I finished hanging the last of my clothes and sit on the bed to relax. After the phone call yesterday with my mother, my suitcase arrived at my door. I'm relieved to have my wardrobe but now looking at it all, it's not practical for an Avenger... if that's really what I am.
I decide to put on my favorite blue maxi dress and white cardigan. I let my hair stay down in loose curls and throw on some mascara. I need to look dainty and innocent so that maybe when I question Fury about my father he will spill his guts. I can only hope.
"Hey JARVIS."
"Good Morning Ms. Smith. How may I assist you today?"
"Where can I find Fury?"
"I apologize Ms. Smith. Director Fury is out of the country and I have not been informed of his return date."
"Great. Thanks JARVIS." I say dripping in sarcasm.
I leave my room and decide to go to the kitchen in hopes someone has made breakfast. I'm not sure what I will do to stay busy until Fury gets back.
I walk into the large kitchen and I'm met with a room full of eyes. Steve, Tony, Nat, Bruce, Thor, Clint and another man I hadn't met before. They were all are standing around the coffee bar sipping coffee chatting until I walked in. All the conversations stopped and it gave me an uneasy feeling.
"Hi. Sam Wilson." The unknown man steps forward hand stretched out. He's lean and tall with a deep brown complexion. His cheek bones are high and pronounced and his smile is contagious.
"Ana. Nice to meet you but handshakes aren't a great idea with me." I smile sincerely and hope I don't offend him.
He steps back and chuckles. Everyone sighs in the room and hands something to Sam. Money. They all handed him money. I look around confused.
"We bet him he wouldn't try for a handshake." Clint shrugs.
"Oh in that case, maybe you should have that handshake Sam." I smile and the others do too.
A couple of them playfully nudge him in my direction. I take the opportunity to reach in my cardigan and put on some white leather gloves that were conveniently left on my doorstep this morning. Everyone notices except Sam whose back is towards me. I quickly take a few steps to him.
"Gotcha!" I grab his sides and he squeals loudly jumping away.
He turns too quickly and falls down still trying to get away until he notices me wiggling my gloved fingers in his direction. Everyone breaks out in laughter and Sam hangs his head chuckling.
"Nice job Skywalker." Tony calls to me. "Hey JARVIS send that video footage to my phone."
"How do you take your coffee?" Nat stands beside me offering a mug.
"Black is fine."
"Good. Same here." She smiles and we sip the warm liquid together.
"I need to talk to Fury but he isn't here."
"He'll be gone a few days. I'll tell Agent Hill to schedule an appointment for you as soon as he's back."
"Thanks Nat." We smile at each other. I can tell she's happy about having another female around.
"So what are you doing in the mean time?" Clint asks.
"Umm... I guess I'll try out the training room."
"No. No can do." Tony says shaking a finger at me. "Before you get in there we need you to have a relaxing day. You've been through a lot the past few days."
"Yeah the stress could cause an outburst of your powers and could be..." Bruce stops to think of a good word. "A little messy." He decides.
"That's putting it nicely." Tony mutters.
Everyone quietly sips their coffee probably thinking of the worse case scenario because I certainly was. A crazy outburst could kill half the team and unleash the Hulk in the middle of New York. Hell, I could wipe out New York City if I'm powerful enough.
"Hey." I'm nudged on the arm by Steve. "Can we talk for a minute?"
I nod and follow him a few steps away. He leans back against a wall and I join him. He says nothing for a minute and I close my eyes to listen to the small hum in my ears. My body is tingling and I can feel the urge to touch him again. What was this connection? Another question I needed answered.
"I'm sorry about yesterday." Steve started. I try to stop him but he shakes his head. "No let me apologize. You don't know you're own powers and I let you experiment on me. It's my own fault and I don't want you to feel guilty."
"Thank you but I'm still sorry I hurt you."
Steve laughs and holds up his hand that I had burned. No marks or discoloration. I look up to his green eyes and I'm reminded that I'm talking to Captain America. Of course he healed.
"Oh. Well I'm glad you're better. I'm still sorry though."
"Would you like to spend the day with me? I'd like to get to know you better. Maybe we can figure this thing out."
"Sorry Cap. She's my arm candy today." Nat interjects and comes to stand between us.
I let out a small sigh of relief. I'm not sure if spending the day with Steve would help. Even just these few seconds next him is becoming a bit tiring. My hands are aching to touch his skin and the humming in my head is causing a headache to begin.
"What are we doing?" I ask.
"Shopping. Tony decided to throw a party tonight and I need a new dress."
"Sounds fun."
Nat, Steve and I join everyone again. Tony and Thor are in a heated discussion about the nickname Point Break. Sam and Clint are snickering.
"These nicknames are absurd." Thor finally decides and crosses his burly arms.
We all laugh and nod in agreement. The room is cheerful and I feel like I belong.
*
I squeeze into a rich dark blue velvet dress. Thin spaghetti straps on my shoulders and I turn to admire the low cut back ending at my waist. I smooth the dress down my legs where the material stops just above my knee. The fabric hugs every curve that I usually hide and I question if I can walk out in this.
"Come on girl!" Nat says impatiently on the other side of the dressing room door.
Opening the door I'm met with a beauty in white. Nat's red locks are even more stunning against the white strapless dress. A sweetheart neckline accentuates her chest and the fabric hugs her body, stopping mid thigh. I suddenly felt inferior standing in front of her. No one could compare to her beauty.
"Ana! That's so beautiful! Actually it's hot. You look sexy!" Nat grabs my gloved hands and pulls me to her so that we both are standing in front of a full length mirror.
"Nat you look stunning. The white-"
"White isn't my thing. I was trying something new." She says shaking her head and scrunching her face in disgust.
"No seriously Nat. Get it. You look beautiful." She looks at me for a moment deciding if I'm being truthful. After a moment she smiles and nods.
"Okay I will get it but only if you get that dress too! Steve will love that color." I step back and give her a questioning look. "Oh don't look at me like that! He hasn't been able to keep his eyes off you."
"Nat it isn't like that." Not that I would mind it. I mean it's Steve Rogers. "We have this weird connection. I can't explain it."
"Oh okay." She wiggles her eyebrows clearly trying to insinuate something. I laugh at her and roll my eyes.
I step back in the dressing room and change out of the dress. I meet Nat and we decide to eat lunch. We talk a little on her past and her friendship with Clint. She swears it's just that and nothing romantic. I can tell she doesn't trust easy so I don't question her anymore.
Nat asks about my life and my parents. She was surprised that I had no family outside of my parents. No grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or even family friends. I had never thought it odd until now. She shrugs it off and starts talking about the party.
*
1. What are my powers?
2. How did I get my powers?
3. Who was the 3rd person I killed?
4. Why do I not have any family outside of my parents?
5. How did my Dad know Fury?
6.Why and how am I connect to Steve Rogers?
7. Why does the Winter Soldier want me dead?
I close the small leather journal. It was left on my doorstep and I had found it after shopping with Nat. A small note was inside,
Writing helps soothe my mind. I hope it can help you too.
-Steve
It was a thoughtful gesture and one that was useful. I quickly decided to clear my mind by writing all the questions I had. I already feel more at ease. I tuck the journal under my pillow and look at the time. I still had five hours before the party.
I decide to walk around the Avenger tower and explore every room I can. I leave my room and immediately bump into someone. I look up to apologize and see it's Sam.
"Oh hey Sam! Sorry."
"No problem. I was just walking around." He smiles but nervously looks down at my hands. I'm not wearing my gloves.
"Let me get my gloves and I can walk with you. If that's okay."
"Yeah!"
I quickly grab my gloves and slide them on. I've gone all my life without wearing gloves but now I'm so worried that I could hurt someone. I didn't mean to hurt Steve but he healed. What if I touched someone who couldn't heal?
"Alright. Let's go." I close my door and we begin walking down the hall.
"This morning was funny." Sam chuckles.
"I hope I didn't scare you."
"Nah. I'm not scared of you Ana. Just... cautious. I'm not a super soldier like Steve."
"You're not? I just kinda assumed since..." I grab his bicep and give it a small squeeze.
Sam chuckles and tells me about how he was in the military and the amazing flight suit he has. I'm surprised he was invited to be an Avenger though.
"I thought everyone had to have a super special skill." I say it out loud but I meant to keep it inside. "Not that you're not special. I just mean-"
"Ana. Don't worry. Just wait til you see me in action. I've got skill." Sam throws me a wink and I exhale in relief. We step into an elevator and Sam pushes a button.
"Do you know anything about the Winter Soldier?" I question.
"It's why I was recruited. Last year there was a target on Director Fury. There was a huge standoff but the Winter Soldier failed his mission. A few agents were outed as HYDRA agents and SHEILD disbanded for a few months."
"Who is the Winter Soldier?" Sam breathes in deeply and looks at me with a hard expression.
"I'm only telling you this because I think you should know." Sam starts and takes another deep breath. "Last year during the fight his mask fell off. Steve recognized him."
"Seriously? Is it someone we know?"
"Not we. Steve. Steve knew him." Sam leans down to whisper in my ear, "Bucky. Sargent James Buchanan Barnes. His best friend from childhood and the war."
I gasp loudly and cover my open mouth. Just a few years ago I had read a book about the history of the Howling Commandos. Sargent Barnes fought along side Captain America to defeat HYDRA. He was killed in combat, falling to his death.
"Is he sure?" I whisper back in disbelief.
Sam nods. "Don't tell anyone. Not even Steve. I only told you in case... just try not to kill him. That's Steve's place. He makes that call."
"Yeah."
The elevator opens and the conversation is over.We walk through the doors and I notice we are in the laboratory floor that I came to on my first day here. Sam takes me to a corner and shows me a new prototype of wings Tony is making him.
"My current wings have my arms strapped to them. Tony is making them so I can have my hands free for combat and flight."
"That's amazing." I run my hands over the metal. "I can't wait to see you use them."
"Tony said I can try them out this week. He's adding a parachute before the test flight."
I look around at all the machines and parts scattered around the room. To our left I notice a large metal door slightly ajar. I walk over to it and can hear some beeping. The door widens as I touch it and I decide I want to see what's back there.
"Ana. I don't know if we should go back there." Sam warns.
"The door was open." I counter back and step through the door. I hear Sam sigh and follow me.
It was another lab. However this one was smaller and only had a few machines and monitors. In the middle of the room was a large metal case with tubes connected to it. I look to Sam who shrugs and walks towards it with me. A small piece of glass was on top of the case so I lean over to look inside.
"Ana. Look at this." Sam interrupts me and I walk over to the screen he's standing in front.
A picture of a man or what appeared to be a man is on the screen. His skin is a deep burgundy and silver with a yellow light in the middle of his forehead.
Vision.
"What the hell is this?" Sam asks.
"I don't know."
My phone buzzes loudly and we both jump. I take it out of my pocket and see that Nat has texted me. I'm supposed to meet her in her room to get ready for the party.
"We should go." I decide and Sam nods.
"Let's keep this between us."
Of course. More secrets. More questions .