"You know, I was talking to Bucky... right before the battle at the airport. He told me stuff about you, just because I wanted to know."
It had only been a minute after they finished the last conversation.
"And what did he say?"
"He said... your powers... your father did that to you? Why?"
Cat took a deep breath.
"Sorry," said Steve. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't —"
"No, it's okay," said Catarina. "My dad was a scientist. Don't remember what kind. But, um, my mother... she died in childbirth. He blamed me. Experimented on me. One day, he made me drink something, and immediately after I had, I, uh... had one of the power spasms Bucky told you about. He knew I was going to be too much for him, so he... he left."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"I'm sorry," said Steve.
"Don't be," said Cat reassuringly.
"So after he left..."
"Some scientists came. Took me to a facility. I don't know if they were trying to replicate my powers, get rid of them, or what. But they did so many experiments." Cat sighed. "Tried to train me into a weapon. I got away, though. Used a fake last name. Went to school. turns out I was pretty smart. Got a full scholarship to university. But after they saw my powers... I was immediately kicked out."
"That's some story," said Steve.
"I've heard yours," said Cat.
Steve shook his head and smiled.
They spent most of the rest of the ride in silence. Once they began flying over plains, Steve turned to Catarina.
"You can't tell anyone about this," said Steve.
"About our trip?"
"More or less," said Steve. "What you're going to see in a minute — you're not going to believe it. You can't tell anyone about Wakanda. And second, you can't tell anyone Bucky is here."
"I wouldn't," said Cat. She was a little confused about what she was going to see. Wasn't Wakanda just plains and farms? Maybe there was a hidden spot that's got enough extra resources to take Bucky in ice?
She wasn't even close.
Steve steered toward a hill full of trees. He did not turn away, and Cat sucked in her breath.
"What are you doing?" she said.
Steve smirked. Cat really hoped he knew what he was doing. They were close to contact with the hill, full of rocks and trees. Cat closed her eyes and held onto her chair.
There was no crash.
Instead, when she opened her eyes, she saw the fade-away of a clear blue shield. It put itself back into place after they entered.
Cat's eyes were then introduced to a futuristic city. There were shining buildings everywhere. It was developed and populated. Cap continued to steer through buildings, inside which were advanced machines. Technology was everywhere. The city was surrounded by lush, green trees, and through it ran a clear blue lake.
Every building had its own charm. The architecture was all over the place, yet somehow still fit together. Some buildings reflected the light of the sun, and others had subtle colors that made them stand out from others nearby.
Steve landed at a modern-looking building just outside the city. Nearby was all plains. The building was made up of clean lines, surrounded by a circular platform, balancing it on the mountain it sat upon. Some ships were landed there. Behind it, as if keeping it standing, was a structure made of different polygons, laid in almost a sheet. It was all an off-white color.
"What is this place?" she asked, as the quinjet came to a perfect landing.
"Welcome to Wakanda," said Steve, opening the hatch door. They turned around and walked out to see three people there waiting for them — a young girl, wearing her hair up in a braided bun, a woman wearing red clothes and holding a spear taller than herself, and finally, Prince T'Challa.
Cat was confused. She didn't even know why T'Challa had allowed them in. Didn't he think Bucky had killed his father? Maybe he had been informed of the truth.
"Your majesty," nodded Steve, shaking hands with T'Challa. He then nodded to the woman with the spear behind him and shook hands with the young girl.
"This is Catarina Palmer," he told them, gesturing to her.
As she smiled at the group in front of her, she muttered to Steve, "Do I bow?"
"You don't need to," he replied.
"It's an honor to meet you," she told them. She shook hands with the Prince, then with the girl.
"My pleasure," said T'Challa. "And I'm sorry about Romania."
"You don't have to be sorry," she said. "I know why you did what you did."
"This is my sister, Princess Shuri," he introduced, looking at the young girl beside him. "She's in charge of this lab."
"Nice to meet you," said Cat.
"You as well," replied Shuri.
"And this is the General of our special forces, the Dora Milaje," said T'Challa.
"Okoye," the woman introduced herself, shaking Cat's hand.
"Nice to meet you."
Okoye nodded back, returning Cat's words.
"So, you have come to see Sergeant Barnes?" asked T'Challa.
"Yes," said Steve. "How is he?"
"Stable," said Shuri, walking around to the door of the facility. Everyone followed. "We still haven't found a way to reverse the mind control, though we have made a few advancements in the study."
"You're trying to reverse the mind control?" asked Cat.
"Yes," replied Shuri. "But whoever did this did a really good job. Do we have any idea how they did it?"
"I just assume extreme psychological conditioning," said Cat.
"That, and something else," said Shuri. "That's all I know."
"Natasha released all of HYDRA's files onto the internet," said Steve. "You can't access the files on Bucky?"
"All the digital files," Cat pointed out. "Bucky was experimented on in the forties and fifties. They wouldn't be on digital files."
"So we'd have to go out and get paper files?" asked Steve.
"That could take a long time to track," said T'Challa.
"But there can't be that many HYDRA facilites left," said Cat. "And if we're looking for ones big enough to store loads of paper files, that narrows it down even more."
"Perfect," said Shuri, with a smile. "Now you have something to do after this."
Steve and Cat smiled at each other.
a.n.
above art credits go to Andrew Leung on ArtStation. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/byO0g
hiiiiii!! sorry this chapter is a bit boring but hey I published!
Steve and cat besties confirmed
this whole act is actually my fave I am so excited for y'all to read it
anyway, don't forget to vote!
molly ♡
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𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 | bucky barnes
Fanfiction[complete!] "𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘?" "𝐀𝐒 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄." 𝐉ames "Bucky" Barnes had been lost for a very, very long time. He didn't know what it was like to take refuge in a person. He was searching for something else. But sometimes, the thi...
