"We found her," He announced, slightly proudly, as he strode into the room, "Hiding in one of the dumbest places she could. Smart, actually."
"How is hiding in one of the dumbest places kind of smart?" The teenager in the corner peeling an apple asked.
"Last place we'd expect to find her."
"So how'd we manage it?" A sly smile crept onto his boss' face.
"We got a friend. Now get ready. We're going to visit Mr Stark."
"We sure that's a good idea? Stark is a pretty well known guy. And he is Iron Man. Got a couple of tricks up his sleeve." The apple was thrown aside, almost too casually. There wasn't much more in way of argument, however, and he was already heading over to where his suit was kept, slipping on his fingerless gloves.
"Not even Iron Man can protect Schönheit from as many people as we'll be throwing at them," The sly smile transformed into a toothy grin, "She'll have no choice but to give herself up or see her friend's life destroyed."
"We got a plan?" By now his jacket had been pulled on, shifting his goggles on the top of his head so he could slip them into place easily. He turned his amber eyes on Kuznetsov as he tugged his ginger hair out of his face slightly. Kuznetsov glared daggers at the teenager.
"Of course we have a plan. Just make sure you're prepared to act on it."
"Prepared? Dude, I have a bone to pick with Tyra."
"We all do. And never call me 'dude'. Now hurry up."
"But I'm ready, old man. You're the one who needs to hurry up." The boy smirked as he headed for the door. If looks could kill, the teenager would have been murdered. Thoroughly. Bloodily.
"I'm not old."
The wind was refreshing. Cold, damn near freezing, in fact, but refreshing. I stood looking out over the snow covered rooftops before me. It was definitely America, just one of the colder areas. I always did hate the cold. Reminded me too much of where I was first taken. Plus it just felt uncomfortable. The tip of my nose was almost painful, my fingers damn near numb. If I was out there for much longer I'd possibly be in trouble. Not just from frostbite. I was lucky they hadn't yet noticed my absence. It was almost a definite if I stayed out there much longer. A sigh escaped me, my warm breath making clouds before me. A frown decorated my face. Had it really only been four years since Hydra found me and turned me into one of their flying monkeys? It was hard to tell, what with all the memory slips. It was almost funny, that the only thing between Hydra and me finding out and being able to do anything about them controlling me were a few suppressed memories that could slip out at nearly any moment. I looked back out over the city, hair being tugged at by the wind. That was when the door behind me opened. Every bone in my body tensed as I turned around, readying for some kind of lecture. If I was lucky. Very lucky. I didn't say anything. Saying something would just make my punishment worse.
The Winter Soldier just looked at me, as unreadable as ever. Lucky for me, he was alone. Sent on a solo mission to find me, apparently. My heart was damn near thundering in my chest. Even though he never did anything to hurt me unless given a specific order, that didn't meant I enjoyed being around him. He'd caused a lot of pain in the past. Which hurt the thirteen year old version of me a little. James Buchanan Barnes, my childhood hero, was a psychopath working for Hydra. Even if he was being mentally manipulated, brainwashed, just controlled in general.
"I... I was about to go in, I swear." My mouth was dry, even if he didn't move. Didn't say anything. His usually grim expression softened ever so slightly. It was almost unperceivable, but I saw it.
"They're looking for you. Go in now, before someone else find you out here." I blinked a couple of times, stunned.
"Uh... yeah, okay." I took a hesitant step towards him, then walked with more purpose when he half stepped aside. He reached out and grabbed my upper arm as I walked past with his metal hand, making me freeze. After a second I looked up at him. I could swear that was concern I could see in his eyes.
"Are you alright?" I asked, rather hesitantly. For a moment he didn't reply.
"They're putting me away for a bit," He told me, "You need to be careful." I blinked a couple of times, taken back by his seemingly sudden concern for me.
"Keep my head down, let them control my every action. Not like either of us have any say in that matter. Surprised they haven't suppressed my free will just yet." He didn't look happy about my response, simply... resigned. I leaned my head to the side, reaching up and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"As far as I can remember, you've never actually spoken to me before," I pointed out, "What brought this on?" Now it was his turned to frown. I shook my head, looking away.
"Never mind. I probably won't remember this conversation, anyway." We stood there a second longer before Barnes released me, almost hesitantly, and guided me inside. It was a few steps after that that the usual pain of the tech seizing control shot through my body, and I once more belonged to Hydra.
Light was already shining in through the curtains when I woke up, my eyes objecting to the sudden brightness. I groaned, rolling over and covering my eyes with my free hand. Next thing I knew, the girl was peering at me with her large eyes, a curious expression on her face. I smiled.
"Hey there, kiddo." She grinned, scrambling off the bed and skipping out of the room. I sighed, pushing myself into a sitting position and heading for the connected bathroom. I needed to wash my face. My head hurt, and I was unbelievably tired.
I started running warm water, looking at myself in the mirror, thoughts of the night before running through my head. Took a moment before I could remember the incident. And by the incident, I meant the kiss. I sighed irritably.
"Why are you such an idiot?" I grumbled, glaring at my reflection, "Oh, I dunno. Because you're an idiot who was emotionally stunted after being kidnapped and enslaved by an evil organisation? Who essentially did the same thing to the guy you..." I cut myself off. I didn't want to finish the thought. Not in my head, and certainly not out loud. I leaned my elbows on the edges of the sink, running my hands through my hair.
"Idiot." I shook my head, standing straight and grabbing face wash. Faster I got out there and faced him, sooner this awkwardness could be over with. I was trained as a spy, right? How hard could it be?
For a moment I just stood in the doorway watching the scene in front of me, smiling to myself. The kid was curled up on a couch next to Barnes, happily biting into a slice of apple and peering over his arm as he read a book. It was quite cute. And so very... normal. It was these normal moments that I wished more than anything I could remember, but was also painfully aware that I would probably forget in about ten minutes.
The smell of French toast cooking filled the air, and I knew Tony was in the kitchen. It wouldn't have surprised me if he was getting ready for me to get up and start snooping around for breakfast. My eyes flicked back to Bucky and the kid. He was now giving the kid a look of suppressed, perhaps resigned amusement as she draped herself over his arm, getting in the way of his reading. She just grinned cheekily at him, then glanced around to where I stood. The grin grew as she pointed at me. Bucky looked up and around, and for a moment it felt like all the blood drained from my face, then went bright red. I cleared my throat. There was no point in getting awkward about this. Better to just pretend it never happened, right? I'd probably stuffed it up too much, anyway.
"Morning." I greeted, smiling. For once I was glad for the Hydra training. He smiled right back. Normal as we'd ever been.
"Morning." Everything about him seemed so casual, his hair tied back in a half ponytail, the fringe still escaping to fall in his eyes. He looked back around at the kid as she shifted on his lap so she was sitting, definitely in the way of his reading now, and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me.
"She getting in your way?"
"Eh, she's just bored," He assured me, "It's not too bad."
"I wouldn't be surprised, given that she can't understand a word that we're saying." I stepped into the room, crouching down beside the couch, the girl watching me attentively.
"You able to tell us your name?" I asked, speaking Russian. Bucky looked at me, a little unsure, a little surprised. The kid definitely looked surprised, her ears flicked towards me. Then she grinned.
"You make sense!" Her voice was filled with glee, even if it did sound a bit uncomfortable to be speaking. I smiled at her.
"Yes, I make sense. Sorry I didn't make sense earlier. My name's Tyra, and big guy here is Bucky. You able to tell me your name?"
"Oxana." I smiled, taking her hand gently in mine.
"It's nice to be able to talk to you, Oxana."
"So," Bucky muttered, "How did you figure out she's Russian?"
"A couple of educated guesses. The main..." I frown, trying to think of the right word, "Uh... The main... Bad-guy? Sure, the main bad-guy languages are German and Russian. Would make sense for her to be one of those... um... eth... eth..."
"Ethnicities?" I nod.
"Yeah. That. Thanks."
"You're welcome. And I don't believe you." I grin, looking up at him. And instantly regretting it. I did my best to hide it, though, just shrugging.
"Alright, fine. She mumbled something last night in her sleep. Something about not making her go back." Now it was Bucky's turn to frown.
"Not go back? As in, to whoever made her like this?"
"Would be my guess," I stood up, "Anyway, I'm going to have breakfast. You entertain Oxana." The girl looked around at me upon hearing her name, looking at me curiously. I shook my head, trying to show her not to worry, then reached out and ruffled her hair. She whacked at my hands gently, pouting slightly, but also looking altogether too pleased with herself. An interesting expression to her to be pulling off, considering her more feline appearance. Bucky scoffed a little, trying to peer around at his book.
"How about you go keep Tyra company?" He suggested in Russian. Oxana looked around at him, once again surprised that someone else could understand her. Then she grinned, simply snuggling up with him more. I grinned.
"You two look adorable." I told him. He just rolled his eyes, but was smiling nonetheless. That was when I heard my phone start ringing. I frowned, confused. Bucky looked at me curiously.
"Something wrong?"
"I'm not expecting any..." Then the penny dropped, "Oh, shit!" I rushed out of the room, skidding around the corners and into Oxana's room, where I'd fallen asleep the night before. My phone was on the bedside table, vibrating. I hurried to pick it up, opening the call.
"Hi! Hi-hi-hi, sorry, I completely forgot and didn't even know the time."
"Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised," PARROT told me, "You're lost without me."
"And my head hurts with you," I retorted, then frowned, pondering if that sentence actually made sense, "Anyway, Steve with you?"
"Course he is. Unlike some people, he's actually punctual." I rolled my eyes.
"Can you put him on please? I'll go get Bucky."
"Oh, so he's Bucky now, is he?"
"Just get Steve." I sighed, still too tired to deal with PARROT's shit. If a computer could laugh, I knew she would be. I was walking down the hall when Steve's face appeared on the small screen.
"Hi, Tyra."
"How's it going, Steve? Long time no see."
"Yeah, well, you kinda eloped from Wakanda with my best friend. How's that going for you, by the way?"
"I didn't elope, Rogers. You've been spending too much time with my dumb computer." Steve half smiled, then sobered.
"How is he?" I shrugged.
"Not too bad. You can see for yourself soon. We'll fill you in on everything together. Easier. Also means that if I forget anything, Bucky can fill in. So far I seem to be having a bad dad."
"A bad what?"
"Bad da-... oh. I definitely did not mean a bad dad. God, my timing is just perfect today!" I sighed, shaking my head, stepping back into the room with Barnes and Oxana. They both looked around at me.
"Who is it?" Bucky asked.
"Your boyfriend."
"My what?"
"Well, seems your humour is holding up just fine." Steve shook his head and I half smiled as I sat down in what had been Oxana's seat. She looked down at the screen in fascination, her eyes growing wide. Steve frowned, both concerned and amused.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"Steve, this is Oxana. She's a little... complicated," I smile around at Oxana, who curled up with Bucky more, smiling shyly at the little Steve on screen, "Anyway, we should probably discuss our plans. Where are you now?"
"Is your phone secured?"
"Don't insult me, Steve. It's almost as secured as Frankenstein."
"Then I'll get Sam to send you the meet up point. Nat's currently looking through the files PARROT retrieved on Phoenix."
"Is it enough?" Bucky asked, and I glanced around at him. He had put his book off to the side, resting his chin on the top of Oxana's head, arms wrapped around her. They looked adorable.
I turned my attention back to my phone, Steve turning around and looking somewhere off screen. I could hear Nat talking in the background, but couldn't quite make out what was being said.
"You hear that?" Steve asked, looking back at us. I shook my head.
"Too far away." Bucky told him. Steve nodded, shifting his camera closer to Nat. I blinked a couple of times, surprised by her hair colour. White looked... different.
"The info PARROT found for us is encrypted," She said, "I'm managing to unencrypt it bit by bit, but it's pretty thoroughly done. So far all we have on him is that he can summon fire and can't be killed easily. Have some partial conversations, but a lot of it is redacted. They're hiding this guy pretty well." I frowned, confused. Why would it still be encrypted? And why wasn't PARROT helping to remove the encryptions? Bucky glanced over at me, noticing the strange look on my face, but didn't say anything.
"So we don't even have a name?"
"Not yet, but hopefully we'll have something soon," I nodded, "Is there anything that either of you remember?" She looked away from her computer screen to us. I thought for a moment, but shook my head.
"Nothing that will help us. Ginger hair. Freckled. Younger than me. Other than that, not really. Not sure, but I think he joined Hydra willingly. And his powers were somehow activated, or given to him, possibly in a similar way to how Wanda and Pietro got their powers." Steve and Nat shared looks, Bucky frowning slightly.
"You actually remembered something?" He asked, voicing what everyone was thinking. I shrugged.
"Been dreaming recently." He nodded.
"I'll see if I can find anything more. Thanks, Ty."
"No problemo."
The house shook. I looked out the nearest window, suddenly on high alert. Oxana's ears were flat against her head, eyes wide in fear, Bucky's arms tightening around her protectively before he gently shifted her from his lap, heading over to the window. Tony came rushing into the room.
"What's going on?" Steve asked.
"Tony?"
"You mean you didn't feel anything coming?" He asked me. I shook my head.
"Should I have?" The house shook again, Oxana whimpering and hiding her face between my shoulder and the couch. I watched her, reaching around and rubbing her shoulder as comfortingly as I could.
"Does that answer your question?" Tony continued on through the room, heading down to his suits most likely. Bucky and I looked at each other. I sighed.
"Gonna have to call you back," I told Steve, "Or you lot send me the location and we'll meet you there."
"Be careful, all of you."
"Since when haven't we been careful?" Bucky called back.
"Coming from the guy who fell off a moving train." I muttered, hanging up on Steve and heading for the door, Oxana just watching me. Bucky walked over to her and picked her up, having her immediately bury her face in his neck. I could pretty much see her shaking. This wasn't good.
"We need to get her somewhere safe."
"We need to get us all somewhere safe." I opened the door and stood back for him to walk through, the house shaking again. I glanced at the ceiling, dust falling from it.
"Surprised it's stayed up this long."
"It was blown up, remember?" Tony asked, now fully in his suit, "I've put a few precautions in place to prevent that happening again. Only just rebuilt, I don't want it blowing up again."
"Sorry for bringing this on you." Bucky told him, heading for his room.
"If you aren't now then you will be once this is over."
"Tony, now is not the time to be fighting with Bucky. Think you can distract them for a bit?" I asked, "And where's Pepper?"
"She's safe, for now at least," Tony replied, "And who do you think I am?" He flew up, heading straight through the door, which thankfully opened before he flew straight through it. I watched for a moment as it closed again, presuming it was another feature that Tony had added in, before heading downstairs to the work room, Bucky showing up long after.
"So, anything around I can arm myself with?" He asked. I threw a dry look over my shoulder.
"You're in Tony Stark's basement. What do you think?"
"Good point." I walked to the back of the room and opened a panel in the wall. It slid back to reveal what I hoped it would.
An upgrade.
I half smiled, taking down my uniform. It was just like Tony to be working on a new improved outfit for one of the people who he was struggling with most relationship wise.
This uniform was a bit of a change from the old one, but it was still clearly mine. For one, it was now one piece, and clearly had more tech in it. It almost reminded me of one of Nat's past outfits, just more done up. It didn't have sleeves, only straps, a bit like a tank top, a jacket nearby. Like the old coat, it had shorter sleeves, but went to where the gauntlets would start. Unlike the coat I used to have, however, it very definitely didn't have a tail. Almost disappointing, I was no longer able to do the Fury. You know, billowing tail as you enter a room. But it made sense. Being more aerodynamic was, in my case, a good idea, given I frequently decided that running through air was a good idea.
The colour was the normal dark blue, but Tony had added patterns of gold to it, and the boots were now knee highs rather than army boots. I didn't have a hood anymore, but that was okay. There were two small button-like pieces of tech, which were placed either side of the mannequins head, which were placed a bit back from the temples.
I looked back over my shoulder to Bucky, the smile leaving my face.
"Somehow I doubt he'll have made something for you. You could always steal one of his suits?" I suggested, only half joking.
"We already have people trying to kill us. Not to mention Stark and I only just got on even semi good terms." I shrugged, pointing to another panel on the wall.
"Might be something in there. Most likely stuff he hasn't gotten around to figuring out how to fit in his suits." Bucky nodded and headed over to sort out what weapons he wanted while I took down my suit, putting on the tech first so I wouldn't forget. It reacted instantly, a visor-like thing coming across my vision.
"Woah..." I looked around, admiring the numbers and circles and things now all over my vision. Bucky turned around and looked at me.
"Okay?"
"He made a variation on his Iron Man helmet." I explained, then went back to getting ready. This would probably be, as usual, an interesting fight.
As if to confirm my thoughts, the building shook again. I hurried myself. Tony was going to need help if he wanted to keep his new house.