Chapter Text
1999
A young girl with tangles and dirt-covered red hair just past her shoulders, paced back and forth methodically in the cell she’d been living in for weeks. A camera sat in a corner far away from her, scanning back and forth every so often.
Natalia had been waiting for hours for her sister to come back and her agitation had slowly started to grow. It was well-known how protective she was of the younger girl. The HYDRA guards knew this as well and used it to their advantage. Often.
The past few weeks had been especially brutal. Her sister had gained a new form and the bosses were doing everything they could to control it as quickly as possible. Anything they could think of to try and get their ‘failed experiments’ to benefit them in some way.
She had not seen their other faux-siblings Wanda or Pietro in days but knew they were close by. She could hear them or smell them in small doses.
It was hours before Natalia heard heavy footsteps sound from afar. Eventually three large guards dressed in dark colors walked up, holding a dirty creature by it’s neck. The soft beep of the cage beside Natalia sounded and the door unlocked. As she huddled into her own corner, knowing the repercussions by now if she did not, the door slammed open and with a cruel sentence muttered from the guard of ‘such a waste’, a small and bloodied gray and tan feline was thrown onto the floor. Natalia waited until both the cell door and the large metal door to the room itself slammed back shut before quickly crawling towards her.
Soft fur covered the shaking form. “Yelena…” Natalia whispered sadly, not sure if the young girl was conscious or not. If she was herself or not. Almost every time she had been brought back since gaining this new form, less and less of Yelena remained. Natalia was not sure what to do and did not have Wanda to ask and help soothe her worries.
“Yelena, you in there?” Natalia shoved her skinny arms through the holes of the thick and rusted wire wall between them and gently ran her fingers through the fur on Yelena’s cheek, her other hand running along the parts of her body and legs she could reach, checking for injuries and open wounds. A small, quiet mewl emerged, with Yelena’s eyes opening and staring ahead at nothing. Tears threatened to spill onto the dirty fur of her face. Natalia did not waste more time before gently pulling her tiny form towards her and did her best to cuddle her into her arms. Tears filled her own eyes at Yelena’s state and her frustration of the metal separating them.
“Come back to me my sestra… Please come back. I am here now,” whispered Natalia, trying to coax the girl back to herself and out of the new animal’s mind. It was so hard to reach her these days.
“I promise I will get us out of here, Yelena. I promise. You, me, Wanda, Pietro. Someday…” Natalia continued to whisper her promises to Yelena, her sister, her family. She would get them all out of there. Someday.
2005
Wanda, Natalia and Pietro huddled together in the cold cage, speaking to each other in hushed tones. It had not been a good day for them. Pietro had a gash on the side of his face that would not close, none of them had eaten or drank more than some bread and some water from a slowly leaking dirty pipe from the ceiling. Wanda had bruises on her wrists that were so dark, it looked like she were wearing bracelets.
But the day was here. They had a plan. And they were getting out of there.
Yelena had been gone for over a day, and when she had been returned, she could not even hold her head up. Marks covered her human body and as soon as the door closed, she allowed Natalia to pull her to her lap, petting her hair and holding her close. Yelena’s breaths came out short and shallow.
“She is fading Wands…” Natalia said quietly at Wanda then shifted the young girl so she lay in her lap more comfortably, “Sestra, you must find strength. We are leaving tonight. We will make it this time, we promise. I promise. Ya obeshchayu.” They could not fail. The last attempt had almost broken them all, physically and mentally. Natalia didn’t think they would make it much longer in the hands of HYDRA.
A broken window in the ceiling was their only way to tell the time, and they waited, Wanda patiently, Natalia and Pietro impatiently, for the moon to tell them when to enact their escape.
The plan was surprisingly simple. Of all of them, Wanda was the only one with a large flying morph that was capable of carrying them; a majestic golden eagle. So the four of them would morph into the smallest forms they were able. Wanda and Pietro’s case, it was a rat. Yelena had a small mouse morph and Natalia had a red squirrel morph that the doctors had injected in her as a cruel joke because of her hair color.
The next part of the plan was a lot more risky. Wanda would then quickly slash the collars from their necks, and once they were outside, she would then morph into her eagle and carry them away. But they had to be quick. Very quick. The collars they all wore would tell HYDRA they’d transformed as well as track their location.
It was not uncommon for them to morph outside of scheduled times of experimentation and training. Sometimes it was caused by dreams or uncontrollable urges; other times, for warmth or comfort. But once the collars were cut, it was a race against time to get out before the guards came running and they were caught.
“This one better work Wands…I don’t think we’ll get another chance after this,” Pietro said quietly at Wanda, glancing at Yelena from the corner of his eye. He knew they were out of time.
Of them all, Yelena was the youngest, and she knew nothing but a cruel life at the compound. She had no life before this. The other three at least had memories of the outside world to fuel their dreams and imagination. They took turns giving their littlest sister tidbits of the outside world as much as they could, but it only helped so much. It was no different to Yelena than reading a storybook.
Wanda and Pietro had been given to HYDRA willingly at the tender age of 11, after their parents had died during a raid and a bomb had destroyed their home in Sokovia. The two children, twins, had been lucky to avoid death but kind elderly strangers who had taken them in eventually could not care for them, and gave them up to HYDRA with the promise of a better life.
Some life…
Natalia had come from a Russian orphanage, having been there since she was a baby. When she had turned 8, she and other young children had been stolen in the night and taken to HYDRA and had already been there a year before Wanda and Pietro showed up.
But Yelena…she had no other past. Orphaned at birth, she was a ward of HYDRA from supposedly day one. Natalia really did not know Yelena’s past, but she first saw a glimpse of the girl as a baby when she had first arrived at HYDRA all those years ago.
When Natalia came upon Yelena as a young toddler a few years later, it was like they had been waiting for each other all their lives. The toddler gravitated towards the young red-headed girl every moment she could.
They were eventually allowed to share a room since they were both being administered the same experiments, adding Wanda and Pietro to the room next door, but the experiments got worse as they got older, and unfortunately Yelena’s age did not save her. That was when HYDRA started messing with hybrid DNA.
There had been others. Other kids, other failed experiments, but they’d come and gone. None of the four knew anyone else’s names that were still around.
A sliver of moon finally became visible and Wanda stood up quietly, her hands pressing on Natalia and Pietro’s shoulders. “Vreyma,” she said quietly. She swiftly knelt in front of Yelena, cupping her cheek. “Look at me, pretty girl,” Wanda waited until Yelena’s eyes cracked open and met her own dark eyes, though very unfocused.
“There, there. It is time for us to go. I will free us. Let us go be free.” Wanda’s eyes moved from Yelena to Natalia. She could see the worry in the older sister’s facial features. Wanda nodded with a small smile and saw Natalia harden her resolve before sitting Yelena up.
The young girl whined quietly and fluttered her eyes closed and back open.
“You can do it, Lene, come on. Do your mouse, okay baby? I’ll carry you,” Natalia told Yelena as she rubbed her pale arms and then cupped her bony cheeks.
Even though Yelena wasn’t a kid anymore, she was still quite small. The compound they were in had been detrimental to their health. None of them could have weighed over 100 pounds each, and it reflected in the skinny versions of the animals they could morph as well. Yelena and Natalia were both pretty short to begin with too, with Wanda a few inches taller and Pietro the tallest of them all.
“'Talia… go without me…” Yelena whispered weakly. She wasn’t sure if she could even handle morphing again, but she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she was the reason her family lost their final chance at freedom.
Natalia shook her head firmly. “Not gonna happen Yelena. We’re leaving now, and you are coming. Now take a deep breath and morph. I got you, okay? We got you. C'mon, hup hup. Tri, dva, odin.”
Yelena sighed before meeting Natalia’s, then Wanda’s, and finally Pietro’s eyes. She was so tired…
She took a deep breath and focused as best she could to morph to the little mouse who’s DNA lived in her body.
The haggard group started their morphs into their smallest animal forms as soon as Yelena began her own slow change. Soon, a red squirrel, two black rats, and a small mouse huddled together and looked up at the ceiling towards the broken window, right by the leaky pipe that had offered them water. And a hole that was soon to be their escape to freedom.
Natalia shook her bushy tail before gently picking up the tiny mouse with her little arms. She shifted Yelena towards her mouth and strong teeth gripped at the neck of the tiny rodent who used her microscopic paws to grab hold of red and tan fur. Natalia stood then on all fours, signaling to Wanda and Pietro they were ready.
Wanda took one sharp claw with her paw and ripped through each of their collars that had shrunk down with them. Four tiny pieces of flexible fabric fell to the ground, never to be used again.
It was game on.
They scurried up to the ceiling on the pipes and loose pieces of wall before reaching the small hole on the outside of the broken window frame. Wanda and Pietro started chewing as fast as they could to create a hole big enough for Natalia’s form to squeeze through with Yelena.
Alarms started blaring moments later with the room being bathed in red light. In a panic, Natalia went to help pull pieces of metal away with her tiny paws, causing deep gouges in the thin paws of skin from the sharp metal. A squeak of pain fell from her mouth and Yelena’s little paws gripped Natalia’s red fur, shivering but cuddling closer to her. <Hold on super tight Yelena,> Natalia said to Yelena with their mind-speech they all had when in any animal form.
Pietro was the first one through the hole with Wanda jumping through after him and Natalia scurried through with Yelena tight against her just as the door of their room flew open with a loud shout.
They ran as fast as they could on the roof of the dilapidated building, the moon their only guide.
Wanda looked around and saw some sort of large vent up ahead and to their left. <There.> She skidded over, the others following her lead. Natalia’s paws left little bloody tracks around them. Wanda glanced at her in concern white Pietro skittered about quietly, keeping a lookout.
<I am fine, they’ll heal quick. Please hurry,> Natalia sent out to the group in a rush, and Wanda waited not a second more.
It was difficult for them to morph in such a quick succession at times, especially without proper nourishment and rest, but it was the only way the plan would work, and Wanda was the only one of them who’d been able to do it successfully from one animal to another without passing out immediately afterwards.
Wanda cleared her mind and thought of the form she must take to lead her family to safety. She could do this. She would do this for them.
Her fur shimmered and changed to form long gold and brown feathers, her mouth curling into a wicked sharp beak, her back feet growing and forming sharp talons . No more was she a small rat but a deadly raptor of the air. A golden eagle stood regally, the air vent barely cloaking her larger body.
Noises could be heard all around them of alarms and shouting from down below, with lights coming on outside the perimeter of the compound.
<Wanda, we are out of time!> Pietro screamed. Wanda stood tall, and as soon as Natalia and Pietro gripped her ankles, she leaped into the air and pushed as hard as her wings allowed to take flight with a deafening screech, her clawed feet curling under her to help hold her most precious cargo.
Gunshots flew around them in a tizzy before a deep shout was heard of ‘don’t kill them!’. Natalia and Pietro held on as tight as they could as the wind rushed all around them, Natalia pressing Yelena between herself and Wanda’s ankle. Pietro made eye contact with Natalia but they could do nothing more than hope Wanda’s skills of flight were enough.
Wanda flapped and spun and dove around, wings beating a thunderous beat and zooming them as fast as she was able. They just had to get over the perimeter fence a few hundred feet away and everything would be fine.
Bullets were no longer being shot at them but Wanda was sure that there were tranquilizers and other things being loaded and shot towards them.
Wanda pushed her wings to their limit and was finally able to catch a light breeze that helped her fly over the fence. Angry shouts followed and cursing from whoever was below her but she flew higher and higher as fast as her wings would take her, skillfully dodging the last few things shot her way.
She flew aimlessly in the direction of the moon. Eventually the noises of alarms, yelling and shooting faded. Wanda was able to look down and around. All she saw were trees. There were no shouts, alarms, lights, guards or gunshots. It was just the forest around them as the regal bird glided silently through the night above the treetops. The compound they had lived the last five years of their lives in was barely visible from how far Wanda had gotten them, just a dim speck of light behind them.
A smile formed as much as it was able on Wanda’s face as she tried to calm her racing heart. She let out a happy and free trill.
<Natalia! Pietro! Yelena! We made it!> She shouted joyfully. Pietro rested his little rat forehead on Wanda’s ankle and Natalia looked behind before giving Yelena a squeeze, tears in her eyes. Happy shouts ran in their minds as Wanda kept them above the trees, the moon shining brightly on them as they flew further and further from pain.
<Are you good to keep going Wanda?> Asked Pietro, always the worrier.
<I am good Piet for awhile longer. I will get us as far as I can before we head on foot,> Wanda responded.
The group could retain their animal forms for at least a few hours but with her rapid shift from rat to eagle and the energy it took for her to escape, Wanda knew she would wear down quickly. She vowed to herself to get them as far as she could.
<Yelena, you okay for awhile longer too?> Asked Wanda to the smallest of them, but Natalia was the one who responded.
<She is not aware Wan… but she should be fine until you need to land.>
As they reached the edge of a cluster of taller pines, a rickety outpost stood forlornly, with one guard on watch. Wanda could see about a mile past the outpost was a wide river as well. If they could just get past the river…
Unfortunately, the guard she had spotted must have been radioed and was not there for forest business because without a second thought, the guard took aim with the sniper rifle they pulled from their back and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and sliced through Wanda’s right wing with a shrill sound.
Her screech was full of pain and she fell quickly down into the tree line, trying in vain to ignore the searing pain and straighten herself out into a glide.
<Sister!! Are you okay?> Pietro screamed at his sister, with Natalia scrambling to re-grip Wanda’s feathery ankles, barely hanging on at this point.
Her voice came out pained but Wanda answered them both. <I will get us as far as I can. I cannot flap my right wing but I can glide. If we can get past that river… I think we’ll be okay. Hang on.>
Wanda thought the guard at the outpost must have lost track of them once she descended below the tree line as it was still quite dark out, but just as she was passing next to a thinning cedar, another bullet was shot, hitting the bark just next to her with pieces of tree flying everywhere. The group screamed as one and Wanda nose dived down. The three rodents all flew off Wanda in separate directions, screams collectively filling all their minds.
Groans of pain were heard from under a thick bush as Wanda stood up shakily, human once again. Her body could no longer hold onto the eagle form she had been desperately trying to retain. Blood dripped down her injured arm to the forest floor. Wanda quickly hobbled towards Pietro who was balanced on the tallest root fallen tree, still holding his rat form thank goodness.
Holding her good arm out for him to scurry up to her shoulder, Wanda then looked around for her younger sisters. She saw Natalia’s red body scurrying up and down the trunk of a thicker tree a few yards away and jogged over as best she could before falling against the tree Natalia was on, both searching frantically for their youngest charge.
But she was nowhere.
There was another gun shot that hit a tree a few feet away. Pietro flinched and hunched down into Wanda’s neck.
Wanda made the decision. “Nat…Natalia we need to go.”
<No! I'm not leaving without her!> Natalia yelled frantically.
Natalia sent out a screaming mind-speech message, hoping against everything that she would get a response from her sister.
After giving herself a single moment to breathe and send a prayer up to the anyone listening for forgiveness, Wanda reached up, grabbed Natalia’s little body and began running as fast as she could. Natalia screamed at her, tiny claws scratching Wanda's hand, trying in vain to get out of her grip.
Wanda saw the river ahead, with a steep drop-off of at least 30 feet below. There was no visible way across.
Wanda knew that this was going to be the hardest part. She was hurt, a man with very good aim was shooting at them, and they had nowhere left to run. She cast one last glance around them for the youngest of them all, listening for anything, any sound of mind-speech or noise from the youngest of them, but when another bullet rang out, hitting a rock just inches from where they stood, she knew it was fruitless.
Natalia would have to forgive her later.
And with a gut-wrenching shout from Natalia, Wanda jumped. She swore she heard a far away call of <Natalia…> before she along with Natalia and Pietro were submerged into the cold, dark water.
Yelena groaned, trying and failing to open her eyes and move her body. Everything hurt.
She could hear yelling but wasn’t sure if it was out loud or in her head.
She tried to yell through mind-speech, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded. Quite suddenly everything quieted down and she laid there, wherever ‘there’ was, in supposed solitude.
It was cold and dark and slightly damp. And so, so quiet.
Time passed. She’s not sure how much. It could have been minutes or hours.
She eventually came to again when she felt her body being hefted up firmly. A radio crackled to life nearby, words filtering out of it. An accented voice much louder and not through a radio responded after a beep... “Yeah, I got it.” A pause, then, “Looks alive. It’s the blonde one.”
More fuzzy responses on the radio came that Yelena had a hard time deciphering, and then a voice she could place clear as day came on. A voice with a deep Russian accent that haunted her nightmares.
“Bring her back. Now! And forget the others.”
Freedom had been such a fleeting dream for them all, but Yelena had still held onto a smidgen of hope. For Natalia. Wanda. Pietro.
She hoped they were free now. She closed her eyes.