Connections

20: Escape

"Whoa whoa, hold on there big guy." He said quickly. My eyes twitched as I looked at him. "I'm not here to really fight. Just need the kid you're holding onto."

I stayed silent as I looked at him. He was an enemy of Hydra. So he was someone to be trusted? The man walked slowly forward. I clutched tightly to Layla pulling her farther away from him. Another person ran up behind him. He was wearing all black, and held a bow with an arrow drawn back. Another one on Hydra's list. Clint Barton.

"Let her go." Clint demanded. I glared at him then looked down at Layla. She looked so peaceful despite the situation.

"You're her friends...right?" I asked quietly. I began to lower my gun slowly.

"Yes."

"No."

Clinton and Tony answered simultaneously. I heard a no in there however. Clint shook his head before giving Tony a death glare. I quickly raised my gun back up. Tony raised his hands up again, the light from his suit illuminating the cave. Clint tightened his grip on his bow.

"Sorry, I misspoke." Tony said quickly. His helmet lifted up from his suit showing his face. "I haven't met her. Just was sent here by Shield to bring her back."

I stared at them for a second. There here to help her? Shield was good. She worked for Shield. However Shield is what got her here in the first place as well. Hydra was in Shield. I couldn't trust them could I?

"She seems like a lovely kid. Sleeping so peacefully right here." Tony said sarcastically. I looked at Tony before turning my gaze to Clint. He kept his stance before realizing I wanted an answer from him too. He lowered his bow slowly before nodding.

"I've known her since she joined Shield. Trained her. I'm her S.O." He said simply. I nodded at him before looking back down. I lowered my gun again before walking over to them. I remember her talking about Clint a little bit. How she learned a lot of her fighting from him. Both Tony and Clint repositioned themselves as if I was going to fight them. I stopped right in front of Tony and held Layla out.

"Please help her." My voice shook a little bit. Tony looked at me confusingly as I continued, "They wiped her memories, and she's hurt a little bit."

Tony stared for a second thinking it was a trap. I heard footsteps come behind them as yelling echoed through the cave. I looked behind them before shifting back back to Tony. I quickly tried to shove Layla in his arms but Tony pulled back a bit.

"No this is too easy. Something isn't right." Tony said. Two agents walked up behind them. I quickly brought my gun up. Clint raised his bow and drew back an arrow and aimed at me. I pulled the trigger and shot at the agents. Perfect hit. They both fell to the ground. I looked back over to Clint who lowered his bow again.

"Trust me now?" I said simply. Tony and Clint both nodded. I looked down at her as she shuffled a bit. Her breathing had gotten heavier. I dropped my gun and rested my hand on her cheek before as he breathing seemed calm down again. Clint raised an eyebrow seeming interested in our interaction.

"Yup, I think we can trust him." Clint said simply. Tony held his arms out as I rested Layla into them. I could hear more yelling as a dozen footsteps headed towards us. I looked back at her before walking past them.

"Blast out that door and get her out of there. I'll cover you." I said quickly as I held my gun out in front of me. I knew I was going to get wiped for this but I didn't care. As long as Layla was okay then that's all that mattered. Tony nodded before doing what I asked.

"Cap, I got the girl." I heard tony say behind me as he ran out.

Cap? Steve was here as well? I watched as he and Clint ran off with Layla before completely disappearing. I turned back as a few Hydra agent ran up to me. I took a deep breath before I began shooting.

I'm sorry Layla, I didn't keep my promise.

✪✪✪

Layla

I fluttered my eyes open as the sound of beeping woke me. I groaned as I tried to lift my head. It was so heavy and the ringing in my ear wouldn't stop. I closed my eyes tightly before opening again and trying my best to focus them. A blurred bright light sat above me.

"Welcome back, Layla." I heard a voice say beside me. I looked over as a handsome, tall, blonde haired man smiled at me. I quickly tried to jerk up and move away however something was holding my arms down. I looked down to see restraints around my wrists. My breathing became heavy as I began to hyperventilate. I looked around the room trying to figure out where I was.

It was all white. Wires were attached to my body that connected to a monitor. There was an IV attached to my arm. A window against the wall. I wasn't in the Hydra base anymore. Was I somewhere else.

"Hey hey. Its okay. You're safe. You're in a hospital room inside Shield." The man said. I quickly turned my head towards him. My breathing still stayed heavy. He looked at me concerningly. A hint of hurt in his eyes. I couldn't help but feel bad but I didn't know why.

"Do you know what Shield is?" The man asked as he sat forward. The name struck something inside me. However, my head just felt fuzzy. Like any memory was blanketed with static. I just stared at the man and shook my head no slowly.

He thinned his lips tightly. Giving me sorrowful eyes, "Do you know who I am?" He asked quietly. I stared at him for a second trying to remember. There was something familiar. My heart was yelling at me to trust him but my body was reacting differently. I shook my head slowly once more. He let out a small sad smile.

"My name is Steve Rogers. I'm Captain America." He said quietly. My breathing began to calm a little bit as we sat there silently. Another person walked into the room behind him. He was a little older with blue eyes and short light brown hair. Handsome as well. My eyes followed him as he stood in front of my bed.

"Look whos finally up." He said excitedly. He smiled at me softly as he crossed his arms.

"She doesn't remember anything, Clint" I heard Steve say. I looked at the other man a little confused and frightened. Who are all these people? A small frown appeared on his face as well as he looked down.

"Yeah he told us that they wiped her memory." Clint said simply. He lifted his head back up again. "Its okay. We'll take everything slow. I'm Clint."

I just looked at him an nodded. I couldn't help but stare into is eyes. They were blue. A beautiful shade of blue. They reminded me of someone. But who? I winced as an image popped into my head. It was me, with someone in a uniform. There was a crowd. He had beautiful blue eyes and the most intoxicating smile. The image flashed in pieces.

My friends call me Bucky though.

I opened my eyes as Steve and Clint stood around me concerned. I tried to catch my breath as the images disappeared and the headache stopped.

"Layla are you okay?" Steve asked. I looked down trying to figure out what that was. I looked back up at him an nodded.

"She probably needs more rest." Clint said simply. Steve agreed before they both walked to the door. Steve looked back at me and gave me one last smile. I smiled back the best I could as he closed the door behind him. I stared at the door for a while. What the hell just happened?

Who the hell is Bucky?