#i've been meaning to finish up and post this scene for a while fhdskjhfkj]

[fullofmemories]

Katrina clenched her jaw at the next wave of pain, taking a sharp breath. Tears were involuntary at this point, but she didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of a scream. 

“This can end at any time.” A HYDRA agent paced in circles around her, his gaze cold and scrutinizing. “Just use your powers.”

“I told you. I can’t control them.” Katrina glared up at him. That wasn’t a lie - not that she would have given in if she could have done anything. 

“Then try harder,” he growled. 

“It won’t do anything,” she said insistently. If she was in his position she might not have believed herself either, but that didn’t make her any less frustrated that he was dragging this on. “I’m not lying.”

The man sighed in frustration, brow furrowing slightly. “Well then-” His hand went to the holster on his belt. “-maybe you just need the right motivation.” In a heartbeat she was staring down the barrel of a pistol. Safety off. She clenched her fists, but didn’t move. 

“No one is here to save you this time,” the man said, both a warning and a taunt. 

Do it, Katrina wanted to say. This would all fucking end. Finally.

“Only you and us.” His finger rested on the trigger. “Your little friends were too soft anyways. They would have been a waste.” 

You keep any mention of them out of your fucking mouth. Her nails started to dig into her palms. Even if he was trying to get a rise out of her, that didn’t stop the spark of anger from rising in her chest. He didn’t deserve to speak of them, to use them in any way even after death, not after what had happened-

“What are you waiting for?” She finally muttered. If it was a mistake… oh well. At this point, death didn’t seem like much of a punishment. 

But at the last moment he aimed slightly to the side. She could feel the force of the bullet as it blew past her head and lodged itself in the floor. 

“You’re lucky you’re so valuable.” He placed the gun back in its holster, stepping back. “If I had it my way, you wouldn't have made it this far. But, you have been given a gift that we cannot waste.” Her breath hitched as he aimed a kick for her stomach, leaning down next to her as she coughed. “And if you will not give it to us, you will be dealt with. Just as your friends were. Michel. Thea. Jess. Wilhelm.”

Her breath hitched and quickened with anger. “Shut up.”

“You thought we didn’t know about all your little plans to escape? Why do you think they all coincidentally fell through before going anywhere?” He leaned in closer. “More enhanced individuals are good. And two of the opposite sexes can reproduce. You were more valuable as a set. So do you know why we had to kill one?” 

Katrina glared straight back into his eyes, rage beginning to boil in her chest. 

“You gave each other hope. And when you have hope, you will rebel,” he said disdainfully. “The only way you are valuable to us is if you comply. And so we had to kill that hope.” She could nearly feel his breath. She wanted to kick, punch, scramble away, but she stayed restrained in place. Her heart pounded.

“You can help us with your gift. We could do incredible things. But if you don’t… all of your pain, all of their deaths… you… will be nothing.”

Suddenly she could hear her mother’s voice in her ears echoing - You will never be anything - she couldn’t tell whether or not it was just in her head. Whether it was like the sounds she heard alone at night.

“So comply. Or we will make you.”

She could hear HYDRA, the gunshot, the priest, the screams, her mother, broken glass-

A deep scream tore from her throat. She could feel her rage, her grief, her pain scorching through her, red, orange, yellow, white-hot, like a wildfire. She didn’t dare to look up; didn’t think to. Just curled in on herself, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. Her emotions felt as palpable as lightning.

As she finally opened her eyes she saw no one standing before her. But that glow, that usually stayed in her hands, had wound up and around her arms and past her sleeves. It was only then, as she started to calm, that it trickled back down. Her chest heaved, and she wiped her eyes. A headache was starting to set in. Shakily rising to a stand, she glanced around. It was only then that she looked down to see the man who had just been standing before her, so threatening, on the floor. But she hadn’t touched him. She stumbled back slightly, eyes glued on his body. Was he breathing? It didn’t look like it.

She didn’t yet understand how she had done it. But that was the first kill that was truly her own.