The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney. I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

The helicopter carrying Rhodey, Tony Stark, and Trina had just landed at the army base in the Middle East. Rhodey stepped out first and tried to help Tony, who quickly refused, and both turned and helped Trina.

Trina was swiftly losing energy; the past twenty-four hours were catching up to her and despite having started eating again back in the caves, she had been fueled more by adrenalin than actual nourishment. It was such a trial to stand and walk the short distance from the helicopter site to the military building that after only four steps she nearly collapsed, and the man Tony called Rhodey had to pick her up and carry her.

"Colonel Rhodes, I see you found Stark, but who's the kid?" asked another military personnel.

"This is Trina, she was another captive that was being held by the men who held me. There was a third man but he was killed during our escape." Stark was quick to respond, but his tone turned sad at the last sentence. "I'd like her to be checked out by a doctor before any debriefing is done."

At the word "doctor" Trina began to struggle in Rhodey's arms. "No doctor, please!" she cried. Trina had enough of doctors and their cold detached attitudes; the way they stared dispassionately as their patients/subjects cried out in pain and begged for mercy.

At her outburst, everyone turned and stared at Trina. Her fear was evident in her dilated pupils and wild flailing. She was obviously terrified of medical personnel.

"Can we get a pediatrician out here?" asked Colonel Rhodes. "It might be easier on the kid if we have a gentler form of medical care."

"I'll reimburse you once we get state side," added Tony.

The general took another look at the terrified kid and felt his chest constrict as if he were experiencing the girl's fear. Shaking his head the general turned to Stark and Colonel Rhodes and replies, "I know a decent pediatrician who can help, but she'll want to be well compensated for this impromptu trip."

"Not a problem," remarked Stark.

Dr. Aliza Swanson, a thirty-five-year-old pediatrician, stepped off the plane on to the military airfield. She wasn't sure why she was here, but her friend Matt Gabriel had called her a few days ago and asked her to come all the way out to the Middle East to check out a refuge child who had apparently been imprisoned and starved for months. He stated that the girl had a wealthy American benefactor who would see that everything would either be covered or she would at least be reimbursed for her expenses. She didn't need the incentive, she was making the list of necessary travel arrangements once the words child and starved were out.

Seeing her uncle, Aliza quickened her gait to meet him.

"Hi there, Uncle Matt," she greeted. Seeing other soldiers raising their eyebrows, Aliza quickly corrected herself. "Sorry. Good day, General."

General Gabriel just smirked at his niece. Aliza was his elder sister's only child and had a streak of compassion one hundred miles long. If any medical professional could get through to a scared little girl, it was Dr. Aliza Swanson.

"So, General, what can you tell me about my newest patient?"

"She was kidnapped twice, apparently," began General Gabriel. "First when she was two, and those people tortured her for years, before her new captures got ahold of her. They were hoping to get a ransom from the first group. At least, that's what Stark is saying."

"Wait, Stark, as in Tony Stark, the billionaire? You found him?"

"Colonel Rhodes found him a few hours before I called you. Stark was being held by the same group who was ransoming the kid. The minute Stark said he wanted her checked out she went ballistic."

"So obviously traumatized then."

"Stark was saying something about the girl saying she was experimented on by the original group. But I think that's just the trauma talking."

"Where is she?"

Trina sat in the corner of the examination room with her knees clutched to her chest, as she rocked back and forth. She had her eyes clenched shut and was tuning out the words of Stark and Colonel Rhodes. She should have just let herself die back in the caves. Better that then to be in the hands of any more "doctors."

She tried to block out the images of her past, but couldn't. The scenes behind her eyes just kept playing, over and over. The cold lab table, the sharp needles, and the painful feel of the being hit with the electric stick and the lightning machine. She could still feel the pain, hear the cold clipped voices of the doctors and their men. Trina didn't want to be in that situation ever again.

She had just opened her eyes and gathered the last bit of her adrenalin-fueled energy to run as fast and far as she could, when the door opened and a kind looking women stepped in.

Dr. Swanson took one look at the under-fed little girl and felt sympathy well up in her chest. She made note of how under-fed the girl was. The little thing only wore a thread-bare, gray pair of pants and a matching shirt. The shirt appeared to be torn in the back. 'How can anyone do this to a child?!' was the first thought that came to Aliza's mind.

The young girl stood up on shaky legs and immediately tried to run for the door, sadly Col. Rhodes managed to grab her before she even made it five feet from the wall.

"It's okay, miss," Rhodey tried desperately to calm Trina down, "this lady just wants to make sure you're okay."

Dr. Swanson saw how panicked the girl became when she, herself, walked in the room. This reaction told Aliza that the girl may have indeed been experimented on. Why else would a child have such a strong reaction against a doctor.

Rather than attempt to examine the child in this anxious state, Aliza instead walked over to speak with the infamous Tony Stark.

"Mr. Stark, my name is Dr. Aliza Swanson and I've been asked to examine the child."

"Trina," said Stark.

"Excuse me?"

"Her real name is foreign and I can't pronounce it right," Stark stated, "so I gave her the nickname, 'Trina,' and she seems okay with that."

"Alright, well I won't examine Trina until she's willing, but I would like to speak with her. I want to hear her story in her own words. You're welcome to stay; I'm sure that would make Trina more comfortable and willing to open up about what happened."

"What are your credentials if I may ask?" Tony wanted to make sure this wasn't some quack trying to make a name for herself.

Instead of being offended Aliza was glad Tony Stark was looking out for Trina, instead of just pushing the poor girl way once they were both safe. "I have a master's degree in biology and chemistry from NYU and I went to Johns Hopkins medical school, I also did my residency there, as well. I've been a practicing physician for almost ten years."

Stark nodded, semi-impressed, and turned to look at Trina. She was still being held by Rhodey, and at this point, was hyperventilating.

"Mr. Stark," Dr. Swanson spoke to draw Stark's attention back to her. "I need you to talk to Trina and explain all this to her. Tell her I won't even take her temperature without her verbal consent." With that said Dr. Swanson took a seat in a chair that was placed next to the closed door.

Aliza's instincts told her that there was something different with this child and things would go a lot smoother if she had the child's full cooperation.

Tony sighed before he walked over to Trina, who had gotten away from Rhodey and pushed herself, full body, against the wall. Tony lowered himself down enough to be eye to eye with the trembling girl.

"Trina," Tony said, as gently as possible. This was a totally new experience for him. He'd never felt responsible for anyone, especially not a child. "Look at me."

Tony waited until Trina's eyes met his before he continued. "I've spoken to Dr. Swanson," he pointed at the doctor across the room, "and she says she won't examine you until you say it's okay. She would like you to tell her about yourself. She did say I could stay with you while you talked with her. Is that okay?"

Trina looked at Tony with wide eyes, full of fear and uncertainty. "You'll stay with me?" Trina verified.

"If that's what you want, then I'll stay," Tony confirmed.

Trina nodded and stood up on wobbly legs and walked over to the medical bed with Tony holding her hand.

Dr. Swanson had been covertly watching and listening to the exchange and took Trina's arrival at the medical cot as a sign for her to get up and move the chair to the bed. She wanted to be close and felt that the little girl would be more comfortable if the doctor wasn't looming over her.

With Trina sitting on the foot of the cot and the doctor sitting in a chair four feet in front of her, Tony grabbed another chair and sat on the left side of the cot. He was close enough for him and Trina to continue holding hands comfortably. Rhodey had quietly left the room.

"Trina," began Dr. Swanson. "Is it okay if I call you that? I don't know your full name."

"Yekaterina Savinkoff," stated Trina, trying to talk with a false sense of bravado.

"Alright, Yekaterina, my name is Dr. Aliza Swanson and I'm here to make sure your healthy and unharmed. But first, how about you tell me a bit about yourself. Do you know when you were born?"

"The thirtieth of April 1997."

"Okay, now Mr. Stark says your parents are dead. Do you know how long they've been dead?"

"They died the night I was acquired by the men in lab coats. On the seventh of July 1999."

"Acquired?"

"That's what men in lab coats say, 'Subject acquired on seventh of July 1999. Parents removed from equation by the asset.'"

"Asset?"

He was man with a black mask covering his nose and mouth. He had a red star on his arm." Trina pointed to her left arm as she had done with Yinsen. "This man says it was a single clean shot."

Dr. Swanson didn't ask her to verify, but she was amazed that a nine-year-old girl could remember all this. She made note of the child's impressive memory on the notepad she was using.

"Do you have any other family?" asked Dr. Swanson.

"I had a twin sister," admitted Trina. "She was terminated as a subject."

"Terminated?" asked the doctor and Stark at the same time.

"She would not cooperate and made an escape attempt, so she was terminated."

"How?" asked Tony, before Dr. Swanson could.

"They cut her throat," said Trina. She sounded like she was holding back tears.

"Did you see them do this?" asked Dr. Swanson, noticing, from the corner of her eyes, the look of shock on Tony Stark's face. He was most likely thinking the same thing she was, 'What kind of people could do that to a child.'

"Yes," Trina said with tears streaming down her face. "They wanted me to be more compliant. So, they made me watch her die."

"When did this happen?" asked Dr. Swanson, after taking a few moments to compose herself.

"Subject two was terminated on the third of May 2004," Trina said this statement like it a computer.

"Can you describe what happened to you specifically at this… um… lab?"

Trina told her about the cold hard table she was often strapped to, the injection of strange liquids, and the machine that put lightning in her head. She described the painful, burning sensation of the liquid as it flowed into her veins and the pain in her head, hands and back. Also, being hit with the electric stick when she didn't do what the lab coats wanted fast enough.

"Trina," Dr. Swanson said gently, "I would like to check you over. There will be no needles right now, but I need to see if you injured, okay?"

"Can Tony stay?"

"Yes, but there may be times when he needs to turn away, like when you change into this gown." Dr. Swanson held up a medical gown in front of her. "This will make it easier for me to check your skin for any cuts or bruises."

Trina looked over at Tony, who gave an encouraging nod.

"Okay."

Trina changed in to the gown as soon as Tony turned his back, and Dr. Swanson went behind her to tie the gown.

"Did the lab men give you these tattoos?" Dr. Swanson asked.

"What," asked Trina and Tony simultaneously.

"There's a set of feathered-wings tattooed on the whole of your back." Dr. Swanson gingerly touched one causing Trina to hiss and recoil away from the doctor. Aliza swore the wings moved and flexed.

"They never touched my back with anything other than the electric sticks."

"Okay," said Dr. Swanson as she moved away and made some more notes on her pad. "First I'm going to take you temperature. We can do that by poking your ear with this." The doctor showed her the ear thermometer. "This will only take a few seconds"

Trina nodded and gave her verbal her consent, so Dr. Swanson gently put the thermometer in the child's ear.

A few seconds later the instrument beeped, and Dr. Swanson looked at the reading and was shocked at what she saw. The child's temperature was 118.6F, that was twenty degrees higher than the standard body temperature.

'How is this child alive?' Aliza wondered.

"Trina," Dr. Swanson waited till the girl's eyes met her own. Not wanting to scare the child, but needing to know if the she was sick and possibly contagious, Eliza gently asked, "Do have a headache, a cough, a sore throat, or any muscle pain?"

Trina tilted her head in thought, "My back feels like someone took a knife to my shoulders, and the muscle there feel like something was pulling on them. Besides that, I'm sure the other pain has to do with the escape from the caves and the following trek through the desert."

Trina decided not to tell the doctor or Tony about the wing emerging from her back while she had been sailing through the air after the escape. She knew that information wouldn't be received well, just yet.

Aliza wasn't certain that was all true, but regardless she continued examining the child giving her a full head to toe physical. Everything came out normal, strangely normal. The amount of time the girl spent starving herself should have caused major muscle atrophy, but that wasn't the case. Including the time in the desert and the lack of water the child should have major weakness and dehydration, such a thing had occurred with Tony Stark but not with this little girl. It was peculiar.

"Now Trina, I do need some blood samples." Seeing the girl's eyes widen in terror, Aliza quickly came up with a way of keeping the girl calm. She motioned to Mr. Stark to come over to the girl's right side. "Look, I'm going to take blood from your left arm. Meanwhile, Tony is going to hold your right hand. You keep your eyes on Tony and don't look at the needle. That way the needle won't hurt as much. Mr. Stark, if you could keep talking to her, then we can have this done in five minutes or less."

Tony held Trina's hand and began telling her about his house in Malibu, and his computer system JARVIS. Trina seemed fascinated by what was being said, so Dr. Swanson moved to her left and began to gently take blood samples. She let Tony keep the child distracted, except when she needed Trina to make a fist, so the doctor could find her vein.

Aliza intended to test for disease as well as genetic markers. Once she had enough vials she pulled out the needle and wrapped the injection site and told Trina she could look.

Trina was shocked how little pain she felt. The lab coats never seemed to care if they caused her pain they just wanted speedy results.

"You guys will have to stay at the base for a day or two while I make sure these samples are healthy, after that you'll be on your way to the U.S." Aliza smiled at Tony and Trina before leaving to run her tests.

"Well, Trina, I've got a question to ask you," Tony began. "While the doctor was checking you over, the military got a hold of the officials in Sokovia and confirmed that your parents are deceased. They also found out you don't have any relatives."

Trina looked down as tears gathered in her eyes.

Tony started to panic as he saw the tears trail down Trina's cheeks.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't cry, please. Look, you got nobody back in your own country, so I was wondering if want to come live with me?"

Trina looked up at Tony Stark, afraid to hope. "You want me to stay with you?" she asked, scared that she had misheard the billionaire.

"Yeah," said Tony with a smile. "I figured you can't be on your own, plus you managed to put up with me and my ego for weeks and that's more than can be said for most people." Tony gave her a charming smile that Trina hesitantly returned.

"Okay, Tony, I'll live with you."

In a dark warehouse, two men conversed. One dressed like a politician with graying, light brown hair and an all-American accent. The other wore a crisp uniform and a monocle, he spoke with a heavy German accent.

"Are you sure the child recovered from the Middle East is our project" asked All-American.

"I'm sure of it Mr. Pierce, and from what satellite images caught during the escape of her and Tony Stark from the terrorists' caves, the experiment was a success in ways we couldn't have imagined. Should we reacquire it."

"No, it was obviously too stubborn to develop while knowingly under our eyes. After Stark escaped those caves with the use of that suit, he gained the notice of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. They will be monitoring him and the experiment we'll keep an eye on it through them. Let's see how it develops while it thinks it's safe."

"As you wish, sir."

I'm so sorry that this update has taken so long. I've been going through bad situation after bad situation. First my computer gets hacked, then months later my neighbor accidently set her apartment on fire when she fell asleep in bed, with a cigarette in her mouth and her oxygen machine running. Trying to get back on track after that was a nightmare. For those of you waiting for chapter six of Irish Hemlock, I'm working on that next and will hopefully have it up soon.

Also, I'm editing the dates mentioned earlier in the story. I will also be spacing the film events further apart in order to add Trina's personal events and experiences in between the movies. I need Trina to be eighteen by the time Thor: The Dark World occurs. Between that movie and Captain America: The Winter Soldier Trina will visit Sokovia looking for answers to why she was captured and will meet Pietro and Wanda before they volunteer for HYDRA's experiments.

*Forgive all these new updates to previously posted chapters. I'm attempting to alter some dates in order to extend the time between films, as I intend to have stories and events that happen between the canon films.