Author's Note: Thanks to all my new followers and favorites and reviewers! It's wonderful to receive emails about this story and how so many people are enjoying it! I hope you continue to do so.
This chapter is a little slow, but, it's going to lead into something much, much bigger so… hang in there.
Also! Survey! Let me know in your reviews if there's any character you want to see show up in the story!
Reviewers:
Lynnspid5: Thank you so much! It's only going to get more intense from here; that I promise you!
JessicaBerlin101: We should always be terrified for Bucky! Poor guy gets so much thrown at him! And thank you for answering the question! I really don't want to kill him off so maybe he'll make it… who knows?!
Inperfection: Thank you! Hopefully Bucky will come out okay from all this… we'll have to see!
Megan1130: Nothing ever seems to be easy for our poor Bucky! Yikes! Thank you again!
SleepPatterns: All the feels! Hopefully we can have something nice happen…before I throw more craziness of course! Thank you for reviewing!
So please, remember to review and say hi! And of course, y'all know the drill…
Read, Review, and above all… Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Marvel and am not sipping fancy drinks on a beach from all the money I make from it.
"Riley!" She heard echo in her head, her body shaking from a slight force. The pain in her side helping to snap her back into reality as she stared up at Barton. "Riley, are you all right?"
Riley shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feeling. "What happened?"
"One of the enhanced." He said through gritted teeth. "Mind control. She ripped apart everyone it seems."
"Were you?" She asked carefully, knowing how touchy Barton became over mind control.
"No." He stated simply as he looked around. "We need to go, we have another problem."
"What?"
"Barnes is out of control." He said, Riley feeling her heart sink. "That witch completely messed with him, he's relapsed."
"Where is he?" Riley asked in a panic.
Barton helped Riley to her feet. "Steve and Thor were chasing him down. We have to get out of here before we get caught in the middle of it."
"I have to help them!" Riley objected.
Barton was stern with her. "You're already injured, Rye." He started off. "Besides, if Barnes ended up hurting you more and found out about it, he'd never forgive himself. You have to leave this up to them."
Riley hated it but knew he was right. She was useless in her condition. If Bucky did attack her, she'd be dead. Still shook up from the vision and the news of Bucky, Riley felt sick. Barton led her to the exit, the two rushing out to see Natasha, Sam and Maria at the jet in the distance. Riley looked at Clint, somewhat confused. "Where's Banner?" Barton didn't respond, Riley understood. "She got him too."
"We weren't prepared." Barton simply said as he ushered Riley to the jet.
Riley saw the uncertainty and fear in Natasha's eyes, she had been hit pretty hard too by the enhanced. She knew in that moment, Barton was right, they weren't prepared for what hit them. "Good to see you're all right." Sam said, his expression solemn. That was something Riley wasn't used to seeing. Sam shifted his attention to Clint. "Any sign of Steve and Thor?"
Clint shook his head. "Negative."
Maria saw the panic in Riley's expression, she was quick to add to the conversation. "I'm sure they're fine. They've probably talked him down and are just waiting for him to be ready to move."
In the distance, two men came into view; not the men Riley was hoping to see. Stark, in damaged armor and Bruce, who looked battle worn and tired; stumbled over to the group. "We need to get out of here, it's getting hot." Stark said, looking at the torn up group. "Capsicle, Point Break and Terminator?" He asked, adding up the numbers.
"Barnes was hit pretty badly by the enhanced." Maria said. "He relapsed. Thor and Rogers are trying to calm him down."
Stark sighed, defeat washing over him as he just nodded. "We need to get out of here, find a safe place."
Barton nodded, an idea coming to mind. "Set everyone up for takeoff, I'll take it from here." He offered as he walked onto the jet. Bruce followed suit, stumbling onto the jet. His mind was cloudy, he was completely and totally out of it. Natasha silently followed him; Riley had never seen Natasha so speechless and lost. Whoever this enhanced was, she destroyed Banner and Romanoff. She could only imagine what Bucky saw.
That's when Riley began to think about her vision. She couldn't really place what she had seen. It felt like a distant memory, one she didn't even know she had. Who was that woman her Granddad was talking to?
Riley was immediately taken from her thoughts when she saw the two men walking towards the jet, the larger of the two carrying a passed out Winter Soldier. Riley gasped, feeling her heart sink into her chest as they came closer. "Is he—?"
"We had to knock him out." Steve regretfully said. "He was a danger to himself."
Riley nodded, understanding. "What do we do with him?"
"We can restrain him on the jet." Stark said, pointing to the jet. "Which we should all be boarding, now."
The group agreed, heading into the jet to restrain the unconscious Bucky Barnes and taking off to the unknown.
"Sergeant Barnes, you will change the world." The man with the thick accent said as he looked down at Bucky, a large smile on his face. Bucky raised his hands, noting his metal hand. He had been here before, he had seen this before.
The image quickly shifted, he was standing on the catwalk of a water tower, sniper in hand. He knew where he was, this was one of his kills. He had sniped a married couple in their vehicle.
Once again, the image changed, he was now standing in front of a panicking man. His gun was held out in front of him as the man pleaded for his life; Bucky pulled the trigger.
He fell into blackness, nothingness surrounding him before a light appeared. In that light, he saw a man walk forward, a familiar man. "Steve?" He called out. Steve began to stumble closer, collapsing in front of him. Bucky ran over, kneeling down next to him. "Steve?" He began to panic when he saw Steve was injured. He was bleeding from his midsection; his face bloody and bruised.
"Why, Buck?" Steve breathed out. "We couldn't save you…"
"Steve!" Bucky shouted.
"No one can save you…" Steve faded; no longer alive of the panicking soldier.
"Bucky?" He heard a sweet voice from behind say. Bucky quickly turned his body to see the red head, his red head. "What have you done?"
"Riley…" He said.
"You're a monster." She said.
Bucky quickly stood, racing over to her; fear filling her eyes. "No, it's not what it looks like!" He tried to defend.
Riley shook her head. "No one can save you." She said.
"Riley, please!" He pleaded with her.
His vision faded and soon he was in darkness again. He could hear whimpering and heavy breathing coming somewhere. An aerial light suddenly appeared, shining down on a small figure before him, a black bag over their head. "Kill her." He heard. Bucky looked down, seeing a handgun in his hand. He looked back up, a woman walked forward and removed the black bag from his soon to be victim's head. "Kill her." She said.
It was Riley. She struggled against her restraints, tears flooding from her blue eyes as she looked up at Bucky. "Don't do this…" She pleaded.
"Kill her." The woman said. "That's what you are, that's what you're good at. You're a killing machine, and that is what you were made for. Kill her."
Bucky raised the gun, aiming it at Riley's head. His mind was screaming at him not to do it, to put the gun down and save her. Yet, his instincts kicked in. The dormant part that used to be there begging to save Riley, was now demanding for him to kill her. He pulled the trigger, killing Riley instantly.
Bucky quickly sat up, gasping for air. His body covered in a cold sweat as he looked around, trying to place himself. He was in a bedroom, an unfamiliar bedroom of what looked like a normal house. He listened to his surroundings, hearing talking outside the room and… children? What the hell was happening?
Bucky slowly stood, regaining his bearings as he examined the room for any evidence. That's when he saw the family portrait; the familiar assassin, a woman and two kids. "Barton?" He mumbled to himself as the door to the bedroom opened.
He quickly turned, seeing the small yet relieved smile of the red head, his red head. "Hey, you're awake." She said softly. Bucky immediately rushed over to her, pulling her close into his chest and not letting go. Whatever that vision was, he had killed Riley and that destroyed him. She let out an airy laugh as she stood there in his arms. "Well, hello to you too." She said with a teasing tone. He continued to hold her in silence, his body memorizing the way she felt in his arms. He didn't want to let go. "Bucky, are you okay?" She finally asked, knowing he probably wasn't.
"I don't know what happened." He said softly. "I saw things—"
Riley was right. "We all did." She said. "One of the enhanced showed us awful things, things that really got to us."
"I killed Steve." He admitted. "I killed you."
"It was just a horrible, horrible nightmare." She tried to comfort him. "You didn't do any of those things."
"But I did." He said. "Some of the things I saw, I did do. What if killing you just hasn't happened yet?"
"I know you wouldn't and you know you wouldn't. I'm going to be fine and you're going to be fine."
He didn't accept that. "I could relapse at any time, I could seriously hurt you."
Riley managed to finagle her way out of his grip, pulling back just enough to look up at him. "You could hurt me, yeah. You won't though." She assured him. "You've had so many opportunities to do just that and you haven't. I have faith in you, Bucky." Riley reached up and gently cupped his face in her hands. "Everything is going to be okay." She smiled reassuringly.
Bucky was still uneasy about the whole thing. However, he knew trying to convince Riley otherwise was a losing battle. She would never accept that he was really dangerous. That was comforting and terrifying for him. "I just got you back, Riley." He said, referring to remembering her. "I don't think I can handle losing you again."
"Good thing I'm not going anywhere then." She said with a smile. "You're stuck with me, Barnes. Get used to it."
He finally let a smile escape. "I think I'm starting to."
"Come on, let's go downstairs and show everyone you're okay. Steve is having heart palpitations down there. Pretty sure he's going to burn a hole in the carpet from pacing." Riley laughed as she backed away from Bucky completely, taking his hand in hers and leading him down to the living room.
Bucky first saw the two children, sitting on the floor and watching television. For some reason it was weird to him seeing such a normal scene, especially after what had just transpired. "That's Lila and Cooper." Riley informed him, noticing Bucky's strange look. "Clint's kids. His wife, Laura, is pregnant with their third. She's somewhere around here."
"I didn't realize Barton had a family." Bucky said.
"It's not exactly a known subject. Safety measures of course." She said. "Same with my family, not many people know about them either."
Bucky raised an eyebrow. "Do you have secret kids too?" He asked.
She laughed. "No, I've told you before but it's okay. I have my Granddad, Nan and my Aunt Bea. They were my parents growing up. No secret kids or husbands you have to worry about."
"Oh." He said, looking back at the kids. "Is that something you'd want someday?"
"A husband and kids?" Riley asked as she bit her lip, contemplating the thought. "Never really thought about it." She answered honestly. "My job isn't exactly easy for me to start a family with."
"Barton seems to be doing okay." Bucky said.
"Listen, Buck." Riley said with a mischievous smirk. "If you want to marry me and have kids, that's fine, but, you'd have to go through my Granddad. He can be pretty stubborn." She teased.
Bucky's eyes went wide, realizing what she was insinuating. "I was just saying—"
Riley laughed. "I know. Don't worry about it. If I get married, I get married. Same with kids." She shrugged. "Just not pushing for it." She said, walking towards the kitchen.
Bucky watched her walk away before deciding to follow her. Could he ever have a family? Was that something in his future? Would he feel comfortable knowing how dangerous he was, especially around children? His children? Bucky shook his head, knowing it was better not to think about that and add to the troubles on his mind. Instead, he just kept his eye on the red head in front of him.
"Bucky." Steve said, relief washing over him when he spotted the soldier. "It's good to see you up and about."
Bucky scratched his head. "Yeah, well, can someone tell Thor next time to not swing the hammer so hard?" He was only half kidding, Thor really packed a mean swing.
"Sorry about that…" Steve smiled sympathetically. "How are you feeling otherwise?"
Bucky shrugged. "Been better." He mumbled. "Not exactly prepared for that kind-of warfare."
"No one was." Riley said.
"We have a lot on our plates now." Steve said, folding his arms over his chest. "We need to rethink our strategy." Bucky was still pretty stiff as he nodded. He always had some sarcastic quip to retort, yet, he was just out of it.
"We need more than a strategy, Rogers." The group turned to the doorway, seeing a ghost of a man. Whenever Director Fury was involved, Riley would get a bad feeling. That usually meant things were going to hell. Usually. This time, she wasn't too far off from her assumption. He came into the kitchen and sat at the table. Following suit was the rest of the group as they gathered around the table except for Thor (who had left earlier). "So what is your plan now?" Fury asked, he always seemed to be glaring, Riley noticed.
"We need to stop Ultron. We learned he's planning on building a more permanent and stronger body using Dr. Cho's research and the acquired Vibranium." Maria Hill said. "If I can locate him, we'll need to get that body and destroy it."
"And then Barton, Romanoff and I will take the ground. Stark, Sam, you have the skies." Steve said.
"Alright, and what do we do?" Riley asked, looking for her role.
The group was silent. "I think it's best if you and Bucky head back to the Tower." Steve finally said. He saw the objection in Riley's expression and immediately interjected. "That enhanced really messed with our minds—"
"It's okay, Riley." Bucky said, placing his hand on Riley's arm. "I get it. I'm still unstable. If she got me again, I'm more of a liability than anything. The team can't be worrying about me too."
"And we know you and Barnes work well together." Natasha added, trying to ease the tension. "You can keep each other company; train more."
Riley sat back in her chair, defeat washing over her as the group discussed their plan of action. She wasn't sure why she wanted to keep helping; she wasn't keen on being a part of this team anyway. She wasn't an Avenger, she knew that. So why did the rejection hurt all the same? Riley knew deep down that everyone was right. If that enhanced got her hands on Bucky again, who knows what could happen? Her next mission, or so she wanted to look at it, was keeping him safe. He kept her safe all this time, now it was time for her to return the favor.
Bucky on the other hand wanted to hide in a hole. Knowing the possibility of hurting Steve and Riley was tearing him up on the inside. For once, he really was speechless. He had nothing to go off of. The group was right to agree to send him away, send him somewhere where he couldn't hurt anyone. Although, having Riley there with him was both a comfort and a concern. He had to try and rid himself of this monstrous persona that the enhanced showed him, it never truly bothered him until he saw the potential. Until he saw Riley die. Bucky Barnes was slowly unraveling.
The team left early in the morning, taking off for the Tower to drop off Bucky and Riley, restock on supplies and heading to their destination. Riley was still pretty unhappy about the whole ordeal but, understood why it had to be done.
He was distant all morning, she could almost feel a wall between them as they entered the Observation Deck. Riley tried her best to create conversation; create a distraction even for the soldier. "It's nice to be back." She said with a content sigh and crashing on the couch. She looked around, noticing there was still a mess left from the robot attack. "We should probably clean that." Riley heard Bucky shuffle behind her, heading for the elevator. She quickly turned on the couch, watching his back as he went. "Hey! Want to play some cards or something?" She called to him.
"There's something I need to do."
"Oh." She replied sadly. "Want me to join you?"
"I'd rather do it alone." He mumbled before entering the elevator, giving Riley no chance to try.
This wasn't her Ghost, this wasn't Bucky Barnes, and this wasn't the Winter Soldier. This was a man on the brink of losing himself.
Riley kept busy; knowing when she wasn't wanted and all, she headed to the firing range. Riley emptied clip after clip, the gun jerking in her hands as she hit the target dead on every time. The pop of the gun muffled as she focused, her eyes locked on target. Something else was beginning to surface…
"Riley Jane, what are you doing?" Aunt Bea nearly screeched as she ran over to the small red headed girl. "You know you're not supposed to be in here!" She raced to the floor, grabbing the tin of old photos and shoving them inside to be locked away. That's how they were meant to be.
"I just wanted to see." Riley said, tears filling her eyes. She had been caught.
Aunt Bea sighed. "Riley—"
"I want to see her." Riley added, sniffling.
Aunt Bea bit her lip, clicking the tin shut as she tried to find words. "Sometimes things happen, and bad things happen to good people." She paused. "And sometimes—" She pulled her niece closer, hugging her with one arm to comfort her. "The best thing we can do for them is to move on and forget about those people, because in the end, it will help them." Riley sniffled again. "What did Granddad tell you?"
"That I need to focus." She said, her lips quivering as her Aunt Bea let her go from her embrace. "And only think about the target."
Aunt Bea smiled. "Exactly. So let's forget about this—" She said, shaking the box. "Forget about her and let's focus on the target."
The gun clicked, the bullets completely emptied from the magazine as Riley felt tears slowly roll down her eyes. After her encounter with the enhanced, something was coming to the surface, something she pushed away a long time ago. For the first time in a long time, Riley needed comfort.
She headed towards the training rooms in search of Bucky, she just had a feeling he'd be there. Her suspicions were confirmed at the sound coming from within. She quietly walked into the room, seeing Bucky destroying a punching bag with very heavy blows. "Ghost." She said quietly.
Bucky immediately stopped, grabbing the bag in his hands and placing his head on the punching bag. "What is it, Red?" He asked, his chest rising and falling quickly as he breathed.
"I know you're not okay." She began, shuffling slightly as she stood there. "I know you're not because I'm not; and my vision, I'm sure, wasn't even remotely bad as yours." Bucky waited for her point, his stomach tying in knots as he listened. "But right now, I need the two of us to stop pretending we have to hide how it's tearing us up. We need to talk it out and we need comfort." She felt tears flowing down her cheeks again, when did she become such a crier? "So, please—" She said. "Just talk to me."
Bucky finally turned to face her, somewhat stunned to see her actually crying as he ran his hand through his sweat filled hair; his short hair sticking up. "I already told you." He said. "I saw you die, I killed you."
"You haven't killed me yet."
"I'm not going to risk that and end up hurting you." He said. "I could have seriously hurt you so many times now."
"And that doesn't scare me."
"Well it should." He snapped, causing Riley to jump slightly in his sudden change in tone. "You think because it hasn't happened yet, that you're safe. You're not safe, Riley. You won't be safe as long as I'm around."
Riley grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled the shirt over her head, tossing it to the ground next to her. Her heart racing knowing that this could go one of two ways, she'd show him the scar and then he'd freak out more or possibly understand she's not going anywhere. She prayed for the latter as she pointed to the rather large pink scar on her stomach. "You already shot me once, Bucky." She said, gritting her teeth. "The last time you were wiped, you shot me without hesitating. And you know what happened? I came back. The minute they called and said they found you and you were here, I came back. Yes, you can hurt me and yes, you have hurt me. You need to understand, that this is my choice too. You can't just shut me out because you're afraid. I'm scared too but, that's not going to stop me from being by your side."
Bucky was silent as he stared at the scar on her stomach. He shot her? Why didn't he remember shooting her? Especially if it was after his wipe? Did he just see her as another threat and not even care when he did it? Like so many other targets before her, she was just another number.
Riley could see him pull back more, she groaned before putting her shirt back on as quickly as possible. "Ghost, Bucky, Winter Soldier—" She said with a airy laugh. "Whoever you are today." He just rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter who you were or what you did. What does matter is what you do about it today."
"You're one stubborn gal, you know that?" He muttered, trying not to smirk.
"Hello, forties Bucky." She laughed.
He was pretty sure his eyes would get stuck from how many times he had rolled them at her that day. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he walked over to her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. "This doesn't make putting you in danger okay." He warned her.
"I know, and equally goes for you shutting me out." She said. "Let's get through this together. I don't want to be alone."
He was curious then. "What was your vision?" He asked.
"A lot of things I just don't understand." She answered somewhat truthfully.
He scoffed. "Now who's hiding things?"
She just smiled as she buried her head into the chest of the sweaty man holding her. "You need a shower." She teased, changing the subject.
"You're welcome to join me." He suggested wickedly. Riley didn't object as the two left the training room and heading for Bucky's room.
They had spent the rest of the evening together, releasing tension and just being each other's comfort. Bucky had fallen asleep first, holding Riley in his arms as he slept soundly. She really did make everything feel right. Riley, however, did not fall asleep right away. She felt Bucky's body relax and his arm grow heavy around her. After a few beats, she quietly snuck out from under his arm and out of the bed. Riley rummaged through her clothes as quickly as she could, finding her cell phone and sneaking into the hallway; before leaving the room she checked back to make sure he was still asleep. Satisfied with his easy breathing, Riley left the room.
She dialed the only number she had ever memorized and waited for three rings until finally someone picked up. "Hello?" The woman's voice sounded tired.
"Aunt Bea?" Riley said quietly.
There was silence before Aunt Bea replied. "Riley Jane?" She asked, concerned. "I'm surprised to hear from you, is everything all right?"
Riley bit her lip, contemplating if this was even the right move but, she needed answers. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Aunt Bea." She began. "I need you to tell me about my mother, I'm starting to remember her…"
Final Thoughts: We have another story line coming up after AoU ends… who knows where it's going! Thanks for reading and remember to review!