CHAPTER EIGHT
the expendable soldier
　

　
　
FORTUNATELY FOR TONY STARK, GINNY ADLER HAD STOPPED BY WITH LUNCH FOR EVERYONE around the same time that he had been shot. After Steve explained what happened to Tony — how he got shot and how much blood he had lost since it happened — his fiancé immediately jumped into action to save Tony's life. While she worked in the infirmary with the help of Dr. Helen Cho, the Avengers and Maria Hill had regrouped in a seating area to discuss the situation.

"How the hell could this even happen?" Maeve asked as she picked at the grilled chicken salad Ginny had bought her for lunch. "I thought we had security protocols? I mean, this guy shouldn't have even been able to make it inside the building."

"There are protocols," Maria told her. "But his credentials checked out. Security made sure of it before informing me."

"Some security," Maeve scoffed.

Before Maria could say anything else, Clint shook his head from where he was leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and he said, "We should have known. Fury would have contacted us, told us he was sending someone to help."

"We can't blame ourselves," Maria said, glancing around the room at each of them. "There's no possible way that we could have known what would happen. Tony will be okay, though. I've seen people survive a lot worse."

"Do we even know who this guy really was?" asked Steve.

Maria nodded, and they watched as her hand moved around on her tablet before she turned it around for them to see. On the screen, there was a picture of the man that shot Tony, only his hair was much longer and he wasn't wearing any glasses. "He's a psychologist, that part of his story was true, but his real name was Derik Orlov. According to our records, he's worked closely with HYDRA scientists, including Dr. Edrick Karlov. My guess is they need a psychologist for their experiments, and if Ophelia had recognized him, it's safe to assume that she had been a patient of his."

"So, that's why she killed him," Pepper realized. "He must have done something to her, so she wanted revenge."

"Ophelia didn't only do it to protect herself," Steve said.

"What do you mean?" Maeve asked.

"After she escaped her cell, after she killed him, Ophelia didn't even try to leave. She could have easily killed us all with that gun, but she didn't," Steve explained, and Thor nodded in agreement from nearby. "She dropped the gun and she stayed by Tony the entire time. She chose to stay here."

"How was she even able to break free from her cell?" Thor asked.

"I'd also like to know that," said Rhodey.

"I'm not sure how she got out," Steve replied. "But she did. So, we have to keep a close eye on her from now on so that doesn't happen again. We can't leave her alone anymore. Someone has to be watching her at all times."

Natasha glanced around the room, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Who's with her now?"

"Happy," Pepper answered. "He volunteered to keep an eye on Ophelia while we discussed what to do about what happened."

"So, what now?" asked Maeve.

"We wait," Steve said.

"For what, exactly?" Clint asked.

"For Ginny to let us know how Tony is doing," Steve replied. "Once we know the extent of his injuries, we'll inform Ophelia, and then we'll continue doing what we've been doing the past week." He glanced between Rhodey and Pepper. "What happened today was a breakthrough. Ophelia fought her way out of her cell to not only protect her own life, but Tony's life. That has to mean something."

"It's working," Pepper gasped softly. "I didn't think . . ." She reached up to cover her mouth as tears formed in her eyes, and she smiled. "We thought everything we've been doing wasn't working. That . . . that maybe she wouldn't ever remember her life, the person she used to be."

"It has to be working," Steve said, looking directly at Pepper, who's eyes filled with more tears at the realization that her friend wasn't completely lost. "That's the only explanation for why she chose to stay. Ophelia is curious. She wants to know more about her life before HYDRA. So, the both of you, and Happy, are going to continue doing what you've been doing."

Everyone began eating their lunch after that, silence falling over them as they waited for an update on how Tony was doing. As the hours went by, Ginny Adler finally entered the seating area in bloodied scrubs while wiping the blood from her hands on a towel, and everyone turned to look at her.

Steve immediately stood to his feet, looking at her with concern, and he asked, "How is he?"

Ginny glanced around the room at everyone before looking at Steve again. "I'm going to be honest with you all . . . it was push and go for a while. He lost a lot of blood, and it was difficult for me to retrieve the bullet without damaging the arc reactor in his chest, but . . . he's going to be okay," she smiled, and everyone immediately relaxed when they heard the good news. "It's a good thing Dr. Cho was here. She was able to help me repair his tissue cells. That machine of hers will certainly come in handy with this team."

"Can we see him?" Pepper asked, teary-eyed.

"Of course," Ginny replied. "He's resting at the moment. I'm not sure when he'll wake up, though, I had to give him some pretty heavy sedatives to keep him under while I worked."

Pepper crossed the room and threw herself at Ginny, wrapping the woman in a hug as she cried happy tears. "Thank you, so much. I-I don't want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't been here to help him." She pulled away, wiping at her eyes.

"You're welcome," Ginny said, offering the woman another smile before watching as Pepper rushed down the hallway with Rhodey at her side so they could be with their best friend.

Ginny turned to look at her fiancé afterwards and found Steve smiling at her. She smiled back, and then crossed the room, loosely wrapping her arms around his waist and sinking her head into his chest. It was a hug that was obvious they both needed right now after she had spent hours covered in her friend's blood, doing everything she could to save his life.
　

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FOR, PERHAPS, THE FIRST TIME in her life, Viper was confused.

She was expendable, the soldiers and scientists and basically everyone at HYDRA had always made sure she knew that every single time she was given a mission and told to kill someone or retrieve something important for them. But if she was supposed to be expendable, if her life wasn't supposed to matter, then why would Tony Stark risk his life to save her? Why would he willingly jump in front of a bullet for her?

None of it made any sense until Viper had looked at that photograph for the first time.

From the moment she had been taken prisoner by the Avengers, Viper had never looked at any of the photographs they tried to show her while telling their stories. She refused to engage with any of the people who came to visit her in her cell, no matter how curious she became the more she heard about Ophelia Southerns. But after he was shot, after she saw how happy that woman in the photograph looked after her engagement to Tony Stark, it was then she realized just how much she actually mattered.

She wasn't expendable. Her life meant something to these people, most of all Tony Stark. It was obvious to her now that HYDRA had lied about everything. They took her away from a life that she could no longer remember, erased every fragment of the woman that she used to be until Ophelia Southerns no longer existed. And then they gave her a new life, turning her into a weapon that they could control with a few words that meant more to her than she knew. But she wasn't going to be their puppet anymore.

Now that she was far away from the clutches of HYDRA, she could do whatever she wanted. She would never have to go back to that place ever again. She would never have to feel that coldness in her bones as they placed her within her glass chamber, freezing her inside until she was useful to them again and brought out. She would never have to feel the pain of being tortured, of having her insides being pulled apart. Most of all, she would never have to kill for them ever again. She was a free woman now. She—

Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the echo of footsteps.

She immediately lifted her head and watched as Captain America spoke with the man named Happy Hogan, who had been keeping a close eye on her from the hallway ever since the incident. For a moment, Viper became overwhelmed with concern for Tony Stark. It was such a strange sensation, the way her heart leapt inside her chest, beating faster than usual. But she quickly calmed herself and looked away when Happy Hogan left and Steve Rogers walked inside, stopping just a few feet away from her cell.

"Viper," Steve said softly. "I have some news that I thought you might like to know."

He was met with silence. She refused to look at him, refused to let him see the sliver of concern for Tony Stark that was undoubtedly glistening in her eyes at this very moment.

"Tony's going to be okay," Steve told her, and her heart leapt again, beating fast.

He didn't die for me.

She clenched her jaw to keep her emotions at bay, refusing to let him know that they had gotten through to her. That what Tony Stark did to save her life had changed everything.

"It was push and go for a little while, but we have a good doctor. She managed to save his life," Steve went on. "Tony's resting inside the infirmary now. I just thought you'd like to know that he's still alive."

And then with that, he left the room and she was all alone with her thoughts again, this time what appeared to he two security guards being posted in the hallway outside the room so that she couldn't escape again.

As if they could stop me from leaving.

a/n: sorry this chapter was a little on the shorter side, i just didn't want to drag everything on for too long. plus, i felt like it ended on a good note anyways, so 🤷‍♀️ but YAY, viper has finally realized that everything hydra has ever told her was complete bullshit! the way she was so concerned about tony and was trying to hide it from steve killed me omg 😩

also, in the next chapter, we are going to be seeing A LOT of tony and viper moments, and maybe even another flashback too because i know how much you have all been enjoying those little scenes of tony remembering the good old days of him and ophelia being all happy and cute together!