Her entire body shivered, not from the cold, but from the pain coursing through every inch of her, like tiny shocks of electricity. She didn't know where she was, she hardly knew who she was. A voice echoed in her head over and over.
"Your name is Caroline Page."
It seemed distant, like the voice was in another room, or a dream. Other voices filled the air around her, but they too seemed far away.
"She's shaking," said a familiar voice, "Her entire body is shaking."
A gentle hand brushed lightly across one of her arms, she shivered under human contact, something she hadn't felt in long time.
"She's got bruising, almost everywhere," this voice was from a female, she recognized this one too.
"Buck, what did they do to her?" She stirred a little more, she knew this voice well.
It made her feel safe and warm, something else she hadn't felt in a while. When no one answered, the voice started again.
"I know it's hard for you to be back here, I know the memories don't always come back, but I need you to try," he said in a harsher tone.
"I'm trying Steve," came a low, frustrated voice.
Caroline's eyes shot open, that voice she knew, that voice she would recognize anywhere. She threw her hand out and in an instant the Winter Soldier was up against the wall. "Hey Kid, guess you remember me, I wasn't sure you would," he choked out, his feet dangling.
"Okay, and she's got super powers, great. Steve we really have to stop finding you friends like this."
Caroline turned her head to see Tony Stark decked out in his Iron suit. His helmet shut with a clunk and he lifted an armored hand to her.
"What is going on?" Caroline asked breathlessly.
"Tony stand down, she isn't going to hurt us."
"Speak for yourself," spat Bucky, still dangling in the air, struggling against her invisible force.
"Steve?" said Caroline slowly.
"Hey, Caroline," he said gently.
The voice that had made her feel safe just a moment ago set a wave of anger through her as a memory flashed into her head. She through her other hand up, sending Steve flying up against the adjacent wall.
"You were saying Cap?" Tony said raising his hand again.
Caroline panted, her body was exhausted, her head was pounding, but the pure rage coursing through her veins was keeping the two men up.
"Caroline, it's me, let me down," Steve said firmly.
"You think I don't know who you are? Steve Rogers, you're the reason I'm here, you're they reason the did this to me," Caroline growled.
"Barnes, next time you give us information, all of it would be nice," shot Tony.
"I assumed we all knew she'd been brainwashed, it's HYDRA after all," Barnes sneered.
"Okay, fair," Tony nodded.
"Caroline, I didn't do this," Steve pleaded.
"They came after me because of you, they took me, that night, after Tony's party, because of you" she panted.
Flashes of memories flooded back to her. She remembered Tony's party at the Avenger's tower. Everyone was there, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, everyone…and Steve. She had been Steve's date, she had worn a pretty blue dress, they had all laughed, played drinking games, told stories. Tony made the Parker kid leave at ten, saying it was "past his bed time", and had Happy escort him home after his third try at sneaking back in. It wasn't the first time Steve had brought her to the tower, but it would be the last. Steve had taken her back to the apartment complex where they both lived across the hall from each other. She had told him he didn't need to walk her all the way up the four flights to their floor, he had to get back to the tower anyway. He kissed her on the cheek, and watched her as she took the first flight of stairs. They had been waiting for her in her apartment. They forced her to write a note telling Steve she was leaving and not to follow her. She knew as she wrote it that he wouldn't buy it, that he would track her down and come for her. Every day she spent in this place, she believed that less and less.
"Listen Kid, we're here to help you, we cleared out the base," said the Winter Solider, snapping her back.
She clenched her hand into a fist, tightening her grip on him. She remembered his face, remembered his voice, and her body remembered the pain that he had caused. She hated him, she had been taught to hate him. "And you," she hissed, "they tortured me because of you. They shocked me for hours because I took down their precious asset."
"Caroline, I'm sorry," he gasped.
Hearing him say her name sent a shiver down her spine. Another memory flashed into her head, he was talking to her. The soldier, saying her name over and over. She didn't know what to call him, and he couldn't remember enough to tell her. He made her tell him her name, repeated it to her so she wouldn't forget. Her body ached, everything ached. The pounding in her head was getting worse, and every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire. With a cry she dropped her arms to her sides and crumpled into the ground. Steve and the soldier toppled to the floor.
"Okay, what just happened?" asked Tony.
Steve moved towards her. She held up her hand to him again, but this time could only knock him off his feet.
"Steve don't," it was the female voice again, Natasha.
She was at Caroline's side in an instant, wrapping Caroline in her arms. Caroline's whole body began shaking again, this time more violently. The whole base shook with her.
"She's having a panic attack," she heard the soldier say as he stood to his feet, "She can't control it."
"What do we do Barnes?" Tony asked sharply.
"I don't know," he said slowly.
"We don't have time for an 'I don't know' Buck," said Steve as the walls began to crack.
"I can knock her out with this," Tony said procuring a syringe with clear liquid.
"No, I can do this," he said quickly.
He knelt down beside Natasha and put his hand on Caroline's cheek. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. Natasha retreated to Steve's side.
"Hey Kid," he said gently, placing his hand on her cheek.
"It hurts," she cried.
"I know, I'm sorry," he said. She pressed her head against his hand. It felt familiar, but the memory was just out of reach. She knew he could help her, but she couldn't remember how.
"Please help me," she pleaded.
"I'm trying," he said in earnest.
Her entire body tensed as another wave of pain coursed through every inch of her. He couldn't remember how to help her either, another thing HYDRA had taken from her. She screamed releasing everything she had in her.
"We're out of time Barnes, executive decision," Tony said lunging towards her. "Tony wait!" Steve yelled.
But it was too late, he had pushed the clear liquid into her system. The world around her went fuzzy and then dark.
Bucky glared up at Tony. He knelt on the floor with Caroline's limp body in his arms.
"I told you I could help," he said angrily.
"This place was about to come tumbling down around us," said Tony, "You couldn't remember, so I saved our lives."
"I said I could help her, I knew how to help her. I know her," said Bucky.
"We all know her Barnes!" yelled Tony.
"And long before you did," Natasha said under her breath.
"Okay enough," Steve said firmly, "Tony, Nat, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me too."
He glanced down at Bucky and Caroline and sighed heavily.
"Buck, what happened here?" he asked.
"HYDRA loves their experiments, you know that," said Bucky, "They were trying to enhance humans using means other than the serum."
"We know, we have one living with us currently," Natasha sighed.
"But we thought they were the only ones who survived the experiments?" said Tony.
"Well clearly you were wrong," Bucky replied. Tony opened his mouth to speak, but Steve cut him off.
"Okay they kept her at the same base as you? Why? The Maximoff's were somewhere else" he asked.
"I don't know Steve. Honestly, it probably had something to do with you. But they had us go against each other pretty much daily for weeks, until I went rogue. I'd be lying if I said she didn't kick my ass almost every time."
"Really?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Bucky replied curtly, "It's a little hard to pack punches when you're being thrown across the room by someone a foot away from you."
"Fair," Natasha nodded.
"If she beat me, they tortured her. If I beat her, they tortured her." said Bucky.
Tony swore under his breath and hit the wall behind him. Steve dropped to his knees beside Bucky and Caroline. Bucky looked to his friend, memories started to come back, memories of Caroline.
"It wasn't good Steve," Bucky said softly, "Sometimes they would throw us in cells next to each other, when I wasn't on ice. She would come back from being tortured, exhausted, crying. I found a hole in the wall, large enough to put my hand through. You don't know what it's like, we both craved human contact, she would put her head in my hand. I would ask her questions about her life, I knew she needed to hold on to those details. I don't know if HYDRA knew that was happening, maybe they did, maybe they were trying to make a team out of us to bring you down, I don't know Steve, but we gave each other a little humanity in those times."
"Why didn't you tell us what we were walking into Buck?" he asked his friend.
Bucky looked up at Steve and gave him a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, seventy years of HYDRA blending my brain, sometimes things get lost. I didn't remember most of this until I saw her. I told you everything I knew." he said.
Steve clasped a hand on Bucky's shoulder and nodded solemnly. Silence filled the air around them. Natasha dropped down beside them as well. She ran a hand across Caroline's forehead.
"We should get her to the jet," she said glancing at Steve.
Steve nodded and moved to lift Caroline from Bucky's arms, but Bucky hesitated to let go.
"I've got it Buck," said Steve.
"As adorable is this is, we need to get going," Tony said scooping Caroline into his own arms.
Natasha smirked down at Steve and Bucky, then turned to follow Tony. Steve stood, reaching a hand down help his friend.
"I shouldn't have come," said Bucky.
"No, I don't think that," Steve said shaking his head, "If anything, maybe I shouldn't have come, she won't even let me come anywhere near her."
Bucky stopped walking. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and turned him around to face him.
"Steve, it's not entirely her, you know that," he said firmly.
"No, I know," he nodded.
"HYDRA isn't out to make Captain America any friends," said Bucky.
"Yeah, I just wish they would stop taking the ones I already have to turn them against me," Steve sighed.
Bucky nodded and placed his hand reassuringly on Steve's shoulder. "C'mon Steve," he said to his friend.
The jet was solemn. Tony and Steve sat in the front, quietly navigating. Natasha was in the back with Caroline, who was still asleep on the med table. Bruce Banner, who they had brought along in case of any emergencies, was hovering over her, taking her vitals. Bucky sat on the floor, his back leaning against the med table. Tony glanced over at Steve. He knew how hard this entire thing was on him. He had seen a different side of Steve since finding Bucky. Even with his best friend recovering in Wakanda, Tony felt that Steve had finally found a sense of peace. That was until Bucky remembered Caroline, remembered her calling out Steve's name, remembered that she was probably still alive. He watched Steve beat himself up for not realizing that the note she had left behind telling him she was leaving, wasn't from her at all, but a HYDRA plant. They were all on edge, Caroline had become friends with more of the Avengers than just Steve. They all wanted her back.
"Hey," he said turning his seat to face Steve, "We found her, she's safe, it's over."
Steve sighed and dropped his head.
"No Tony, it isn't. Bucky is still recovering from everything HYDRA put him through. She's not the same and she might never be the same," said Steve.
"I'd say getting her here is a pretty good start though," said Tony.
"Yeah, you're right about that" Steve nodded.
"Steve, you have Bucky, you have Caroline, it might take a minute, but they are on their way back to you," Tony said gently, "And the rest of the team is going to be stoked to have her back. I mean, Clint keeps sending me text messages asking if we've found her yet."
Steve laughed, he knew the rest of the team had become fond of Caroline. He knew they were going to be thrilled upon her return, but he also knew they had a long road ahead of them before she was actually back.
"Uh, sorry, am I interrupting?" Bruce asked, poking his head between them.
"No, not at all, is everything ok?" asked Steve.
"She's been through a lot Steve," Bruce said solemnly, "As far as I can tell they experimented on her in pretty much the same way the did on the twins. We thought that they were the only two who survived the experiments, but Caroline is proof that they weren't alone."
"Why? Why did they survive but not the others?" Tony asked.
"I don't know Tony, maybe she had more to fight for," Bruce said glancing at Steve, "Anyway, the difference is, the twins could control their powers early on. Anytime Caroline moves, so do the things around her, she doesn't seem to have much control."
"She has control," came Bucky's voice, "but it's messy and erratic. If she's focused, she's great."
"Right," Banner nodded, "the problem however, is that her brain and her body have been through a significant amount of trauma."
"She can't focus on anything but the pain," said Bucky.
"Thank you Barnes, I think we got it," Tony snapped.
Tony and Steve looked at each other, both knowing the discussion they were about to have wasn't going to be an easy one.
"We can't bring her back to the tower," Tony said quickly.
"No I know," Steve said, "But she needs help."
"And training," Natasha said walking into the conversation.
"Wouldn't that be best done with us?" Bruce asked.
"If she loses control it could be a disaster," said Tony.
"What if she doesn't want training, what if she doesn't want to be one of us?" Steve asked.
"Well, regardless, she needs to learn how to control this, and on top of that, we need to find a way for her to manage the pain," Tony countered, "Do you think the physical damage is permanent Banner?"
"I don't know. I don't know what they did to her exactly," he said turning to Bucky, "Barnes if you have any ideas…" he trailed off.
Bucky sighed and leaned his head back against the table.
"Yeah, I think I do," he replied, "I'm pretty sure they would shock her, for hours, strong enough to torment her, wear her down, but not strong enough to kill her, which is probably what she wanted by the end of it," he glanced over at them, "It's one of their favorite forms of torture. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other methods as well, and I can't speak for what happened after I left."
"Right, she's been in there for about three months without Barnes. I mean our information is already pretty limited," said Bruce.
"Tony, can I talk to you for a second," Steve said standing, nodding his head away from the group.
Tony stood and followed Steve out of earshot of the others.
"What about Wanda," said Natasha, "She's the obvious choice. They have similar powers from the same source."
"They'll be the perfect team until Caroline finds out that Wanda volunteered for the same group of people that took everything from her," Bruce said dryly.
"I wonder if Fury would have any ideas," Natasha mumbled to herself.
"Why don't you just put me out of my misery, seems like it would be a lot less trouble for everyone."
Bruce and Natasha turned to see Caroline sitting up cross legged on the bed. Bucky stood awkwardly next to her.
"Oh, she's awake," he said after a beat.
"Well thanks for the notice Barnes," Natasha said striding over to her.
She brushed a a piece of hair behind Caroline's ear. Caroline flinched at human contact, and Natasha pulled back.
"Hey Nat," she said with a half hearted smile.
"It's good to see you Caroline," Natasha said warmly.
"There will be no putting anyone out of their misery, here," Bruce said with a grin.
"Believe me I've tried that on them too," Bucky mumbled beside her.
She jumped at the sound of his voice and he took a step back.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quickly.
She looked him up and down and nodded.
"No, I know," she said.
He slowly returned to his place by her side. Steve and Tony returned to the group, both pausing upon seeing Caroline. Tony's face broke into a smile as he strode over to her wrapping her in his arms.
"Hi Tony," she said melting against him. She had always been incredibly fond of Tony.
He had welcomed her into their little family with open arms and a quick mouth.
"It's good to have you back," he said giving her shoulder a squeeze.
She smiled and nodded. Then she looked to Steve. He stood still, watching them, a pained look on his face.
"Hey Steve," she said softly.
"Caroline," he said starting to move to her.
She held up a hand and he stopped, unable to move any further. Caroline was holding him back.
"If you come any closer I don't know if I will be able to control it," she said in a shaky voice.
"Okay," Steve nodded, "I'll stay back."
She lowered her hand, releasing her hold on him. He didn't move any closer, but glanced at Bucky.
"What about Bucky here? Does he put you on edge?" Tony asked.
"Who the hell is Bucky?" Caroline asked.
Steve coughed, suppressing a laugh. The others grinned, but Caroline looked around confused.
"I'm Bucky," Bucky grumbled, shuffling at her side.
"Your name is Bucky?" Caroline asked incredulously.
"James Buchanan Barnes," he sighed.
"Well, it's nice to finally get real name," said Caroline.
"It's not like I was keeping it from you," Bucky said angrily.
"Obviously I know you weren't keeping it from me, I'm just pointing out that it's nice to finally be able to all you something other than 'Winter Soldier' or 'HYDRA's best asset', even if it is Bucky," Caroline snarked.
"You don't have to call me Bucky, Barnes works just fine," he shot back.
Caroline opened her mouth to reply, but Tony cut in quickly.
"Okay, that is enough of that," Tony said, "Steve, I think they seem fine."
Steve sighed and nodded. They did seem fine. Bucky had been standing right next to her the entire time, and so far he had not triggered any kind of reaction from her. Still, Steve knew that he need to brace himself for the conversation that was coming.
"We found a solution," Steve said.
"The solution is Bucky," said Tony, "Well Bucky and Wakanda."
"No," Bucky and Caroline said at the same time.
"This is a bad idea Steve, do you know how many walls she's thrown me up against?" said Bucky.
"They tortured me because of him," Caroline muttered.
"And yet he can stand inches from you and you don't feel the urge to continue throwing him against any walls, whereas some of us can't even get near you," Steve countered sharply.
Caroline's head shot up and the cabinets around her burst open, spilling supplies everywhere. "
I'm sorry you're hurt Steve," Caroline snapped, "I can't imagine what this must be like for you." Each word was sarcastic and biting.
"Caroline I didn't do this to you," Steve pleaded, "You have to know that."
"You should have known that I wouldn't have just left!" she cried throwing Steve off his feet.
Tony moved to counter Caroline, but Bucky slid in front of him, his back turned to Tony and Steve. He grabbed Caroline's face with one hand, forcing her to keep eye contact.
"Hey Kid, c'mon, that's enough," he said, "You know who did this to you and it's not him. They want you to hate him. You're letting them win."
She nodded tearfully, and he pressed his forehead against hers.
"This is going to be hard Caroline," he whispered to her.
He held her for a second more, then backed away and resumed his place beside the table.
Tony had eased up and was helping Steve to his feet. Natasha was watching, a slight grin on her face. Bruce had his mouth agape, staring intently.
"Steve I'm sorry," she said gently.
He slowly moved towards her, eyeing her with caution. Her whole body tensed as he reached out to touch her face, but she leaned into his hand. He slid his hand against her cheek and intertwined his fingers in her hair.
"I know this isn't your fault Steve," she whispered, "I know that. But right now I can't wrap my head around it."
"I know," he nodded.
He backed away, and went back to his seat, turning auto pilot off, he began to navigate the jet towards Wakanda.
"You're going to be okay," Tony grinned, "I would say you're in good hands, but, well you know Barnes."
"Thanks Stark," Bucky mumbled.
"You know I'm joking Barnes" Tony said clapping a hand on Bucky's shoulder.
He followed Steve and took his seat next to him. Natasha smirked at Caroline and gently tugged on a piece or her hair.
"How's the pain?" asked Bruce.
"Um, it's not great," Caroline replied.
"I can put you out for the rest of the trip if you'd like, I'm sure you could use the extra rest," Bruce said.
Caroline nodded and Bruce walked over to the med cabinets to find what he was looking for. Bucky shifted awkwardly at Caroline's side, but hesitated to leave her.
"I can't do this," she breathed.
He moved in front of her again, placing his hands on either side of her, he leaned down so that their eyes were making direct contact.
"You have to," he said in a low voice.
"I don't want to," she said, tears streaming down her face.
"There is no alternative Caroline," he said firmly.
"It's just so much, the pain is just so much," she cried, "My entire body feel like it's on fire."
"She might have a fever," Bruce said, his back still turned to them.
Bucky pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. Her skin was indeed burning. She looked up at him, her eyes full of anxiety.
"Here," he said placing his metal hand on her cheek, "Does that help at all?"
She nodded and moved it to her other cheek. Bruce stood beside her with a needle in his hand. He smiled reassuringly.
"Ok this is going to help with the pain and help you sleep," he said pushing the liquid into her arm.
"You are going to be okay," Bucky told her gently.
She nodded and her eyes fluttered. Bucky slid his hand behind her head as she began to lose consciousness. He lowered her down onto the table. He looked up and saw Steve watching them. Steve smiled and nodded at his friend. Bucky knew how difficult this was for Steve. Losing his two best friends, then finding them broken, almost gone. Bucky fought every day to bring himself back, in the darkest moments he pushed through for Steve. He would bring Caroline back too, he had to.