<div class="floatleft">(http://ilarge.lisimg.com/image/6070450/1118full-kat-dennings.jpg)</div>Karina Baker was born Karina Volkov to Dimitri and Anya Volkov in Moscow, Russia. Bright and perceptive from a young age, she graduated high school at fifteen years old. By the time she was nineteen, she had a bachelor's degree in the medical field.<br/><br/>Despite her accomplishments being unusual for someone so young as her, they weren't the only thing that set her apart from everyone else. When she was seven years old, a freak flood destroyed all the homes in the town she lived in. Karina ended up trapped in her house, water rushing in.<br/><br/>The next thing she remembered, was waking up in a hospital bed. Her parents were asleep in chairs by her side. However, something was...different. She was overwhelmed with emotions. Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, panic, relief... The thing that confused her, was that they weren't<i>her</i>emotions. It was only years later that she realized she had a power known as "empathy".<br/><br/>After she graduated high school, and before she left for college, her parents had told her about when she was trapped by the flood. They told her that she had died in the hospital. She was legally dead for two minutes before she somehow came back. The doctors had even called her time of death. When her heart began to beat again, they put her into an induced coma and kept a close watch on her. After Karina found out, it made sense. Why she suddenly developed this strange power.<br/><br/>Over the years, Karina spent time learning to control her power on her own. She never told her parents, relatives, or even her friends. She just quietly went about her life like any other normal human being. Though, there were days when she just became so overwhelmed with emotions that she would just lock herself in her room and force herself to sleep. Whether she cried, screamed, or just laid in silence and willed herself to sleep.<br/><br/>After she graduated, she was approached by a man who offered her a job. He didn't tell her much, only that the pay was very good, and she'd be able to live in her own house with the salary she would have. Her family would be well taken care of, too. The only catch, was that she had to give the man an answer right there.<br/><br/>Karina said yes.<br/><br/>After the weekend was over, she started her new job. It was there that she was finally informed as to what her job would be. Due to her medical degree, she was placed on a medical team. The team's job was to tend to a...well, Karina could best describe him as some kind of soldier. He always seemed to come back unharmed, though if only covered in someone else's blood...<br/><br/>Whenever Karina was around him, couldn't feel anything from him. It was like he was just a shell of a person. He always just stared blankly ahead. Honestly, Karina had never heard him speak a word in the five years she worked for the organization. The only time she was able to "feel" him, was when they shocked him. Well, "torture" was a more appropriate word for it. She would feel fleeting emotions as his brain was scrambled by the electricity. Pain, fear, loneliness...<br/><br/>Karina knew it wasn't allowed, but she would often find herself staring at his frozen face while he was inside of the cryogenic freezing chamber. His eyes were usually closed, and it almost looked like he was sleeping. If not for the obvious signs of frost that encompassed him. She spent the better part of her breaks in the room, just staring at him and thinking. So far, she hadn't been caught. Karina didn't want to push her luck, but she just couldn't stop. For some time, she began wondering if this was legal. Or even<i>moral</i>.<br/><br/>About a month ago, her employers informed her that she would be transferring, along with most of the organization. When she asked why, they told her it was "need to know information" and she wasn't a part of that list. However, she was informed that the transfer would place her in America. Karina didn't know what to do. She didn't want to leave her family behind, but she also knew that she was able to keep her parents provided for.<br/><br/>Apparently, Karina didn't have much choice in the matter. Her employers were determined to keep her around. Not that she was complaining. The pay was good, her coworkers were civil, and she never had any problems. She mainly chalked it up to the fact that she was the youngest person on the team. Not to mention, one of the smartest as well.<br/><br/>Her parents were sad to see her leave and travel so far away, but she promised she would keep in touch with them. So, Karina left for America with the rest of her coworkers and employers. Her new job had landed her in New York. Surprisingly, she was still able to afford her own place in America. Despite living in Russia since she was born, Karina spoke fluent English as she had studied the language in college. It didn't take her long to adjust to living in America. The only thing her employer didn't tell her, was that she had to change her surname. Not only that, but they wouldn't tell her why.<br/><br/>The day started out like any other normal day. Karina woke up, showered, had breakfast, then headed to work. She entered the building and waved her ID card over the scanner at the door. It beeped once, the light on the pad turned green, and the door automatically unlocked for her. She opened it up and headed down the long stairwell.<br/><br/>When Karina finally made her way into the lab, she wasted no time getting to work. She found out very early on that the less she asked questions about what she was doing, the easier her job would be. The only thing that her mind could focus on, was the man in the cryogenic chamber. She had a lot of questions about him...<br/><br/>Break time finally rolled around, and Karina had fifteen minutes to kill. She ate half her lunch, then got up and walked around to stretch her legs. Before long, she found herself waving her ID over the scanner of the door where the cryogenic chamber was. Where the male subject was held...<br/><br/>Karina shut the door and leaned against it. She stared silently at the chamber before slowly taking a few steps towards it. There was a small window where his face could be seen. Karina stared at the frozen man. Like usual, his eyes were closed; giving off the appearance that he was just sleeping. She wondered if he was actually<i>alive</i>in that chamber. He... He had to be, right? At least in some sense...<br/><br/>Karina slowly brought her hand up and placed in just underneath the glass pane. The tube was colder than she thought it would be. She wondered if it was that cold, or colder, inside. Her hand moved up slowly and her fingertips rested on the glass. She studied his face in silence. The only thing she could hear was her own breathing and steady heartbeat.<br/><br/>Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Karina let out a surprised cry as she jumped back from the chamber. Her heart began to race and the nearby monitor started beeping as it registered his heart rate. It was in that moment, that she realized why one person was never allowed to come into the cryogenic chamber by themselves. In case something like this happened.<br/><br/>Karina stood there in a frozen panic for a few moments, before she turned her attention towards the computer nearby. She quickly typed in an override command and heard the familiar hiss of the chamber opening beside her. She stepped away and watched as a billowing cloud of cold air dissipated and revealed the man within.<br/><br/>Karina stood a few feet from him, her hands shaking at her sides. Her eyes were locked onto him. She didn't want to move. She didn't know what would set him off. All she knew, was that he was a powerful, lethal weapon. He could probably kill her in no time, before she could even blink. However, he wasn't moving towards her. He was just...staring back at her.<br/><br/>That's when she felt it. Felt<i>him</i>. For the first time in five years. He was confused, and Karina could feel it. What's more, she was just as confused as he was. Neither of them moved for some time. Karina felt herself trembling under his gaze. His ice blue eyes were locked onto her.<br/><br/>She didn't know what to do, and she needed to distract herself from the overwhelming amount of confusion she was feeling. So, she opened her mouth and let the words fall out.<br/><br/>"Я ... Меня зовут Карина." She said softly. He understood Russian, didn't he? After all, she had glimpsed his file once and was positive she saw something about Russia in it. That's where she had first began working on him, too.<br/><hr/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Translation</div><div class="spoiler_body">Я ... Меня зовут Карина. - I... My name is Karina.</div></div>