Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Seventy

Catherine and Bucky didn't know why William's teacher needed to speak with them, but it worried her like hell. They both knew he had been through so much the last six months that it could be taking a toll on him. "How do I look?" She asked as they walked into the school, referring to her black leggings, grey t shirt with a Jean jacket pulled over it and slip on shoes.

"Why do you care how you look?" Bucky asked. "I'm literally wearing leather gloves."

"Because I want to look less like an agent and more like a mom." She said worried.

"You look fine. Very MILF like."

Catherine groaned. "Oh my gosh James. Let's be normal for a few moments."

"Doll, there's nothing normal about us." He stated the obvious.

They entered the empty classroom where William's kindergarten teacher sat. She was probably around the same age as Catherine, maybe slightly older and she had curly blonde hair. She stood up from her chair and smiled at the both of them. "Mr. and Mrs. Barnes, please take a seat."

She almost too cheerful so maybe it meant William wasn't in trouble.

"Most of the time when I call parents in for a conference, it isn't good." Catherine's heart sank. "However, this one is good. William is a very good student. Helpful. Kind. He's everyone's friend. He's also very smart. I mean off the charts smart. Mrs. Barnes, I know who your parents and brother are so this shouldn't come as a surprise."

"It's not a surprise for me. Catherine is intelligent. She can speak four languages, she can identify any weapon that exists, she can clear a room full of people within a minute and no one would see it coming, not only that but her cognitive intelligence is astronomical as well." Bucky rambled.

The teacher and Catherine both looked at him shocked. "J-James...she didn't mean...I think Ms. Owens is referring to how well Will is at math, writing, etc, not how many weapons he could...identify."

"He can identify weapons?" Ms. Owens asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No! No. Gosh no. He's just a normal kid. No weapons identifications." Catherine attempted to change the topic. "If you couldn't tell, I didn't have a normal education."

"Right..." The teacher trailed off. "Anyways. There are special schools meant for children like William and I think he could greatly benefit from. If I had to guess, you're trying to give William a normal childhood. However, if you keep him here, you would be holding back. He has so much potential."

Catherine and Bucky both looked at one another. They had no idea how to react to the teacher's words. They were proud of William, of course, but the teacher was right, they wanted him to have a normal life. Graduating MIT at age 17 like Tony was not normal. It was a lot to think about.

"I printed some information about a school close to here so he could still live at home. I'm sure you two need to talk about what you want to do."

"Thank you Ms. Owens, we'll be in touch." Catherine told her.

They walked out of the school in silence, both their minds racing. "What should we do?" Bucky asked as the got into the car.

"No idea. I guess I knew it was always a possibility, but I don't want him to grow up too fast. I think the decision is ultimately up to him." Catherine said. 

"Our kid is a genius. I mean, every parent says that, but ours really is one. Who knows, maybe he'll create Barnes Industries." Bucky joked.

When they got home, she check her phone and noticed there were several missed calls from Sam. She found it odd that he was so desperate to talk to her. "Is everything okay Sam?" She asked when she heard him pick up the phone.

"Do you have your laptop around? I'm sending you some footage and intel." Sam asked.

Catherine put the phone on speaker and pulled her laptop out. "What's this about?" She asked as the computer turned on.

"A group called the Flag Smashers. They think the world was a better place before the Blip. They want to spread chaos, a word without borders. I wanted to see if SHIELD had any intel on them." Sam explained.

"Flag Smashers? That's a horrible name."
Bucky said as he stood over Catherine's shoulders.

She typed away in her computer, opening several of the emails Sam had sent her. Images and footage from Germany appeared on her screen. It was a large group of people, all wearing masks robbing what seemed to be a bank. That wasn't what sparked her attention though. It was the sheer strength and skill they had.

"Are those...super soldiers?" Bucky asked.

"That's what I thought too and my informant." Sam spoke up. "And nice to hear from you Bucky. Thanks for ignoring my calls."

"I hope not. The last thing we need is a whole group of super soldiers." Catherine said as she pulled up the SHIELD database.

"Do you think they're apart of Hydra?" Sam asked.

"Possibly. I doubt it though. Hydra doesn't want to be seen, these guys do." Bucky answer Sam.

"Any idea where they got the serum if they are super soldiers?" Sam asked.

"Anywhere really. Ever since the creation of the first serum, people have constantly been wanting to recreate it." She stopped typing when she read a report. "Oh no. SHIELD has one report with correlation to this group. It was reported by me. One of the masks that is being worn is connected to that group of people that attacked us. Sam, can you keep us in the loop please?"

"Of course."

"And tell your informant to keep his distance. I don't know how dangerous this guy is."

Catherine groaned after she hung up the phone with Sam. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She knew it was a never ending cycle. You would take down one bad guy, another one would emerge. What scared her the most is that they knew so little about this group.

"Cat, come look at this." Bucky told her as he stood in front of the TV.

She stood from the chair and walked over to stand next to Bucky. On the news was a man dressed in what looked like a Captain America inspired uniform. That's not what caught her attention. It was what he was holding. The shield. The shield her dad created. The shield meant for Captain America not this cartoon looking guy.

"What the hell." Catherine said.