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chapter nine

UNWANTED ILLUSION OF BUCKY

TWO YEARS LATER

   HIS SHIRT WAS held firmly against her chest. Raven breathed in the scent and frowned. It was faded, almost completely gone now and replaced by the smell of stale cotton.

   She sighed and folded the material up neatly and placed it back in the drawer, closing it afterwards and sitting back down on the bed. The low buzzing noise of a phone caused the woman's head to turn.

The burner vibrated on the nightstand in an annoying manner before Raven grabbed it. "Hello?"

"I have a job for you."

She ran her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "Send me the details. I'll see what I can do."

[STILL ALIVE]

The rifle was perched against her shoulder gracefully as she looked through the thermal scope. The Nix woman had been given intel that her target was leaving a meeting and would be using a back alley exit. In the cover of nighttime, she had set up her post two buildings down diagonally and temporarily resided on the roof. The meeting itself was very low-key, meaning that the target should be alone. This made it perfect for Raven and the job she had to do.

Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and a black handkerchief had been tied over the bottom half of her face as an easy disguise.

This would be her third assassination job within the past two years. After she and the rest of the team found Thanos and killed him, Raven thought that she could grief their losses and eventually move on, but it never seemed to end.

   Every room in the Avengers Compound reminded her of what they failed to do and what it cost them. One day, she just couldn't stand looking at it anymore. She gathered a few of her belongings and left. The Nix woman didn't return for about a week, leaving Natasha to worriedly call her at least three times a day in an attempt to find her. Raven felt selfish and guilty after that; she hadn't meant to worry anyone with her absence. After returning, she apologized to Nat multiple times, claiming that she'd let her know where she was if she left again.

And she did. Raven decided to leave the Avengers Compound a few weeks later. Her old apartment building in Havana was still standing, so she contacted the leasing office and got her unit back. Once she was on her own, the woman found herself falling into old habits. People still had agendas and threats that needed to be eliminated. Even with half of the population gone, word of the Nix woman returning got around quick. Many offers and assignments found their way to her, but she was different now—more picky, you could say.

Before Fury sent Bruce to retrieve her for the Avengers Initiative, Raven took whatever high-paying assassination jobs fell into her lap. She didn't care who the target was or what they did; she cared about the money and how long it could keep her afloat. Now, she was merely doing it because of the familiarity it brought her. She felt in control and as if she never left in the first place. But that didn't stop the guilt from weaseling it's way into her heart and mind each day. She couldn't help but think of what Bucky would say; how disappointed he would be.

Words couldn't describe how much she missed the Barnes man. She felt alone and left behind. Sometimes she would conjure illusions of him with her powers when it got bad, but that only reminded her of the man who'd taught her how to do so. Just someone else who's gone, she would think.