SSHoshi Here! I don't own Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Inspired story by Siren's Song by Nemishysteria. Please enjoy.
Just a few more feet. Then she would be out of range of those damn nets. The once painful shock collar hung heavy around her thin throat, dead weight as weakened wings tried to keep her air born.
"The Doctor wants her back in one piece. Fire!" A voice cried from below as the familiar 'thomp' of the modified grenade launcher rang out. She heard a whistle before banking left, watching as the net deployed lower than her, falling onto the tip of the pine trees. She let out a small cry of surprise as she skimmed her way away from the men on foot, flying away from the only 'home' she had ever known.
Aurora Artemis Callum, or Aurora for short, wasn't much to look at. The typical 'nerd', glasses and clothes that never really fit right with an attitude that didn't suit her 'look'. But the outside world didn't see past her mask and she preffered it that way. Always hiding in the shadows after she ran that cold spring morning, flying as far as her un-natural wings could take her before, as the movies would call it, going to ground. Never allowing her powers to go haywire, sometimes feeling ready to scream when it all became too much.
"Please, just listen to me. Something terrible is going to happen. Just like in New York." Aurora cried into the handset of the phone booth she was using, pulling the oversized hoodie low over her face, slamming the phone up when the police officer asked for her name. For the past week, she had been trying to get someone to listen to her about her visions of a terrible accident about to occur in her home town. She had called Washington DC home since she had escaped, always keeping her head low and never allowing the hoards of people in rush hour to crush too close. She lifted the small backpack up and darted out into the crowds, trying to avoid most cameras, something she had done since she was young. She only had one place in mind, one truly peaceful destination she wanted to visit before getting home and locking down again for the night.
'He might be here again today. I'm sure he would be.' Her mind raced as she entered the Captain America portian of the Smithsonian. She had seen Captain Rogers a few times before, hiding in the crowds and reading about himself, or his men she had never asked, until the museum closed. Something about him drew her, maybe because he was so injured in her visions and she wanted to help him, no, needed to help him. She took up her regular seat in front of the main display cabinet and took out her sketch book and pencil, as she had done since the visions started.
An hour later
'Where is he? If I stay here longer, they will find me again.' She felt her wings ruffle slightly in fear, her hand trembling over the drawing of Captain Roger's friend, James Buchanan Barnes, or Bucky, trying to hold onto the faint trace she had of his energy. But it was gone, her sketch only half complete and missing the details that made her drawings unique.
"I remember when he used to smile like that." A voice from above her spoke gently, the sound so hollow with painful memory. Aurora looked up and nodded, her pale teal eyes watching Steve Rogers stood staring at her image before sitting down next to her.
"He was a brave man. He was a credit to his nation." She answered, trying to break the ice. Steve just laughed sadly and shook his head, looking at the enlarged picture behind the display case.
"He was more than just a soldier. Sorry, I didn't mean to seem rude." Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck before looking at her book and her.
"Aurora." She smiled slightly, holding her hand out to him. Steve shook it gently and nodded.
"You seem to be here everyday. Don't you get bored? Or is drawing the nation's Captain really that fascinating?" Steve said, making Aurora shrug.
"That is not what I draw, Captain. I draw who I see behind the medals and the history. The men, not the legends. I have done it since leaving school. Pays the bills."She stated simply, not allowing herself to become lax. Where the Captain went, the Widow was never far away. Steve just nodded and kept looking at her drawing, his mind far away, trapped in memory.
"Here, I have been meaning to give you these, Mr Barnes has been my muse for the past week. I thought they might mean more to you than anyone else, Mr Rogers." Aurora said, tearing the page out and pulling other out from her bag, neatly held together by a single paper clip.
"Bucky always pulled the ladies." Steve mumbled, before the beginning of Star Spangled Banner played and he pulled out his phone.
"I have to go." "I was an honour to meet you, Captain Rogers." Aurora smiled, watching as Steve left with a curt nod. She packed away her book and walked out a few minutes after him, noting the darkening sky and making her way back to her two bedroom townhouse. Just as she locked the door behind her, her vision swam and she was plunged into another possible future, a sickness in her gut telling her this would be tomorrow. She felt terror replace sickness as a man with a metal arm pin Rogers under him, as Rogers pleaded for him to remember. And she knew, this man, this machine, was Bucky. The vision blurred but not before she watched Bucky pull a almost dead looking Rogers from the river. Aurora gasped for air as she came back to her senses, before springing into action and stockpiling a week's worth of supplies into the re-enforced basement of her townhouse. She had done the best she could before the danger was upon the innocent Washington city but no one had listened. So she hid, locked away and safe from the destruction of her city.
A week after the Fall of SHIELD
'So much destruction. So much trauma… Have to escape!' Her mind screamed as she raced through the rain towards the Smithsonian. She had come everyday, hoping that her fears of the death of Steve Rogers were just in her head. Her area's TV cable had been destroyed so there had been no nightly news and with her sensitivity, she was scared. She made it inside without too much water on her as she straightened her leather jacket and ran a hand over her pale blonde hair.
'Where is he? He can't be…' Her mind choked before she walked straight into something, something hard. She gasped in pain as she bounced and fell backwards, trying not to whimper in pain as the fine bones in her wings jostled against each other. She looked up to the source of her misjudgement and found a pair of icy blue eyes staring back at her.
"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't see you." She scrambled to her feet, brushing her hair back behind her ear before looking back up at the imposing figure. Something about his eyes seemed familiar.
"Do not worry. It fine." The figure ground out, something darkening behind the icy glare before he turned and made to walk away. But a silver glint off the gap between his glove and sleeve had her trying to follow him. This was Bucky! The man from her visions. She had to see what he was still doing here instead of running as he was now the most wanted man in all America.
'Stay close but not too close, Aurora.' She reminded herself, following Bucky around the display before watching as he sat staring like she had at the main display of all the uniforms, including the returned original Captain America. It was close to closing when he had decided to get up and leave, so she did as well. Aurora was tailing behind a few good feet before a quick check of her phone had her guard down long enough for this new Bucky to have her slammed up against the side of a toilet block, hidden from view.
"Why are you following me? Answer me!" His voice demanded as he pushed her harder against the wall, making her gasp in agony as her wings threatened to break.
"Please… my wings… you are hurting me…" She sobbed, clawing at the forearm pressed against her throat, kicking her feet slightly, her toes barely skimming the ground. Bucky growled and pressed harder before Aurora felt the main bones in her left wing snap and she choked out a scream. Something snapped in those cold eyes and he dropped her, backing away in almost horror, but more confusion than anything.
"My wing… you… you broke my wing…" Aurora sobbed, curling over slightly as if to try and dull the pain that tore along her spine. She flinched when a hand brushed her hair, whimpering in pain before lifting her head. Bucky stared down at her, his eyes confused and hurt, and something in her made her reach for him.
"Please… don't hurt me… I… I know who you are… and I'm scared…" She sobbed, watching Bucky take another step back before running away. Aurora cried out and struggled to stand, clutching under her chest to ease her breathing before trying to walk after the now long gone Bucky.
"Miss Aurora! Are you okay?" A voice asked, making her turn and stare as the Captain America raced over, his shield glinting in the fading sunlight.
"He… He broke my wing… Help me… I need to get home…" She gasped in pain, before Steve held out his arm and she clutched onto it, thankful that the streets were quiet and almost deserted as they made their way back to her home.
At Aurora's Home
"Can I help? You are in a lot of pain, Miss. We need to take you to the hospital." "No! No hospitals. Hospitals have doctors and doctors are evil!" Aurora cried, clutching at Steve's suit, her eyes pleading and scared.
"Then how can we treat this pain? You clearly need medical help." Steve stated, as Aurora opened the top drawer of her kitchen and pulled out four medium sized pieces of wood and bandages of all shapes and thickness.
"I have to trust you with my biggest secret, Captain Rogers. Please… Then you will know why I refuse the hospital." Aurora pleaded, waiting for him to understand. Steve nodded, tightening his grip on his shield slightly before Aurora tugged at the faint and barely visible fishing wire that held the back of her shirt closed, opening two slits and allowing her white and grey patterned wings to fall out. She heard Steve inhale before looking up at him, pleading for help.
"Please. I cannot be found out. They will find me." She sobbed, the pain in her badly broken left wing a dull throb that was starting to grow again. She sat down with her back to Steve and waited.
"Are you sure this… battlezone medicine will work?" Steve asked, stepping closer to her, reaching for the wings she had kept so well hidden. Aurora nodded and held the injured wing out as far as she could, biting into the sleeve of her jacket before clenching her hands into fists.
"It will hurt." Steve said, gripping the wing as gently as he could before resetting the lower half in a quick movement, making her scream slightly as he strapped it tightly, making sure it was rigid for proper healing. He was about to move to the upper half before a whimper had him looking at Aurora. She had her eyes closed tightly but tears had still slipped past, her teeth sinking into the soft flesh of her arm, not drawing blood but still deep.
"I can stop if you want." He muttered, feeling guilty for causing her the pain. Aurora snapped her eyes open and glared at him.
"I cannot reset them on my own, asshole. Now shut your American trap and fix 'em." She snapped, her flawless American accent fading to blend with her natural French Canadian. Steve glared back slightly but reached for the last splint as she turned back and growled, waiting for the pain.
"We will be talking after this, Miss Aurora. You lied to me." Steve ground out as he reset the finer upper bone and tried not to let his harsh voice fade when she cried out and sobbed slightly. Aurora pulled her wings as tight as she could against her and turned to face him, her pale eyes seeming to glow.
"Yes, it seems we have to, Captain." She stated, crossing her legs and her arms across her chest. Steve stood tall and looked down at the now fiery woman, seeing into the hardened core of her eyes and soul. She was not as innocent as he once thought.
Author Note:
Hey All! I thought I'd give a Captain America story a try. Break away from my usual Saint Seiya and dip into Action films. Don't worry, I'll give more details about Aurora in later chapters. Read and Review! Please? For the Chibi Bucky!
