The Mimic

63

Y/n had one more place to visit. A place she'd left till last for a reason. She was dreading it. 

Y/n walked for almost an hour outside of the town, following an old dirt path as if her life depended on it. Her hands stayed tucked her her pockets, her face neutral and blank. She didn't want to express any emotion, pushing it all down just felt so much easier. She didn't want to let the sadness take over because she knew that once she started crying she'd never stop. 

Y/n pushed past a tree branch that blocked the tattered path, finding herself in a beautiful clearing in the forest. The clearing was lined with unruly flowers and overgrown grass, it seemed as if it hadn't been visited in years. Centuries, even. A tree stood in the centre of the clearing, a large tree that seemed to have been growing for longer than y/n had been alive - which was surprising. The tree stood taller than the eye could see, with winding, thick branches that grew out every which way. Small lanterns with names on them hung from every branch, seeming to hold some sort of significance. Once y/n looked down from the branches, she noticed two things. An engraving on the tree, and three gravestones littered with overgrown vines.

Y/n almost forgot how to breathe, forcing herself to keep a neutral face as she took careful steps toward the tree and the gravestones. The engraving on the tree read: 'The Mimic Bloodline: 112AD - 1921'. Y/n's breath hitched, glancing back up at the branches as she came to a realisation of what those lanterns were for. They were to commemorate her ancestors. Every single mimic that came before her. Y/n's family. They had all lived in the same hometown, and y/n was supposed to do the same. 

Y/n slowly bent down, clearing the vines and dirt off of the headstones. The first headstone she cleaned revealed her mother's name in bold letters, causing y/n to pause. She pulled her hands away from the headstone, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Y/n was expecting the headstones to be of some distant relatives, not this. Her breath begun to pick up as she wiped away the dirt from the second headstone to reveal her father's name in bold. More and more tears begun to form, threatening to fall as she rushed to wipe at the headstone in the centre. She tore away the vines, wiping hard with her sleeve. It couldn't be what she was thinking of. It couldn't be. 

But it was. It was exactly what y/n was thinking of. 

'Y/N Y/L/N - 1915-1921'

Y/n quickly stood up, backing away from the gravestones as quickly as she could. There she was. Dead. Everyone believed she was dead. Everyone. According to them, she wasn't supposed to be alive. She was six-feet-under after a tragic explosion. 

Y/n laughed at the irony of it all, trying her hardest not to let any tears fall. The innocent, carefree child that y/n used to be was dead. After that day, nothing was the same. Ruined by Hydra and turned into a mindless killing machine. Y/n wasn't innocent anymore, she had more blood on her hands than skin - and she knew it wasn't her fault, she was brainwashed - but it was still y/n that did it. It was still y/n's hands that pulled the trigger.

Her childhood was stolen from her. Her whole life was stolen from her. 

Y/n couldn't hold it in any longer. Anger and sadness bubbling up over the top as y/n fell to her knees in sobs. She hugged herself tightly, gasping in air between cries. Her heart ached from sadness, her body shaking from the mixture of anger and loss. 

She should've had a perfect childhood. She deserved to grow up like any other child. Her parents deserved to live. They should've been able to grow old together. Y/n should've been able to settle down, have children, and grow old. She should've been dead by now, long gone after a peaceful life. But instead her parents were killed and she was abducted. At the age of six. She had no chance. All y/n wanted was to have a normal childhood. To grow up as a happy family, just like the sitcoms.

Y/n rocked back and forth as she sobbed, hugging herself tightly. She was completely alone. No family, nothing. She couldn't even remember the feeling of her parents hugging her. She couldn't even remember the sounds of their voices. Y/n's heart ached with sadness, closing her eyes as she let go of everything. She sobbed hard as she let go of her powers. All she wanted was to see her parents again, and live the life she was supposed to live.

That was when the ground slowly begun to change, mimicking Wanda's powers as everything slowly begun to turn black and white. Y/n didn't even notice, just letting her powers do whatever they pleased, and whatever they pleased seemed to be creating a perfect sitcom world for her and her parents. However, before it was even halfway finished, y/n was suddenly engulfed into a tight hug, causing her powers to stop. Y/n didn't even need to open her eyes to realised who it was, sobbing hard into Bucky's arms. 

The team was there. Yes, y/n had asked to go alone, but they were never going to listen to that. They watched from a distance, exploring the town that y/n grew up in. They planned on keeping their distance the whole time, but after seeing y/n break down so heavily they had to step in. It was right to step in. 

Y/n wasn't alone. The team were her family now. Of course it would never fill the hole in her heart from her actual family, but it was enough. Family didn't have to be blood, but family always had each other's backs no matter what.