Charlotte
If it wasn't for Bucky, I would have run away from Tony's car. He held me taut, tight enough to make me feel alive and on earth, but not suffocating to squeeze all the oxygen out of my brain.
I sneaked my arms around his neck. After all that had happened, I didn't care if people were going to judge me for being so clingy around Bucky. Hell, I had close calls with death. So did he. I'd think there were plenty of reasons for us to treasure what we had right now.
I buried my face in his chest since I wasn't tall enough. He still smelled of aftershave, though the scent had faded quite a bit. "I don't understand why she's appeared out of nowhere, with no warning at all," I muttered and was comforted by Bucky's touch on the back of my hair.
I didn't need to read his expression. His tensed body posture told me he didn't know too, and he didn't like it.
Half an hour later, we arrived at Shield. We were called to the conference room once more and Agent Hill approached me directly. Her lips were sealed and her brows were knitted.
"She demands to see you," Agent Hills growled. She clearly didn't like my mother's request. Bucky's hand had never left mine since the car ride. He ran his thumb along the edge of my knuckles, something that he would do when he was nervous.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Bucky remarked at once, his voice was low and dangerous. Agent Hill crossed her arms in frustrated manner and glared at Bucky.
"Not my call, agent," She paused and glanced behind us, a frown masking her face. "Who's this?"
She was directing it at Matron. Jumping slightly, Matron made a big show of looking behind her before realizing she was the one being addressed. "What?" Matron threw her hands up in exasperation, her blue hair was wild in a loose ponytail. "We have met at Tony's place!"
Steve, who was standing next to her, peered down at her in amusement. Natasha's lips curved as she observed Matron with interest. Tony and Bruce had disappeared into their lab the moment we entered the block.
Before Agent Hill could word again, I chimed in, my heart kicking away in my chest, "I want to see her, too." Everybody's gaze fell upon me, and I felt my cheeks burn. "I need to know."
It didn't take two for anyone to understand. A daughter who had been abandoned by her mother for years, had every right to ask, to seek the answer. So, nodding gravely, Agent Hill led the way and I had to leave Bucky once again.
The moment I slipped my hand away from Bucky's, my body felt like a deflated balloon. Yet I braved myself and marched on. It was kind of fretful to think that Bucky and I shared this special bond, where we could only be strong with each other by our sides.
The room that Agent Hill had led me to was simple and plain, but I believed there was technology more advanced than MIT's researches guarding the walls. In spite of my increasing heart rate, my eyes turned red, and if my mother was surprised, she didn't show it.
She was just as I had remembered her in my memory. Her hair was sleek black, her cheekbones cutting and her skin pale. A cold smile lingered on her lips and her gaze, they were nothing like mine. Her eyes were brown and glinted deeply, like the depth of her eyes would reach far back enough to her brain.
My hair seemed to ignite on my shoulders. Seeing my mother made me conscious the fact that I shared my mother's hair, and my father's blue eyes. "Charlotte," She called out softly, just as Agent Hill closed the door behind me.
I shivered at her voice. She didn't change, and that was terrifying to me. People changed over time. If they didn't, there was something seriously wrong. The two of us stayed still for a heartbeat. What could I say to my own mother who had decided to leave me behind without saying another word?
Thank the lord she had opted to speak up in her overly sweet voice. "You have grown so much over the years." She walked around the table and reached out, pulling me into a hug that felt like nothing. I imagined my friends getting worked up in the conference room as they watched us through the CCTV. Matron would have been biting on her nails again.
I huffed and was glad that my mother had ended the hug sooner, since it didn't seem like I was going to put my arms around her in sheer politeness or daughterly love. "In which you haven't even bothered to pay a visit. Well done on playing the mother role." I couldn't believe the words that had left my mouth, but I wasn't regretting them either.
Something hard and cold flickered in my mother's gleams. She collected herself and smiled even brighter, "I have my reasons, which I am going to explain now if you would like to listen."
I turned away from her and sat on a chair that was positioned by a table in the middle of the small room. I seated myself and gestured towards the chair that was from across me. My mother's smile dropped painfully as she settled on the other chair too.
"The family gift that you have, Charlotte, is very powerful. I need you to use it and let it take control."
Startled, I tried to conceal my feelings. "The gift? You mean the curse that makes me a weirdo and marks me a freak?" The bloody red in my eyes were not fading, and my mother didn't even question about them, which was merely strange. Something was off, I could tell.
As if I was too stupid to get her point, my mother attempted to take another direction in the conversation. "It is well planned by my employer and I to lead you to Shield. You are to work under Shield, as we have expected."
"What are you talking about?" I looked at my mother in confusion. My mother must have gone nut in the years.
"It's all going to happen tonight, dear. We have got our people in other Shield's bases. They are going to take them down with ease. But here in the heart of Shield, you and I, mother and daughter, have to work together to turn Shield into ruins."
I was frozen in my seat. My blood was running cold, and I wondered how come none of my friends were coming for me already. Were they not watching this whole conversation through the CCTV?
"Charlotte, it's time to let our power run loose. I have been practicing and pushing my strength. I hope you have done the same."
My mother reached into her pocket and to my horror, she pulled out a syringe. "How did you get that in? You should be disarmed!" I pushed myself away from the table and backed to the door. Behind me, guns were shot and I gaped.
My mother stood, as if I was being unreasonable. "See, we have got our people here too. When they brought us in, my fellow worker sneaked this into my pocket for you."
"For me?" I repeated in disbelief. Where were my friends? Were they harmed? Was Bucky okay? "Who are you working for, mother?"
My mother smiled. This time, the gesture seemed genuine, which sent a spark to my senses. "Hydra, of course. Now, inject this into your system and we will complete our plan with honor."
My mother had really gone nut in the past years. Hell, I couldn't believe I was addressing this woman in front of me as my mother. There were shouts and cries in the corridor. My stomach tightened at the thought of my friends being in danger. Matron was here in Shield as well. She was defenseless and if she got hurt, I would never forgive myself.
"What makes you think I will help you?" I spat and turned on my heels, pushing the button by the door to disarm the doorway so I could leave. When the door stayed put, my mother laughed nervously behind me.
"Dear, I told you already. We've got people in Shield. We have planned this through." I twisted around and glared at her.
"Let me go," I muttered.
"Or what? Would you harm your own mother?" I stared at her, wondering if I saw her as my bloodline anymore. Tilting her head, my mother shook her head at me quizzically. "Though, I don't understand why you're refusing to help me. I thought you would be happy to see your mother again?"
I almost had to laugh at her, but before I could say anything else, my mother continued. "Is it because of your 'friends' in Shield?"
"They are not only friends," I snapped, "They are family."
My mother reached a hand towards me, another forceful smile playing at her lips. Behind the door, the gun shots had silent. Instead, someone was banging on the door rapidly. His voice rang through the wall, through my body.
"Lottie! Can you hear me?"
It was Bucky. The sound of his voice relaxed me slightly. At least he was unharmed for the being. Catching the shift in my expression, my mother's smile had disappeared completely, and her eyes were hard and difficult.
"It's about him, too," My mother stated matter of factly. She looked disgusted. "You're going out with the subject in our experiment?" Sighing heavily, she ignored Bucky's shouts and sat down again. "He's pathetic, Charlotte. Stop being ridiculous and help me." She nodded at the syringe on the table, expecting me to pluck the needle into my arm.
I stared at her. The subject of their experiment? Of course, Hydra was using Bucky to the pieces. Yet I couldn't imagine my own mother was involved in abusing Bucky. The sheer thought brought new fire in my chest. "I am not going to help you," I threw my words at my mother, hoping they could be as harsh and blunt as a sharp knife. I wanted to hurt her, like the way she had damaged and poisoned my life. My mother heaved another sigh but I ignored her. "Bucky!" I shouted, the frantic voice of his behind the door stopped. "I'm okay! The door is locked through the system! I can't get out!"
Bucky's voice emerged again. He sounded relief to hear me safe and sound, but worried at the same time. "Natasha is on it-" His words were interrupted by a gun shot. To my terror, Bucky grunted at the impact. Another round of gunshots. The air was thickened with my screams and my mother's cackles. "Bucky!" I screamed and took a few steps back, before running straight into the door, throwing my shoulder against the solid material. Pain cut into my shoulder blade but my sight was drowned in blood.
Behind me, my mother fingered her necklace. I snapped around to glare at her. My mother didn't even flinch under my red glints, and I finally understood why.
She had been planning this all along.
Smiling at me, she pressed something on her necklace, and I felt it. The icy cold feelings returning to my limps, reaching out from the darkest corner in my brain.
Well, hello again, the voice greeted.
I faded into horror as I watched myself moved towards the syringe on the table. My mother watched contently as I closed my fingers around the syringe. This injection will make us stronger, the voice explained. Let me control you completely, Charlotte. I know you want to give in.
In the background, Bucky shouted something. The gunshots died and something was thrown against the door heavily. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the shape Bucky's metal fist craved into the middle of the solid wall. It came along with Bucky's painful growls.
Something snapped within me. I couldn't just stand back and watch Bucky get hurt. From deep inside me, I willed my limps to move, pushing the voice back into its corner. The voice kicked and struggled, but so did Bucky in the background. My mother's expression changed when she saw what I was doing.
I had realized, if one wanted to feel whole again, to feel like herself again, one should let herself taste the pain and bittersweet of sacrificing for someone she loved.
I felt for the dagger that I had hid in my waist belt and pulled it out. Leveling gaze with my mother, I drove the dagger deep into my stomach. Colours blossomed before my eyes as my cry echoed with Bucky's shout in the air.
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If I have to be honest, the story is nearing its end and I have two brief ideas for the ending of the story in my head. I need to make up my mind sooner for the sake of Soldiers :(
-Rivers