The Black Winter

Chapter 5

Joan's pov
  I ran for a little over five hours. By the time I got back, I was exhausted. Do to the fact that I was running, it was twenty three hundred, and the fact that I haven't slept in five days. I think it was all starting to catch up to me. I head to my room and turn on the shower to the coldest setting.

  I grab an over sized green t-shirt and black sweatpants. I head to the shower and am in and out. The best part about the night was that everyone was asleep, and because of that, I didn't have to cover up my metal arm. Once I get out and get dressed, I go to the floor and lay down on my back.

  All of the sudden I heard crying. I sit up and look to the door. I stand up, grab a sweatshirt and my gloves and head out of my room. I walk up to the door which I heard the crying come from. It wasn't Steve or Bucky, and Sam wasn't here. I slowly open the door and see that its the girl. She was on the floor, sleeping. She was curled up into a ball. Do I help her? What should I do?

  No, I needed to leave her alone. I would only be making things worse for her. I gently close the door and leave. Once I'm back into my room, I take off the sweatshirt and gloves and lay back down on my floor. What a week.

  Come morning, it was sparing day. I had gone another night without sleep. I go to the dresser and get dressed. A long sleeve black shirt with black leggings and my combat boots. I grab my leather jacket and make my way to the training room. I had about another hour until everyone else came down, so I used this time to box.

  I didn't even bother taking off my gloves. I start off simple. Two left jabs, right hook, left upper cut, followed by two kicks. Each hit sends the bag back. After about fifteen minutes, I end up splitting the bag in half, sending sand flying everywhere. I sigh and lean my head back. I close my eyes and let out a long breath. 

  I hear the door open, making me turn my attention to the person walking in. Thankfully it was only Buchanan. I nod my head to him and grab another bag and hang it up. I start off with just some jabs and bouncing on my feet.

  "You know you don't have to wear those," James says.

  I stop for a moment and look down to my black leather gloves. "What would the team say?" He stays silent, proving my point. I keep on boxing, throwing in kicks and various punches. Not long after everyone comes in. We all walk over to the mats and stand around Steve and Tony.

  "Alright guys," Steve starts but then the door opens.

  We all look back and see Rose. She looked nervous and tired. She was wearing all black, most likely Nat's clothes.

  "Welcome Rose, glad you could join us," says Steve. She nods at him and cracks a small smile. But the moment it's there, it's gone.  

  "So, we'll start off with just some sparing. Rose, if you want to just watch you can," Tony says with a smile.

  "First up is Nat and Steve," Tony says.

  The two get on the mat and start fighting. It's not too long until Natasha wins. She normally did, until Bucky came in, then it could be either of them. But when I came in, I always won. Next was Clint and James. The two hop on the mat. I could tell that James was holding back. He normally did. And of course, James wins.

  "Ok, next will be Joan and Wanda," Steve says.

  I step on the mat and face Wanda. She gets into her stance and has red whisks of energy flowing through her fingers. I get into my stance and then Rose speaks up.

  "Could I take this fight?" She asks Steve. I could tell that no one else heard her though. I look over to Steve and I can see him think for a moment.

  "Ok, uhh Wanda, you'll fight next. We'll let Rose take this one," Steve says.

  I look over to Rogers and shoot him a look of disapproval. This was not a good idea. What the hell was he thinking? I watch as Rose steps onto the mat and gets in her fighting stance.

  "Are powers allowed?" She asks.

  Steve and Tony look at each other and nod. "Sure," Tony shrugs.

  The thing is though, is that that was not the point of this. The point was to practice our hand to hand combat. I let it go and focus my energy to Rose.

  "Go!" Tony shouts.

  Right away, a ball of fire flies past my head. I dodge it and run at her. I slide through her legs and kick her back, sending her to the ground. Using my metal arm, I put her in a choke hold. She starts tapping it, so I let go. I stand up and walk around, now in front of her. I give her my hand and she takes it, but the moment she does, she flips me onto my back.

  I quickly get up and dodge a punch that would have been right to my skull. I look at her with shock. "What? Didn't you say to never let your guard down?" She says in Russian.

  Who the hell was this girl? She throws another ball of fire at me. She relied to much on her powers. I sprint towards her, and using the wall, I kick off it and spin kick her right in the face. She stumbles back and is now on her hands and knees. I walk up to her, about to finish the job, but suddenly I can't move.

  "What the hell?" I say to myself. Then, before I know it, I'm pinned up against a wall. My feet, nowhere near the ground. I watch as Rose gets up and walks towards me.

  "Why don't you tell them who you really are?" She says in Russian.

  I look over to James and Natasha, and they both look at each other. James darts over towards Steve and says something to him, but my attention turns back to Rose.

  "Do they know what you did? What you did to me?!" She yells.

  I try to move, but it's no use.

  "Rose, enough. You need to let her go," Steve says.

  I can see tears well up in her eyes. Suddenly, her grip on me tightens and it feels like I'm being crushed.

  "Rose! That's enough!" Steve shouts.

  The moment he does, I drop to the ground. I'm on my hands and knee's, coughing historically. Who the hell was this girl? I bring my hand to my throat and start to rube it. James is now by my side and he helps me up. I look over to Rose who is now crying in Steves arms.

  "What happened Rose?" Steve asks in a calm voice.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I lost control," she says in a shaky voice.

  "It's ok, just tell us what happened," Steve says.

  "I can help," Wanda says stepping up to her.

  She grabs onto Rose's head and red whisks fly around her. Out of no where, Rose lets out a shriek. Then, Wanda's eyes dart open and she let's go of Rose. Everyone takes a step back, not too sure on what the two minds had seen. Rose's eyes shoot open and she stays in her hunched over position. This wasn't good.

Hi guys, sorry about that. I don't know what happened but this is the chapter that was supposed to be posted. Enjoy your week!