Winter Phoenix: HYDRA Is Your Place (A 2008-2012 Marvel Fanfiction)

III: Зимний солдат (The Winter Soldier)

August 2008. HYDRA base. Siberia, Russia. 

Winter Phoenix/SA-8431's POV

The first time I met the Winter Soldier.

It was cold in Siberia (as usual) and I had been woken up a month or two before.

Getting adjusted to a new world, really.

My trainers and yes, my handler Colonel Karpov showed me my cell and my duties around the place, then I was placed in training for a little while. Apparently I was sharing with a man they called the 'Asset.' It was about lunchtime when I first met him. I was in my cell, alone, when a large man came into the cell. He stared warily at me, then spoke, the first time I had ever heard him speak.

'They didn't tell me I'd be sharing my cell with a female,' he said in a gravelly tone. My cell. How possessive of him.

'So you're the Asset,' I said blankly.

'Yes. You are?'

'Just - call me Phoenix. I don't know my name.' A small corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile, which I thought was cute coming from a complete monstrous hunk of a man, or - I didn't even know what to call him. Monster? Maybe.

'That's something we have in common.' He returned to a pack on his cot, which was currently preoccupying him. There was silence. Then I spoke.

'I can't just call you the Asset all the time. What shall I call you?'

'Winter. Call me Winter.' Placing his pack under the bed, I noticed he had a metal arm. It was shiny and I wondered how he had gotten it. There was a red star emblazoned on it, much like the red star mingled with the phoenix tattoo on my back, on my right shoulder blade. Just another mark, I thought, so that HYDRA could claim me as theirs. And claim me they did. I was getting a little too curious about the arm, but I pushed down my curiosities. A moment later, he sat on the bed and tightened up his combat boots, glancing at me every now and then. Two minutes later, he let out a frustrated sigh and glared at me. 'Why are you staring at me?'

'You're - what's the word... interesting to watch?' His brows furrowed and he scratched the back of his neck.

'They haven't wiped you yet, have they?'

'N-no.'

'Answer clearly,' he snapped. It was more of an order than a request.

'No, sir.'

'Good. You still have a lot to learn. The colonel has asked me to show you around the place, train you a little and such. It appears we'll be working more closely together in the future.'

'That's good, right?'

'I guess, if you can keep up.' He stood up and stretched out his hand, his flesh one, which was currently encased in a glove. 'Come.' I took his hand tentatively and went out the cell with him.

Little did I know that that would be the start of my many adventures with the Winter Soldier.