Zola knew that the others didn't trust his judgement...of course they didn't. He wasn't the one to create HYDRA...that was all Schmidt's doing. And look what his madness had finally given him. An early death.

He would not be so easily defeated. See, to defeat your enemies, you must first know them...know their likes and dislikes...and their weaknesses.

And SHIELD...he laughed. He knew their greatest weakness.

They trusted far too easily.

HYDRA would flourish and the greatest part was that it would grow right under their noses and from their ranks they would pluck their soldiers. So as they weakened, as all host bodies eventually do, they would emerge stronger than before.

They would be unstoppable!

And if any opposed during their rebirth...well, that is what their asset was for. To silence those voices before they are heard.

It was either fate or luck that placed Sergeant Barnes within his grasp again. He was one of the more interesting specimens for him to have worked on. It was such a pity about the arm, of course, but with the technology that Schmidt had placed at their disposal, it was an easy fix.

He folded the white cloth covering the unconscious man and gave a pleased smile at the gleaming arm he revealed.

"Yes an easy fix indeed...and impressive too."

"Dr. Zola, we have the test results back."

The small man turned at the news and nodded. "Bring it here."

His assistant nodded and handed the clipboard over. Zola shooed him away with one hand before turning his eyes to the papers before him.

He smiled widely, "It would seem, Sergeant Barnes, that you are a perfect match. The serum will work. You should be proud. You will do great things in the name of HYDRA. Great things!"

It only took 12 years to figure out the greatest downfall of the program.

Not everyone was a match for the serum. That was severely hindering to HYDRA future.

He shook his head as he watched the footage from Serbia.

And not to mention disappointing.

They couldn't rely on just one soldier, of course, no matter how much of a success he was.

They were Hydra, if one died, two would rise in its place. He must fix it.

What if the conditioning didn't take or he failed a mission and was destroyed? He couldn't chance it.

He gave the order and the asset was frozen.

HYDRA was just finding its footing within SHIELD, it's rise to glory could wait a few more years.

Then it came to him one day as he was studying the blood samples of their new asset.

He noticed the serum was bonded tightly to the DNA strands and he laughed.

"Of course! What if the serum could be passed through the blood, or more specifically, the genetic make-up? As when a child is created."

It was genius. If the child was born with the serum in its blood, it would take to more serum without such violent side effects. The next generation of HYDRA soldiers fathered by his greatest creation.

He smiled and patted the cryostasis pod that held the Winter Soldier frozen in time.

"Like Adam, you will have your Eve, Sergeant. And from you both shall come the strongest soldiers to ever fight for HYDRA. You shall not be alone for long, my friend."

It took forty years and many failed attempts until Zola's vision of the perfect Hydra soldier would come to fruition and not by his design but rather through the design of the heart.

/ / / / /

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

The alarm that signaled a text message on his phone slowly brought Steve Rogers to consciousness and he rolled over in his bed to grab sleepily at it.

He turned it on, blinking the bright light from his eyes, before looking at who the message was from.

He sat up in bed, sleep completely forgotten at the name that popped up.

It was Natasha.

'New info on ghosts. Must read. File in inbox.'

His brow furrowed.

Ghosts?

He pulled himself out of bed and sat down at the table in front of a silver laptop.

When it powered on and he logged in, a notification popped up.

He clicked on the link and all of a sudden a video popped up.

Steve held his breath then let it out in a long exhale.

He clicked play.

It was a Hydra lab and in the middle was a young woman heavily pregnant laying on a bed, clearly in labor.

The young woman screamed and screamed at the agony coursing through her.

The nurses surrounding her were whispering in Russian to her, trying to soothe her but it was only when a cold metal hand touched her forehead that she finally quieted down.

There were still tears streaming down her face as she looked up.

"moya zvezda."

A low voice answered hers.

"mMy malen'kiy volk. Ot sebya."

She shook her head.

"I can't. It hurts too much."

"Ot sebya!"

He growled.

She nodded before gritting her teeth and baring down, until finally a tiny cry fills the air.

"It's a girl!"

The metal hand wipes over her cheek, brushing the hair from her face before nodding.

"khoroshaya devochka."

"Yes, good girl, indeed. You have done your job well, Syrena."

The young woman reached her arms out.

"Can I see my baby, please?"

"I suppose you may."

The mysterious man lifts the baby up and brings it close to her, but before Syrena could touch her baby, the man turned away and headed towards the door.

"Wait! You said I could see my baby?"

He stopped and chuckled darkly.

"Yes, but I didn't say anything about holding her, now did I?"

Syrena breaks down, sobbing at his words, causing the metal hand caressing her head to still.

The asset moves to stand and faces the other man.

The guards having seen this before, ready their weapons on the assassin.

The Winter Soldier advances on him, but stops when a gun is pressed to the child's head.

"Now, now, asset, I would think after all this time, you would know better than to try and threaten a superior officer, YOUR superior officer. Now this child is very important, but we could always wipe your mind and start over. Wouldn't you like that, the both of you?"

The Winter Soldier stops and immediately takes a step back.

"Now I must thank you both for your service to Hydra in this endeavor. Zola would've have been cross at the realization that he didn't need any special conditions, just an asset and his student to grow attached to one another. "

He turned to the guards in the room.

"Take them both! Wipe their minds and put them on ice. We do not know if this child will be a success for a few years yet. Better to have a failsafe in that event."

The Asset was rigid with rage..

He looked from the guards, to Syrena, and finally to the infant he had fathered.

He could only stare at the small wiggling form in Strucker's arms, as flashes of a little baby girl with dark hair flitted through his mind.

"Rebecca."

Baron Strucker looked at him with shock.

"What was that?"

The assassin grabbed his head and groaned.

"R-Rebecca."

The Baron smiled.

"Rebecca? You gave the child a name, did you? How quaint, seeing as she is coming with me."

Winter Soldier took a step forward again, but Baron only cocked the gun.

"I would so hate to have to start over again so soon."

The asset knelt to the ground and put his hands on his head.

"YA budu podchinyat'sya."

Baron Strucker laughed.

"Good dog. Still doing your master's bidding even when you are malfunctioning. Zola did an outstanding job on you."

Syrena sobbed harder.

"You bastard! Give me my baby back!"

Baron Strucker smirked evilly at her and motioned his head at the guards.

"Better yet, wipe only the asset. Let her keep her memories."

He turned back to her.

"Let this teach you, my dear, that Hydra will always be the one in control. Always."

He bounced the baby in his arms.

"Come, little one, let your future for Hydra begin."

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

Steve was breathing heavy, his hands shaking with rage as he braced them on the table. It took everything he had not to rip the laptop apart.

His friend had been used by Hydra time and time again.

A single tear slipped down his cheek.

When was Bucky going to finally be free?