The Newest Avenger ❤️

Chapter 5

Anna sits upon the beam and waits for them to enter the warehouse. Inside she knows who they are, and what they mean to her. But she can't bring herself to care. Her body reacts the opposite of how she wants to. She shouts out to her friends, to her family, in her head. But they don't hear her. As they approach, her body reacts before she can think. She swings down and knocks Bucky to the ground, seeing the hurt and confused expression on his face.

"Anna?"

Steve steps toward her cautiously. "We don't want to hurt you."

Anna goes to kick Steve, but he brings up his shield up, sending her flying backward. She lands on her feet and tries to avoid the shield, going after Natasha instead. She pulls out her baton and whacks Natasha across the face and she falls backward herself.

Bucky steps forward and grabs the baton with his metal hand before she can use it again. "Anna! Stop!"

She releases the baton and throws one of her widow bites at his metal arm, rendering it momentarily useless. She sees Steve heading toward her, and she jumps over him coming face-to-face with Natasha once again. Anna kicks Natasha in the ribs before she feels someone hit her from behind and everything again goes black.

With Anna passed out on the floor in between them, the tension between Steve and Bucky is palpable. "She didn't know who we were Steve. She wasn't even there, like when I was the Winter Soldier. Her mind has been messed with."

Steve looks worriedly from Bucky to Anna. "I know Buck. We will fix her. I promise."

Bucky looks down at Anna as she slept. He wanted so much just to hold her in his arms. Now he knew how Steve felt when he was the Winter Soldier when he didn't recognize him. He carries her off the jet as they land in the hangar. Bruce and Dr. Cho are waiting there already. Bucky carries her to the lab, and Bruce starts to strap her down. "Come on, you don't have to do that!"

Steve steps forward and pulls Bucky back gently. "It's just a precaution. Better to be safe than sorry Buck."

Natasha stalks in holding her ribs. "Don't worry guys. I'm okay!" Dr. Cho rushes over to her and sits her next to Anna. She shoos the boys out of the room and closes the curtain as she helps Natasha get undressed and wraps her ribs for her. "Thank you, doc." Natasha finds an old Shield t-shirt and throws it on. "I'm gonna go get Wanda. She could help."

***

Anna wakes up in the lab and realizes she is strapped down. She looks around and sees Dr. Cho coming toward her and Steve sitting next to her. He stands up when he sees she's awake.

"Bucky? Where is Bucky?" She asks, disoriented, and confused as her head pounds in her head.

Steve feels his heart sink hearing her ask for Bucky. "I'll uh... go find him."

Dr. Cho undoes her restraints and Anna sits up as Bucky walks in followed by Natasha and Wanda. When she sees him, she begins to cry. "I'm sorry. I knew it was you, I just couldn't stop myself. They did something to me. He did something to me."

Bucky sat on the bed in front of Anna and held her as she cried. He knew Steve was upset, but he was glad she asked for him as Natasha sat on the other side of her.

Anna releases Bucky and looks at Natasha as she grabbed Bucky's hand. "It's him, Nat. He survived. He's alive." Anna doesn't have to say who, Natasha already knows. Natasha feels sick to her stomach as she stands up to walk away out of the room.

"Who was it, Anna?"

Anna looks up at Steve standing behind Bucky. "Dreykov," she mutters out softly as Bucky pulls her back into a hug and just holds her while she cries.

***

"Okay, you have to sit still. And I'm sorry, but I might end up seeing things you don't want me to." Wanda agreed to try and see if she could find Anna's trigger so if the chance arises, Dreykov can't reactivate her as his weapon.

Anna grabs her hand, offering her a small smile. "It's okay Wanda, I trust you. Okay?"

Bucky sits off to the side as he watches Wanda raise her hands to Anna's head. He was a little surprised when she asked for him to be in the room with them. The fact that she trusted him enough made him feel as if maybe he had a chance after all.

Red mist flows from Wanda's hands as Anna screams. She didn't realize how much it was going to hurt as she traveled through her own memories, starting off with her memories as a kid in the Red Room and what Dreykov and the guards did to her and the other girls all the way to the other day in the warehouse.

Wanda stops and Anna almost falls out of her seat, but Bucky catches her and holds onto her as she cries from having to relive the memories. "It's not exactly mind control. Not in the way like the Winter Soldier," Wanda offers as she gestures to Bucky. "It's some sort of chemical they have to inject into you for it to work." Wanda kneels down in front of Anna so that she can see her. She puts her hands on Anna's legs. "I'm really sorry Anna. What you went through, that you had to relive it. I'm sorry."

Anna wipes away her tears with the back of her hands, shaking her head gently. "It's okay Wanda, it's fine. It's in the past. I have a new family now. I know that." She leans forward to hug Wanda as Bucky lets go.

"Come on Anna, let me walk you to your room." Bucky offers Anna his hand as she accepts and gets up.

As Anna and Bucky make it to her room she finds Steve waiting for her, leaning against her door. She turns to Bucky, releasing his hand. "Give us a minute." Bucky nods, leaving them alone as he goes to his own room and shuts the door. "What are you doing here Steve?"

Steve follows her into her room, closing the door gently. "I was worried about you. I wanted to check on you."

Before she can say anything, he grabs her and pulls her close to him. She has had feelings for him for a while, but he was always with Sharon, so she never said anything. Now as she feels his arms around her, she realizes he means it as more than just friends. She pulls away from him and starts to walk away before Steve grabs her arm and pulls her back to him, making her heart race as he pulled her into a heated kiss. She gives in for a minute before pushing him away hard with her hands flat on his chest. "Steve! I can't believe you did that. What about Sharon?" She spouts angrily as he groans.

"I know! I'm sorry!" Though feeling guilty, he had been wanting to kiss her for a while.

"Get out Steve," she states firmly as he hesitates for a minute before leaving, hoping she'll change her mind. After he leaves, Anna changes her clothes and knocks on Bucky's door, entering before he says anything to find him lying on the floor like he always does. He smiles, sitting up when she comes in. "Can I stay here tonight, Buck?"

He stands up and lays on the bed and pats next to him. "Of course, you can."

Anna lies in bed next to Bucky and lays her head on his chest. He may be a grump sometimes to others, but Anna had never felt safer than when she was with him. She looks up at Bucky, placing her hand on his cheek as he turns his head and looks in her green eyes as he feels his heart racing.

He had never felt this way about a woman before as she leans up and kisses Bucky softly on the lips. "Go to sleep doll. It's been a long few days." They both fall asleep, sleeping through the night without nightmares or waking up before morning for the first time in months.