom. The cold bed beneath her made Alina shiver as she gripped the restraints prepping for the day of endless needles ahead. The scientist grabbed the closest needle filled with a mysterious red chemical. It must've been a new month she thought, that was usually when she would see that same color again.

Another woman in the room came to stand at Alina's head putting a bite guard in her mouth. Testing the needling was working Alina could feel the small drops fall on her leg causing her to wince. As the needle moved closer to her neck she began taking deep breaths to prepare, but ti did very little.

As soon as she felt the familiar sharp pinch in her neck she was engulfed underneath her skin with what felt like acid pouring into her blood stream. For a moment she was able to take it, but it was just a moment before Alina began thrashing against her restraints. Her small hands flashed between her human hands and animal claws.

"It burns," she screamed as more men came in trying to hold her down. They were trying to doge her claws as she fought to break free, a few of them were nicked through their suits due to the intense sharpness of her claws. "PLEASE!! IT BURNS," she screamed thrashing and throwing her body around as if she was possessed. Amidst the struggle they could see the red chemical causing all the veins in her arms to light up as if a map.

"STOP! I SAID, IT BURNS," Alina screamed this time breaking completely free of he restraints sending the men holding her slamming into the walls around her. Her screams were so strong the glass in the mirror broke into millions of small pieces.

Trying to move swiftly, Alina fell off the table trying to reach the door but a group of guard pointing guns made her stop. She tried to back way only to feel another needle enter her neck this one making her to weak to stand at all. "Put her back in the bed. We're keep her under for as much as we can and continue."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ hidden base in russia ❞

ALINA AGE SEVEN

She was exhausted and barley able to keep her head up, they had kept her up for days testing how long she could last and what she could accomplish in this state. The heavy monitor place on her head was making it nearly impossible for her to keep her head up. They were keeping it on her head to monitor her brain waves while she used her powers.

"Hello Alina," greeted an older man with a thick accent, probably Russian of some sort. He was old, out of shape, and carrying a file with her name written in Russian on the side. She didn't say a word, she rarely did for the last year. Instead she spent everyday reading the body languages of those around her.

Assessing what type of person they were, how they carried themselves. She could always see and feel just how afraid they were of her. Over the last year she had begun to plan an escape from her prison, but to escape she needed to buy trust. Which had lead to them asking more and more difficult task for her to complete.

None would be harder than what she would do today, the man before her planned to push her. "Still not talking I see," he said pulling out his chair to sit in front of her, "That's fine. I just need you to see if you can do this for me."

Mocking his accent as her way of learning how to replicate all accents she heard she asked, "And what do I get if I do it?"

The older man chuckled moving around in his seat, with a slight tucked chin he replied, "A girl looking for equal opportunity, how fantastic. My daughter was the same way." Leaning in her pondered for a moment saying, "If you do what I need we'll see about allowing you full control to you tv. And better food, how is that for an offer?"

Alina could tell her was trying to manipulate her with kindness almost as much as she was using obedience as her tool. "What do you need," she asked him still mocking his voice. She spoke so little most days and was constantly around men and women with similar accents it was the one that came most natural to her.

Eventually she knew she would need to learn more, such as French, or British, and American. But those were struggles she would face at a later date. Opening the file he placed down photo of a man wearing a suit speaking on the phone. It was obviously a surveillance photo he didn't know was being taken. "Find him for me," he demanded.

"I don't know how," she told him confused as to how even start.

He laughed at the girl once more, "I am sure if you put your mind to it you will find a way."

Knowing he wasn't going to give her more help than that Alina slid the photo across the desk to her. She held it in her hand taking in every detail about him that she could. The shape of his nose, the color of his eyes and the distance between them. Believing she had it imprinted off her mind, she closed her eyes and began to picture him in her mind.

In her mind she saw bright colors of blue creating a world of smoke for her to stand in once her eyes opened to the world of her mind. When the lights flickered above head the needles marking her brainwaves started to move like lightning. "Alina, where did you go," he asked wondering if she could hear him.

"I'm not sure," she said hardly loud enough for him to hear, "I think...I'm in my own mind."

Behind the mirror the team of scientist moved like mad men writing down all the information they were gathering. "What does it look like," he asked her.

She reached her hand out touching the clouds before her only for them to disappear. "Its cold, like fall. It looks like I'm in the sky...but the colors...they're all shades of blue," she explained

"Remember the man Alina, look for him in the clouds," he offered her a way for her to look both of them unsure if it would work.

And so she did, she walked further and further into the clouds and with each step she could see a figure standing in the distance. The closer she became the clearer he was, until she could see him as clear as anyone else. "I found him," she said hearing his voice which sounded like he was still so far away.

"Good, now kill him."

"What," she stumbled.

Repeating himself he told her, "Kill him, that is your task Alina. Do it." Alina watched the man as he sat at his desk looking as if he was working on something. She could see what was in front of him and it was a photo of him, his wife, son and a daughter. He had a family, she couldn't kill him, it wasn't right. "Do it," he shouted at her making her flinch as his words echoed even in her mind, "Do it or I swear instead of a reward you will receive the worse punishments in your life."

Terrified, Alina held out her hand almost instantly causing the man to start coughing. Seconds later a woman came into view as he fell into her arms choking to death. "Keith, Keith! Willow bring me the phone! Bring me the phone," she shouted but it was too late. Alina could hear his heart taking its last beats as she stood over him.

Maybe it was because he was near death, maybe she was allowing him to, but Alina watched as his widen eyes locked with hers. Her breaths became shaken and shallow as she began backing away only to wake up back in the room with the old man. "Did it work," he asked her curiously.

Unable to speak she could only nod her head for him making him beam from ear to ear. He stood up telling her, "Good, good. I'll see to following through on your tv and food." The man patted her shoulder pulling out the familiar collar they fashioned to rob her of all her strength. She winced feeling the small needles all around sink into her skin. "Now, go back to your room. You have lessons till dinner," he told her before leaving Alina shaking in the room.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ three months later ❞

"Dancing bears, painted wings... things I almost remember," hummed Alina just barley loud enough for anyone to hear as she sat in front of her paint canvas. She was allowed 30 minutes a day for creativity, this was to help teach her how to stay spontaneous when needed. To create solutions, to create a piece of art with all she did.

Even if it just was killing someone, which she had done 10 more times since she first learned. It was unnervingly easy for her she realized after the third person. She had become so proficient the man had finally went through on his words and given her access to the tv whenever she was in her room. Which was usually only at night, but it had begun to give her ideas.

Ideas about escaping, and just how to use the fear people had of her to her advantage. Even with her collar they were still scared she would somehow overpower it. Mainly because it was supposed to cause her constant pain, and it did, she just wore it like it was nothing. Alina had even gotten them to believe she was losing her mind, which she wasn't sure if she was pretending sometimes.

They would catch her screaming for hours, she couldn't stop herself. Eventually they had sedated her to get her to stop, she picked it up again in the morning. Everyday she trained to fight and each day she became a bit more ruthless. They had even begun forcing her to become the beast she knew lingered beneath her skin.

And almost every other day she had to break all the bones in her body and be treated like the wolf she was. Alina had enough, she knew their schedule, she knew the layout of the building. And just on time, the door opened for her morning "meds," they weren't really helpful to her. She had heard them saying once they made her tired, to weak to fight.

As if the collar around her neck just wasn't possibly enough to subdue a child. So she had stopped taking them, not that they noticed. In fear of being locked in with her they kept the door open and a guard stansindd watch while she was handed the meds. The man kneeled before her holding out the cup, "Voz'mi eto," he ordered.

Switching her soft singing to hums she took the pills stuffing them against her cheeks while she let them look under her tongue. He was about to leave but before he did, she took the paint brush in front of her stabbing it into his neck. "Ona pytayetsya sbezhat'! Okhranniki," the guard shouted shooting recklessly into the room.

But Alina was too quick and too small, she used the mans body as a shield throwing it at the first guard forcing him to fall back. For the first time in her life, Alina stepped through the doorway free of someones hold. Scientist rushed for the door clearly not being hired for their skills in battle. The man shot again, this time hitting her inn her shoulder. Her body jerked back as the man advanced, but she could feel her body healing. She shouted as her body forced the bullet from her skin and the guard stood utterly frozen.

"My turn," Alina smirked grabbing the gun using the string it was attached to to wrap it around the mans neck. She moved so nibble around his body he couldn't even stoped her as she got around him. Using the gun for leverage she pulled him down to the ground breaking bones in his neck.

She reached for his keys opening the door running down the halls. The floor was cold and the fluorescent lights quickly changed from white to a deep red. The Dranganov child slipped rounding a corner and quickly had to get back to her feet felling bruises form. Just as she stood she saw a group of three guards standing before her.

Quickly she turned only to see three more arrive again, she had no choice. She had to fight if she wanted to get free. Taking a deep breath Alina charged at the group to her left. Swinging her leg out she kicked the man right in his chest forcing him and his companions down.

Not allowing for crossfire, they second group forced one of their guards to fight her one on one. He pulled his knife from his sleeve only for Alina to put up her arm to block it, but just barley. His weight nearly made her lose her feet and in order to keep it, she had to allow him to stab into the top of her shoulder. But this too made him lose his balance so she rolled out of his way grabbing him by the back of his hair.

Despite being a child and having the collar, her strength was still not fully taken from her without the pills. Pills she wasn't taking, she slammed the mans head against the wall creating a blood splatter.

Before she could turn around, two of the men lifted her up by the top of her head and feet. Alina thrashed and tried to break free, but she couldn't they were just too strong ad she was still too weak from hardly being fed. So she had to give up as they jammed the sedative into her neck causing her body to go completely limp in their arms.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ paris [ american embassy ] ❞

ALINA AGE TEN

"You know what to do Hex, do not disappoint," a voice said into the earpiece Alina wore. Without choice her feet began moving towards the giant skyscrapers lowest level. She could see her target lounging against a wall as they ate their lunch. Silently the small child approached him hiding behind the pillars as she grew closer.

She had been directed to not to use her magic before she left for Pairs to for the American embassy there. Alina didn't want to listen, she wanted to be quick about it but her mind wouldn't let her. It was like the mere thought made her feel she should be punished for trying to disobey. So she did exactly as she was instructed, she came up behind the man asking sadly, "Pardon."

The man seemed a little frightened until he saw it was just a child, "Puis-je vous aider en quelque chose ? Où est ta mère," he wondered looking around the area.

Allowing tears to fall from her face she said, "Je ne sais pas! Elle m'a dit d'attendre là dans la rue et je l'ai fait mais ça fait une éternité et elle n'est pas revenue!"

Seeing she was losing control and was becoming more hysterical by the second with no mother in sight, he said, "Entrez, nous vous aiderons à la retrouver. Elle s'est probablement juste un peu perdue, c'est tout."

'She's lost alight, she's been lost for ten years,' Alina thought bitterly just before she noticed a red dot on the mans chest. She wanted to scream, tell him to duck but she just couldn't. She watched as the shot rang out landing perfectly on his chest. The woman closest started to scream instantly rushing over to cover Alina's eyes.

"Get away from her. Meet me at the rendezvous point, now," she heard the voice said into her ear. And just like that, Alina pushed the woman off her taking off like a bolt of lightning. The woman and others tried to stop her, they thought she was so scared she was running from them. Which she was afraid, but she knew if she was caught they would punish her just as severely for her crimes as the people who had her.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ greenland, Nuuk ❞

ALINA AGE THIRTEEN

Alina had a difficult relationship with cold weather, on one hand it was nearly unbearable and made her exceptionally angry at times. But there was things about it that she enjoyed, like how quiet the world became once there was so much snow. How beautiful it looked falling from the sky, and strangely enough, how the cold made her feel alive. It would remind her of each little niche of her body, and how all of it worked together.

Part of her wanted to take a minute to enjoy the snow as it fell, but she couldn't. She had a completely different reason to be there, silent as ever she approached the brick house the coordinates matched. "I'm here," she said knowing she was being watched at all times.

"Tempus," Alina said putting her hand against the brick feeling her hand go completely through. She followed through entering the house seeing the Christmas tree prominently on display. She paused looking at the colorful lights and gifts, she never had one before and she didn't know it even was Christmas. Alina knew she had stayed still for too long because the electric wristbands on her shocked through her entire body.

Her jaw clenched as she focused her attention back to the the staircase. She wondered towards them ignoring the array of family photos that sat there. Once she made her way to the second floor she walked down to the room at the end of the hall. Not before she looked at the bedroom door she knew the children to be in, "Caude omnes portas." She heard the clicks of all the lock in her eye line before refusing on the room in front of her.

With the turning of her wrist the door unlocked and she found a man and woman sound asleep in their beds. Doing just as directed, she pulled out her iron black and blue dagger putting it to the woman's neck. Before she even could wake, she pulled the blade splattering herself and the man with blood.

Feeling the wet liquid hit his face the mans eyes opened as screams fell from his mouth. He stood from the bed reaching for a gun, but Alina was too fast. She threw the knife lodging it straight into his neck forcing him to fall against the wall. Seemginly heartless, Alina walked over to the man telling him verbatim what she'd be told, "Vashe rassledovaniye v otnoshenii neye bylo pravil'nym. Pozvolit' tebe uvidet' yeye seychas - tvoya nagrada pered smert'yu."

"Y-Your her," spat out the man coughing up the blood filling his body internally. "S-shiel- shield is c-coming," he told her attempting to give her hope.

But her whole life Alina was told if they got her, they would put her in prisons no different than the one she was in. "Motus," she channeled the knife from his neck straight into her hand. Knowing her job had been completed she opened the window behind him. Part of her wanted to look back at what she left behind, but she didn't.

She careful put herself on the ledge lunging forth from it landing down on the soft but cold snow. Her hands immediately caused blood to stain the substance beneath her hands. This time as Alina looked up at the snow falling down and heard the quietness it created, she was left enraged.

"Come home Hex," she heard the voice telling her, "Oh, and Merry Christmas."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ russia, three days later ❞

Alina felt the relief that came with her collar being removed as she stood in her training room with many other girls. She was never allowed to speak with them, but she could hear their whispers about her. After Christmas, Alina felt she had to try everything, even if it meant dying to escape. The best time to start that was when she was in the training room because it was the one time they removed her collar and she was allowed to use them freely.

The woman who trained her, Opal, enjoyed having Alina completely compliant. Alina enjoyed letting her believe she was. She was watching with all the other girls when she saw Opal with her gun on her waist. "Ad somnum," she said and instantly all their bodies fell to the floor.

Running to the other side of the room she grabbed one of the uniforms sliding it over her clothes. The uniforms were made of bulletproof material and she wasn't wasting time this time by being shot. As soon as she made it out o the room she walked normally down the halls.

She hoped this would buy her enough time to make it down to the first floor. But it didn't, by the time she reached the stair case women much older than her wearing the same uniforms were blocking her path. As fast as she could she took up rushing towards the upper level deciding she would have to go up and out.

Using the banisters she climbed up them getting much faster up the building. The second she reached the landing she barely missed the knife hurtling towards her face. Taking Alina's second of distraction the agent punched her in her jaw. She raised her fist trying to swing again but Alina pulled her own dagger from her wrist attempting to swing it down.

The woman grabbed her wrist using her free hand to grab the young teen by the throat. Alina couldn't feel the ground beneath her and acting fast she ripped the gun from the woman's belt pulling it into pieces. She took the barrel that had been pulled from the rest jamming it into the woman's neck as she was slammed against the wall.

More women came flooding the room not even bothering to wait before they started shooting. But her smaller size allowed Alina to hide behind her before she raised her hands creating a blue glow as she threw the body towards them. Like bowling pins a few of them fell but the rest continued to shoot at the moving target sliding across the floor.

Alina crawled against the floor trying to grab one of the guns, they had made her so dependent on her physical skills, Alina often forgot the true limits of her power. She needed the gun, but once she tried grabbing it another woman stepped on her hand. Alina cried out in pain while using her free hand to dig her claws into her ankle.

In a spilt second she stood still holding the woman by her ankle, placing her foot on her hip, Alina put all her weight on her crushing the bones beneath her. Not stopping her momentum she grabbed the guns she had dropped and shot the guards coming to help the women. One after another they dropped like flies, but Alina knew she wasn't home free yet.

Clinging to the walls she peered around the corner only to be shot at just for peeking. Waiting for the pause in their shots knowing they were reloading, Alina took her chance shooting as many of them down as she could until her bullets ran out.

Just when they thought they were fine, Alina threw the gun at one of them and in their moment of distraction she acted. She turned midair wrapping her legs around the man backwards flipping him overhead. When she came to her feet once more she was holding his leg standing above him.

With her back turned she spun kicking him while she made herself face him. She immediately picked up his gun shooting him dead on in his face never batting an eye. When she turned around another man used the barrel of his gun to smack it across her face. The force of his blow forced her to fall to the floor on her back.

Before she could stand he tried to swing down on her again, but she dove out of the way with second to spare. The man fell face first and Alina twirled her hand snapping his neck instantly. Suddenly she felt someone jumping on her back jamming a taser into her neck. Alina screamed baring the pain as she grabbed the woman's hair throwing her against the wall.

Knowing things were only gonna get harder, Alina flicked out her claws letting them act as knives for her. Another guard swung down a giant cleaver only for Alian to put her arm to stop it. Seeing another woman coming preparing to shoot, she waiting before swiftly turning allowing the guard to take all the shots.

As his body fell Alina quickly grabbed his gun using it to shoot the woman behind him. "Fuck," shouted Alina feeling all the fighting starting to take a tole as she pulled a knife she didn't notice being lodge in her gut.

Weakly the Dranganov teen hobbled down the hall finally seeing the door back to the stairs. She thought she finally made it, but she didn't. Before she knew it, a shot rang out landing straight into her back.

Guards and the women gathered around a much older woman dressed like all the others. "Melina! You said she wouldn't be able to do something like this," announced Strucker who knew once they reported the incident they were all going to be in trouble.

Calm as ever the older woman replied, "I said it would make normal human compliant, this girl does not have the same biology as you or I. She fights every strain I make, the other widows have no control, like pigs. But this girl? She will not break to my will, especially not when you do not head my warnings and allow her to train with her other abilities."

"Then make her break," he shouted before looking around at everyone shouting, "All of you! Make it your job to break her! She will have no joy, to peace, only compliance. Clean this up, and lock her up."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ United States, Louisiana ❞

ALINA AGE FIFTEEN

"So, who is this chick? Gotta be someone pretty frustrating to send me after her," said Alina as she moved about the crowded streets of New Orleans.

Purposely vague the man who had been training Alina most her life replied, "She is a traitor. She ran away from us, our family. She must be punished for it," he said his voice attempting to hide his rage at the women.

"And why couldn't have done this from far away," Alina wondered turning down an alleyway.

"Because, she deserves to see first hand what her betrayal created," he told her snapping at her.

Alina sighed, "Fine, but that doesn't really answer my question," she mumbled lifting herself off the ground. She needed a higher view and was using the roof across the street from her apartment to get it. But as soon as she got to the top she felt something was off. "Please tell me this lady isn't trained like me," Alina wondered speaking through the mask shielding her identity.

"Maybe not like you, but certainly better than you," said a smug voice from behind her. Alina tried to turn but stopped hearing the clicking of the gun pointed at her. "Slowly now," they warned her. Doing as directed Alina turned around to ace a woman with deep red hair. Her uniform wasn't that different from hers, hers was just all black where Alina's had specs of blue. "Now, mind telling me who you are," she asked.

Keeping her hands up she replied, "Mind telling me why I should have to?" Suddenly an arrow flew past her skimming through her hair, "You're not alone?"

"Sorry, did you think we were playing fair? Now who are you," asked the women once more.

"Me? You can call me Hex," Alina informed using her open palms to create a wave of energy that sent her to the floor.

"Get out of there," she was warned as she took steps towards the woman.

Not believing what she was hearing Alina replied, "No, I can finish this here, and now." Before she actually could, the familiar electrical shock cascaded through her wrist and the rest of her body. Knowing she didn't have the luxury to argue, Alina locked eyes with the women before running to the edge. She ran to cut her off but Alina had jumped from the top of the building landing safely below.

"Clint, did you see that," Natasha asked looking over the side seeing the girl take off running.

"I did, what the hell was that," he asked just as stunned as she was.

Natasha shrugged answering, "I don't know, but I think I need to find her."

Alina's outfit next chapter

alina's dagger