New Avenger (A Steve Rogers love story)

Sometimes the Past Hurts

A/N: Get ready for some of Alexx's past! Comment! Enjoy!

We had been playing Monopoly for about two hours, still playing the first game we started. Tony was positive he was going to win, but by the way Nat looked at him, I knew that she was the one who was about to win. 

We snacked, we laughed and were generally having a good time.

"So, Nat told us you guys had one heck of a battle last month. What happened?" Clint asked.

"HYDRA never died. It secretly grew underneath SHIELD's nose. Now SHIELD doesn't exist." I said. 

"Are you kidding me?"

"Called it." Tony said.

"Alexx also got a new ability." Nat added.

"What kind of ability?" Bruce asked curiously.

I smiled. "This." I leaned forward and held my hand out, lighting a small fire ball in my palm. Everyone's eyes grew wider as I made the temperature of the flames grow, the fire changing from orange to blue. It was the hottest I ever dared to make it. I blinked and fire danced in my eyes. Everyone marveled at the flames.

"That's amazing." Clint breathed.

I extinguished the flames and my eyes turned to their normal green.

"How and when did you get this ability?" Bruce asked, fascinated.

"I don't know how. We were driving and," I looked at Steve, unsure what to call Bucky and if I should continue. Steve nodded and I continued. "The Winter Soldier attacked us. Steve, Nat and Sam got out of the car just fine, but I was stuck. The car rolled and flipped and was destroyed with me in it. I was thrown out and, I'm pretty sure I died. Sam brought me back and had to help Steve and Nat. I couldn't do anything because my ribs, leg and arm were broken." I pulled my shirt away and showed them what was left of the wounds. They were mostly healed, small cuts left behind to heal. "I was laying on the road, practically dying and the STRIKE team came after me. They loaded me into the same truck Steve, Nat, Sam and a disguised Maria were in. I kind of freaked out about everything that happened and created fire without knowing it. It freaked everyone out, including me." I finished the story of how I gained fire creation and manipulation. Everyone's eyes were wide.

Memories of everything that happened that month came back to me after going through that memory. Was Ashley telling the truth? Who was Jess and why did that name sound so familiar? Was I part of HYDRA? Was I rally a winter soldier? How could I not remember?

I bombarded myself with questions that I couldn't answer. My breathing grew heavy as a new memory came to me.

***

I wasn't with the Avengers anymore. I sat in a chair in a white room. A woman walked in. Jessica Bruns. I knew her as Jess. She was my boss. She thought of herself as my mother, but I knew she wasn't.

Jess had black, curly hair that barely passed her shoulders, a single blood red streak toward the front. She almost always wore a pantsuit, her pencil skirt barely covering her knees. Today, her pant suit was a dark purple. She often wore glasses -- rectangular and always matching her outfit. Her perfect skin and body reminded me of a model. That's the way I usually described her; a model. "The model."

Jess tossed a folder onto the table in front of me. I looked up at her. "Your new mission." was all she said. This was when I was a Winter Soldier. I took on missions that Bucky was too busy to do. We rarely saw each other after I was completely trained. The only time we ever saw each other is when I was being trained as a Winter Soldier.