A/N: So here is the second chapter of the day, as promised :)
12 - A Trip Back in Time
Surprisingly enough, there was a decent-length queue leading into the venue, and our group fit itself comfortably at the end, our 40s outfits fitting in well with some of the others. Even so, Steve, James and I rolled our eyes at a few of them, who'd been a bit out on what the 40s style looked like. One couple came dressed for the 70s. I found it rather hilarious when they weren't even allowed in. The other couples who'd gotten it wrong were only slightly out, maybe erring a bit more towards the 50s, but that couple were so outrageously incorrect that it couldn't even be called a poor attempt.
Needless to say, we were let in without hassle.
The room was large, with a massive, wooden dance floor in the centre, a stage against the far wall, a large bar counter to our immediate left, and the two other walls were reserved for round tables that each sat up to four people (though I reckoned our whole group could squeeze onto one table if we really wanted it to). Large floor to ceiling windows framed by dark yellow curtains dotted the walls. Flower-shaped lights hung from the ceiling, emitting a soft yellow light that was kind of romantic, in a way. There was a band on the stage, already playing the first tune.
I'd barely even managed to take note of my surroundings before James had taken my hand and was eagerly dragging me towards the middle of the room, seamlessly moving from walking to dancing as soon as we met the centre of the floor. The style of dance was familiar, even though neither of us had danced it for years, and since we were the first ones on the floor we could use as much space as we wanted. We moved easily with one another, our years as partners making it easy for us to predict the other's next step.
Whilst we were dancing, James whispered to me, "Thank you. I think I needed this."
I smiled gently up at him, squeezing the hand that was grasped in my own. "We both needed it," I corrected. "I sometimes forget it's okay to do normal things."
He chuckled, whirling me around effortlessly. "Well, at least we have each other in the moments when normal doesn't seem quite so fun."
I cracked a small grin, before my expression faltered. My heart started to pick up pace, my skin became flushed, and my mouth became dry. "James, I..."
His brows pinched together, but neither of us stopped dancing. Although, we weren't really listening to the music anymore; just focusing on each other. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "Nothing, I just... I wanted to tell you that..." In my head, I was cursing my own weakness. I mean, it was just a few goddamn words.
James' eyes and face softened, and a tiny smile flickered onto his face. While we spun around together again, he ducked his head down and pressed his lips against mine. It was a sweet kiss, but it was short. He moved his lips to my ear and whispered, "I know."
I shook my head slightly. "No, I have to say it," I stated firmly. I drew in a quick breath, and then said, "I love you, James."
And just like that, it was like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The words were daunting beforehand, but once spoken they were just so freeing.
James' face split into a wide smile as he gripped my body slightly tighter before pulling me into a lift. I laughed when he spun me around again, pressing his lips firmly against mine. "I love you too, Daph. Never forget that."
"I won't," I promised, before both of us got swept up in the dance again.
The first song ended with a round of applause from everyone else in the room, and James and I grinned at our friends as we moved off the dance floor and a few others walked onto it. James let his arm drop to my waist, leading me off the dance floor.
"I didn't realise you guys could dance so well!" Pepper gushed immediately, her face split in a wide grin.
Steve chuckled, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Yeah, well, Bucky went dancing a lot back in the day. Usually with a different girl every time. I can only think of one or two that you danced with for more than one dance."
James shrugged. "Admittedly, next to you, I looked like a bloody God," he teased, laughing when Steve shoved him, even though there was a grin on the Captain's face.
"Every time you tried to set up a double date, you ended up with both girls," Steve reminded him, though there was no malice in his tone. He was simply stating a fact.
James' arm tugged me flush against him, and I could pick up a sense of possessiveness in the act. "Believe me, I have no plans to do that tonight," he said seriously, and I had to shoot Natasha a harsh glare to stop her from pulling the very pointed look that I knew was bursting to appear.
"Well, I don't know about you guys," Tony said, drawing attention to him as he stared over my shoulder at the bar, "but I'm gonna get myself a drink. The party don't start 'til there's been at least two shots handed out, am I right?"
"Whatever makes the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist happy," I muttered, and I didn't fail to notice the shocked expressions on the faces of Natasha and Steve - the only ones who appeared to have heard me. I sent them a perfectly practiced, innocently confused look. I didn't think it was wise to let them know about the whole 'I'm from a world where this world is a story' thing just yet. They might try to force me into telling them about things - like Ultron, for example.
"Hey, you alright?" James asked me, frowning in concern.
I sent my most convincing smile up at him, and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, fine. This is just..." I glanced around me. "Strange. I haven't been in a place like this for so long."
James hummed, thankfully buying my tale. "I know what you mean," he said. Then he suddenly looked surprised, before turning around and saying, "You look beautiful. I just realised I've not said that yet."
I laughed. "You make it sound like you're obligated to do so."
"I am," he said simply. "Particularly when I mean it." He smirked charmingly down at me, one side of his lips lifted more than the other. "And trust me, I'm definitely not lying."
I rolled my eyes. "Flirt," I teased.
James' smirk somehow stretched even more. "Aren't you already supposed to know that?" he murmured, his warm breath fluttering against my ear.
Two can play a game, sweetheart.
I shifted so my lips brushed against his cheek as I spoke, and I wasn't oblivious to the sudden tension in his body at my closeness. His Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. "I do know that," I said lowly in return. "I also know that your flirting isn't going to work on me."
James chuckled, grasping my hand in his. "Oh, I think I can get that to change." Then he dragged me back onto the dance floor.
"...And then of course I wake up in the morning with a boiler between my legs."
The whole group burst into raucous laughter - even Steve was holding back tears. Tony just shrugged, taking another sip of his scotch, completely unfazed. Music was still playing in the background, but only a few couples were still on the floor dancing. The rest were either drinking, eating, or just talking.
A familiar face suddenly appeared, wearing a black dress that swished almost seductively around her legs. A silver chain hung around her neck, but the charm at the end was tucked underneath the neckline of her dress. I had only seen her once before, just before James and I left on our road trip, but that long, purple hair was pretty distinctive. She stopped in between Clint and Natasha, her face deadly serious.
Steve blinked. "Mariana," he greeted, before frowning. "What are you doing here?"
"We have a situation," she said, with the hint of an accent that I guessed was either Spanish or Portuguese.
Everyone suddenly tensed up. "Agent Silva, what's wrong?" Bruce asked, fiddling nervously with his fingers, eyes darting warily at the surrounding area, no doubt looking for any exits.
"We think they're after those two again," she said, pointing at James and I. In an instant we were on our feet. She glanced at us. "There's someone already in here, but we don't know what he looks like."
A faint noise tickled in the back of my head. It sounded almost like a word - bespokoynyy. My body twitched without my noticing.
"Do you have any clues at all?" Steve asked, just as another word hit my ears. This time, it was easy to distinguish. Odinnadtsat.
My head whipped around, trying to find the source of the voice. My hands became fists by my side. Uragan.
I hissed out a curse, drawing many eyes my way. I knew I probably looked quite frazzled, but no one could blame me. "Daphne, what's wrong?" James asked, placing a hand on my arm, but I shook it off, eyes still searching.
"I can..."
Poddelyvat.
"Daphne?"
"I can hear my words, James."
His face dropped completely flat in a second, and he turned to the others, speaking in a low tone. "Get everyone out of here. Now."
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Chetyre.
My body was rebelling now, my hands twitching towards the knife strapped to my thigh. I took a few shaky steps away from my friends' table as they got up and calmly began asking everyone to leave. Thankfully, no one seemed inclined to argue.
Nevezhestvennyy.
I growled, eyes moving even faster. "Show yourself, you bastard!" I shouted, and suddenly the other people in the room were rushing out at an even more frantic pace.
Vossoyedineniye.
Grabbing my head, I tried to block out the sound, but my ears still tuned into the words I was dreading to hear.
Dva.
"Stop it!" I screamed, shaking my head as James tried to get closer to me. "No, James," I said firmly, even as the next word rang in my ears. Bolyashchiy. "Make sure everyone is far away from here."
"I'm not going to leave you."
"You know I have no control in a situation like this." I shook my head. "Go." He hesitated. "GO!" After gritting his teeth and glowering, James whirled around and stormed out of the now empty club, slamming the door behind him in the process.
In the corner of my eye I saw a man with black hair emerging from the shadows, wearing a smirk. His lips curled to form the final words. "Chernyy vsadnik."
My mind instantly fell completely blank of all thought and emotion. My eyes drifted to the man, whose expression was expectant. "Ready to comply."
Groaning, I opened my eyes. I was strapped to a chair, my arms pinned behind me by chains that were attached to the crumbling, white walls. That bloody red symbol was painted on the wall in front of me, though it was crudely done, and some of the paint appeared to have run. The door opened, and I turned my head to glower at the person who walked in. It was the dark haired man from the club.
"What did you make me do?" I growled, tugging on my chains.
"Nothing," he said. "I simply instructed you to come here and not fight back when we tied you down."
"Why just me? Why not get James while you were at it?"
He smiled crookedly. "I knew there would be no time. By the time one of you was taken over, the other would be beyond reach. I made a choice."
"Why me? I'm weaker than him. Can't fight as well as him."
"Perhaps, but you are a woman, and a woman's mind works in very different ways to a man's. I need that variety. Not to mention, due to your rather unique past, the knowledge you possess is more helpful for what I need from you."
I tensed up. "My rather unique past?" I echoed.
He smirked. "You didn't think everything about you wouldn't be noted down somewhere, did you?" From underneath his jacket, he pulled out a beige file, with the words 'Asset 29' printed on the cover in Russian. He began idly flicking through it. "Everything from your arrival at a Hydra compound in 1953 to the start of 2014 has been recorded in here. Much of it is also on the electronic files that were leaked during the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., however some of the information was kept strictly on paper. In this file."
I stayed silent for a long time, eyeing the file. Then I asked, "What does it say about me?"
He hummed, flicked back to the first page, and began to read. "Subject 29 showed immediate signs of hostility. There was no disturbance by isolation or darkness, and the desire to challenge authority appears strong. Subject has, as of yet, one obvious line of weakness, in the form of Subject 28, with whom she arrived here." He paused, glanced up at me, then went back to reading. "Initial meeting deemed the Subject to be of above average intelligence, previously living in a family of one brother and both parents. Due to unknown circumstances, the Subject is claiming to have come from the year 2016, making her birth year 1999. There are no signs of any mental irregularities, and there have been no hints of insanity or delirium."
"How nice of him to say," I grumbled, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Further prompting on events to happen in the future has proved unsuccessful - the Subject refuses to impart any information about coming years," he finished, as if I hadn't interrupted him. He then slowly closed the file. "So you see, I couldn't help but be intrigued by that." He smiled a smile of such malice that his eyes darkened in an undeniably dangerous way. "Is it true?"
I scoffed. "Of course it isn't," I lied. "I was trying to convince Pierce that I was not mentally able to withstand the tortures I figured they'd put me through. And I maintained the story because I knew that admitting to my lies would also result in pain. It was a defence mechanism."
The man stared at me for a long time, before his lips twitched. "No one at the age of sixteen can lie to a trained Hydra Agent."
"I've always been a good liar." And that, ironically enough, wasn't a lie.
He hummed, before he shrugged. "It matters little, either way. I have great plans for you, and I know of a certain metal-armed soldier who will be tearing apart the country to find you right now."
"Where am I, anyway?"
He chuckled. "Still in New York. Though, we're not in the main city. Sometimes the best place to hide something is-"
"In plain sight," I finished dully. I glanced around me. "Well, based on the thickness of these walls, and the material of the bars behind you, I'd say we were in some kind of depository. Am I right?"
"No, actually. We're in an abandoned psychiatric centre. This particular building closed in either the late 60s or early 70s."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course. The cliché place to hide something secret - an abandoned building that no one will ever bother to search through."
"And if they do, they'll be quickly taken out," he said with a vicious smile.
Huffing and leaning back in my chair, I asked, "So what exactly is it you want me to do? Clearly I'm not here for no reason."
"No, you are not. But you will need to be a little more... compliant... before you agree to my demands. So first, there are a few things I need to do to make that possible."
For those of you who may be curious, Daphne's trigger words have the following meanings:
Restless - bespokoynyy
Eleven - odinnadtsat
Hurricane - uragan
Forge - poddelyvat
Four - chetyre
Ignorant - nevezhestvennyy
Reunion - vossoyedineniye
Two - dva
Aching - bolyashchiy
Black Horseman - chernyy vsadnik
