"No... please..."

I screamed again as they injected me. The liquid ran through my veins, and it burned. First, they had given me the ability to see into others' minds. Now, they were trying to amplify it.

I couldn't control it at first. I would look into their minds by mistake and see things I wasn't supposed to.

They hurt me for that.

I had a shaky grasp on it, but now that they had upped the ante, I knew I would have barely any control whatsoever.

A bang brought my pain to an abrupt stop. The lights flickered and went out.

"Get subject 25X and get out! The captain is here!"

The voice came through one of the bodyguards' walkie talkies. He reached out to me and grabbed my arm.

Suddenly, I wasn't in the lab. I was in a room, watching as the bodyguard held a gun to a girl's head. She couldn't be older that twelve.

"Pull the trigger," a voice said.

There was a loud bang and I screamed as I watched him kill the girl.

Lights flashed and I was back in the lab. I was on the floor and breathing heavily. The bodyguard was next to me on the ground and glaring at me.

"What did she do?" a scientist asked.

"She showed me – she showed me a memory. A bad one," he said.

The scientist glared at me and grabbed my arm. Light flashed again as I was dragged into another memory.

I watched as a young boy thrashed around on a table. He was strapped down at the waist. His arms and ankles were tightly secured. He was screaming like he was experiencing the worst pain possible.

"Help me!" he screamed.

"He shouldn't be reacting like this," the scientist said.

The boy screamed once more and was still.

Light flashed again and I was back in the present.

"Stop doing that!" the scientist yelled.

"I'm sorry," I cried. "I can't – I can't control it -"

"You're lucky the Winter Soldier isn't here," the scientist snarled.

I flinched at the name.

The Winter Soldier carried out most of my punishments. They were always physical, and they always hurt. I was glad to know that he was gone now.

The door to the lab slammed open, and a familiar shield rose as bullets flew for it. The shield flew through the air and I cowered from my place on the floor. I curled up into a ball and placed my hands over my head. Another bodyguard reached for my arm and I screamed, afraid of the memories to come.

He didn't reach me. The shield hit him in the head, and he crumpled to the floor, his hand inches away from my skin. I scrambled back and towards the wall. I looked up to see Captain America looking down at me.

A Hydra agent suck up behind him.

"Look out!" I called.

Captain America turned around and faced the threat. The agent was already moving, lunging with a knife. Captain America moved out of the way, the knife slicing at his hand and cutting his glove away. Captain America kicked the agent in the chest. The agent hit the opposite wall and fell to the floor. He did not rise.

"Hey, come on," Captain America said, reaching for me.

Before I could warn him, his bare hand encased my bare forearm.

Lights flashed once again.

I was on a moving train. Captain America and another man were in the train. The other man, I recognised. The Winter Soldier.

There was a sound like Iron Man's blasters charging up coming from behind me.

"Get down!" the captain yelled.

I dropped to the ground and placed my hands over my head. The captain put his shield in front of the Winter Soldier. A hole was blasted through the wall of the train. I watched as the Winter Soldier picked up that captain's shield and shot at the man. A blast hit the shield and the Winter Soldier flew out of the train through the hole.

The captain picked up his shield and threw it at the bad guy. He rushed to the side of the train and I followed. The captain yelled something that was lost to the wind. The captain began climbing out of the train and towards the soldier who was holding onto the side of the train.

"Hang on!" he called as the Winter Soldier began to struggle and readjust his grip.

The wind tugged at the both of them.

"Grab my hand!" the captain yelled.

There was a metallic screech as the pole the soldier was holding onto started to come off the train.

"NO!" the captain yelled.

The pole disconnected and the Winter Soldier screamed as he plummeted to the ground. The captain's face crumpled in despair.

Lights flashed and I was back in the lab with Captain America. There were tears streaming down his face, and his eyes were damp. Mine were too. I didn't care for the Winter Soldier – I actively hated him, actually – but I felt the captain's pain. It was heart-wrenching, losing a friend that way. He had so much survivor's guilt.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I can't – I can't control it –"

"It's okay," the captain said. "Here, come on."

The captain grabbed my hand with his gloved one. I almost sighed in relief when my sight remained my own, and I wasn't dragged back into another memory. He pulled me up and I walked a total of three steps before collapsing.

Stupid experiments. Using my powers unexpectedly and without my control probably added to that tiredness.

The captain strapped his shield onto his back before slipping his arms under my knees and shoulders. He was careful not to touch my skin and lifted me into the air as if I weighed no more than a feather.

He ran out of the room with me bouncing against his chest. After a few minutes, he stopped running. I turned to see a row of five soldiers standing in our way, guns trained on us.

"Don't damage subject 25X," one of the agents said.

I placed two fingers against my temple and broke into their minds. I cut off their consciousness and they fell to the floor. I sagged into the captain's arms and closed my eyes.

Stay awake, I warned myself. The captain might need me again.

I struggled to keep my eyes open, but I did. The captain ran through the base. A bunch of agents ran into our path. I lifted my fingers to my temple.

"Don't worry," the captain said. "They're Shield."

I slumped back into his arms. We – he – ran out of the base with the Shield agents covering us. As soon as we got onto the jet, I passed out.