“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Was all she could say.
“No one usually does.” Draul said.
They fell into a calming silence before Ororo’s curiosity, or was it sympathy got the best of her, and she once more asked the man who had more to his story than she ever knew.
“…. What did it feel like? When you weren’t in control, how did it feel?”
Draul's first response was to tell her to stop this line of questioning but he felt since he hadn’t spoken with anyone about it, it wouldn’t hurt to do so now.
Even if she told, what would they do? Taunt him about it? Jokes on them because he was never brainwashed. But that didn’t mean he didn’t know what it felt like.
“It’s like drowning in a sea of sand. There is no hope for you to swim, but then suddenly you are given the chance to obey an order in order to survive. With despair clouding your mind, the only thing you can do is agree but by then you would have forgotten everything that ever mattered because the first order they gave you was: obey us. And then everything stops. You no longer think, because they’ll do it for you. You no longer act on your own, because they’ll direct you…” He looked at her for a second, “You no longer have emotions, because they deemed it unnecessary.”
Ororo was stunned into silence. She didn’t know what to think. Sure there were cases of hate, persecution, kidnapping and trafficking and some worst cases like rape and organ harvesting but this was the first time she had come across brainwashing so she didn’t know how to react to it when the person saying it was so calm like he was talking about someone else. No! If he was talking about someone else, there would have been some expressions on his face but it wasn’t that either. It looked as if he was telling some boring bedtime story or the synopsis of some lowly rated movie.
“How do you cope with it then? The trauma I mean.”
Draul pondered on that question for a while and he couldn’t come to an answer. He couldn’t say it was because he rewired his brain as that would just be plain stupid.
“I don’t know. Maybe killing them helped me get some sort of compensation.” He shrugged.
“I know it might not mean much to you, but for what it’s worth I’m sorry for what you had to go through.” If before she wasn’t sure, now she would do her best to get him some help. But there was a problem with that thought.
“You don’t have to be. I manage fine, at least now you know why I wanted to rip baldy’s head off.” She flinched as Draul said that. This was the problem.
“You know he’s sor-”
“Ororo, I am enjoying the conversation we’ve been having but if you want to defend Charles we’ll have to stop it here, or at least you give me a good reason why he never said sorry. Not once.”
She hung her head down as he said that, not that she expected less from him after she heard his story.
“I understand your faith and trust in the guy, well not really, but do you really think this was the first time he’d done something like that. This is someone that made a decision to change who I was in less than four hours after meeting me. This isn’t just brainwashing but psyche remodeling, it’s changing who a person is at his base. Let’s face the facts here okay? And if you are going to say he did it for a reason then I’ll have no choice but to yeet you out of the car. If he was all about the greater good, don’t you think he would have done so with Eric? He was literally best friends with the guy for years and you don’t think he noticed when his homeboy was going all Darth Vader?” The anger could be felt even as Draul spoke. “You can’t seriously believe what he attempted to do to me was something he never did, or something he had done a long time ago. I am willing to bet all my budding fortune that one of your teammates have been ‘helped' by Charles.”
“Dra…” Ororo wanted to say that he would never do that to someone, let alone them but she couldn’t bring herself to say it with all honesty. There was a budding doubt, a very small one, but one nonetheless.
“You see. When presented with the facts, even you don’t fully believe that. While some might argue that he did it with the best interest of heart, who’s to say that he wouldn’t do it over and over again when he finds an ability he’s afraid of. Bobby who came with you could freeze an entire country if he pushed his ability far enough. Kitty could very well phase between dimensions and time streams, Scott could tear a hole through the Earth’s crust if his ability evolved to a higher form. The less said about you and Jean the better. All I’m trying to say is that everyone in your little group is a Country-Level threat, some even Continental. What’s to say he hasn’t ‘made sure’ you don’t go ‘overboard’? There is nothing more dangerous than a man with loose morals.”
The more Ororo listened, the more she couldn’t refute it and she hated that thought. This was someone she willingly decided to follow and yet she couldn’t come his defense when it mattered. Was her trust in the man so fickle, or was it really…. She shook her head.
“I see it has given you a lot to think about. You could just take it with a grain of salt or the delusions of a paranoid man. For all you know I just might be bullshitting.” Draul rested his head into the seat as he looked at Logan, Steve and Bucky having a conversation.
“But you are not, are you? At least you look like you are sure of what you are saying.” She took in a deep breath digesting what she had heard and suppressing all other stray thoughts for when she had a bed to rest on.
“What of your team and the little shit? Where they at?” He changed the topic which she seemed to appreciate as the conspiracy theories was becoming more than what she could take.
“Sorry about Scott. He’s…”
“A kid. That’s all he is, he’s what 20? 21? Maybe if he took his head out of his ass then he’ll realize that the world doesn’t revolve around him.” Draul huffed as he thought about the visor-wearing kid. He tried his best to overlook his cub-alpha behavior because of how young the boy was, if he had been someone like Logan then the least Draul would have done was take an arm.
“Yeah, but cut him some slack. He’s had it rough.” Ororo said.
“Everyone’s had it rough, Ororo. It’s more true when it concerns metahumans. Giving him the reason to use that excuse because of his behavior is no different than condoning it. If everyone at the Mansion started behaving like he does, Logan would have been wanted for multiple counts of homicide.” She laughed as he said that.
“I here you loud and clear. About you second question, Logan didn’t want another fight between us so he told them to wait being while we both came to talk with you guys.” She said.
“Nice call on Logan’s part. I don’t trust to be able to hold back if his smart ass made another not-so-smart comment.” Draul chuckled.
“Yeah we figured.”
They engaged in small talks before Logan and the rest started walking towards them.
“Looks like we’ll have to cut our talks here. It was nice meting you, Draul.” Ororo said as she step out of the car and left with Logan.
“You guys done with your talk?” Draul asked as Bucky and Steve got into the car, but this time Steve was riding shotgun.
“Oh we are done with ours. Were you done with yours?” Bucky asked with what could be called a teasing smirk on his deadpanned face.
“We were just talking, Bucky.”
“Uh uhn.” Bucky just snorted.
“What do you mean ‘uh uhn’? When was the last time you had a love life?” The car went as silent as a graveyard. “Yeah. Thought so.” Draul said as he drove the car away form the base back to their hideout.
…
They were back in the Moscow by the next day after combing through the abandoned railway station Stryker used as his hideout.
“Fury called. He’s expecting us on the next flight home.” Steve said as he got off the call with a raging Fury.
“Yeah, about that. Tell him we’ll be late by a few days, at most a week.” Draul said as he held a thinking posture with his hands stroking his beard.
“Any reason for that?” Steve asked.
“Two actually. Second is because we haven’t taken care of HYDRA Russia.” A look of realization struck Steve as he finally remembered why they were here in the first place – HYDRA, not Sentinels.
“And what’s the first?” Bucky asked.
“We are going to destroy the Red Room.” The second Draul said that, Bucky face changed into a very serious expression. Steve who saw this became confused. “What’s the Red Room?”
“It’s an facility where they train and brainwash female spies for the Russian and Soviet government. It was something that started due to you and Bucky’s success as soldiers for your respective government.” Bucky looked down while Steve was speechless. “Any orphaned kids, some even being taken away from their families, are being taken and put through the program when they are as young as five. Trained in the acts of seduction, espionage, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, acrobatics, tactical knowledge, using everything, even their own bodies as weapon to take down their targets. The weak are killed off leaving only the best. It was Soviet-Russia’s answer to the Winter Soldier that HYDRA made. You could call them the best female assassination organization on the world.”
“You know that if we do this, we would be risking diplomatic war between Russia and the US.” Bucky advised but he got the answer he expected.
“And? It’s not like we are under S.H.I.E.L.D or any of their organizations. It might be a bit harder for you two based on your histories and you can’t just say ‘Fuck you’ if the country’s forces decides to come for your ass. But I’m different. If you don’t want to risk it then you guys should take that plane so as not to be implicated and I’ll stay back to wreck some femme fatales parade.” Draul offered.
The two super soldiers fell silent as they thought about their choices which didn’t take long to make.
“I’m no longer a soldier, technically I’m dead which also makes me a free man. The war might be over but that doesn’t mean it ended. It just devolved into meaner scuffles.” Steve said as he tightened his shield straps to his hands.
“Always the soldier aren’t you? Still can’t live without a fight huh?” Draul said which caused Steve to give him a wry smile since what he said was spot on. They both turned to look at the Winter Soldier who to his credit only shrugged.
“No profound reason here. It’s just a case of ‘a good deed a month’ to me. It’ll help with the nightmares anyway.” Bucky said muttering the last part to himself which only Draul heard but the latter said nothing.
“You could have phrased that a little nicer you know.” Steve told his ever stoic best friend who just shrugged as if it was nothing.
“Okay people! Since we’ve all agreed to the bro code, I don’t think there is anything more to say. Steve, do remember to keep your 90 year old hormones intact.” Bucky burst into a fit of laughter as Draul said that while the one addressed had a helpless smile on his face. They were going to a facility where everyone inside were taught on the act of seduction, of course he would be the one picked on, were the thoughts that flew through the former American soldier’s head.
“Let’s just get this over with.” He said as they drove away.
“So that girl, you planning on going for her?” Bucky asked Draul while referring to the white-haired black woman who was with him in the car.
“Why would you think that?” Draul asked with a confused face while he steered the car.
“Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you don’t end up like us old men. Single till your eighties.”
“Real funny Bucks. But it’s not like that, we were just talking about the Dumbledore of a Proprietor she had.” Draul told.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why does it even matter?”
“… Steve, Logan and I had a bet on what you two were talking about.” Bucky confessed.
“And you thought what? That I was… flirting with her? And let me guess, Steve bet on that while you didn’t.” Draul said with exasperation as he saw Steve passing the brooding soldier a 10 dollar note.
“… How long do you think it’ll take for Steve here to get a new girlfriend after he lets go of his former one, which is actually debatable?” Bucky asked after a while which caused Steve to do a spit take.
“…”
Draul: “A thousand says 3 years.”
Bucky: “Double that says 5.”
Draul: “Deal.”
Steve: “…?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Was all she could say.
“No one usually does.” Draul said.
They fell into a calming silence before Ororo’s curiosity, or was it sympathy got the best of her, and she once more asked the man who had more to his story than she ever knew.
“…. What did it feel like? When you weren’t in control, how did it feel?”
Draul's first response was to tell her to stop this line of questioning but he felt since he hadn’t spoken with anyone about it, it wouldn’t hurt to do so now.
Even if she told, what would they do? Taunt him about it? Jokes on them because he was never brainwashed. But that didn’t mean he didn’t know what it felt like.
“It’s like drowning in a sea of sand. There is no hope for you to swim, but then suddenly you are given the chance to obey an order in order to survive. With despair clouding your mind, the only thing you can do is agree but by then you would have forgotten everything that ever mattered because the first order they gave you was: obey us. And then everything stops. You no longer think, because they’ll do it for you. You no longer act on your own, because they’ll direct you…” He looked at her for a second, “You no longer have emotions, because they deemed it unnecessary.”
Ororo was stunned into silence. She didn’t know what to think. Sure there were cases of hate, persecution, kidnapping and trafficking and some worst cases like rape and organ harvesting but this was the first time she had come across brainwashing so she didn’t know how to react to it when the person saying it was so calm like he was talking about someone else. No! If he was talking about someone else, there would have been some expressions on his face but it wasn’t that either. It looked as if he was telling some boring bedtime story or the synopsis of some lowly rated movie.
“How do you cope with it then? The trauma I mean.”
Draul pondered on that question for a while and he couldn’t come to an answer. He couldn’t say it was because he rewired his brain as that would just be plain stupid.
“I don’t know. Maybe killing them helped me get some sort of compensation.” He shrugged.
“I know it might not mean much to you, but for what it’s worth I’m sorry for what you had to go through.” If before she wasn’t sure, now she would do her best to get him some help. But there was a problem with that thought.
“You don’t have to be. I manage fine, at least now you know why I wanted to rip baldy’s head off.” She flinched as Draul said that. This was the problem.
“You know he’s sor-”
“Ororo, I am enjoying the conversation we’ve been having but if you want to defend Charles we’ll have to stop it here, or at least you give me a good reason why he never said sorry. Not once.”
She hung her head down as he said that, not that she expected less from him after she heard his story.
“I understand your faith and trust in the guy, well not really, but do you really think this was the first time he’d done something like that. This is someone that made a decision to change who I was in less than four hours after meeting me. This isn’t just brainwashing but psyche remodeling, it’s changing who a person is at his base. Let’s face the facts here okay? And if you are going to say he did it for a reason then I’ll have no choice but to yeet you out of the car. If he was all about the greater good, don’t you think he would have done so with Eric? He was literally best friends with the guy for years and you don’t think he noticed when his homeboy was going all Darth Vader?” The anger could be felt even as Draul spoke. “You can’t seriously believe what he attempted to do to me was something he never did, or something he had done a long time ago. I am willing to bet all my budding fortune that one of your teammates have been ‘helped' by Charles.”
“Dra…” Ororo wanted to say that he would never do that to someone, let alone them but she couldn’t bring herself to say it with all honesty. There was a budding doubt, a very small one, but one nonetheless.
“You see. When presented with the facts, even you don’t fully believe that. While some might argue that he did it with the best interest of heart, who’s to say that he wouldn’t do it over and over again when he finds an ability he’s afraid of. Bobby who came with you could freeze an entire country if he pushed his ability far enough. Kitty could very well phase between dimensions and time streams, Scott could tear a hole through the Earth’s crust if his ability evolved to a higher form. The less said about you and Jean the better. All I’m trying to say is that everyone in your little group is a Country-Level threat, some even Continental. What’s to say he hasn’t ‘made sure’ you don’t go ‘overboard’? There is nothing more dangerous than a man with loose morals.”
The more Ororo listened, the more she couldn’t refute it and she hated that thought. This was someone she willingly decided to follow and yet she couldn’t come his defense when it mattered. Was her trust in the man so fickle, or was it really…. She shook her head.
“I see it has given you a lot to think about. You could just take it with a grain of salt or the delusions of a paranoid man. For all you know I just might be bullshitting.” Draul rested his head into the seat as he looked at Logan, Steve and Bucky having a conversation.
“But you are not, are you? At least you look like you are sure of what you are saying.” She took in a deep breath digesting what she had heard and suppressing all other stray thoughts for when she had a bed to rest on.
“What of your team and the little shit? Where they at?” He changed the topic which she seemed to appreciate as the conspiracy theories was becoming more than what she could take.
“Sorry about Scott. He’s…”
“A kid. That’s all he is, he’s what 20? 21? Maybe if he took his head out of his ass then he’ll realize that the world doesn’t revolve around him.” Draul huffed as he thought about the visor-wearing kid. He tried his best to overlook his cub-alpha behavior because of how young the boy was, if he had been someone like Logan then the least Draul would have done was take an arm.
“Yeah, but cut him some slack. He’s had it rough.” Ororo said.
“Everyone’s had it rough, Ororo. It’s more true when it concerns metahumans. Giving him the reason to use that excuse because of his behavior is no different than condoning it. If everyone at the Mansion started behaving like he does, Logan would have been wanted for multiple counts of homicide.” She laughed as he said that.
“I here you loud and clear. About you second question, Logan didn’t want another fight between us so he told them to wait being while we both came to talk with you guys.” She said.
“Nice call on Logan’s part. I don’t trust to be able to hold back if his smart ass made another not-so-smart comment.” Draul chuckled.
“Yeah we figured.”
They engaged in small talks before Logan and the rest started walking towards them.
“Looks like we’ll have to cut our talks here. It was nice meting you, Draul.” Ororo said as she step out of the car and left with Logan.
“You guys done with your talk?” Draul asked as Bucky and Steve got into the car, but this time Steve was riding shotgun.
“Oh we are done with ours. Were you done with yours?” Bucky asked with what could be called a teasing smirk on his deadpanned face.
“We were just talking, Bucky.”
“Uh uhn.” Bucky just snorted.
“What do you mean ‘uh uhn’? When was the last time you had a love life?” The car went as silent as a graveyard. “Yeah. Thought so.” Draul said as he drove the car away form the base back to their hideout.
…
They were back in the Moscow by the next day after combing through the abandoned railway station Stryker used as his hideout.
“Fury called. He’s expecting us on the next flight home.” Steve said as he got off the call with a raging Fury.
“Yeah, about that. Tell him we’ll be late by a few days, at most a week.” Draul said as he held a thinking posture with his hands stroking his beard.
“Any reason for that?” Steve asked.
“Two actually. Second is because we haven’t taken care of HYDRA Russia.” A look of realization struck Steve as he finally remembered why they were here in the first place – HYDRA, not Sentinels.
“And what’s the first?” Bucky asked.
“We are going to destroy the Red Room.” The second Draul said that, Bucky face changed into a very serious expression. Steve who saw this became confused. “What’s the Red Room?”
“It’s an facility where they train and brainwash female spies for the Russian and Soviet government. It was something that started due to you and Bucky’s success as soldiers for your respective government.” Bucky looked down while Steve was speechless. “Any orphaned kids, some even being taken away from their families, are being taken and put through the program when they are as young as five. Trained in the acts of seduction, espionage, hand-to-hand combat, weapons, acrobatics, tactical knowledge, using everything, even their own bodies as weapon to take down their targets. The weak are killed off leaving only the best. It was Soviet-Russia’s answer to the Winter Soldier that HYDRA made. You could call them the best female assassination organization on the world.”
“You know that if we do this, we would be risking diplomatic war between Russia and the US.” Bucky advised but he got the answer he expected.
“And? It’s not like we are under S.H.I.E.L.D or any of their organizations. It might be a bit harder for you two based on your histories and you can’t just say ‘Fuck you’ if the country’s forces decides to come for your ass. But I’m different. If you don’t want to risk it then you guys should take that plane so as not to be implicated and I’ll stay back to wreck some femme fatales parade.” Draul offered.
The two super soldiers fell silent as they thought about their choices which didn’t take long to make.
“I’m no longer a soldier, technically I’m dead which also makes me a free man. The war might be over but that doesn’t mean it ended. It just devolved into meaner scuffles.” Steve said as he tightened his shield straps to his hands.
“Always the soldier aren’t you? Still can’t live without a fight huh?” Draul said which caused Steve to give him a wry smile since what he said was spot on. They both turned to look at the Winter Soldier who to his credit only shrugged.
“No profound reason here. It’s just a case of ‘a good deed a month’ to me. It’ll help with the nightmares anyway.” Bucky said muttering the last part to himself which only Draul heard but the latter said nothing.
“You could have phrased that a little nicer you know.” Steve told his ever stoic best friend who just shrugged as if it was nothing.
“Okay people! Since we’ve all agreed to the bro code, I don’t think there is anything more to say. Steve, do remember to keep your 90 year old hormones intact.” Bucky burst into a fit of laughter as Draul said that while the one addressed had a helpless smile on his face. They were going to a facility where everyone inside were taught on the act of seduction, of course he would be the one picked on, were the thoughts that flew through the former American soldier’s head.
“Let’s just get this over with.” He said as they drove away.
“So that girl, you planning on going for her?” Bucky asked Draul while referring to the white-haired black woman who was with him in the car.
“Why would you think that?” Draul asked with a confused face while he steered the car.
“Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you don’t end up like us old men. Single till your eighties.”
“Real funny Bucks. But it’s not like that, we were just talking about the Dumbledore of a Proprietor she had.” Draul told.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why does it even matter?”
“… Steve, Logan and I had a bet on what you two were talking about.” Bucky confessed.
“And you thought what? That I was… flirting with her? And let me guess, Steve bet on that while you didn’t.” Draul said with exasperation as he saw Steve passing the brooding soldier a 10 dollar note.
“… How long do you think it’ll take for Steve here to get a new girlfriend after he lets go of his former one, which is actually debatable?” Bucky asked after a while which caused Steve to do a spit take.
“…”
Draul: “A thousand says 3 years.”
Bucky: “Double that says 5.”
Draul: “Deal.”
Steve: “…?”
