Down the many expensive-looking halls of the Avengers compound, up two floors in a luxurious glass-walled elevator, there are no words exchanged between Sam and me. The only sounds echoing off the walls are the sounds of my heels clicking against the tile. I can't lie; the further we get into the compound, the wider my eyes get. I've never seen such an extravagant building. New-age tech covers the walls around every corner. But, every time I hear another set of footsteps, my stomach drops, thinking it's James-um-Barnes.
Sam comes to a stop in front of a stained pine door. He clears his throat and gestures to the doorknob. "This can be your room until we... if you want to, we can find you an apartment, or you can live here."
I chew on my lip, never been shown this kind of generosity by anyone besides Austin. It's a strange feeling. A part of me feels selfish for accepting his offer and the other part of me wants to use whatever I was born with for some type of good. Although one thing is clear, Barnes is still on my list. "Do I need to pay rent or anything? Because I can! I just-I work in Queens..." I slap my palm against my forehead, the stupidity of my question settling in.
He chuckles as he takes a step back. "No, you don't need to pay rent. But you should get some sleep. We need you on a mission tomorrow first thing."
My brows pinch together. "We?"
Sam shifts uncomfortably on his feet, the first time I've seen him falter in his confident state. "You, me, and... Bucky," he mutters.
I grit my teeth together, knowing I can't argue, this is the deal I made with him. It's time for meto hold up my end. I swallow my stubborn nature and nod. "Okay, fine," I grit out.
"Can I trust you not to try anything?" He raises a brow at me.
"Yes," I say quietly as a sense of shame creeps over my shoulder.
He gives me a slight nod and starts walking back to the elevator. His heavy footsteps thud against the ground, and now I'm even more unsure if I made the right decision or not. "We're down on the second floor, and we'll have a suit ready for you in the morning!"
"A-a suit?" I call back to him, feeling all the color drain from my face at the mention of a 'suit.' I hear his laughter echo down the hallway before it disappears, leaving me in silence. I huff out a breath and shake my hands out at my sides. I push the door open, and my mouth practically falls agape at the room-more like apartment I'm supposed to be living in.
White walls surround the room, with a large window behind the queen-sized bed in the center of the room. A teal comforter covers the bed with throw pillows decorating it. Warm light floods the room from the two lamps on either side of the large bed. I wander around the large bedroom, finding a bathroom that's about the size of my old bedroom and an empty closet. I frown at the realization that none of my things are here.
Well, that can be fixed.
I squeeze my eyes shut and visualize the rickety walls of my apartment with the empty kitchen and twin mattress on the floor. The air shifts around me, and I open my eyes to see I'm back in Queens. I dash over to the makeshift closet which happens to be a rod I nailed into the wall. I used it to hang my less than formal clothes on. I throw them all into a large duffel bag I acquired when I moved into this apartment. I haul the load into the bathroom and toss my toiletries into the bag, anything I'll need. I stop next to the mattress and plop down onto it, making the floorboards creak. I reach under the worn pillow and pull the silver locket out from under it.
After the blip, I searched everywhere for this. Pawnshops, thrift stores, anywhere that someone could have sold my belongings to. And I finally found it. I gently open up the latch on the side of the locket and stare at the two pictures inside for a moment. Andrei and I are on the left with matching outfits that look horrendous on both of us. My mother and father are on the right, an old picture of them when they were just dating. Tears form in my eyes as I look over my mother's thick blonde hair, laid in waves around her shoulders.
Andrei looked more like my father, with the light brown hair curled in the back but was utterly straight in the front. I purse my lips and close the locket. It feels as though all the air has been sucked out of this excuse of a living space. I close my eyes and visualize my new bedroom, the blue-down comforter, the large window overlooks the forest surrounding the compound, and the warm light emanating from the lamps.
I push out a breath when I feel my feet hit the ground, and the bag drops from my arm. I'm back in the compound, and it's funny; it feels more like home than any apartment I could have ever lived in. I walk over to the white oak dresser across from the bed, planning on shoving my clothes into the drawers, but my eyes find the mirror above it. With tears stinging my eyes, I place the locket with trembling fingers against the mirror, displaying the pictures. That way, every time I look in the mirror, they're here with me.
Three sharp knocks rip me from my thoughts, and I blink the tears away, wiping my face of the dried ones I shed earlier. I walk over to the door and hesitate when my hand touches the cool steel doorknob.
"Just talk to her," The thought enters my mind before I have the chance to refuse it.
I freeze, knowing who the voice belongs to. I grit my teeth, gather up all of my courage and open the door, leaving my rage and revenge-loving side back at the old apartment. I can go get her later if I need her.
"Hi," James says with wide eyes as if he's surprised I opened the door.
Though his appearance has changed, I can still see the mask covering his mouth and the long tendrils of hair covering his face. His expression holds more emotion now, though. It's not the same frozen look he had the night he came for me.
He lowers his hand and scratches the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here-"
"No- It's okay," I push the words out. They taste like acid.
He digs in the pocket of his jeans and lets out a soft chuckle as he struggles to get his hand out. He pulls a small notebook and flips it around in his hands before he holds it out to me. My brows pinch together as I gently take it from him.
I flip through the pages, finding movie and music recommendations before stumbling on a page filled with names. I look back up to his cold blue eyes and see him in the same emotional state as I am. My eyes scan the list of names, some crossed off, some circled, and some in bold lettering. I stay in my state of confusion until my eyes find the name Ivanov and I take a sharp intake of breath.
"What is this?" I ask, eyes not leaving the name etched into the notebook.
He's quiet for a moment, and my grip tightens around the small notebook. "It's uh- it's my list of amends," he explains in a soft voice.
"Amends?" I repeat, finally tearing my eyes away from the paper. I feel the rage grabbing hold of me, gripping my arms, and whispering into my ear.
He smiles slightly at me, only the corners of his mouth turning up. "I am no longer The Winter Soldier, I'm James Bucky Barnes-" He pauses and gestures to me, making me flinch. "And you're part of my efforts to make amends."
My brows raise at his words. I push the notebook back out to him, holding it to his chest to make him take the disgusting thing back. "Listen, I've agreed to work with you and Sam. I don't accept your 'amends'." His eyes narrow but hold my glare. "Do you even remember the way my brother screamed?" I ask in a husky voice.
The muscle in his jaw tenses as if he's reliving it. "I remember everything," he says with a slight crack in his voice.
I shake my head. "You don't deserve forgiveness," I retort, "you don't even deserve the title you have now." His eyes finally leave mine as they drift down to the ground, and he grasps the notebook in his hand for dear life. The disbelief flowing through me right now is immeasurable. Did he think it would be that easy? That I would forget my family is gone? That he completely ruined my life? He must be dumber than I originally thought. "Was that it?" I inquire, raising my brows at him.
He clears his throat, not looking me in the eye. Guilt. Seems funny coming from him. "Yeah. Yeah that was it," he mumbles.
I nod, pursing my lips and shutting the door quickly before I fall to the ground. A shaky breath escapes me as it clicks shut.
My lip begins to quiver as I walk backward until my legs hit the bed almost making me fall. I grip the comforter, trying to ground myself before things feel out of control. I push out a long breath, willing myself to stay calm. I walk on shaky legs to the bathroom, hauling the duffel bag behind me, and take a quick shower. I change into an oversized t-shirt and some shorts and fall into the bed, not even bothering to turn the lights off.
✪✪✪✪
I wake up in an unfamiliar bed, almost forgetting where I am. I jolt upright when someone knocks on the door. Adrenaline floods and runs from my body at the sudden alertness. My hand finds it's way to my chest, making sure my heart is still in its rightful place. I find relief when it is, though it is beating abnormally fast.
I rub the sleep out of my puffy eyes and pad to the door, shivering at the cold temperature of the room. I slowly open the door, seeing Sam on the other side of it, and purse my lips together. He's holding some kind of garment bag in his hands and I'm not sure I want to know what's in it.
He gives me a warm smile as he steps around me into the bedroom before I can protest. "You look like you slept well," he chuckles as he lays the bag on the bed. He's dressed in the Falcon uniform again, and I'm reminded why he's here. He said there's a mission he needs help with. He turns around and folds his arms over his chest, covering the red stripes crossing onto the black sleeves of his suit.
He gestures to the bag. "Your suit, as promised."
I tuck my hair behind my ears, my curiosity beginning to settle in. "Thank you," I mutter in a sleepy voice.
He eyes me for a moment, scanning me up and down. "Did you leave the compound?" He quirks a brow at me like he's scolding a child.
I nod meagerly. "I needed some of my things."
He waves me off, swatting away the anxiety I feel. "Just- uh- let me know when you leave next time, or Bucky," he suggests and clears his throat, "I'll guess I'll leave you to it. Meet us in the hanger in fifteen."
I fumble with my words as he begins to walk back to the door. "The hanger?" I repeat, trying to convey my confusion. A long, drawn-out yawn escapes me. It's far too early to be giving me instructions like this.
He stifles a laugh. "Just meet us on the first floor. We'll take it from there." He swings the door behind him but stops before it shuts. "Hope you like the suit!" He gloats before clicking the door shut.
I shake my head in disbelief. "I'm sure I will," I mutter to myself with fake enthusiasm. I unzip the bag but find more than a suit inside of it. A cellphone that looks relatively expensive lies on top of it. I take it out and place it on the bed.
Surely I'm going to tell Sam I can't accept that. This is already more than enough. I push out a breath and pull what feels like fabric out of the bag. It looks like a long skintight jumpsuit.
Midnight black covers almost every inch of the material. But around the thighs, the hands, the chest, and the stomach lie lines of glowing cerulean. All the lines seem to be connected like a pattern of energy flowing through the fabric. I run my fingers over the thin lines and compare the color of the energy from my fingers to the suit. The colors are almost identical. I chew on my lip as I begin to undress.
Here goes nothing.
I pull the suit on, struggling to stretch the fabric far enough to reach my arms. I grimace when I feel the feet of the suit are almost like shoes with a small platform inside of them. I roll my shoulders back after finally zipping it up halfway to my collar bones, trying to find any kind of slack in the tight material. I walk over to the mirror, admiring the attention to detail and the color. The suit covers quite literally everything.
My hands are seated in the suit, with the blue pattern stretching all the way to my fingers. I twirl in the mirror. It actually fits great. Which makes me wonder, how did he know my measurements? And how did he get a suit made so quickly? I shake my head, finding myself thinking I don't really want to know the answers to those questions.
My hair comes down in soft waves down to the small of my back, and I fight to keep it behind my ears as I continue getting ready. I grab my still-damp hair and tie it into a ponytail for the time being before grabbing the cell phone off the bed and leaving the room. I cringe at the silliness I feel, walking through the Avengers compound in a 'suit.'
"Oh, look at me, I'm an Avenger," I say sarcastically to myself as I enter the elevator.
I reach the first floor with a 'ding' in the elevator. I take a step out of it and look to my left, seeing a small kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Sam and Barnes stand waiting, holding mugs in their hands. Barnes is dressed far differently from his Winter Soldier outfit I memorized so many years ago. A dark blue leather jacket hugs his tall frame, black pants accompany it with black fingerless gloves on one of his hands. He doesn't wear a mask anymore. I clear my throat, making the two men swing their heads around to look at me.
Sam smiles. "Looks good! Fits you like a glove," he gleams as he takes a sip of coffee. "I was worried it wouldn't fit you."
I ignore Barnes' eyes I feel wandering on me and smile as thanks. "I'm so grateful, but..." I twirl the phone around in my hands and walk up to him, holding it out. "I can't accept this. It's too much." My brows pinch together when he tilts his head at me, a sarcastic look covering his face.
He pushes the phone back to me. "Keep it. You need it in case something happens or we all get separated," he says in a low voice.
I purse my lips and nod reluctantly, tucking the phone away into one of the tight pockets lining my thigh. I glance at Barnes, finding he's eyeing my every move. "Where exactly are we going?" I ask, darting my eyes back to Sam.
He sets his mug down and gestures for me to follow him. "Munich," he mumbles, "there's been some trouble a friend of mine told me about. Figured we'd go check it out."
"Germany?" I gawk at him, and he just flashes me a friendly smile.
"Maybe Walker already has it covered," I hear Barnes grumble from behind us.
"Will you give it up already?" Sam quips.
"You shouldn't have given it up, Sam," I hear him say.
Not wanting to intrude on either one of their thoughts, I chime in. "Given what up?" I inquire.
Sam shakes his head, not looking back at me. "Nothing," he mumbles.
After a long walk to the hanger, I find a large freight plane sitting in an open planned room with a slide-up door behind it. I swallow my fear of flying and continue our walk into the aircraft. Barnes sits on one side of the plane, and Sam sits opposite, red nets behind both of them. I settle for a crate in the middle and wait for more information about what we're going into. I squeeze my eyes shut when the plane engine roars to life and begins to take off. My fingers grasp the crate for dear life as we reach a high enough altitude. My eyes flutter open when I feel the plane settle, along with the butterflies in my stomach calming down.
"You alright, Nadya?" Sam asks, tilting his head at me.
I nod, wiping my clothed hands on my thighs. "I've never flown before," I admit.
"Okay, Sam, we'll be in Munich in a few hours. But I still feel like I should warn you about-" A man walks into the area. Spiky brown hair and wide brown eyes find mine. He's wearing a camouflage uniform and holding a small tablet in his hands. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees all of us.
"Torres, this is Nadya. Nadya this is Torres." Sam introduces us.
Torres jogs up to me and holds his hand out. I take it hesitantly, and he shakes it quickly, making my shoulder jump. "Joaquin Torres, nice to meet you," he says with a wide smile. I notice one of his eyes is swollen shut, along with a thin cut on his lip.
"Nice to meet you, as well," I say politely. Torres releases his hold on my hand, and I go back to gripping the crate beneath me.
"Here's all the intel I gathered, Sam. They're called the Flag Smashers, and they should be in this location according to their app," he says while handing the tablet to Sam.
Sam mutters a quick thank you, and Torres jogs back through the door he came from. I chew on my lip, noticing the silence that's fallen over us. "What are the 'Flag Smashers'?" I ask, cutting through the uncomfortable silence.
Sam holds the tablet out to me, gesturing for me to take it. I grab it and hold it in my lap, swiping through the many images of men and women with masks hiding their faces. I tilt my head and zoom in. A dark handprint covers a large portion of their masks. A photo of a warehouse stops my swiping, a glowing red handprint is digitally added into the image. "That's what we're going to find out," Sam says, making me look back up to him.
"I'm not trained in combat," I mumble, seeing a body cam video of Torres being beaten by two of the said 'Flag Smashers.' "I'm not sure how I can help you here." I hand the tablet back to him, having seen enough.
"You'll be fine," he reassures me, "just stick with us." His eyes drift to Barnes, and I follow suit. He's been sitting quietly with a glare stuck on his face. "It's not like it's one of the big three," Sam jeers.
Barnes' face unfreezes, and he rolls his eyes. "There is no big three," he mumbles.
"What's the 'big three'?" I ask, unaware of the joke.
"Aliens, androids, and wizards," Sam says with an unwavering look on his face and confidence oozing from his tone.
I purse my lips to hold in a laugh when I realize he's serious. I glance at Barnes and see he's shaking his head with a disappointed frown on his face. This is going to be a long ride.
✪✪✪✪
"Sam! We're over the drop zone!" Torres jogs back into the space, and I feel the plane begin to descend.
Did he say 'drop zone'?
Sam stands up, grabbing the red glasses from over his head and placing them over his eyes. He nods at Torres while they walk along the wall of the plane, and Sam presses a button. I feel my stomach drop when a door opens, showing how fast the plane is going. "What's the plan?" Barnes yells over the wind lapping up his words. Sam looks back at him with a glare while shoving an earpiece into his ear. "Great. So no plan."
Sam gestures to me, and I jog up to him, taking the small piece from him and shoving it into my own ear. "Thirty seconds!" Torres yells, making me wince.
Sam glances back to Barnes. "Enjoy your ride, Buck," he retorts. My brows pinch together in confusion.
"No, you can't call me that," Barnes says almost immediately after the words reach him.
"Why not?" Sam asks, adjusting the glasses. "That's what Steve called you." They continue with the banter as if I'm not here.
Barnes gives him a spiteful grin. "Steve knew me longer, and Steve had a plan." He shakes his head. My eyes dart between them both. Steve was Captain America, as far as I know. But why is it such a sore subject?
"Fifteen seconds to drop!" Torres exclaims, making the pit in my stomach drop even lower.
"Drop?" I exclaim but no one seems to hear me over the wind.
Sam walks back over to the open door, turning his back on Barnes. "I have a plan," he remarks.
"Really?" Barnes stands from his seat and gestures with his arms, slapping them back down against his legs. "What is it?"
Sam grins at Barnes before diving headfirst out of the plane, making me gasp. I frantically look down and see the wings disengage from the pack on his back, making him glide through the air. "Great," I hear Barnes grumble.
"Where do we go?" I shout over the wind to Torres.
"Warehouse, about three miles East!" He says back to me, and I nod at him, knowing it's the one from the photos.
"Where's the chute?" Barnes calls out, making us both turn around to look at him.
Torres bites back a smile. "We're at two hundred feet. It's too low for a chute."
Barnes walks towards us quickly with a glare etched in his features. "I don't need it anyway," he says as he looks out of the open door.
"You sure about that?" Torres grins.
Barnes looks out over the landscape of trees fleeting past us. "Yeah," he scoffs, clearly trying to hide his fear. My eyes widen when he grips the left arm of his jacket, ripping the sleeve off and tossing it to the side. Exposing the metal arm that haunts my nightmares, only, it's different. There's no red star painted on the side anymore. It's silver with gold patterns mimicking muscles.
I'm snapped out of my short-lived trance when he also dives out of the plane, letting out a long, drawn-out scream as he does.
My eyes widen as I look at Torres after seeing Barnes smack through the many layers of trees and land flat on his back. He gestures to the open door. "You gonna jump too?" He quirks a brow at me as if daring me to do it.
I shake my head and let out a breathy laugh. "Uh, no. You said the warehouse, right?" I ask, backing away from the open door.
He nods.
"Thanks! It was nice meeting you!" I wave at him as I close my eyes and visualize the picture in my head. I grunt as my feet hit the concrete and I open my eyes to see I'm just outside the large building. I place my finger on the earpiece. "Okay, I'm outside," I whisper, out of breath from my tumble. Usually, I don't fall like that.
"I can see that," Sam's voice rings in my ear, and I whip around to see him landing in the grass. "Did you see Bucky?" He asks when he reaches me.
I shake my head at him. "He jumped out the same as you did."
His lips quirk up in a grin. "He'll meet us inside. Let's go," he says as he guides me into the open door. The building looks as if it's been charred from the inside out, with glass ceilings held up by shady-looking planks of wood. I step around puddles of water dripping from the ceilings and glance at the greenery growing off the walls. The room is enormous, providing little to no cover. Sam guides me behind two large crates stacked on top of each other and stares down at his left arm.
My head whips to the side when I hear stealthy footsteps coming up behind us. I hold my hands up, prepared to throw whoever it is back to where they came from. But I lower them when I see it's Barnes. He nods at me and continues until he reaches us.
"You're doing the staring thing, again," Sam says, not looking up from his forearm. Barnes glares at him, and Sam jerks his head to the side. "They're in there," he mumbles.
The three of us walk down a wide hallway, leading to another open area. We crouch behind a layer of shelves, and I stare in amazement at the individuals carrying what looks like heavy wooden boxes at least three at a time.
"I count seven people," Barnes says. "Let's go."
Sam grabs his arm. "No, wait!" He hisses, making the shelves rattle. I duck down even further, and they follow suit. "Shit," Sam drawls out.
I listen for any thoughts coming from these people. My eyes glide across the pavement below my feet like I'm reading a book as I do. "They're stealing medicine," I whisper.
"How do you-" Sam looks at me. "Never mind," he says, and I see my reflection in his goggles. My eyes are lit up a bright blue, and I blink furiously, trying to make it disappear. I hear the sound of a truck door being shut and engines coming to life. "There's an eighth person. I think they have a hostage," Sam says, tapping on his forearm excessively.
Barnes immediately darts out from the shelves, and I follow as Sam's suit springs to life. I get outside the building into the cool air but they're both already gone. I chew on my lip and squeeze my eyes shut again, picturing the trucks. The orange carriers and white carriages.
I fall onto my side, letting out a contorted cry as the wind pushes me over. I look around to see I'm on top of one of the moving trucks, with Barnes and Sam following close behind. I crawl over to the edge of the carrier and see Barnes jump onto it and rip the door open. "Nadya, stay where you are," Sam's voice echoes in my ear.
Barnes disappears into the truck for a moment. "Bucky, talk to me. What's going on?" Sam's voice comes through comms.
"Found the hostage," Barnes states simply. Another moment that feels like an eternity passes before he comes flying out of the truck.
His back smashes into the windshield of the semi behind it causing it to crack beneath him. "Shit!" He yells. I duck my head down to see a woman walking out of the carrier.
My stomach drops when I see her putting on a mask with a handprint on it, covering her face. Two men wearing the same masks grip Barnes' arm and pull him on top of the truck, and the woman jumps out of the carriage I'm on to get to Barnes. He fails miserably at holding them off.
I stand carefully and jump across, pushing my hands down, giving me just enough height to get to the other truck. The woman rams her fist into Barnes' face, making him jolt to the side as the two men hold his arms back. I suck in a breath and push my hand out, wrapping her fist in the blue energy and keeping it from colliding with his face again. They all turn to me, and one of the men lets go of Barnes' arm.
Oh shit.
✪ ✪ ✪ ✪
•I know this chapter is SUPER long but, I wanted the plot to pick up but didn't want to break this up into smaller chapters. I hope you enjoyed! And YES, I did have to rewatch some of the episode of Falcon and The Winter Soldier to get some of the dialogue and descriptions. (Not that I'm complaining) ALSO: i need song suggestions for this chapter. Because it's so long i can't decide what kind of vibe i want to go for. comment if you have any suggestions!•