As the dates of my previous stories have shown, I have not posted anything here for quite some time…this story is my first shot at getting back into posting my fics online.
And for those of you following along, I have deleted "Let's Do the Time Warp Again." While the characters used are the same – My OC's Case and Ryder Howlett – their backstories have changed, and their story lines will show the effects of the changes.
I'm going to be honest, this story originally was not meant to see the light of day – more of a piece written to appease the plot bunnies, nothing more. However, the more I've worked on it, the more I want to see how it turned out and what people think of it...so here it is, part one of my little series here, entitled "The Ballad of Case Howlett and Bucky Barnes". While told through a series of flashbacks, the story will start with events in "The First Avenger" and will continue with "The Avengers" and to the end of "Winter Soldier"...
With that being said, I want to add the typical disclaimer of "I don't own anything Marvel related whatsoever, just borrowing them for a bit". I hope you all enjoy what I've written. On with the story...
The "Full Summary" if you will...
A flashbulb memory is considered a memory that is connected to a significant or emotional event in a person's life. Case Howlett is no exception to the rule, having plenty to choose from after she and her twin brother Ryder practically grew up with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes as their best friends. The following takes a look at how the story unfolded, in a series of flashbacks and snapshot memories we'll see how two mutants and a sniper followed the little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight into the jaws of death...and came out on the other side.
Sam Wilson sat in a small diner in Washington DC, patiently waiting for his companion. He found the text rather odd, just a simple request to meet with him at the diner in question at the designated time.
She was running late it seemed, however, ten minutes had passed and still no sign of the youngish woman.
Although after he'd checked both his watch and his phone a third time to make sure he'd gotten the times right, he could hear a loud rumbling outside as someone pulled up on a motorcycle. The person was wearing a dark helmet with their face obscured and entered the diner without even removing the helmet at all.
Sam could tell it was a woman, the short curvy stature gave it away. She was unzipping the motorcycle jacket as she walked toward him and slid into the booth across from him. "You're late," He said simply.
She pulled the helmet off her head and blinked tired blue-green eyes at him. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she looked away from him as she softly said, "I'm sorry…"
Her name was Case Howlett…known among the Avengers as 'The Siren', a longtime friend of Steve Rogers, who was also known as Captain America. Sam had officially met them both recently – the two went jogging together in the mornings, while Steve enjoyed running laps around Sam while yelling out "On your left!"
"I'm sorry I…" Case's voice brought him back to the present as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I couldn't leave my apartment this morning."
Sam frowned and sat straighter, "What?"
"It's…it's why I called…" Case pinched at her eyes. "You said you were a therapist, right? You work with soldiers at the VA?"
"Yes," Sam answered.
"Look…I feel like I'm falling apart at the seams," Case said bluntly. "I can't sleep, I can't eat…and after this whole thing with the Winter Soldier frankly I can't stop crying either," She said, and Sam could see tears welling in her eyes again. She took a breath to compose herself, as a waitress came by and asked if she could get her anything. "Just water please," Case asked her.
"When was the last time you could sleep or eat?" Sam asked with concern.
"Eating took a side trip...I grabbed snacks where I could same with the others, but I haven't eaten a regular meal since before this whole thing with Fury happened," Case admitted. "As for sleep…I've had bouts of insomnia since I was five. This is nothing new to me."
"But it's still cause for concern," Sam pointed out. "Why didn't you see anyone when you got out of the ice?"
"I did…at least I tried," Case admitted. "I've been officially diagnosed with insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder and clinical depression."
Sam's eyebrows rose, "Case, none of those should go untreated…at all."
Case shrugged, "I know…but unfortunately, I don't remember enough to go into details about my mother's disappearance, and I sure as hell didn't want to divulge details of my relationship with Bucky. And while I knew something had been done to me to prevent me from remembering the full details of the adamantium fusion, those quacks at SHIELD didn't want to hear it, they were insistent I was subconsciously blocking out the memories…so I stopped going."
"Those are key points to talk about though."
"I understand…but they wanted to do it on their terms, not mine," Case said. "And I know it was SHIELD but there was something about them I didn't trust."
"So why come to me?"
Case gave a small smirk, "I like you. You've seen war, what it does to people…" She looked away from him, and quietly said, "You know what it's like to lose someone in battle."
"So, you need a therapist you can trust with similar life experiences."
Case looked up to him and gave a nod. "Look, if you're not comfortable with it, I won't be upset. We don't know each other that well…and this is a big favor I'm asking."
Sam studied her for a moment. He could see dark circles under her eyes, puffiness in her cheeks…desperation seemed to be radiating off her in waves, although Case herself seemed to be calm and collected.
It was her eyes that gave it away. They were full of pain and terror and were still wet from the unshed tears from earlier. He could see the trembling in her hands, slight though it was, an untrained eye may have missed it.
"Alright…I'll do it," Sam said. "But, we are going to have to deal with the tough subjects…your mother, Bucky, the adamantium."
Case visibly paled, and gave a nod, weakly saying, "Alright…"
Sam gave her a reassuring smile, "When do we start?"
Case's calm exterior seemed to fray a little bit, "W-we can start now if you'd like."
"It's not about what I'd like, Case, it's about you," Sam told her. "We can start small…why couldn't you leave your apartment this morning?"
Case chewed on her lower lip, "I was scared…I couldn't face the world. I didn't know if I'd come across any Hydra agents or even…" her breath hitched, and she closed her eyes, scrunching them tight. Tears were leaking out from behind her eyelids, and she turned sideways in the booth, pulling her legs onto the bench. She covered her eyes with her left hand, taking deep breaths to maintain her composure.
"Case talk to me."
"I…give me a minute."
Sam nodded, and watched as Case calmed herself down. He gave her a few moments before changing the subject, "The SHIELD docs…they wanted to talk about your mother?"
"Yeah," Case nodded. "It was after she disappeared the insomnia started…pretty self-explanatory, really. I was afraid my dad or Ryder would disappear next, so I'd stay awake at night to make sure they didn't." She sighed, "Although my dad did step out a lot to speak with my Uncle Victor…he was never too far from us."
"And your father is the Wolverine?"
"Basically…Ryder and I share his advanced healing ability…" She wiggled her fingers, "I've got his bone claws…and thanks to Pierce and Hydra the adamantium too." She sighed, "Ryder's like our mother…he can use tactile hypnosis."
"What's the age difference between you two?"
"We're twins, actually…he's twenty-five minutes older."
Sam gave a hum as he thought what topic to breach next. "So how did you end up fighting with the Howling Commandoes?"
Case rolled her eyes, "Come on, Wilson, I'm sure you didn't sleep through history. And I'm sure you've visited that lovely Smithsonian exhibit on the rest of us."
"Yes, but history can only tell so much," Sam pointed out. "And I don't want the perspective of the historians…this is a therapy session, Howlett. I want your thoughts and feelings…your perspective. Your side of the story."
"My side, huh?" Case asked, mulling that over. "How much do you want to cover?"
"Whatever you want to cover…tough subjects, easy subjects…we're here for you."
Case thought that over for a moment, then started, "We met Steve and Bucky in nineteen twenty-four…I'm not sure what happened, I remember an alley and someone beating the tar out of Steve, or at least trying to…" At Sam's concerned look, she added, "He was using a trash can lid as a shield…" She shook her head, "After the bullies were gone, I remember Bucky and Ryder going back and forth comparing Steve and me…"
"Comparing?"
"Bucky because Steve kept running head first into fights," Case explained. "Me because I kept trying to push boundaries…Dad didn't want us to talk about our mutations to anyone, and quite frankly, I would get antsy…and maybe there was some jumping off of the fire escape here and there…or the jungle gym at the park…minor things but things that could seriously hurt your average child."
"So, they had a common ground of trying to keep people out of trouble," Sam said.
"What their friendship was based on," Case gave a small smile at the memory. "You should've seen 'em after we got the Hundred and Seventh out of Azzano…ripped us both new ones and did it as a team." She took a deep breath as she said, "It was sheer luck that brought me and Steve together before that…they were getting a group of girls together for this Captain America show, and I got picked for the group…"
"Did you know it was Steve?"
"All they told us was he was someone they'd come up with to help with the war effort," Case rolled her eyes. "Something about War Bonds…I don't remember, nor do I care to. What I do remember is all the girls were excited to meet Captain America…"