Author's note: Hey ya'll (Yes, I'm a Southerner, and I'm therefore allowed to say that XD). I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! I personally think I'm off to a rough start, but once we get past the beginning, I've got a whole AU planned out based on this :) and did I mention how awesome it is? Anyway, on with the story! Please leave a review and enjoy!

Three

Yet Another Chance

Claudia sat curled in a tight ball on her bed, her steely eyes staring emptily at the wall. She was torn between escape and crying her eyes out. As the monster they had made her, the latter option didn't exist, but the sad, scared little girl inside her longed for a chance to show herself there. The Avengers, Earth's a Mightiest Heroes, were deciding her fate.

Claudia mused to herself who would take her side, if anyone. She guessed Romanoff and Barton might be for her, somehow. Stark probably hated her for frying his armory. Captain Rogers was probably against her. She didn't know about Thor, but she knew she was almost definitely outvoted. Outvoted on what was the question. Claudia didn't know what she wanted.

After lying there for what felt like an eternity, night fell. She continued to blankly stare at the wall in fetal position all night. If it was possible to aggressively stare blankly at a wall, she had succeeded in doing so.

Finally, at about 9:47(what makes you think she was counting?), Romanoff entered the room. Her expression softened in solemn understanding at the sight of Claudia. The saddest part was she didn't even look like she had been crying. Just how much of her humanity had been stripped away from her? Three plates of food sat untouched on the chest at the foot of the bed.

"Hey. How've you been doing?"

"Not great," Claudia sighed, continuing her aggressively blank wall stare-down.

Uneasily, Romanoff sat next to her, a plate of dessert in her lap. "Steve made apple pie. Thought it might cheer you up."

"Thanks."

"You're not gonna eat it, are you?"

"What makes you think that?" Claudia finally shifted out of her fetal position. Flexing her stiff muscles (which were quite impressive for a 13 year old girl), she gazed expectantly at Romanoff.

"We're a lot alike, Miss Claudia. Do you remember the Swarovski Ball, two years ago?"

Claudia slowly nodded. She knew Romanoff could catch her lies, and of all the Avengers, she was the only one who even came close to understanding.

"I thought that was you. I went on my first mission at that age. You still hold the record. Well, you would, if there were any. The gap is unmistakable to any trained eye. You're a ghost story. Not as old as the Winter Soldier, but nonetheless a ghost. To be honest, your story scares me more. Because I've lived it, and I still don't know it."

"How inspiring," Claudia commented dryly, focusing her cold, hard gaze on the wall again. "Get to the point, please. I've been waiting all day. Are you turning me in, kicking me out, or hiding me in the closet?"

"For now, you're staying here. We can't just turn in or kick out one of our own. Stark has agreed to let you stay. Captain Rogers, Barton and I have agreed to train you. Thor says that if you are of 'valiant character', he will welcome you as an Avenger. Banner says just don't touch his science equipment."

Claudia's jaw dropped. An Avenger? She fried Tony Stark's armory and was being made an Avenger? She didn't deserve to be in the mere presence of one, nonetheless be one!

"They want you to prove yourself worthy before making it official, so don't get too excited yet. Eat something, get some sleep. Your training starts tomorrow."

Romanoff stood and left a shocked Claudia behind, mouth gaping. Claudia blinked and shook her head before pinching herself. Upon realizing that this wasn't a dream, she up and ate her (cold, but yummy) dinner and apple pie. Who woulda thunk Captain America baked? She took off her rumpled jacket and heavy military gortex combat boots and jumped into bed. Sleep still didn't come, as usual, but at least she would have something to daydream about before the nightmares came.

The next morning, after consuming a plate of eggs and bacon that had miraculously appeared in her room, Claudia made her way upstairs. She was supposed to start her training today. Captain Rogers was waiting for her in the training room.

"Before we can learn strategy, I have to know how you fight. Being an ex-assassin, I'd guess you're pretty good. Let's put that theory to the test. Romanoff was supposed to assess your skills, but she got called away unexpectedly."

"What do you want me to do?"

"The only thing we can for me to get an up-close look at your hand-to-hand combat skills," he said. "Don't worry, I won't pull the shield on you."

Wait, did he just say...?

Rogers threw a punch to her head. Claudia's reflexes and training kicked in immediately. She blocked it, and then leapt over a sweep kick intended to trip her.

"Your reflexes are amazing. Now we're just going to play a game of tag. Basically, we're going to spar. No hitting too hard on either side, got it? There's some gloves and a helmet for you over there."

Claudia put on her gear and ran back, torn between nervous butterflies and the urge to squeal. Even she admired him. Everyone did. But Claudia suspected that was part of the problem. She had been stripped of her humanity as a monster. His had been forgotten as a hero. Captain America wasn't allowed to make mistakes. Ever.

The sparring match was over in a blur. Fighting was just so instinctive, so carved in her brain, that it didn't even occur to her what was happening. The total score ended up 17-15 in Captain Rogers' favor. Claudia, who wouldn't have broken a sweat yet if not for the stuffy helmet, trudged over to the locker and took off her gear.

Claudia reported back to the training room, ready for her next challenge.

"You're a worthy opponent, ma'am. A bit more hand-to-hand and strategy training and I'm convinced you could give Romanoff a run for her money," Rogers said, out of breath.

"Thanks," Claudia replied. "I think."

Rogers laughed. "Don't mention it. Seriously. Natasha would kill me." His phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out. "It's Sam. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. You may want to stay at least ten feet away from me for a good signal, though."

He nodded gratefully at her and picked up the call.

Claudia looked around the training room, her wandering eye falling on the iconic shield leaned against the wall with care. It represented hope, freedom, and the sacrifice that it costs. She wished with all her heart to be able to represent that. While there was pain in it, at least it was a beautiful thing. To the few people who knew she existed, she represented pain, death, and manipulation. Maybe even tragedy if anyone ever knew her story. Claudia ran her finger over the long, thin, smooth scar on the left side of her jaw. It ran from below her ear to the beginning of her chin. No. Now wasn't the time to get nostalgic.

With a small beep, Captain Rogers finished his call and picked up his shield. "The Winter Soldier's been spotted. I'm going to look for Bucky. Stay here."

The Winter Soldier... She knew that name. She'd known it for a long time. The name "Bucky" was more recent, but she knew they were synonymous. He didn't know what it meant, he had told her last year. He had still been searching...

"No. I'm coming with you," Claudia found herself blurting. "You can't just up and leave your trainee. Plus, you may know how Bucky thinks, but I understand the Winter Soldier."

Captain Rogers looked solemnly into her startling, shifting gray eyes for a moment, contemplating. "How do you know him?"

"We camped in the same dumpster for about a week last year. We've worked together in the past, but they wiped that, too. You were the only thing he remembered at that point, but even that was fuzzy." She held a concrete expression, but on the inside Claudia cringed. She waited for him to assume she was lying, as everyone did the moment her cover was blown.

"Would your powers hurt a motorcycle?"

"As long as I don't touch the radio, the lights or the battery."

Captain Rogers looked her up and down. "You're fast, but can you keep up with two super soldiers and a guy with mechanical wings?"

"Speed, stealth, and strength is my thing, and I certainly know my way around here."

"Then suit up."

Claudia's eyes widened and shifted to a shocking, gleaming silver. A small smile of gratitude crept up the right side of her face, then the left. "Aye aye, Captain."

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that..."

Claudia grabbed her jacket and raced for the garage. Captain Rogers tossed a helmet at her.

"You ready?"

With a nod, Claudia put on her helmet and mounted Captain Rogers' motorcycle behind him. As they left, her stomach twisted into anxious knots. Would her presence make or break any chance of Bucky Barnes' return?