A/N: Sorry if they are any mistakes, I wrote this pretty late. Also I'm not one hundred percent sure with this one, tell me what you think.

Some called him Bludgeoner, others called him the Preserver, but most called him Blackjack. Why? Rumour has it that he has the strength of a thousand men, and one blow from him will not only kill someone but leave them looking like they were bashed in with a mace. No one knew his birth name and those who found out didn't live to tell anyone.

He was seated on the armchair in his office which was lit only by the moonlight glistening through the branches of the trees outside. He stared at the moon as if he was entranced by its glow. Though, this trance only lasted a few minutes as it was interrupted by a small knock at his door followed by the unmistakeable sound of it creaking open.

"Yes?" His resounding voice echoed through the room.

"I've got the file, sir." A timid male voice spoke up from behind him.

"Put it on my desk," he responded, refusing to look away from the window.

"Yes, sir." The man approached the desk and attempted to make a quick getaway only to be stopped by a gruff voice.

"Wait. Sit."

Blackjack spun in his chair to face his mahogany desk. Picking up the file he began to flick through its pages.

The other man swore he heard a small whimper escape his own mouth as he sat to face the larger man.

"The Jade Tiger Amulet. Ever heard of it?" When he received no respond, he looked up from the file staring daggers into the smaller man prompting a response.

"N-no, sir. I can't say I have."

"I'm not surprised. It's a very rare artefact which only few know about. It gets passed down to the youngest in the bloodline once the previous holder passes away. The last holder was a fourth generation descendent from Aztec royalty. We knew her precise location down to the coordinates but unfortunately the amulet's protection was far too powerful for any of my agents. Lucky for us, the old hag kicked the bucket a few months back. Now the amulet has been assumed by some young woman in Brooklyn. See, the longer the amulet is worn by any person who can possess the spirit of the Jade Tiger, the stronger the spirit inside it grows, and since she just obtained the amulet not long ago, she won't pose a threat. My point is, I want that amulet. Get it for me."

"How do you want me to do that, sir?" The man asked, slightly afraid of questioning his superior.

"Call upon my men, how else?" He growled out causing the smaller man to jump a little.

"Y-yes, sir."

"Well, what're you still doing here? Get a move on," he said much louder than before.

"Y-yes, sorry, sir." The man whimpered out as he was finally able to exit through the wooden door.

Slowly opening the glass door to the main lab, Victoria's eyes caught sight of the man with the metal arm. He was sitting on a chair which was quite similar to that of a dental chair and faced away from her and towards the television. She fully entered the room and kept her eye on the soldier as she went to grab some utensils from the table to her left. Bucky continued to keep his eyes focused on the TV despite all the noise she was making at the back of the room. Saying she were nervous was an understatement. Victoria was terrified. What if he recognised her? Then what? She practically bore a hole into his eyes when she went crazy, how could he not? Too caught up in her own thoughts, Victoria knocked a tool off of the table sending a loud cling through the room. Oh, how she wished the ground would swallow her whole.

"You okay back there?" His voice called out to her, though his eyes were still fixed onto the screen of the TV.

Crouching down to pick up the utensil she replied, "I'm fine."

The sound of her voice finally caused him to look away and towards her, "You're not Dr. Arcand." The confusion in his voice was prominent.

"Yeah, he actually-" Victoria was cut off as she hit she head on the table as she stood up sending out a cry of pain from her lips.

Bucky chuckled, "You okay?"

"Yep, yep. I'm good." That was humiliating. Though maybe it was a good thing. What kind of person would believe an awkward, clumsy girl like her could tear apart a bionic arm?

"Uh, as I was saying," she attempted to get the conversation back on track as she walked towards him, tools in hand, "John wanted me to come and help instead of him but don't ask why 'cause I don't know."

Victoria had now reached the chair Bucky was situated at and had placed the utensils down on the table next to it. His eyes hadn't moved from her in the slightest which didn't help her anxiousness one bit.

"Wait a minute, I know you," Bucky said, a sense of surprise in his voice.

"You do?" She eyed him suspiciously. This was it. She was done for.

"Yeah, you're that girl from the other day. You came upstairs to introduce yourself."

Oh thank god.

"Oh, yeah, yeah that was me." A silence followed as Victoria stood there twiddling with her fingers.

"So, what's wrong with your arm?" She asked hoping to slice through the awkwardness. He looked down at his limb before lifting it up so she was able to view it. His wrist was falling apart. Metal pieces were hanging down and wires were sticking out in different places. She had really done a number on him.

Victoria couldn't help but gape at it. She caused that damage. And that scared her.

"W-what happened?" She stuttered out. She very well knew what had happened.

"She did," he said pointing to the television screen behind her which caused her to turn and watch.

"Cateye, is the name given to this vigilante. She is considered a danger and an alpha level threat. If you have any further information on this threat, please contact your local police department." The reporter spoke as footage of Victoria leaving the building last night played. This was the first time that she had gotten recognition for her work, and she was being portrayed as some villain.

She let out a huff, "There are some pretty crazy people out there," she said, biting her lip as she turned to begin her work on Bucky's arm.

"Tell me about it, doll." His response caused her to look up at him, which left a smirk plastered on his face.

Two hours had passed by and Victoria had manged to fix Bucky's arm so well that it looked as though nothing had ever happened. To pass the time she and him had talked about a lot of things from movies to his life in the '40s. The conversation they shared made her feel even more guilt than before and it was easily the worst feeling in the world. Now it was practically impossible for her to get the image of him screaming in agony the previous night. He thanked her as he exited, calling her 'doll' once more.

As the days went by, Victoria realised that the necklace enhanced her senses which meant she could hear things any average person couldn't. Using this to her advantage, she started wearing the necklace to work, listening to the conversations between the Avengers. This method was so much better than the crappy police radio that Erin had stolen. Now she knew exactly where to go and when to go. Due to this newfound skill, she ran into the Avengers a few more times during her escapades and each time they made an attempt to capture her and each time she managed to break at least one of their little gadgets. Once it was Tony's arc reactor and then it was Sam's wing. This wouldn't have been such a bad thing if she didn't have to fix it up the next day. Karma was a bitch. But there was some good news, good news for Erin anyway. Cateye was becoming more of a household name and she hated to admit it, but she kind of liked it too. Then there was work. With each passing day, Victoria was certain that every time that she walked into the tower, they would recognise her but that day never came and boy were she glad. Most of the time during work, she helped John out. If he wasn't helping identify a new substance or helping Tony improve the Iron Man suit, he would be developing a new weapon. He was never not busy. And if she wasn't helping him, she was usually in the main lab helping Bucky out with his arm. He had never come back with a problem as large as the one she had caused, it was usually just little things and the occasional check-up so it lasted only a few minutes much to her dismay. But those few moments really helped the two to bond and soon enough, every second sentence that Bucky said would be some sort of flirty comment towards her. And believe it or not, she actually kind of liked it. But she played off the comments and treated him all the same. She had to. She knew that getting involved with him will only end in dismay and she had enough disappointment to last a lifetime.

It was Wednesday evening and Bucky had shown up for his usual check-up.

"Hey, doll," he said smirking in Victoria's direction as she walked into the lab.

"Hey, Bucky," she sighed out trying not to let his remark get to her. There was just something that made her tick when he called her 'doll', and it wasn't a bad kind of tick either.

Victoria approached him with her tools and began to go through all the regular tests with his metal arm. He didn't speak, only watched her with intent causing the all too familiar feeling of uncomfortableness to start crawling up in her veins.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" She asked, not wanting to look into his blue orbs.

"Like what, doll?" He asked in a low voice. Victoria couldn't control her own eyes as she looked up at him. Her heart was pounding a million miles per minute. God, he was-

"Hey, Victoria." Thank God. John had walked into the room, breaking her daze, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," she responded, instantly dropping her tool onto the table next to her. Bucky couldn't peel his eyes off of her as she rushed towards the other scientist in a desperate attempt to get away from the metal-armed man. What had come over her?

"What is it?" Victoria asked, easily looking John in the eye.

"I don't know if you heard about the party that Tony's holding tonight but we both got invitations and I was wondering if you were going?"

"Wait, are you…" She trailed off hoping he would catch on but no such luck, "Are you asking me out?" She whispered. The question causing Bucky to finally look away and down at his hands.

John was taken aback, "What? No, no. I just don't like those kinds of things but I sort of have an obligation to go and I'd rather have someone there with me. You know, to keep me sane," he answered with a chuckle.

"Oh, right, well, sure, I'll go," Victoria responded with a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Victoria. I owe you one," he said, patting her on the shoulder before returning to his job.

Victoria treaded back to the chair Bucky was situated at and continued her work.

Only a few seconds had passed before Bucky decided to speak up again, looking up at her once more, "So, since you're obviously not going with John, maybe you'll go with me?"

"Very funny, Bucky."

Victoria had to admit, these kinds of events weren't really her cup of tea either, but just out of pure kindness towards John, she decided to tag along.

"I still don't think you should go," Erin said as she sat on the edge of her friend's bed watching her finish up her makeup.

"What's the big deal? It's one night."

"Don't you think it'll be a little suspicious that Cateye doesn't show up the exact night that you're out with the Avengers?"

Victoria rolled her eyes at the question, "C'mon Erin they might be smart, but they're not that smart." She said, putting on her earrings.

Erin let out a sigh, signalling her surrender, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just be careful, okay?"

Victoria's demeanour softened at her friend's statement, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Okay, but just do me a favour and wear the necklace?"

It was Victoria's turn to sigh. Arguing with Erin wasn't something that she enjoyed, so she obliged and put on the necklace. Tying the string at the back of her neck, she pulled the top of her blouse away from her body so the cold, jade stone could slide under it with ease, concealing it from view.

Tonight, instead of stopping at the 90th floor as usual, Victoria travelled all the way up to the top floor where the event was being held. As the elevator doors dinged open, her eyes were set upon a large mass of people who were all socializing with one another. Stepping out slowly, she scanned the room for anyone she knew, John in particular. Unable to locate him, she decided to scope out the area, in hopes of finding him sooner than later. She took small steps, wandering around the facility completely unaware of the pair of blue eyes that were watching her from the balcony above.

Bucky observed Victoria as she made her way around to the bar, unable to peel his eyes off of her. There was something about her that intrigued him. Maybe it was the way her cheeks turned a rosier shade of pink each time he called her doll, or maybe it was how she laughed every time he hit her with one of his cheesy pick-up lines. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Who would've thought? The Winter Soldier having the hots for the new lab assistant." Bucky was so focused on Victoria that he didn't even notice Sam sneak up behind him. Some master assassin he was.

"Shut up," he responded, smirking slightly but refusing to tear his eyes away from her.

Victoria eventually found John situated at the bar, actually he more or less found her as he called out her name, waving her over. Seating herself on one of the black barstools, she asked the bartender for some water, deciding it was far too risky to even have a sip of alcohol tonight.

"Who would've thought? The Winter Soldier having the hots for the new lab assistant."

A distant voice spoke very bluntly in her ear. Victoria registered that she must've picked up a stranger's conversation – she was still working on controlling all of her enhanced senses – but she continued to listen on.

"Shut up." Bucky. That was most definitely him. An uncontrollable smirk played on her lips.

"Well I don't how you did it in the '40s but in this day and age, we actually go up and talk to people." The other voice teased him. Somehow, she couldn't help but scan the room, looking for their whereabouts. Letting her ears guide she, she found her eyes land up at the balcony, straight into Bucky's own orbs.

He was surprised, to say the least, when her eye caught his. He was trained to never get caught and yet, the lab assistant caught him eyeing her up and down. Victoria looked away as soon as she could, not wanting her eyes to linger. The only thing running through her mind were Erin's words. Be careful. Though, her eyes couldn't help but wander back up only to find he had left. Victoria traced her eyes all the way around the balcony and down the stairs but to no avail.

"Looking for someone?"

She jumped slightly and shifted to face the voice to her left to find that Bucky had made his way down to her, clearly following the advice of his friend.

Before she could even think of a response, John had taken over the conversation, "Mr. Barnes, it's good to see you again." But his words were left unnoticed as Bucky gazed into her eyes, Victoria mirroring his actions.

Look away, Victoria. You have to look away. Look at the window or something. Look. Away.

She was able to snap out of her trance after a few moments of self-conflict causing Bucky to do the same. Doing as her mind had asked, she switched her gaze to the window. Ugh, what were she doing? She had promised herself that she wouldn't fall into the trap that was Bucky Barnes, but she was at the edge and a step away from falling. A mere nudge and she would topple over completely. Though Victoria's eyes were focused on the view of Manhattan outside the window, her mind couldn't help but think about his eyes, trying her hardest to reimage them in her head.

A loud crash broke through her thoughts and she noticed she was now facing Bucky's back as he had stood defensively in front of her. Standing from her seat, she pushed past Bucky to see the scene that had unfolded. Multiple armed men had crashed through the large windows of the establishment, all of which were masked with balaclavas. They held anyone they could at gun point but held back from pulling the trigger. Many of their gazes were wondering around the room. They were looking for something. Victoria's panicked mind decided that it was time she got out of there. She could barely take a step back before shots began firing left and right. Iron Man, Captain America, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye. The Winter Soldier. The group had started to attack the masked men, not completely sure of their intentions but knowing they were anything but moral. As chaos ensued, she made a b-line for the exit, her mind focusing on nothing else. She wasn't worried about getting hurt. No, she was worried they would find out. One shot, and she wouldn't be in control anymore. Maybe wearing the amulet wasn't such a good idea. Almost there. Once she was out, she promised herself she would come back as Cateye, but she only had one objective in mind right now and that was to protect her identity.

Just as she closed in on the door, a gloved hand grabbed her arm twisting her around so that she was facing away from the double doors. She could feel the hard metal of the man's gun aimed at her throat. Victoria's head was pulsing, her ears were blaring and she was on the verge of blacking out. Not a good sign. Forcing herself to get a grip, she blinked a few times to focus her vision. Once the world was clear again, she found that everyone that had stayed in the room was either dead or pretending to be. Everyone besides the Avengers. They were all staring at her. Their minds contemplating the next move.

"You give me the necklace or I shoot her." The man's gravelly voice spoke out, his accent, evident.

The amulet? Surely, they didn't mean this one. Surely.

"Look, we don't know who you are, we don't who you work for but we don't have an amulet," Steve told the honest truth but the gunman wasn't having it.

"Don't lie to me! The tracking system said it was here."

Silence. Absolute silence. Were they really just going to watch her brain get blown to bits?

"Fine." The man's final words. He was bluffing and she knew it. But did her other half know? The half that had glowing, green eyes and fangs? The half that could kill this man in a heartbeat? She shut her eyes. Not to brace herself for the bullet but to hold back the crazy for as long as she could.

No, no, no, no. It was like a mantra in her head.

She couldn't hold back. She couldn't do it. She felt the familiar sensation. Her vision went black and when she opened her eyes, she felt trapped in her own body. She had no control whatsoever. None. Yanking the tip of the rifle away from her head, she pushed it back towards the man. He staggered back in pure surprise which gave her the opportunity to pounce onto him, pushing him to the ground, she sank her fangs into his carotid. Then black. Black was all she saw.

Victoria's eyes fluttered open only to be blinded by the fluorescent lights that hung up on the pristine white ceilings of the tower. Her memory woke up after the rest of her did and she began to recall the events that led up to this moment. Men. Guns. Running. Exit. Gun. Avengers. Blood. Then nothingness.

She shot up from the white futon she had been placed on and wished that the ground would swallow her whole. Avengers. All of them. And they were all looking at her once again. All except for one. He was looking down at his interlaced fingers.

"Care to explain?" Tony asked standing up from his seat. Victoria averted her gaze to the window. Wondering about Erin. How she would feel if she knew. Anything but the question at hand. What was wrong with her? Erin had told her to be careful, why couldn't she have just listened? She should have hidden. She should have run a little faster. No. No, the only way she could've prevented this was to have not shown up at all.

Victoria opened her mouth only to have it shut again by Tony, "Seven cars, four buildings, my arc reactor, and this guy's arm." He pointed at Bucky but she refused to shift her gaze which had moved to her lap.

"Innocent until proven guilty," she murmured. But she was so guilty. The word was painted on the walls with the gunman's blood.

He sighed looking back to his fellow team mates before focusing on his shoes, "Alright, take her away."

What? Her head shot up to find two men in black suits, grabbing her by either arm. She writhed in their grip. She thrashed about but to no avail. These men weren't even that big. She had taken on bigger threats than them before, it was hard to understand why she couldn't – Oh. Looking down, Victoria found that her neck was bare.