The Secret Empress - (Madame Hydra TG/MC)

 

The first thing Steve Rogers sensed as he woke up was a biting cold pressing against his back, immediately followed by him noticing just how heavy and sore his eyes felt  - in fact his whole head seemed to ache, the dull pulsing kind that you get if you sleep for too long… and although he was quite the expert in that, he didn’t recall having a headache then... or having any since. Was this some sort of side effect from the time-travelling too frequently? He remained calm, however, assuring that Pym, Scott and Tony would have made sure that any drawbacks to doing so wouldn’t be too severe and that he’d recover soon.

He could hear people muttering nearby, and wondered just where he was. He hated having to return the Reality Stone back into Jane Foster’s body as it evidently pained her as she slept, but he took comfort in the knowledge  that the Asgardians would be able to help her. He’d handed the Time Stone back to the Ancient One, although he noticed the concerned frown she’d given him when they first met, as well as cautioning him to be “prepared for all manner of threats” on his time traveling. At first he thought she meant that corridor leading into the room where the Power Stone dwelled, as it definitely looked like spikes would shoot out of the wall, or the possibility of that Spacelord guy waking up from when Rhodes knocked him out.

But it was clear that the threat the Ancient One referred to was undoubtedly the Red Skull, who was waiting for him back on Vormir when he had to return the Soul Stone. He already wasn’t looking forward to being there already considering that it was where Natasha sacrificed herself… so it also being where he met the man who cost him a life with Peggy didn’t help much. Although he didn’t like to admit it, Steve was happy to receive a venomous glare from him as he placed the Infinity Stone back where it belonged.

...So that meant he only had to put the Space Stone back, so he should now be in the 1970’s near the SHIELD base. Although it sounded like people were close by,  and from the occasional beeping he figured he’d arrived somewhere inside the base - perhaps in some sort of computer room? Judging by how relaxed their voices were, they hadn’t noticed him yet. The soreness in his eyes gone, Steve opened his eyes and sat up.

“What the?!” he gasped as his body immediately pressed against something as equally as cold and metallic as whatever he was lying against. Looking down, he gasped as he saw that his body was strapped down, with two bulky metallic restraints clasped around his limbs, a large one clamped around his abdomen and one wrapped around his neck. Looking back up, he saw that he was in some sort of large dark room, the flashing lights of what he assumed to be all kinds of computers and machinery. A massive spotlight was glaring down at him, revealing the pale green tiles that decorated the floors and walls…  and also revealed a group of middle aged men in lab coats gawking at him, their eyes wide with awe. There was a moment of silence consisting of them just staring at each other, which was then broken when Steve yelled “Where am I?!” at them, causing all three of them to jump and back away into the shadows, muttering frantically as they rushed out of the room.

Steve tried to wriggle his way out of his confinement, but no matter how hard he tried to break his arms free, the clamps seemed to glow and hum as the pressure weighing down on his limbs intensified; equalising the force that he was exerting. They were much like larger versions of the cuffs those HYDRA agents tried to use against him in that elevator back in 2014… Steve frowned at that memory, but his suspicions were confirmed when the door clanged open and shut, and a voice that was all too familiar even after all this time spoke out to him:

“Well well well… it is quite nice to see you again, Captain.” Steve’s hands gripped into fists at the sound of the sharp, high pitched German accent that oozed of that same arrogance it had as a digitalised one in 2014...

“Zola!”

There was the gentle sound of footsteps, although there was an extra hollow thud to it, and then a hunched, small man stepped into view. His round spectacles shone ominously under the light… but this also had the side effect of highlighting his thin, papery and wrinkled skin. What little hair that was on his head was an ashen grey, and the hand that rested on the cane wobbled slightly, as if he were putting all of his body weight into it. But the one thing that remained the same was that sly smile that seemed to have the same faux innocence to it, as if he were sheepish about being caught… and yet it contrasted with his eyes, as their ice blue colour had a cold and calculating to glint to them. But as Steve stared into the HYDRA agent’s eyes, he noticed that there was a sort of waxy glaze clouding them.
“I didn’t think your trip to the Arctic Circle was over, but when I first heard about the Tesseract having disappeared, and an apparent intruder in the facility a couple hours ago whose description was remarkably similar to yours… well, I had my suspicions. And it is good to have them confirmed.” The scientist hobbled forward a couple seconds, and peered up at Steve, scanning over him for a couple seconds. “Yet, I can’t help but observe a difference to you, somehow. There is something more to you now, Herr Rogers. Perhaps it is that weary look in your eyes… or perhaps it is the rather interesting suit that we found you in.”

Steve wriggled against his restraints again. “How did you even find me in the first place?”

“Howard Stark and my science have been co-operating for quite some time now, Captain.” Zola explained. “One of our many inventions has been a portable scanner for the Tesseract in case it was ever stolen from us. All we had to do was scan around the facility, and it just so happened that you returned as one of *my* agents was nearby.” He then smirked. “But what I am rather interested in, Herr Rogers, is how you have not reacted to the fact that Mr Stark and I are working together, even though you should remember us as being on not so friendly terms.”

“I’m no idiot Zola,” Steve said. “I know time has passed whilst I’ve been frozen… who knows what could have happened in that time.”

“A good attempt, Captain, but it does not explain why the suit you were found in is nothing like the star spangled one you are so famous for wearing. And from what we can tell, the material it is made out of is nothing that we know of… from this time.”

“What are you implying, Zola? I always knew you were a mad scientist, but I guess you’re more mad than I thought.”

“What I am implying, Rogers, is that you are from the future.” He shoved his free hand into a pocket and after a couple of seconds of rummaging around, he pulled out a tiny capsule that was no bigger than his thumb. “We found this on your belt after you were found… my scientists did some research, but it appears to be some sort of particle that not even some of my genius has come across before. Is this what you used to travel here?”

“I’m not telling you anything, Zola.” growled Steve. “You can keep me here for as long as you want; but I’ll never help HYDRA.”

The psuedo-nazi scientist chuckled darkly, but it quickly devolved into a hoarse cough. “I would not be so sure about that, Captain.” Placing the capsule back inside his pocket, Zola walked over to a panel and added; “You are probably wondering what exactly you’re being constrained by, aren’t you Steven? I’m surprised you’re feeling so uncomfortable when this was more or less the cradle of your rebirth into Captain America.”

“What?!” looking down, Steve gasped as he looked down at properly examined what he was strapped in was indeed the same contraption that had given him his superpowers. Yelling, he performed another futile attempt to break free, but he remained encased. “What are you going to do me, Zola? Try and make HYDRA versions of me?”

“In some ways, yes.” answered Zola. “Although Sergeant Barnes has been an incredibly useful asset to our organisation, he cannot be everywhere at once in order to deal with any… obstacles.” A dark smile crossed his face. “You aren’t surprised that your previously dead friend is alive and working for HYDRA? What did happen in your timeline, Steven Rogers…?” He then lowered his head and began to press multiple buttons, and as he did a low hum slowly faded into the room, increasing in volume as more lights hidden in the shadows flickered on. The doors of the casket started to close, and Steve could only watch as they shut in with a harsh metallic clang, covering his body entirely… except for his head.

“You’re crazy if you think you won’t get hurt by all the gamma radiation that’ll come out of this thing, Zola.”

“There have been many attempts by many organisations and militaries all over the world to make their own version of you, Captain. None of them have succeeded - although some might say Sergeant Barnes was the closest. But with what little scraps remain of Dr Erskine’s original experiment, and of course my own intellect and SHIELD unknowingly funding all of this… well, the chances of a successful was a possibility. But now you miraculously appeared, and now we don’t need to use Erskine’s half of this new procedure... Instead, we only have to use mine.” Zola thumbed another button, and this time something above Steve’s head began to whirr, but the strap around his neck meant he couldn’t turn his head to see what it was. After a couple of seconds, it clamped tightly around his scalp; its weight heavy enough to almost make his head to bow under the pressure, and he figured it was some sort of brainwashing machine.

“I’ll never work for HYDRA!” he yelled as he struggled to break free, a series of clangs booming out from the casket.

Zola chuckled. “You won’t be working for HYDRA, Captain… you’ll be serving it.” And with that, the scientist quickly pressed another series of buttons, causing the long thick tubes that dangled from the ceiling and connected into the helmet to fill up with an eerie green fluid.  Steve could only hear the low gurgling sound, and he tried to think about what it could possibly be - and then a piercing acute pain sparked through his head as multiple needles suddenly made their multiple incisions into his skull in slight all but powerful jabs. The syringes began to pump the concoction into Steve with a pneumatic hissing, and he shuddered as a horrible cooling sensation wrapped around his head that managed to dull the pulsing ache… and also caused him to shiver as both the chill and the fluid spread throughout his body by entering his bloodstream and fusing into his cells. Although he couldn’t see it, the colour of his veins shifted from blue to the same dark green as the fluid pumping through his heart. Unlike his change into Captain America, which had been as if he were being placed feet first into the sun, this was just like being trapped in the arctic all over again… the few moments over the decades where his superhuman biology made him skim the edge of consciousness, but it was if those moments were being stretched out. Steve’s body was so cool now that his skin was starting to lose its healthy hue as it bleached into a greyish tone. As a result of the toxic formula, Steve’s body hair was quickly affected too as he felt an odd tingling sensation appear all over his form; all the hair that wasn’t resting on his head fell out and crumbled away, leaving his skin oddly smoother and softer to the touch, even if there was still a dense amount of muscle underneath. For his scalp, the tingling also built up around there as his short straw coloured hair dimmed into dim grey, the strands growing out and looking more shaggy.

But the poison coursing through Steve’s body was doing more than just melting into his bloodstream, as some of it started to crawl up the entirety of his spine, embedding itself deep into the nerves. Although Steve’s posture and spine  was of course already perfectly healthy with the rest of his physique, the liquid seemed to cause a change to it nonetheless as he suddenly felt a tightening sensation build up around his core, as if his already bolstered backbones were being reinforced. He grunted softly as he felt and heard them crunch, unaware that his spine was actually being forced to diminish by a couple inches; his shoulders following suit as they pulled in, effectively making his height more in line with an average human male than before.

“Everything seems stable for now…” Steve heard Zola mutter as he stared down at the computer screen in front of him that displayed the superhero’s vitals, along with all the barometers and various other measurements. Meanwhile, the compound continued to contaminate the captain’s body as it sunk into the rest of his bones, instilling within him that same sense of powerful firmness that had appeared in his back moments before. Whilst he knew this was only thanks to a tyrannical organisation… a part of Steve couldn’t help but feel amazed at how surprisingly invigorated he felt. He hardly ever got tired or weak ever since the experiment, but even he couldn’t deny the way his body just seemed to feel stronger or rejuvenated somehow, as if it was in the exact same condition as he was moments after he’d stepped out. Steve simply assured himself that whatever potential advantages he gained from this, he would use it to help the world, not hurt it.

Steve felt an odd, dull tugging sensation appear around his fingers as they lengthened, his nails even growing out a couple inches… but curiously, not into sharp claws that might serve as a useful weapon in close combat, but just normal  manicured nails that looked almost manicured with the way the edges became an unblemished curve. The liquid soaked then into the flesh underneath, and they darkened into an oily blackish green that would make anyone think twice about being scratched by them from the way they shone. The prickling sensation also appeared around Steve’s toes for much briefer time as a similar adjustment occured on the nails there.

A tightness then suddenly wrapped around Steve’s waist, and he instinctively looked down to see if the restraints were tightening. They weren’t, but what he couldn’t see was that his waist was being adjusted by the fluid; his pelvis creaking as it stretched out, sticking out rather strangely in comparison to the rest of his overly masculine body. His sides then pulled themselves in, emphasising the now oddly girlish curves, and the tight six pack he’d been given by his experiment all those years ago actually faded slightly as the muscles underneath them squirmed and wriggled before thinning out.

“Wait a second…” Zola mumbled, his faded grey brows furrowing as he studied the vitals shown on the screen. “Scheisse! Es mutiert!!” He then started to press multiple buttons on the panel, and then Steve’s hearing was completely deafened by the sound of klaxons; his vision flooded with red as the lights changed colour. He could still see Zola however, and watched as the scientist turned his head to the side and yelled something; the group of scientists from earlier scampered back in as quickly as they had ran off, some huddling beside Zola and talking animatedly whilst another stood at a panel besides them and shouted what must have been updates on Steve’s condition.

For Steve however, he could only feel an unusual pressure develop across his body, but before he could even begin to question what it was forewarning when he was suddenly wracked with an excruciating strain that felt as if he were being squeezed through a pipe. Steve let out a lingering groan as he felt the discomfort the most on his arms and legs… and the cause behind this was that the muscles in these limbs were starting to lose their density, slimming out and leaving them lithe and slender… but despite their visible lack of power, Steve actually felt even stronger than ever before - it was as if each sinew now packed more strength than one bicep had. A small part of him was once again pleased by this improvement, although he tried not to think of it as he focused on how his feet and hands now seemed to be burdened with the compression, and was unaware that they were starting to shrink and compliment the changes of the limbs they were attached to, the latter looking especially feminine thanks to the elegance of their fingers and nails.

The pressure disappeared as abruptly as it had arrived, replaced with a warm tingling sensation around Steve’s thighs and behind as they started to swell… but unlike the muscle they once held, they were now filled with thick pillowy tissue: His firm, toned rear grew out with cushiony flesh that complimented his wider hips, adding a rather womanly hourglass shape to his waist. His hair began to grow once more, stimulated by the chemical reaction occurring within his body, this time flowing all the way down to his shoulders as the colour shaded into an inky pitch black.

Unaware of what exactly was happening to him, Steve simply continued to watch Zola and the scientists, taking some he noticed one of them glance at him before doing a double take. His eyes widening, he shouted “Schaue ihn an! Schau auf sein Gesicht!” whatever it meant, it made them all turn to face Steve… and all of them, even Zola, gasped. Frowning, Steve opened his mouth to ask what they were looking at, but found that his jaw wouldn’t even move - that same discomforting tightness had wrapped around it and locked it into place. It felt like the hulk was squeezing his head in one of his massive green palms; as the agonizing seconds passed, another groan slipped between his teeth as he screwed his eyes shut. The tightness seemed to be concentrated on his lower law, the immense pressure feeling as if it would break it at any moment - and underneath the blaring alarms and his own muffled whine, Steve’s jaw clicked as it shifted from its rough, lantern shape and into a smoother and curved oval one. His nose adjusted too, its defined romanesque feature smoothing into a round button shape. His eyebrows thinned whilst his eyelashes curled out; Steve’s vision watered as the warm prickling attacked his eyes, unaware that his sky blue eyes brightened into a pair of emerald orbs. Finally, his lips puffed out and became soaked in the toxin like his nails earlier, gaining an alluring but venomous sheen, as if kissing them would be the last thing anyone would ever do.

Steve could only sense another warmth emerge around his mouth, and his tongue instinctively darted over his lips to check what it was - and his tongue instantly recoiled as it was hit with a biting, sickeningly sour taste. But whatever now coated his lips was indeed as sticky as they looked, as a droplet of the substance flicked off and dripped down his throat. Steve gagged as something got caught on his throat, immediately entering a fit of dry coughing that lasted for a whole minute. Zola and the other scientist snapped out of their bewilderment at Steve’s facial transformation and checked his vitals: He wasn’t in any danger, but they could only observe as the machine recorded Steve’s vocal chords modifying, his Adam’s Apple melting away into his throat as it became as sleek as the voice he now had… although it was hard to tell as it was in the middle of croaking and wheezing.

“Doctor Zola, is there nothing we can do?” yelled one of the scientists. “We had no idea the serum would have this effect on his body!”

“It seems not, Henrik.” Zola shouted back morosely, his wiry eyebrows frowning as he tried to think of some way to salvage his plan… but it seemed that he wouldn’t have to, as the screen notified him of a pair of prominent changes that were starting to occur on Steve’s chest and crotch. Chuckling once again, he then yanked down a small lever, causing the alarms and red warning lights to shut off abruptly. “Ah yes, that finally solves the possibility of us being disturbed by any actual SHIELD agents.”

Relieved that the obstruction in his windpipe had faded away, Steve let out a soft sigh… a very soft sigh, one that melted into a confused moan as he started to feel a warmth build up in his chest and groin. Although the former was somewhat concerning, as Steve wondered if this was the result of whatever he had managed to accidentally ingest… the latter was producing a rather familiar sensation within him - one that he hadn’t truly felt since… since before he crashed into the Arctic. His mind was of course immediately filled with thoughts of the one woman who could stir these feelings within him - Peggy Carter. From her wavy brown locks, plump red lips and the silky accent that came out of it… backed with a defiant and determined personality that he admired so much. A slight blush spread across Steve’s cheeks; his lips pursing tightly together as he struggled to stifle a moan, not wanting such a reaction to be seen by his greatest enemies.

His manhood started to show its appreciation for these long ignored desires, Steve noticed that his chest was starting to feel heavy; his breaths automatically becoming heavier and quicker as a result. Looking down at his chest, Steve gasped sharply as multiple sparks of pleasure jolted out from his nipples and flowed straight down into his groin. He wasn’t sure what was happening, and he couldn’t deny that it felt good, but Steve knew better than to let it disarm him.
“Wha… what’s happening to…” his eyes widened as he finally realised how different his voice was now. “What have you done to me, Zola?!”

Zola shrugged. “I haven’t done anything, Steve… or should it be Stephanie? I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. But whatever has happened to you has ultimately been your own body’s already altered genetic structure coming into contact with my serum. And well… the changes have been quite unexpected, to say the least.” As if on cue, another blissful barrage surged through Steve’s chest, and this time he couldn’t stop the high, girlish moan slipping out of him. His manhood pressing firmly against his attire, Steve also became aware of a slight tenderness appearing in his nipples as they rested gently against the same fabric that made up his bodysuit, sending a couple more hot flashes through him.

“It doesn’t… it doesn’t matter what you do to me,” he said listlessly, his mind starting to buzz from the pleasure he was feeling. “I’ll never work for the likes of HYDRAaaaaaaaah~!” he was interrupted by the pleasure in his chest suddenly spiking; the two small mounds that had been growing out this whole time began to grow dramatically, rounding out with the same supple and spongy tissue that resided in his thighs and ass, filling the space in his bodysuit in mere moments.

Warm waves washed over Steve’s body as this change occurred, and he let out a stream of moans, gasps and coos as his manhood trembled and pulsed as a tension swiftly built up within its length. The moment this pressure reached his sensitive throbbing tip, it coincided with the growth of his breasts finishing up - this sent Steve’s body over the edge as it unleashed an enormous gush of ecstasy, something that was marked by a piercingly passionate shriek that was drawn out as Steve attempted to silence himself. Bangs came out from within the casket once again, but instead of it being from limbs trying to break free, it stemmed from a pair of wide, curvy hips bucking instinctively in an attempt to maintain the sensation. His member pumping out what would be Steve’s final male orgasm, each burst caused both his rapidly emptying testicles to withdraw into his crotch, slipping inside with a tiny wet slick slap before burying deep into his hips and forming into a pair of ovaries. As the last tiny drops oozed out of his length - if it could hardly be called that anymore when it had been following his testicles and submerging into his newly created folds, it nestled itself just above his slit as it became a clitoris, finalizing the second transformation that Steven had endured in his lifetime.

Slumping against her restraints, Steve’s mind was a hot mess that buzzing in the aftermath of her orgasmic high. Eyes lidding as her vision blurred, she was just able to make out Zola pressing a button on the panel - another flash of pain pierced through her head as the needles pulled themselves out, causing her to let out a low, slurred moan. Zola’s mouth moved, but Steve realised that she couldn’t hear anything coming out of it. He then leaned towards a tiny silver mic and said; “Can you hear me, Captain?”

“Yes…” Steve mumbled, a part of unsure as to why he felt like he needed to answer.

“Good, good.” Zola said gleefully. “It seems that my formula has finished bonding to your body. Whilst I can’t say I was expecting your… drastic physical changes, as the idea of having Captain America under my control would certainly be much more devastating for SHIELD’s morale once my plans are further developed… but nevertheless, I shall not complain now  that I have a perfect replacement for Sergeant Barnes. I can only hope your mind is now as malleable as your body seemed to be-”

“What do you… what do you mean replacement?” Steve gulped.

“Sergeant Barnes has been a valuable asset to HYDRA, but now that I have you… well, there is no point in having a cripple for an assassin, is there?” The casket boomed ominiously as Steve’s hands immediately slammed against it, this time causing two small dents inside of it. Some of the scientists backed away, but Zola remained absolutely still.

“Don’t you… don’t you dare hurt him!” Steve growled. “If you do, I’ll… I’ll never…”

“I know, I know.” Zola sighed, placing his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. “If I’m going to require your full… servitude towards HYDRA, I can’t have you being infuriated. Very well. Sergeant Barnes shall be left alive - but if you dare disobey your orders, I assure you he will be missing much more than arm.” The scientist pressed the button, and once again the tubes connecting to the helmet resting on Steve’s head were filled with the same green liquid as before, although there was only enough to fill up the end of the tubes. The liquid also seemed to be darker,as if it made up for the little amount by being made out of much more concentrated chemicals. Another sting flared through Steve’s skull as the needles were reinserted… but it quickly faded away as a dullness filled his mind… his vision fading further into darkness, the last thought Steve had before he went unconscious was that of all the friends and allies he’d made since waking up… and that he wouldn’t end up betraying them.

---

Zola sat at his desk in his SHIELD office, looking through all the various official experiments that had been approved by Howard Stark and Peggy Carter. Scanning through them, he rolled his eyes at how uninspired they all were - the only thing that truly interested him now was Dr Pym’s works, and even these were boring him when he saw how the man was utilising his discovery: Shrinking buildings and vehicles when something like time-travel was within his grasp! Fortunately, he was interrupted by this chore when someone knocked lightly on his door.

“Come in!” the door opened, revealing none other than Henrik.

“Doctor Zola, I have come to tell that the uh…” he glanced behind his shoulder, looking at all the various SHIELD agents walking or sitting at their own desks. “That your uh, report is ready and waiting to be read.”

Zola grinned. “Ausgezeichnet. Let’s be on our way.”

Henrink immediately spun around and shut the door behind him, locking it just to make sure. Standing up with a huff, Zola turned around to face the bookshelves behind him. Scanning through him, he eyed the book titled The Labours of Hercules. Grabbing it the spine, he gently pulled it backwards - and it stopped midway with a hollow clunk. The bookshelf then pulled itself aside, revealing a small corridor with an elevator at the end. The two scientists entered it, and once Zola had pressed the button to take them down, the bookshield repositioned itself, sealing them in darkness… Until they arrived at the hidden HYDRA base underneath. Entering a massive room that was filled with countless rows of retro computer technology, a majority of which were still in the process of being built. As Zola and Henrik walked forwards, they eventually found themselves standing in front of a desk with a large, squarish computer monitor.

“I shall tell the others that you’ve arrived,” Henrik said. “They’ll bring the asset here for you.” He strode off down another corridor to the right, leaving Zola all on his own. Sighing heavily, he rested a hand on the edge of the monitor. With all this insane advancement in his plans, Zola was more ambitious than ever for HYDRA - if only Schmitt could see him now! He hadn’t been that snivelling, meek scientist who was overwhelmed by the sudden betrayal of his Nazi colleagues… not that he’d ever truly believed in their pathetic ideals in the first place. But now he was the one who had resurrected HYDRA with in the home of its greatest enemy… if only he could live to see it.

The doors in the distance flung open, and Zola yanked his hand back. Henrik had returned with two of the other scientists… and both of them wheeling along the same large casket that Captain America had been in earlier, although this time even the top half was sealed off, meaning his… or rather her body now utterly hidden. Once it was in a few feet in front of Zola, they stopped and Henrik cleared his throat before announcing; “Doctor Zola, allow me to introduce you to HYDRA’s newest operative: Ophelia Sarkissian.” He nodded at one of the scientists, who then input a series of code into the keypad on the side - with an ominous hissing noise, the casket opened, revealing the woman who was once Captain America. If there were any of his allies were here, Zola was absolutely sure that they would never be able to tell it was him, especially now that he was no longer wearing the whitish red attire that he had been found in.

“Tolle…!” Zola gasped as he took in the sight before him.

“I apologise for taking so long for her to be prepared,” added Henrik. “It took us a little while to remove the armor he had been wearing… the stuff it is made out of is incredibly advanced; I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before. We made sure to keep it as intact as possible so that we can attempt to replicate it, however.”

“Good, good.” Zola raised an eyebrow. “Sarkissian... Isn’t that an Armenian surname?”

Henrik nodded. “Yes, it’s commonly from there… but the records I’ve made of her state her as being from Hungary, just to make it harder for her to be tracked.” The woman groaned, and everyone immediately looked at her. “She’s starting to wake up!”

“Has she been programmed properly?”

“Yes, she went through the same procedure as Barnes - I performed the trigger before I brought her here just to make sure.”

The woman’s eyes flickered, and she frowned momentarily before they snapped open, revealing the same green shade that they had been bestowed… but now there was no shine to them, as if the mind, the very soul behind them was equally as blank.

“I… I am ready to comply.” she stated in a monotone voice, and Zola chuckled.

“Amazing… you even managed to give her a Hungarian accent.”

“I was thoroughly extensive with the programming, I assure you.” Henrik bragged.

“Then let us see,” Zola remarked, gesturing at two scientists. “Remove her restraints.” They hesitated slightly before pressing two other buttons, and the large metallic coils around her wrists, elbows, ankles and knees unclasped themselves - Ophelia immediately collapsed onto the floor, causing Henrik and the others to yelp and back away.

“Halt!” Zola barked. “Everything will be fine.” The woman rested on one knee, her head bowed as one hand was placed squarely on the grey floor. Shuffling over, Zola peered down at her before saying: “Tell me, mein frau, who are you?”

“I am… Ophelia Sarkissian.” she answered flatly.

“What is your mission?”

“To convince humanity that it cannot be trusted with freedom; to make them surrender it to us willingly no matter the cost.”

Zola grinned. “And will you serve HYDRA? To make sure that this goal - my goal - is completed?” Ophelia raised her head, stared directly into Zola’s eyes… and smiled boldly before she replied:

“No, I don’t think I will.” Before any of them could even register just what she had said, Ophelia grabbed Zola’s cane and snatched it out of his grip, causing him to cry out as he collapsed and slammed onto his back. Springing herself upright, Ophelia swiftly adjusted her hands so she wielded the cane like a bat - and then brought it down on the elderly scientist’s neck twice, a sickening crunch cracking through the air. Kicking his shoulder to make sure he was dead, she then turned around to face Henrik and the other two scientists, who were whimpering as they crouched down on the floor.

“Wh-what have you done?!” wailed Henrik. “You have killed the greatest mind in our organisation!”

Ophelia scoffed. “Oh please, he was dying anyways. Oh, and even if you had copied his into the computers, this whole base gets blown up later, so I’ve really just saved you a lot of money.” Tossing the cane aside like a child that had lost interest in a toy, she strode over to Henrik and grabbed him by the collar, thrusting him into the wall.

“P-Please don’t kill me!” he bawled. “How are you even doing this?! You were conditioned just like Barnes!”

Ophelia pouted. “Awww, don’t be disappointed,” she said in a mocking tone of sadness. “Your little brainwashing attempt did work… sort of. I still remember my old self and what I did, I just feel a lot more… carefree about how I fulfill my goals.” Letting go of Henrik, she stared at the two other covering scientists. “You know, I really expected you to have run off… how nice of you recognise that neither of you could ever think to outpace me.” As she stood there, she placed a hand on her hip and gasped as she felt just how broad and curvy her hips had become. Looking down, her mouth dropped as her free hand immediately cupped a breast. “Oh my, I had actually forgotten about these new… superpowers.”

Looking around, Ophelia hummed harshly as she noticed a lack of reflectable surfaces nearby, but smiled once her eyes locked onto the computer. Strolling over to the desk, she bent down and peered into the blank black screen and gasped as she saw her reflection - even though it was blurry, she was close enough to make a general view of her face. Tilting and moving her head, Ophelia studied herself for a good minute or two before standing back up. “Well, I’m not going to say I wasn’t aware of the effect I had on the ladies before… but now I’ll be getting a lot of looks from both sides~” Facing the three scientists, she then said; “Now then… Zola was the head here, wasn’t he?”

“Y-Yes he was,” Henrik answered. “Although we of course have other high ranking members stationed across the wor-”

“Good… I’ll need you to forge up a record of coded messages between me and him; about how glad he was to have contacted me, how eager he was to have me working for HYDRA… how he wanted me to even take over directly once his body had failed him.” Looking down at his dead body, she sighed. “Such a shame he just had to fall down those flight of stairs… didn’t he?” she  glared at them, and all three nodded their heads frantically.  “Glad to know we’re all on the same page. Now get to it! I’ll deal with his body.”

The two scientists scurried off, but Henrik stayed. “I don’t understand… you are one of HYDRA’s greatest enemies, and now you’re willingly working with us?”

“Not exactly,” Ophelia smirked. “I think you’ll find HYDRA will be working for me, now. Especially with all the future knowledge I have…” her voice then became much sterner. “If I told you that many, many years from now, Earth will face an enemy who is far greater and more powerful in ways that no-one on this earth cannot even begin to comprehend, would you follow me?”
Henrik gulped. “I-I… yes, I would.”

“Thank you. Now go, you have your orders.” Henrik nodded and darted off in the same direction as the other two. Now that she was alone, Ophelia placed her hands on her hips and let out a weary sigh, her head bowing. Although her mind had indeed been affected by HYDRA’s programming, it was as if she was super strong mentally as well as physically. Closing her eyes, she could still remember her old life; being contacted by Fury, joining the Avengers… seeing Tony Stark perform the greatest of all sacrifices. But it felt almost as if she was watching a movie, and what Steve had felt during those moments was now more like sympathy than an actual experience. Clenching her fists, she remembered what she’d thought as she was trapped in the casket - that no matter what happened to her, she would make sure to use whatever HYDRA gave her to help the world, not imprison it.

Glancing at Zola, Ophelia bent down and stuck her hand into his pockets, pulling it out once she had grabbed the small capsule that was filled with the red Pym Particles. A part of her wondered where her suit was, wondered if it was worth travelling back in time now that her desire to stay with Peggy was no longer a possibility… She closed her fist tightly, and there was a tiny crackling sound as she felt the glass break around her fingers - the particles sparked and fizzed in her palm as they were finally free, disappearing as they shrunk into the quantum realm.

Wiping her hand against the tight, leathery green leg of her bodysuit to get rid of the glass resting in her glove, Ophelia was already beginning to brainstorm her new plan: There was still a version of herself in the Arctic right now, sleeping… if she couldn’t fulfill her own dreams, then the least she could do was make it so another self could: Once she was instated as the leader of his branch of HYDRA, at least, she would make sure that Bucky was brought as close to here as possible so neither he nor Tony would ever have to go through that trauma. Then, once he was ready, she would get him to invent an Ultron that wasn’t as extreme in its goal to protect humanity… oh, and of course cancel Project Insight. Perhaps then, when Thanos finally arrived, it wouldn’t have to end with Tony or Natasha’s deaths. As for Captain America… Ophelia smiled - she’d start by at least making it so the baseball game they heard when they woke up wasn’t one they’d been to before.