Old Places, Old Faces

- - - - -

Ana walked down the frozen side walk, her face covered by her black scarf. She was in the snowy mountains of Siberia, venturing for any information from her Hydra days. She was on her own, they way she preferred it this time around. The rest of her team were back at the Avengers facility, waiting for her to check in.

Just two weeks ago, Ben had passed away. She was there for the funeral, and made sure to help as much as she could with May and Peter, burying her own problems. May would constantly cry on Ana's shoulder and all she could do was tell her she was sorry, and that it would get better. She noticed how off Peter seemed. She brushed it off though, thinking he was just mourning in his own way. But little did she know, Peter Parker was becoming a whole other person. Ana sold her childhood home, not that she ever wanted to step foot in that place again, and gave the Parker's every cent in hopes it would take care of everything Ben would usually handle. May, being the selfless one she is, put all of it in Peter's college tuition.

When she left New York, she had given Peter a hug and said, "Don't you ever hesitate to call me. I'm always here for you, bud. Anything that you want to say or talk about, you call me. Okay? I don't want you keeping quiet and carrying all that weight on your shoulders. I love you, Peter."

He had returned the hug with strength she never knew he had, gulping down the words he wasn't ready to say just yet. "I love you too, Ana."

She dug her gloved hands further into her black parka, the wind making her strands of hair blow slightly under the beanie covering her head. It was freezing and she was glad she was wearing her thermal suit underneath. Her backpack carried her notebook, a pistol and pouch of daggers, and her communication device.

She used the monitor strapped to her wrist to follow the map up to the abandoned facility on the top of a mountain. She went by old men and woman, slowly trudging down the path. The sun was setting and soon enough it would get dark and the temperature will drop even further.

Ana stopped and looked around for any people when she made it. When there wasn't any, she detached the monitor from the armguard and scanned the area for any thermal or active technology signals, being wary of security cameras. She walked around the base, waving her monitor to try and get any signal. She smiled when it beeped in confirmation, stating it was clear to investigate.

She removed her scarf so she can breathe better and stalked up to the front gates. The icy air attacked her face as she grabbed the heavy lock and pulled it off, letting herself in. She went to the metal doors, finding that you needed to put the code in using the number pad on the side. She grabbed her phone and scanned the numbers, highlighting the sequence. She pressed 7, 8, 2, 6 and watched as the light turned green.

The door started creaking as it opened, the metal scraping against the threshold. Ana stepped back when the wind blew out of the base, chilling her face. She quickly put her scarf back on and walked inside, using her flashlight to illuminate the abandoned facility.

She frowned in disappointment, seeing nothing but empty space. There were cobwebs draping down from the ceiling, dust and dirt on the ground, flying away when she walked around it, and she thought she could hear the rusting of rats too. Then her monitor started beeping, confirming a signal. She looked down at it and opened her mouth in confusion. She mouthed a 'what the hell' before following the signal.

The beeping became more frequent as she got closer. Her heartbeat matched it too. She was growing anxious, immediately wishing she had someone with her. But they wouldn't understand, she wouldn't want to force them to come anyway. She's seen they way they look at her at times, like they're waiting for her to break down. But she can handle it, she was taught to at a young age.

Ana can substitute explosives with her strength. And that's what she needed to get through the big metal door right in front of her. It looked, almost new, apart from all the scratches and dents in it. There were bright yellow and black hazardous bands on the top and bottom of the door, with Russian symbols painted in red, along with a faded Hydra symbol. She placed the monitor onto her armguard and placed her hands flat against the door. She made sure her footing would support her before pushing. The metal bent under her strength and soon enough it tore itself in half, making a hole for her to get through.

She immediately gagged, smelling the strong scent of decay. There were four, if not five, corpses inside the vault she stepped in. All on the ground with their weapons just arms reach away. As she walked in further, lights illuminated the room, a few flickering from not being used in such a long time.

"Nothing."

She kicked around old books in anger. And went even further by grabbing a metal chair and throwing it across the room cursing. The sound of the collision peaked her interest, she lifted her head and stepped over a body, walking toward the metal wall. She knocked on it, realising it was hollow. She grinned wide and punched her hands into the wall, grabbing the ripped material and pulling it open.

"Oh." She strutted inside the secret room, tapping the monitor on her wrist and scanned the room. It beeped, telling her it was clear.

As she stood in the middle of the room, something clouded her mind. She remembered this place. She looked at the floor and saw the faint marks from where she would train. It was dimly lit so she pressed on the side of the monitor and it let out a stream of light. She waved her hand around, pivoting on her feet until she spotted a stack of files on a desk in the corner of the room.

Ana wiped off the dust and cobwebs, opening the files. She found them. Every file had details on her real family, her abilities, the tests they conducted on her, her training skills, her weaknesses, all the times she was wiped and where. A few even had the lists of languages she learnt and how long it took. Everything in front of her were records of her Hydra life. She took the relevant ones — the tests they did and the times she was wiped — and burnt the rest. She wanted nothing more to do with Hydra. And by watching the flames ignite and the papers burn to ashes, she felt that part of her life fade away.

Ana sighed and walked back out the hole she made, almost tripping on a contraption on the ground. She removed one strap of her bag so she could swing it in front of her and open it up. She heard a whirring sound that she thought was coming from her communicator but found that it was still on stand by. Her eyes glanced to the bodies and groaned, "Shit." She sighed out.

She quickly zipped her bag shut and ran toward the entrance. She had triggered a bomb.

Ana heard the final click just as she dove through the door, an explosion booming behind her. The whole facility shook and the force of the explosion made her hit the floor hard. She winced and covered her head when debris showered over her.

She waited until the final sounds of metal and concrete falling stopped, lifting her head and looking at the damage. "Oops." She whispered and went to get up but instantly stopped and lied back down, crying out when a piece of metal had found its way into her shoulder blade.

"Right in the back." She mumbled, using her hand to reach over her head.

She grabbed the ragged metal and breathed in heavily before pulling it out. She didn't feel anything at first but then she shut her eyes and cried out, clenching her hands into fists.

"Code red, connect to base immediately." She called, knowing the communicator in her bag would connect to the one back at home.

She dragged herself away from the rubble, taking her bag off and digging for the radio. It blinked green, connecting to base. Just when Sam's face popped up, a gun shot sounded and the device was forced away from her hands.

She was roughly pulled up and slammed against the wall she was leaning on. Ana looked at the man, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out at the pain in her shoulder. Vasily Karpov peered down at the girl, a gun pointed at her head.

"Kto ty, chert voz'mi?" (Who the hell are you?) He sneered, pressing the barrel of the gun harder onto her head. Ana was getting tired, her legs almost giving out underneath her. She used her hands to grip the wall behind her to keep from falling.

"Vy znayete menya, Karpov. Eto bylo davno." (You know me, Karpov. It has been a long time.) She breathed out, wincing.

Karpov studied her eyes, looking down at her attire. It then clicked. This facility only experimented on one person, a girl. He then let her go, dropping his gun with wide eyes.

"Katiana?"

"Yep, that's me."

Ana slid down with a groan, her legs sprawled out in front of her. He holstered his gun and kneeled down to her side, still in awe. She had survived everything, she had grown into a woman. He remembered bringing in his soldier to visit the new addition to their cause. She was a smart little girl when he first saw her, always speaking Russian and mucking up a few words only for him to correct her with a chuckle.

"Do you, uh, you mind just not moving around so much? You're making me dizzy." Ana told him, placing a hand in the space in front of him.

Karpov gave her a hard look. "Well excuse me if I need to look at the girl I heard was dead. It's like I'm seeing a ghost, little one." He said, placing his forearm on his knee.

"I died?" Ana looked at him wide eyed. She then shook her head, "Wait, what are you talking about Vas?" She asked, using his nickname she made up when she was seven.

Karpov noticed the way she was zoning out and looked at the blood smearing down the wall from where she dropped. He sighed, gently grabbing her underarms and pulling her up, mumbling an apology when she groaned.

"I'll explain once I get you fixed."

- - -

"So, Strucker told you and everyone else that knew about me that I died?"

"Yes. He didn't want anybody finding out about you. Now stop moving."

Karpov grabbed his knife and cut the string, sealing Ana's shoulder. He noticed all the other scars on her back and smirked, looking down as he packed away his things. "A lot of people stab you in the back."

"That's because they know I'll beat them if they come at me from the front." Ana said, carefully putting on her jacket.

She looked up at him hesitantly, "I'm surprised you didn't shoot me, or take me to any Hydra affiliates." She said.

Karpov rubbed his nose with a sniff and shrugged, "Why shoot you when I can use you?" He asked, smirking. Ana went to grab her gun but then he started laughing, waving his hand. She looked at him with hard eyes.

"Just relax, I don't work for Hydra or the Soviets anymore. I'm retired as you can see." He said, gesturing to the large amounts of empty bottles and food bags laying around.

Ana raised an eyebrow, "Retired?"

"I just said that. What were you doing at the base, little one?" He asked.

Ana looked up as he came to sit on the couch opposite her. He made himself comfortable and waited for her response. She rolled her eyes. "Well, I was looking for any records, files or whatever on me. And I ended up blowing the place up." She sighed, "Can't seem to catch a break." She mumbled to herself.

Karpov hummed to himself and sipped at his water, though Ana smelt vodka. "You didn't find the important paper, did you?" He questioned simply.

Ana narrowed her eyes at him, "What did you just say?"

"The paper." He moved his eyebrows suggestively, and when she glared, he huffed. "You know, with the words. You wouldn't have found it anyway, mostly because of how it would've been too risky to keep it incase SHIELD found out about it. Anyone who knew about it was killed in explosion, apart from me obviously. It was very messy." He waved his hand up motioning an explosion, before placing his hands on his stomach and scrunching his face up.

Ana grabbed her bag and placed it on her normal shoulder, rolling her eyes. "I get the picture, Vas. The paper is gone."

Karpov pursed his lips in thought, before shrugging. "Not exactly. I have the original. It is in a very secret book that is hidden in a very secret place far from here." He said, his eyes drifting to the world map pinned on his wall.

Ana looked at him. She then stood and walked to the front door, making him shoot up from his seat, "Where are you going? That is it, huh?" He asked.

"I'm not even going to try and get it out of you, so I guess I'm leaving. Nice to see you," She smirked, "Not really though." She said, opening the wooden door wide.

"You think I'm going to use the words to control you, yes? Or give it to someone who will?" He questioned, stopping her in her tracks.

Ana turned to shake her head, "No. If you are the only one in this world who knows where it is, and if someday I miraculously find myself in a situation where I can't stop, just remember I know where you live. That manipulation doesn't last as long as it should." She told him.

He pursed his lips, holding her stare. She put her beanie on and nodded once, "This is goodbye." She said before walking down the small hill his little cottage was located on.

"You will never see me again, that is for sure." Karpov mumbled to himself before shutting his door and gulping down the rest of his alcohol. His mind drifted off to an image of a red book, but he shook his head and went in search for more vodka.

Ana had to go home the normal way instead of getting a quinjet sent for her after he shot a bullet through her radio. She sat down at the empty bus stop and waited for the next twenty minutes. She opened up her backpack and took out her notebook, stuffing the pages she took from the facility inside.

Her hearing picked up a weird sound and she looked up to the hills surrounding the roads. There was a flash of an orange circle and Ana rubbed her eyes, thinking she was just seeing things. When she looked again, all she saw were trees blowing from the wind.

"Hmm. Strange."

- - - - -

Hello guys! I hope you enjoyed this one, it was kind of a filler and since I don't know how exactly Ben passes away in the MCU I just did a small part on it and once the movie comes out I'll fix it. There are rumours going around that Zendaya will play Mary-Jane and to be honest if it is true, I think she would do an awesome job.

Q- What do you think Ana saw in the last part? ;)