Firstly, thank you to the people who voted in the poll. Two stories are now being put on hold until I can sort the rest of them out, including this one. Obviously, this one came out first, having lots of support from it. I really appreciate that, so thank you.
Secondly, reviews keep me alive so that you for doing so
DarylDixon'sLover - thank you for your review. I think they will become friends if I'm honest, hopefully, they will. Bucky and Steve - you can't really have one without the other ;)
Witch of evil - that is so great to here. I'm really happy you are enjoying it. Please review this chapter and say what was good, bad, etc, if you would, I would appreciate it muchly! :)
SlytherinAvengerPrincess - Of course, I was going to keep this story, there was no doubt about it. Number one in the polls. Can I get a hell yeah!? :P Thank you for reviewing though, I appreciate it! :)
Felt like you guys deserved an update so here we go :)
Bucky POV
It was 0655 when the phone rang in my room. I frowned because Rogers doesn't get back from his run until 0700 unless he's out on a mission. I put my pen down, putting a stop the random notes I was writing on pieces of paper and leant over to press the answer button. I had one of the new phones, being able to operate it after HYDRA instructed me on how to use it.
"Rogers, what do you want?" I asked, a little spite in my voice. I didn't like him checking on me every morning, but he thought it was necessary. I also didn't like it when my schedule was changed, so him ringing fifteen minutes earlier than usual meant I wasn't prepared for the phone call. Not okay, punk.
"James?" I blinked suddenly, my head jolting back a fraction, as I realised that this definitely wasn't Steve unless he had inhaled some helium and changed his accent.
"Wanda?" I asked, even though I knew it was her. She had a slight nervousness in her voice that she seemed to show not only around me. I heard how she spoke before I ran into her in the kitchen the other day. I half-wondered what she was doing up this early. I pictured her to be the type to sleep in as much as possible, however, you are never to judge a book by its cover. Same goes for spying - don't underestimate the enemy. I shook my head and told myself 'Wanda isn't the enemy!'
"Yeah, it's definitely not Steve..." she said, sounding a little awkward with herself. A small, shy giggle echoed through the phone that made my body tense slightly. I screwed up my nose at the foreign feeling and persisted to ask what she was calling about. We weren't friends, so this wouldn't be a social call. Not that I get any social calls or have any friends. Apart from Steve perhaps, but I don't know him like it did. It's...odd.
"What do you want?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I didn't have time for her shenanigans. Steve would be calling in five minutes and I didn't need her on the phone.
"Well, I checked with Steve last night and I was wondering whether it would be okay with you if we could make a few changes to your schedule?" That didn't sound great. Why wasn't Steve talking to me about this? If someone wants something or needs something signed by me, then it goes through Steve. She said that she asked Steve, but did she? I hardly knew the gal and wasn't sure whether I could actually trust her or not. She was still unfamiliar in my mind.
"What kind of changes?" I gripped the table slightly, feeling my body get a little tense and irritated. I took a breath. I didn't want to get angry, especially at the start of the day.
"I don't know whether you would be okay with this or not, but maybe have us meet every evening to help you with your memories? Obviously, if you don't want to, it's fine. It was just a suggestion, but I thought it might help you come to grips with-"
"Yes." Her ramblings would've almost made me smile if they weren't so irritating. I cut her short to save the verbal debate she would have with herself for the next ten minutes. Women were always like that. Not Peggy actually, she wasn't like that. Straight to the point. A bit of mess, but no fuss.
"Uhh...okay. Well, that's great." she said, sounding surprised that I agreed with her. I think she expected more of a battle.
"I would have to do something in return." I said, almost immediately. I didn't want her thinking that I was just going to accept her help and not give anything back to her. She started shaking her head.
"No, no, there's no need for tha-"
"No. Let me do something for you or I'm not getting help. And I know Steve will want me to get help."
"You're getting help just to please him?" she asked, curiously, and I knew that I had disappointed her. I didn't see the point in lying because I wasn't sure how easy it was for her to look into my mind. I didn't fully trust her, but then again, I didn't fully trust anyone.
"Yes." I answered, knowing she expected the answer.
"You should be doing it for yourself." she answered. I looked at the floor, almost envisioning her disappointed face beside me. My grip tightened on my phone, fingering clenching the side of the object.
"Right now that isn't enough." I told her honestly, wondering whether getting help made me a good or bad person. Fixing my head was for Steve, but I knew it wouldn't make me a better person. I think Steve thought it would. I would never be able to rid myself of the guilt I had for killing all those people. It was my fault. If I fought better, I wouldn't have fallen from the train. If I was a better person, I would've fought the mind control and not let myself be taken over by HYDRA. If I was pure and good, I wouldn't have been the assassin that ruined thousands of lives that didn't deserve to die. Explosions, bullets, knives - all of it. All the tools to kill, detonate, shoot, stab. Detonate, shoot, stab. Detonate, shot, STAB!
"How about...you could train me, I guess?" It had been at least thirty seconds of silence before Wanda said this, the guilt trip going on in my head without me moving a muscle. "If Steve agrees to it? I bet you haven't had anyone to spar with in a while." I couldn't fight Wanda. She was too fragile and I would end up killing her, I knew it.
"No. I'm not sparring with a woman." I said sternly, hoping she would understand the threat that I held.
"And why not?" she asked, sounding offended. Shit, I hated offending dames.
"You're weak." I continued. I couldn't tell whether I wanted to offend her more or whether I was telling the truth. Something about the conversation felt slightly light-hearted like we were giving jabs to each other. It was an odd feeling.
"I'm not weak, I'm a warrior. You'll learn the difference soon enough." I'll learn the difference? I will. Future, implying that she would spar with me at some point. I almost groaned. Why wouldn't this woman back down?
"Natalia is a warrior. You are no warrior." I informed her, returning to the serious conversation we started off having. Natalia was trained by the red room, whereas, I knew that Wanda was raised in Sokovia with little food, little training and little chance to fight with anyone but Pietro. I knew she was with HYDRA for a while, but I knew that their treatment was horrific. She hadn't been training with the Avengers for very long either and she didn't look extremely strong. "I'll kill you." I added, hoping that would scare her off a little. I could be scary when I wanted to, I knew that. In a way, I declined emotions. I could feel them if I wanted to, but I just refused them. HYDRA programming told me that I didn't need them and as much as I hated them, life was better without them.
"If you lose control, I can take control of your mind and stop you. You know I can." I couldn't really argue with her logic. I knew she had stopped people in the past with her powers, so she could easily stop me. I actually hadn't thought about the mentally strong side that she possessed. She was emotional, I could see that, but I got the impression that she could control it when she needed. Manipulative little witch..."And who beat Natasha during Civil War?" She added. There was silence for a few seconds, not wanting to say aloud that it was her. "I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked and I could almost envision her playful smirk.
"Speak to Steve about it." I said and hung up the phone, throwing it across onto my mattress. I leant my elbows on the desk and put my forehead into my palms. Was training her a bad idea? Probably. Would it be fun? Perhaps, depended on how good she was. Would I enjoy it? Hmm...probably not. But I knew I had to give her something in return. Fighting was my best skill, I had nothing else.
I heard my phone buzz and walked over to pick it up, noticing a text from Wanda. Was this woman ever going to stop bugging me?
'Soooo, is that a yes to the schedule change - W'
I replied immediately to the text. 'Fine - B' I decided to copy her style of writing. I didn't usually write anything at the end of my texts, but then again, I only texted Steve.
The phone buzzed again. 'You're a man of few words, aren't you - W'
I decided not to reply and let her keep the kick she got out of winding me up to herself. I read the time as 0658 and decided to sit there and wait for Steve to call. My phone pinged once more and looked at the message, rolling my eyes at the laughing/crying emoji that Wanda had sent me.
Wanda POV
I was snuggled up in bed with the blanket up to my chin looking at the two continuous messages I had just sent Barnes. Perhaps he doesn't get the joke? Maybe I went too far and he thinks I'm annoying. I thought the suggestion of training me was a good idea. Maybe not in his eyes.
I saw the message come through before the phone buzzed. A deadpan emoji. SUCCESS! I giggled to myself, the face reminding me of a face Barnes would pull if someone didn't get a simple concept. I put my phone on the bedside table, deciding not to push it too far. I didn't want to push the colleague boundary too much as I didn't know if he classified us as friends. I also knew that Steve called him at seven and that's why I knew to text him beforehand.
I wondered in my mind whether Barnes had texts from other women. He probably only texted Steve, but he must've at least spoken to other women. Right? What if he thought I was flirting or something like that? I turned my body so my back was against the mattress, moving my arms on top of the duvet as I looked up at the ceiling, wondering whether I was accidentally flirting with James.
This was ridiculous. Yes, James had an extremely flattering body, but I wasn't attracted to him. He hardly felt emotions anyway, HYDRA made sure of that. Entering his mind affirmed that idea. I felt sorry for him, probably never being able to develop a romantic relationship with anyone. He seemed to know about Natasha a lot, or Natalia as he called her. Maybe there was something going on there. There were small, childish relationships that happened when I was younger, but I knew that one day I found find someone right for me. Barnes didn't have those types of thoughts in his head. I felt sorry for him.
I shook my head, knowing that James would be irritated at me for feeling sympathy for him and sighed. I looked over at the wardrobe and frowned. I really couldn't be bothered to get dressed. It was a Saturday. My head and I agreed that it would probably be best for me to stay in my pyjama shorts and top...you know...for reasons...I picked up my choker and put it over my neck, checking in the mirror that it covered the marks from the shock collar. I shivered as I thought of the treatment I had in the Raft. Don't think about it.
1 hour later
"God, I hate this woman," Tony commented, pouring Pepper some orange juice to have for breakfast. We were watching a woman with the last name of 'Everhart' present the news. I didn't have any problem with her, but obviously, the others did. Being the new one and not wanting to get on their bad side, I decided to keep mouth shut and restrain myself from asking what their problem with her was.
"Morning." Steve greeted as Bucky entered the room. I was surprised to actually see the ex-assassin up this early. James smiled at Steve slightly but immediately went to find something to eat, not looking at anybody else in the room. I did notice that his eyes glanced over at the exits and reckoned that it must've been his training. As he went back to focus on what he was doing, I saw him quickly look at my outfit, his eyes widening slightly at the outfit. He immediately went back to find food. I looked down at my exposed legs, suddenly feeling self-conscious of my skimpy outfit. I didn't think anyone would care.
"Oh God, what's this about?" Pepper said, her eyebrows creasing at the sight of the television as she took the glass of orange juice from Tony and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I saw Bucky stop pouring his milk into his bowl and stare the couple, noticing their interaction. It was then that I realised that he probably hadn't had sex since 1940 unless a mission required him to do so, though I doubt HYDRA would be that cruel. Then again..."Volume up, JARVIS." Pepper's voice drew me away from staring at Bucky, which was probably a good thing. I don't think he would've like me staring too much.
"-discovered a couple of days ago. Some members of the public are outraged after leaked footages show AIT, Avenger in training, Wanda Maximoff, otherwise known as Scarlet Witch, being tortured by the government, whilst being held captive in a prison known as the Raft. Here is just some of the footage. Be aware that some of this footage may be disturbing to viewers."
By this time, everybody's attention was on the screen. I was standing up, arms crossed over me as I stared at the television. A video began to play. I remembered it all - the cells, the handcuffs, the grey walls. A guard began to speak. He was attaching the collar to my neck, but I could see the others in the background in their cells. "This thing detects your magic. If you try to speak or communicate the others, there will be consequences."
I opened my mouth opening to speak, but as soon as I did, the guard stepped back and the collar went off, my body shaking violently against the floor. I dipped my head slightly as the others watched, a couple of gasps coming from them. "Oh my God…" Rhodey whispered, putting his drink on the table as his eyes stayed glued to the screen. Natasha, Clint and Maria were there too, but they were behind the table island, so I couldn't see what they were doing.
The footage continued.
The others banged against the glass in protest. The guard went out of the cell and shut the door, addressing everyone in the room as the shocks stopped. "If you do anything that the guards don't like, we have the power to shock her. Speaking will mean that she gets the consequences and I'm sure you wouldn't like your beautiful little witch to get hurt now, would you?" he said, bitterly, turning to smile at me as I lay, gasping on the floor.
"You can't do this!" Clint argued, hitting his fist against his cell door. The guard turned to him and glared, raising his hand to point at the archer. "That is the kind of behaviour I'm talking about." the guard shouted, clicking the button to activate my collar. Another bolt of electricity shot through me, my body twitching violently as my mouth opened in a silent scream.
"NOOOOO!" Clint screamed as he watched me being tortured, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. The guard went to stand by the entrance with another guard in the same uniform. The video continued to show me jolting until I passed out.
The screen switched back to Everhart where she explained further about my treatment. "It was at that point that Miss Maximoff passed out from the pain. Other footage shows that the shock collar would go off if she spoke, cried or if the other Avengers in the cells misbehaved. Scientists believe that this treatment will be emotionally and physically scarring for her. The footage can be found on YouTube, but we would advise against watching it as it may be distressing for some viewers. What we want to know is whether you think this treatment was just? The Avengers have been known to go too far sometimes. We want to hear your thoughts. Please tweet us with the hasht-"
Clint was the one that told JARVIS to switch the television off. He was standing right next to me, reaching out to place a hand on my forearm. I looked around the room. Tony was holding Pepper close, his arm wrapped around Pepper's waist as she looked at me teary-eyed. Clint and Natasha were on either side of me, Natasha hovering slightly as Clint stroked my arm. Rhodey, Maria and Steve were just looking at my neck and I hated it.
Bucky was the odd one out. I looked him right in the eyes, his staring into mine as well. He was the only person who was actually looking at me. His eyebrows were creased at me and I sensed that he had something he wanted to say. I would need to talk to him in private about it and all the other shit that went on last night to do with his memories. I would definitely need a conversation about that. The expression he wore, so grave and dark, sent a small shiver down my spine. I wasn't sure whether I liked him looking at me or not. I focused back on the others, looking at them as they stared at the choker.
"Would you stop it, please? Just stop with the sympathetic looks, I don't need this shit." The choker was thick, a size that I chose specifically because it covered up the mark of the collar. The only people that had seen it were Clint and Bucky, even though I didn't actually want Bucky to see it, but I forgot about it. Clint was like a father, Natasha like a mother and Steve like a brother. They would look after me like I was there own, but I think part of it was to do with Pietro being gone.
"Don't wear it." Maria suggested. Everyone turned to stare up her in shock, Steve even suggesting that it was a bit much to ask for, but I met her eyes. It was a challenge. I didn't want to look like a wimp in front of everyone. "We aren't afraid of our insecurities and you shouldn't be eithe-"
"Fine." I said, grabbing the material and ripping it away from my neck, exposing the fresh mark that was resting there. Pepper gasped slightly, tears forming in her eyes. I turned back to look at Maria. "Happy?" She raised an eyebrow, surprised by my reaction, but still nodded. I think she was proud of me somehow. I wanted to prove that I was stronger than they though and I think I did, even though I was probably one of the weakest of the group, but I didn't want them to know that. I placed my hand over Clint's, brushing it off as I retired to my room, forgetting to even get breakfast. I lost my appetite.
Bucky POV
"Why did you do that?" Clint asked, angry that Maria had told Wanda to take off her choker. It was a high order that Wanda, to my surprise, met. I thought she was much weaker, but she exceeded my expectations.
"She needs to toughen up. She's not going to do that if we act like she's made of glass." Maria said, truthfully, to which I agreed. She wasn't going to get tougher if we left her be and she definitely wasn't tough. She was weaker than the team realised.
"She needs closure." Rhodey said from his wheelchair, pushing himself forward to join the group properly. "She's probably feeling a lot of guilt right now, especially from the Lagos incident."
"What she needs is a teacher, a proper teacher." Natasha said, folding her arms across her chest and taking a step closer to her archer. "Someone who can strengthen her mind as well as her physicality, that means not only training with Vision, Rhodey and Sam on a group basis, but with someone individually."
Steve turned his head to look at her and contemplated the idea. It was a look he had used with me before, I just couldn't piece when or where or what about. "That's not a bad idea actually." he agreed, stepping forward into a circle that the group had somehow made. I stood on the outside against the counter, not wanting to get involved. I preferred listening than contributing to the conversation. "If we introduced a main Avenger to the newest then training would progress quicker."
Clint brought up a problem though. "Tony doesn't train with people, Thor is nowhere to be seen, Steve, me, Maria and Natasha can train one of the four - Rhodey, Vision, Sam or Scott. We would need someone strong to train Wanda, but who?" I ate a spoon of cereal as I thought about it.
I wanted to stay away from as many of the Avengers as I could, but that didn't seem to be happening. I was planning on slipping away from the group at some point during their conversation. I had already moved two metres closer to the door without anyone noticing. However, I knew that I needed to repay her. The witch was going to be helping me get my memories back, which meant that I would owe her a debt. Talking about it this morning convinced me that it might be a good idea. If she needed to learn how to fight, then that could be my payment back to her. I wouldn't be able to give her anything else, so I didn't see a problem with it. "Me."
Steve immediately jumped in. "No. Why would you even want to?" I turned to the man, tensing my jaw at the control he had over me. He was often telling me what to do or telling people how or how not to treat me. He made all of my decisions, but he was not making this one. I took a small bite of cereal before answering him.
"She's helping me with my memories, I owe her. Training is the only reward I can give her. She even suggested it this morning on the phone." I wasn't useful for anything else and there was nothing else that I could give to her. I saw Steve's eyebrows frown a little when I mentioned the phone call.
"That's actually not a bad idea." Natasha chipped in, peering at me in thought.
"Nat, not helping." Steve said firmly, almost glaring at her.
"No, think about it. Wanda would be the only one who could stop Bucky if he does something incorrectly in training. That would mean that he might even be able to train other recruits one day or fight with us." she argued. I nodded and looked at Steve. It was the least I could do for the services she was giving me. If I trained other agents in the future, maybe that would get rid of some of the guilt in my head.
Steve pursed his lips and looked at me curiously. "She suggested it?" he asked sceptically and I nodded, stirring my bowl slowly.
"She seemed quite persistent on it actually." I said, taking a final bite of the cereal I had made for myself before taking it to the sink to wash up. I knew JARVIS could probably do it automatically from what I'd heard, but I preferred doing things the old fashioned way.
"Any objections?" Steve asked as I turned back around. I heard Clint suck in a breath, a hesitant expression on his face as he prepared to argue something, but released it a second later, obviously dismissing his argument. Steve looked at me.
"Okay, Buck." My shoulders tensed at the name, but I tried not to show it, rolling them off gently and releasing a silent breath to calm down. "You want to go tell her the new development?"
"Sure." I shrugged, moving towards the door. I would do whatever the others said if it wasn't too much. I didn't want to cause any more trouble than I already had.
"You might want to take her some breakfast too." he said, handing me the bowl that she hadn't finished eating her cereal out of. I accepted it off Steve and nodded, noticing the small smile he gave me. I let the right side of my lips snake up for a moment before leaving the room. Slowly, I was getting better, but I would never be Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers' best friend. I sighed and headed for Wanda's room, hoping to God that she wouldn't take the cereal and throw it in my face if I tried to talk to her. I had no idea why she would, but she was unpredictable at times. I certainly never thought she would suggest getting me to train her in exchange for helping to fix my head.
I reached her door and brought my knuckles up to it, gently knocking. I didn't know what to expect when I opened the door, but I certainly didn't know how to deal with what I met. She had been crying. Her eyes were glazed over with tears and I could see the red marks underneath her eyes that showed where she was been rubbing them off of her face. She sniffled slightly and put on a fake smile to try and conceal what was really going on. We both knew she was doing a crap job of hiding her upset.
Aaaaannnndddd thank you ever so much for reading. I really appreciate your reviews, so please drop me one and it would make me feel ten times better. Also, if I get hardly any reviews, I put off fanfiction for ages, so the chapters will genuinely come out quicker if you review. Thank you so much and I hope you have a great day!