Ice Queen and Winter Soldier

5- The Savior

"They're not coming for me, they only see me as a punching bag! Please, just let me go!"

"Stupid girl. You really think I captured the Ice Queen herself just to lure out some useless frost giants?"

"Well, whatever you want from me, I'll do it! Just please, stop this torture"

"Whatever I want from you? You really don't get it. What I want from you is you. More specifically, your power. You, Ice Queen, are our savior. Your power will allow us to take down all of our enemies. If all that remains of you after we harvest your powers is your dead body, then so be it. Screams won't help you, girl. No one is going to help you."

Wait, this isn't a dream- it's a memory. What's going on? Am I asleep? Why can't I wake up?

Slowly, my eyes open, and I regain feeling in my body. I'm laying in a bed with a cold compress over my forehead. Where the hell am I? I feel like absolute shit. Then, I notice the man reading on the couch across from me. I must admit that he is quite attractive, but that's not what holds me back from instantly attacking him. There's something familiar about him, like I've seen him before, somewhere. He notices me stirring, and gets up before I have a chance to say anything, face completely blank.

"Good, you're up. Wasn't sure if you ever would after..." He trails off, his gaze moving to my chest. Gross. I could take this guy down before he gets the chance to even think about it.

"Eyes are up here, bud" I begin, starting to stand, before he stops me, embarrassed.

"No, no you uh... the guy who... god, just look" he exhaled, gesturing to where he was looking. Holy shit. The burn covering the entirety of my chest triggers my memory of what happened. The mission. Wait, then he must be...

He sees the thoughts processing in my head, and quickly tries to stop them. "Woah, woah calm down. This guy has been trying to frame me for all sorts of things, I don't know who he is. I couldn't just leave you there, though."

"Well, thank you, but I can protect myself just fine. I'll be going now." I start to walk towards the door, when he stops me. How did he get in front of me so quickly?

"Wait, I... are you okay? You didn't even tell me your name."

"Let's keep it that way, don't need the whole world knowing my whereabouts." This seems to almost pain him.

"You don't trust me."

This takes me aback. Why would that matter? Then I remembered what Sam told me; how I was so well known across this planet. He had to know who I am... 

"No offense, but you haven't really given me any reason to" I stated bitterly. He obviously was lying about something. Then I remembered something else from before I fainted.

"Hey, what are you-" 

I didn't give him the chance to finish before I ripped the leather gloves he was wearing off. Just as I thought: metal hand. I must've look almost as mortified as he did in that moment. Not that some robotic arm scared me, but... did he do all of this to me?

"Look, I'm sorry to scare you, I... well, I haven't exactly been a people person for the past... for a while. Believe me, I'm not trying to hurt you in any way; I just wanted to see if you... why I... honestly, I don't even really understand why I brought you here" he explained. It was obvious that he was holding something back from me. "Give me a chance, please."

Maybe the grief on his face made me feel guilty. Maybe I still felt to weak to argue. Or maybe, some part of me knew that he was telling the truth now. "I'm listening."

He told me about how a man in a ski mask had been showing up everywhere he went. How different bad things would happen around him almost every time he left his apartment, and this man would be there, too. How when he saw the man walking down an alley with an odd contraption, he thought he was finally getting a chance to walk away.

"That was when I saw you. Didn't recognize you at first, figured you might be with the guy. Then I remembered that whatever he was holding had something written on it: Intimidation. I read the papers, y'know. Kind of hard to miss when a literal God in your country."

"So you do know my name." I interrupted. Nodding, he continued the story.

"At first I thought: screw it, she obviously knows what she's doing. I've heard the legends; the Frost War, your saving Asgard. But something told me if I didn't at least try to warn you, I'd regret it. And, well, you know what happened next."

"And after that?"

"I'd tried to move you away from him, but the damage had already been done. Guy ran away, of course. Your skin was... glowing. All red hot and shit. Didn't know where to take you, but I had to do something, and well, here we are."

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that heat and a girl who's thing is ice wouldn't mix. But why lure me out? And what did it have to do with... "Who even are you?"

He thought for a second before answering. "Just an ex-soldier. You could say I know a thing or two about people trying to rip you apart." I assumed he was talking about his arm, but decided against asking about it. 

"You know, I was with people. You could've looked for them. Ever heard of Captain America?" I say sarcastically. He winces, suddenly uncomfortable, before returning to his emotionless state.

"You could be a little thankful. I saved your ass."

"Well excuse me for not believing that some guy is my savior and isn't just using me like everyone else"

For a moment, he looks almost empathetic. Then he remembers something and turns angry, muttering I can't believe I did this, stupid! 

Is he angry at me? I don't have time for this I think to myself. "Well, sorry I inconvenienced you. I'll show myself out."

I don't even wait to see a reaction before I use my powers to fly myself out of the window. As I headed towards the compound, I reminded myself over and over: I don't trust anyone, and I never will.